Comments on: i dont care what you say this video game character is my boyfriend

i dont care what you say this video game character is my boyfriend

emmtee — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 13:07:42 -0800

If you've ever dreamed of making out with one of the villainous cats from Mappy or getting into a love triangle with the spaceship from Galaga and a talking Taiko drum, enrolment at Namco High is now open.

Namco High, a dating sim featuring a variety of classic Namco arcade and console characters, is a weird romantic trip through over thirty years of videogame history, mixing retro arcade stars with re-imagined versions of some obscure characters from Namco's Shiftylook site, where a number of webcomic artists and writers have been publishing comics and cartoons starring figures from the company's back catalogue since 2012.
The game is intended to be as inclusive as possible, and neither presumes a specific gender (or any at all) on the part of the player character, nor limits dating options based on other characters' sexualities, since understandably everyone finds tiny sweater-wearing space royalty equally enchanting. There's actually a recent Tumblr post by the Editor-in-Chief at Shiftylook and Producer on the game talking a little about this, in the context of the game being stuck with a unified Namco ID system that requires users to choose male or female.
The creative team includes a whole bunch of wonderful writers and artists - the best known is probably Noelle Stevenson, of cute supervillainous webcomic Nimona, but that page on the official site is well worth following some links from, as there are lots of fantastic comics and art from all of the Namco High team.
Creative Director for the whole Namco High project is Andrew Hussie, best known for wildly popular webcomic/animation/mixed-media monstrosity Homestuck as well as earlier reader-participation series Problem Sleuth, Bard Quest and Jailbreak. Three Homestuck characters appear in Namco High as fellow students who can be interacted with and/or dated alongside the fifteen Namco characters.
The game is free-to-play and can be played all the way through without spending any money: although only six Namco characters (the Galaga ship, Lolo, Valkyrie, Anti-Bravoman, Meowkie and Albatross) are available to actually date for free, the entire cast is present for conversations and story without being bought. If you happen to have an understandable hankering for forbidden Mr Driller love, the store can be found here. (It's worth noting the Homestuck characters currently can't be unlocked for dating separately, unlike everyone else: they come only as a bonus if you buy the $15 'Deluxe Pak' which unlocks absolutely everybody)
Finally, while on the subject, Homestuck is currently on a break from regular updates but still being actively worked on, and when the mega-update comes, it will be the last Homestuck update ever and will include everything up to and including the ending and will very likely break the Internet. So now's a good time to catch up! Also the links under the Homestuck characters below are aimed at people who haven't read it and want silly representative samples of the Namco High characters, so SPOILERS, MAYBE. But probably not big ones.
The students:

