phantom posts (Subscribe to this feed)
The $73 million dollar Phantom disaster
by Kevin Kelly 
{ Jun 7th 2007 at 5:30PM }
There is a great article on the whole situation up at ars technica, and they bring you the entire story of the "now you see it, now you ... never will" Phantom game console in three red-ink filled pages. At this rate it'd be an easy bet to take that Duke Nukem Forever will hit store shelves before the Phantom Game System, or their weird mouse, keyboard, lapboard thingamabob ever does.
By the way, Phantom stock is now trading at .0008 cents, so if you've got some spare bucks lying around, you could pick up a good chunk of the company and secure yourself a place in Suckersville.
The Legend of Zelda: Pen of Touching
by JC Fletcher { Jun 4th 2007 at 1:00PM }
This fall, you'll be able to show everyone that you're all about Zelda and also that you don't care that your DS doesn't fit in its case anymore. To commemorate the release of Phantom Hourglass, Yujin is creating a set of six Zelda styli, each with a Rupee on top and a screen-cleaning strap attached, all designed to dangle from your DS. These won't be out until the fall, so preorder now and hope you still like the game. Also, you should hope you either find five like-minded friends or five more DS's (and ten more hands) because this item comes in packs of six.
Virtually Overlooked Special: A bunch of NES games I get mixed up with each other
by JC Fletcher { May 31st 2007 at 4:40PM }
Welcome to our weekly feature, Virtually Overlooked, wherein we talk about games that aren't on the Virtual Console yet, but should be. Call it a retro-speculative.
Last week, I asked for reader suggestions for this week's Virtually Overlooked. One reader suggested The Guardian Legend, and I thought that was a perfectly reasonable suggestion. The Guardian Legend was one of the biggest sleeper hits of the NES era, and something that is definitely worth checking out, especially for fans of Ys and Faxanadu.
It was only later that I realized that I was thinking of Legacy of the Wizard. I get those two mixed up a lot. They both fall into that "sleeper" category, they were both published by Brøderbund, and they both have "Leg" in the title. They're practically the same game, except that one's a hybrid vertical shooter/Zelda-style adventure developed by Compile, and the other is a side-scrolling action RPG from Nihon Falcom. But other than that, the same game.
Inspired by my inability to keep two similar things separate, I thought this week we could look at some more NES games I get confused about, either because they're so similar or because I'm so dumb.
Phantom Hourglass Japanese boxart FTW
by Jason Wishnov { May 22nd 2007 at 10:00AM }
This boxart reminds us heavily of Wind Waker, and it makes us wonder how big a component sailing is going to be in this new adventure. Crossing the ocean became a bit tedious in Wind Waker, so here's hoping the process has been streamlined (LOLpun) a bit.
[Thanks, Braden!]
DS Daily: Legend of Zelda: Item of Great Importance
by JC Fletcher { May 14th 2007 at 9:00AM }
According to the latest news about The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, the eponymous hourglass keeps your hearts from draining while in a cursed underwater shrine. Link must go from island to island to find sand so he can keep the hourglass full. Basically, he is addicted to sand.That sounds like an interesting gameplay mechanic, lending the game a sort of Fushigi no Dungeon-esque resource upkeep element (like keeping the light glowing in The Nightmare of Druaga.) However, that's not the issue for today's discussion.
We want to talk about the item as it relates to Zelda's history. In most Zelda games since the N64 one, there has been an item in the title that is central to the game's plot and/or gameplay-- the Ocarina of Time and the very similar Wind Waker, Majora's Mask, Four Swords, the Minish Cap, and now the Phantom Hourglass. Do you think basing the game (and its title) around a single item is a neat storytelling convention, or lazy formulaic design? We are declaring this a Safe Zelda Bashing Zone. Don't be afraid to say something negative about Zelda! Here, we'll start: the first one didn't even have a subtitle, and it's still the best one.
[News item via NeoGAF]
Today's most failure-prone video: Console duds
by Zack Stern { May 7th 2007 at 12:00AM }
In today's video pick, GameTrailers counts down its list of the top ten console failures, including the Jaguar, Virtual Boy, and 3DO. We were tortured by watching footage of these console failures, yet we couldn't turn away, wishing that the hardware had succeeded while laughing about all the obvious reasons the systems bombed. The list covers the systems we expected; would you have added others?See the video after the break.
Phantom Hourglass due for June, saves summer
by Eric Caoili { Apr 11th 2007 at 2:00PM }
Last year's middle months were starved for high-profile releases -- publishers held back the big guns for the holiday season, and the Nintendo DS relied on Big Brain Academy and third-party GBA games to fill out its summer schedule. The latest issue of Japanese magazine Famitsu reveals that this year could be different with the early release of The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass on June 23rd.
After seeing that the only Phantom Hourglass previews available at GDC were of the game's multiplayer mode, we didn't think that Nintendo would have Link's new adventure ready until Christmas. The announced date is for Japan, of course, but we don't expect a significant delay for its North American arrival. The series has always experienced more success in the US, sales-wise.
June 23rd happens to fall on a Saturday, which is unusual when you consider that outside of Dragon Quest and hardware debuts, most games in Japan are brought out on Thursdays. Could a Zelda-themed DS Lite also be in the works? We've got our fingers crossed!
GDC 07: Phantom Hourglass multiplayer mode demoed
by Jason Wishnov { Mar 8th 2007 at 10:00AM }
Ever since The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass made its debut at last year's GDC, the project has essentially been hidden within a solar eclipse. Now, on the IGN has some hands-on impressions; one player controls Link, attempting to gather pieces of Triforce scattered about a (now classic) hedge maze, while the other draws paths on the touchscreen for three guards to follow and intercept. There appears to be some strategic elements as well, and for those a bit skeptical, remember this: the last Zelda title to feature a "bonus" multiplayer mode turned out to be good enough to spawn its own title, Four Swords Adventures.
