Samantha Lienhard's Blog, page 2

New Rumors Say Ace Attorney 7 Will NOT Be in the Nintendo Direct

Some games are like Silksong used to be – fake leaks pop up all the time, with people claiming it will be at this event or that one.

But here we are waiting for Ace Attorney 7, where leakers come out and de-confirm it.

On Friday, a supposed leaker claimed that in this week’s rumored Nintendo Direct, there would be three “7” games. Naturally, this got Ace Attorney fans stirred up with the hope that Ace Attorney 7 (especially since the games are numbered in Japan) might finally be announced.

Unfortunately, when someone asked about Ace Attorney 7, the leaker specifically said no.

So that’s where we’re at. We’ve got a Nintendo Direct rumored to be on the horizon, with Ace Attorney 7 rumored to not be there. (On the other hand, in my infinite optimism, I can’t help but point out that it doesn’t necessarily rule out a different Ace Attorney game being announced!)

Personally, I still think Capcom’s TGS show is our best shot. That’s why there’s no Ace Attorney 7 at the Nintendo Direct, because they’re saving it for TGS. Right?

What do you think? Are we getting an Ace Attorney announcement soon, or will we be having this exact same conversation next year?

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We Got a Tiny Update on Kingdom Hearts IV and Final Fantasy VII Remake Part 3

Earlier today, there was a Japanese-only live stream for Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis, the mobile game I tried briefly before its gacha-ness got to me and I quit.

Anyway, during the broadcast, Nomura addressed two games that have been on everyone’s minds.

According to the translation from Gematsu, he said the third part of the Final Fantasy VII Remake is “progressing really smoothly” and “the release timing has already been decided.”

As for Kingdom Hearts IV, he said it’s “steadily moving forward according to schedule.”

The last time we got an update on Kingdom Hearts IV was when Missing Link got cancelled back in May, which I’m not sure we ever talked about. Square Enix followed the announcement with a couple new Kingdom Hearts IV screenshots to balance the bad news with some good.

Just from the way Nomura responded to the questions, I’d guess the third Final Fantasy VII Remake game is further along than Kingdom Hearts IV. It sounds like they’re just waiting for the right time to announce it.

I’m nowhere near ready to play that yet, since I never got around to playing Rebirth. On the other hand, I’ll jump on Kingdom Hearts IV as soon as it comes out. Maybe it’s a good thing for my backlog that we don’t have a release date for it yet.

Anyway, while it would have been nice to get more substantial news, at least we know things are going well. Maybe we’ll hear more during TGS?

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PC Engine Falcom Games Coming to Modern Platforms

We’ve been talking a lot about Falcom games lately, but it looks like some of their older games will soon be more readily available.

Edia announced an agreement with Falcom to port several of their old PC Engine CD-ROM² games to modern platforms.

According to the translation from Gematsu, these games are Ys I & II, Ys III, Ys IV: The Dawn of Ys, Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes, Dragon Slayer, The Legend of Heroes II, The Legend of Xanadu, and The Legend of Xanadu II.

(Want to feel confused about series and spin-off series? Go read about Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes, which is the 6th entry in the Dragon Slayer series and the first in the Legend of Heroes series, which would eventually lead to the Trails series. To make it more complex, an earlier Dragon Slayer game also started the Xanadu series.)

No further details have been provided, but it’s possible that these ports will be released in English as well, judging by Edia’s past activities.

We talked about Edia last year, when they hinted at a Tenshi no Uta revival. That did happen, with an English version planned, although few details have been provided on the translation so far.

It’s nice to see a lot of these older games being brought back. Are you interested in playing any of these?

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Trails in the Sky SC Remake is All But Confirmed

Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter, the upcoming remake of the first Trails came, is only a few weeks away now, due out on September 19.

It’s been pretty much assumed that a remake of Trails in the Sky Second Chapter will follow unless the remake’s sales are disastrous, and now it’s all but confirmed.

In a recent interview, Falcom president Toshihiro Kondo said, “If we didn’t follow up with a remake of Trails in the Sky SC, people would go, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.'”

(He’s right, especially because the first game ends on a cliffhanger that leads directly into the second.)

He went on to say that they “want to avoid such a long gap” compared to the original release. That’s interesting, because the original Trails in the Sky came out in Japan in June 2004, which SC following in March 2006. If he wants to avoid a similar gap, that suggests they’re hoping to remake SC next year.

He also said that the possibility of further remakes “depends on fan demand.”

