Limited Run Games has announced a physical release of the Cosmic Fantasy Collection. These fantastic RPGs were released on the PC Engine CD way back back in 1990. We only received Cosmic Fantasy 2 here in the West back in 1992 and it was one of my favorite games as kid, yes I’m that old, so this will be the first time the original Cosmic Fantasy has released here in the West. These games will be getting an all new localization from publisher Edia, who you may know from their recent releases of the Valis Collections.

A standard edition of the game will set you back $44.99 while a collectors edition with some posters and other swag will cost you a bit more at $89.99. Pre-Orders will start tomorrow and run through February 11th.  Their website says the expected ship date is August of this year and, I would bet the digital release will hit the eShop sometime before this, but there is no official word on the release date as of writing this article.

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Idea Factory International has released some new info on when fans will be able to pre-order different editions of Sympathy Kiss. They’ve also put out a new character trailer. First of all, physical pre-orders of the Standard and Limited Editions of this otome will go live in both the North American and European IFI Online Stores on January 24th, 2024, according to the press release. The game’s limited edition is pictured above. Also, the game will be available for pre-order digitally in the Nintendo eShop on February 20th, 2024. Not only that, but in the eShop the game will be 10% off, both for pre-order and the first two weeks after the game launches. This discount sale will end on March 12th at 11:59 p.m. Pacific. And finally, the press release also states that for the next six days, including today, a trailer for the different characters in Sympathy Kiss will be released. Keep an eye on IFI’s YouTube channel for these upcoming trailers and down below you’ll find the first trailer, featuring Saotome. Below the trailer, you’ll find some more info about this upcoming slice-of-life otome from the latest press release. Sympathy Kiss launches for Nintendo Switch this upcoming February 27th, 2024.

About the Game
About a year has passed since Akari Amasawa started her new job as a designer at Estario, a mobile app maker. While she doesn’t dislike her job, she’s not deeply passionate about it either. After her yearly performance review, she’s given the opportunity to join the Estarci team.

The company’s namesake app, Estarci is a news app that made a big splash when it launched, but has since fallen behind rival apps, including apps run by Estario itself. Management has decided to give the app one last chance before shutting it down for good, and Akari and all of her new co-workers will need to give it their all to save the app from the chopping block.

Will Akari find true love? Will she find what it is she wants to do in life? Will the app get shut down? Wait, was Akari only given this opportunity because the company was looking for an excuse to fire her?!

Business and pleasure mix in Sympathy Kiss, a thrilling office romance and slice-of-life drama!

Key Features
#POV: You Are A Modern-Day Office Worker in Japan – Explore your career opportunities and work with up to six love interests. See through the eyes of a Japanese career woman and experience full immersion in a contemporary workplace setting where the fantasy can be found in the breakroom.

Call or text if you need me! – Increase productivity or dabble in some friendly office banter by maintaining contact with romanceable characters using the RiNG system. Respond to text messages and take fully-voiced calls from your favorite love interests.

Wear Your Emotions On Your Sleeve – Some decisions require you to express how you feel through the Emotion Select system. Pick from two of a total of five emotions: Happy, Angry, Troubled, Sad, and Indifferent. Your selected emotions can influence future conversations. Your love interests will always remember to consider your emotions.

A Happy Worker Is A Productive Worker! – Use the Love/Work system when making decisions to balance your work life and social life. Increase your Work Points or Love Points with each decision by choosing whether you will prioritize your career or romance. This will influence the outcome of your route and the ending.

If you’d like to know more about Sympathy Kiss, visit the game’s official website.

The post Sympathy Kiss – Pre-order Details and New Character Trailer appeared first on oprainfall.

EastAsiaSoft and Idea Factory have announced that they’ll be bringing Hakuoki: Chronicles of Wind and Blossom to Nintendo Switch. The press release states that this collection brings two otome games together from a fan-favorite series, both Hakuoki: Edo Blossoms and Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds. The press release also explains that the digital release will be released sometime later on in 2024 and physical editions will be available for pre-order at Playasia on January 11th at 7 a.m. Pacific / 10 a.m. Eastern. Limited Editions (pictured above) will contain the game, a manual, soundtrack CD, art book, sticker sheet and a numbered certificate, all packed together in a collector’s box. Feel free to check out the brand new opening movie video down below and read a little bit more about this upcoming otome collection from the latest press release.

About Hakuoki: Chronicles of Wind and Blossom

Two legendary visual novels come together in Hakuoki: Chronicles of Wind and Blossom, a remastered compilation of Hakuoki: Edo Blossoms and Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds, each among the most beloved entries in the acclaimed Japanese otome series. Players take the role of young heroine Chizuru as she is surrounded by the handsome warriors of the Shinsengumi. As battle ensues, who will emerge victorious and who will claim Chizuru’s heart?