Cousin (player character) Katamari Damacy series (2004, PS2) This specific Cousin doesn't actually appear in the Katamari series, as such: they are a non-gendered, rename-able original addition to the 58 collectable, playable Cousins in the games. Namco High opens with the Cousin being sent to detention, where they first meet the rest of the cast, for rolling up a significant portion of the school and student body into a Katamari in an attempt to emulate the Prince.
Gameplay video of the iconic final level in the original Katamari Damacy Most of the Cousins in one big image Cousin dance! Some photos of a Cousins cosplay gathering at Christchurch Armageddon expo 2011 Inspired by that cosplay link? Here's a guide on how to make Katamari character heads and become your true Cousin self First page of the Shiftylook Katamari comic Galaga Galaga (1981, arcade) Surprisingly not the (inanimate) ship from the Shiftylook Galaga comic. Possibly the actual ship from the games was a discrete conscious entity and extremely popular in school.
Play Galaga (Flash) Comes recommended by SHIELD agents, too Arcade-History entry for the Galaga series Comparison video of lots and lots of Galaga ports and sequels The Shiftylook Galaga comic Lolo Klonoa 2 (2001, PS2) A non-playable character introduced in platformer Klonoa 2, she appeared in playable form in a few spin-offs and side games as well as the Shiftylook Klonoa comic.
Cutscene introducing Lolo in Klonoa 2 Some Klonoa 2 gameplay from later in the same video Lolo on the Klonoa Wiki Lolo in Klonoa Beach Volleyball Hardcore Gaming 101 on the history of the Klonoa series (Page 2) Page one of the Shiftylook Klonoa comic Valkyrie Valkyrie no Bōken: Toki no Kagi Densetsu (1986, Famicom) The title character of a series that's almost unheard of in the West, Valkyrie started out as a Famicom RPG, followed up by a slightly better known arcade/PC Engine action-shooter sequel.
Original Famicom gameplay Gameplay video of the arcade sequel, Valkyrie no Densetsu Valkyrie has made a few cameos in the Tales series over the years Hardcore Gaming 101 on the Valkyrie series Arcade-History entry for Valkyrie no Densetsu The first page of the Shiftylook Valkyrie comic... ...and the first page to use the art style Valkyrie is drawn in for Namco High Anti-Bravoman Bravoman (1988, arcade) The character called Anti-Bravoman here originally appeared as Black Bravoman, a recurring boss in the original arcade/PC Engine stretchy-limbed parody-em-up and a palette-swapped version of the hero. He had a different appearance again in Namco x Capcom, but the version attending Namco High is the bumbling villain/anti-hero from the Shiftylook Bravoman comic and web series.
Play Bravoman (Flash) (PC Engine port) Trailer for Bravoman Binja Bash, a recent iOS/Android game based on the Shiftylook series The Shiftylook Bravoman comic... ...and the web cartoon series Meowkie Mappy (1983 arcade) All of the pink cat burglars trying to catch mouse cop Mappy in the arcade game are collectively called Meowkies (or Mewkies), with the only named cat being the boss, Nyamco. The Meowkie in Namco High is a kid-slash-ex-gang-member of the thieving Meowkies from the game.
Play Mappy (Flash) (Famicom port) Comparison video of the various Mappy ports and versions Arcade-History entry for Mappy The Shiftylook Mappy cartoon series Terezi Pyrope Homestuck (2009) ~~Trapezi~~ ~~T3R3Z1~~ Terezi is one of the most popular characters in Homestuck, an alien, and a troll in every sense of the word. Blinded as part of a lengthy feud, she 'sees' by smelling and tasting stuff. Hence her tendency to lick people. She's a lawyer-in-training (sort of) and obsessed with JUST1C3. 4ND T4LK1NG 1N C4PS. Also eating chalk.
Terezi's introduction page Terezi's entry on the wiki OK TH1S M1GHT B3 H4RD FOR 4N 34RTH B4BOON TO UND3RST4ND... A short comic by the (in-universe) creator of Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff, about Terezi More recently, Terezi in repose How Terezi was blinded (Flash, sound, will make little sense to the uninitiated but look, colours) Flashback to Terezi's adult ancestor and role model (Flash, sound, same disclaimer applies) Also you can buy the plush dragons Terezi likes to sentence and execute Donko Taiko no Tatsujin (2001, arcade) Donko is an animate drum who dances around during songs in some editions, alongside living-Taiko-drum-dog-thing mascots Don and Katsu and a surprisingly huge supporting cast.
Arcade Taiko footage: a very talented guy playing two-player mode solo This isn't the first game to feature Donko and romance... (minigame from Taiko no Tatsujin: Wai Wai Happy! Rokudaime, PS2) Actual Taiko drumming... ...and more real Taiko drumming Episode 1 of the claymation Taiko no Tatsujin show, featuring Don and Katsu being given life Incredibly in-depth English-language fan blog for the Taiko series Detailed info on every arcade version and cabinet The Osu! free rhythm game/engine, while it started life as a way to play DS rhythm classic Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan on PC with custom songs and beatmaps, has a fully-featured Taiko no Tatsujin mode that's by far the best way to try out Taiko. It even supports the original Tatacon drum controller if you happen to own one Here's the list of beatmaps/songs for Taiko mode Albatross Rolling Thunder (1986, arcade) The protagonist of the Rolling Thunder games, and an agent of the World Crime Police Organization.
Play Rolling Thunder (Java) (NES port) Video of a complete playthrough of the arcade version (Part 2) Hardcore Gaming 101 history of the Rolling Thunder series Arcade-History entry for Rolling Thunder How long will Albatross live? (from this odd little series on game characters' life expectancies) Nidia Dragon Spirit (1987 arcade) As far as I can tell Nidia is an original character from the Shiftylook comic - the original game's (pretty minimal) storyline has a soldier named Amul transform into a dragon to rescue Princess Alicia from the evil Zawell, and the comic has a female hero named Nidia alongside Amul on the same quest.
