Samantha Lienhard's Blog, page 107

Astral Chain, Dragon Quest XI S, and More!

The recent Nintendo Direct had some great announcements, and one of the biggest surprises was Astral Chain from PlatinumGames.

When the trailer started up, I wasn’t too interested at first. It just struck me as another action mech sort of thing.

Then as it went on, I realized there was more of a focus on the story than I expected. It started to look like a game I might enjoy. I even wondered at one point if it was some sort of Xenoblade Chronicles X thing, except the combat and buildings didn’t seem quite right.

Then the credits showed Kamiya’s name and PlatinumGames, and I was in.

Astral Chain is a new action game for the Nintendo Switch from PlatinumGames, set in a near-future world where a special police force is set up to fight mysterious creatures attacking the world.

It’s also coming out on August 30, so most likely before both Bayonetta 3 and Babylon’s Fall.

(PlatinumGames had also been working on Granblue Fantasy: Relink, but they’ve departed from that project under unclear circumstances.)

I’m a little disappointed that we still haven’t seen anything more from Bayonetta 3, and I keep expecting them to announce a Wonderful 101 port/sequel, but Astral Chain looks really cool and I can’t wait until they reveal more details about it.

The Nintendo Direct also included the official reveal of Dragon Quest XI S… or its full title, Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age – Definitive Edition, which will have the ability to switch between the HD graphics and the 16-bit style, as well as new content.

I have Dragon Quest XI for the PS4 and planned to start it as soon as I finished God of War, but I held off because I didn’t want to have it in progress when Kingdom Hearts III came out. Now I’m conflicted over whether I should wait for the Switch version or not.

It also turns out that the Rune Factory series isn’t dead! Rune Factory 4 is being remastered for the Switch, and Rune Factory 5 is in development. I’ve never played a Rune Factory game before. Should I?

And Tokyo RPG Factory is trying its hand at an action RPG with Oninaki. I’m a little disappointed they moved away from turn-based, but I’m cautiously optimistic.

What did you think about these games, and the Nintendo Direct overall? What are you looking forward to the most? And when will we learn more about Bayonetta 3?

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Eternal Radiance is Now Live on Kickstarter

Some of you might already know that the JRPG-inspired action RPG I’ve been working on was rebranded as Eternal Radiance, now a hybrid visual novel/action RPG. With this new scope set for the project, Eternal Radiance is now live on Kickstarter.

The biggest change is that while Eternal Radiance still has 3D dungeons and combat, towns and storytelling will now be handled in a visual novel format.

This also allowed us to create a demo that shows a full slice of the game’s beginning, which you can download and play here (or follow the link from the Kickstarter page).

Eternal Radiance follows Celeste, a squire in the Ashen Order, whose dreams of becoming a knight are dashed when a thief steals the artifact she was sent to retrieve for her initiation. Determined to prove herself, Celeste heads out alone to reclaim the artifact. But the theft is only the tip of a dark conspiracy…

It’s a character-driven story, and we hope to have a plot that is compelling while still having many lighthearted moments. Since I’m the game’s writer, please direct any questions you have about Eternal Radiance’s plot and characters to me.

If you like what you see, check out the Kickstarter campaign, lend us your support, and spread the word!

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Kingdom Hearts III is a Wild, Emotional, Exciting Ride

We’re here at last.

Kingdom Hearts III came out on January 29, and I dove into immediately. Yesterday, I reached the end.

I know there’s a lot of division among the fanbase right now because of it, but as far as I’m concerned, Kingdom Hearts III is (almost) everything I wanted.

It’s not a perfect game, but let’s step back and take this one piece at a time.

Like I mentioned when I first started playing, Kingdom Hearts finally has a solid sense of exploration again. Some worlds are more linear, but most are massive worlds with lots of places to explore. Several of the Disney worlds have new stories instead of rehashing the movie plots, and they were a joy to explore.

They felt so much better than the Disney worlds in any Kingdom Hearts game since the original, pretty much.

The only disappointments for me in terms of the worlds are that you can’t explore more of Twilight Town, and that Arendelle is… handled weirdly. I feel like the Frozen team must have put restrictions on them so they couldn’t influence the plot, because that whole world felt odd to me (though still enjoyable).

