Samantha Lienhard's Blog, page 26

Thoughts on the Princess Peach: Showtime! Demo

One of the games I’ve been curious about ever since it was first announced is Princess Peach: Showtime!, Nintendo’s upcoming game about Princess Peach using transformation powers to save a theater from an evil troupe of villains.

A demo came out yesterday, so I decided to take a look.

After the theater is taken over, Peach allies with a little fairy called Stella and gets a special ribbon that lets her interact with stage props to restore them (such as making flowers bloom) and attack enemies. The demo lets you play through two stages, and in the first stage, Peach is able to transform into Swordfighter Peach.

This level plays like an action platformer, where you use a sword to take out enemies and cut down obstacles. It’s fairly easy, but it’s fun enough, with stylish slowdowns when you dodge an attack.

In the second stage, she instead becomes Patisserie Peach. Instead of fighting enemies, you play through a couple of baking mini-games to prepare cookies and cakes. These were fun, although it did feel a little odd to have a level that was primarily walking to one mini-game and then another.

One curious thing is that the game doesn’t force tutorials for the transformations on you. Instead, the “controls” prompt lights up, and if you open it, Stella explains whatever new mechanic is available.

Both stages have a series of stars for you to collect, some of which you’ll get automatically as you progress while others are a bit more hidden. You also get a lot of coins for defeating enemies, restoring props, and so on… but I don’t know why yet. In fact, the demo left a lot unknown; there’s four whole menu options that simply said “???” for the duration. There’s what looks like a dress shop in the hub area, and I found a “dress ribbon” in each level named after their respective transformations, but the demo didn’t explain how this will work.

I’d love it if you were able to use transformations outside of their origin levels and later stages would have secrets only accessible with other forms, but it might not mean that at all. Maybe the ribbons are just for a visual change.

The demo takes around half an hour, so I hope later stages are longer or this could be quite a short game. Overall, the demo didn’t change my feelings toward Princess Peach: Showtime! too much. It has the potential to be a fun game, but not an immediate must-buy. I want to learn more about it before I make up my mind.

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Trails Through Daybreak Launches July 5

(I will, of course, not be caught up in time.)

After previously announcing its localization for Summer 2024, NISA has now announced that Trails Through Daybreak will be out on July 5.

Since I’ve still only finished the first Trails in the Sky, that means I’ll want to play nine games ahead of this one… so even if I stay true to my claim that this will be the “Year of Trails,” there’s no way I’d ever catch up in time.

But that’s okay! A long series like this is one to be savored, not rushed through.

Even though I won’t be ready to play it, that’s just one more game that makes 2024 amazing for RPG fans, so it’s exciting to have a solid release date at last.

So in the span of a month, NISA has announced Ys X localization, Reynatis localization, and the Trails Through Daybreak release date. I’m surprised they didn’t have their own little showcase for these announcements.

(On an unrelated note, I just finished watching the Xbox Partner Preview, and Kunitsi-Gami looks really cool. I’m looking forward to seeing more of it in the Capcom Highlights stream tonight.)

Are you planning to get Trails Through Daybreak? Will you still be catching up on the series like me? Let me know in the comments!

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Capcom Announces Two Days of “Capcom Highlights”

It’s hard to predict when and where Capcom will show their games nowadays, and now they’ve stirred the pot further with the announcement of Capcom Highlights.

This 2-day event hosted by Youtuber FightinCowboy will take place on March 7 and 11, both at 3 PM PT / 6 PM ET.

The first day will feature Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess and Dragon’s Dogma 2. Kumitsu-Gami looked pretty interesting when it was announced, so I’ll probably tune in for that one.

Meanwhile, the second day will feature Street Fighter 6, Exoprimal, Monster Hunter Stories, and Monster Hunter Now. The game that interests me most out of these titles is Monster Hunter Stories, which I already played when it came out on the 3DS, so I’m not quite as interested. I still might tune in, however.

Now I usually have one specific thing on my mind whenever I watch a Capcom event – Ace Attorney – but I don’t think they’ll announce new games at an event like this where the featured games are clearly listed… although the website also say it will include “an update on the current state of Capcom” and specifically mentions that Monster Hunter Wilds will not be shown, so who knows? Maybe this prediction will age terribly!

This news came on the heels of me trying to figure out where a new Ace Attorney game is most likely to be announced. After all, they used to be announced in Famitsu, but The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles was announced in a random tweet, Ghost Trick was in a Nintendo Direct, and the Apollo Justice Trilogy took us by surprise in last year’s Capcom Showcase. Anything seems possible.

