{"id":15417,"date":"2016-09-08T00:01:34","date_gmt":"2016-09-08T00:01:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/?p=15417"},"modified":"2016-09-07T02:47:50","modified_gmt":"2016-09-07T02:47:50","slug":"pax-west-2016-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/2016\/09\/08\/pax-west-2016-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"PAX West 2016: Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"PAXWESTLOGO\"<\/a>The Penny Arcade Expo, or PAX for short, is one of the largest video game conventions open to the public.\u00a0 I\u2019ve been going to it annually for nearly ten years now.\u00a0 PAX West in Seattle was last weekend, so here are my impressions of the show!\u00a0 The convention is so big that I had to split my articles into three parts.\u00a0 Before I get started, I wanted to let you all know that I couldn\u2019t cover EVERYTHING at the show.\u00a0 I\u2019m just one person and just tried to focus on games that interest me and what would fit the theme of this site.\u00a0 Anyway, in this first part, we\u2019ll go over games featured by major publishers, like Nintendo, Bandai Namco, Capcom, SEGA, and Square-Enix!<\/span><\/p>\n

Nintendo<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

What surprised me about Nintendo is that they had a much smaller presence at this year\u2019s PAX.\u00a0 Usually they have a larger showing, probably because it\u2019s easy for them to go since their Redmond headquarters is close to Seattle.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s because the NX is coming out next year or what, but this year they did have a more limited showing than usual.<\/span><\/p>\n

Their man booth on the show floor mostly focused on Pok\u00e9mon Sun & Moon.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"POKEMON1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

They also showed Dragon Quest 7 on 3DS (they\u2019ll release every Dragon Quest game here now except for the sequel to Rocket Slime\u2026grrr!), and Yo-Kai Watch 2.\u00a0 Here\u2019s a display with the toys and games from the popular new franchise.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"YOKAI\"<\/a><\/p>\n

They also had a display with some of the newer amiibo figures.\u00a0 I have them all except for some of the Mario figures in the middle.\u00a0 I wish they would\u2019ve shown some of the new Zelda amiibo they announced at E3 and the latest Nintendo Direct.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"AMIIBO\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The last thing on display at their booth was the NES Classic Edition.\u00a0 It\u2019s a smaller NES-shaped device that houses dozens of NES game favorites.\u00a0 It\u2019ll be out this holiday season and they showed it next to the original NES here for size comparison.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"NES\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Probably because of the popularity of Pok\u00e9mon GO and the upcoming release of Sun & Moon, Pok\u00e9mon was a big deal at this year\u2019s PAX.\u00a0 So much so that they even had a Pok\u00e9mon Center store that folks were lined up to shop at!\u00a0 In fact, usually near some escalators at the convention center, Nintendo showcases a bunch of new and upcoming 3DS games, but that area was strangely empty this year.\u00a0 Instead, that area was just the line to get into the store, as well as big signs directing people where to find it.\u00a0 Here\u2019s a picture of one of those signs.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"POKEMON2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Heck, even outside the convention center, Pok\u00e9mon was big at PAX!\u00a0 Even at the local coffee shops, Poke-Fever was big.\u00a0 Check out this sign:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"POKEMON3\"<\/a><\/p>\n

And that\u2019s nearly everything Nintendo had to show at PAX.\u00a0 I was a little disappointed they didn\u2019t show anything about The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, like they did at E3.\u00a0 I also wish they would\u2019ve shown some of the things they announced during the recent Nintendo Direct.\u00a0 Maybe this would be asking too much, but even a smidgen of info on the NX would\u2019ve been nice.\u00a0 But oh well.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, there was one saving grace for Nintendo at PAX, and that was the \u201cNindies Game Lounge\u201d on the 6<\/span>th<\/span><\/sup> floor.\u00a0 It was a room where you can play upcoming downloadable games on the 3DS and Wii U.\u00a0 The cool thing is I\u2019ve already got a few of them to review later, so keep checking the site to see those.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

