Samantha Lienhard's Blog, page 120

Latest Final Fantasy VII Remake Details

As we continue to get Final Fantasy XV DLC news, I sometimes wonder when they’ll announce Final Fantasy XVI… and then I remember we have another big Final Fantasy game coming.

We haven’t discussed the Final Fantasy VII remake since last February, when we learned the Compilation works will not be considered canon.

There hasn’t been a lot of new information, aside from little details, but now a job listing has provided some insight into how Square Enix views the project.

According to the translation from Gematsu, the job post describes it as a “new creation” rather than a “simple remake.”

They’re looking to surpass the original and want to “preserve the existing concepts users hold while creating a new world view.”

To me, that would mean giving it a revitalized turn-based combat system rather than switching to an action combat system. The job listing does mention “a battle system that combines commands and action,” but that makes me think more of the way Kingdom Hearts uses menus in its combat. On the other hand, the post later describes it as “action elements added to the traditional strategy,” which sounds like action would have a lesser emphasis.

(But really, after what they’ve shown and said in the past, I’d be surprised if they include turn-based elements.)

They’re looking for people who can work on enemies, bosses, and environments, as well as people who can work on level designs.

All of these things together with their emphasis on it as a “new creation” really make it sound like they’re rebuilding the entire game. Are we sure this isn’t a re-imagining after all?

Update: A new interview, with a translation from DualShockers, discusses how the visual team is working to make sure the special effects have a meaning beyond looking cool.

What are your expectations for the Final Fantasy VII remake? And… do you think we’ll hear about it at E3?

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My Belated Finding Paradise Review

This review is an unusual one, because I thought I already reviewed Finding Paradise.

I named it as one of the best games I played in 2017 (and mentioned that my review would be coming soon), and I didn’t realize I never actually reviewed it until I went to look for my review last weekend and it… wasn’t there.

My guess is that I intended to review it right when my site went down, and by the time it was restored, I forgot. Anyway, let’s talk about Finding Paradise!

Finding Paradise is the sequel to To the Moon. Once again, Neil and Eva enter a dying patient’s memories to alter them in order to fulfill his final wish. The patient is the protagonist from A Bird Story, the shorter game set in between the two.

He presents them with a tricky task: he’d like them to resolve his lingering regrets while leaving as many of his memories unchanged as possible. Like in To the Moon, traveling through his memories lets the story of his life unfold, although this time Neil and Eva are sent back and forth between recent memories and old memories instead of following a linear path backwards.

For me, it wasn’t quite as emotional as To the Moon, but it was still a solid story. I also loved how it played with the series’ premise, leading to a beautiful and thought-provoking conclusion. And of course, there was plenty of humor.

I also went into Finding Paradise hoping for more of the overarching story that was hinted at in To the Moon and expanded on in the free mini-episodes. While Finding Paradise only touches on it lightly, it has a few mysterious events and some intriguing developments that advance it a little further.

Click for major Finding Paradise spoilersIn addition to the obvious scenes about Neil’s work, fans have speculated that the mysterious motorcycle rider (whose scene stands out for having no apparent significance to the plot) and the woman in the brown dress who (according to the child) retrieves the doll without touching the water is Faye.

Since Faye doesn’t exist in the real world and Neil copied her data, this once again suggests that Finding Paradise itself is a memory that someone is revisiting.

Finding Paradise also provides a list of the games in the series.

Since it lists To the Moon and Finding Paradise as the major episodes, with A Bird Story and the minisodes listed in between, I hope this means we’ll see more smaller entries before Episode 3.

Finding Paradise might not be as amazing as To the Moon, but it’s still an excellent game and I can’t wait to see where Freebird Games takes this series in the future. (It may or may not involve lots of murder?)

If you played Finding Paradise, what did you think of it? Where do you think the overarching story is headed?

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Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Was a Fantastic Journey

After loving both of the previous Xenoblade games, I recently finished Xenoblade Chronicles 2.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 has seen an odd reception. Some people love it, while other people hate it.

