A new short little clip from the upcoming Okamiden, the Okami sequel for the Nintendo DS. As jagged and rough as the game looks the art style makes it look gorgeous, just like with the Wii. We also get to enjoy a fair bit of gameplay footage which looks like the obvious transition from the Wii to the DS.

But frankly the clip could have been the little puppy running in on the fields for two minutes and I wouldn’t have minded.

Another month, another Final Fantasy game on the cards. Square Enix’s latest chronic milking of the series is tentatively titled Four warriors of light: Final Fantasy Gaiden. Not a great deal is known about this game. But it’s Final Fantasy. So there’s not a great deal to know really. It’ll probably play like all the rest, with a couple of changes.

The characters are designed by Akihiko Yoshida, who is also responsible for the games’ official artwork. And the setting will be an old school setting. Dragons, witches, castles, kingdoms and all that good fairy tale shit. We can also expect Final Fantasy Gaiden to be a new off-shoot of the franchise, as with Crystal chronicles and Tactics.

If Square didn’t roll out so many FF games that looked the same, I’d care more. I’m sure at least one of these non-main-entries-into-the-series Final Fantasy games are really good and worth the time. But when you click on gaming websites and see a Famitsu scan of a new game every other month, you feel like losing the will to even bother with half of ‘em.

It took 2 years, a batch of trailers, finally getting an Xbox 360 and finding out more about the story to finally get excited about Final Fantasy XIII. So it’s gonna take more than just a magazine scan to peak my interest in an FF game. A lot more.

It’s cool that the DS is still getting major third party support though, especially in the way of RPG’s. Of all the systems and consoles out right now, the DS probably has the best library of RPG’s to choose from.

You can check out the official website for the game here: complete with a cool piece of artwork, and a hot piece of retro, 8-bit, muffled and compressed to hell music.

At the GDC, Nintendo announced today a new Zelda game for the DS, Zelda: Spirit Tracks. The game places our green-robed hero out of those green robes and into a train conductor outfit. That’s right, this new installment in the Zelda series is all about trains.

Sporting the Wind Waker aesthetic it is still unknown if it will take place in that timeline, there’s also no explanation as to how Link found a train… or who laid all the tracks.

A train is perhaps the most advanced technological device ever to have appeared in the Zelda universe, it frankly gives me an uneasy feeling and raises a ton of questions. Could we one day see link riding a car? Or maybe an Epona X600 motorcycle? It seems Hyrule has entered the industrial age, when will link start fighting global warming? Will we one day see a steampunk Zelda game? With a steam-powered Master Sword that releases steam when you swing it and goes “choo-choo”?

I could go on all day, but I wont. What do you guys think? Is the game a trainwreck waiting to happen or is this the little Zelda game that could?

…ok I’ll stop with the train puns now.

A new trailer for Konami’s upcoming Suikoden Tierkreis surfaced this morning and I must say that not only does the game look fantastic, it caught me completely off guard. And by this I mean that I haven’t heard much about the game since TGS ‘08. Allbeit Q4 2008 was packed with some heavy-hitting AAA console titles, but there should be no reason for Konami to be hiding/holding this potential handheld gem back, especially if it can hold up to its claim to be the “deepest handheld RPG of all time.” We’ll see if it can hold up to this bold statement come this March when Suikoden Tierkreis hits the Nintendo DS.

We want to hear what you have to say. What is your take on handheld RPGs? Does Suikoden Tierkreis look like a game that you could find yourself becoming obsessed with?

Just in time for Super Bowl Sunday a new series of trailers kick off the new year for the highly anticipated Blood Bowl from French-based game studio, Cyanide. In what could very well be the answer to the prayers of those who long for a new Mutant League title, Blood Bowl pits teams of Humans, Orcs, Goblins, Haflings and many other fantasy creatures against one another in a football fashioned style of gameplay.

Based off of the 1987 Games Workshop board game and the 1995 PC release, Blood Bowl is being recreated and reinvisioned for the PC, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS and the Xbox LIVE Arcade.

Check out the latest trailers and screens at www.bloodbowl-game.com

Hit the jump for the official press release. Read more!

Riz-Zoawd has hit shelves in Japan, and being interested in the soundtrack as well as the theme of the game I wasted no time in playing a bit of the new DS RPG.

