Off the Newsstand: Nintendo Power Issue 278

It has been a busy month of gaming and reading for yours truly.  I honestly plow through video game magazines like nobodies business.  Maybe it is just years of reading them cover-to-cover or that magazines are very easy reads because I have never thought of myself as a fast reader in any way.  Now here is my quick look at the newest issue of Nintendo Power, which I finished reading a few days ago.

Many people were surprised to hear last month that Nobunaga X Pokemon was coming to North America as Pokemon Conquest for the DS this coming June.  With the game just announced, it is a cool coincidence (or maybe was it planned?) that the cover story for Issue 278 of Nintendo Power be on Pokemon Conquest.  Even though it was not my personal favourite cover story in recent memory, the cover story on Pokemon Conquest was a solid preview nonetheless.  The cover story look at Pokemon Conquest's story, the basics on Pokemon Conquest's tactical gameplay, how to recruit new party members and Pokemon and how preparing for battle is just as important and maybe even more important than the actual battles themselves.  Having never played a tactical RPG in the vein of Pokemon Conquest, which looks to share a lot of similarities with the Final Fantasy Tactics series, it all seems pretty daunting, but I am looking forward to this game as it is actually a spinoff to the Pokemon series that looks to be worth playing.  My favourite article from this issue goes to the preview of The Last Story, a new type of RPG created by Hironobu Sakaguchi's Mistwalker studios.  Much like Xenoblade Chronicles, The Last Story looks to advance the Japanese RPG in new innovative directions that revitalize a genre that has not really resonated in the past few years.  Nintendo Power's preview takes a look at The Last Story's real-time battle and cover system, the story which avoids all the JRPG and anime story tropes and a quick asides on The Last Story's multi-player modes.  The article also includes on great two-page interview with great Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of the iconic Final Fantasy series and one of the forefathers of the JRPG genre.  Issue 278 also includes ranking of all 14 Super Mario games from the less favourable to the best in the series of excellent platformers, an interesting preview of Theatrhythm Final Fantasy, a music game in the vein of Elite Beat Agents where you can play through all the excellent music found in the Final Fantasy series, and an interview with Ben Bateman, a Localization Editor for Aksys Games.  The only disappointing part of Issue 278 of Nintendo Power was the lack of reviews.  There were only two reviews in this entire issue, one for Mario Tennis Open and one for Roller Coaster Tycoon 3D both for the 3DS.  In all my years of reading Nintendo Power, I cannot remember a review section this small.  It was very surprising to say the least.

I always have a lot to talk about after reading an issue of Nintendo Power as you can see above.  While I did enjoy this issue of Nintendo Power, I do not think it is a must read for the average Nintendo fan.  If you are a huge Pokemon fan, Issue 278 is a must read.  For everybody else, it would be easier to check it out at your local library.