Trev
New Callsign; Dog Meat!
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Joined: 09 Jun 2008
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| Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 11:33 am Post subject: Review - Nice Body (import) |
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Appearing 1st on the 3DO Maniac forums!
Nice Body was a title that confused me when I first saw it. On the one hand it has a bikini clad girl on the cover, which suggested it would be another one of the 3DO player’s adult only games. But … it has a big E slapped in the corner!  Yes, the 3DO software advisory board evidently thought that this was game appropriate for everyone (the equivalent of the K-A rating today) So, it would seem this game was nowhere as suggestive as the cover might indicate. (in fact after playing it, I discovered how tame it was) And what is it with the “Official CD-Rom” above the title? Is their a 3rd party version of this game lurking around somewhere? Finally, what is the connection between this game and the Fuji Television Network which has it’s logo on the front? So many questions … 
Popping this disc into my multiplayer quickly provided some answers. First, the E rating does not appear to be a typo. This game contains absolutely no nudity (not even partial) The girl’s are not decked out in erotic lingerie either. Even the swimsuits themselves which they model are tasteful, including several 1 piece outfits that are quite modest. And these ladies do not appear to be seductive sirens. You won’t find any sultry expressions on their faces, just cute smiles.
As to the question of “Official cd-rom” , um … well okay, that wasn’t answered. I dunno know, maybe there are bootlegs of this game buried in some warehouse in Japan.  The professional use statement lead me to believe that this disc was designed to aid judges in swimsuit contests. Lastly, I never did discover the Fuji TV network link either, although a quick type in google will reveal details about the company.
As to the game itself, it is broken into parts. The first part involves primitive gambling games with various slot machines. The usual iconic cherries, bars, and number 7’s are all present. Also included are the faces, lips, busts, and bums of the swimsuit models. This is clearly meant to be the heart of this portion of the game, as the actual slots themselves are very dull. Frankly, the girl gimmick adds nothing to it.
You earn points in the various slot games, that have name such as “sweet silhouette” and “bust buster” (a misleading title) With these points you can unlock movies which is the next part of the game. Is this portion any better? Highly doubtful, but it is impossible for me to say for sure. Why? This part of the game will not run on an NTSC 3DO player! Attempted access only results in the multiplayer resetting. You will need a Sanyo unit to view this portion. Most 3DO games are region free. A handful are Japanese only. Why this game would be released with only half compatibility is yet another confusing aspect of this title.
The real question to be raised here though is this … what audience is this game catering to? In spite of the big E rating, I’m guessing that more gamer’s than not would be embarrassed to own a game that consisted mainly of looking at girls in swimsuits For the player’s with no shame, well … frankly why would you bother with a tame title like this when there are so many others (especially on 3DO) that offer much more in the way of risqué material? It seems that the makers of this game tried to appeal to both groups. Instead, the succeeded in winning over none.
With the key element of the girls proving to be a bust ( ha ha ... bust!  ) any hopes for this game falls back on the gameplay. Again though, this part is so dull. It is very limited, and it barely seems like enough to carry a demo disc, never mind a full fledged game release. I know gambling games like this are more popular in Japan than they are here, but there are plenty of better choices (including on 3DO)
Bottom line … ( ha ha ... bottom! ) don’t bother attempting to hunt this rarity down. It is very tough to locate, and if you did you’d likely pay a lot for the privilege of playing a game that you didn’t even have full access to. There are a number of other import games that are not only much easier to locate, but are actually enjoyable. Nice Body is just another oddity, best left as a footnote among 3DO imports.
-Trev |
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