(I didn’t delay this post out of some premonition of a new showcase, though, that was just a coincidence.)

Anyway, while I highly doubt this is where I’ll get the news I’ve been waiting for, I’ll be tuning in to the Capcom Highlights streams. What games are you looking forward to learning more about?

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My Early Pokémon Legends: Z-A Theories

Last time, we discussed the unexpected announcement of Pokémon Legends: Z-A, and now I’d like to talk about some theories.

From the short teaser trailer, which doesn’t even show actual gameplay, there isn’t a lot we can say about the game for sure.

Nevertheless, I’d like to get some early thoughts out there based on what little we’ve seen so far.

Pokémon Legends: Z-A Will Take Place in the Past

The setting for Pokémon Legends: Z-A has been a big topic of debate. Pokémon Legends: Arceus was set in the past, in the Pokémon equivalent of the Meiji Era, which went from 1868-1912. However, initial impressions of Z-A are that this game might take place in the future. Due to the trailer’s presentation, even my first reaction while watching it was, “Is this a futuristic Pokémon game?”

But after thinking about it, I think it’s more likely that Z-A is set in the past after all. Instead of a cyber world, I think what we’re seeing in that trailer is a 3D realization of blueprints. That fits with how it shifts to a 2D overhead view of Lumiose City and then changes into the sketched design.

(Some fans have pointed to the modern clothing worn by people in the trailer as a sign that it’s not set in the past, but since it’s a stylized depiction, I think that could simply mean that it’s the creation of what Lumiose City is like now.)

Lumiose City is loosely based on Paris, and fans have pointed out Haussmann’s renovation of Paris as a potential inspiration for the Lumiose City Urban Redevelopment Plan. This took place between 1853-1870 and resulted in Paris’s modern design, much as how this would lead to Lumiose City’s modern design.

As exciting as it would be to have a game set 3,000 years in the past during the war, I don’t expect that. This time frame, which is closer to that of Legends: Arceus, seems much more likely.

There Will Be Areas Outside Lumiose City

I know, I know, Nintendo’s tweet said Z-A is set entirely within Lumiose City. However, I think it’s possible we’ll still leave the city occasionally – not to explore the full region of Kalos, but to enter areas related to Lumiose City.

For example, the Power Plant supplies power to Lumiose City, and its mysterious locked doors have frustrated fans ever since X/Y came out. There’s no way to get inside and no explanation for them. Many fans thought they would play a role in X/Y DLC or Pokémon Z, until neither of those things came to pass. Revisiting the Power Plant in its early days could finally let us see the full thing.

However, I do think most of the game will take place within the city. The way it’s split into sectors feels like it’s perfectly set up to act like the different regions in Legends: Arceus.

It Will Play Like Legends: Arceus

This one feels like a given, since it’s another Legends game, but you’d be surprised at how many people have taken the “urban redevelopment plan” to mean it’ll be a city builder and have little to no normal Pokémon mechanics.

But it’s not like Pokémon is any stranger to spin-offs. If they were going to make the gameplay drastically different, I think they would have given it a new title instead of calling it Pokémon Legends. How the gameplay mechanics will translate to a primarily city-based game, I’m not sure, but perhaps the Pokémon are scattered throughout the city and you need to collect them to catalogue them as part of this new vision of harmony between humans and Pokémon.

What would be neat would be if city-building did play a role somehow. Perhaps as you catch more Pokémon, instead of just ranking up like you did in Legends: Arceus, the city will develop and new facilities will become available. Completing the Pokémon data for a given sector could complete that sector’s development. That would be a cool way to connect the two concepts!

We’ll See A Predecessor to Team Flare

I’m not a big fan of Team Flare. I found them to be one of the least interesting Pokémon villain teams. But Legends: Arceus did interesting things with Galaxy Team being a presumed predecessor to Team Galactic, so we could see the same thing happen here. While it didn’t catch my eye at first, some fans pointed out that the teaser trailer says the urban redevelopment plan is for “beautiful coexistence,” and Team Flare was all about wanting a “beautiful” world.

Z-A… AZ…?

Nope, I’ve got nothing. I’m convinced there has to be a connection here; you wouldn’t take a game with a major character called AZ and call its spin-off Z-A for no reason. My guess is that the title has a double meaning – the Z stands for Zygarde and the A will have a separate meaning within the plot, but it’s a reference to AZ as well. What that will actually mean for the story, though, I’m not sure.