While it has some flaws, I think it’s a pretty fantastic game.

Like its predecessors, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is an action RPG with an almost MMO-like combat system where your characters auto-attack until you use special attacks on a cooldown system. This time, you have three special attacks at a time, based on which Blade you have active. You can switch between three different Blades during battle (technically four, as Rex), which gives you a nice variety of moves.

Blades also have elemental attacks, which you can chain together in a system that seems complicated at first but isn’t so bad once you get used to it. By the end of the game, I loved stacking as many elemental orbs on a boss as possible so I could break them with an Elemental Burst.

As you’d expect from a Xenoblade game, there are many vast areas to explore with secret locations to find and items to gather. This time, it is spread across several “Titans,” massive creatures that fly through the Cloud Sea with civilizations built upon them. That’s a cool setting.

To me, however, it felt a little different from the past Xenoblade games. That sense of exploration was strong at the start, but the more I played, the more it started feeling like a regular JRPG progress, just with some large areas.

But that’s okay! I love JRPGs, so feeling like a regular JRPG isn’t a bad thing.

For me, the most important part of a JRPG is its story. So how does Xenoblade Chronicles 2’s story hold up? I think people sell it short when they claim it’s simple or read too much into the director’s “boy-meets-girl” comment.

I mean, technically yes, the plot kicks off when Rex meets Pyra and agrees to go on a journey with her to find Elysium, but there’s so much more. The quest to reach Elysium itself is because the world is dying, there are numerous points where the story deals with discrimination (mainly anti-Blade sentiments) and other serious themes, and the antagonists are credible threats.

And while it might use some JRPG cliches, it also subverts some in ways I enjoyed.

Click for minor Xenoblade Chronicles 2 spoilerFor example, Mor Ardain is set up to be the typical JRPG “evil empire,” to the point where I assumed going into the game that they’d be at least secondary antagonists. A technologically advanced empire at war to expand its territory and it’s sending a “Special Inquisitor” after you?

But Mor Ardain isn’t evil at all, its expansion is because their own Titan is dying, and the Special Inquisitor turns out to be an awesome character who becomes an ally pretty early on while still remaining loyal to the empire.

Now, I would say the story is more personal. It had grand, world-changing stakes, but most of the protagonists and antagonists are driven by very personal reasons.

There are humorous moments, but also serious moments and tragic scenes. I loved the main cast, especially Mòrag, who might be my favorite Xenoblade character in general.

(Speaking of characters, the fanservice controversy is way overblown.)

Now would it really be a Xenoblade game without some crazy twists? Don’t worry, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 delivers! One of the biggest twists especially delighted me with the cleverness of how it works.

Click for major Xenoblade Chronicles 2 spoilerWhile it was marketed as being completely unrelated to the first Xenoblade Chronicles, there is a direct connection.

Not only was that a shock, but I suspect it will work in reverse: if you play Xenoblade Chronicles 2 first and then play the original, you’ll realize the connection then.

But I did call it a flawed game, so let’s get into some of the negatives. There’s nothing major wrong with Xenoblade Chronicles 2, but it has lots of little things that just made me ask, “Why did they think this was a good idea?”

You get new Blades essentially through a gacha system. Even though you don’t spend real money like in the dreaded mobile gacha games, it’s still annoying to use Core Crystal after Core Crystal and keep getting generic Blades, since it’s luck-based.

Then there are the side quests. Some side quests are great, especially since a lot of the fetch quests have been relegated to Mercenary Missions instead, and the Blade quests in particular have their own stories and cutscenes. But the ones that need you to gather tons of a particular type of item? Those annoyed me.

(Meanwhile, Ursula’s tedious quest falls into its own special category of “Why did they think this was a good idea?”)

Switching around Blades to get past field skill checks, sending out mercenary groups manually since there’s no “send again” option, and other minor things just added a bit of frustration to an otherwise excellent game.

