Samantha Lienhard's Blog, page 62

But When Will We Get a Rhythm Thief Sequel?

2021 has been the year of niche games I love getting unexpected sequels, to the point where I haven’t even been able to play them all.

On top of all of the sequels that came out this year, Bayonetta 3 and Alan Wake 2 are on the horizon, as well.

But you know what’s one game that still needs a sequel? Rhythm Thief & the Emperor’s Treasure.

It’s been five years since I played and reviewed this unusual rhythm game (and nine years since it came out), a game I always describe as being similar to Professor Layton in structure, except with rhythm games instead of puzzles.

I’m not the world’s biggest fan of rhythm games, but Rhythm Thief pulled me in with its cast of characters and entertaining story. But as I griped about five years ago, it ends on an overt sequel hook, yet no sequel is anywhere in sight.

Rhythm Thief was published by Sega, but it was developed by a company called Xeen. I wasn’t familiar with the name, but Xeen is still around, since they developed last year’s Trials of Mana remake, as well as a mobile game and an arcade game this year. So it seems there’s nothing that would prevent a Rhythm Thief sequel from being made.

I’m not the only one still waiting for this sequel. In fact, I found a blog devoted to counting the days until a sequel is made, so that person clearly wants a sequel even more than I do.

So in this time of niche games getting sequels… how about it, Sega? Sequel? Maybe a Switch port of the original to test the waters? Here’s hoping we can eventually see a second game in this series.

Would you play a Rhythm Thief sequel?

Like this post? Tell your friends!



And if you want posts like this delivered straight to your inbox, enter your email in the box below to subscribe!

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks! The post But When Will We Get a Rhythm Thief Sequel? appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

Alan Wake II Announced (and it’s Survival Horror)

My hopes and predictions for the Game Awards did not come true at all, but the night did have one big announcement I didn’t expect.

Alan Wake II is real, officially announced for 2023.

It didn’t come entirely out of nowhere. There were rumors of an Alan Wake sequel in development, and the Alan Wake remaster together with Control’s AWE expansion made it seem likely Remedy planned to do more with it, but the announcement still was a welcome surprise.

Not only that, but Alan Wake II will actually be a survival horror game.

Sometimes Alan Wake is described as horror, and it certainly has its creepy aspects, but it plays more like an action game than a horror game. I believe it’s officially considered a thriller. Alan Wake II, however, has been described as “Remedy’s first-ever survival horror game.”

While the trailer doesn’t reveal a lot, it references Mr. Scratch with the quote “Your friends will meet him when you’re gone” visible on a sign (and that might even be him in the stinger at the end). The cancelled Alan Wake 2 prototype video released in 2015 revealed that Mr. Scratch was a big part of the sequel plans, so he might still be a major threat.

It will be interesting to see what they do with the survival horror genre. The spin-off/sequel American Nightmare was more focused on action, and now the full sequel has gone in the other direction into horror.

(Judging by the trailer’s rating, it might also get a M rating instead of T like the original.)

I’ve been waiting for an Alan Wake sequel ever since I finished the first game. Of course, now I have to wait until 2023 – but that should give me time to finally play Control and its DLC! Alan Wake II has been announced for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via the Epic Games Store, so the 2023 release window should also give me enough time to actually get a PS5.

Are you looking forward to Alan Wake II?

Like this post? Tell your friends!



And if you want posts like this delivered straight to your inbox, enter your email in the box below to subscribe!

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks! The post Alan Wake II Announced (and it’s Survival Horror) appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

Tales of Crestoria is Shutting Down

When we discussed Tales of Luminaria back in August, I said, “I really hope this isn’t a sign that Crestoria will be shut down like the others.”

Sadly, it was.

Tales of Crestoria will be shut down on February 6. This isn’t just a shutdown in the west like what happened to Rays, either. It’s shutting down in Japan as well.

I’ve seen fans saying there were warning signs before the announcement of Luminaria that Bandai Namco no longer saw Crestoria as a priority, but it’s still disappointing.

The story of Crestoria will be continued in another form, although they haven’t explained that yet. I’ve heard it has a good story, which is why I was hoping to play it someday when I had a device that could run it.

