Samantha Lienhard's Blog, page 12

Top 5 Games I’d Love to See Announced for Switch 2

That quick glimpse of a new Mario Kart game during the Switch 2 reveal is really all we have in the way of Switch 2 announcements so far.

I like Mario Kart well enough, but a new one wouldn’t be a system seller for me. I never even got Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on the Switch, being content with what I’d played of the Wii U game.

But when that Nintendo Direct comes on April 2, we’re probably going to get a whole lot more game announcements. Here are the top 5 that would convince me to get a Switch 2 sooner rather than later.

5. A new Ace Attorney

You knew it had to be on the list, right? I’m convinced this is our year for a new Ace Attorney announcement, and a Nintendo Direct could be a prime place to announce it. The only reason it’s this low on the list is that Ace Attorney is a multiplatform series now – and since the most recent collection came out for the Switch, PC, PS4, and Xbox One, I fully expect any new Ace Attorney game to launch for the original Switch.

That being said, it they did release a new Ace Attorney game as a Switch 2 exclusive for some reason, I’d be first in line to buy it.

4. Banjo-Threeie

Yes, I know Rare is owned by Microsoft, and that means Microsoft would handle any new Banjo-Kazooie game. However, Nintendo did recently include Microsoft on the list of developers they’re hoping to strengthen their relationships with, and Banjo-Kazooie feels like the perfect game for that sort of partnership.

I’ve loved every Banjo-Kazooie game. Even Nuts & Bolts. Even Grunty’s Revenge. I’d play a new Banjo-Kazooie game in a heartbeat, no matter what system it came out for… and if one of those systems was the Switch 2, I’d be sorely tempted to get one so I could play it there.

3. A new 3D Mario

Super Mario Odyssey was the game I bought a Nintendo Switch for. I actually bought it some time before the game came out, but that was my driving motivation. I knew I wanted to play Odyssey at launch, and so I made sure to have a Switch by that point. Although I’ve never been as big a fan of 2D Mario platformers, the 3D platformers are among my favorites.

If they announce a new 3D Mario game in the style of 64/Sunshine/Odyssey in particular, it’ll once again guarantee I’m there for it. I wouldn’t miss that, no matter what.

2. A new RPG from Monolith Soft

Monolith Soft has become one of my favorite developers, especially due to the Xenoblade series. Even though my enjoyment of Xenoblade Chronicles 3 didn’t quite match that of the previous games in the series, I am still eagerly awaiting their next new game for the Switch 2. They’ve consistently made impressive, beautiful games no matter what hardware it was for, so I can’t wait to see what they’re capable of with the new system.

(Imagine if they take a break from Xenoblade and we finally get a new Baten Kaitos.)

In fact, this would have been #1 on my list, except that we have the Xenoblade Chronicles X remaster coming out in March. I doubt they’d have another game coming out too soon after, so we probably have a little breathing room. Whenever their next game does come, however, I’ll be sure to have a Switch 2 by then.

1. A new (real) Paper Mario

My hopes and dreams for Paper Mario had all but crumbled into dust, the void filled by Bug Fables and nothing else, but then Nintendo announced a remake of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, and all my dreams returned to life. Not only did they remake a classic Paper Mario game, but they even revived the Mario & Luigi series as well! It’s clear Nintendo is no longer averse to Mario RPGs, so who’s to say they aren’t working on a new Paper Mario like the originals?

If they announced a new Paper Mario that genuinely looked like the older games (or even Super Paper Mario), complete with all the charm and characters and storytelling, you know I’d be there day one. Now, I still haven’t played Origami King, but that’s another matter. That can wait for me to properly judge it another time, but a new classic Paper Mario would be a dream come true.

Honorable mentions go to Luigi’s Manion 4, Fatal Frame 6, and a fourth Famicom Detective Club game, all of which I’d be delighted to see but probably wouldn’t buy the console for them alone.

What new game announcements would be sure to get you to buy a Switch 2?

