Samantha Lienhard's Blog, page 83

Eiyuden Chronicle Looks Fantastic So Far

If you follow video game news, you’ve probably already heard about Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, the game that has been blasting through stretch goals on Kickstarter so fast you can sit and watch the funding amount go up.

I understand why (and backed it myself), because it looks fantastic.

Eiyuden Chronicle is essentially a spiritual successor to Suikoden, with a script from the writer of Suikoden and Suikoden II, turn-based combat, 109 total characters to recruit and a home base to develop, and lots of cats.

Okay, that last part doesn’t come from its Suikoden inspirations as far as I know, but it’s still worth noting.

So far I’ve only played the first Suikoden, but I enjoyed it a fair amount and look forward to playing more of them, especially the highly-praised Suikoden II.

Getting back to Eiyuden Chronicle, its music will be composed by Motoi Sakuraba (Tales, Baten Kaitos, Dark Souls, among others) and Michiko Naruke (Wild Arms), and possibly others as well.

Everything about this game sounds like it’s going to be great, and they just recently passed their stretch goal to add a 5-10 hour side story DLC (free for backers) featuring Marisa, one of the central characters of the game. With 7 days left in the campaign, who knows how far they might go?

They also released a new combat clip showing Eiyuden Chronicle’s United Hero Attacks.

It looks so good.

Now, Eiyuden Chronicle isn’t even expected to launch until 2022, so I’ve got a long wait before I’ll be playing this one. Maybe I can catch up on the Suikoden series in the meantime…

Don’t forget to check out the Kickstarter campaign to learn more. What do you think about Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes?

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Raji: An Ancient Epic is Out Now!

Remember Raji: An Ancient Epic, the action game I supported on Kickstarter before the crowdfunding campaign was cancelled?

The developers kept working on it all this time, and it showed up again during our Not-E3 2020 coverage back in June, which made me happy to see it was coming along well.

So when it showed up in Nintendo’s indie showcase yesterday, I expected it to be just another trailer like the one in June.

But to my surprised delight, they announced that Raji is available now on the Switch as a timed exclusive.

The game looks great, and I’m really happy that despite not succeeding with its Kickstarter campaign, Raji was able to be fully developed and released. I’m definitely looking forward to playing it.

(The indie showcase had some other nice games, like the cute-looking Takeshi & Hiroshi and a new look at Garden Story, but Raji was definitely the highlight for me.)

It’s been a long time since we’ve had a full Nintendo Direct, but I’ve enjoyed the Mini Direct and the indie showcase. Here’s hoping another partner showcase or the rumored general Direct is on the way soon with even more exciting news!

Are you interested in Raji: An Ancient Epic?

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Skyward Sword Switch Remaster Rumored

The latest unannounced game to be mysteriously listed online is a Switch version of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, which briefly appeared on Amazon UK over the weekend.

(It’s gone now.)

I played the original Skyward Sword on the Wii, and the special Zelda-themed Wiimote that came bundled with it is still the one I use today when I play a Wii game.

Lots of fans criticize Skyward Sword, but I liked it. I thought the motion controls added an interesting twist to combat, and I actually really liked how the hub area was handled.

In fact, while I enjoyed A Link Between Worlds decently enough, Skyward Sword is probably the last new (not counting remakes/remasters) Zelda game I really had a great time with, which I’m sure puts me in the minority of fans.

I don’t know if I’d replay it with all the other games I want to play, but I’d be happy to see Skyward Sword get a remaster.

Some fans think a remaster would need to be completely redone in order to work on the Switch without the motion controls, so that it could be played in handheld mode. There have been some docked-only Switch games, including Super Mario Party, but maybe they wouldn’t want to do that with something as major as a mainline Legend of Zelda game.

And since remasters sometimes include quality-of-life improvements and other enhancements, some player who disliked parts of Skyward Sword are hoping a remaster could improve some of its issues, like Fi’s constant help.

It’s still just a rumor, so there’s a chance we won’t see a Skyward Sword Switch remaster at all. Killer7 was recently believed to be coming to the Switch, but that was refuted. There’s still been no word either way about the potential No More Heroes remaster.

Maybe we’ll hear about them both at the next Nintendo Direct?

Right now we’ve got an indie showcase scheduled for tomorrow, but who knows what will come after that? I hope we’ll get some exciting new announcements from Nintendo soon.

Would you play a Skyward Sword remaster if it was brought to the Switch?

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Order to Play Yakuza Games

Questions about the order to play the Yakuza series come up routinely in Yakuza discussions, especially from new fans wondering which Yakuza game to start with.

