This month there are two major conventions taking place in Japan – the Tokyo Game Show and the 49th JAMMA Show. JAMMA is usually the time for manufacturers to show off a lot of their new ideas for the coming year, in terms of both hardware and software. Sometimes the hardware doesn’t gain traction and is quietly scrapped but usually games we see there do see the light of day. Here are two new games in development by Taito which already have release dates set for this December (in Japan). Just going off the pictures here I could say that they could use some sideart to spruce things up a little.
Building up to the event Taito has begun to announce and test out some new games. First is a brand new music rhythm game called Magical Music. Taito is certainly starting to up their game in the music rhythm business, after Music Gun Gun 2 and recently a popular mobile game called Groove Coaster. Magical Music appears to use a wizard/witch theme and 1-2 players use a pair of wands on a 70-inch multi-touch screen to touch rings as they appear. You can read a description of how it’s supposed to work, along with more pictures @ Mieya.net.
Next up is a twist on the ball-throwing game that I am calling Legendary Cannon as that makes more sense than what the translator suggests of “Legends Investment Blocking”. Instead of allowing the user to throw a ball at a projected screen, you have a cannon controller that will fire the balls for you. The point of the game seems to be smashing down some battlements of a castle and just wreaking havoc in general. It uses a 70-inch screen, everything can be smashed in the game and the cannon has recoil and adjustable firepower. With all of that going on I’m sure that this will turn heads and it looks like it would do pretty well out West to be honest.
UPDATE: New teaser site for both games. Apparently Legendary Cannon can have two players throwing balls at the screen or the cannon can be used and the cabinet does have more artwork on it than pictured above. [Legendary Cannon Link] [Magical Music Teaser]
