Tiny Diggers – An iPad Construction Truck Game for Kids Age 2-5

1up’s got a preview up, dated for the 21st, for the new Rygar game coming to Wii, and they’re also calling the game by its full name for the first time that I’ve seen.

Rygar is a franchise I played quite a bit back when it first appeared. I can’t even recall what platform I played it on, in fact, but I remember liking it. Naturally, everything old is new again, so I’m watching to see what Tecmo will pull out of this old classic. This preview is set up partly as an interview with Keisuke Kikuchi, the head of the developing studio. He, the article mentions, is also behind Fatal Frame, a game I missed out on completely but I’ve heard some impressive information about in 1up’s own excellent Retronauts podcast.

It turns out that The Battle of Argus is based on the PS2 game from 2002, The Legendary Adventure. This game features a newly-designed avatar, all new enemies to replace the poorly-received enemies in the PS2 version, fully Wii-rebuilt controls, and next up in the development process is improving the visuals to match the capabilities of the Wii, something that will definitely have to be watched closely.

The interview is a good read, with a lot more info than I’m putting here of course, and I recommend it. The hard questions are asked, to the point where the responses almost seem to reflect the interviewee having taking offense. The most interesting thing in the interview is how the developer says they’re intentionally trying to make it so you need to use full motions to execute the moves in the game, so it will actually be physically taxing to play. This is exactly what everyone feared Wii games would be like before launch, and ironically, what some of us are finding is an aspect of the most fun games on the system, simply because the player becomes so much more involved in the game.

Rygar: The Battle of Argus preview at 1up
Image source: Wikipedia