Archime-DS (Nintendo DS) Preview

By Adam Riley 22.04.2007

When it was originally hinted at that Kenichi Nishi was working on a project called 'LOL DS', everyone was quick to jump on the train of thought that this would be related to his game 'Lack of Love' from the Dreamcast

First of all, for those unaware of who Kenichi Nishi is, he has previously worked with Square Enix on the likes of Super Mario RPG, he brought the niche hit moon to PSone, joined with Skip Ltd and helped bring the world Chibi-Robo, as well as the quirky communication RPG GiFTPiA to Japan only, both on GameCube...and has now set up his own company called Route24, whilst still keeping his ties with the hard working folk at Skip. Can you see now why there was so much interest in what his next project was going to be? The man has a gift and thankfully he is very willing to share that with us loyal Nintendo followers. So what is the idea behind Archime-DS?

Well, there is a popular Japanese game that people play with their friends called 'Oogiri', where the leader of the game poses a question or sets a challenge that must be completed and then the others playing have to answer in their own unique way within a set time limit. Once that time runs out, all of the answers are revealed and each player is awarded points by the rest of the group, with more points being handed out to whomever you believe gave the best response. There are no specific rules or pre-defined questions in Archime-DS, meaning that it proves to be an excellent tool to sharpen your wit, brush up on your comedy skills and unveil exactly how good your sense of humour really is. In fact, on top of this, you get to flex your creative muscle and get those juices flowing (ahem), by utilising the software as a tool for brainstorming new ideas, which is exactly why it is not suited for solo players.

Screenshot for Archime-DS on Nintendo DS

Probably slotting Archime-DS under the mantel of 'Laughing Training' is not too far from how it should be categorised, however, simply talking about the game is quite difficult as it seems to be one of those titles that has to be tried before the get the full gist of it. Anyway, the software's main design and direction was looked after by none other than Mr. Nishi-san himself at Route24, although the graphics, programming and sound were handled by Skip and production support came from Sarugakucho, meaning that it really was a meeting of the minds to get this project completed. Placing the price-point at the immensely low 2,100

Screenshot for Archime-DS on Nintendo DS

As for how you can play the game with people, it could not be simpler as you only need one DS game card in order to connect four players together, meaning that the low price can lead to fantastic fun without the hassle of others requiring the same game. In a recent hands-on with Japanese website Nintendo Inside, there was also mention of the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection being utilised, which would definitely make sense as you cannot always have three friends around you and thus the game would lie redundant for long periods. However, the Wi-Fi logo is currently not on the official box art...so we will just have to wait until Cubed

Screenshot for Archime-DS on Nintendo DS

In the local wireless mode, the player that takes the lead in the game is the one that has the DS card in their system, so should you want to mix things up it is simply a case of swapping your DS with the friend that wants to pose the questions / challenges. The time restriction element is something that can be chosen to meet your specific needs, thus if you are finding that there simply is not enough time to come up with a clever enough answer, the game can be tailored to suit the needs of your group and so removing a possible element of frustration. All you need to do is lose your inhibitions and fun will ensue. Perhaps this could well become the sort of game best played during heavy drinking sessions with a group of friends at home as in a more formal setting it could all become rather sterile.

Screenshot for Archime-DS on Nintendo DS

Final Thoughts

Overall, for a game produced by just five people over a period of three months, all at a very minimal production cost, Archime-DS sounds like one of those prospects that could really spark the imagination of the DS audience and become a large hit if marketed correctly. The game is due on 19th July and promotional work is already underway by the (very attractive) Miss Sayuri Yajima, PR Manager at Skip. Hopefully this will get the attention it deserves and be picked up for a Western release.

Also known as

LOL

Developer

Route24

Publisher

Rising Star Games

Genre

Simulation

Players

4

C3 Score

Rated $score out of 10  5/10

Reader Score

Rated $score out of 10  7/10 (3 Votes)

European release date Out now   North America release date Out now   Japan release date Out now   Australian release date Out now   

Comments

It's really impressive how there were only 5 people involved in the project! With little to translate, hopefully someone will pick this up for release in the West (hopefully Nintendo).

Adam Riley [ Director :: Cubed3 ]

UNITE714: Weekly Prayers | Bible Verses

Very interesting, though probably not one for me. Hope it does turn out to be online, that would make me give it a chance...

I definitely think a lack of online play will be a sad omission indeed...Could be the thing that makes or breaks this.

Adam Riley [ Director :: Cubed3 ]

UNITE714: Weekly Prayers | Bible Verses

I agree. This game would probably be a lot of fun if you can play online. Although, are they going to make it in English?

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