Click for Pokemon X/Y spoilersCome to think of it, AZ could appear as a character. He would have been alive during the time period I’m theorizing the game is set. That would be pretty interesting if AZ was a character you met and interacted with (maybe having a role similar to Cogita in Legends: Arceus).Conclusion

Anyway, these are my current thoughts on what Pokémon Legends: Z-A will be like. I could be completely wrong! We’ll find out eventually, but in the meantime, what are your theories on Pokémon Legends: Z-A?

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Pokémon Legends: Z-A?! No One Saw That Coming!

I’ll admit, the rumors had me completely fooled.

All the rumors claimed the new Pokémon game would be something related to Johto or Unova, and when I made my predictions, I figured those were the most likely things.

A new Kalos game never even crossed my mind.

Yesterday’s Pokémon Presents wasn’t exceptionally exciting for most of its run. They gave updates on their many, many mobile games, and then they announced a new mobile Pokémon Trading Card Game. Then they ended with one final announcement, and it was one no one saw coming.

The odd teaser trailer revealed an “urban redevelopment project” for a city soon revealed to be Lumiose City from Pokémon X and Y, after which the game was officially announced as Pokémon Legends: Z-A.

This is crazy. It’s a new Pokémon Legends game, which I’m definitely looking forward to after Arceus. And it’s sort of the long-awaited Pokémon Z that people expected for so long but never got.

It’s curious that they aren’t calling it Pokémon Legends: Zygarde, despite the previous Legends game being Pokémon Legends: Arceus, but they might be intentionally calling back to the X/Y/Z trio of games everyone expected at the time. Since it’s specifically Z-A, the letters must have some sort of meaning as well… and we can’t forget that a major character in Pokémon X and Y was named AZ. That can’t be a coincidence, can it?

We know very little about Pokémon Legends: Z-A right now, aside from it involving a redevelopment project in Lumiose City designed to create a place where people and Pokémon could live in harmony. A tweet from Nintendo says it will take place “entirely within Lumiose City,” but even that’s not the clearest statement of what to expect from the game.

Regardless, I’m excited! Although X and Y weren’t my favorite Pokémon generation, I did enjoy the lore behind the story, and a a new Legends game is definitely welcome. In the midst of so many rumors and supposed leaks, it’s nice to be surprised by an announcement like this, too.

Pokémon Legends: Z-A won’t be out until 2025, so we have plenty of time to learn more. Until then, what are you expecting or hoping for from this surprise new Pokémon game?

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Reynatis is Coming West This Fall

That didn’t take long!

Last week, we talked briefly about the action RPG Reynatis, announced in the Japanese Nintendo Direct.

With Kazushige Nojima as the scenario writer and Yoko Shimomura as the composer, it already had my attention even before I watched the trailer, which just interested me more.

At the time, it was only announced for Japan, so I had my fingers crossed for localization… and today, NIS America announced that Reynatis will be coming west for Switch, PS4, PS5, and PC this fall!

A limited edition will also be available.

(Why it wasn’t just revealed last week, I don’t know, but it wouldn’t be the first time a game was announced only in the Japanese Nintendo Direct but then confirmed for localization shortly afterwards.)

Reynatis is a fantasy action RPG set in Shibuya, starring two main characters: Marin Kirizumi, described on the official website as “a wizard who seeks freedom through unstoppable power,” and Sari Nishijima, “an officer who seeks an orderly world where magic is regulated.”

The pauses during combat look a little strange to me, but overall it seems very interesting. I’m excited that this one is being localized, and I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on it!

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Pokémon Presents Hopes and Predictions

We’re now past the Nintendo Direct and the Shadow of the Erdtree trailer, but we’ve still got another showcase to look forward to next Tuesday.

A Pokémon Presents was announced for February 27 at 6 AM PT / 9 AM ET, with exciting news promised.

February 27 is always Pokémon Day, because it’s the anniversary of the first game coming out in Japan. This year marks the 28th anniversary, to be precise. So it makes sense that they often celebrate it with announcements.

This is an odd one for me, because it’s the first Pokémon Presents in a long time where I won’t be waiting for news on Detective Pikachu Returns. That game is now out (and I loved it, even though I’m in the minority there) and showed no indications of getting a sequel, so Detective Pikachu is off the table for predictions now.

Where does that leave us?