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We here at Dark Diamond (I say that like we have a central office) know that times are tough. With home foreclosures on the rise, stocks hitting an all-time low, companies conducting massive layoffs and soaring gas prices, which are finally receding after reaching an all-time high (averaging over $4.00 a gallon), one would be foolish not to see these as tumultuous times. And now that the holidays are upon us, shoppers must think wisely and spend frugally when shopping for gifts for the perfect gifts their family, friends and loved ones. But fear not consumer, for we are here to help you save some time and some green with Dark Diamond’s Holiday Gift Guide – 2008 Edition.

Now before you hit the jump get comfortable: grab a cup of Egg Nog or hot apple cider, put on Christmas With the Rat Pack and let the 1080P Virtual Fireplace blaze away.

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In the wake of Tokyo Game Show, we’ve managed to come across a new trailer for Media Vision’s upcoming Wizard of Oz DS RPG, Riz-Zoawd (Pronounced “Re-zōd”). The video gives us a preview of the Naruke-Sakimoto score, as well as showing us more of what looks to be the most impressive graphics yet on the DS.

A few battle clips were also included, sporting a very Dragon Quest-esque first-person, turn-based style. Like movement, it seems combat is controlled exclusively by the touch screen. Also inside you can expect to see the JRPG-ized versions of the cast like Dorothy, the Tin Man, Oz, and the Wicked Moe Witches of the West Seasons.

The game it set to come out in Japan on New Years Day ‘09. Given their track record with Media Vision’s Wild Arms series, a localization for this game by XSEED wouldn’t be particularly surprising. No official word on any plans to bring it stateside yet, though.

[Siliconera]

Another day another Final Fantasy game announced. The Crystal chronicles series has spawned another game in the form of Echoes of time. I’m usually skeptical about Final Fantasy announcements as Square rarely bring anything new to the table. But this game actually seems quite cool. You’ll see and know why after the vid.

The Square Enix developed Pollux engine will allow players to play the game together whether they’re playing on a Wii or DS. It’s great to see developers pushing DS and Wii connectivity – even if it did take 2 years. And as the trailer showed, the game is also playable online. DS players can play online with Wii players and visa-versa. Awesome news and one thing that was oddly missing from Ring of fates. Although now we know why.

Square Enix have not disclosed the control schemes and general specifications of the 2 versions of the game, although there will obviously be differences. It’ll probably boil down to preference in terms of which version you pick up. The DS will have dual screens which will allow speedy access to in-game menu’s and nifty stylus controls, but the Wii will have the benefit of being able to be played on the big screen.

I’m unsure of how this game will retail though: whether the Wii and DS versions will retail separately or come in a pack together for those who want to be able to play the game both at home on the big screen and on the go.

Final Fantasy Crystal chronicles: Echoes of time is slated for a January 2009 release in Japan. There’s no confirmed European, North American or Australian release date – but I’m sure Western gamers and those down under will see this by August 2009 the latest.

The connectivity between systems and the online play between systems is a good look indeed. I’m glad a third party is exploring new avenues where Wii and DS games are concerned. Hopefully if this game manages to pull it off well it’ll open doors for other developers to push the connectivity between the systems even further. The forthcoming DSi definitely lends itself better to future DS to Wii connectivity with its new dashboard and SD card support.

As stoked as I am for Echoes of time, I have to ask the question: What the hell is going on with The Crystal bearers!?

According to a report in the Nikkei newspaper posted in the NeoGaf forums, a new Nintendo DS is on the way. Nintendo have been denying a new DS revision all year, but folk in the games industry deny for a living. Making games is secondary.

According to said report, the new DS is set to include: A digital camera, games which will make use of said camera, music playback functionality, larger screens and an SD card slot. The revised DS is also slated for a release in Japan by the end of the year and will retail for under 20,000 yen.

I was actually believing this until I saw ‘Music playback functionality’. Nintendo won’t even allow CD playback on the Wii, would they really allow any form of music playback on the DS unless it’s a video game sound test? I guess we’ll see. I don’t think Nintendo need to worry about a DS revision just yet. The DS lite still looks as slick and sexy as it did 2 years ago. I think they need to focus on the Wii; sorting out storage issues, true HD output and trying to coax third parties into releasing decent games, as well as a possible revision. Sure, the Wii is only 2 years old; but already the graphics are looking like shit and as a Wii owner it’s near unbearable seeing the amount of games that the Wii is missing out on as a result of it being so badly underpowered.

A new DS which features all of the aforementioned features would be really cool, but I’m skeptical until I see an official statement confirming this from Nintendo themselves, accompanied by a picture of the new DS.

[NeoGAF]