Samantha Lienhard's Blog, page 131
July 24, 2017
Layton’s Mystery Journey is Getting Good Reviews
Ever since I got into the Professor Layton series, new Professor Layton games have been immediate pre-orders for me.
However, I decided to wait for the 3DS version of Layton’s Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaires’ Conspiracy in October. Since the iOS and Android version came out last week, that means there will be a few months here before I can play the newest Layton game.
It’s frustrating to know there’s a new Layton game out there that I’m not playing, but it also lets me see other fans’ reactions to it… and so far, those reactions have been pretty good.
I was excited for the game when it was announced as Lady Layton, and the eventual screenshots that showed the traditional gameplay encouraged me, but there were still concerns. It’s the start of a new series. It has a new protagonist. It has a different tone.
Could Layton’s Mystery Journey meet the standard set by the previous games?
So far, the reviews have been pretty positive. I’ve seen a few criticisms of the story not being as exciting (and some complaints that it’s too expensive for a mobile game, but come on) but so far people seem to really love Layton’s Mystery Journey.
I hope I’ll feel the same when I play it in October. What about you? If you’re a Layton fan, have you started the new game right away, or are you holding out for the 3DS release?
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July 21, 2017
My New Collection of Hatoful Boyfriend Plushies
You might think that having four plushies of Hatoful Boyfriend characters would be enough. However, you would be mistaken.
My shipment from the second Hatoful Boyfriend plush project Kickstarter has arrived, and now I have seven more Hatoful Boyfriend plushies to add to my collection:
Rabu
Azami Koshiba
Tohri Nishikikouji
Ryuuji Kawara
The King
Kazuaki-kun
Hitori Uzune
Several of these characters can’t be explained properly without spoilers, so I’ll leave it at that.
Finding space for seven more bird plushies wasn’t easy, but now they’re all nicely arranged with the others. Getting a plushie of Ryuuji made me feel a little guilty that I never got Ryouta… but at least Shuu can be happy.
And maybe someday I’ll complete my collection by getting the birds I skipped over. Who knows? For now, though, I’m delighted with my eleven Hatoful plushies.
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July 19, 2017
It Came Back (Nightmare Stalker) Will Be Out on July 25
A few months ago, I announced that my horror story “Nightmare Stalker” had been accepted for publication by The Book Smugglers.
It’s been renamed to It Came Back, and today I’d like to share the awesome cover art from Tomislav Jagnjic.
It Came Back follows a young woman named Luna who returns to her childhood home, only to discover a dark secret in her family’s past and a curse that lingers on.
It will be available from The Book Smugglers, and if you want an ebook copy, you’ll also be able to buy it from:
Amazon
Smashwords
Directly from The Book Smugglers
You can also add It Came Back on Goodreads.
In the official announcement from The Book Smugglers, you can learn a little more about the story and how they selected it as part of their Gods & Monsters line.
A classic horror story, set in the 1980s, featuring an estranged daughter, a partial epistolary narrative, an otherworldly artifact, and a family secret, It Came Back hit all of the right horror tropes–even better, it manages to do all these things and still be truly scary. We couldn’t have dreamed up a more terrifying specter to kick off the monster portion of Gods and Monsters… we hope you’re as taken with Samantha Lienhard’s nightmare stalker as we are.”
Excited? You’ll be able to read It Came Back on July 25, and pre-orders for the ebook are available now!
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July 17, 2017
Interviews Reveal More Kingdom Hearts 3 Details
After the exciting new Kingdom Hearts III trailer revealed on the weekend, several sites interviewed Tetsuya Nomura about the game.
That means we have even more Kingdom Hearts III details to discuss!
First, in an interview with IGN, he indicated that Sora won’t be the only playable character. There will be at least one other.
He wouldn’t reveal who it is, which is interesting. Would he keep it a secret if it’s an obvious choice like Riku? (Personally, I’m still hoping for a playble Young Eraqus & Young Xehanort flashback.)
As the trailers have shown, larger parties are also possible now. You can have at least 5 characters in a party, possibly more, so you’ll no longer need to pick between characters.
