My Experience at TGS 09 - Lots of pics!

Today was my first time at a Tokyo Game Show convention and it was awesome! There were so many booths set up by big names such as Sony, Microsoft, Capcom, Konami, Sega, Namdai, and Squeenix. They all had big games to show, but in my opinion, Squeenix stole the show by having a wide lineup of solid, high budget games. I'll get to that later.

Sony and Microsoft had big booths dedicated to showing various titles that be coming for the system. There weren't any big revelations, but people were lining for a long time to get in. Playable titles included new Uncharted, new Ratchet and Clank, God of War 3, Gran Turismo 5, Left for Dead 2, and Halo 3.1.

Capcom had the 2nd strongest showing, I would say. They had big, decorated booths for Ghost Trick (a mystery game for the DS), Okami, Biohazard: Darkside Chronicles, and Tatsu v. Cap Ultimate All-stars. I stuck around for the TvC exhibition, where they had the producers demo some new characters. I haven't played the original TvC, but I think the new characters were Frank West and Tekkaman. Frank West was pretty quirky. He could summon zombies riding shopping carts and transform into Megaman, doing a huge MvC style beam super. Not sure who Tekkaman is, but he had long reach.

Konami had a big booth and event for the MGS: Peace Walker for the PSP. MGS has a pretty big following for such a complicated storyline. Other Konami games included new Silent Hill and Ninety Nine Nights, and Tokimeki Memorial 4. Tokimemo 4 also attracted a large crowd. I guess otaku fondly remember the earlier games.

Sega's main event seemed to be Puyopuyo 7. They made a fake show for it and had people talk about it. I didn't really pay attention because I like Puyopuyo for the gigantic monster chains, not the relaxing, casual play. PLAY TO WIN. Their other big showings were Valkyria Chronicles 2 and Phantasy Star Portable 2, both for the PSP.

Namdai showed a bunch of franchised based games, which tend to be mediocre. But I'll be damned if I didn't want to play Nanoha on PSP. Oh yes. Other franchises include SRW, Macross F, FMA, Gundam, and Queen's Blade. And there was Tekken 6, the newest clunky juggle fest. Besides Nanoha, the only other game I really liked was Idolmaster DS.

Squeenix - Squeenix had a huge lineup of games. To get to play FF13 or the new KH, you needed to get a ticket to play them in advance and then wait in line for however many hours it took. Who knows, it might have been worth it to hardcore FF fans. Their biggest attraction was a 40 minute long video displaying all the games that will be coming out in the near future. This includes a bunch of FFs for every console (including FF13, FF 14, Crystal Bearers, Dissidia) and some other cool games like Star Ocean 4 and a new Front Mission. The FF13 trailer was jaw dropping. I have never been excited for any modern FF game since all you do in them is navigate menus, but FF13 really impressed me. The combat actually looks interactive and the setting looks very imaginative. Actually, I just think Oerba and Serah are hot. I am also a sucker for airship battles, drama, and JPOP, which is the whole trailer. It was beautiful.