Personally, I wish they’d release an offline version or a non-mobile game, but that seems unlikely.

More than anything else, this announcement makes me lack confidence in mobile Tales games. Tales of Link? Gone. Tales of the Rays? Still going in Japan, but shut down in the west. Tales of Crestoria? Shutting down in February. I’m intrigued by Tales of Luminaria, but who knows how long it will be around for?

(It’s unfortunate that online-only mobile games seems to be the go-to format for smaller spin-off titles now, too.)

How do you feel about Tales of Crestoria and its impending shutdown? How do you think they will handle the continuation of the story?

Like this post? Tell your friends!



And if you want posts like this delivered straight to your inbox, enter your email in the box below to subscribe!

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks! The post Tales of Crestoria is Shutting Down appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

Hopes for The Game Awards 2021 Announcements

The Game Awards takes place this Thursday, and there’s a big change for me – for once, I won’t be desperately hoping for a shred of Bayonetta 3 news as I watch!

Ever since Bayonetta 3 was announced at the Game Awards in 2017, each year we went without any news had me waiting for the Game Awards because surely this year it would be there.

(It never was.)

Now that we’ve actually gotten a Bayonetta 3 trailer, I’m no longer anxious for news. I’d love to see a new trailer, but I won’t be disappointed if we don’t.

Instead, here are some other games I’d love to see at the Game Awards this year.

Final Fantasy XVI

Ever since the Final Fantasy XVI reveal, I’ve been waiting to learn more about the game, and last year left us with the assurance that we’d learn more in 2021. Well, we’re running out of time in 2021, and the Game Awards could be the place to show it. We still know so little about Final Fantasy XVI that I’m really hoping to see more soon.

Chrono Cross Remaster

There have been so many rumors about the supposed Chrono Cross remaster at this point that it seems all but confirmed. December 9 is also the day the Another Eden x Chrono Cross crossover event begins. I’ve never played Chrono Cross, so I’m interested in learning about the remaster if it exists.

Yakuza Kenzan Localization

Look, I need one impossible hope to replace Bayonetta 3.

But it also would be nicely positioned after the Kenzan live stream this week, just saying.

Conclusion

Yep, that’s all I’ve got. I’ve learned to temper my expectations for the announcements at the Game Awards, but sometimes they do have some big ones. What do you think (or hope) will be announced?

Like this post? Tell your friends!



And if you want posts like this delivered straight to your inbox, enter your email in the box below to subscribe!

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks! The post Hopes for The Game Awards 2021 Announcements appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

Yakuza Series 16th Anniversary Kenzan Live Stream Announced

December 8, 2021 is the 16th anniversary of the Yakuza series, and to celebrate, RGG Studio will be live streaming Ryu ga Gotoku Kenzan.

Kenzan is one of two historical spin-offs, neither of which has ever been localized.

According to the announcement tweet, translated by Gematsu, RGG Studio will spend 24 hours and 16 minutes (I assume because it’s the 16th anniversary) playing Kenzan, after which they will reveal new information on topics such as merchandise.

Now, this doesn’t necessarily mean they will announce any games. However, the choice of game seems strange.

It would make sense to live stream one of the more recent games, to promote it and encourage more sales. It would make sense to go all the way back and stream one of the original games, to celebrate the series’ history. But why choose a PS3-exclusive spin-off title?

My hope is that the choice of Kenzan is because they’ll announce a remake or remaster, which would give us a good chance of finally getting Kenzan in the west!

Of course, it could just be that they thought it would be a fun game to look back at for the anniversary. It’s still a good opportunity to remind RGG Studio and Sega that we’d love to play Kenzan!

Like this post? Tell your friends!



And if you want posts like this delivered straight to your inbox, enter your email in the box below to subscribe!

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks! The post Yakuza Series 16th Anniversary Kenzan Live Stream Announced appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

Metroid: Zero Mission is an Exciting (and Sometimes Tense) Adventure

As we approached the release of Metroid Dread, I decided to catch up on the Metroid games I hadn’t played yet.

…I’m working on it, okay??