Personally, I hope they at least remake Trails in the Sky the 3rd after that if they’re going to remake the first two.

I’ve still got a long way to go to catch up on the Trails series, having only finished the three Sky games so far. Still, I’m excited to see these remakes, because the first game’s remake looks fantastic. (And hey, at least the remakes give me a little more time to make progress before the next new game, even though I still won’t be caught up in time.)

Are you planning to play Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter?

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RGG Summit Announced for September 23

As expected, the big announcement coming from RGG Studio yesterday was the date of the next RGG Summit.

The RGG Summit will be held on September 23 at 8 PM PT / 11 PM ET.

(If you’ve seen it announced for September 24, that’s because of the time zone difference. In Japan, it’s September 24.)

Not only that, but there will be a “RGG Direct” immediately after the broadcast to deliver more information on the announcements.

This puts the Summit right ahead of Tokyo Game Show.

While I’m sure they’ll devote time to Stranger Than Heaven (and I’m really looking forward to learning more about that), probably the new Virtua Fighter game as well, and maybe the Switch 2 ports of Kiwami and Kiwami 2, the timing feels right for a new game announcement.

I’ve still got my heart set on either a Kenzan remake or a third Judgment game. Seeing the next Yakuza game would also be nice, but it might be too soon for that.

Now, while we’re on the topic, there’s been a tweet circulating that says the Judgment series is finished for now, but it’s from January, so I’m not sure why it’s getting so much attention now. I also wouldn’t take it as complete fact, because if they were planning a new Judgment game, they wouldn’t just tell anyone who asked.

There’s also been comments circulating about how they don’t want to remake Kenzan, but that is also based on interviews from a few years ago, not anything that was said recently.

So I don’t think it’s impossible for my hopes to come true. On the other hand, if they announce a new Yakuza game instead… well, I’d better hurry and catch up, since I still haven’t finished Infinite Wealth.

What do you think will be announced at the RGG Summit?

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Capcom Will Have a TGS Presentation (Is There Hope?)

Capcom has officially announced its TGS plans for this year, so I’m hoping for Ace Attorney news, as always.

After all, I did say I’d be looking ahead to TGS as the next most likely place for it!

According to Capcom’s official TGS site, not only will they have their already-announced titles (including Monster Hunter Stories 3) on exhibition, but they’ll also be holding an online event.

It will be on September 24 at 7 AM PT / 10 AM ET and feature “all the latest Capcom news.” That sounds like the perfect time for a new game announcement.

Last year’s TGS show was when they had “an announcement from the Ace Attorney series” that turned out to be a series overview trailer, so maybe I shouldn’t get my hopes up too much. But I still think Capcom releasing both Ace Attorney collections last year makes the most sense if they were clearing the way for a new announcement this year.

And if they don’t… well, at least I’m interested in their major upcoming games, so watching it won’t be a total loss.

Ace Attorney 7? The Great Ace Attorney Investigations? Will my hopes be fulfilled at TGS this year, or will I be left disappointed again? What do you think?

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Corpse Party II Delayed Again, Tetralogy Pack Coming West

Just over a year ago, during my review of Sweet Sachiko’s Hysteric Birthday Bash, I mentioned how the upcoming Corpse Party II: Darkness Distortion had been delayed to 2025.

Well, here we are a year later, and it’s been delayed to 2026. (A PlayStation 5 version was also announced.)

The delay is a bit worrying, especially on top of the previous one. Still, it had looked a little rough when it was shown before, so here’s hoping the delays will let them make it into a much better project.

In the meantime, the Corpse Party Tetralogy Pack has been confirmed to be coming west for the Switch. This collection includes the 2021 Corpse Party Remake, Book of Shadows, Sweet Sachiko’s Hysteric Birthday Bash, and Blood Drive.

I’ve already played the first three, and Blood Drive is available on the Switch separately, so I don’t know if I’ll pick up the Tetralogy Pack or not. Still, it would be nice to have a physical copy of the games, and it’s great to see this collection come west while we wait for the new game.

The real question is if we’ll ever hear anything about Dead Patient again…

Are you interested in the Corpse Party Tetralogy Pack? How do you feel about Darkness Distortion being delayed again?

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Will RGG Studio Announce Something Big on August 28?

It’s that time of year again, when RGG Studio says their next live stream will have a big announcement and everyone goes crazy wondering what it might be.

Or in this case, jumping to conclusions about what it might be.