Play Dragon Spirit (Flash) (PC Engine/Turbografx 16 port) Play Dragon Spirit (Flash) (NES port, some extra content) Arcade version gameplay video Video of a no-hit run through the PC Engine version (Part 2, 3, 4) Arcade-History entry for Dragon Spirit Shiftylook comic Mr Driller Mr Driller (1999, arcade) The son of Dig Dug! Mr Driller has been ported to basically every platform in existence, so it shouldn't be hard to find a copy.
Play Mr Driller (Flash) (Gameboy Color port) Arcade version gameplay Arcade-History entry for Mr Driller Blue Max Sky Kid (1985, arcade) Blue Max is the Player 2 character from Sky Kid, a blue bird in a biplane to Player 1's Red Baron. Max's name is a reference to the Pour le Mérite, which the real Red Baron received. There's basically zero story in the game, so the Namco High Blue Max is either or both the game and comic versions.
Play Sky Kid (Java) (NES port) Arcade version gameplay video Arcade-History entry for Sky Kid First page of the Shiftylook comic (complete) Hiromi Tengenji Burning Force (1989, arcade) Piloting a transforming hoverbike/fighter jet thing, Hiromi is literally a space cadet undergoing a six-day test (where each day is a level in the game) to become a Space Fighter.
Play Burning Force (Flash) (Megadrive/Genesis port) Arcade version gameplay video Hardcore Gaming 101 on Burning Force Arcade-History entry for the arcade version Ahiko Matsuo/Amazona Wonder Momo (1987 arcade) This is another Shiftylook original character: the original Wonder Momo game is a beat-em-up where a transforming heroine goes up against aliens, monsters and robots, but the entire thing is presented as a live-action show with an audience (and some creepy fanservicey jump-kick animations, and guys with cameras in the audience who the player has to be careful not to do certain revealing moves in front of). The comic stars the daughter of the original Wonder Momo, and her rival-slash-friend Ahiko, or Amazona when she's in costume.
Play Wonder Momo (Flash) (PC Engine port) Arcade version gameplay video Wonder Momo/Bravoman team-up in Namco x Capcom Arcade-History entry for Wonder Momo First page of the Shiftylook comic Taira no Kagekiyo Genpei Tōma Den (1986 arcade) Taira no Kagekiyo is (hopefully) unique amongst the Namco High student body as an actual, real historical figure, a samurai who took part in the Genpei War. The arcade game, which posits a resurrected Taira no Kagekiyo fighting demons in a Yamato-e painting world, isn't the first fictionalised version of him: he appears in Chapter 11 of Heike Monogatari. And now a dating sim where he can make out with the Prince of Space's cousin. He's also another character whose Namco High appearance is closer to his original arcade game form than his Shiftylook comic.
Play Genpei Toumaden (Flash) (PC Engine port) Arcade version playthrough video (Part 2, 3) Arcade-History entry for Genpei Toumaden Genpei Toumaden was also released as a 'computer boardgame' for the Famicom, with a cartridge meant to be played alongside the board - details are a bit scarce, but here are photos of the box contents, an account (in Japanese) of trying to play the thing, and video of the Famicom part. Shiftylook comic (titled 'Scar', only loosely based on the game) Jane Crocker Homestuck (2009) Jane has a decent claim to being the co-protagonist of Homestuck, although she's only introduced a fair way in. She's heiress to the (evil) Betty Crocker baking empire, fancies herself a detective-slash-comedian, has an inexplicable attraction to funny and/or blue men and has a fake moustache that acts as a phone.
Jane's introduction page, a mirror of the first ever page of Homestuck with her in place of John after the timeline was reset Jane on the wiki Jane is cool and collected in matters of the heart Also she has that moustache communicator (Flash, sound, animated sequence summarising months of adventures with great music) Another thing about Jane is she seems to transform into other versions of herself a lot It's not always so disturbing, although maybe it is She really has only had about five minutes outside of one mind-controlled state or another in the past year Yuichiro Tomari Ordyne (1988, arcade) Tomari is the little dude piloting the Player 1 aircraft in his game.
Play Ordyne (Flash) (PC Engine port) Gameplay video of the arcade version Hardcore Gaming 101 on Ordyne Arcade-History entry on the arcade game Richard Miller Time Crisis (1995, arcade) As well as being the extremely 90s-action-guy protagonist of the original Time Crisis, Miller shows up as a boss in the bonus Crisis Mission mode of PS2 Time Crisis 2, and in Time Crisis 4 on the PS3.
Arcade version gameplay video Arcade-History entry for Time Crisis Davesprite Homestuck (2009) If I say Davesprite is a version of absurd ironic-not-ironic cool kid Dave Strider from a splintered, doomed timeline, where he saw his best friends die and lived with that for months before travelling back to the point the timeline fractured and merging himself with a ghostly guide in order to prevent those events from ever happening, then I realise I'm confirming everything you ever suspected about Homestuck. But that's what he is. He's also kind of part bird, and still injured and missing a wing from a really bad fight, and prone to introspection over not being the 'real' Dave.
Davesprite (or Alternate Future Dave) on the wiki He's also an alternate version of the author of/the author of Sweet Bro And Hella Jeff Davesprite gets along surprisingly well with non-bird Dave How Davesprite lost that wing (Flash, sound, kind of long) Davesprite has an epiphany John calls him 'Dave Sprite' like it's a first name and surname He also has the power to vaguely watermark the sky with his smug orange face He may or may not have a ghost butt

