3D Dot Game Heroes Message Board

#watchthis I loved the cube-based art-style of 3D Dot Game Heroes, but I didn't love the game. And who loves loading screens? Vimeo user David Kupfer solves almost all of my problems at once by compiling the 105 loading screens from 3D Dot Game Heroes. I like looking at them more than I liked playing this game. Pretty stuff. [Vimeo] More »

Thank you to all the dot designers who contributed.

Lend me your ears, PlayStation Readers; I have a story to tell thee.

It begins, as many such unnecessarily, inappropriately flowery ones do, on a cold winter’s eve. Okay, that’s probably not accurate. It was a casual conversation actually, one with your very own, very awesome Jeff Rubenstein. He thought, rightly so, that the awesomeness that is 3D Dot Game Heroes would be even greater if other awesomeness — say, the mighty Sackboy — were to be added to its already more-than-sufficient awesomeness.

It was a recipe for potentially cataclysmic awesomeness. And thanks to the little seed Mr. Rubenstein lovingly planted, a tree was born. A tree of awesome. Sackboy awesome. Well, and other stuff.

For you see, PlayStation Readers, today we launched a patch for our retro action-adventure 3D Dot Game Heroes, the ultimate throwback to the 8- and 16-bit eras of gaming. The patch adds 50 fan- and staff-created heroes, the ability to carry over certain swords to New Game+, and adjustments to the completion times for the Dash Circuit mini game. In addition, a bug fix restores previously absent loading art images so they will randomly appear and be viewable in the Loading Art Gallery.

And of course, the aforementioned inclusion of the lovable Sackboy from Media Molecule’s LittleBigPlanet for PS3, courtesy of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. Few games convey the notion of “creation” and “customization” better than LittleBigPlanet, so what better way to bring more attention to 3D Dot Game Heroes and its powerful character creation tool than to throw one of the gaming’s most popular mascots into the Kingdom of Dotnia?

Fired up your copy of 3DDGH recently, Readers? Or maybe you’ve been on the fence for the past few months (how painful)? Well, hopefully you have fewer/no excuses left!

3D Dot Game Heroes is on sale now for PS3 system wherever fine video games are sold. For more info, visit the official game website.

We all learned the tragic news that Sackboy wouldn't be appearing in a new video game for a few months longer than we thought. What this post presupposes is: Maybe he will? Not as a part of an officially sanctioned LittleBigPlanet adventure, mind you -- rather, he's been added to the roster of playable characters in Silicon Studio's 3D Dot Game Heroes in an update launched earlier today.

The patch also adds 50 player-made heroes to everyone's lineup, allows players to carry weapons over into their New Game + files, and incorporates a handful of bug fixes, which can be read about in detail after the jump. Could the game's former lack of Sackboy actually be considered a bug? We'll have to think on this for a while.

A new hero is born.

Index Holdings, the parent company of 3D Dot Game Heroes publisher and Shin Megami Tensei developer Atlus, has announced its intent to completely absorb Atlus to better manage the company's resources. The dissolution is expected to take place on October 1, provided Atlus, Index Holdings and subsidiary company Index agree to the terms of the merger during board meetings being held today.

It's unclear how this deal could affect future releases from the prolific RPG developer and publisher. According to Game Watch, a representative from Index Holdings explained that upcoming titles would still be released under the Atlus brand. We've contacted Atlus for further clarification.

The folks whose blocks rocked.

Atlus searched far and wide its 3D Dot Game Heroes character hub for a new face for the game, in its "Make-a-Hero" contest. Finally, it found someone man enough, and cannon enough, for the job: Mannon. After the break, see some of the user-created heroes who almost got the job.

(and, coincidentally, it’s also a WRAP, too!)

What am I yammering on about? Why, only the fact that 3D Dot Game Heroes, the PS3-exclusive action-adventure game that takes those gosh-darn-awesome gaming classics we all grew up with (you know, _______, ________, and who could forget ______ ___ _______) and renders them with current gen pizzazz!

“I have the power, rawr.”

To celebrate the game’s release, we’re also releasing a fifth video vignette. Not only does it show off the mini-games you’ll be distracted by (dooming the poor citizens of Dotnia to never being rescued from the clutches of Dark Bishop Fuelle), but it also happens to be the most radical video we’ve put out for the game to date.

“No, it is too retro-sexy, señor”
“BUT I MUST!”

So, why should you pick up 3D Dot Game Heroes? Is it safe to assume “because it’s awesome” isn’t quite enough information? Well, how about the following list of things, bulleted for your convenience (and mine):

• An awesome marriage of old-school 8- and 16-bit sprite style art (in beautiful 3D, mind you) with the full power of the PlayStation 3 system.
• A retro-yet-modern soundtrack, filled with addictive tunes that you’ll be annoying people in public spaces with your involuntary humming for quite some time.
• A huge, lush kingdom to explore. Dotnia is filled with secrets, large dungeons, powerful bosses, quests to solve, and hilarious characters. Search every nook and cranny; you’re bound to find something amazing!
• Tons of replayability, whether by means of the mini-games, the new game + modes (yes, there is more than one post-game mode to try), or trying to collect all of the swords (many of which are not easily found).
• Have we mentioned it’s only $39.99?