Logitech Cordless MediaBoard for PS3 (hint: it's a keyboard)
by Christopher Grant { Jan 5th 2007 at 12:21PM }
Good news for those of you frustrated with clumsy gamepad browsing on your PS3: Logitech has announced the Cordless MediaBoard for the PlayStation 3. It's a wireless (Bluetooth or proprietary?) keyboard with a built-in trackpad and vertical scrollbar, expected to retail for $80. Yeah, that's it. Of course, if $80 is too rich for your blood, you can always get a wireless keyboard that uses a USB dongle or wait for an update enabling Bluetooth keyboards. According to CNET's PS3 review, "The system will eventually allow you to pair the PS3 with a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse ... It's unclear whether all Bluetooth keyboards, past and present, will be compatible, but Sony assures us that many will." We just wanna make sure you've considered all your options is all.
[Via Engadget]
The best video game blunders of 2006
by Kevin Kelly { Dec 21st 2006 at 7:55PM }
Have you been wondering what the biggest screwups in the video game industry were in 2006? Well, you can quit worrying and start reading. This is the sort of stuff we'd like to see covered at things like the Video Game Awards. For an industry that is so good at congratulating itself, they sure don't like to admit their mistakes. So, it's up to someone else to do it for them.Check out this list of the top ten video game blunders, boners, mistakes and gaffes of 2006 from next-gen.biz, and laugh along at some of the highlights from the past year. The Gizmondo story should have totally been number one, though, as Stefan Eriksson has become the official poster-boy for video game idiocy in action after single-handedly killing a company. And a gorgeous Ferrari.
[Thanks, Joe]
Super Mario Galaxy and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption to be released in late '07?
by Jason Wishnov { Dec 19th 2006 at 2:50PM }
Le sigh. There was a point, if we here at the Fanboy offices can remember correctly, that both Super Mario Galaxy and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption were both possible launch titles. Now, according to some whispers over at CVG, neither title will be released (along with the eternally delayed Zelda: Phantom Hourglass) until the holiday season of 2007.Patience is a good thing, and we're more than willing to wait until both of these quadruple-A titles are as shiny as can be. Still, unless Super Smash Bros: Brawl can make it out either in summer or even earlier (something we highly doubt), Nintendo is going to be going quite some time without a big first-party title. Memories of the typical Gamecube release schedule are coming to mind, but alas ... at least we've got the Virtual Console to keep us busy...
[via Joystiq]
GASP: Phantom console fails to materialize
by Ludwig Kietzmann { Aug 15th 2006 at 10:25PM }
As tempting as it was to conjure up a "Phantom console CANCELLED" headline, the realization quickly set in that such a sensational piece of text simply wouldn't make any sense. How do you cancel something that never even existed to begin with? Zing, etc. It would appear that Phantom Entertainment has revamped their
Said service is described as "the first end-to-end, on-demand game service delivering online games directly to your living room or any comfortable setting in your home or workplace." Fascinating, but since "the Company intends to modify the Phantom Game Service software to run as client software on personal computers operating Windows XP and Windows XP Media center operating systems," games will only be going to your living room should that be the location of your computer. First indeed.
Further comedic value can be found in the "Who We Are" section, which duly describes the company as "an industry-leading, global entertainment and interactive game company." To be fair, it's probably the most truthful statement to be found on the entire website, as Phantom Entertainment is undoubtedly the leader of at least one industry and is frequently a provider of entertainment. Well, that and $129.95 Lapboards which, with the original console canned, barely have a reason to exist.
[Thanks, delerious.]
Phantom Hourglass pushed back?
by David Hinkle { Jul 26th 2006 at 12:00PM }
Reports are rolling in that Link's latest adventure on the DS has been pushed back. Way back past the reaching arms of year 2006 and on into the future, almost certain to be an apocalyptic one, year 2007 is the date that is now when most are expecting to see The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass available on retail shelves, undoubtedly to be eagerly wrestled free from its noisy prison upon placement on said shelf to the quiet, almost romantic sanctity of your domicile. We're fairly sure you'll have some candles lit.This news stems from reports that the title was not present during the recent San Diego Comic-Con. When asked, the rep supposedly stated that their presence was to showcase DS titles available for 2006, implying once again that we would not see Phantom Hourglass until 2007. Stay glued to DS Fanboy for future updates as we await official word from Nintendo on this matter of great import.
[Via NeoGAF]
Phantom Thief Rousseau in action
by David Hinkle { Jul 25th 2006 at 9:00AM }
Here we're shown a small snippet of gameplay for Phantom Thief Rousseau, a game that the DS Fanboy staff would love to see release stateside. The main focus of the game, which should be obvious if you watched the video, is drawing disguises from pictures taken in the game in order to stay out of the law's grasp as you satiate your rampant kleptomania.
Impressions of Phantom Thief Rousseau
by David Hinkle { Jun 21st 2006 at 5:00PM }
Siliconera has posted some of their impressions of Kaitou Rousseau (Phantom Thief Rousseau) and it looks like they really enjoyed their time with it. The piece even goes on to compare it to Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, a game which any fine reader of DS Fanboy knows is amongst our most favorite things ever. The game centers around Elementary student, and master of disguise, Rousseau. One day his classmate crush Seine is kidnapped and he is forced to don many a mask to save her. It's not like he can just make up disguises on the spot, however.You see, for Rousseau to even be able to use a mask, he must take pictures of people and animals, which are then used to form new disguises. It's then up to the player to try and draw whichever mask they need, which is then transposed onto Rousseau's face. Then, a grade on how accurately recreated the image is that has been slapped onto his face is given. The game has a total of 3 episodes playing out like interactive comic books.
