- Fossil Fighters
-
Fossil Fighters 
North American front cover of Fossil Fighters.Developer(s) Nintendo SPD
Red Entertainment
M2
ArtdinkPublisher(s) Nintendo Platform(s) Nintendo DS Release date(s) Genre(s) Role-playing game Mode(s) Single-player Rating(s) Media/distribution Nintendo DS Game Card Fossil Fighters, known in Japan as Bokura wa Kasekihoridā (ぼくらはカセキホリダー lit. "We Are Fossil Diggers"[2]), is a 2008 video game developed by Nintendo SPD, Red Entertainment, M2, and Artdink and published by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 17, 2008 and was later released in North America on August 10, 2009,[1] and in Australia on September 17, 2009.[3]
On September 10, 2010, a sequel titled Super Kasekihoridā was announced,[4] and it was released in Japan on November 18, 2010.[5] Near the end of Nintendo's E3 2011 conference, it was announced that it will be released outside of Japan originally titled as Super Fossil Fighters, but later changed to Fossil Fighters: Champions. It was released in North America on November 14, 2011.
Contents
Gameplay
The game starts with a young boy arriving on Vivosaur Island, a place where dinosaur fossils can be dug up. These fossils are encased in stone, and must be taken to a lab to be cleaned on the touch-screen, using drills, hammers, and x-ray. The player must be careful not to damage the fossils, or they will be destroyed. Once successfully cleaned, the dinosaur DNA can be revived into powerful dinosaur-like creatures called "Vivosaurs". The game revolves around hunting for fossils, reviving Vivosaurs, and using them to battle other Fossil Fighters to raise their rank, therefore gaining access to more areas to dig up fossils, and learning more about the mysteries of Vivosaur Island.
Plot
At the hotel on Vivosaur Island, the manager gives you instructions on the basics. You then go to a trial dig site, where a boy named Holt battles you. Then you unlock Greenhorn Plains, where a man steals everyones' Dino Medals. you will meet Rosie, who's medals have been stolen, while yours' are returned. Then in Knotwood Forest, a tribe called the Digadigs asks you to defend their treasures from the BB Bandits. Then, you will meet Nevada Montecarlo, and beat Vivian in the Digadigamid. Rosie gets cursed and will speak similar to the Digadigs. (This is just the beginning...)
Characters
- Hero (known in the official manga as Hunter): The protagonist of the game. A young boy that arrives on Vivosaur Island at the start of the game. Players can change the character's name and the colors of his outfit, but not his gender. Players also can change his face by finding or purchasing masks later in the game.
- Rosie Richmond: A young girl with pink pigtails, matching pink skirt, and a matching pink helmet. Rosie helps the player character at various times, but seems to have bad luck.
- Holt: Is a returning Fossil Fighter and he could be considered your rival. In the official manga Holt is a big fan of V-Raptors and Rosie also has a crush on him.
- Dr. Diggins: A tall, wiry man with glasses, blue hair, and a deep tan. The foremost scientist on Vivosaur Island, and an expert at cleaning and reviving Vivosaurs.
- The B.B. Bandits: An organization of thieves on the island. The player encounters and battles three of the members several times: Vivian, the greenish blue-haired field leader, her long-nosed subordinate Snivels, and their strange canine companion Rex.
- The Digadig Tribe: A tribe of ancient island natives, led by a chieftain.
- Captain Woolbeard: A ghost pirate who lives in a shipwreck in Bottomsup Bay. He has beard ribbon.
- Saurhead: The reigning arena champion, a mountain of a man with a macho attitude and trademark green dinosaur mask, making him seem much like a luchadore wrestler.
- Duna: A mysterious girl (Dinaurian) with blonde hair, and a deep connection to the island's past.
- Mr. Richmond: Rosie's Grandfather who owns Vivosaur Island. He appears frequently throughout the plot and has his own office in the Richmond Building.