In a second interview with IGN, Nomura said they won’t rule out Kingdom Hearts III on the Nintendo Switch or Kingdom Hearts 1.5 & 2.5 on the Xbox One, but they’re going to focus on what they’ve already announced before thinking about that.
Since Kingdom Hearts III is coming to the Xbox One, bringing the collection there as well just makes sense. We’ll see what happens.
Next, while talking to Game Informer, he confirmed that the Gummi Ship will return for Kingdom Hearts III.
He also confirmed that Pixar asked for the Toy Story world to have an original story rather than follow one of the movie plots. In terms of setting, it takes place sometime after Toy Story 2.
The world sounds like it will be pretty big, and this is a goal for the game:
“Rather than having multiple different little worlds, we wanted to make sure we’re providing rich gameplay in an individual world, so we put in a lot of effort and allocated a lot of resources to create these worlds, and it would be sad for players not to enjoy the world and breeze right through it. Therefore, we made sure that each of the worlds is designed so players can take their time and enjoy the gameplay that’s available.”
It’s unclear if that means there will be fewer worlds than usual. I hope not, because I have my heart set on a lengthy Kingdom Hearts III.
Nomura also told Game Informer that each Keyblade will have its own transformations, and that you’ll be able to interact with the environments more to progress and explore.
Finally, he spoke to GameSpot about the development process and how it hurts to see fans say he’s taking too long. The decision made by Square Enix to switch to Unreal Engine 4, along with personnel issues, lengthened the development time. However, he says there haven’t been problems with Kingdom Hearts III’s development teams.
He doesn’t think they’ll keep any Disney worlds a secret (so if you want to be surprised, you might want to avoid Kingdom Hearts news), and Kingdom Hearts III DLC is possible, although nothing is set yet.
That’s a lot of Kingdom Hearts information to take in, but it’s pretty interesting. Are you excited for Kingdom Hearts III?
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July 15, 2017
Toy Story in Kingdom Hearts 3, 2018 Release Window
The last Kingdom Hearts III trailer ended with a promise that a brand new trailer would come today during D23, and it was as exciting as we could have imagined!
Toy Story is finally coming to Kingdom Hearts! Not only is a Toy Story world something I’ve thought would be cool ever since I became a Kingdom Hearts fan, it also looks fantastic.
Plus, since Sora is battling alongside Donald, Goofy, Woody, and Buzz, it looks you’ll be able to have at least four companions in Kingdom Hearts III!
And it seems to have a new story instead of following one of the movie plots… Since we already know the Big Hero 6 events take place after the movie, does this mean Kingdom Hearts III’s worlds will have original stories tied into the main plot again, instead of rehashing the movie plots? I hope so!
Now, anyone who talked to me also knew the one thing I really wanted from this trailer was more Xehanort, which is pretty much what I always want from Kingdom Hearts. And it had Xehanort!
Young Xehanort, to be specific.
He talks about darkness, a very Xehanort-y topic, and I’m excited to find out what he’s looking for in the Toy Story world.
Finally, the trailer ended with a release year at last… 2018! Yes, in case you were afraid we’d have to wait until 2020, Kingdom Hearts III is coming out in 2018!
As you can tell, I’m pretty excited about what we saw today. Let me know your thoughts on the new trailer in the comments below.
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July 12, 2017
Super Mario Odyssey Looks Fantastic
From the moment I saw Super Mario Odyssey, I wanted it.
It’s the main reason I bought a Nintendo Switch, because I hope to play Super Mario Odyssey at launch.
I waited through the Wii U’s entire life cycle for a game in this style. While Super Mario 3D World was fun, it didn’t have the same style as Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and even Super Mario Galaxy (which itself was somewhat different). I kept waiting for one of those Mario games to be announced.
So when a 64/Sunshine-style Mario game was announced for the Nintendo Switch, I was ecstatic even before we got to see Mario’s new ability to “capture” enemies, which looks like it as tons of potential.