Click for Kingdom Hearts 3 world spoilersI also wish worlds like Radiant Garden and the Realm of Darkness had been full worlds to explore. With all the Realm of Darkness that had been created for 0.2, I was surprised there wasn’t even a small exploration section. As for Radiant Garden, seeing it in cutscenes was great, but I wanted to actually go there.

Meanwhile, Scala Ad Caelum deserves to be an actual world to explore too. I need to see more of that place.

Speaking of exploration, the new gummi ship system is amazing and I hope they keep it for future games.

I always hated the gummi ship sections. I was actually disappointed to learn they were returning in Kingdom Hearts III. But this new system, where you actually get to fly around and travel to worlds and find puzzle spheres and only get into (most) battles if you seek out missions? This was fantastic!

I had fun with the gummi ship for the first time, and I actually looked forward to flying through new areas.

Now, when it comes to combat, I don’t care a whole lot. I’m in it for the story much more than the combat. But I did appreciate that while there’s a ton of stuff like attractions, Keyblade transformations, some Flowmotion, etc., it didn’t feel overwhelming like all the mechanics in Dream Drop Distance.

So it’s about time we talked about the story.

Wow.

I’ve seen people disappointed in the story, and I just don’t understand. The pacing is a little off, perhaps, and it would have felt smoother with a midpoint story event… but the cutscenes after each Disney world are fantastic, and the story progression did exactly what I’d hoped it would do.

Click for Kingdom Hearts 3 spoilersFirst, I’d subscribed to the theory that they would use Replica bodies for characters like Roxas, so when I saw the game being steered in that direction, I was thrilled.

Next, I was also convinced they couldn’t let that “vessel” line from 358/2 Days go unused, so I nearly screamed in delight when I saw a small Keyblade wielder among the 13.

Finally, above all else, VEXEN. Okay, I’m a big Vexen fan. And I know he has more fans. But… he’s not a very popular character. I’d resigned myself to the disappointment that he’d probably be a background character, even as I secretly hoped he’d be a good guy only pretending to serve the Organization who would ultimately provide Replica bodies for Roxas & co…

…and Kingdom Hearts III went above and beyond to deliver. Part of me still can’t believe that Vexen got that much screentime and such a good role. The scene with him and Demyx had me laughing out loud.

Even as I was approaching the later parts of the game, I’d already decided that unless the story fell to pieces at the end, it was going to be one of my top Kingdom Hearts games for sure.

Then I reached the late-game/end-game stuff and it was just one amazing scene after another. Yes, most of the plot was saved for the end, but this time it lasted long enough to not feel like an avalanche of plot points. The only thing that really doesn’t sit well with me about the story is that they’ve seemingly retconned a certain character’s timeline.

Click for Kingdom Hearts 3 spoilersYoung Xehanort in Dream Drop Distance hadn’t started training as a Keyblade wielder yet, but the Xehanort in the chess scenes seems younger than him and has silver eyes, so… retcon? :/

In general, I loved everything that was happening. It went crazy places I didn’t expect, and then it came back to fulfill nearly everything I’d hoped for. There are some loose ends tied to the mobile game, but that just makes me more excited to see where the series is going from here with the Dark Seeker Saga concluded.

I also really loved the character portrayals. To my surprise, I found myself really enjoying Larxene as a character. I never cared for her too much, but she had some great lines that voiced a lot of my own questions and thoughts.

There were so many wonderful character moments in this game, along with a lot of little moments that made it all the more emotional.

Now, my most treasured theory did not come true… it really, cruelly did not come true, but what they did instead was so wild I’m completely on board with it.

Click for major Kingdom Hearts 3 spoilersIf you talked to me about my theories before Kingdom Hearts III, you’d know the one thing I had my heart set on was that KH3’s Young Xehanort would have time traveled from a point after he began training, would learn that his future self killed Eraqus, and then would change sides and be redeemed due to his friendship with Eraqus, only to ultimately return to his own timed doomed to grow up into Master Xehanort.

And instead, Young Xehanort managed to be the most irredeemable, unrepentant Xehanort of them all, wow.

…but all those pieces I saw lining up to redeem Young Xehanort were instead used for Master Xehanort at the very end. His friendship with Eraqus redeemed him and their spirits departed together.

That’s insane and I love it. I might even like it better than my version.

While we’re talking about characters, I wasn’t thrilled with Master Xehanort’s new voice. It didn’t do it for me at all. And certain characters not being voiced make their scenes rather awkward… but those are minor quibbles.