Nevertheless, these flaws are just a minor strike against a fantastic journey across a beautiful world. It might drive completionists insane, but if you’re in it for the story, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 delivers.

Click for major Xenoblade Chronicles 2 spoilerExcept I’m not all that crazy about the post-credits scene of Pyra and Mythra returning as two separate people. It felt too deus ex machina.

Yes I know there are theories about how it technically fits with the lore. It still felt contrived to force a super-happy ending.

Although considering Pyra/Mythra/Pneuma is the “child” of the Architect and sacrificed herself to save everyone, I’m tempted to handwave the resurrection part as being because she’s basically Jesus.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 doesn’t feel as epic as the original Xenoblade Chronicles, but it still tells a solid story with great moments and excellent characters, with a beautiful world to explore. If you have a Switch and you’re looking for a good JRPG, this is one you shouldn’t miss.

What did you think of Xenoblade Chronicles 2? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

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New Kingdom Hearts III Trailer Shows Mini-Games

During the flood of Kingdom Hearts III news at February D23 Expo, we learned that there would be at least one Game & Watch style mini-game.

Now we know a lot more. Giantland is only one of many.

This weekend, a Kingdom Hearts Union χ fan event called the Dandelion Meeting took place. While it was mainly focused on KHUX, they also revealed that there will be over 20 mini-games based on classic Mickey Mouse cartoons and old LCD games.

The trailer was then released for everyone else to see.

In the new trailer, Sora receives a game device from none other than Hayner, Pence, and Olette (yes, the Twilight Town trio is back), which lets him play these mini-games.

Some people have started blaming the mini-games for KH3 not being out yet, which is an odd stance to take. They’re just simple mini-games. I doubt they’ve slowed down development that much.

These games, which are collectively called Classic Kingdom, will also be playable in Union χ sometime before Kingdom Hearts III launches.

KHUX is also getting some new features… and a chance to get your name in Kingdom Hearts III.

The “Make Your Mark” campaign will let 300 players have their KHUX name appear in Kingdom Hearts III, based on certain criteria explained in the link above. If you’re a KHUX player, there is an entry form you can complete between now and May 1 if you want a chance at being selected.

Anyway, thanks to KH Insider’s coverage of the meeting, we also have a few other things to think about.

During the Q&A, they revealed that a new world is coming to KHUX and Kingdom Hearts III will include a summons from that world. They also said that the new Union Leaders will be tied in with Kingdom Hearts III.

With these Union Leaders, you’ll see them tied in with KH3. You’ll see hints of their existence. Their stories interwine a bit with KH3, but they will have their own fate and Nomura has already plotted it out. There is meaning behind them, even in their names and even in spelling. We will continue to explore their narrative.”

All in all, some interesting details from the KHUX event! I was going to review Xenoblade Chronicles 2 today, but I decided to cover this first. I also realized that I apparently never reviewed Finding Paradise, so you can expect to see that soon, as well.

What do you think about the Kingdom Hearts III mini-games?

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The Great Gaias is Alive and Coming Soon!

All the way back in 2014, I wrote about three video game Kickstarters I hoped to see succeed.

It was a doomed post. None of those three Kickstarters made their goals.

However, one of the three has returned to life! The classic JRPG-inspired The Great Gaias, which I noticed in 2016 appeared to still be in development, has a release date! It will be out on June 22.

(Once I’ve played a few more of my backed games, I really should write a follow-up crowdfunding article.)

The Great Gaias is a turn-based RPG with 17 playable characters, a 60+ hour story, multiple endings, and more. I’ll admit I’d more or less forgotten about it, but once I saw the update, I was excited again.

The Steam page is now up, and there is also a new trailer. Let’s take a look.

Not only is it back, but it still looks good – better than ever, in fact.

I’m happy the developers were able to make this game after all, and I look forward to seeing it when it launches in June. What do you think of The Great Gaias?