Super Mario Odyssey might not have a traditional hub area after all, as you use your ship to travel between worlds, but it looks like there will be plenty of places to explore and secrets to discover. We’ll be collecting Power Moons this time around, but you won’t be sent back to the start once you find one. It sounds like it’s really emphasizing exploration.
Six worlds, or Kingdoms, have been shown so far:
Metro Kingdom, which includes the realistic New Donk City first shown
Tostarena, the icy desert area
Wooded Kingdom, an area with forests and mountains
Luncheon Kingdom, the bizarre food world with sentient forks
Cascade Kingdom, the place where the dinosaurs live
Cap Kingdom, a mysterious world that might have some connection to the Odyssey
Nintendo also said there are more Kingdoms that haven’t been announced yet. These places all look expansive and unique, and I can’t wait to explore them.
Meanwhile, Nintendo has been tweeting about some of Mario’s new moves, like the Spin Throw…
If you shake both Joy-Con horizontally, you can do a Spin Throw. Use this to attack enemies while surrounded. #SuperMarioOdyssey pic.twitter.com/xqJzELjZaJ
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) July 11, 2017
…spinning Cappy in place…
If you hold the Y Button after a Cap Throw, Cappy will spin in place for a while. Destroy crates, or use him to jump! #SuperMarioOdyssey pic.twitter.com/z4Owb57ZNu
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) July 11, 2017
and the Homing Cap Throw.
If you swing the Joy-Con after throwing Cappy, you can do a Homing Cap Throw! It'll fly towards nearby things. #SuperMarioOdyssey pic.twitter.com/q5sjrDgOds
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) July 11, 2017
Meanwhile, the official Super Mario Odyssey Japanese account shared footage of Mario capturing a Lava Bubble (or Podoboo), which lets him safely travel through hot water and lava.
熱い溶岩の上もすいすい自由に移動できちゃいます。Joy-Conを振ると、水切りのように水面を素早く移動することもできるんですよ！ pic.twitter.com/dBMJj9Q48T
— スーパーマリオ オデッセイ (@mario_odysseyJP) July 11, 2017
Everything I see from Super Mario Odyssey makes me more excited about the game. Are you looking forward to it?
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July 10, 2017
PlatinumGames Teases Nintendo Switch Games
PlatinumGames is on the list of Nintendo Switch partners, so we know they’re working on something.
But what is it?
Their new Japanese Twitter account got people talking last week by posting official red and blue artwork of Bayonetta.
On the surface, that’s nothing special. Red and blue match the colors of the neon Joy-Con controllers for the Nintendo Switch, sure, but they’re also the colors associated with Bayonetta in each game.
When fans started comparing the colors to the Joy-Cons, however, PlatinumGames liked their tweets.
I loved Bayonetta and thought Bayonetta 2 was even better, so I’d love to see another game made. Still, you can’t say for sure it’s a tease when all they did was like a few tweets.
On the other hand, if the official Wonderful 101 artwork posted later isn’t a tease, what is it?
When PlatinumGames posts official artwork of Wonderful 101 characters playing what appears to be The Wonderful 101 on a Nintendo Switch, that seems like a pretty strong hint. And since their jackets say “W101” instead of “W100,” it might even be a tease for a sequel!
I enjoyed The Wonderful 101 and will absolutely get The Wonderful 102 (or whatever they call it) if it’s announced. And I finally bought a Nintendo Switch from Amazon (they’re sporadically in stock, so check back often to see if the price returns to $299), so I’ll be able to play it!
(The other art included in the tweet features Vorkken, Immorta, and some unknown characters, but since it has a copyright date of 2013, it’s probably not a hint about something new.)
Kamiya isn’t helping matters, as he simply replied with a smile when asked on Twitter about Bayonetta 1 & 2, the Wonderful 101, and potential sequels coming to the Switch.
What do you think? Is PlatinumGames teasing Bayonetta and/or The Wonderful 101 (or Bayonetta 3 and The Wonderful 102) for the Switch?
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July 7, 2017
Capcom Takes Down Dai Gyakuten Saiban Translation
In Japan, Ace Attorney fans are anticipating the imminent release of Dai Gyakuten Saiban 2 with a launch trailer.