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It’s the 13th Anniversary of Rhythm Thief (Still Waiting for a Sequel… or Remaster)

Yesterday was the 13th anniversary of Rhythm Thief, which first came out in Japan on January 19, 2012.

Rhythm Thief & the Emperor’s Treasure is an excellent rhythm game about a thief trying to learn the truth behind his father’s disappearance.

My best comparison for how it plays is that it’s like a Professor Layton game with rhythm games instead of puzzles, and it’s really a lot of fun. The story is also insane in all the best ways.

Back when I played it and wrote my review, my one criticism was that it ends on a big sequel hook but never got a sequel. Three years ago, I returned to the topic of Rhythm Thief to once again lament the lack of a sequel.

Now here we are in 2025, still with no Rhythm Thief sequel in sight.

With the 3DS eShop having been shut down, it is now pretty much impossible to get a copy of Rhythm Thief. Physical 3DS copies are rare and expensive, and the only port it ever got was an abridged iOS version that was shut down years ago. As much as I want a sequel, I can’t help but think a port or remaster of the original is an important step toward making that possible.

From Ghost Trick to Trace Memory to Xenoblade Chronicles X, we’ve had plenty of nearly-forgotten games be revived lately. In this era of unexpected remasters and revivals of old series, I really hope Rhythm Thief is the next to make a return.

And don’t worry, the daily blog dedicated to counting the days until we get a sequel is still active.

Rhythm Thief & the Emperor’s Treasure is one of my favorite underrated games, and I’d love to see it get a sequel someday. For now, I hope for a remaster so that more people get to play it. Do you think we’ll see a Rhythm Thief remaster anytime soon?

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Let’s Talk About the Nintendo Switch 2

Well, it finally happened. Nintendo officially announced the Switch 2.

And yes, it’s actually called the Nintendo Switch 2.

While the announcement trailer doesn’t show much besides the console itself and a brief glimpse of a new Mario Kart, it promises more information coming in a special Nintendo Direct on April 2.

As for the console, it pretty much just looks like a new Switch, which is what people have been expecting for a while now. (Ironically, after years of only seeing people say Nintendo would be foolish not to just make their next console a more powerful Switch, I now see people complaining that their new console is just a more powerful Switch.)

One notable part is that part of the trailer shows the Joy-Cons gliding along a surface, which combined with rumors, suggests they might be able to function as a mouse. That makes me wonder if it could be useful for something improved by having more precise control – Professor Layton puzzles, for example, in the absence of a stylus.

It also reiterates their previous statement that the Switch 2 will be backward compatible, this time clearly stating that it will play both physical and digital Switch games.

Although it says certain games may not be compatible, that probably only includes a handful of games that use Switch-specific functions (ex. anything that relied on Joy-Con functions that might be changed in the Switch 2).

I’m looking forward to learning about the Switch 2 in April, although as usual, the exclusives announced for it will likely determine when I get one. In the meantime, I’ve got plenty of games in my backlog to keep me busy until then.

What do you think of the Switch 2?

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Just a To the Moon Series Beach Episode is an Emotional Experience

In all the excitement of starting a new year, I almost forgot to cover the last game I played in 2024, Just a To the Moon Series Beach Episode.

This is the latest entry in the To the Moon series, following the strange and emotional Impostor Factory from 2021.

Just a To the Moon Series Beach Episode came out in September, but I put off playing it for a while because I did not believe for a minute it was just a happy beach episode. At the end of the year, I decided to finally dive in.

It’s shorter than the others, taking me around two and a half hours instead of the roughly four hours main entries in the series have taken. It also notably doesn’t follow a new story with original characters like the main entries have. Instead, you play as Eva, going on a trip to the beach with her co-workers. It should be fun and lighthearted… and it is, except for the sense that something just isn’t quite right.

There’s humor and lighthearted antics and even a couple of mini-games, and of course it all culminated in an emotional scene that left me feeling sad even though I’d already had a good idea of what it was leading up to.

