The Denpa Men: They Came By Wave
The Denpa Men: They Came By Wave (Japanese: 電波人間のRPG, Hepburn: Denpa Ningen no RPG) is a 3D augmented reality video game developed and published by Genius Sonority for the Nintendo 3DS's eShop. It was released in Japan on February 8, 2012, in North America on September 27, 2012, and in Europe and Australia on December 6, 2012.[1][2]
| The Denpa Men: They Came By Wave | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Genius Sonority |
| Publisher(s) | Genius Sonority |
| Composer(s) |
|
| Platform(s) | Nintendo 3DS |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Role-playing |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Gameplay
editIn The Denpa Men, the player captures Denpa Men to form a party to explore dungeons.[2] Using the Nintendo 3DS's camera, Denpa Men will appear in the player's surroundings when near a Wi-Fi signal or scanning a QR code. Denpa Men differ by name, color, appearance, and abilities.[3]
Combat is not random and follows the traditional role-playing formula with an auto-battle option.[4][5] Other common role-playing elements that appear in the game are treasure chests, item shops, and non-player characters.[6]
If a dungeon is left with downed allies, every Denpa Man that was downed will leave the party. By purchasing offerings from the in-game shop, Denpa Men can be revived via the spirit shrine, albeit only if they were caught via the antenna tower.
Setting
editThe Denpa Men live on a small island which has a house, a shrine so that if Denpa Men die, players can retrieve them, a shop, and a tower that has an antenna on it that allows the player to catch Denpa Men called Antenna Tower. There is also a dock with a boat that takes players to many different islands in the game. Players can soon unlock a museum of Denpa Men, a PC for QR Code scanning, and an item shop.
Reception
editThe Denpa Men was given a rating of 7.5 on Metacritic. Reviewers praised the game for its quirkiness and difficulty.[7][8][9]
Sequels
editA sequel named The Denpa Men 2: Beyond the Waves was released in Japan and in the West. The title features improved gameplay, more dungeons, and other additions.[10] A third game, The Denpa Men 3: The Rise of Digitoll, was released in Japan on August 7, 2013, in North America, Europe and Australia on May 8, 2014.[11][12]
On July 2, 2014, it was announced that a spin-off title, Denpa Men's RPG FREE! (Japanese: 電波人間のRPG FREE!, Hepburn: Denpa Ningen no RPG FREE!) would be a free-to-play game. It was released on the Nintendo 3DS exclusively for Japan on July 23, 2014.[13][14] Another spin-off title, New Denpa Men's RPG (Japanese: New 電波人間のRPG, Hepburn: New Denpa Ningen no RPG) was released as a Japan-exclusive mobile game in 2017, but shut down in May 2019.[15][16]
Due to the closure of the Nintendo 3DS eShop on March 27, 2023,[17] the 3DS games, including the original trilogy and "FREE!" are no longer purchasable (as with the rest of the software available on the digital storefront), though it remains available to redownload if already owned before the closure along with software updates for some time.
In June 2024, an updated version based on Denpa Men's RPG FREE! and New Denpa Men's RPG titled The New Denpa Men (Japanese: New 電波人間のRPG FREE!, Hepburn: New Denpa Ningen no RPG FREE!) was announced and released worldwide for the Nintendo Switch on July 22, 2024.[18][19]
References
edit- ^ Burns, Michael (May 23, 2011). "The Denpa Men Guide". IGN. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
- ^ a b Mateo, Alex (July 22, 2024). "Denpa Ningen/The Denpa Men RPGs Get New Release for Switch on July 22". Anime News Network. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
- ^ Hagues, Alana (February 22, 2024). "The Denpa Men Return In New Free-To-Play Switch Game". Nintendo Life. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
- ^ Fletcher, JC (October 2, 2012). "Portabliss: The Denpa Men (3DS eShop)". Joystiq. Archived from the original on October 5, 2012. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
- ^ Holmes, Jonathan (October 23, 2012). "Review: The 'Denpa' Men: They Came By Wave". Destructoid. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
- ^ "About the Game". The Official Homepage of 'THE ”DENPA” MEN: They Came By Wave', a downloadable game for the Nintendo 3DS. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
- ^ Donlan, Christian (January 9, 2013). "The 'Denpa' Men: They Came by Wave review". Eurogamer. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
- ^ Hsieh, Andrew (September 27, 2012). "The Denpa Men: They Came By Wave Review". Nintendojo. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
- ^ Reed, Philip J. (September 27, 2012). "Review: The Denpa Men: They Came By Wave (3DS eShop)". Nintendo Life. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
- ^ Sahdev, Ishaan (October 25, 2012). "The Denpa Men Developer Interview: On Developing Novel Products". Siliconera. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
- ^ Matulef, Jeffrey (April 24, 2014). "The "Denpa" Men 3: The Rise of Digitoll announced for the west". Eurogamer.net. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
- ^ "The Denpa Men 3: Rise of Digitoll | RPGFan". www.rpgfan.com. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
- ^ McFerran, Damien (July 3, 2014). "The Denpa Men Are Going Free-To-Play In Japan". Nintendo Life. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
- ^ rawmeatcowboy (January 6, 2014). "Denpa Ningen no RPG FREE! announced for the Japanese 3DS eShop". GoNintendo. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
- ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (July 22, 2024). "Denpa Ningen/The Denpa Men RPGs Get New Smartphone Game in February". Anime News Network. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
- ^ @NewDenpa (May 8, 2019). "【重要なお知らせ】「New 電波人間のRPG」はサービスを終了いたしました。 今までプレイ頂き、誠にありがとうございました。 #new電波" [[Important Notice] 'New Denpa Men RPG' has ended its service. Thank you very much for playing until now. #newdenpa] (Tweet). Archived from the original on January 26, 2020. Retrieved January 24, 2024 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Wii U & Nintendo 3DS eShop Discontinuation". Nintendo Customer Support. February 15, 2022. Retrieved February 15, 2022.
- ^ The New Denpa Men - Official Reveal Trailer | Nintendo Direct 2024. June 18, 2024. Retrieved July 9, 2024 – via IGN.
- ^ Reynolds, Ollie (July 22, 2024). "PSA: The New Denpa Men Is Available Now On The Switch eShop". Nintendo Life. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