Embrace the political and interpersonal drama of feudalism while navigating romantic scenarios and witnessing events inspired by Japanese history, brought to life through beautifully illustrated cutscenes and passionate dialogue sequences. Explore multiple story routes across both epic visual novels, renowned by long-time fans of the series while serving as a standalone jumping-on point for new players.

This updated version includes revised text for the best possible experience, making Hakuoki: Chronicles of Wind and Blossom the definitive way for players to enjoy the game!
Key Features:

• Take the role of a young heroine surrounded by handsome suitors!

• Immerse yourself in a feudalistic setting inspired by the rich history of Japan.

• Explore 2 complete otome visual novel adventures and meet an unforgettable cast of characters!

• Navigate dramatic dialogue, making decisions for Chizuru to decide story route and love interest.

• Enjoy beautifully illustrated cutscenes and unlock CGs in the gallery as you progress!

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A new Hunter x Hunter fighting game Hunter x Hunter: Nen x Impact has been revealed. The game will be developed by Eighting known for their work on previous fighting games such as the Bloody Roar series, Tatsunoko vs Capcom and Marvel Vs Capcom 3. Publisher Bushiroad Games have released a teaser trailer that you can watch below:

A release date and platforms have not been announced yet.

SOURCE

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The FINFAL FANTASY XIV FAN FESTIVAL 2024 in Tokyo kicked off today with a reveal of the full Dawntrail trailer, as well as a first look at the game’s newest race: Female Hrothgar. We also got an extensive look at character model upgrades using 7.0’s updated graphics system, a sneak peek at more areas of Tural, and the second Dawntrail job: Pictomancer. We also received confirmation that the Xbox Open Beta Test is expected to take place near the end of February.

During his keynote, FFXIV Director and Producer Naoki Yoshida reintroduced players to the land of Tural, where there appears to be a conflict involving succession to the throne. The Warrior of Light and the Scions will need to take sides in this conflict, and in the process travel across the lands of Tural, as well as a new area introduced at the Tokyo Fanfest: Solution Nine. Yoshi-P kept the details sparse, but this new area is a wide departure from the wide plains and watery jungles we’ve seen thus far, leaning pretty heavily into neon-soaked high rises and paved streets. We also got to see some more concept art of local tribes, including the Hanuhanu, which appear to be close cousins to the Vanu Vanu.

Pictomancer takes its queues from that same job originating in FINAL FANTASY VI, with job gear mirroring the character Relm from that game. The job will begin at level 80 in Gridania. Pictomancers wield brushes to bring their drawings to life, including monsters, weapons and landscapes. As with other spellcasters, the job will use a mix of instant and long cast abilities to both attack and buff the party. It’s not a “full support” job but not as attack focused as a Black Mage, according to Yoshi-P. (He also assured the audience that you don’t have to personally be good at art to play Pictomancer!)

The keynote touched on several other updates coming in 7.0, including the much-requested female Hrothgar, as well as updated graphics. Yoshi-P spent more than 30 minutes highlighting those updates, showing off the changes to racial models and how the new system provides higher detail and more clarity to racial features. He also discussed the upcoming raids, including the 24-man raid based off FINAL FANTASY XI, and the new eight-man raid, The Arcadion, which is an FFXIV original storyline. The upcoming Ultimate will be based on Eden. Yoshida-san was only able to show off some concept art, but for the Echoes of Vana’diel raid, we at least have confirmation the Shadow Lord will be in it (which just so happens to be one of the fights fellow oprainfall contributor and FFXIV player Quentin wrote about last year!) Along with the raids, Yoshi-P also confirmed new lifestyle content, including Cosmic Exploration, which will find Warriors of Light planet hopping, as well as the return of largescale field content similar to Eureka and Bozja.

FINAL FANTASY XIV Online: Dawntrail is currently slated for a Summer 2024 release, though Yoshida-san would not pinpoint an exact date to avoid a similar fate to Endwalker, when he had to delay that expansion’s release. FINAL FANTASY XIV FAN FESTIVAL in Tokyo will continue tomorrow. You can find the schedule here.

What was your favorite announcement of the Keynote?

What are you most excited to explore in Dawntrail?

Let us know in the comments below!

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A new promotional video (PV) has been released for ufotable’s upcoming anime film adaptation of TYPE-MOON’s visual novel, Mahoutsukai no Yoru (Witch on the Holy Night). You can check out the PV below.