Yakuza, or Ryu ga Gotoku (Like a Dragon) as it’s known in Japan, is a long-running brawler/action RPG series featuring intense crime drama storylines, wacky side quests, and a ton of fun mini-games.

There are currently 8 games in the main series, 3 localized spin-offs, and 5 spin-offs exclusive to Japan.

In this post, I’ll be answering popular questions like “Which Yakuza game should I start with?”, “Can I start with Yakuza 7?”, “When should I play Dead Souls?”, and “Is Yakuza Ishin ever going to be localized?” (okay, I don’t have an answer for that last one, as much as I wish I did).

The Yakuza game order is actually pretty straightforward, so let’s take a look.

Main Series

Yakuza 0
Yakuza/Yakuza Kiwami
Yakuza 2/Yakuza Kiwami 2
Yakuza 3
Yakuza 4
Yakuza 5
Yakuza 6: The Song of Life
Yakuza: Like a Dragon (upcoming)

The original Yakuza and Yakuza 2 for the PS2 have been remade as Yakuza Kiwami and Yakuza Kiwami 2. Meanwhile, Yakuza 3-5 were remastered and bundled together as the Yakuza Remastered Collection.

Currently, all of these games are available for the PlayStation 4. Yakuza 0, Yakuza Kiwami, and Yakuza Kiwami 2 are available for Xbox One and PC as well. It remains to be seen if Yakuza 3-6 will be brought to Xbox and PC or not. Meanwhile, the upcoming Yakuza: Like a Dragon is set to be released for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC.

Yakuza: Like a Dragon is the western title for Yakuza 7, and it will be the first game in the series to move away from brawler action RPG combat in favor of turn-based combat.

There is also a live-action movie called Like a Dragon, which is an adaptation of the first game in the series due to that being the actual translation of the series title. The movie is not based on the upcoming Yakuza: Like a Dragon game.

So, which Yakuza game should you start with?

Ideally you should play Yakuza 0 or Yakuza Kiwami first. Yakuza 0 is a prequel to the entire series, while Yakuza Kiwami is a remake of the first game. I suggest you start with Yakuza 0, since Kiwami added content that references it, but either is fine.

Yakuza: Like a Dragon is a soft reboot for the series and stars a new protagonist, which means you should be able to start there if you want. However, it still follows the events of the seven games that precede it, so for the full impact, you’ll want to be familiar with the previous Yakuza games.

Another question that commonly arises is if you can skip Yakuza games. Each game has its own standalone story, but they’re all connected and the characters grow and change over time. You can skip games if you must, but it’s not recommended.

To summarize: start with Yakuza 0 or Yakuza Kiwami and then play the rest of the games in numerical order.

Yakuza Spin-Offs

Now, let’s talk about the spin-offs. There are three localized Yakuza spin-offs:

Yakuza: Dead Souls
Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise
Judgment

Yakuza: Dead Souls is a non-canon spin-off set during a zombie outbreak in Kamurocho. Since it’s not canon, you might think there’s no particular time when you should play Dead Souls, but it draws on content from up through Yakuza 4. For the best experience, save Dead Souls until you’ve finished Yakuza 4.

Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise is the spin-off most fully removed from the Yakuza series, since it is a Fist of the North Star game that uses the Yakuza gameplay formula. It has no relation to the main series and can be played anytime.

Judgment is a detective spin-off set in Kamurocho, the same city where most of the series takes place. Judgment is canon, but is a separate story and requires no knowledge of the Yakuza series. It will show changes in Kamurocho from later in the series, but you can play Judgment anytime.

Then there are five Yakuza spin-offs currently available only in Japan:

Ryu ga Gotoku Kenzan (Yakuza Kenzan)
Kurohyo: Ryu ga Gotoku Shinsho (Yakuza: Black Panther)
Kurohyo: Ryu ga Gotoku Ashura Hen (Yakuza: Black Panther 2)
Ryu ga Gotoku Ishin
Ryu ga Gotoku Online

Kenzan and Ishin are two historical takes on the Yakuza series, with Kenzan being set in the Edo period and Ishin in the Bakumatsu period. Currently there are no known plans for Kenzan and Ishin localizations, although this is one of the most common requests from fans. In a 2019 interview, Yakuza producer Daisuke Sato suggested a hypothetical Yakuza Kenzan Kiwami would be our best chance of getting Yakuza Kenzan in English. Meanwhile, the success of other historical/samurai games has led fans to hope Sega might consider a western release of Ishin.