- Gunash: A large monster with three brains. You will fight him to save Vivosaur Island and Earth.
List of Vivosaurs
(Vivosaurs can also be featured in "Fossil Fighters: Champions")
Tyrannosaurs
- Tyrannosaurus
- Daspletosaurus
- Gorgosaurus
- Tarbosaurus
- Alioramus
- Siamotyrannus
- Alectrosaurus
- Guanlong
- Shanshanosaurus
Carnosaurs
- Allosaurus
- Metriacanthosaurus
- Megalosaurus
- Afrovenator
- Sinraptor
- Giganotosaurus
- Cryolophosaurus
- Carcharodontosaurus
- Acrocanthosaurus
- Fukuiraptor
- Altispinax
- Neovenator
Coelurosaurs
Dromaeosaurs
Ceratosaurs
Spinosaurs
Bird-like dinosaurs
Sauropods
- Brachiosaurus
- Saltosaurus
- Shunosaurus
- Supersaurus
- Seismosaurus
- Apatosaurus
- Amargasaurus
Stegosaurs
Ankylosaurs
Hypsilophodonts
Iguanodonts
Hadrosaurs
Pachycephalosaurs
Ceratopsians
- Protoceratops
- Triceratops
- Styracosaurus
- Einiosaurus
- Centrosaurus
- Pentaceratops
- Pachyrhinosaurus
- Mihunekisaurus
Pterosaurs
Underwater Creatures
Birds
- Archeopteryx
- Diatryma
Prehistoric Mammals
- Arsinoitherium
- Brontotherium
- Elasmotherium
- Hoplophoneus
- Andrewsarchus
- Pakicetus
- Smilodon
- Mammuthus
- Megatherium
Development
The director Azusa Tajima and Genki Yokota from Nintendo SPD along with their entire sound staff from Nintendo worked together with Artdink, M2 and Red Entertainment in the development of this game.[6] In an interview with the 4-team development group, Nintendo's Hitoshi Yamagami describes the game's conception around 2004, when Red Entertainment proposed the idea of a game involving dinosaurs.[7]
Manga
The official manga, currently has 15 "episodes" as stated on the Fossil Fighters official website, all of which has 16 pages each.
Hunter, the main character of the manga has revived the following vivosaurs:
- Spinax (Altispinax): Hunter's First revived vivosaur
- V-Raptor (Velociraptor): Hunter's 2nd revived vivosaur
- Shoni(Shonisaurus): A slow developer, but fends off the BB Bandits' Plesio (Plesiosaurus) in the manga.
- Tricera (Triceratops): Revived from greenhorn plains, Tricera was used against BB bosses Frigi, but didnt stand a chance. Also fought alongside the Samurai's Mihu (Mihunekisaurus), in destroying the Dinomaton in Fossil Stadium.
- Coatlus (Quetzalcoatlus): Not seen being used in battle, but has assisted Hunter.
- Igno: Battled the BB Boss' Frigi, though only temporarily as Igno faded after Frigi was beaten
Reception
Fossil Fighters received a decent score of 32 out of 40 by the Japanese magazine Famitsu.[8] The game was the third best-selling game in Japan the week of its release at 35,000 copies sold.[9] By the end of 2008, Fossil Fighters had sold 240,176 copies, making it the 15th best-selling DS game of the year in the region.[10] In the United States, it sold 92,000 units in August 2009, making it the 10th best selling game for that month.[11]
In America, Fossil Fighters scores averaged between 7 and 8. Reviewers generally praised the game for being fun, having simple yet surprisingly addictive cleaning while having battles that were somewhat enjoyable. While most reviewers compared it to the Pokemon video game series, some reviewers like GameSpot didn't mind, saying that they might as well borrow from the best, while others didn't bring it up much. However, reviewers found game elements like graphics and music overall lacking, and some reviewers, like IGN (who gave the game a 5.3), knocked the game for being repetitive and too Pokemon-like.
