Pangya: Fantasy Golf is on the Way
The PSP has seen its fair share of golf games. Previously, the Hot Shots series has had a big presence on Sony's portable and gave gamers-on-the-go a great avenue for playing some casual-friendly golf in a light-hearted environment. But another name in golf is making its way to the PSP: Pangya. TOMY Corporation is bringing Pangya: Fantasy Golf, the popular Korean golf experience from Ntreev Soft, exclusively to the PSP this summer. The game features beautiful fantasy-themed courses, 18 characters and tons of customization. As if thousands of character options aren't cool enough, Pangya will also feature a story mode for each character! Now that's style.
Considering how new the Pangya franchise is to the U.S. market, we sent in some questions to Mike Jones at TOMY Corporation so we could find out more about this unique, fantastical golf experience. Ah, the beauty of anime sports!
IGN: Hello! Thanks for taking the time to do this Q & A with us. Tell us who you are and what your role is on the Pangya project.
Mike Jones: My name is Mike Jones and I'm the Associate Producer at TOMY handling the U.S. version of Pangya: Fantasy Golf.
IGN: For gamers unfamiliar with the Pangya franchise (as it's mainly popular in Korea), tell us a little bit about this PSP iteration.
Mike Jones: To give a little background, Pangya was developed in Korea by a company named Ntreev Soft. It became popular in Asia as an online MMO-esque golf competition game where you create your character and customize its clothes and equipment and try to increase your stats over time by playing in tournaments, etc. So it has a lot of the same addictive qualities as an RPG, but it's golf!
Now that Pangya has gained some global recognition, Ntreev Soft wanted to bring its concept to the PSP and we thought the game was so cool, we wanted to help. So Ntreev has been working on a completely new iteration of Pangya that has been engineered specifically for the PSP -- it's not a port or a re-release of old content. This game is totally unique to the portable.
IGN: Awesome. So how do the golf mechanics work?
Mike Jones: The basic golf mechanics are similar to what most of the golf-gaming crowd are used to: power/accuracy gauge, ball contact point adjustment, different ground types and obstacles. And all that stuff feels extremely polished. But what's interesting about Pangya is that it's also a fantasy game. So there are a lot of new twists on typical golf gameplay. You have power ups, items, special shots like the "Tomohawk" and all the equipment management you can do to get different advantages in different situations. Pangya has a solid foundation of basic golf mechanics as well as a lot of fresh new features to sink your teeth into.
IGN: Will this game appeal to a casual crowd or more hardcore players?
Mike Jones: I think there's a lot of lip service out there about games appealing to "everyone" that isn't always accurate. But I think Pangya straddles the gap pretty well. Like I said there is a solid, polished foundation of golf mechanics that are easy and intuitive for anyone to learn. So if you like golf or pretty graphics or just a fun game to play, Pangya is exactly that.
But for the more hardcore crowd, there's a ton of depth hidden beneath those core mechanics. There are eight storylines, 18 characters, 1300+ costumes, items and equipment sets as well as all the other gameplay mechanics (like special shots) that you can master. So depending on how you like to play, you can keep it light-weight and fun or go super in-depth to complete all the tournaments and story modes and collect all the equipment in the game, not to mention the multiplayer competition as well. Mike Jones: Well, there are eight main characters. The other 10 characters appear throughout the story but are more side-characters, like caddies or some of the "bad guys." But all of them are unlockable as playable characters and have different attributes and skill distributions to start with. All of the characters look really unique and range from humans to fairies to dragons and more!
IGN: It sounds like customization plays a huge role in Pangya. How involved is it and how many options do players have in tweaking their characters?
Mike Jones: There are basically two categories that all the customization falls into: cosmetic and functional. Stuff like hair dye, shoes, hats and special costume sets just affect your character's outward appearance. Sometimes they add extra benefits like earning more money in tournaments, or temporarily increasing your stats, but for the most part it's cosmetic. Then there's all the functional equipment: club sets, balls, rings, items, etc. that can be used to adjust your stats. The strategy for sort of "choosing your equipment before battle" can get really detailed depending on what your objective might be. Players can go as lightweight or as in-depth with this as they want.
IGN: Can you describe the game's Story mode? Stories and golf don't usually go together...
Mike Jones: There are eight main characters all with a unique storyline. There are two available from the very start and as you play through each of the characters' stories you'll unlock the other characters and their respective story modes. Basically, the game takes place in an alternate dimension where "Pangya" is an age-old tradition that is similar to Earth's "golf." There's a lot to do with life energy and their world being at risk and bad guys wanting to use all that energy for bad stuff, but I'll let you guys play the game to get all the details. (laughs)
IGN: Sounds intense! Tell us about Pangya's multiplayer components.
Mike Jones: Pangya: Fantasy Golf supports eight-player multiplayer via ad hoc wireless connections. You can play in singles or team tournaments. And on top of that, playing multiplayer will reward you with money to get more equipment and customizable stuff. So there's more incentive to compete with your friends.
IGN: Some gamers draw similarities between the Pangya franchise and the Hot Shots series. What makes Pangya stand apart from its peers?
Mike Jones: Well, Pangya really is all about the fantasy look/feel and all the customization. Both Hot Shots and Pangya are "best-in-class" golf games, but Pangya offers a unique look, deep customization and new gameplay elements that we think are pretty fresh for this particular genre.
IGN: When is Pangya due out?
Mike Jones: Summer 2009. We haven't set the exact release date yet, but we'll keep you posted.