All the buzz right now is from people expecting either new games connected to either Johto or Unova (or both), ranging from Let’s Go style remakes, BDSP style remakes, or another Legends game. I loved Legends Arceus, so that’s the possibility I’d like to see the most. On the other hand, Black and White are so hard to find nowadays that I’d be pretty excited for faithful remakes, too.

The most amazing thing ever would be if they remade Black/White and Black/White 2 and bundled them together, but I doubt that will ever happen. That’s a pipe dream, not a prediction.

But you know what I’m hoping to see? Pokémon Mystery Dungeon! No I haven’t played the ones I have yet. This would be incentive! A year ago, everyone was convinced a new Pokémon Mystery Dungeon game was going to be announced, and it just… didn’t happen. So maybe this will be the year!

Of course, I’m sure they’ll devote time to discussing updates to the various Pokémon mobile games, too.

It’s probably too early for the next gen to be announced, but a remake does seem plausible enough. So I’ll predict the Black/White remakes and/or a new Legends game as the most likely announcements, with Pokémon Mystery Dungeon as my personal hope.

(Watch me be completely wrong and they announce Detective Pikachu 3.)

Anyway, what do you expect to see from the Pokémon Presents showcase next week? What games are you hoping for the most? Should I finally give in and play Sword/Shield or Scarlet/Violet? Share your thoughts in the comments!

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Pocket Card Jockey is Back, Elden Ring DLC is Out June 21, and More!

A Nintendo Direct followed by the first full trailer for the Elden Ring DLC? This promised to be an exciting morning of game announcements!

Today’s Nintendo Direct was a Partner Showcase which some people were disappointed about, but Partner Showcases have had some great announcements in the past, so I was excited.

Nintendo Direct Highlights

I’ll only be covering the highlights that stood out to me, so be sure to check out the full Nintendo Direct to see everything that was announced.

The first game to catch my eye was the second shown, Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist. This is a sequel to Ender Lilies, which I haven’t played yet but intend to. The sequel looks pretty cool, so maybe I’ll have played the first game by the time it comes out.

A new trailer was also shown for the upcoming Unicorn Overlord, along with the announcement of a demo. I’ve been torn about that one, so I’ll probably check out the demo (especially since progress transfers to the full game).

Moving on, Monster Hunter Stories is coming to the Switch (as well as PC and PS4)! You’d think they’d have ported it before releasing Monster Hunter Stories 2, but maybe the eShop’s closure is what prompted this decision. I enjoyed Monster Hunter Stories a lot, so while I probably won’t replay it, I’m glad it’s getting some love. This remaster also includes update content that was previously exclusive to Japan, so that makes it more tempting.

What’s that? I need to play the second game if I’m going to hype it up? Shh, I know…

The next big announcement for me was Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance. This is a multiplatform, enhanced version of Shin Megami Tensei V, which I was always intrigued by but never enough to buy it. If this version is as big an upgrade as it sounds, maybe I’ll finally go for it.

In addition to gameplay improvements, it also includes a new story route, which the developers say will add an additional 80 hours to the game for a total of 160 hours to play both routes. From the way it’s worded, it sounds like some of that time might overlap between the two routes, but it still sounds massive. It will be out on June 21.

The next few announcements didn’t interest me too much, but then we got to a new trailer for Fantasy Life i! And its release date… of October 10.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m still really excited for Fantasy Life i, and I’m glad it’s not launching right on top of everything else! But it was announced for 2023, delayed to summer 2024, and now given an October release date… which makes me nervous about the rest of Level-5’s release schedule. I don’t want Professor Layton pushed off any further!

Another Crab’s Treasure and Penny’s Big Breakaway both look interesting enough that I’ll keep them in mind, but the major announcement of the Direct for me was the long-awaited return of Pocket Card Jockey!

I’m not joking, a solitaire horse-racing game might sound silly, but I absolutely loved Pocket Card Jockey on the 3DS. I poured almost 60 hours into it, and when I heard it was getting a remake exclusive to Apple Arcade, I was disappointed there would be no other way to play it. But here it is, Pocket Card Jockey: Ride On! is available now for the Nintendo Switch, and at $15 it’s an easy purchase.

I bought it already. I finished the Direct, went to the eShop, and bought it. You should too. It’s that good.

Anyway, there was a string of smaller announcements, and then the direct closed with the reveal of Endless Ocean Luminous, a new entry in the Endless Ocean series. This was leaked earlier in the week, except everyone thought it would be a remaster of one or both of the original Wii games. Being a new game was quite a surprise. I’m not familiar with the series, but I’m happy to see Nintendo reviving more of these lesser-known series.

