Samantha Lienhard's Blog, page 71

Dragon Quest XII Story is Complete, Same Director as XI

Dragon Quest XII has been a minefield of overreactions and misinterpretations ever since it was announced the other night, but we have a handful of new concrete details to look at!

On a recruitment page for Dragon Quest XII, Yuji Horii states that the story is complete and just needs to be implemented.

However, since Dragon Quest XII is a big game, it will still take time before it’s finished.

The page also includes a message from the game’s director, Takeshi Uchikawa. He was the director of Dragon Quest XI, so if you enjoyed XI, it should be reassuring to know that XII is in good hands.

Meanwhile, both my use of Google Translate to read the page and the translation here from Twisted Voxel show that Horii once again said the command battles will be “renewed” but that they won’t reveal how just yet.

This really doesn’t sound to me like it’s going to be an action game. “Renew” isn’t the word I would use if I was taking out turn-based combat to replace it with something else. There are sites out there reporting that Horii said during the live stream that it’s “not turn-based,” but I don’t know where they’re getting that translation from.

It’s also been revealed that Dragon Quest XII will use Unreal Engine 5.

So while we don’t know much at all about Dragon Quest XII, at least we have a few more details. I find it especially interesting that the story is already complete. Maybe that means they’ll reveal some story details soon and give a better indication of what the tone will be like.

How are you feeling about Dragon Quest XII so far, and when do you think we’ll learn more?

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Dragon Quest III Remake, Dragon Quest XII, and More!

Tonight was the Dragon Quest 35th Anniversary live stream, and it was certainly a wild ride.

The Japanese live stream started half an hour earlier than the translated live stream, to cover all of the updates for ongoing games available in Japan.

Then the translated part began, and it was… interesting, as the translator attempted to translate everything the host and Yuji Horii were saying to one another live.

First up was Dragon Quest Keshi Keshi, a free mobile puzzle game coming out in 2021, with a worldwide release confirmed. It looks like it could be cute, although free mobile games aren’t usually my thing.

The next announcement was the next update for Dragon Quest X, and everyone held their breaths in anticipation. Dragon Quest X being shown in the worldwide live stream? Could that mean – no, it couldn’t, as the translated details about the upcoming expansion added a helpful “There are no plans for a worldwide release” note.

However, then they announced Dragon Quest X Offline!

Not what you were expecting it to look like? Yes, the MMORPG is getting an offline version that follows the same story, but with a completely different visual style that uses deformed chibis instead of the regular Dragon Quest X character models. It has other changes as well, but they didn’t say what those are.

All they talked about for Dragon Quest X offline was the Japanese release, but on the other hand, it didn’t have the explicit “no plans for a worldwide release” note that the regular Dragon Quest X news came with.

Since an offline version of Dragon Quest X had previously been mentioned as a possible way to bring it west, we might actually have a shot of getting it.

But then, we got the most exciting news of the night: a Dragon Quest III HD-2D remake.

It looks absolutely gorgeous!

I’ve had a copy of Dragon Quest III for ages, and I started playing it when I was a kid several times without actually getting very far. Lately, I’d been debating about whether or not I should drag out that old copy to play it or buy the Switch or mobile version… but now I have my answer! I’m going to wait for the HD-2D remake instead!

Not only is it being localized, but it’s getting a simultaneous worldwide release.

Oh, and then Horii teased the possibility that Dragon Quest I and II might be next, followed by a lot of talking about how he wasn’t supposed to say that.

The next game announced was a new spin-off called Dragon Quest Treasures, starring Erik and Mia from Dragon Quest XI.

Details about this one are still sparse. It’s an RPG, but not a traditional one, and the theme is treasure hunting. The platforms and release date haven’t been decided yet, but they’re aiming for a simultaneous worldwide release for it as well.

That’s not much to go on, but I’m interested in learning more.

Dragon Quest Treasures isn’t the next Dragon Quest Monsters game, either, and they confirmed another Monsters game will be announced in the future.

One last announcement remained, and everyone had a pretty good idea of what it was going to be…

We got the world’s tiniest teaser for Dragon Quest XII: The Flames of Fate! Dragon Quest XII has now been officially announced, although only its logo was shown.