IGN: Cool. So what's one more thing PSP owners need to know about Pangya -- besides the fact that they need to buy it?
Mike Jones: Pangya is a polished golf game with pretty visuals, cool characters and tons of RPG elements and customization that add depth to the gameplay. So if any of that sounds appealing to you, we hope you'll check it out and like it as much as we do.
IGN: Thanks Mike!
source: IGN.COM
Considering how new the Pangya franchise is to the U.S. market, we sent in some questions to Mike Jones at TOMY Corporation so we could find out more about this unique, fantastical golf experience. Ah, the beauty of anime sports!
IGN: Hello! Thanks for taking the time to do this Q & A with us. Tell us who you are and what your role is on the Pangya project.
Mike Jones: My name is Mike Jones and I'm the Associate Producer at TOMY handling the U.S. version of Pangya: Fantasy Golf.
IGN: For gamers unfamiliar with the Pangya franchise (as it's mainly popular in Korea), tell us a little bit about this PSP iteration.
Mike Jones: To give a little background, Pangya was developed in Korea by a company named Ntreev Soft. It became popular in Asia as an online MMO-esque golf competition game where you create your character and customize its clothes and equipment and try to increase your stats over time by playing in tournaments, etc. So it has a lot of the same addictive qualities as an RPG, but it's golf!
Now that Pangya has gained some global recognition, Ntreev Soft wanted to bring its concept to the PSP and we thought the game was so cool, we wanted to help. So Ntreev has been working on a completely new iteration of Pangya that has been engineered specifically for the PSP -- it's not a port or a re-release of old content. This game is totally unique to the portable.
Mike Jones: The basic golf mechanics are similar to what most of the golf-gaming crowd are used to: power/accuracy gauge, ball contact point adjustment, different ground types and obstacles. And all that stuff feels extremely polished. But what's interesting about Pangya is that it's also a fantasy game. So there are a lot of new twists on typical golf gameplay. You have power ups, items, special shots like the "Tomohawk" and all the equipment management you can do to get different advantages in different situations. Pangya has a solid foundation of basic golf mechanics as well as a lot of fresh new features to sink your teeth into.
IGN: Will this game appeal to a casual crowd or more hardcore players?
Mike Jones: I think there's a lot of lip service out there about games appealing to "everyone" that isn't always accurate. But I think Pangya straddles the gap pretty well. Like I said there is a solid, polished foundation of golf mechanics that are easy and intuitive for anyone to learn. So if you like golf or pretty graphics or just a fun game to play, Pangya is exactly that.
But for the more hardcore crowd, there's a ton of depth hidden beneath those core mechanics. There are eight storylines, 18 characters, 1300+ costumes, items and equipment sets as well as all the other gameplay mechanics (like special shots) that you can master. So depending on how you like to play, you can keep it light-weight and fun or go super in-depth to complete all the tournaments and story modes and collect all the equipment in the game, not to mention the multiplayer competition as well. Mike Jones: Well, there are eight main characters. The other 10 characters appear throughout the story but are more side-characters, like caddies or some of the "bad guys." But all of them are unlockable as playable characters and have different attributes and skill distributions to start with. All of the characters look really unique and range from humans to fairies to dragons and more!
IGN: It sounds like customization plays a huge role in Pangya. How involved is it and how many options do players have in tweaking their characters?
Mike Jones: There are basically two categories that all the customization falls into: cosmetic and functional. Stuff like hair dye, shoes, hats and special costume sets just affect your character's outward appearance. Sometimes they add extra benefits like earning more money in tournaments, or temporarily increasing your stats, but for the most part it's cosmetic. Then there's all the functional equipment: club sets, balls, rings, items, etc. that can be used to adjust your stats. The strategy for sort of "choosing your equipment before battle" can get really detailed depending on what your objective might be. Players can go as lightweight or as in-depth with this as they want.
Mike Jones: There are eight main characters all with a unique storyline. There are two available from the very start and as you play through each of the characters' stories you'll unlock the other characters and their respective story modes. Basically, the game takes place in an alternate dimension where "Pangya" is an age-old tradition that is similar to Earth's "golf." There's a lot to do with life energy and their world being at risk and bad guys wanting to use all that energy for bad stuff, but I'll let you guys play the game to get all the details. (laughs)
IGN: Sounds intense! Tell us about Pangya's multiplayer components.
Mike Jones: Pangya: Fantasy Golf supports eight-player multiplayer via ad hoc wireless connections. You can play in singles or team tournaments. And on top of that, playing multiplayer will reward you with money to get more equipment and customizable stuff. So there's more incentive to compete with your friends.
IGN: Some gamers draw similarities between the Pangya franchise and the Hot Shots series. What makes Pangya stand apart from its peers?
Mike Jones: Well, Pangya really is all about the fantasy look/feel and all the customization. Both Hot Shots and Pangya are "best-in-class" golf games, but Pangya offers a unique look, deep customization and new gameplay elements that we think are pretty fresh for this particular genre.
IGN: When is Pangya due out?
Mike Jones: Summer 2009. We haven't set the exact release date yet, but we'll keep you posted.
IGN: Cool. So what's one more thing PSP owners need to know about Pangya -- besides the fact that they need to buy it?
Mike Jones: Pangya is a polished golf game with pretty visuals, cool characters and tons of RPG elements and customization that add depth to the gameplay. So if any of that sounds appealing to you, we hope you'll check it out and like it as much as we do.
IGN: Thanks Mike!
source: IGN.COM
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