“Ew, a spider, kill it! Oh wait, that’s us…”

Have we told you about the “Hall of Heroes” yet, PlayStation Blog friends? You know, the handy, dandy repository for all of your awesome custom heroes (assuming they don’t infringe on any rights you don’t own)? The place where you can go to download new designs from Crafty McCraftersons around the world? The place where if you submit a great design in the next month or so, you could be eligible to win some Amazon Video Games credit? Oh, NOW we have your attention. Well, we might as well pimp the link: http://www.3ddotgameheroes.com/hallofheroes

So, in conclusion… Stay the course… A thousand points of light… And remember to pick of 3D Dot Game Heroes for your PlayStation 3 system today. It’s only $39.99!

Without the proper prior information, the 3D Dot Game Heroes trailer posted above would seem like a rare miss for Atlus' clever marketing machine. After all, it features a fairly horrific rap about some of the game's bonus modes, most of which have been shoehorned into an incredibly awkward rhyme scheme. However, once you realize the commercial is a parody of this 1986 Legend of Zelda ad, you realize -- well, it's still a trainwreck, but it's a parodical trainwreck.

Better still, it's an appropriate parodical trainwreck, considering the rest of 3D Dot Game Heroes borrows inspiration from Nintendo's emerald-hatted adventurer. And by "borrows," of course, we mean "straight-up plunders."

#clips The fifth and final vignette for 3D Dot Game Heroes is even more embarrassing when you realize this is what we accepted as advertising in the late 80's. More »

#atlus One of the coolest features of Atlus' 3D Dot Game Heroes is the ability to create your own animated protagonist using the game's built-in character editor. Now there's a place where players can share their creations with the world. More »

Share your designs for a chance to win Amazon video games credit.

Are you particularly proud of the homebrewed 3D Dot Game Heores character model you recently whipped up? You know, the one that looks like Link/Mario/Belmont/Your favorite Final Fantasy archetype? Great news -- you can now share your pixelated protagonists with other players, or simply borrow the fruits of their labors, using the recently launched "Hall of Heroes" web hub.

There are only a handful of characters live on the hub right now, but they all look like they'd serve as worthy saviors of the land of Dotnia. Especially the one named "Rad Naner," which is a banana wearing sunglasses and riding a skateboard.

If you're in the UK and are having a hard time getting a handle on the upcoming general election, perhaps seeing how the three party leaders perform as blocky, giant-sword-wielding heroes will help your decision-making. SouthPeak has added downloadable 3D Dot Game Heroes characters based on party leaders Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg. (Perhaps Southpeak is semi-overtly referring to the UK's top politicians as blockheads?)

The downloadable politicians are accessible from the "Vault" section of the 3D Dot Game Heroes EU website, which is also home to the web-based character editor. For those of you outside of the UK, there are three new "Guy in a Suit" characters on the site.

3D Dot Game Heroes will be released in Europe on May 14 and in North America on May 11.

We work in a profession which has us coming into contact with an inexplicably large number of fake armaments, so we feel like we can speak with some authority when we say that the foam sword seen above is the coolest foam sword ever. How can you go about acquiring one of these ultra-rare, pixelated beauties? All you have to do is make something using this simplified, online version of 3D Dot Game Heroes' character creation engine, and you could win the non-lethal blade and a copy of the game.

You have until May 11 to whip up a blocky hero and submit a picture of it to SouthPeak (the European publisher of the title) for consideration. Sadly, the contest is only open to our European allies, though the character creator is available to everyone. We demand equality on both sides of the Atlantic! Everyone should have a stab at winning these squishy sabers!

#clips 3D Dot Game Heroes might look like a 3D pixel take on The Legend of Zelda, but this trailer is all Old Spice's "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like." More »

Dearest Atlus,

These cute 3D Dot Game Heroes videos just have to stop. Your latest, a delightful parody of the equally delightful Old Spice "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like" commercial, is just too good (see attached video after the break). We realize you have to compete for attention by creating informative, entertaining videos, but how are other niche publishers supposed to compete? The boys downstairs have already ascertained the high quality of the game, and your continued insistence on marketing the product now borders on overkill.

Honestly, it's really not fair to all the other American publishers of quirky Japanese games.

Sincerely,




J. J. Joystiq Sr.

Readers of PlayStation.Blog,

Look at me.

Now look at this video.

Now back to me.

Sadly, you probably haven’t looked at the video yet, because you’re still reading this.

If you HAD seen the video, you’d know all about the powerful character creation tool in the upcoming love letter to retro gaming, 3D Dot Game Heroes, coming exclusively to a PS3 near you (preferably yours) on May 11th.

Now look at the video. Seriously, you should probably just stop reading and look at the video.

Now back to me. What’s this I’m holding? Why, it’s a bunch of awards from some of the most awesome game sites and magazines around, like IGN.com, GamePro, and Game Informer. Here are some links:

• IGN — 8.5/10, Editor’s Choice Award
• GamePro — 4.5/5, Editor’s Choice Award
• Game Informer — 8.5/10, Silver Award
• Wired Game|Life — 8/10
• PlayStation Universe — 8/10
• Gamer2.0 — 9/10
• Gaming Union — 9/10, Editor’s Choice Award
• Just Push Start — 4.5/5, Editor’s Choice Award

3D Dot Game Heroes. Coming May 11th, exclusively for PS3. Only $39.99!