I did play a few games at the Nindies Game Lounge, though, and one of my favorites was Gurumin 3D.\u00a0 Gurumin was originally on the PSP and PC, and it was one of my top five favorite games on the PSP, alongside others like Loco Roco, Mega Man Powered Up, Half-Minute Hero, and Ys Seven.\u00a0 This version is a port of the original game, with added features like 3D graphics, better camera options and tutorials, and controls.\u00a0 In the game you play as a young girl who moves to a new town.\u00a0 She\u2019s lonely at first, until she meets up with some friendly monsters who need her help!\u00a0 Now she must embark on a colorful 3D platforming hack and slash adventure, using a drill as a weapon.\u00a0 I played this game to death back in the day, and to me, it kind of has a Foster\u2019s Home for Imaginary Friends vibe to it.\u00a0 The cool thing is this game was made by Nihon Falcom, makers of other popular game franchises like the Ys series.\u00a0 In fact, there are some secrets and references to Ys in the Gurumin game for expert players.\u00a0 The game will come out in a few weeks, and will only be about 15 bucks, which is a steal for this type of game.\u00a0 Even better, if you buy it you\u2019ll get a free Gurumin 3DS theme!\u00a0 I only wish it would have a physical release, like the PSP did, but oh well.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another game I played for the 3DS was Runbow Pocket.\u00a0 It\u2019s a portable version of the Wii U title, which I reviewed last<\/strong> <\/a>year.\u00a0 The portable version adds all the DLC from the Wii U game, like new playable characters such as Shantae!\u00a0 You\u2019ll even be able to play with up to 8 others online!\u00a0 I wish you could do local download play, too, but maybe they can work that out later.\u00a0 Another game from the same company was Pirate Pop Plus.\u00a0 It\u2019s a throwback to black and white Game Boy titles and plays like Buster Bros.\u00a0 It\u2019ll be a cross-buy on the Wii U and 3DS, and looks right up my alley.\u00a0 It comes out later this fall, and I hope to get to review it!\u00a0 Finally, I also checked out Shantae: Half-Genie Hero, developed by WayForward and published by XSEED.\u00a0 I\u2019ve always been a huge fan of the Shantae series, and I even still have my boxed copy of the original Game Boy game!\u00a0 I can\u2019t wait for this new title to come out at the end of the month.\u00a0 It\u2019s a good thing that my birthday is coming soon!<\/span><\/p>\n

Bandai Namco Games<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

My all-time favorite game is Pac-Man, and I also love other arcade classics, so Bandai Namco Games is one of my favorite game companies for that reason.\u00a0 They were at PAX this year, but I was disappointed they didn\u2019t have Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 playable on the show floor, even though they had a video of it on one of the large monitors.\u00a0 Most of the space at their booth was dedicated to Tekken 7.\u00a0 They even had a large area where you could get your picture taken with people dressed up like Tekken fighters.\u00a0 I think the guy on the far right must\u2019ve eaten a can of spinach for breakfast.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"TEKKEN\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The back side of their booth was focused on anime games like Dragonball Xenoverse 2.\u00a0 On that same side was also a lady who I think was dressed as one of the characters from God Eater 2.\u00a0 I don\u2019t really know much about the God Eater franchise other than it\u2019s Namco\u2019s take on Monster Hunter and the music from the first game was made by my favorite video game music composer: Go Shiina.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"GODEATER\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Capcom<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Capcom is another one of my favorite video game companies, as they do the Mega Man, Okami, and Phoenix Wright series.\u00a0 Most of their booth was dedicated to Resident Evil.\u00a0 I\u2019m not sure which one, but the d\u00e9cor had a neat haunted house vibe to it.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"RESIDENTEVIL\"<\/a><\/p>\n

At the back of the booth you could play games like Dead Rising 4 and Street Fighter V, which I didn\u2019t understand since that game has been out for over six months now.\u00a0 They also had a store with Capcom goodies I was drooling over.\u00a0 I was disappointed that they only had a little corner for Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice.\u00a0 I was hoping they\u2019d have the whole courtroom setup like they had at past E3 and PAX shows.\u00a0 The demo you could play was also the same one you can download on the eShop, so that was also disappointing.\u00a0 Luckily, the full game should be out around the time you read this.\u00a0 Like I said earlier, good thing my birthday is coming up!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"ATTORNEY\"<\/a><\/p>\n

SEGA<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s nice to see SEGA back in action again.\u00a0 They showed a lot of games at PAX, but most of them I didn\u2019t play, like a new Hatsune Miku music game.\u00a0 But they did have a couple of new Sonic games I got to check out.\u00a0 One was Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice on 3DS.\u00a0 It\u2019s similar to the first 2D Sonic Boom game on the handheld, but now you can switch between a fire and ice element to solve puzzles and find secrets.\u00a0 Basically you can create ice to run on or destroy them with fire.\u00a0 Bosses take up both screens and you can play as all the heroes in the Sonic Boom franchise.\u00a0 It\u2019ll have an uphill battle considering fans\u2019 reactions to Sonic Boom, but I didn\u2019t think the games were THAT bad.<\/span><\/p>\n

Luckily for classic Sonic fans, SEGA has a step in the right direction with Sonic Mania, which will be a downloadable title in 2017.\u00a0 It looks and plays like a classic 2D Sonic title from the Genesis days, mostly Sonic 3, as it has the fire, bubble, and electric shields.\u00a0 Sonic 3 was my favorite, so that\u2019s a good thing.\u00a0 They showed off a remixed Green Hill Zone and a new area called Studiopolis Zone, which had a Hollywood movie studio theme.\u00a0 In that area were popcorn machines, camera vans that warped you around via satellite, and springy clackboards.\u00a0 Another cool thing about this game is the music is AWESOME!\u00a0 I think this\u2019ll win over a lot of Sonic fans soured by Boom.<\/span><\/p>\n