Moving on, the Black Panther games are PSP spin-offs about a young street punk who runs into trouble with the Tojo Clan.

Finally, Ryu ga Gotoku Online is a free-to-play gacha game for mobile/PC that ties into Yakuza 7/Like a Dragon. It isn’t canon, although the character backstories/context it gives is.

To summarize: It doesn’t matter when you play Judgment and Lost Paradise, Dead Souls should be played anytime after Yakuza 4, and the other spin-offs aren’t available in English.

Conclusion

And there you have it! If you’re getting into the Yakuza series and aren’t sure where to begin, I hope you’ve found this Yakuza order guide helpful. Let me know if anything could be improved, and feel free to ask any remaining questions you have about the order to play the Yakuza games.

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Edge of Eternity is Now in Beta

After being in Early Access since late 2018, the upcoming turn-based JRPG Edge of Eternity is now moving into its beta phase.

I played Edge of Eternity’s pre-alpha demo way back in 2015. I enjoyed some aspects of the demo, but it wasn’t enough to convince me to back the Kickstarter campaign.

Much more recently, I previewed the new “Chapter 0” prologue added to Edge of Eternity for MonsterVine. It’s changed significantly since that early demo and doesn’t feel quite as much like a traditional JRPG as it did before, but the introduction to the story and characters left me pretty intrigued by playing the eventual final version.

According to the official beta announcement, the beta update includes a reworked battle camera, reworked cutscenes, a new crafting system, dynamic events, and other additions and improvements.

It’s also on sale right now until August 21, after which point its price will increase.

I’m still not crazy about it being open world (update: it sounds as though areas are unlocked through story progress, which makes me happier), but I’m interested in seeing how Edge of Eternity turns out and it’s nice to see its development progressing into the next major stage after all this time since we first saw that Kickstarter. What do you think of Edge of Eternity?

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Granblue Fantasy: Relink News Coming in December

We haven’t talked much about Granblue Fantasy: Relink since its localization was announced all the way back in 2018, partly because news about it only surfaces occasionally.

Back then, I was mainly interested in it because it was an action game being developed by PlatinumGames. Platinum is no longer work on it, but it’s never been quite clear if they simply finished their part on the game and departed or if something happened.

(It disappeared from their site, which was odd.)

Even though it’s no longer a Platinum game, it still has my interest as an action RPG and so I’ve been watching for news about it. Some new gameplay footage was shown off last year, but things have been pretty quiet.

A Granblue live stream was set for this past weekend, so I was hopeful we might finally see more from Granblue Fantasy: Relink at last! And… well, we didn’t, but at least Cygames mentioned it long enough to say when we will learn more. New information about Relink will be shared at Granblue Fantasy Fes 2020, which takes place on December 11-13.

An announcement of an announcement is better than nothing, right?

It feels like this game has been in development for a long time, but I’m happy to know we’ll learn more about it before the end of the year. Speaking of mysterious JRPGs we haven’t heard anything about for a while, I wonder when Atlus will share new details about Project Re Fantasy. And what about Monolith Soft’s mysterious fantasy IP?

I hope we hear about all of these games soon. In the meantime, are you interested in Granblue Fantasy: Relink?

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Control’s AWE DLC Trailer Confirms Alan Wake Connection

One of the main things that got me interested in trying Remedy’s new game Control last year was finding out that it not only referenced Alan Wake, but appeared to have a more direct connection planned for its second DLC.

The logo for Control’s AWE DLC episode basically uses Alan Wake’s logo, the first hint of anything new coming for Alan Wake in a long time.

As I mentioned in my post about the top games I played last year, I started Control and was enjoying it quite a bit until a game-breaking bug stopped my playthrough. Since I didn’t want to repeat everything I’d already done so soon, I put the game on hold.

Anyway, an AWE trailer came out yesterday during the State of Play presentation, and now there’s absolutely no doubt left that it’s related to Alan Wake. Alan himself even appears at the end of the trailer.

I love Alan Wake, and I’ve been disappointed that we never got a sequel (American Nightmare had some interesting parts, but wasn’t quite the same), so I’m really excited for this… and I can’t help but hope it means there’s a full Alan Wake sequel planned.

But that’s not all!

In the official PlayStation Blog post about AWE, Remedy’s Communications Director Thomas Puha adds:

Over the years, we have included Easter eggs in our games that related some of Remedy’s games to each other, as you have seen if you played Control… but what if they were not all just Easter eggs? What if there’s actually been a plan in place for over a decade on how some of our games are connected – a Remedy Connected Universe, if you will – and payoff for certain things is… down the line?”

