Project Hacker Kakusei; Uplink for your DS
by Conrad Quilty-Harper 
{ Jun 30th 2006 at 6:30PM }
An intriguing television commercial for a Japanese game called Project Hacker: Kakusei, a title for the DS that closely resembles the innovative hacking title Uplink, has popped up on the internets. The game will place you in the role of Satoru, a detective with an organization called the GIS, for which you will have to face hacking-themed puzzles like password cracking. The commercial demonstrates effective use of the stylus combined with Uplink-style hacking, along with elements similar to Phoenix Wright's detective style and 2D anime artwork; hopefully the developers plan to emulate Ace Attorney's over-the-top dialog and light-hearted premise too.According to IGN's page on Project Hacker, the title was announced in October '05 when it was originally called Detect Hacker. It's being produced by Nintendo and developed by Red Entertainment and is due for release in Japan before the year is out. I couldn't find anything online about an English localization, so unfortunately we must assume that this is going to remain exclusive to Japan for now. With a little luck (and some pressure from you guys--for a start, the game's wiki page could do with some work), that will change.
[Thanks, Miyamootoo and Ben for the YouTube link]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
idioteraser @ Jun 30th 2006 7:05PM
Localization should be a simple matter although it should take a while. Looks like a lot of text to translate accuretly.
Man the upcoming DS games and apps are sure looking good and pinching many a wallet.
Man Nintendo is producing a lot of games these days.
ill trooper @ Jun 30th 2006 7:10PM
Not really a very motivating ad, but I love the game concept!
Seroth @ Jun 30th 2006 7:25PM
Whoa. I always thought it'd be interesting to have a DS version of Uplink. Now here we go! Awesome!
Nushio @ Jun 30th 2006 7:57PM
The golden question is...
Will this connect to WiFi?
Imagine... Hacking battles/races against the best "hackers" on the world!
Oh wait, we can already do that.*
*I'm a DS Owner, And I will get this game, dont get me wrong :P
heavyness @ Jun 30th 2006 8:04PM
"Not really a very motivating ad, but I love the game concept!"
motivated me to play it! just think of all the options with the DS. taking notes, maybe even some voice recognition. i hope they aim this game at the older audience and make it freakin' hard to complete. can't wait for this one!
ramuji @ Jun 30th 2006 8:35PM
"It's being produced by Nintendo and developed by Red Entertainment and is due for release in Japan before the year is out."
13 July, according to the ad.
LaughingTarget @ Jun 30th 2006 10:08PM
I don't see how localization should take a long time. Capcom did have the English version of Phoenix Wright out at the same time in both markets afterall.
Kekleon64 @ Jun 30th 2006 11:06PM
HEY, I was going to make that game! If only I could program...... Oh well, also, check out http://slavehack.com/ its a good online hacking game, I hope Project hacker is only, but I doubt it will be. :-(
BPM? @ Jul 1st 2006 5:22AM
LaughingTarget, the Japanese version (Gyakuten Saiban: Yomigaeru Gyakuten) had both English and Japanese dialogues in it (I guess as an incentive for owners of the GBA version to get the DS remake as well).
So, it was a simple matter for Capcom of America to remove the Japanese dialogue from the game, and release it here. Almost no work involved!
Project Hacker looks interesting. I hope it's brought over here SOMEHOW.
Milamber_Cubed @ Jul 1st 2006 6:20AM
Anyone else notice it saying "NITRO OS" at around 20 seconds? I found that quite cool for some reason.
Anyway, I have yet to get my DS - I have been waiting for the release of Lite and cash flow to sort itself out. It's games like this that make me want to get one, even if it's just to see what the heck is going on!
I have heard nothing but praise from people I know for Phoenix Wright, so I hope that this game also makes its way to the rest of the world.
teknotom @ Jul 1st 2006 7:05AM
That has got to be the best game idea/interface mesh EVER.
n8dogg @ Jul 1st 2006 11:27AM
Let's just hope this game is longer than Trace goddamn Memory.
I finished the stupid thing in three hours!
umrain @ Jul 1st 2006 3:41PM
The Japanese version of Phoenix Wright had been out for a while already on the GBA. The DS version added an extra episode, but they certainly could have had a head start on translating most of the rest of the game. Still, hopefully, this game can be translated in a reasonable timeframe, because it looks pretty neat!
monkeydew @ Jul 1st 2006 9:02PM
I think the text will be the biggest issue in terms of getting it out here. The game seems have a simulated World Wide Web as well, and the commercial shows the hacker viewing what happears to be a 2ch type message board. That's very culture specific to Japan and they may have to change the appearance of webpages as well if it is ported here.
Let's hope its a big success in Japan, because that will encourage Nintendo to birng it out here. But this really looks like another DS-specific killer title in line with last year's Trauma Center that proves the touch screen is not just a gimmick.