411mania gives a rundown on this week's game releases. Highlights include Avalon Code, Mana Khemia: Student Alliance, Samurai Shodown Anthology, and Docomodake BOING!

Avalon Code (DS)
Avalon Code is an action RPG created by Matrix Software, the developer of Alundra for the PS1 and, more recently, the co-developer of the Final Fantasy III and IV remakes for the DS. Like in many RPGs, the looming end of the world is what drives Avalon Code's story. What's different here is the fact that your mission isn't to stop the end from happening. Instead, you've been tasked with scanning all that is good in the world into The Book of Prophecies so that when the next world is created, only the things that are worthy are brought forth. Once something has been scanned, you can change its properties as you see fit by tinkering with its parameters. If there's a monster that you think is too strong, change its attributes to make it weak. Want to turn that regular sword into a flaming one? Add fire to its code. At the very least, this mechanic makes Avalon Code one of the most unique action RPGs on the DS and something to look out for if you're tired of all the remakes that the system has been seeing.

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Mana Khemia: Student Alliance (PSP)
This is a port of Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis, a turn-based RPG/school sim which was originally released last year for the PS2. It is considered the spiritual successor to the Atelier Iris series as it employs many of the conventions found in those games. Many of those who are familiar with the series consider Mana Khemia to be far superior to its predecessors in most respects save for the story (Atelier Iris 2 usually takes the cake in that department). The game was developed by Gust, a company that is well-known for its item-crafting systems and character development. I recently played through Ar tonelico II, so can attest to the company's ability to make item-crafting fun and ...
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411mania gives a rundown on this week's game releases. Highlights include Phantasy Star Portable, The King of Fighters '98: Ultimate Match, and Sukashishipanman DS: Shokotak Koto Nakagawa Shouko Produce!

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Phantasy Star Portable (PSP)
With Phantasy Star Portable, Sega basically took Phantasy Star Universe, fixed a lot of the problems people had with it, tweaked it to be more single-player friendly, and added more story elements. Some of those who hated PSU are actually saying that they like this version of the game. I find that hard to believe, but it's possible. If anything, this will at least give us something to do while waiting for Phantasy Star Zero.

Here is what you can expect from PSP:

- New story missions that take place between the original Phantasy Star Universe and Phantasy Star Universe: Ambition of the Illuminus
In Phantasy Star Portable you will team up with a Cast named Vivienne as she investigates recent terrorist attacks on the colony as well as animal outbreaks on the surface of some of the planets. Space adventure and mayhem follow. I thought that PSU's story was ok; it wasn't groundbreaking or very memorable but it was still decent. So, if Sega was able to craft a story that is at least on par with the first game's, these missions could be worth plaything through at least once.

- Local as well as online play (with the help of a PS3 or your PC)
As expected, you can play with three other friends locally using the PSP's ad hoc mode. Those wishing to play over the Internet have two options - one that requires a PS3 and another that requires a computer. To use your PS3 you have to download the Ad-Hoc Party application from the Japanese PSN store and do a little tinkering. You can find instructions on how to do this at the PSO-World forums here. If you want to use your PC there's XLink Kai. Note that these two options work for the Japanese and English dem...
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411mania gives a rundown on this week's game releases. Highlights include Legacy of Ys: Books I & II, Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop, Stoked, The King of Fighters 2002 Unlimited Match, 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand, and Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li.

Legacy of Ys: Books I & II (DS)
Ys I and II have seen many ports and remakes since the first one came out in 1987; they've seen the light of day on such systems as the PC-8801, Famicom, Master System, DOS, Apple II, Saturn, and PS2 to name a few. The most widely-known versions are contained in the TurboGrafx-CD compilation, and for years that release was considered the best. It's place at the top was eventually challenged by Ys Eternal as it sported upgraded graphics, effects, and artwork as well as extras like new characters and scenarios. Unfortunately, Eternal didn't include voiceovers and some say that the remixed music was not as good. Apparently, enough people weren't satisfied so another update known as Ys Complete, which is said to have better graphics but an inferior soundtrack, was unleashed. Despite my best efforts, I could not find any agreement amongst Ys fans as to which official release is the definitive version since each of the three does at least one thing better than the others.

Preferences aside, there is one thing that fans of the first two Ys games can agree on no matter which version they've played - Ys I and II have some of the best music you will find in a video game. Every place I visited for info makes note of how awesome the soundtrack is. Knowing this, I questioned whether or not it was a good idea to play the games on the DS for the first time when I could just as easily track down the PC version and patch it or download the Wii VC one. Granted, Legacy of Ys comes with a free soundtrack if you preorder and it is portable. Maybe it would be easier to just flip a coin...

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Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop (Wii) ...
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