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Thoughts on the New Final Fantasy XV DLC

We skipped the latest Final Fantasy XV news in favor of discussing the Wild Arms mobile game, so let’s go back to it now.

At PAX East, Square Enix officially announced the next four DLC episodes for Final Fantasy XV.

They’re collectively called the “Dawn of the Future” DLC and are intended to show “a future everyone longed for” with an “alternate grand finale.”

Here are their official descriptions and working titles.

Episode I: Ardyn

“The Conflict of the Sage”

This story portrays the struggles of Ardyn. Witness the resentment he harbored towards Lucis for over 2,000 years, and his clashes with the Astrals.

Episode Side Story: Aranea

“The Beginning of the End”

A side-story about the Starscourge depicted from the Niflheim’s perspective. The final day of the Empire turns out to be Aranea’s worst day.

Episode II: Lunafreya

“The Choice of Freedom”

This story’s about Luna’s fate, which not even death can free her from. Her battle to save the one she loves overturns the destiny dealt to the Lucian King.

Episode III: Noctis

“The Final Strike”

Parting ways with the Astrals, Noctis embarks upon his final battle in order to attain the ideal future for all his people.

(They also announced that the Comrades multiplayer expansion will be released as a standalone product this summer.)

Episode Ardyn sounds out of keeping with the “future” theme, since it should be depicting events of the past, but it’s the DLC I wanted the most.

Episode Aranea appears to be shorter than the others, since it’s described as a “side story” rather than being numbered with the others.

Episode Lunafreya and Episode Noctis (and yes, it’s ironic to get an Episode Noctis when the entire game focused on him) are the ones most obviously connected to an alternate future. Luna will help Noctis overcome his destiny and he’ll reach an ideal future.

Alternate ending DLC is… odd. It’s not particularly what I hoped for, but it’s less frustrating than DLC that feels necessary to tell a complete story. Still, I’d have traded it for DLC actually expanding Luna’s role in the plot and maybe showing us Iris during the time skip.

But it is what it is. I just hope Ardyn’s DLC isn’t a part of the “alternate grand finale,” since we need to learn about his past, not an alternate future.

What do you think about the upcoming Final Fantasy XV DLC? Are you planning to get any of it? Let me know in the comments.

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First Details About the Wild Arms Mobile Game

In December 2016, we learned there was going to be a new Wild Arms game… for mobile devices.

It was announced as a reboot featuring a new story, with the original Wild Arms staff working on it despite it being developed by Wright Flyer Studios.

The trailer showed characters from across the series, which implied it could be a crossover game.

Now we finally have more details.

The Wild Arms mobile game is titled Wild Arms: Million Memories. Like we suspected, it features characters from throughout the series.

So, what about the original Wild Arms staff? Wild Arms: Million Memories is being overseen by Akifumi Kaneko, the designer for the original Wild Arms games. He is also as the scenario writer for Wild Arms 2 and 3, and the screenplay writer for Wild Arms 4.

That’s good news, at least. It doesn’t appear as though other staff members have been announced yet.

The official website includes a sample of the theme song, “Million Memories,” which sounds nice enough, although not particularly what I’d associate with Wild Arms.

I’m not sold on Wild Arms: Million Memories, but at least they’re trying something with the IP. Maybe this will be the first step before they make a full Wild Arms game again. Or maybe this will even be a decent game on its own, like our soon-to-be-lost Tales of the Rays.

What do you think about Wild Arms: Million Memories and the future of the Wild Arms series?

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Everything We Know About the Spyro Reignited Trilogy

The rumors about a Spyro remaster proved to be true with yesterday’s announcement of the Spyro Reignited Trilogy.

Spyro Reignited Trilogy is a remade collection of Spyro the Dragon, Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage!, and Spyro: Year of the Dragon, the original three Spyro games. It’s coming to the PS4 and Xbox One on September 21 for $39.99.

(Yes, a Switch version had been listed by Nintendo UK, but since it is handled by a third-party vendor, that doesn’t necessarily mean a Switch version will be announced later.)