This is brought up again on the official website, where AWE is described as “the first Remedy Connected Universe crossover event.” A future game from this connected universe is in development as well.

While no other games are specifically mentioned, the fact that both the blog post and the site reference make general references to Remedy games being connected suggests the Control – Alan Wake connection might not be the only thing we need to pay attention to.

Theories about a Remedy shared universe have been around for quite a while, with fans debating whether or not certain games might actually be linked. Does this mean I should eventually play Quantum Break?

Anyway, I’m excited to see what comes of the AWE story and the return of Alan Wake. Since I’m in the middle of Nier: Automata, I probably won’t be able to play Control in time for AWE’s August 27 launch, but I’ll be looking forward to when I finally get there.

What do you think about Control’s second DLC and the Remedy Connected Universe?

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A Wild New Impostor Factory Trailer is Out

A new trailer is out now for Impostor Factory, the upcoming third game in the To the Moon series.

Since I loved both To the Moon and Finding Paradise, as well as the smaller games set in between, I’m looking forward to it quite a bit… especially to see the next step in the overarching story.

Impostor Factory was announced last year as “a time-resetting thriller-mystery that involves a series of bloody murders.”

If that description seems a little unusual for the next game in this series, like I mentioned at the time, then just wait until you see the new trailer.

What in the world just happened?

According to its official Steam page, the central character this time is a man named Quincy who goes to a mansion and finds a time machine, and then “things get a little Lovecraftian” (as we can see in the trailer). The description goes on to say “that’s around 1/3 of what the game is really about.”

The Steam page is coy about where exactly this falls in the timeline, saying it could be a sequel or maybe a prequel or maybe both, but that it can be played without knowledge of the others.

My current theory is that since Quincy is probably Neil and Eva’s new patient, his request will be to use a time machine. On the other hand, it could tie into the overarching story in some way.

What do you think is going on in this Impostor Factory trailer? We’ll find out before the end of the year, since it’s due out in late 2020!

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Is a No More Heroes Switch Remaster On the Way?

I’ve mentioned a few times now that I’ve been hoping for remasters of No More Heroes and No More Heroes 2 so that I can try the series.

I had been vaguely curious about No More Heroes in the past, but it really caught my attention after I played and enjoyed The Silver Case and its sequel.

Not only did that get me interested in Suda51’s games in general, but Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes ties into the Silver Case games (or the “Kill the Past” series), and I’ve also seen speculation that No More Heroes III will follow up on those plot points as well.

Anyway, since No More Heroes 1 & 2 aren’t the easiest games to find nowadays, I’ve been hoping for a remaster. In 2019, Suda51 said in an interview that he was in talks with Marvelous about No More Heroes remasters for the PS4, after previously mentioning potential remasters for the Switch.

There’s been no news since then, but now it might finally be happening.

As reported by Gematsu, the first No More Heroes has been rated for the Switch in Japan.

Ratings leaks aren’t always a guarantee, but it’s a good sign. And since July’s Nintendo Direct Mini was only the first of a series of Partner Showcases, maybe we can hope for the next one to include No More Heroes remaster news.

Would you play a No More Heroes remaster?

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New Details About GhostWire: Tokyo

We’ve talked about Tango Gameworks’s upcoming action adventure game GhostWire: Tokyo twice in the past.

The first was when it was announced at Bethesda’s 2019 E3 conference, where it caught my attention because of its supernatural premise.

We talked about it again much more recently, after the PlayStation 5 showcase. I noted that it had more action than I expected, although it still looked interesting.

Now some new details have surfaced through an interview with IGN.

In the interview, director Kenji Kimura describes Ghostwire as taking place “in an original version of Tokyo where most of the people have vanished” and says the protagonist gains “paranormal abilities, through the use of hand gestures, to help solve the mystery.”

You’ll be exploring the city and fighting paranormal creatures using these powers, and these abilities can be powered up as you play. The part about hand gestures is further explained to be based on Kuji-kiri gestures.

As for the enemies themselves, they’re based on yokai, as well as urban legends and similar stories.

Curiously, they wouldn’t say who the protagonist is when asked. I don’t know why that would be a secret, so maybe there’s something important about the main character’s identity that we’ll learn later.

The question of horror came up a few times in the interview (to the point where it feels like the interviewer really, really wanted GhostWire to secretly be a horror game after all), but they made it clear that GhostWire: Tokyo is action adventure, not horror.

GhostWire sounds like it could be a fun game, and I hope we get to see more of the protagonist’s supernatural powers the next time it’s shown. Are you interested in GhostWire: Tokyo?

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