Preview: 3D Dot Game Heroes
Posted by Kevin "K-Tuck" Tucker on February 20th, 2010
I was recently able to attend a live demonstration of 3D Dot Game Heroes, the upcoming parody/homage action/adventure title under the Atlus umbrella. During the demo, Atlus USA’s Manager of PR and Sales Aram Jabbari went through some of the bigger bullet points and finer details of the upcoming game.
The first thing being displayed was the character editor. For demonstration purposes, a custom smiley face avatar was created in order to show the basics of how the editor worked. It seemed quite simple to select, place, and color individual pixels in the cube-shaped canvas provided. Creating different animations for attacking and running was as simple as making a few artistic changes, in this case turning the face into a frown. All that had to be done for this example was to make a selection of the smiley’s mouth and then use R2 to manipulate it. In an instant, the mouth was flipped, and the happiness faded from the circular hero.
Once their different animations are completed, players can hop into a demonstration area to ensure that their character looks and moves exactly like they want. Although a character of any shape and size can be created within the confines of the editor, it is worth noting that the hit box for the character remains the same. If a player felt like conquering the game as a single pixel, his or her odd design choice would offer no tactical advantage.
One of the most unique factors of 3D Dot Game Heroes is the hero’s sword – or, rather, the huge variety of sword types available. 24 different swords are available to use in-game, all with a unique look and/or concept (like an available “Fish Sword”, or the familiar-sounding “Beam Sword”.) Most of the swords have stats that can be upgraded using points at the “one stop shop for natural sword enhancement.” Sword stats that can be upgraded include length, width, spin, and special. A fully-upgraded sword can literally fill the entire screen when at full health (since this is when the sword is at its full size), and one of the swords displayed even went through objects in the environments – this is one of the many special abilities that swords can carry.
Starting off the game, players are able to choose from several different heroes across three distinct classes: Legendary Hero focuses mostly on physical attacks, Royal Heir is a balance between physical and magical offense, and Wandering Scholar focuses solely on magical abilities. For their virtual avatar, players can use the aforementioned character editor to make a custom hero or choose from one the many included characters (around fifty, by my count.) If the player regrets their decision, or grows tired of their particular avatar, they can swap their character out with any of the others at any time.
Soon after meeting up with the King of Dotnia and realizing (through both the choice and lack thereof) that saving the land is his or her fate, the hero is guided by a faerie companion to a remote location in the nearby woods. There rests the player’s first sword. From there, the protagonist must set out to free the Sages and Orbs locked away amongst the game’s seven dungeons.
Though the game is meant to appeal to people with simple old-school tastes in gameplay and aesthetics, the developers added in plenty of modern designs. The hero’s sword is given a “spin” option, where the direction the player is facing when an attack is initiated isn’t necessarily where the attack winds up being directed. It allows more flexibility in combat, which will quite apparently be needed in the difficult New Game +, Spelunker, and From Modes that are unlocked after completion. Other simple improvements include arrows that can be picked up from the ground if they fail to strike an enemy, the ability to move using the directional pad or analog stick, shields that can deflect and return enemy fire, and the quick-select area. Though the menu screen allows access to available weapons and items, most weapons can be put into a toggle mode accessible from the main screen. When entered, the player can cycle through all weapons using R2 and L2 at any time.
Travel across the surprisingly large map will be made easier by the addition of Dash Boots. Using these, the player sprints with their sword extended forward. Unlike in a very similar SNES title, however, the hero in 3D Dot Game Heroes will be able to make turns while dashing around – a simple and time-saving shift from the expected. Later in the game, the hero will come across an item called the Wind Wing. The Wind Wing seems to quite literally throw the character into the wind, with the player-defined location as the ultimate trajectory. Dungeons will also have warp tiles to allow players to swap between specific areas. Warp tiles may or may not also be used as a puzzle mechanic.
Throughout the 20-30 hour campaign, players will be able to procure apple shards to increase their maximum vitality, find additional faerie companions, hunt down side quests, play minigames (more on these in a moment), and fill up a beastiary by pounding enemies over the cranium with a large green tome. The availability of rare items was also hinted at, but no exact details about their whereabouts was disclosed.
Though the main campaign in and of itself should be quirky and entertaining for most players, Silicon Studio saw it fit to include many additional minigames and miscellaneous goodies. Three different minigames were shown, all accessible from the overworld. The first was a tower defense game called Block Defense. In this mode, players spend coins and crystals in order to build and upgrade various towers. Another was called Blockout, where the player launched a ball at blocks on the opposing side of the stage in an effort to smash them all. The last was a racing game, I believe called Dash Circuit, that involves the hero racing through levels using the Dash Boots.
During the game, players will be able to come across large amount (over 100) different loading screens, all done in a manner similar to classic gaming titles. Amongst the few that I saw were direct and stylish references to Castlevania, Double Dragon, Chrono Cross, Lemmings, Street Fighter, and Vagrant Story. It has been made apparent that the loading screens aren’t totally necessary given the new optional hard drive installation. In regards to this fact, the developers added in a Loading Screen Gallery so they can all be taken in whenever the player likes.
3D Dot Game Heroes was touted as being “full” of easter eggs. One thing briefly shown was the From Cave, hidden somewhere on the outskirts of the northern part of the overworld. Inside were avatars of some of the developers, each with quirky references to make. Amongst the references were puns from popular films and games, including Atlus’ own Demon’s Souls.
For the duration of the demo, there were plenty of miscellaneous things shown or hinted at. The game includes the ability to change the font size (for people who may still be rocking standard-definition televisions), the speed in which text appears, color saturation (which provided a kind of silly gritty/modern feel or overly-cartoony sense of color), camera distance, and whether or not the HUD displays the minimap. In the options menu, the player will be able to take a screen capture of their current location. This image will then be available to use as a wallpaper on the PS3, or to distribute amongst friends across the PlayStation Network or a PC.
Lastly, no demo is planned for release, nor any special items for people kind enough to preorder. In a sense, the game’s $39.99 price point is the bonus. Seeing as how the North American version features Japan’s post-release DLC and a much expanded interface, I doubt too many players will be concerned and preorder extras.
It was a good show for people excited about the game. From what I saw, 3D Dot Game Heroes shows a lot more promise than I would have imagined it needing. The simple-yet-charming style and old-school feel have apparently been more than strengthened by several under-the-hood modern conventions. 3D Dot Game Heroes is shaping up to be an extremely well-rounded game. May 11th just can’t get here soon enough.
Tags: 3D Dot Game Heroes, 3DDGH, Atlus
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