Contact

In the days leading up to Contact's announcement, Japanese publisher Marvelous Interactive published a series of web-based teasers featuring an elderly professor who bore a striking resemblance to Earthbound's Dr. Andonuts. Long-suffering Earthbound fans noted the similar design and graphical style of this mysterious new creation, sparking rumors that the long-awaited revival of Nintendo's series was coming soon.

The ultimate revelation that Contact was a completely new game unsurprisingly came as a disappointment to many. And, ironically, Nintendo's real Earthbound sequel -- Mother 3 for Game Boy Advance -- made its debut soon after. The timing largely eclipsed any buzz the DS game's teaser campaign had built up, and piqued fans quickly forgot about the pretender as the true sequel took form. Initial sales reports from the game's recent Japanese launch have been unimpressive.

But in a way, the fake-out did its job -- it brought the game to Atlus's attention. The company's localization producer Tomm Hulett admits his original interest in Contact stemmed from the teaser campaign, which means that American audiences will have a chance to experience the game themselves this summer.

"The Professor looks exactly like Dr. An... uh... Well, I'm a big fan of EarthBound, so Contact's similar vibe was an immediate attraction," Hulett jokes. Unlike the Japanese audience, though, Atlus' interest and confidence in Contact goes beyond first appearances and superficial connections. Despite the visual and conceptual similarities between Contact and its cult classic inspiration, they're ultimately very different creations.

"The only connection between Contact and Earthbound is the odd, quirky atmosphere and the fact that they both set out to be 'wacky RPGs,'" Hulett is quick to point out.

[click the image to check out all Contact screens]

Game Basics
But just what is Contact?

While perhaps best described as an RPG, Contact has nothing in common with the traditional random encounter-heavy style of games like Earthbound. Instead, its battle system feels more like Final Fantasy XII's, though greatly simplified. Players control a single boy (named Terry) through a variety of static 2D environments. Battles play out with a very rudimentary auto-attack system. Tapping an enemy with the stylus (or simply pressing the B button) places Terry in battle mode, where he'll automatically trade blows with enemies. Terry doesn't recruit a party, nor are there separate screens for battles; all fighting takes place in the same space as exploration.

The substance of Contact's combat lies in its special systems, some of which are more conventional than others. The most traditional is the costume system; rather than equipping armor or accessories, Terry can collect different costumes throughout the course of the game.

Each costume comes with specific advantages and abilities according to its nature. The Mogura (monk) costume boosts Terry's maximum hit points and increases his physical attack power, but limits his special abilities. The La Cuchine costume turns Terry into a chef, which puts him at a disadvantage in combat but allows him to use kitchens and campfires to cook up new healing items by combining different ingredients. Additionally, Terry as a chef is capable of wielding kitchen knives, enabling a special ability guaranteed to turn a defeated monster into a cooking ingredient.

"Think of the costumes as different character classes that come out of the closet when needed," Hulett explains. "If Terry needs to fish, you just have him toss on that funny hat and hit the lake. Something on fire? Grab that fireman suit."

Costumes are collected throughout the course of the adventure, and Terry is free to change as needed -- but he can only swap outfits in the closet of the boat that serves as his roving homebase. Thus there's a certain strategic element to costume selection, as Terry's different wardrobe selections affect his character stats differently for each part of the game.

Hulett explains: "Terry develops a wide army of stats according to how you play. As you attack, your strength increases, and as you get hit, your defense increases. Heck, your movement stat even levels up as you run around." All told, Terry's combat capabilities are determined by nearly three dozen different stats which range from the obvious (attack power) to the obscure (karma, which is earned by slaying monsters and lost by stealing, attacking people or killing peaceful animals).

This highly specific form of level-building is nothing new to console RPGs, although the games in which it has appeared -- specifically Final Fantasy II and SaGa Frontier -- are reviled by most gamers for their complex, unintuitive systems and need for excessive power-leveling. According to Hulett, though, this isn't the case for Contact. "Let me assure you, the stat bonuses come more frequently, and you really feel like the character becomes yours. A lot of the stats are class-specific, so you can have fun experimenting."

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