Square-Enix<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

And finally, Square-Enix had a wide variety of games at their booth.\u00a0 I like it when game companies publish all sorts of different kinds of games.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t get to play ALL of their games shown at PAX, but I did get to demo three family friendly games that interested me in a private area.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"SQUARE\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Kingdom Hearts 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

I read the fact sheet and I\u2019m still confused as to what all this game has on it.\u00a0 But I do know it has an HD version of Dream Drop Distance that was originally on the 3DS, and that\u2019s what I played.\u00a0 But it\u2019s a fun game, and looks great here in HD on the PS4.\u00a0 Think we\u2019ll get Kingdom Hearts 3 this decade?<\/span><\/p>\n

Dragon Quest Builders<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

So what happens when you combine Minecraft with Dragon Quest?\u00a0 Well you get this game of course!\u00a0 You play as a builder who must rebuild the world after evil took over.\u00a0 The main difference here is that instead of viewing the action from a first person perspective, you see everything from top down.\u00a0 But the rest of it looks a lot like Minecraft.\u00a0 But they throw in a lot of Dragon Quest references.\u00a0 You know how in the first DQ game, your character\u2019s name was Eldrick?\u00a0 In here your name is Bildrick!\u00a0 You explore huge overworlds looking for places to plant a magic banner, which will be a safe zone where you can build towns and such.\u00a0 Break apart materials and use special tree stumps to craft items like healing cream, weapons, and blocks to stand on and build walls with.\u00a0 You\u2019ll even battle classic Dragon Quest enemies while exploring!\u00a0 I\u2019ve stayed away from Minecraft because I\u2019m afraid I\u2019d get too addicted to it, but add Dragon Quest familiarity in there and I may have to dive into this one.\u00a0 Yet another reason to get a PS4.<\/span><\/p>\n

World of Final Fantasy<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the big games that they were showing was Final Fantasy XV, which I wasn\u2019t much interested in.\u00a0 But when I was in high school, I loved the Final Fantasy games in the 16-bit days.\u00a0 Especially 4, 5, and 9.\u00a0 So I was so happy to play World of Final Fantasy, as it feels like a Final Fantasy game designed just for me!\u00a0 You play as a boy and girl who look like Kingdom Hearts rejects, and they explore classic Final Fantasy worlds to help regain their memories.\u00a0 The chibi characters they meet have huge heads and tiny bodies, like how they looked in old school RPGs.\u00a0 Your characters can even shrink down, too, somehow.\u00a0 In the first area I encountered, I visited Cornelia town and castle, and even talked with Princess Sarah from the first game! \u00a0Even the classic music is back and remixed!<\/span><\/p>\n

Battles take a cue from Pok\u00e9mon, as you can capture and fight with all sorts of classic FF monsters.\u00a0 But I think you must beat the boss of a world before you can do that.\u00a0 For some reason, you can stack these monsters on top of your head for some sort of strategy in battle, but I wasn\u2019t sure exactly how that worked.\u00a0 But I didn\u2019t care.\u00a0 I was just happy to play a cheerful and colorful Final Fantasy game with playful and funny (albeit cheesy) humor and dialogue.\u00a0 It\u2019ll be out on PS4, which I don\u2019t have yet, but the cool thing is it\u2019ll also be out on Vita.\u00a0 So if I don\u2019t get a PS4 soon, I can still play it on my Vita!\u00a0 Yay!\u00a0 This is definitely a game I\u2019m keeping my eye on and it was one of my favorites to play at PAX!<\/span><\/p>\n

One last Square-Enix related thing before we wrap up this article.\u00a0 One day after the show as we were walking back to the hotel, I heard a strange car horn on the street.\u00a0 But it also sounded vaguely familiar, kind of a \u201cKweh, kweh\u201d sound.\u00a0 Then I looked behind me and saw this:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"CHOCOCAR1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It was a Chocobo car!\u00a0 Square-Enix was using it to help promote Final Fantasy XV at PAX.\u00a0 Turns out it was an Uber car that you could make reservations to ride around.\u00a0 If I had known that earlier, I might\u2019ve tried it.\u00a0 But I didn\u2019t find that out until I was about to leave for the airport home.\u00a0 But luckily I did get a chance to take a picture of the front of the car as well.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"CHOCOCAR2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

And that\u2019s all for part one!\u00a0 Stay tuned for part two, where I play games from smaller developers and describe my first ever experiences playing VR games!\u00a0 –Cary<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Penny Arcade Expo, or PAX for short, is one of the largest video game conventions open to the public.\u00a0 I\u2019ve been going to it annually for nearly ten years now.\u00a0 PAX West in Seattle was last weekend, so here are my impressions of the show!\u00a0 The convention is so big that I had to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":15408,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-miscellaneous"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15417"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15417\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15419,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15417\/revisions\/15419"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15408"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}