What will YOUR hero be?

Silicon Studio set out to make a game primarily as a means of showing off its graphical effect middleware -- and then chose a retro-style action RPG as that showcase. That shouldn't work at all. But somehow, the developer managed to pull it off; 3D Dot Game Heroes is a faithful, expertly crafted reproduction of NES-era gameplay that happens to highlight spectacular visual effects in a logical way.

The studio pulled this impressive feat off by designing a world composed of giant cubes, essentially 3D versions of 8-bit sprites. This style is overlaid with insane visual effects, like an exaggerated depth of field that makes everything look miniature, and surreal, sparkling water. Even the spells are winkingly based on graphical effects like shaders and parallax maps. It's essentially the lost NES Zelda game. Or, rather, it's a parody of the Zelda series executed so perfectly that it is itself an excellent Zelda game.

Does Atlus do retro right in its Zelda-like adventure?

#reversal Using 3D Dot Game Heroes's built-in character editor, Game Informer's Tim Turi takes the Zelda "homage" full-circle. More »

If you're a Zelda fan with a PS3, you'll want to see this.

It was almost too obvious: 3D Dot Game Heroes looks a lot like Zelda, it lets you make characters, boom: You put Link in it. Done. But like all innovations that were so natural as to be almost self-evident, someone had to be first. In our case, that someone is Game Informer's Tim Turi, whose achievement you can find after the break.

Congratulations, Tim. It may have been obvious, but that's what they said about going to the moon and now who's on Dancing With The Stars, eh?

It's no secret that From Software's 3D Dot Game Heroes borrows -- and borrows heavily -- from the Zelda series. So, Atlus, cheeky publisher that it is, has released a new trailer for 3D Dot Game Heroes that outright exposes the game's aping of Zelda. Give it a watch and see if you can spot all the references.

#clips It's dangerous to go alone! Take this trailer for 3D Dot Game Heroes one-stop shop for every thing Link you need to rescue Zelda Dotnia! More »

#clips It might not be a real word, but Zelda-riffic is the only one I can come up with for this first full trailer for Atlus' PlayStation 3 exclusive 3D Dot Game Heroes. More »

It's kind of weird to say this, but the consistent awesomeness of 3D Dot Game Heroes trailers is starting to feel downright cruel. Seriously, how much cheeky, retro goodness are we expected to take? The latest trailer piles it on yet again, showing off anything and everything you ever loved about adventure RPGs. Adorable heroes, dungeons, massive bosses, boomerangs, it's all there. The trailer even offers a glimpse at the game's character editor.

Which brings us to the cruel part: the May 11 3D Dot Game Hereos launch is still over a month away. Come on, Atlus, have a heart and stop with the trailers.

PlayStation.Blog readers,

EPIC TRAILER MUSIC! EPIC TRAILER TEXT! EPIC TRAILER!

EPIC TRAILER IS EPIC!

3D Dot Game Heroes, the PlayStation 3 exclusive that promises to inject retro-saccharin goodness directly into your corneas (those are part of your eyes, whippersnappers), has a full video trailer… And here it is! (Well, it’s actually right above this text. We can see how that could be confusing.)

So why should you be excited? Aside from the retro 3D visuals, ear-gratifying musical score, and extremely addicting, nostalgic action-adventure gameplay, you mean? Well… BECAUSE IT HAS TRAILER MUSIC! Did you hear it? Like, the part with the chorus singing in the background? Who cares if the game is awesome (it is, by the way) when you have trailer music with voices chanting in the background!?

Oh, and to address a couple comments that have been popping up in posts relating to 3D Dot Game Heroes:

The huge swords evident in some screens/videos do NOT break the game. It is not a design flaw. You’re only that big when you’re at FULL health (intuitive, right?), and you’ll rarely be at full health for long stretches of time. Moreover, only near the end of the game will you have a sword THAT large, not to mention one with the ability to penetrate geometry (i.e. trees, rocks, etc). Many of the swords cannot and will not swing out all the way in those situations, making size… well… irrelevant. Ask anyone who’s played the game: it’s not about how big it is, it’s about… oh, nevermind. The game DOES look amazing in person; you’ll just have to trust us on this. Even videos often fail to do the game justice. There is no multiplayer component to the game. We’re not currently planning any pre-order bonus items. We view the super cool $39.99 price point as a rather nice bonus. The game has a number of significant improvements over the original Japanese version, including an OPTIONAL HDD install (approximately 1.2gb in size) to reduce/eliminate load times, dozens of new, North American-exclusive load screens that parody popular game box art, and more!

Thanks for watching the trailer and reading this far down. (And “nords!” to any of you who didn’t…I can make snide comments because you’re not actually reading this.)

Please don’t forget to pre-order your copy of 3D Dot Game Heroes, coming to PlayStation 3 on May 11, 2010 with an MSRP of only $39.99!