Meanwhile, in things we can’t have, the Japanese Nintendo Direct included some other games. Everyone is talking about Mother 3 coming to Nintendo Switch Online only in Japan, but I’m more intrigued by the new action RPG Reynatis, which features a scenario written by Kazushige Nojima and a soundtrack composed by Yoko Shimomura. It looks like something I’d enjoy.

Fingers crossed for localization!

Shadow of the Erdtree

Later in the morning, it was time for FromSoftware to take the stage with the official gameplay reveal and full trailer of the upcoming Elden Ring DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree, and it looks great!

It will be out on June 21 (the same day as Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance, which is unfortunate).

Shadow of the Erdtree can be preordered now and costs $39.99, which suggests this will be a huge DLC. Its also getting its own $250 Collector’s Edition despite the DLC itself being a download code, which is insane. While there’s no standalone edition of the DLC, an $80 edition of Elden Ring that bundles in a code for the DLC has also appeared at retailers.

I never finished Elden Ring. Despite playing for over 70 hours, I doubt I even saw half of its content. Getting back to it before June 21 sounds like a good plan!

So, those were the highlights of the morning for me. Which of today’s announcements are you most interested in?

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Looking Back at the February 1 All Aksys Showcase

With our romance celebration underway, we never had a chance to discuss the All Aksys showcase held on February 1.

I was disappointed in the immediate aftermath… I’d gotten my hopes up for a show that would rival their 2022 Anime Expo showcase due to how long its been since the last one, but it was more in line with their regular showcases instead.

Once I had some time to think about it, however, I realized that it actually was quite a decent showcase.

So instead of lamenting what they didn’t announce, let’s take a look at what they did.

The showcase began with trailers for Death Mark II, Tengoku Struggle, and Blazing Strike, their previously-announced titles. Then it was onto new announcements, with quite a big surprise up first – the Switch port of Tokyo Xanadu eX+.

I’ve had Tokyo Xanadu on my list to play for a few years now (it even joined my specific completion goals this year and last year), but I couldn’t help but feel I’d be more likely to play if it I had it on the Switch instead of PC. Well, I’ll get my chance this year, because Aksys is bringing the Switch version west this summer with an improved translation.

Their next announcement was Despera Drops, an otome about a young woman who becomes a murder suspect and ends up on the run with six other fugitives. This one was a surprise, since it’s not by Otomate (the usual otome developer Aksys localizes for), but I remember seeing it when it was announced for Japan and hoping for a localization!

Unfortunately, Despera Drops won’t be out until 2025, so we’ve got a long wait.

They had another surprise in store with the (non-otome) visual novel Tales from Toyotoki: Arrival of the Witch, about a boy who goes to a remote island to live with his grandfather and encounters a young witch. I’d never heard of it before, but it sounds interesting. It will be out this summer.

The final two announcements were the Radiant Tale fandisc, Radiant Tale -Fanfare-, also due out this summer, and the Virche Evermore fandisc, Virche Evermore -EpiC: Lycoris-, for this fall. I loved Radiant Tale, so I’ll be getting that one for sure, although due to my mixed feelings on Virche Evermore, I may skip that one.

So in the end, I really can’t complain. They announced 5 new games, 4 of which I’m interested in. I would have liked to see another non-fandisc otome localization, but we have so many otome games slated for this year already that I probably won’t even catch up on my backlog while waiting.

Anyway, this long after the fact you’ve probably long since watched or read about the Aksys showcase… but how do you feel about these upcoming games?

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Ys X Coming West This Fall

This year’s shorter Celebrating All Things Romantic event is at an end, the contest winners have been contacted, and now we have some news to catch up on.

Earlier this week, NIS America announced that Ys X: Nordics will be coming west this fall for Switch, PS4, PS5, and PC, with both English and French translations.

A Limited Edition will also be available, although preorders aren’t up yet.

We talked about Ys X when it was first announced over a year ago, and I’m even more excited for it now than I was then. It looks great!

I’m a little surprised NISA announced this on a random day instead of saving it for a showcase, but maybe they have other things in store.

My history with the Ys series has been odd. I started with Ys I, came back six years later to restart it and finally finish, and then played Ys IX. I keep intending to play Ys II, but who knows if I’ll have gotten there by the time Ys X comes out. Either way, I’m looking forward to it!

Are you interested in Ys X?

Also, how did you feel about Celebrating All Things Romantic 2024 only running until the 14th? I thought it worked out well, but I’d like to hear your thoughts.

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