Finally, the epilogue dashed yet another one of my favored theories, but made it the next best thing. I knew something was going on there, and I’m excited to see where this goes.

Click for major Kingdom Hearts 3 spoilersI thought Xigbar was the Master of Masters. I hoped he at least had a connection to him. Well, yes, quite a solid connection there…

And the secret ending… is also completely insane and I can’t wait to see what the next saga will be like.

Click for major Kingdom Hearts 3 spoilersShibuya?? And possibly TWEWY Shibuya, at that?! Is Sora dead and playing the Reaper’s Game?! What’s going on???

There’s probably a lot more I could talk about when it comes to Kingdom Hearts III, but this is already a long review, so it’s time to wrap things up.

I loved my time with Kingdom Hearts III. Despite a few missed opportunities, it did almost everything I hoped it would and in some spots went beyond my wildest dreams. It was a fantastic game and I can’t wait for the next saga to begin.

Now if only I could play KHUX without all the mobile game stuff…

And since I did not get my playable flashback… can we please have that prequel?

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Destiny Connect Looks Pretty Interesting

Last year, Nippon Ichi Software announced a new turn-based JRPG for the PS4 and Switch called Destiny Connect.

Described as having the atmosphere of a SNES-era JRPG, Destiny Connect is a time travel story about a girl and her friends traveling to the past after time suddenly stops in the town of Clocknee.

Since then, they’ve revealed a fair amount of details and some brief gameplay footage, as well as a recent trailer.

The art style is unusual, but I think it’s cute. Overall, the game’s aesthetic has grown on me the more I’ve seen of it.

It’s due out on March 14 in Japan, with no localization news yet, but I hope we hear something soon. What do you think about Destiny Connect?

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Should I Give Radiant Historia Another Try?

I was so excited when I first started Radiant Historia.

Radiant Historia is consistently referenced as a fantastic JRPG and recommended to me by friends who generally like the same games I do.

It’s also on my list of games I wish I loved, because somehow I just couldn’t get into it.

I played Radiant Historia for about 17 hours. While I liked the timeline-hopping in theory, in practice I started to find it annoying to switch timelines whenever I encountered an obstacle. The combat system was fine, but I mainly play JRPGs for their story and characters.

And that was the problem. I didn’t feel invested in the characters. When I took a break from the game, I wasn’t concerned with how the story would turn out.

Yet people praise this game so much, it makes me want to try it again to see what I’m missing.

So just like my debate over Inazuma Eleven, I’m trying to decide: should I give Radiant Historia another try, or is this highly-praised JRPG just not for me?

And if you’re a Radiant Historia fan, how did you feel about the story and characters and when did you become invested in them?

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What Is Nintendo’s Mysterious Unannounced Title?

We don’t know a lot about Nintendo’s 2019 lineup yet besides a few titles, but as you’ve probably heard, they’ve hinted that something big is coming.

During a financial results briefing, Nintendo reportedly said they have an unannounced Switch title for this fiscal year that “will make everyone happy.”

They also have at least one title planned for this year that is a good match for the Switch’s online service. It appears that these are two separate games, but that’s not entirely clear yet.

So, what could this mysterious game be?

Since it’s unannounced, it can’t be something we already know about. That leaves out Animal Crossing, Metroid Prime 4, Luigi’s Mansion 3, etc.

And since it “will make everyone happy,” that suggests it has to be a fairly popular title.

My personal theory is that they’ve decided to bring back F-Zero… but that might be reading too much into it. I remember what happened the last time a company made an announcement like this.

For a more plausible theory, I bet they’re going to reveal the next Mario or Legend of Zelda game.

What do you think Nintendo means when they say they have a 2019 game that “will make everyone happy”? Do you think it will be big news, or is it an exaggeration?

(Here’s hoping we get a Nintendo Direct soon to find out!)

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Gehenna & Hinnom Kickstarter is Live

When I revealed the cover for Void Beckoning, the chapbook my horror story “The Rings of Khal’Uth” will be published in, I mentioned that the publisher would be holding a Kickstarter campaign in the near future.

Well, Gehenna & Hinnom’s 2019 Kickstarter campaign is now live.

This campaign will cover the costs for their 2019 lineup, which includes a series of novelettes, the three chapbooks, and their magazine.

If you’re a horror fan and want to help out these publications, check out the Kickstarter and spread the word.