I recently finished playing Metroid: Zero Mission for the first time, after dragging out my Wii U since it didn’t look like a port was coming anytime soon.

Zero Mission is a remake of the first Metroid game. It’s only the second Metroid game I’ve played, having finally finished Metroid Fusion a few years ago, but I love the basic exploration-driven principles of the genre.

So I had a great time exploring in Zero Mission and backtracking whenever I could access new areas, although I missed a lot of the hidden items since some felt too tricky for me to spend the time trying to find them.

Some of the boss fights were tricky for me, but I did manage to get through them. And the section at the end (which I understand was added for Zero Mission) was surprisingly tense. I liked that a lot.

It’s less story-driven than Fusion was, and Fusion wasn’t too story-driven to start with. Still, I come to this genre for the gameplay first and foremost, despite my love for story-driven games, so I can’t complain about that.

Overall, I’m happy I went back and played Zero Mission. Now I’ve played two Metroid games, so I only have a few more to go! How do you feel about Metroid: Zero Mission?

Like this post? Tell your friends!



And if you want posts like this delivered straight to your inbox, enter your email in the box below to subscribe!

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks! The post Metroid: Zero Mission is an Exciting (and Sometimes Tense) Adventure appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

Enigma Archives: RAIN CODE Announced by Danganronpa Creator

Spike Chunsoft and Too Kyo Games have announced a dark fantasy mystery game called Enigma Archives: RAIN CODE.

This is a new game from Danganronpa creator Kazutaka Kodaka, along with other members of the team that worked on Danganronpa.

That’s about all that they’ve revealed about Enigma Archives so far, but they did release a teaser trailer. If nothing else, it certainly shows off the game’s aesthetics.

It looks interesting, so I’m looking forward to learning more about it.

The title makes me wonder if it’s intended to be the start of a new series, since “Enigma Archives” suggests there could be other such “archives,” with Rain Code being just one of them. We’ll see.

In the meantime, I still need to play the rest of the Dangranronpa series. So far, I’ve only played the first one and enjoyed it, so maybe I’ll get around to the rest before Engima Archives comes out!

What do you think of the announcement for Engima Archives: RAIN CODE?

Like this post? Tell your friends!



And if you want posts like this delivered straight to your inbox, enter your email in the box below to subscribe!

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks! The post Enigma Archives: RAIN CODE Announced by Danganronpa Creator appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse Translation Complete, Winter Release Planned

Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse was announced for an English release earlier this year, although we were somewhat distracted by other localization news at the time, and it sounds like it’s on track!

The official Muv-Luv Twitter account announced late Wednesday night that the Total Eclipse translation is complete.

It is still on track for a release this winter, as originally announced.

(“Winter” could still mean early next year, but that’s fine.)

Total Eclipse is a spin-off set in the Muv-Luv Alternative universe. It follows a team in Alaska and is one of the most well-known Muv-Luv spin-offs.

I’m looking forward to Total Eclipse, so I hope we’ll get more news about the release date soon! In the meantime, I still need to finish reading Muv-Luv Unlimited: The Day After, which came out this year. Are you looking forward to Total Eclipse?

(Hey, I know it’s Black Friday, but we already discussed Black Friday deals last week when they started early, so check that out if you haven’t already!)

Like this post? Tell your friends!



And if you want posts like this delivered straight to your inbox, enter your email in the box below to subscribe!

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks! The post Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse Translation Complete, Winter Release Planned appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

New Utawarerumono Game Monochrome Moebius Announced

There was an Utawarerumono 20th Anniversary live stream today, and Aquaplus announced a new game in the series!

Monochrome Moebius: Toki no Taika is a new Utawarerumono game set for 2022.

Very few details have been released so far, but Gematsu has a video from the live stream showing a cutscene, opening movie, and a trailer.

According to fans who have played more in the series than I have so far, it appears to be a midquel – set ahead of the Mask games (I think).

The trailer shows a new character, whose name is Shunnya, running through gameplay environments, which is not what I expected. It looks beautiful, but it leaves me wondering what sort of game this will be. It doesn’t appear to be a visual novel, and no combat is shown in the trailer.