Meanwhile, the rest of us are wishing we could play the first game.
As I searched for any hint that maybe Capcom will find a way past whatever issues it has with the localization and bring The Great Ace Attorney to the West, I noticed people wondering if localization is the reason Capcom targeted the subtitled playthrough.
I didn’t know this had happened again, so I looked it up. There was a subtitled playthrough of Dai Gyakuten Saiban on Youtube, and Capcom had it taken down earlier this summer. Why?
Capcom has the right to do so, but they’ve left other Ace Attorney videos–and the Investigations 2 fan game–alone.
Is it really because they’re concerned the videos will harm sales of the first game in Japan? Or is it because they have plans for an official DGS translation after all?
Two years ago I hopefully speculated about the exact same thing, and that turned out to be nothing. We’re probably grasping at straws.
Then again, Capcom might be waiting to see if the sequel does well in Japan… and if it’s a success, maybe an English release is around the corner. Dai Gyakuten Saiban 2 will be out in Japan on August 3.
What do you think? Do we have any hope left, or is it time to give up on The Great Ace Attorney?
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July 5, 2017
Episode Prompto is a Worthy Addition to FFXV’s Story
While I never became interested enough in Episode Gladiolus to buy it, Episode Prompto caught my attention.
Prompto isn’t my favorite of the party members (that would be Ignis), but he has one of the more interesting stories. Final Fantasy XV also left him with gaping plot holes thanks to its bizarre handling of a certain revelation.
His DLC episode fills in those holes, while also letting the Empire’s mad scientist take a stronger role in the story. One of the things that disappointed me the most in Final Fantasy XV was that Verstael only had a single scene. Why give a villain one scene and never show him again?
I still think Verstael’s role and the explanations surrounding Prompto should have been in the game to start with, but at least Episode Prompto finally brings them into the light.
Since Prompto fights with guns, Episode Prompto feels somewhat like a third-person shooter rather than an RPG… which is interesting, if a little odd. You also get a snowmobile to zoom around in during certain sections. It’s largely linear, but still allows for a little exploration.
I’m in it for the story, though, and that aspect satisfied me. In addition to cutscenes, the story is also told through optional documents and logs you find in the facility. I love that kind of storytelling, and I wish Final Fantasy XV used that more to flesh out its world.
Plus, Verstael. Mad science. Good stuff.
Prompto’s internal conflict and development are also handled well. If you’ve played Final Fantasy XV, you probably can guess when this DLC takes place, because it’s when Prompto gets separated from the group. And if you’ve watched the anime episode about Prompto, you might remember that he had some self-esteem issues (and still does).
These elements come together in a satisfactory way that resonated with me, and I was invested in Prompto’s journey–always a good sign for storytelling.
Episode Prompto only lasts a couple hours, but it adds welcome information to Final Fantasy XV’s scattered storytelling. Here’s hoping Episode Ignis does the same… and I’m patiently waiting for Ardyn DLC to be announced.
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July 3, 2017
Tales of the Rays is Coming West This Summer
Tales of the Rays is coming West this summer, and its English website is now open.
We discussed Tales of the Rays once before. Even though it’s a F2P mobile game, it looks like it has the potential to feel like a full Tales game.
Tales of the Rays follows two original characters named Mileena and Ix, as well as characters from across the Tales series.
However, while it has gacha elements, fans who played the Japanese game have said the gacha system is only for upgrades (weapons and Mirror Artes). You can get every character by playing normally.
Screenshots on the website also show Tales-like gameplay, and it has a story by the writer of Tales of Symphonia, Tales of the Abyss, and Arc Rise Fantasia.
In short, although Tales of the Rays is a mobile game, it sounds like it might be worth looking into. It will be out in the West this summer.
Meanwhile, localization has been announced for a ton of visual novels, a PR company might have accidentally confirmed a Western release for Dragon Quest XI, and PlatinumGames may or may not have teased Bayonetta for the Switch. It’s been an exciting few days!
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