Nintendo Power Darkside Chronicles Preview

[Archelon]

I read the preview for DSC in the latest issue of Nintendo Power while I was out today running some errands. I would have bought the magazine to scan the article, but there was only one new screenshot, and it was of Birkin getting shot up by HUNK's team. Also, there really wasn't a whole lot of new information included, so I didn't see much point.

Even so, I thought I'd summarize some of the more interesting points for everyone here. Some of this information is rather spoilerish, so I'll be using spoiler tags for the benefit of those who are trying to avoid such details. The article described a single level from each of the three scenarios. The level in the Operation: Javier scenario was the same one on display at TGS, and the level in the RE2 scenario was, I believe, the first level, and they played up until the point where Leon and Claire first meet Sherry.

The CODE: Veronica scenario was the only one that provided any new details. If the first level was what was on display at TGS, then this wasn't it. It may have been the level directly after, but in any case, it was a level (and boss battle, for that matter) we have not yet seen. So, here's where the spoilers start.

Spoiler:

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The article described the boss battle with the Tyrant aboard the cargo plane. Interestingly, it sounds like it plays out fairly similarly to the encounter in CODE: Veronica, even down to having to use an exploding crate to shove the Tyrant out of the back of the plane. This is handled by a quick time event in DSC, and, much like in the original, you have to do a certain amount of damage to the monster before the crate will knock it out of the plane. If you haven't done enough damage, then it will stop the crate and shove it back.

It seems Claire never runs into Wesker while on Rockfort Island as she did in CVX. The article stated that when Claire and Steve are escaping the island in the plane, you see Wesker standing in the shadows, watching them fly away. Now, she still may have bumped into him prior to this point, but judging from the way the article described this scene, it sounds like they won't actually meet in person, at least not during the Rockfort Island portion. Perhaps this is one of the changes that had to be made as a result of Steve being there with Claire?

Strangely, Capcom confirmed to NP that Chris would make an appearance during the CV scenario, but they would not confirm that he would be playable. This may simply be due to the fact that NP played this demo a good while before TGS.

Regarding the decision to set the new scenario in South America, Kawata said that they wanted to set it in a place the series has never been to before, and they wanted a more exotic locale where they could come up with "interesting names" for characters. Also, they had developed a brand new lighting engine for DSC and wanted to show it off in a daylight setting to contrast the relatively dark RE2 and CV scenarios.

He also made an interesting note about Javier's relationship with a certain character:

Spoiler:

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He said that Javier would act as a sort of foil to Wesker. Perhaps similar to Sergei from UC?

He also explained why they didn't put an RE4 scenario in the game. Initially, they had considered adding one, but the idea was scrapped when they couldn't figure out how to give Leon a partner character through the entire scenario, since Ashley can't use weapons, Luis dies, and Ada isn't working directly with Leon.

As I said, there wasn't a whole lot new, but some interesting tidbits nonetheless.

[PracticalAl]

Wow, that was very interesting! Thanks for taking the time to post this! ♥

[Yzak]

Nice.

Spoiler:

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I am SO HAPPY and now SO NERVOUS about that Tyrant plane battle. XD; That battle is a bitch in CV, so I wonder if I'll rage the same way.

[xfactor]

I was a little hoping that the RE4 will made it into the game as a single player scenario (like Wesker's scenarios in UC) but I guess I got too much hope, lol. Not blaming them though.

[Agent_Wong]

Nicely done Arc. I didn't read the spoilers, although I probably can deduce what they are, but the rest of it sounds great. I'm so eager to play this game.

My only fear about this game is that, it very well could be the last appearance of Ada Wong. If you look at the way things stand now, there is really nothing tying her down to anything in the storyline. Wesker is dead, and Leon is the only link between her and the story. Unless the "Organization" decided to make themselves known, be it friend or foe.

[TheBatMan]

Nice article. Im not surprised claire doesn't meet Wesker to be honest. The original games still take precident after all so its no big loss. But Wesker watching Claire fly away is a nice added touch. As is Alexia/Alfred singing at the top of the cliff near the beginning. Hopefully there will be a few more nice added touches like this as they were few and far between in UC.

[News Bot]

Spoiler:

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Glad to see the T-078 is returning. Hopefully that means we'll be seeing every single enemy in updated form. Now all we need are the Albinoids.

[Det. Beauregard]

I have a feeling that a lot of the original game will be cut out of the CV scenario. I mean, CVX was really long compared to the other core RE games...

[DarkMemories]

Not in terms of actual plot; the game just doubled up on backtracking for the most part. Otherwise, it'd be only an hour longer than other RE games at the most.