They did go into some detail afterwards… but it’s all a little confusing. They made some comments about this being a Dragon Quest game “for adults,” and it’s going to be about having options and deciding your way of life. I really hope this doesn’t mean it’s going to be dark and edgy, which is how a lot of people are interpreting the “for adults” comment.

The combat system is also changing – although they were quick to say that they aren’t getting rid of the command battle system, just changing it.

Dragon Quest has been known for keeping a traditional combat system, so some fans are unhappy about this news. I can’t help think back to the days ahead of Dragon Quest XI, when everyone was trying to figure out if it would be turn-based or not. We might go through a similar ordeal here with Dragon Quest XII.

They couldn’t reveal the release window or platforms, but it will also get a simultaneous worldwide release.

Overall, it was worth staying up to watch the Dragon Quest live stream! The Dragon Quest III remake looks fantastic, Treasures could be interesting, we might have a chance of getting Dragon Quest X Offline, and Dragon Quest XII has been officially announced (even if I have some mixed feelings). And who knows, the mobile puzzle game could be fun.

What are your thoughts on the Dragon Quest announcements? How do you feel about the few details revealed for Dragon Quest XII? Let me know in the comments!

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Tales of Arise: Combat Details, Skits Confirmed, and More

After the Tales of Arise release date trailer and gameplay footage, there were still a lot of questions, but a recent interview in Weekly Famitsu has revealed more information.

Translated here by Frontline Gaming Japan, producer Yusuke Tomizawa goes into more detail about the combat system in this interview.

A new feature in battles is the Boost Attack, a support action party members will use when you reach certain conditions. There are also Boost Strikes, powerful finishing moves performed by two characters.

It sounds like working together with party members is going to be a big part of combat, and so is dodging. It’s a fast-paced combat system that encourages the player to watch for enemy tells, dodge the attack, and counter. They’ve included difficulty modes and auto-battle options to help fans who aren’t as good at action games.

Traditional combat elements will also return, including Mystic Artes, although they’re activated in a new way.

Now, when the combat footage was revealed, the lack of victory screens (and therefore victory screen banter) stirred some fans up. Here, Tomizawa makes it clear that post-battle conversations occur on the field after the battle, so it really sounds like the usual banter is still present, just not on a distinct screen.

Another thing fans have been wondering about is the presence of skits. Skits are confirmed to be returning, but “in another form.”

I’m not really sure what that means or why they can’t be revealed yet. Are they going to be field conversations? Animated scenes? The party member conversations in skits are a big part of Tales, so I hope they still feel like skits in whatever form they take.

Tales of Arise also has more anime cutscenes than any previous Tales game.

Here’s a glimpse of the beautiful animation created by @ufotable for #TalesOfArise.
(and your dose of Hootle for the week) pic.twitter.com/pRGoCTwgbj

— Tales of Arise (@TalesofU) May 6, 2021

The interview also confirms Hootle as the game’s mascot and a sign of the lighter elements the series usually has, and repeats the fact that there are still party members who haven’t been revealed yet.

Tales of Arise’s themes deal with division and friction between races and the two worlds of Dahna and Rena, which personally makes me think about Tales of Symphonia, so that’s a plus. The characteristic genre name for Tales of Arise is “an RPG to speak of the dawn of the heart.”

I’m really looking forward to Tales of Arise, and I have high hopes for it! I’m currently playing Tales of the Abyss, but I should be able to finish that without getting too close to Arise’s September 10 release date.

(Meanwhile, I’m also pretty excited about those new Final Fantasy rumors, but now I’m trying to avoid reading too much about rumors and supposed leaks ahead of E3, since surprises are often the most fun part.)

Anyway, what do you think about the latest Tales of Arise details? Are you looking forward to it?

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Persona 5 Strikers: A Surprisingly Good Sequel

I wasn’t sure what to think when Persona 5 Strikers was first announced, a Persona 5 sequel in the form of a Dynasty Warriors style spin-off.

The more we learned about it, though, the more interested I became.

Now that I’ve finished it, I’m happy to say that despite the different genre of gameplay, Persona 5 Strikers really does feel like a sequel.

Set after the events of Persona 5, the main cast of characters gets back together for summer vacation, only to discover that people’s hearts are being changed.

Instead of Palaces, strange areas known as Jails are appearing in the Metaverse across Japan and changing people’s behavior in the real world, and so the Phantom Thieves set off on a journey to stop the phenomenon and learn the truth of what is happening.