By: Narrative Priorities

Narrative Priorities — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 13:10:04 -0800

I've barely started playing, and I'm a Homestuck so I really should have expected this, but Davesprite's whole schtick in this game totally took me by surprise. And by the end of my first one-on-one scene together I was pretty much destroyed. Dammit, Hussie. DON'T YOU HAVE ENOUGH OF MY HEART ALREADY?????

By: maggieb

maggieb — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 13:13:44 -0800

What is this?

By: ArmyOfKittens

ArmyOfKittens — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 13:18:42 -0800

Narrative Priorities: "DON'T YOU HAVE ENOUGH OF MY HEART ALREADY?????" I was not prepared for Davesprite in this game. Not prepared! *sob*

By: Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish

Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 13:21:53 -0800

What is this? A Japanese-style dating sim that features various Namco video game...er, "characters" (like the laser-shooting spaceship from Galaga) going to high school with the cast of Homestuck. It's sort of an "interactive novel" format where you progress through the story by reading dialog presented over still images, making decisions for how your character will act that eventually lead to romantic entanglements.

By: Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish

Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 13:23:41 -0800

(I love love love the concept but would be way more enthusiastic for the game itself if I weren't so utterly sick of Homestuck)

By: Narrative Priorities

Narrative Priorities — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 13:27:43 -0800

I love love love the concept but would be way more enthusiastic for the game itself if I weren't so utterly sick of Homestuck It looks to be extremely easy to avoid Homestuck characters if you want to. Like, I'm not sure if you ever NEED to talk to any of them to play the game all the way through.