Not only is the live stream going to have a big announcement, but they’ve been giving behind-the-scenes looks at games in the series, and this episode will focus on Ryu ga Gotoku Kenzan.

As a result, a lot of fans are hoping they’re going to announce a Kenzan remaster/remake, and I have to admit that was the first thing I thought, too.

But as much as I’m hoping for a Kenzan re-release, we probably shouldn’t get our hopes up just yet. RGG Studio does these broadcasts on a regular basis, and I’m not sure they’ve ever had a game announcement in them. Back in 2022, their upcoming live stream was said to have a “sneak peek trailer,” but it didn’t have any announcements there, just the announcement of the first RGG Summit.

So I feel like the most we can realistically expect is that this live stream will include the announcement of the next RGG Summit, and that’s where we’ll get a new game announcement.

Just recently, there was an article saying they have new announcements planned for TGS, too.

I’m excited to learn more about Stranger Than Heaven, but I’d love to see some new announcements (even though I still need to finish Infinite Wealth and start the pirate game). Personally, I’d be most interested in a new Judgment game and a Kenzan re-release.

What do you think RGG Studio’s August 28 announcement will be, and what game do you think we’ll see announced next?

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Highlights from Yesterday’s Events

Yesterday was a day for announcements, so let’s go through the highlights.

First up, the morning kicked off with the Kirby Air Riders Direct.

I won’t try to summarize everything covered in the Direct (it was 45 minutes, after all), but Kirby Air Riders sounds like a fun game where racing is secondary to a chaotic competition against the other riders. It’s also beautiful.

It got a November 20 release date and will cost $70.

Overall, it’s not a must-play driving me out to buy a Switch 2, but it’s a game I’d consider whenever I do get a Switch 2.

Moving on, the Tales remaster announcement was Tales of Xillia, as expected. It’s just the first game, so I didn’t get my wish of Xillia and Xillia 2 being bundled together.

It will be out on October 31 for Switch, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Steam and features numerous quality-of-life improvements as well as most of the original’s DLC (it looks like licensed costumes were cut).

Weirdly, the pipe costume attachment has been censored, as shown on the Japanese website.

I’m not as excited as I would be if they had bundled both Xillia games together or remastered one of the older games, but at least Xillia will be more readily available now.

The next event of the day was Gamescom Opening Night Live, and you know, maybe I should stop getting so excited for Gamescom. There was little that stood out to me, although Routine showing up in the pre-show was a highlight.

Routine still exists and has a 2025 release window. We first talked about Routine back in 2014, so it’s hard to believe it’s actually coming out at last.

Lords of the Fallen 2 got a new trailer, as well. Personally, I hope the devs rename it to The Lords of the Fallen.

Jokes aside, it looks like it could be a cool game.

Monster Hunter Wilds and Final Fantasy XIV are doing collabs with each other, which was interesting to see.

The new Ninja Gaiden game looks like it could be neat, and of course I’m always excited to see more about Silent Hill f. I don’t quite know what to expect from it, but I’m cautiously optimistic.

I’m also cautiously optimistic for Resident Evil Requiem.

Those were the major highlights of Gamescom for me, but what games stood out to you the most? What do you think about Kirby Air Riders and the Tales of Xillia remaster?

Meanwhile, we can scratch Gamescom off our list of potential events for Ace Attorney news this year, but I thought it was one of the less likely options anyway. Now my eyes are fixed on TGS.

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Kirby Air Riders Direct Announced for Tomorrow

While we still don’t have another general Nintendo Direct, like I’ve been waiting for, Nintendo has announced a Kirby Air Riders Direct for tomorrow.

It will start at 6 AM PT / 9 AM ET and last for 45 minutes.

I never played Kirby Air Ride (or much of any Kirby games at all, really), but I’m interested in seeing what this new game is all about.

45 minutes is a fair amount of time to spend on one game, so hopefully they have a lot of interesting things to share.

Mario Kart World didn’t catch my attention enough to make me want a Switch 2 for it, but maybe Kirby Air Riders will. We’ll see.

Meanwhile, the Tales remaster is also going to be announced tomorrow, rather than today, at 7 AM PT / 10 AM ET. I’m still hoping it will be not just Xillia, but also Xillia 2 bundled with it.

And Gamescom Opening Night is tomorrow afternoon, too, so we’ve potentially got a lot of game announcements to look forward to.

What are you hoping to see in the Kirby Air Riders Direct?

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