A couple of new characters are also introduced as part of the main plot, and they’re great (especially Zenikichi).

Gameplay-wise, it’s technically a Musou (Dynasty Warriors), but really it ends up feeling like a regular action JRPG. In fact, it does an impressive job of incorporating Persona 5’s gameplay elements into the new combat to really make me think, “Yes, if Persona was an action RPG, this is what it would feel like.”

You’ll hack-and-slash your way through groups of enemies, but also make use of summoning Personas, exploiting enemy weaknesses, and triggering follow-up moves and all-out attacks. It gets pretty challenging at times, too.

Oh, and I have to mention that the music is fantastic. My favorite is “Daredevil,” which plays at a key point in each Jail, and whenever it started playing, my only regret was that progressing in the story meant it would stop playing.

There’s a lot of great music, but that one especially stands out to me.

The one thing it’s missing from the Persona gameplay loop is the social aspect, since the calendar only moves based on story progress and you don’t have separate stories to progress with the other characters. There are still points where you can talk to your party members and see short scenes with them, as well as earning “Bond Points” to spend on special bonuses, but there’s nothing really like the confidant system.

With that said, it still feels very much like Persona 5 in tone. The story, the character interactions, the fun scenes with the characters hanging out at various places – it’s all there, and it’s as Persona as it can be.

I really enjoyed playing Persona 5 Strikers, and I can’t get over how much it felt like a proper sequel instead of just a quick spin-off. If you liked Persona 5 and aren’t wholly opposed to action JRPGs, I definitely recommend you give Persona 5 Strikers a try!

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Psychonauts 2 New Screenshots and Coverage

I love Psychonauts, and Psychonauts 2 is one of my most anticipated games of the year.

Psychonauts is a 3D platformer in which you travel into people’s mental worlds, which leads to a number of really unique levels (and a lot of humor). If you haven’t played it, you really should give it a try!

(It’s on Game Pass now, too.)

The long-awaited sequel is due out this year for PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S|X, and Game Informer has now revealed it as their new cover story.

That means that we have a lot of Psychonauts 2 information coming soon. Not only is it the featured article in this month’s issue of the magazine, but they’ll also be covering the game throughout the month.

The video announcing their Psychonauts 2 coverage includes gameplay footage, some of which I believe is new. It all looks fantastic and very fitting to the Psychonauts style.

For a while, I was nervous about Psychonauts 2. I love the original so much that I worried a sequel wouldn’t be able to capture that same magic, especially when I had mixed feelings about some of Double Fine’s more recent games, such as Broken Age. However, the things I’ve seen since then restored my excitement for Psychonauts 2 and left me hopeful that this really will be the sequel it deserves.

I don’t have a copy of the magazine to check out the new content, but screenshots from the article have been posted online, and they look great!

That’s in addition to earlier screenshots that have been shared by Double Fine. All together, these screenshots show a wide variety of levels, which is exactly what I’d expect from a Psychonauts game.

Teeth, rainbows, noodle shops. Much to think about. pic.twitter.com/KK0GfwOvo2

— Double Fine (@DoubleFine) May 5, 2021

Earlier this month, Psychonauts 2 was briefly made available to pre-load from the Xbox store, although it was since taken down.

A lot of fans took that as a sign that the game is almost ready to be released, although it’s possible the pre-load was meant for a preview build accidentally opened up to everyone at first. Either way, that together with it being the central story of a major gaming magazine makes me think we’re getting close to a release date.

Personally, I now expect it to come out in the summer, right in the middle of all the other games I want to play at launch, because why not make the decision even harder? Either way, I can’t wait for Psychonauts 2 to come out!

I probably should look up the story of Rhombus of Ruin in the meantime…

Are you looking forward to Psychonauts 2?

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NEO: The World Ends With You Reveals Threads, Food, and More!

I am ridiculously excited for NEO: The World Ends With You, and I even started playing The World Ends With You: Final Remix alongside watching the anime to refresh my memory ahead of the sequel’s launch.

Playing Final Remix reminded me of a lot of small things that made the game fun that I’d like to see return in NEO… and it looks like I’m in luck!

New details about NEO: The World Ends With You were recently revealed, so let’s look at some of the highlights!

First, I want to talk about Threads. In The World Ends With You, the clothes you were not only functioned as equipment, but also had additional bonuses depending on how popular its brand was in a particular area. Fighting battles with a particular brand equipped would also increase that brand’s popularity there.

