- Released: 01/20/2005 (Japan)
- Developer: Capcom
- Publisher: Capcom
- Copies Sold (Approximate): 300,000
Less than one year after the release of the original Monster Hunter, Capcom released the expansion: Monster Hunter G. From the moment Puugii (the adorable little big that is present throughout the series from here on) comes walking across the title screen snorting, the game shows us that we are in for something slightly different. In fact Monster Hunter G does everything that a good expansion should: It improves on some of the original game’s flaws, introduces conveniences that make it easier to play, and adds a lot of new content.
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I was told when I started playing Lost Odyssey a couple of months ago that it was essentially a modern version of Final Fantasy 6, which is one of my favorite RPGs of all time. Now I’ve had many RPGs recommended to me over the years, and I’ve found that rarely do they ever live up to the strength of their recommendations. In this case, the game completely exceeded its recommendation beyond anything that I would have ever expected. As I write this I have finished Lost Odyssey completely: I’ve beaten all of the optional bosses and have gotten all of the achievements (I am not typically an achievement hunter by any means). I don’t mean to write a full fledged review for this game just yet, so let me tell you a little bit about what, in my opinion, is easily the best JRPG of the 360/PS3/Wii generation, if not even further back.
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In all honesty, New Super Mario Brothers U is definitely not the game that sold me on buying a Wii U shortly after the Japanese launch date. I had eyes only for the HD version of Monster Hunter 3G, with absolutely no intention of even buying this new entry in the Super Mario series until it dropped in price a bit. But then I heard the words that made my heart leap and brought back feelings of wonder once felt by my 11 year old self: “It’s like Super Mario World.”
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I’ve played a few sub-par Kinect titles on the XBox 360 at this point. Most of then have spotty motion detection at best, and many of them aren’t even much more fun playing with the Kinect instead of a regular controller. Though it’s hardly a must-play, or even worth spending much more than a couple of hours with, Dragon Ball Z for Kinect is neither spotty with its motion detection nor without its amusements while Kinect-ing it up.
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- Released: 03/11/2004 (Japan), 09/21/2004 (US), 05/27/2005 (PAL)
- Developer: Capcom
- Publisher: Capcom
- Copies Sold (Approximate): 290,000
Back in the pre-HD gaming era, big game companies like Capcom were not afraid to take a chance on new franchises. Taking Sega’s Phantasy Star Online series as a base for its game play, it was in 2004 that the modern day Japanese gaming powerhouse began: the first entry in the Monster Hunter series was released. Though Capcom invented a brand new genre for this game called “Hunting Action”, it was similar to its predecessor in many ways. The basic flow of the game involves accepting specific quests from within a hub world, then setting out into a separate area to complete objectives for that quest. The difference is that in Monster Hunter you’re dropped into a prehistoric National Geographic Explorer where your opponents are dinosaurs, dragons, and other creatures that come right out of their natural environments. Though weapons and armor are constantly being upgraded throughout the game, in Monster Hunter there is an added sense of realism: It’s done using parts carved right from the carcasses of the monsters themselves.
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| 悪魔城ドラキュラ | Devil's Castle Dracula |
| US: Castlevania | PAL: Castlevania |
- Released: 09/26/1986 (Japan, Famicom Disk System), 05/1987 (US), 12/19/1988 (PAL), 02/05/1993 (Japan, Famicom)
- Developer: Konami
- Publisher: Konami
When one thinks about the first entry in the Castlevania/Dracula series, they typically think of two things: The incredible atmosphere and the ridiculous level of difficulty. Neither of these things change when you go from any of the western versions to the Japanese one, though some particular qualities about the Japanese version may alter the difficulty slightly. A common point of frustration in the Western versions of the game is that you can’t save your game at all, unless you’re playing on one of those fancy emulators. But how would it change Castlevania’s difficulty if you could save your game at regular intervals?
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| 北斗の拳 | Fist of the North Star |
| US: Black Belt | PAL: Black Belt |
- Released: 07/20/1986 (Japan), 1986 (US and PAL)
- Developer: Sega
- Publisher: Sega
It was the right time for the Hokuto no Ken franchise to be made into a video game: The manga and anime series had been popular for around 3 and 2 years respectively. One could argue that Hokuto no Ken was made to have a video game, since its content largely involves ridiculous amounts of violence. For those unfamiliar with the general premise: Our hero Kenshiro utilizes his Hokuto Shinken to pummel enemies with fists and feet, generally resulting in their gruesome explosion due to pressure point manipulation. If this did not scream to be made into a side-scrolling beat-em-up game, what did?
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| ドラゴンボール 神龍の謎 | Dragon Ball: The Mystery of Shen Long |
| US: Dragon Power | PAL: Dragon Ball: Le Secret Du Dragon |
- Released: 11/27/1986 (Japan), 1988 (US and PAL)
- Developer: TOSE
- Publisher: Bandai
- Copies Sold (Approximate): 2 Million
While not the very first Dragon Ball console game (that honor goes to a Dragon Ball title on the Super Cassette Vision), this really was where it all started. There was never any doubt that the Dragon Ball franchise would spin-off into the world of home video games. The manga began its run in 1984, and the TV animation in 1986. This game covers the first major story arc in the Dragon Ball series, which involves Son Goku and friends gathering the Dragon Balls, foiling the plans of Emperor Pilaf, and finally summoning the wish-granting dragon Shen Long. He’s pictured above in all of his 8-bit glory.
The first question that many will ask upon finding One Million Power is “Why does this site exist? Do we really need another video game site where the author does nothing but talk about news and give his opinion on games?”. The answer to that question, in all honesty, is probably “No”. My intentions for One Million Power are to do much more than simply to discuss news and reviews though.
For starters, this site will largely be focused on the Japanese gaming industry: both the current state of it and its past. Some may respond to this with comments on how the Western game industry is currently far more interesting than the Japanese one. I don’t deny that as of the time of writing this post that the Western games industry is doing nearly everything better than the Japanese one is. This does not mean that its past greatness and potential to once again be great should be ignored.
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