Daily Reflection: Pandora’s Tower Intrigues Me

Oh Nintendo, just when I think things have settled down you decide to hit us hard yet again. Sure, this isn’t a new console this time around, nor is it some super ultra announcement like Donkey Kong Country Returns or the next wave of Mario games. It is, however, rather interesting that whenever I am thinking how neat it would be to get a new IP, you magically announce one. Not only that, you finally bring us the Kirby game we first saw many moons ago, and now things look better than ever. Well, save for the “magical delay of Skyward Sword that had no release date and thus is delayed from… nothing”. Hey, we all “wanted” the game to come as soon as possible, but Nintendo never made any promises. Internal goals are not the same as external.

In either case, what the hell is Pandora’s Tower?

Today’s Posts:

Destructoid Presents Ideas to Win Back the Hardcore Gamer for Nintendo: A nice little debate over how Nintendo can win back the crowd they have lost.

Pandora’s Tower: Nintendo’s New First-Party IP: We really have no idea what this is yet, but a new IP is a new IP.

Nintendo Says Skyward Sword is [Nearly] Finished, Won’t be Coming Until After Ocarina: People are saddened by the news, some even upset. But hey, Nintendo never really promised us anything… early 2011 was a in-house development goal, not a launch goal. That wont stop us from still hoping for a summer release.

Why Skyward Sword is Coming After Ocarina 3D – Some Thoughts: Alex Plant gives his thoughts on the “surprising” move to have Skyward Sword come out after Ocarina of Time 3D.

Zelda Theorizing Isn’t Dead (Top Ten Zelda Theories): An article by Zelda Informer writer Dathen Boccabella that explores a topic we seem to avoid at times: Theorizing… and how it’s still alive and well.

First 6 Minutes of Pokémon Black Magically Appears: It’s been awhile since we mentioned the upcoming pokemon games, and here we are surprised with the first 6 minutes of the english translation of Pokemon Black.

Around the Community:

… nothing to see here today folks.

Today’s Reflection: Pandora’s Tower Intrigues Me

It’s odd that something we know nothing about (not even who’s behind the title) is garnering so much interest around the internet. Yet, here I stand right now fully engrossed into the mystery surrounding Pandora’s Tower. According to various rough translations of the voice acting bits when you visit the site itself, you are presented with an interesting question: “What would make you happier: Dying and becoming beautiful, or living even though you’re ugly?” A very deep and serious question. There is an absolutely gorgeous melody of piano music that plays in the background of the teaser site that also lends a really somber tone to it all.

There are several speculations behind what the game is exactly, since Nintendo hasn’t revealed anything other than it’s coming out this spring in Japan. Some feel it could be Nintendo’s first attempt at a full blown RPG in house. The deep question and the music,a long with the solitary image give some lean to this. That, and Nintendo has been talking a lot recently about “wanting” to create a full blown RPG like The Last Story without the aid of third parties. Further speculations points that this could be the creator of metroid’s new project we have heard faint whispers about. Some claim it’s by Xenoblade developer Monolith Sloth, just based on art direction of one image. In the end, no one really knows, but it’s sure fun to speculate.

I think what saddens me the most about this isn’t the lack of information – I actually prefer it that way. Imagine if all Nintendo gave us at least years E3 was one solitary image and the name “Skyward Sword”. Imagine where fans would run with it, not knowing anything else. Here we are with a brand new IP straight from Nintendo, and we know nothing about it. No, what bothers me is that it hasn’t been confirmed for a US release, despite the fact it’s coming out very soon in Japan. This is disturbing – to think we could have a first party new IP not make it stateside is sickening.

It’s bad enough we may not get The Last Story (grant it, thats not developed 1st party), but to imagine this being left out of the states is scary for me. It’s funny I say all this, because I know nothing about this. I know no more than anyone else, and Nintendo of America has no comments on the matter. It could be that we will get it revealed to us at GDC next month as well.

I’ve been listening to the music from the official website the entire time writing this post.. and it’s just making me yearn for this game even if I know nothing about it. What is Nintendo doing? Are they finally starting to expand their horizons? Is this the start of a new epic series? I don’t know, but we’ll be scraping the bin for any and all details about this game as they surface. Just please, for the love of gamers everywhere Nintendo, confirm at GDC that Pandora’s Tower isn’t Japan exclusive. Stop hoarding all the good Wii games.