It’s not clear if that aspect is returning in NEO or not (although the different brands certainly are), but clothes now have special abilities and bonuses that are activated if your Style stat is high enough.

Then there’s food! In The World Ends With You, eating food and then fighting a certain number of battles to digest it rewarded you with permanent stat boosts. A similar system is returning in NEO, and since the screenshot shows that each food item has a certain number of calories listed, that’s probably the successor to the “bytes” system that determined how long food would take to digest and how much food you could eat each real-world day.

Square Enix also revealed Fret’s unique psych, an ability called “Remind.” This lets you play a short mini-game to reassemble the pieces of a memory someone has forgotten.

The World Ends With You didn’t have something like that specifically, but it makes me think about imprinting memes and playing Reaper Creeper, both of which let you interact with characters to guide them toward a specific goal. We also know Rindo can rewind time, and since the word “Remind” appears behind Fret in the recently-revealed opening movie, there’s a good chance that “Dive” appearing behind Nagi means she has a unique power as well.

Meanwhile, Square Enix also revealed several new characters on the various teams in NEO: The World Ends With You, because teams of players face off against each other in “Turf Wars” and other missions to see which team will come out on top at the end of the week and get their wish granted, while the team in last place will be erased.

I find it very interesting that the Reaper’s Game seems to be following new rules in NEO, and I can’t wait to see how the story plays out.

What are your thoughts on NEO: The World Ends With You so far? Are there any specific systems from the original game that you’d like to see return?

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Dragon Quest Anniversary Live Stream Will Feature New Announcements

May 27 is the 35th anniversary of Dragon Quest, and Square Enix has announced a special Dragon Quest live stream to celebrate.

Not only that, but it will be translated live, so we’ll be able to watch it in English as well.

According to the full details translated by Gematsu, the broadcast will have two parts. The first part will feature updates on current Dragon Quest games, such as Dragon Quest X and Dragon Quest Tact.

The second part will focus then on “the newest lineup,” to be announced by series creator Yuji Horii.

Between it being the 35th anniversary and the broadcast being translated live, it sounds like they expect it to be a big deal. Therefore, it seems likely that Dragon Quest XII will be revealed (especially since it’s been confirmed to be in development).

A new Dragon Quest Monsters was also announced a while back, but nothing has been said about it since.

It’s also revived hopes for an offline version of Dragon Quest X (the most likely way we’d get it in the west) and ports or remasters of the DS/3DS Dragon Quest games that have become quite difficult to find in recent years.

Whatever they announce, it has the potential to be an exciting event for Dragon Quest fans! (Meanwhile, I still need to play Dragon Quest XI… among others.)

The live stream is set for May 27 at 8:30 PM PDT / 11:30 PM EDT. What do you hope to see announced there?

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Is Baten Kaitos About to Return?

Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean, and its prequel Baten Kaitos Origins, are two JRPGs released for the GameCube and developed by none other than Monolith Soft (along with tri-Crescendo).

They’re turn-based RPGs, but instead of traditional combat, they make use of a card-based system in some pretty interesting ways.

We haven’t seen anything more from the series after that, but now it’s come into the spotlight once again thanks to fans discovering that Bandai Namco recently filed trademarks for both games in Europe.

I know, trademarks don’t necessarily mean anything. I used to get excited every time a game I wanted to see revived got its trademark or copyright renewed (like Eternal Darkness), until I finally understood that these renewals happen regularly just so that the company can hold it.

However, what makes this one stand out as potentially significant is that Baten Kaitos Origins never came out in Europe.

So despite never having been released in Europe, it’s now been trademarked there. That makes it feel like maybe, just maybe, they’re planning to do something with Baten Kaitos in the near future.

I enjoyed Baten Kaitos, but I still need to play Origins. Beyond hoping for Baten Kaitos ports or remasters just to make them easier for players to get, though, my thought is that any sort of re-release would make it easier to hope for a new game in the series.

The last time we talked about Baten Kaitos, it was in response to the news that a Baten Kaitos 3 was in development after Origins, but was cancelled. Fans were encouraged to show interest in the series if they’d like it to return, and nothing would show interest better than high sales of a Baten Kaitos re-release.