Now, I can’t really talk about too much without spoilers, so I’ll just finish by saying that if you’ve stuck with the To the Moon series all this time, it’s worth playing Just a To the Moon Series Beach Episode to see this next piece in the overarching story.

It’s been implied that this is the ending of the series, but we also have The Last Hour of an Epic To the Moon RPG to look forward to. The director once said that the two games are both endings to the series, with one being the good ending and one being the bad ending. Which one was this? Well, I’m sure we’ll have a clearer view of that once the second game is out to compare it to.

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Temirana Delayed to 2026

Back in July, Idea Factory announced two new otome localizations for 2025 – Battlefield Waltz and Temirana: The Lucky Princess and the Tragic Knights.

Neither had a release window beyond the year, but now Temirana has been delayed to 2026.

That’s a surprisingly long delay, with no reason given.

Now, this has led to several people questioning if it could be a censorship issue. If that feels like an odd conclusion to jump to for an otome game like this, it’s because Idea Factory’s other games have had some trouble with Nintendo’s guidelines lately. The Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth trilogy for the Switch and Death end re;Quest: Code Z both had their western Switch versions cancelled due to seemingly changed content guidelines from Nintendo, and a few other companies have also reported this shift in Nintendo’s policies. So I can understand the concern when Idea Factory delays another Switch game.

Still, it seems highly doubtful that this is the reason behind Temirana’s delay, since it doesn’t look like it would have any content that could cause trouble.

My personal hope is that this delay is because they’ve decided to release another otome game this year first, so they just rearranged the schedule. I hope it’s not that they’ve decided to publish them less frequently. It seems it’s also a fairly long one, so it could just mean they need to take more time for its translation. We shall see.

In the meantime, we’ve still got plenty of otome games to look forward to this year. Even if IFI only releases Battlefield Waltz this year, we’ve also got Genso Manège, Bustafellows 2, DesperaDrops, Mistonia, Uchronia, and several others.

Between that and my backlog, I can’t be too upset over this delay itself. I just hope such a long delay isn’t a negative sign.

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Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition Trailer Shows New Content

Yesterday, Nintendo shared a new trailer for the upcoming Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition.

I’m still in shock that we’re finally getting a Xenoblade Chronicles X remaster, and the new trailer made me even more excited.

It shows some UI improvements (including the text being bigger now), an on-screen Overdrive guide, and similar adjustments, but the best part for me is the greater look at the new content.

We knew from the announcement trailer that the Definitive Edition would expand on the original game’s final scene, which showed a mysterious figure known as the “Black Knight” in the art book. The new trailer expands on that… and more.

The final part of the trailer shows a new area, with floating islands that the player is exploring. This will most likely be the area we explore in the new story content. It looks beautiful, and I can’t wait to see what secrets it holds.

But that’s not all.

Besides the Black Knight (now with a few hints as to his identity), we also see a new character in strange armor who appears to be an ally, as well as a new Qlurian character.

The especially interesting thing about the Qlurian is that she was also in the art book.

Named Neilnail, she never appears in the original game, but now it seems she’ll have a role to play in the remaster.

Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition is a game I wanted for a long time just because a port or remaster would increase our chances of getting a sequel. Now, it looks like it will not only expand the epilogue with new story content, but also include content that was originally planned but didn’t make it into the final game. The only disappointing thing for me is that they still haven’t revealed any sort of special edition.

Are you planning to get Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition when it launches on March 20?

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2025 Writing Goals

Last year, I went with a different format for 2024’s writing goals. Instead of very specific goals related to specific stories, I simply said I would resume querying, revise a novel, and write more short stories.

I also mentioned that if short story writing continued to work better for my motivation than novel writing, I would stick with it.

Well, that part came true. I sent out two query letters early in the year, but that’s it, and I didn’t even start revising a novel.

On the other hand, I wrote more short stories than ever before! I’m drowning short story drafts! With that in mind, I’m once again taking a different approach to this year’s goals.