Now, since it’s February, I’d planned on starting up a new “Celebrating All Things Romantic” event to focus on romance-themed games and visual novels, like my horror-themed “Celebrating All Things Spooky” event in October. However, with how things worked out, I never got a good enough start to make it possible for this year.

But it’s still possible for next year, so let me know if you would be interested in that for the future!

Meanwhile, NIS has released more details about Murder Detective: Jack the Ripper, which really sounds interesting. My main question now is if there’s a middle ground between the “Detective” and “Murderer” routes, or if you’re always pushed to one extreme.

I’m really hoping this gets localized.

Don’t forget to check out the Gehenna & Hinnom Kickstarter campaign, and let me know your thoughts on that, my idea for a romance-themed event, and Murder Detective in the comments!

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Kingdom Hearts III is Out Now

My copy of Kingdom Hearts III arrived yesterday, and so far I couldn’t be happier.

Four years ago, I hadn’t played a single Kingdom Hearts game. That changed when I gave the first game a try and fell in love with it. My love for the series only grew from there.

After catching up on the series, I couldn’t wait for Kingdom Hearts III to arrive. It is my most-anticipated game of the year, and I had so many theories about it, I started up a separate site for them.

Right now, after having played for a bit over four hours, I couldn’t be happier.

(All right, so that one early-game thing I’d hoped would happen hasn’t happened yet, but we can’t have everything.)

Kingdom Hearts III feels like it’s set up to answer all the questions I’ve had about the saga and bring the story to a fulfilling conclusion. It’s already done so many exciting things, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

It also brought back the sense of exploration I missed from the first Kingdom Hearts. The other games never quite got back to that until 0.2, and I was thrilled to see how much exploration was available in the first world. I hope the other worlds keep it up.

Heck, I even had fun in the Gummi Ship, a sentence I never thought I’d write.

So in short, Kingdom Hearts III is out now, I’ve been playing it since yesterday, and so far I have high hopes that it will be exactly what I wanted.

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NIS Announces Murder Detective: Jack the Ripper

Nippon Ichi Software has announced a new game for the PlayStation 4 and Switch called Murder Detective: Jack the Ripper.

When it was first revealed, it was a bit unclear if you were playing Jack the Ripper or a detective trying to stop Jack the Ripper, but now the answer appears to be… sort of both.

According to the details translated by Gematsu, Detective Arthur Hewitt is investigating a series of murders in London when he discovers a “phantom” inside himself called Jack the Ripper.

It is a visual novel with choices that will lead you toward either the “Detective” route or “Murderer” route. There will also be sub-stories and bad endings.

This sounds like the sort of game I would enjoy, an investigation-based mystery game that also has this dual personality morality angle to it. Murder Detective: Jack the Ripper will be out on April 25 in Japan. No English release has been announced yet, but I hope we hear localization news eventually.

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Void Beckoning Cover Revealed

If you follow me on social media, you might have already seen me post about how my short horror story “The Rings of Khal’Uth” was accepted for publication in Gehenna and Hinnom’s Void Beckoning chapbook. They’ve now revealed the chapbook covers, so here is what Void Beckoning will look like:

I think it’s a great cover, especially for the sort of cosmic deep space horror the chapbook covers. Four short stories, including mine, will appear in this chapbook:

“The Rings of Khal’Uth” by Samantha Lienhard
“Apparition” by Dennis Mombauer
“The Albatross” by Justin Coates
The Douglas Account” by Tom Lund

The announcement also includes the other chapbooks and their covers, as well as information about the upcoming Kickstarter campaign.

In eight days, the Kickstarter to fund these chapbooks will go live. If you enjoy horror and want to support these stories, please spread the word!

Speaking of space, I almost used today’s blog post to discuss how EA reportedly won’t let BioWare make new Knights of the Old Republic games despite them wanting to… but the rumors seem to hinge on nothing more than Kotaku’s Jason Schreier saying BioWare has “tried to make it happen” but that no KotOR game is being made.

It’s definitely possible to interpret that as EA not allowing BioWare to make a new KotOR game, but it doesn’t seem quite as solid to me. Still, I’d love to see a new Knights of the Old Republic either from BioWare or Obsidian, so I hope these rumors aren’t true.

What do you think of the Void Beckoning cover? What about the KotOR rumors? Let me know in the comments!

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