Mahoutsukai no Yoru is a 2012 Windows PC visual novel by TYPE-MOON. It was first written in 1996 and the laid the groundwork for future titles such as Tsukihime and Fate/stay night. The visual novel later received a fully voiced voiced HD remaster and overseas release for PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Steam.

A synopsis of the visual novel is as follows:

In the mansion on the hill, there lived two witches…

It is the late 1980s—the twilight of an era of beauty and vigor.
A boy moves to the city,
barely missing two witches living in modern times.

The boy leads a completely ordinary life.
She carries herself with a gallant pride.
The girl lives a sleepy, hidden life.

Each walks a starlit path.
One would never expect their paths to cross.
The story of these three disparate
people came together is soon to be told.

No other information has been announced for the anime film adaptation at this time. If you’re interested in the film, you can check out its official website and the movie’s X account.

The post Mahoutsukai no Yoru Anime Film Gets New PV appeared first on oprainfall.

KOEI TECMO has released a trailer for the first of three DLC’s coming to Fate/Samurai Remnant. The DLC titled “Record’s Fragment: Keian Command Championship” is scheduled to launch in February 2024. You can check out its teaser trailer below which features Boss announcing the event. No other information about the DLC has been announced at this time.

Fate/Samurai Remnant is available now for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam. If you’re interested in the game, you can check out our review HERE.

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At Granblue Fes 2023, a plethora news was revealed for Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising. Among these was the announcement of 4 DLC characters coming to the game next year in 2024. Perhaps the most surprising addition of all was a guest character, 2B from NieR:Automata. She will be voiced by Yui Ishikawa in Japanese and Kira Buckland in English, similar to how it was in NieR:Automata and 2B’s other guest appearances.

You can check out her trailer below. 2B will cost $7.99 when bought individually and she will also come with a tie-in outfit that can be used in the original Granblue Fantasy mobile/browser game. She is scheduled to be available in late February 2024.

Other than 2B, 3 other DLC characters were also announced, the first of which is Lucilius. Lucilius is voiced by Takahiro Sakurai in Japanese and Sean Chiplock in English.

You can check out his gameplay trailer below. Lucilius will cost $4.99 when released and is scheduled to be available on January 16, 2024.

Lucilius is described as follows:

Lucilius boasts overwhelming offensive capabilities in exchange for longer cooldown times. Reduce cooldown by raising his Blade Level with skills, then bear down on your foes with all the fury of a fallen angel.

The last 2 characters announced were Vane and Beatrix. Vane is voiced by Takuya Eguchi in Japanese and Zeno Robinson in English. Beatrix is voiced by Aya Hirano in Japanese and Jennifer Losi in English. There is no gameplay trailer for these two characters, but they are scheduled to release sometime in 2024.

You can check out the game’s update roadmap for 2024 below.

Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising‘s next update, version 1.10, will coincide with the release of Lucilius. You can check out what is being implemented below.

Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising is available now for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC via Steam.

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My favorite holiday is New Year’s Eve. It is the one time of the year when everyone is looking forward to the future together and wanting to make the following year the best one possible. It is about noisemakers and resolutions, Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, Auld Lang Syne, dancing and music, and spending time with people who matter.

These past 12 months have been an incredibly trying time in my life between my health issues and work and my sport activities. I’m definitely in a different place mentally than I was when I started the year out, and I have fallen a bit more in love with FINAL FANTASY XIV Online during that time period too.

For this coming year, I’ve also been trying to figure out what I want to do as a resolution – and I think it will be threefold. First, I will set a goal to lose 30-40 pounds this year as I focus on my health (boring, I know!). I’ve already been working on doing more cardio, moderating my diet, and making better life choices. I am still worried about my heart, and continuing to take proper care of myself – and even stepping it up – will go a long way towards that.

Second, I will continue to write Cooking Eorzea as much as possible. I love my (mostly!) weekly cooking column, and I want to keep writing it.

And as for my final resolution: I want to see Hikaru Utada’s SCIENCE FICTION tour in 2024. A lot of you may be saying “that name sounds familiar, but how do I know that person?” Hikaru Utada (pronouns: she/her, they/them) wrote and sang the title themes for multiple KINGDOM HEARTS games that started with Hikari/Simple and Clean in 2002 and most recently with Chikai/Don’t Think Twice for KINGDOM HEARTS III. She has been releasing music since 1999, and she has not toured since 2018.  I love her music, not just because of KINGDOM HEARTS, and I have not been abroad since I went to Rome in 2019. It will be a good chance to see a bit more of the world and to see an amazing artist perform live – if I can get tickets.

That means that I am setting reasonable, obtainable resolutions (taking care of myself and writing Cooking Eorzea) and a slightly unreasonable resolution (going to see Hikaru Utada perform) for 2024. All of these resolutions will be goals that I hope to achieve with Love, Eorzean Style.