A couple of shots look like there are enemies visible on the field. This suggests it could be a regular JRPG instead of a strategy RPG, or at least have battles that are smaller in scope.

We don’t know much at all about Monochrome Moebius yet, and it looks like it could be quite a departure from the mainline Utawarerumono series. However, it also looks like an ambitious entry, so I look forward to learning more about this title as time goes on!

What do you think about the new Utawarerumono game?

Like this post? Tell your friends!



And if you want posts like this delivered straight to your inbox, enter your email in the box below to subscribe!

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks! The post New Utawarerumono Game Monochrome Moebius Announced appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

I Finally Played Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water (on the Wii U)

Although I didn’t finish in time for Halloween like I planned, this weekend I finally finished Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water.

You might be wondering why I say “finally.” Well, that’s because I bought Maiden of Black Water at launch for the Wii U. And yes, that’s the version I stubbornly decided to play.

The Wii U is practically made to order for Fatal Frame. A game about fighting with a camera, played on a system in which you’re holding a second screen in your hands already? I couldn’t pass up playing Fatal Frame this way, and while the two screens weren’t as different as I would have liked, angling the GamePad to get a better shot of a ghost made it worth it.

(I’d have re-bought it when the remaster came out if we got a physical copy this time…)

If you’re unfamiliar with the Fatal Frame series, the concept at the heart of the gameplay is that you have a special camera known as the Camera Obscura that allows you to damage ghosts by taking pictures of them.

Taking the shot right as the ghost is attacking deals more damage, and Maiden of Black Water also has you deal more damage for getting five or more targets in the shot at once. This includes spirit orbs that appear as you photograph the ghosts. Ghosts often disappear and reappear elsewhere, turning combat into a frantic affair as you try to keep track of enemies and time your shots.

You earn points for your photographs, which you can use to improve your camera, along with special lenses and upgrades you can equip for additional effects and bonuses.

Unfortunately, I didn’t really find Maiden of Black Water scary. Combat could be intense, and the story had its share of creepy and disturbing moments, but it didn’t have that same sense of dread and tension that the first game had.

(I haven’t played 2 or 3 yet, so I can’t make comparisons to those.)

Water plays a key role in the story and lore, and there’s a gameplay mechanic where getting wet makes it more likely that ghosts will appear. Of course, the game frequently puts you in situations where it’s raining or you have to wade through a river. This should add tension, but I never found water to feel like as big of a threat as it wanted me to.

The whole game feels significantly different from the older games in the series, and not just because of the modern controls and over-the-shoulder camera. If you’re expecting the classic survival horror approach to exploration, puzzle-solving, and unlocking new areas, there’s only a small amount of that here.

There is exploration, as you visit a number of large areas ranging from forests to shrines, with film and healing items to be discovered as you explore, along with ghosts to photograph. But you also revisit these areas, and going through the same area to find more items made it feel less like I was exploring an area to discover it, which took away from the atmosphere and reduce the amount of exploration I did later on.

Maiden of Black Water is divided into chapters. It follows three main characters, each delving into the secrets of the sinister and somber Mt. Hikami for his or her own reasons. At the end of each chapter, you’re given a grade and a chance to spend points on additional items before starting the next chapter. Items also don’t carry over between chapters (and I was halfway through the game before I realized that). The characters always seem to return from the mountain at the end of a chapter, so each new chapter begins with them setting out again for one reason or another.

All of this makes the game feel very different, very segmented compared to the exploration-driven focus of survival horror, and I wasn’t a big fan.

Story-wise, it was fine. You find notes throughout the game providing more details about what’s at work on the mountain, and it had enough unsettling and emotional moments to be interesting enough despite a few questionable choices. I enjoyed it as a ghost story, even if I didn’t enjoy it as a survival horror game.

My final feelings on Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water are mixed. It was a fine ghost story and some parts were fun, but it wasn’t quite what I hoped for from Fatal Frame. If and when we get a Fatal Frame 6, I hope it follows the survival horror structure more closely.

Like this post? Tell your friends!



And if you want posts like this delivered straight to your inbox, enter your email in the box below to subscribe!

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks! The post I Finally Played Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water (on the Wii U) appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.