By 2026, I will:

Finish my in-progress short story project.Write and submit at least two more pulp fiction stories.Continue writing short stories in general.

That feels simple enough and in line with my current writing motivations. It does feel like I’ve pivoted slightly in my approach to writing, but that’s fine. I love writing, and I’m glad that I’m finding new motivation to write even more.

If you’re a writer, do you have any goals in mind for 2025?

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Capcom is “Making Preparations” for The Great Ace Attorney’s Anniversary

Since we had all of our end-of-year / start-of-year posts to go through, I held off on discussing this until now, but it’s been on my mind ever since I saw it.

Each December, many video game developers and publishers make a short statement about what they have planned for the next year. These are often vague, but sometimes they offer intriguing hints about upcoming announcements.

From this year’s messages, translated here by Gematsu, there was one in particular that caught my eye.

You see, 2025 is the 10th anniversary of The Great Ace Attorney.

It’s hard to believe it’s been a whole 10 years since The Great Ace Attorney: Adventures first came out in Japan on the 3DS. We had to wait all the way until 2021 to finally get an official localization! Now the second game in particular has become one of my all-time favorites, and there’s nothing I’d like to see more than more Great Ace Attorney games.

Anyway, Kei Hashimoto, a programmer with Capcom, said that they’re “making preparations to ensure everyone can enjoy the 10th anniversary” of The Great Ace Attorney.

That statement doesn’t necessarily mean they’re making a new game. It could be anything. It could just be merchandise, or even a special event in Japan. It’s too early to get excited.

On the other hand, we still don’t have a satisfactory explanation for the mysterious Van Zieks captions, and I still hope they were misplaced dialogue from a Great Ace Attorney Investigations game. Between the captions, the 10th anniversary, and this statement about celebrating, I can’t help but feel a little more optimistic.

Click for major The Great Ace Attorney 2 spoilersAlso, 2025 is the Year of the Snake, and Kazuma’s prosecutor design has snake inspirations/motifs, so basically this would be the perfect year for a game with him as a central character.

I remain hopeful that a new Ace Attorney game will be announced this year. I’d assumed it would be Ace Attorney 7, but if we get a new Great Ace Attorney game instead, I certainly won’t complain.

How do you think Capcom intends to celebrate the 10th anniversary?

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Operation Backlog Completion 2025

It’s getting worse!

So, after finishing 66 games in 2023 instead of the 100 I’d hoped for, I set last year’s backlog goal at 75 games… and finished 45.

The reasonable thing to do now would be to drop this year’s goal to 50, but I’m going to stick with 75. After all, last year’s numbers were hindered by me playing some very long games. If it repeats itself this year, then I’ll consider lowering the goal.

Operation Backlog Completion 2025

So how about those specific goals? Out of the 26 games I said I intended to play last year, I finished 5, have 2 in progress, and intend to start 1 this month. Plus one was delayed, so that doesn’t count.

Okay, that’s better! For this year, I’ll keep the remaining games from that list and add my most-anticipated games of the year, plus Stellar Blade because I intended to play it last year but got sidetracked by other games, which gives us:

Batman: Arkham Knight (followed by Arkham Origins)The Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings (followed by The Witcher 3)Dragon Quest XITales of Vesperia: Definitive EditionYooka-Laylee (unless I decide to wait for the remake)Aurion: Curse of the Kori-OdanDies IraeThe Great GaiasTrails in the Sky the 3rd (followed by Trails from Zero)Triangle StrategyThe Good LifeTokyo Xanadu eX+Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred HeroesFinal Fantasy XVIFantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time (assuming it comes out)Metaphor: ReFantazioFinal Fantasy VII RebirthLike a Dragon: Infinite WealthStellar BladeClair Obscur: Expedition 33Professor Layton and the New World of SteamThe Hundred Line: Last Defense AcademyXenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive EditionLike a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii

Of course, quite a few of these are long games, so I might be setting myself up for failure. But they’re games I’ve intended to play for a long time, and maybe this will be the year!

