Danger Around Every Curve
- JP release: 27th March 2003
- EU release: 29th August 2003
- NA release: 9th September 2003
- Developer: Capcom
- Publisher: Capcom
- NGC Magazine Score: 77%
- Mods Used: Widescreen Code
Standing for Product Number Three (the 0 is silent), PN03 was the first of the fabled Capcom Five – five big exclusives for the Nintendo GameCube. This ended up being the only one that kept to the promise as three of the others were also released on PS2 while the final one – Dead Phoenix – ended up getting cancelled. Even after all this time, PN03 remains exclusive to the GameCube.
I did see a lot about PN03 in NGC Magazine and was intrigued by its dance-themed gameplay. Now I’ve finally played it and I’m very disappointed: the dancing element has zero gameplay aspects. The shooting isn’t done to any rhythm, the enemies aren’t designed to be danced around and nothing is in time to any music. There’s seemingly only one reason for the whole dance aspect: to make the protagonist’s butt wiggle throughout the entire game.
PN03 isn’t a typical third person shooter, and borrows many elements from on rails shoot-em-ups instead. There’s a combo system where you get extra points for killing enemies before a timer runs out. You can’t move while shooting (for which you’ll have to tap A repeatedly until you upgrade your suit) so you stand still and use the shoulder buttons to dodge left and right. It works well and is fun, and the game would be great if this was combined with the spectacle you’d expect from a Shmup.
Unfortunately, that spectacle is not here. Most areas are boring looking grey rooms or the occasional brown wasteland outdoor areas. You go to a black results screen between each door and room designs are repeated endlessly. There also aren’t that many enemies, so you can learn their patterns easily, and they’re all unimaginative robot designs that don’t leave much impact.
PN03 is still a fun game, but it just had the potential to be so much more.
It might not have the lavish graphics of the Resi series, and it definitely hasn’t got the atmosphere, but it has got bags of the sort of style you’d expect of a Shinki Mikami game. Once you get used to the fiddly controls and bleak graphics, it’s actually more of a pure test of skill than any shooter, except Ikaruga.
Joel Snape, NGC Magazine #84
Remake or remaster?
It should get a re-release, but improvements should be focused on a new attempt.
Official Ways to get the game
There is no official way to get P.N. 03.
Europe
Japan
North America
GameCube Games by Date
2002: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
2003: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
2004: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
2005: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
2006: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
It’s not often that a codename ends up being the game’s final name; but this was originally meant to be the third of the fabled Capcom Five to be released (before Dead Phoenix got cancelled and Viewtiful Joe was delayed). It was a hastily put-together project that Capcom scrambled to throw out just in time to shore up their end-of-financial-year results. Good thing Capcom learnt their lesson and never did this again eh?
It’s a very strange game concept that didn’t really end up going anywhere, but it did end up having a bit of an influence on later Shinji Mikami titles; as its key scoring mechanic (the timer combo system) ended up forming the basis of the much loved The Mercenaries mode in RE4 (and future RE titles); while its cover mechanics would go on to heavily influence Mikami’s own Vanquish, released in conjunction with Platinum Games.
Not bad for a game that was reportedly slapped together in only around 7 months!