By: Strange Interlude

Strange Interlude — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 13:29:31 -0800

a dating sim featuring a variety of classic Namco arcade and console characters CTRL-F "MS. PAC MAN" ... Phrase not found ... (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻

By: JHarris

JHarris — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 13:46:00 -0800

* Is the principal the King Of All Cosmos? Because he basically has to be. * I notice the guys from Warp & Warp are nowhere to be found. That's probably for the best, as one on the characters is literally a tongue monster. * emmtee has gone far beyond the call of duty on this one, basically taking one of Namco's weird web experiments and turning it into a celebration of video gaming. Thumbs up!

By: jason_steakums

jason_steakums — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 13:46:34 -0800

The Galaga comic is so much fun.

By: hellojed

hellojed — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 13:46:50 -0800

I'm not playing it until I can date one of the cars from Ridge Racer

By: Zalzidrax

Zalzidrax — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 13:48:41 -0800

I am nothing if not awed by this.

By: selfnoise

selfnoise — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 13:48:51 -0800

Hey Namco, maybe you could take a break from the really convoluted internet performance art and actually release some games. They could even be based on these characters! I hear Klonoa fans would like one. (Actually I lie, Klonoa fans starved to death waiting) (PS, isn't the Galaga comic by Christopher Hastings? If so definitely go and check out Dr. McNinja, essentially the only webcomic I still bother reading).

By: jason_steakums

jason_steakums — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 13:51:12 -0800

Written by Ryan North (Dinosaur Comics), drawn by Christopher Hastings (Dr. McNinja), colored by Anthony Clark (Nedroid, colorist on Dr. McNinja). It's basically a perfect creative team.

By: Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish

Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 13:52:45 -0800

The Galaga comic is a collaboration by Hastings, Ryan North of Dinosaur Comics, and McNinja Colorist/Beartato cartoonist Anthony Clark. Basically a dream team.

By: Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish

Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 13:52:55 -0800

Dammit!

By: jason_steakums

jason_steakums — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 13:53:37 -0800

Ha! That's what you get for including helpful links!

By: Rory Marinich

Rory Marinich — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 13:53:41 -0800

If you think you're sick of Homestuck, what's really happening is you haven't read enough of Homestuck.

By: Lentrohamsanin

Lentrohamsanin — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 13:55:01 -0800

The gaming/anime people on my Twitter feed are super pissed about the inclusion of Homestuck characters in this. It's a weird spillover from their feeling threatened by kids cosplaying as Homestuck trolls and whatnot at their conventions, and it's kind of gross.

By: Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish

Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 13:55:36 -0800

Or I read so many words of Homestuck that I wanted to break Hussie's fingers off so he could never again write anything in trollspeak.

By: emmtee

emmtee — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 13:56:47 -0800

Oh man if you think canon troll quirks are annoying you should see my fanfic.

By: Lentrohamsanin

Lentrohamsanin — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 14:00:34 -0800

(they also all seem to hate Nightvale, for similar insecure "they're invading our cons" reasons. If Namco really wanted to troll folks hard they just need to add Cecil and Carlos in a future DLC pack.)

By: ardgedee

ardgedee — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 14:02:31 -0800

> If you think you're sick of Homestuck, what's really happening is you haven't read enough of Homestuck. I managed to enjoy Homestuck until I got to the multi-thousand word pages of circular exposition in which the author verbally abused himself for writing multi-thousand word pages of circular exposition consisting of the author verbally abusing himself. Done entirely in all-caps-and-numerals trollspeak. You'll have to try harder to convince me to tough that out.

By: JHarris

JHarris — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 14:04:35 -0800

I'm not playing it until I can date one of the cars from Ridge Racer She dropped out last year, got knocked up by Rally X. (She claims he's a great BANG.) why yes i made a joke that like three people in the world would ever get

By: ardgedee

ardgedee — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 14:09:03 -0800

four

By: JHarris

JHarris — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 14:16:10 -0800

Wonder Momo (the game) is such an odd and self-referential thing. It's practically made of fan service, but it somehow manages to be charming anyway. Basically your mini-skirted teenage girl character uses punches and kicks to beat up bad guys until she builds up her power meter, then she gains a superhero outfit and can attack them with a hoop and lasers. Except all this takes place on stage. The whole game is a play! With an audience that includes guys trying to get upskirt shots on the protagonist with cameras, which stun her for a second if they succeed. It's one of those many little pieces of WTF from Namco's back catalog that make it a fascinating company, I think. (Burning Force is another such game, although it's misnamed. It should be called Stare At A Girl's Butt On A Space Motorcycle.) It's depressing, well to me anyway, that no character from the epically underrated Propcycle made it into this.

