Firefighter FD-18

[Tonma]

Has anyone played Konami's new Firefighting game yet?

There was some very nice footage of it on last months Famitsu Wave DVD and so its winging its way to me as i type.

Any initial impressions or thoughts will be appreciated.

[David Heath]

I played Brave Hero Firefighters or something like that in the Arcade's the other week with a friend. It was (un)surprisingly very good fun. You have this massive metal hose you can use to direct the water onto the screen, and a moveable nozzle to change the type of spray you fire (for close range fires).

It looked great but we didn't get very far.

[marcus]

I initially ordered this from Play Asia, and then decided to leave it after I read about the amount of Japanese text in it. It does look interesting, and it would be great if you could post some impressions in First Play once youve tried it out, especially how much the text impacts the game as a whole. If its good, I might reorder it.

[jimtendo]

Read a few peeps thoughts on the game, and i've seen the 16mb vid from the official site:
They mentioned it was a fun game for a bit, and echoed many others views that in the long term it could prove a bit too samey. Well, you do fight fire...

I too thought about picking it up, but with the onslaught of Psyvariar 2/ Ninja Gaiden/ MGS: Twin Snakes et al, it could prove pretty hard for F.F.D 18 to compete.
Probably will pick it up later along the line, since it seems pretty diverting/ different enough to warrant a go.

As for people who are concerned about translation issues:
Main menu and voice overs are in English.
Text descriptions are in Japanese.

On the subject of firefighting. There is going to be a new firefighting game called "Sakura Zakashobotai", by Irem, who also made Zettai Zetsumei Toshi/ Disaster Report.

LINK

Irem Software Engineering announced that they are developing Sakura Zakashobotai, a fire fighting action game. It's described as the fire fighting equivalent of their 2002 title Disaster Report (Zettai Zetsumei Toshi in Japan and S.O.S. Escape in Europe).

Irem was rather lean on the details of Sakura Zakashobotai, but they did say the game will be divided into two parts. There will be adventure elements allowing interaction with fellow fire fighters in a fire department and 3D action sequences where you fight fires. The game is set to release in Japan this June. There are no US release plans yet, but hopefully Agetec (who published Disaster Report in the US) will pick up what promises to be a unique and compelling gameplay experience.

[marcus]

Zettai Zetsumei Toshi/ Disaster Report

One of my favourite, and most underrated PS2 titles too. I look forward to seeing what they can do with that, thanks for the info.

[Max M]

Is Konami's game coming out in America or Europe? Sounds like the closest thing to a Burning Rangers sequel.

[jimtendo]

USA release: 9th March

No UK release, which is a suprise

[Balou]

So, Firefighter FD-18 is not 'Sakura Zakashoboutai'?

What is the title of the English release of Sakura Zakashoboutai?

[Chief H]

The two games are completely different, made by different developers. Unfortunately Sakurazaka Shoboutai still has no indication of recieving any sort of english language translation which is a shame as playing it with a faq kind of destroys half of it. Still great fun though.

[MikeRox]

USA release: 9th March

No UK release, which is a suprise

It's out now tho, can be had on ebay for under ?15 delivered new. Tbh I find it a bit repetetive tho

[womblingfree]

I thought the official sequel to Disaster Report was about a flood?

it has the rather catchy title, Zettai Zetsumei Toshi 2: Itetsuita Kioku Tachi.

http://ps2.ign.com/objects/703/703781.html?fromint=1

I loved the original, really atmospheric. Think I reviewed it over at Rllmuk years ago?

[Chief H]

Indeed, the sequel is a flood. Sakurazaka Shoboutai was never really related to Zettai Zetsumei Toshi other than that it was made by the same people at Irem and was another case of man vs. nature, so there are thematic parallels there. I don't think anyone ever mentioned that it was a sequel to it either, just made by the same people.

[womblingfree]

Indeed, the sequel is a flood. Sakurazaka Shoboutai was never really related to Zettai Zetsumei Toshi other than that it was made by the same people at Irem and was another case of man vs. nature, so there are thematic parallels there. I don't think anyone ever mentioned that it was a sequel to it either, just made by the same people.

I didn't think 'Zettai Zetsumei Toshi 2: Itetsuita Kioku Tachi' had much to do with the original either except for those reasons?

Sounds like 'Sakurazaka Shoboutai' is a Zettai sequel in all but name.

Wish I could pronounce these games.

[Chief H]

The difference is in the situational position. The ZZT games are more about survival - it's a natural disaster from which the game is angled at survival and escape, whereas SS is man v. nature but the weights are turned - you have the power to supress fire in this case. it's not about saving your own life, it's about saving others. The game is also structured differently with the mission-based layout that you would expect of a fireman (i.e. go put out the fire in that building, back to the station for a cuppa, next fire...) whereas ZZT is a bit more ongoing. The games are thematically close but structurally and mentally worlds apart.