(Speaking of which, last year did not end up being my “Year of Trails,” since I only played one. And it was long. Very long. But hey, aiming to finish two this year will at least put me on the path toward catching up.)

I still believe I’ll play every game on my backlog someday. Do you have any specific gaming goals in mind for this year?

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Top 5 Most Anticipated Games of 2025

Yesterday, I talked about my favorite games that I played in 2024. Now it’s time to look ahead toward 2025 and the upcoming games I’m looking forward to the most.

2025 doesn’t seem quite as packed with must-play games for me as last year – which is a relief, since I still haven’t finished most of those. It’s definitely got some heavy-hitters, though, so here are my top 5 most-anticipated games of 2025!

5. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

The announcement of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was a highlight of this year’s game announcements, and everything we’ve seen about it so far looks great. Its dark fantasy world, what little we know about the story, and the turn-based combat all have my attention.

We still don’t know a lot about it, so maybe I shouldn’t have it among my top 5. But still, a new turn-based RPG with what looks like a pretty high budget is enough to intrigue me, and its reveal trailer was so good.

There’s no release date yet, but it’s set for 2025, and I’m really looking forward to it!

4. Professor Layton and the New World of Steam

Despite my worries about Level-5 lately, I can’t have a year where a new Professor Layton game is coming out and not put it on the list. I’ve loved every Professor Layton game except for Layton’s Mystery Journey, but even my thoughts on that one aren’t enough to dampen my enthusiasm.

Professor Layton and the New World of Steam looks like it should be a return to form, with the gameplay previews and puzzle samples both seeming promising so far. I have high hopes that its story will be a return to the usual Layton insanity, too.

Of course, I do have doubts about whether or not it will actually come out this year… but Level-5 still says it will, so for now I’ll have faith.

3. The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy

A few weeks ago, I found myself realizing that I miss Danganronpa. Those games have a particular style that just isn’t found anywhere else (not even in Rain Code). Well, we might not have a new Danganronpa game coming out, but we do have The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy from Too Kyo Games.

Any game from the creators of both Danganronpa and Zero Escape is going to catch my attention at least a little, and a lot of what’s been shown so far looks very similar to Danganronpa. The biggest exception is the gameplay, because it’s… a strategy RPG.

Sign me up!

In short, Last Defense Academy has a ton of ingredients I love, and I just hope they come together into a satisfactory whole. It’s definitely one of the games I’m looking forward to the most this year.

2. Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition

I still can’t believe it’s real.

So many years I spent hoping Xenoblade Chronicles X would make a return on the Nintendo Switch, to give it a second chance at life and pave the way for a sequel. I’d given up and started hoping it would be remastered for the Switch’s successor instead, but here it is as a Nintendo Switch game after all!

I loved Xenoblade Chronicles X despite it being an open world game. Something about it just really made it click with me. Now it’s getting a second chance at life, and since I’m now caught up on the series thanks to finishing Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and Future Redeemed, I’m looking forward to starting a new adventure in Mira after all these years.

That leaves just one game that I’m looking forward to even more than Xenoblade Chronicles X, and you might be able to guess what it is…

1. Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii

I know what you’re thinking. “Come on, Sam, weren’t you saying the premise is too silly?” Yes, I have some misgivings about the direction for the story of this game. But… it’s Like a Dragon.

The Yakuza / Like a Dragon series has yet to let me down. Even my least favorite entry is still one I have to praise as a great game. Besides that, everything I’ve seen about Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii has me excited for what looks like a fun-filled adventure.

So yo ho ho, I’m ready to set sail with Cap’n Majima anytime! …As soon as I finish Infinite Wealth, that is.

Conclusion

There are many more exciting games coming out besides these, like Tales of Graces f Remastered, Fantasy Life i (which was on my list last year), Death Match Love Comedy, Pokémon Legends Z-A, and lots of others. However, when I looked at them all, these five are the ones that ended up at the top of my list.

Which 2025 games are you looking forward to the most?

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