By: Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish

Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 14:18:59 -0800

It should be noted let it get lost in the shuffle of the megapost that Wonder Momo also has a webcomic, written by the egregiously awesome Jim Zub(kavich), creator of Skullkickers.

By: emmtee

emmtee — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 14:25:01 -0800

I'll throw the link to the first page of that Wonder Momo comic out here again, because I don't wish the horror of navigating Shiftylook's awful archive interface on anyone. like seriously there is a reason every single other webcomic ever has a 'first page' button and it's because sometimes new people want to start reading the thing

By: JHarris

JHarris — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 14:32:25 -0800

Valkyrie is an interesting character too, as noted above pretty much unknown in the west and yet has quite a following in Japan. She's not really been in many games, and what she's been in are surprisingly un-fan servicey. And the music in her arcade game is TERRIFIC. (Note: video has lame edited-in music until gameplay starts, please don't let that dissuade you.) But my favorite thing about Legend of Valkyrie is that it's a two-player game, and P2 is Xandra, who is a full-on cutesy lizard person. I actually don't know Xandra's supposed gender, I think it's intended to be male despite the name, but I really don't know. All I know is it takes an awful lot of charisma to be Player 2 to a kick-ass Norse warrior goddess with an awesome soundtrack, and Xandra pulls it off.

By: emmtee

emmtee — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 14:38:24 -0800

I totally forgot to include it in the post, but Xandra has their own SNES game, that is weirdly the only Valkyrie-related title to get a Western release, under the title Whirlo. Xandra's in Namco x Capcom as well, but I can't find a video that isn't forty minutes of someone slowly advancing dialogue between characters who aren't weird adorable green amphibian things.

By: Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish

Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 14:42:49 -0800

The one thing I know about Valkyrie is that she showed up as a novelty costume in one of the Soul Calibur games (2, I think?) that nobody understood because none of her games exist here.

By: JHarris

JHarris — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 14:44:05 -0800

Yeah, I'm amazed that Valkyrie and Xandra never got the nod to be released in the US. Even Whirlo I think only got a European release because I know I never heard of it back in the SNES days. It might have to do with the fact that the first Valkyrie game was a weird, oppressively difficult Zelda wannabe for the Famicom. Anyway, I'm oddly happy Blue Max is in this, because Skykid is another of those amazingly underrated games, like Propcycle, that litter Namco's history.

By: JHarris

JHarris — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 14:46:54 -0800

I'd do a post on Valkyrie myself, except it'd probably just end up being a link to Hardcore Gaming 101's excellent writeup, which was already linked above. In short: she comes from the heavens to fight cutesy monsters, she has the power of Amazing Theme Music, and she's BFFs with a Lizard Person. Wait, I already said those things? Okay.

By: JHarris

JHarris — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 15:05:56 -0800

Here's a YouTube playthrough of the score attack levels of PropCycle. The thing is the game "controller" is actually an exercise bike, and the faster you pedal on it, the faster you go in the game. The Story Mode, which goes through four stages, is quite a workout! I know I'd get worn out after stage three. A gym that got one of these babies in it would have my business for life.

By: JHarris

JHarris — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 15:31:06 -0800

I love threads like this one, because they're an excuse to dip into my improbably large body of gaming knowledge. I'm sure to add more stuff to it as I think to.

By: jason_steakums

jason_steakums — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 16:10:00 -0800

Looking at Xandra, I can't not see Vattu. I wonder if Xandra was an inspiration for the character design.

