Rygar: The Battle of Argus

[Nester the Lark]

I've been a little curious about this game since it often gets overlooked. Apparently it's a remake of the PS2 game Rygar: The Legendary Adventure from 2002, except with several modifications. The main character has been redesigned, as well as many of the enemies. There's a new game mode, and the graphics are being upgraded.

Joystiq just published an interview with Keisuke Kikuchi who talks about the controls a bit. It sounds like he's aiming to make the game somewhat physically taxing to play. The faster you swing the remote, the more powerful your character's attack will be.

The PS2 game almost looks like a God of War rip-off, except that it came out more than two years before God of War. It got pretty good reviews, but I don't think the sales were too exciting. At the very least, if Soul Calibur: Legends doesn't live up to expectations, there's still hope for this.

[Wildcat]

Hm, I didn't know it was a remake. Glad I didn't buy the PS2 one, then. As you point out, reviews were pretty favorable, so hopefully that'll carry over.

[TV Eye]

Yeah, I have small hopes that Soul Calibur Legends will do good. But, this game looks promising.

[Nester the Lark]

Rygar does look like a lot of fun, and I like that the strength of your attack depends on the speed at which you fling the remote, even if it does get tiring. That kind of analog input is what makes the Wii sophisticated, and not enough games truly take advantage of it.

Another interesting change from the PS2 version is the camera angle. The PS2 game was third person with a camera that was fixed on rails (like Eternal Darkness). This version will be second person, over-the-shoulder, like Soul Calibur: Legends is using. It makes more sense for the Wii controls.

Here's the Japanese trailer from TGS '07. Muscle Impact! Feel the burn!

[Nester the Lark]

Here's another interview with Keisuke Kikuchi I came across at 1up.com, but this one is from way back during TGS. Still, I thought it was an interesting and in-depth interview and worth mentioning since info on this game tends to be scarce.

Kikuchi talks about why it's a remake and the modifications he's made to it. Then he throws in this fascinating little bit at the end:

1UP: Are you saying if you do a sequel to this Rygar, that you'd like to do it on Wii?

KK: Yes, if this becomes a successful project, I'd like to do the sequel on the Wii again.

[Wildcat]

Well, that's good news. I'd like to hear more about the game as it gets closer to completion.

[Nester the Lark]

Totally old thread revival! Sorry!

Thought maybe I'd update this. This game seems to have dropped off the map. Last I heard, it had been pushed back to '09. No explanation was given, but some speculate that the game is likely to be canceled.

However, Tecmo's recent e-mail about Fatal Frame IV also mentions that Rygar is still in development for the Wii, and that further info is coming this fall.

I've also heard speculation that the delay could be due to the game being changed from an enhanced port to a completely original game. But perhaps Tecmo just decided to concentrate development on Fatal Frame IV and other projects first.

[Nester the Lark]

And Rygar emerges from the depths of oblivion yet once more to battle the evil rumors of cancellation!

According to Kotaku, Tecmo has finally announced that Rygar: The Battle of Argus will be released in North America this December.

They've also released a bunch of screen shots showing the variety of colors being used in the game, including dark brown, light brown, yellowish brown, reddish brown, and a sort of brownish brown. This guarantees that it will probably look just as good as the new Bionic Commando on Xbox 360.

[Nester the Lark]

Rush 3-hits!

GoNintendo reports on an article at 1up.com that mentions the reason Rygar's development has taken so long. Apparently, it was meant to be a quickie port, but it was turning out so poorly that they actually had to scrap it and try again.

That's none too encouraging. At the same time, maybe it's good to know that some third-parties do realize their standards are too low on the Wii...hopefully.

[Wildcat]

Combo breaker! XD

I'm glad they are re-doing the game instead of releasing a crappy port. Tecmo's merging with Koei apparently, so this may be one of the last true Tecmo games out...

[TV Eye]

That is disappointing. It's good they're going back to it though.

[Nester the Lark]

IGN has a new hands-on preview, and it actually sounds pretty positive.

According to Tecmo, Rygar: The Battle of Argus is akin to Rygar: The Legendary Journey in the same way as Ninja Gaiden Black is to the original Ninja Gaiden. So, I guess it's like the director's cut or special edition.

As for controls, Rygar has strong and weak attacks assigned to the A and B buttons on the remote, and combos are ended by slashing with the remote either vertically or horizontally. Sounds a bit like No More Heroes.

There are also a couple of gameplay videos, one of which features a large boss. It looks pretty good to me.

The game is due out in December in both Japan and North America.

[Wildcat]

That's good to hear. Let's hope things continue to bode well.

[Nester the Lark]

Here's another hands-on preview, this time from 1up.com. It's fairly positive as well, but they go into a little more detail on the differences between this one and the original PS2 game.

Of course, that doesn't really matter to someone like me who's never played it.

EDIT: Yet another preview, this time from GamePro. It's also positive, and the author admits he's never played a Rygar game before.

The article also contains an English trailer that looks pretty cool.

[Nester the Lark]

And yet, yet another preview, this one at GameTrailers. This game is really making the rounds lately. It's kind of funny considering how little exposure it got before this.