Sequel
In 2010 in Japan, Nintendo released its sequel to Fossil Fighters as "Super Fossil Fighters", but it was released outside Japan in North America as "Fossil Fighters: Champions", which was released in North America on November 14, 2011. It contains all of the vivosaurs from the original game, plus about 50 more:
- Albertosaurus
- Unenlagia
- Mamenchisaurus
- Dacentrurus
- Dsungaripterus
- Machairodus
- Pelorovis
- Dimetrodon
- Coelocanth
- Pachydesmoceras
- Dikelocephalina
- Rajasaurus
- Argentinosaurus
- Nigersaurus
- Tsintaosaurus
- Hatzegopteryx
- Metridiochoerus
- Anancus
- Stupendemys
- Synthetoceras
- Dunkleosteus
- Terataspis
- Aerosteon
- Epidexipteryx
- Camarasaurus
- Hypacrosaurus
- Chasmosaurus
- Nyctosaurus
- Edaphosaurus
- Paraceratherium
- Megaloceros
- Anomalocaris
- Paradoxides
- Mapusaurus
- Archaeoceratops
- Sauroposeidon
- Olorotitan
- Albertaceratops
- Thalassodromeus
- Gomphotherium
- Tanystropheus
- Parapuzosia
- Kryptops
- Titanis
- Eoraptor
- Nipponosaurus
- Titanoboa
- Gaudryceras
References
- ^ a b East, Tom (4 June 2009). "E3: Nintendo Reveal Fossil Fighters". Official Nintendo Magazine. Nintendo. http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/article.php?id=9309. Retrieved 1 August 2009.
- ^ The Making of Fossil Fighters - Developer Interviews | Nintendo DS Game.[dead link] Retrieved 30 November 2011.
- ^ "Fossil Fighters". Nintendo (Australia). http://www.nintendo.com.au/index.php?action=catalogue&prodcat_id=43&prod_id=19428. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
- ^ RawmeatCowboy (9 September 2010). "Fossil Fighters getting a sequel". GoNintendo. http://www.gonintendo.com/viewstory.php?id=135753.
- ^ "Super Kasekihoridā". Nintendo (Japan). http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ds/vdej/index.html.
- ^ "06-10-2009 Staff Credits". June 20, 2009. http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=69742&tab=credits. Retrieved 2009-08-01.
- ^ "04-10-2008 Development Staff Interview". June 2, 2009. http://www.fossilfighters.com/html/making-of/2/. Retrieved 2009-08-01.
- ^ "04-10-2008 Famitsu Scores". Gemaga.com. April 9, 2008. http://www.gemaga.com/2008/04/09/04-10-2008-famitsu-scores. Retrieved 2009-08-01.
- ^ Jenkins, David (April 24, 2008). "Mario Kart Still In Pole In Japanese Charts". Gamasutra.com. http://gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=18379. Retrieved 2009-08-01.
- ^ Monogatari, Gaijin (February 13, 2009). "RPGamer - Japandemonium (February 13th, 2009)". RPGamer.com. http://www.rpgamer.com/news/japan/mb021309.html. Retrieved 2009-08-01.
- ^ Thorsen, Tor (2010-10-09). "NPD: US game industry slips 16% in August, PS3 sales nearly double". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. http://www.gamespot.com/ds/rpg/fossilfighters/news/6217140/npd-us-game-industry-slips-16-in-august-ps3-sales-nearly-double. Retrieved 2011-10-09. "Fossil Fighter's low bar of 92,000 units didn't bode well for several titles missing from the top 10."
External links
- Official website (English)
- Official website (Japanese)
- Fossil Fighters at Touch-DS.jp (Japanese)
- DS Fanboy article
Categories:- 2008 video games
- Nintendo DS games
- Nintendo DS-only games
- Red Entertainment games
- Role-playing video games
- Dinosaurs in video games
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