If you have the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, go to the screen for Crash Bandicoot: Warped, and enter the code “Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, Square,” you’ll be able to watch the Spyro Reignited Trilogy trailer as a nod to how the original PS1 Warped contained a Spyro demo you could play after entering that code.

It would be really cool if a Spyro Reignited demo became available there eventually, but for now it’s just the trailer.

Like the N. Sane Trilogy, this appears to fit somewhere between a remaster and a remake, being rebuilt by the developer Toys for Bob to feature “improved environments, updated controls, brand-new lighting and recreated cinematics,” along with full analog stick support and a smoother camera.

The levels have been “mapped faithfully from the originals” and the characters have been “creatively re-imagined with additional flair.” I’m not entirely sure what that means, but it sounds like they want to make the characters (including the enemies) more expressive.

Spyro’s original voice actor, Tom Kenny, has also returned to the role.

That’s the basic information revealed so far about the Spyro Reignited Trilogy, but IGN also has a video with the developers where they discuss the remake and details from the trailer. Some specific things mentioned are:

They’re trying to make the world lush to fill in the gaps and make it look the way we remember it (as someone who always looks back on old games and wonders why I remember them looking so much better, I appreciate this).
The environments are more interactive, such as Spyro’s fire charring the grass.
They want to make sure the games feel like the originals.
They hope to bring the characters’ personalities out more.

I loved all three of the original three Spyro games (although I actually played the first one third), and I’m happy that we’ll be able to revisit them in spring. What do you think of the Spyro Reignited Trilogy? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

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The Current State of the Spyro Remaster Rumors

Last month, we discussed the rumors about a remastered Spyro the Dragon trilogy, and how it looked likely to be true.

Now, a few more interesting things have happened.

First, IGN received a purple egg with a note that read “Something’s about to hatch. -Falcon McBob”

One of the things we talked about last month was how the official @SpyroTheDragon Twitter account had changed its name to “Falcon McBob.” Of course, anyone could have sent that package and used that name, but there’s more.

Shortly after the egg delivery, fans reported that the Spyro the Dragon domain name had switched from AWS to Akami, which Activision frequently uses.

And now, the official Crash Bandicoot Twitter account is following @SpyroTheDragon.

Update: The @SpyroTheDragon account has unprotected its Tweets and tweeted to the Crash Bandicoot account.

.@CrashBandicoot Good Times. pic.twitter.com/we1PmOrq94

— Falcon McBob (@SpyroTheDragon) April 4, 2018

At this point, either an announcement is coming or they’re just messing with us. Maybe a Spyro the Dragon Trilogy remaster will be revealed at PAX. What do you think? Is Spyro the Dragon being remastered?

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Tales of the Rays is Shutting Down in the West

I didn’t post on Friday because of the holiday, but now I’m back to discuss the impending shutdown of Tales of the Rays.

Tales of the Rays came out in the West last August, and since it actually looked like a Tales game despite being mobile, I was more interested in it than in most mobile games.

It used a simplified version of the Tales combat system, told a new story despite having characters from across the series, and restricted its gacha system to mainly weapons/equipment.

I didn’t get too far, but I intended to go back to it eventually (especially when I learned Mithos had been added as a playable character in Japan).

Unfortunately, it’s shutting down in the west.

Tales of the Rays will be shut down outside of Japan on May 29. From what I understand, it will finish out the first story arc, but there’s still plenty of story content that will never make it to the west. And since it’s an online game, you won’t be able to play it at all once it ends.

It sounds as though not enough people played it to make it worthwhile. The non-intrusive gacha system might have contributed, too. Whatever the reason is, it’s disappointing news.

Some fans did start a petition to keep Tales of the Rays active, if you want to join one final effort to save it. Aside from that, you have until May 29 to play the Tales of the Rays content we did get.

Did you play Tales of the Rays? How do you feel about the global version being shut down?

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