Reluctant would-be importers rejoice! That stronghold of early awareness, the ESRB, has rated several titles our Japanese gaming rivals have enjoyed for years, including the ridiculous platformer BioMiracle Bokutte Upa, side-scrolling shooter Gley Lancer, and Hironobu Sakaguchi’s potent portable RPG Archaic Sealed Heat for the Nintendo DS. Also, City Connection and some more Alex Kidd…
After Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi finished Blue Dragon, his portable RPG ASH: Archaic Sealed Heat garnered a respectable 33/40 from Famitsu — but failed to see U.S. release, even as the studio went on to produce and localize Lost Odyssey. It might have had something to do with ASH’s poor sales, or a so-so interface, but the combat is undeniably pretty, and the game looks quite enjoyable.
Here’s a taste:
On the Virtual Console side of things, we’re almost certainly getting Gley Lancer, a formerly Japan-only side-scrolling shmup with a story, and that saw release in the EU last week; City Connection, a 1985 piece of product placement gaming featuring the Honda City automobile but with a Speed Racer-esque ability to jump and fire oil cans at pursuers; and wonder of wonders, BioMiracle Bokutte Upa, a platformer where you play a crawling toddler equipped with a RATTLE OF ULTIMATE DESTRUCTION.
No, seriously, hitting foes causes them to inflate, and turn into platforms baby Upa can use to advance. Gravity gun, eat your heart out.
Finally, this set of ESRB ratings confirms that Alex Kidd in Miracle World is indeed headed back to the States.
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