Monolith Soft has a lot going on right now. There’s good reason to believe they’ll make a new Xenoblade Chronicles game, they have that mysterious fantasy IP on their recruitment page, and they’ve also been contributing to The Legend of Zelda. But as much as I want to see a new Xenoblade and the unknown fantasy game, I can’t help but hope they’ll have Baten Kaitos news in store for us as well.

What do you think? Are these recent trademarks a sign that Baten Kaitos will return?

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Nightshade: A Ninja Romance After My Heart

While I was reviewing romance visual novels during this year’s romance month, one highly recommended to me was Nightshade, an otome available on Steam and the Nintendo Switch.

So when it went on sale, I got it!

(I played it on the Switch because I like reading visual novels handheld.)

Nightshade is set during the Sengoku Period and follows Enju, a young ninja-in-training who is set out on her first mission. It should be a simple enough assignment… but then everything goes terribly wrong and Enju finds herself in great danger.

Of course, she’s not on her own – depending on the choices you’ve made up until that point, one of the men in the story will help her out as they start to fall in love.

The setting and plot premise had me hooked from the start, although I ultimately found the story to be a little disappointing. It’s one of those stories where past events and answers to the mystery change depending on whose route you’re on, which isn’t my favorite thing. I prefer to have a cohesive set of events, where your choices only change what happens next.

However, the romance routes themselves more than made up for it!

There are five different romance options in the game, each with a good ending and a bad ending. Whenever you make a choice, it indicates right away if you earned affection points with a particular love interest, so you don’t have to question if you’re on the right path or not.

I loved four out of the five routes in Nightshade. I really liked the characters themselves, their individual stories were exciting and filled with twists and turns even if they didn’t form a cohesive whole, and the romances were good. Including the, ahem, darker one.

The only route I didn’t like had two major points against it: he’s her first cousin, and they’re barely together in the route. I did enjoy his route at first (while ignoring the whole “blood relative” part) until I played the others and realized how bland it felt in comparison due to his lack of involvement.

Unlike some of the visual novels I’ve covered, I wouldn’t recommend this one if you’re only interested in the plot and don’t care about the romance, because the romances are what make Nightshade great! A love for ninja stories might be enough to catch your interest too, though.

It’s the sort of visual novel that makes me hope for a fandisc just to see more of the characters and their time with Enju… but for now, it seems I’ll be left waiting.

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Lost Judgment Announced With a September 24 Global Release Date

Judgment Day is here, and our dreams have come true – a full sequel called Lost Judgment has been announced for the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

Not only that, but it will be out on September 24… worldwide.

They’re also going to aim for global releases from now on, which is exciting news for sure!

And for fans who were worried about the combat system, Lost Judgment retains the action combat of the previous game, while Yakuza will continue using turn-based combat.

Lost Judgment was officially revealed during this morning’s Judgment Day live stream, which began with the announcement trailer and then went into greater detail about the game.

Lost Judgment follows Yagami as he investigates a new case that takes him to Yokohama, and the story looks like it could be just as dark and thrilling as the original’s… maybe even darker.

First off, I’m just excited for the story. I loved the story in Judgment, even more than Yakuza 0’s story! The trailer teases a lot of things and has already sparked some dark theories about what might happen, and I can’t wait to get on that wild ride again and see it through to the end. If the story comes anywhere near the first game’s level of quality, I’ll be happy.

Next, Lost Judgment takes place in both Kamurocho and Yokohama. I haven’t played Like a Dragon yet to see Yokohama, but I’m excited to have a new city to explore. The live stream also gave us a glimpse at some of the mini-games in Lost Judgment, including dancing and a game with toy cars.

A high school plays an important role in the story, and Yagami will go undercover at the school to gather information. The school section will include more lighthearted “School Stories.”

There’s also a third combat style this time around, a parry-focused style called Snake (which apparently will also be useful in the school sections so you don’t have to punch teenagers), and the investigation system has been improved based on things they learned from the first game.

I am so excited for Lost Judgment! Once again, it will be out on September 24 worldwide (with dual audio and dual subtitles again). Best Buy will have an exclusive steelbook, but no Collector’s Edition has been announced yet. Either way, I’m getting it day one. Now I just need to figure out what to do since there are only a couple of weeks between Tales of Arise and Lost Judgment…

What are your thoughts on Lost Judgment? Are you excited for a new Judgment game?

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