Whenever I think of Atlus, two series immediately come to mind: Shin Megami Tensei and
Trauma Center. Fortunately, I got to take a look at both during my time at the Atlus booth. I didn’t get hands-on time with either, but I had a look at a new game in each series, and they’re coming to Nintendo systems.
The Trauma Center series, technically, seems to be getting a bit of a rest; the rep there explained to me that the upcoming Trauma Team for the Wii is a little bit of a departure for several reasons. You’re playing a team of six different doctors with six different specialties, including one forensic analyst and one EMT. The entire game is a bit more down-to-earth, with a plot that’s less sci-fi. The story is also going to be presented better, with more dynamic cutscenes, presented with a sort of living comic book reminiscent of Elite Beat Agents. There is co-op multiplayer as well. Atlus is treating this as a different series separate from Trauma Center, and they’ve caught my attention. I’ll be keeping an eye on this.
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor is the first Nintendo DS iteration of the popular RPG series. The game is a strategy/RPG hybrid, taking place in Tokyo, which you and your friends are desperately trying to escape, or at least survive. The game has seven different endings, and depending on some rather discrete choices you make in the game, different players may end up dead. The battles themselves take place in a strategy RPG grid, but each interaction is a miniature version of a traditional RPG battle; you can exploit your enemy’s weaknesses and gain extra turns. Each of your characters controls a team of demons, who you can level up, fuse together, or buy at demon auctions. The game looks like it’ll be fun from what I saw, though as with all RPGs, there’s only so much you can ascertain from a demo unit. I’m waiting for the full retail version.
The last game I saw at Atlus was a title known as Shiren the Wanderer for Wii, which the rep described to me as a "roguelike", a term I’m not familiar with personally. It’s a bit of an RPG and a dungeon crawler, with randomized dungeons, but the rep warned me it was very difficult; if you die, you "lose everything". All actions occur during turns, and your overarching goal is always to reach the next floor. The game is a sequel to the original DS game, and is supposed to feature superior AI for your partners, who defend more aggressively and will use items from your shared inventory effectively, though you can also dictate how items are to be used. The game is scheduled for release in early 2010.
That wraps up my impressions of the Atlus booth; keep an eye out for more impressions coming soon, including an interview with Denise Kaigler from Nintendo Gal.
