Screen Analysis Part 1

00-08-17 - Dave - 9 games have been announced.  That's it.  Spaceworld is next week, and frankly, I think that if any other companies were going to announce anything pre-SW, they would have done so already.  So, that gives us a week to fill with...what?  Why, screenshot analysis of course!  Party on!

Golden Sun

First impressions:  Bam! It hit me, Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, and the rest...finally, the return of console gaming's golden age, in the form of the rather appropriate titled GBA game, "Golden Sun".  The view is isometric 2D, and the colors are vivid and vibrant.  We are certainly in for a treat.

Analysis:  First, look at the single tree in the upper right corner.  Look underneath it.  Isn't that great?  While it may not be extremely difficult to add leaves under a tree, it's the fact that the developer has such strong attention to detail that impresses me.  If this continues, then this game will be an awesome sight to behold.

Our main character is most likely the blue-clad blonde sprite smack-dab in the middle of the screen, in front of the cottage.  But...is it a guy or a gal?  I assumed guy, but the longer you look, the more you wonder.

Mega Man EXE

First Impressions:  This certainly doesn't look much like your traditional Mega Man game.  Instead of the usual purely 2D perspective, it looks like Mega Man will be able to move a short difference into the foreground and background.  And all of the status bars have been moved to the screen's horizontal edges, serving to enhance the screen's letterbox viewpoint.

Analysis:  Mega Man is in a computer.  In the background, we can see some letters and slashes, serving to represent the Internet.  If we're lucky, these letters will be flying by quickly, showing off some of the GBA's strength.  But...if he's in a computer, what are those wooden spikes doing there? And the tree boss on the right?  I'm sure Capcom will have a nice plot to explain this, but still, it's somewhat of a stretch, isn't it?