By: capricorn

capricorn — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 17:19:25 -0800

Is anyone else completely unable to play the game? I can't even get it to load on Chrome, it says I have the wrong browser specs even though I don't, and on Firefox it just goes to the store and there is no option for free play.

By: Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish

Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 17:31:13 -0800

Once you register your account, it automatically kicks you to the store, presumably because money. If you go back to the main site there's a button to click to start playing, or at least there was for me.

By: capricorn

capricorn — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 17:34:15 -0800

All I see is "redeem code" and "sign out", alas.

By: Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish

Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 17:45:55 -0800

Sorry, wrong link for the main site. You want Namcohigh.com, not Namcohigh.shiftylook.com. Because that's logical.

By: capricorn

capricorn — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 17:54:51 -0800

That "Play Now" button just takes me back to the store, but I'll stop trying to use Metafilter as tech support now. ;) Thank you for trying to help, though, I appreciate it.

By: JHarris

JHarris — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 18:27:39 -0800

Wait, what is the purpose of the store in the game? Is it pay to play? To unlock things, in a web game?

By: JHarris

JHarris — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 18:30:43 -0800

Ah, in order to date various Namco characters you have to pay money. And for all of them the total is over $13. Um, no thanks, my curosity over what would happen if one of the Prince's cousins decided to hook up with the ship from Galaga ends the moment money enters the picture.

By: IAmUnaware

IAmUnaware — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 19:44:00 -0800

As I understand it, some of the relationship lines are free, thankfully including the Galaga one.

By: JHarris

JHarris — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 22:18:02 -0800

Looking at Xandra, I can't not see Vattu. I wonder if Xandra was an inspiration for the character design. Dunno. Xandra should be in more things though. Wielding his stabby pitchfork of might. That reminds me of how one of my favorite Soul Calibur characters was Lizardman. The joke was that his moveset is identical to Sophita's. Also, one of his weapon demonstrations has him just sitting down having a quiet moment. In short, more games need lizard people. More games, but fewer elections.

By: ShawnStruck

ShawnStruck — Thu, 19 Dec 2013 04:07:45 -0800

Meowkie's storyline is pretty touching, and a lot of the dialogue is laugh out loud funny.

By: JHarris

JHarris — Thu, 19 Dec 2013 07:14:40 -0800

The other cat enemy in Mappy, the red cat named Goro, is known in Japan as Nyamco, and is kind of slightly a Namco mascot due to the simularity of its name and that of the company.

By: Sokka shot first

Sokka shot first — Thu, 19 Dec 2013 11:22:41 -0800

my curosity over what would happen if one of the Prince's cousins decided to hook up with the ship from Galaga ends the moment money enters the picture. You know those times when someone says something that's so antithetical to your own orientation, it's hard to even comprehend? This is one of those times. Because the only way what you described above would be more of a SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY-type situation, for me, would be if it somehow involved Homestuck.

By: Narrative Priorities

Narrative Priorities — Thu, 19 Dec 2013 11:28:47 -0800

I can't believe some folks are actually complaining about spending $13 on a game that contains over 120,000 words of text and hundreds of full-color art assets. Particularly when you're only paying for extra content and the core of the game is free. I mean, I can, but it's depressing the hell out of me. Would they also be complaining if the game was totally free-to-play but forced you to watch ads during scene breaks? Like, seriously, this stuff takes thousands of human hours to put together. Do those people not deserve to eat and pay rent????

By: JHarris

JHarris — Thu, 19 Dec 2013 13:38:18 -0800

I can't believe some folks are actually complaining about spending $13 on a game that contains over 120,000 words of text and hundreds of full-color art assets. Some of us have a limited income.

By: ShawnStruck

ShawnStruck — Thu, 19 Dec 2013 22:44:40 -0800

JHarris: "I can't believe some folks are actually complaining about spending $13 on a game that contains over 120,000 words of text and hundreds of full-color art assets. Some of us have a limited income." As do I, so I play through the 6 fully free characters and click on the others for side story details. QED.