If you’ve missed an installment of Cooking Eorzea, you can check out all the prior recipes here.

Recipe of the Week

The 43rd Cooking Eorzea recipe is a ‘Medium’ difficulty recipe from the Norvrandt region, and it is a two-day recipe to make! This proved to be a bit of a problem, because I had to find the same approximate time over two days to make the dish. I ended up having to get up around 5 AM to make the pizza dough one day and then at the same time the next to finish making the pizza. I had also never made pizza from scratch before, and so it was an interesting dish to make!

Anywhere, here is what the whole pizza pie is supposed to look like:

Image courtesy of Insight Editions.

And here is what a pizza slice looks like in the hands of a professional chef!

Image courtesy of Insight Editions.

Featured Ingredient of the Week

Photo by author.

This week’s featured ingredient of the week is basil! It ordinarily would be something like San Morzano tomatoes, but I immediately was drawn to the basil plant because…well…it is the first plant that I am going to try to take care of since I had a fire in my apartment. Ordinarily, I use fresh basil leaves by themselves, but I didn’t have an option for this week. As this column goes to publish, I will have the basil plant sitting in indirect sunlight and I am already planning on potting it properly to hopefully grow out!

My Cooking Attempt

Pizza doesn’t come ready-made! Instead, I had to gather together all of the ingredients needed to make it, first:

Photo by author.

The (very early) morning before I made the final dish, I put the bread flour, active dry yeast, sugar, salt, ginger powder, and onion powder together in a bowl.

Photo by author.

I then added the water and the olive oil together in a bowl and whisked them together.

Photos by author.

I then added the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.

Photo by author.

Once that was done, I placed the bowl into the stand mixer, and turned it on.

Photo by author.

However, the pizza dough wouldn’t come together despite me waiting several minutes, and I realized that it was probably because I forgot to mix all the dry ingredients together before I started. So, I ended up having to throw the batch out and I started it all over again. This time, I blended the dry ingredients together.

Photo by author.

I started the stand mixer at low, and this time, it started to turn into a dough ball! I then started the mixer to knead the dough up for another five minutes.

Photos by author.

While the dough was kneading, I scattered all-purpose flour across my silicone mat.

Photo by author.

I shaped the raw dough from the bowl into a proper ball shape.

Photo by author.

I then sprayed nonstick spray into a large bowl, put the dough ball inside, covered it with wrap, and then put it into the refrigerator for 24 hours to rise.

Photos by author.

A bit before the dough was ready, I started on the sauce. First, I minced up the fresh garlic.

Photo by author.

I added olive oil and butter together into a saucepan, and I let them melt together. Once that was done, I added in the minced garlic, and I let the garlic brown for a few minutes.

Photos by author.

This is how the garlic looked when it was done.

Photo by author.

I added in the whole San Marzano tomatoes, and I mixed it together with the garlic, butter, and olive oil.

Photos by author.

Once it was well-blended, I added in the oregano, red pepper flakes, onion powder, and sugar.

Photo by author.

I then changed the temperature, blended the seasonings in, and I let the pizza sauce cook for about 45 minutes. Every so often, I would stir and I would lightly mash the whole San Marzano tomatoes into the pizza sauce.

Photo by author.

As the pizza sauce was cooking on the stovetop, I laid out a fresh scattering of all-purpose flour on my silicone mat and I preheated the oven to 475 for the pizza itself.

Photos by author.

At this point, it was time to remove the pizza dough from the fridge. The 24 hours that passed had really been kind to my pizza dough, as it had definitely grown in size! First, I punched it down and then I stretched it out across the mat.

Photos by author.

I then divided it up into three pizza dough balls, covered them in a kitchen towel, and let it all rest for a half-hour.

Photos by author.

While the dough was rising again, I oiled up my new cast-iron skillet.

Photo by author.

I then generously scattered onion powder and garlic powder along the inside of the cast-iron skillet.

Photos by author.

A half-hour after I covered the dough, I uncovered it, selected a single dough ball and then punched it down.

Photos by author.

I then tried to stretch out the dough ball to be larger than the skillet size, but I ended up having to steal dough from one of the other dough balls in order to have enough.

Photo by author.

At this point, my pizza sauce was ready, and I added in some salt and pepper to taste! I then set it aside and then added the pizza dough into the previously prepared cast-iron skillet.

Photos by author.

I then scooped out the pizza sauce and then laid it out over the pizza dough.

Photo by author.

Once the pizza sauce was spread out, I added the fresh mozzarella on top and then I brushed the crust with olive oil.

Photo by author.

At that point, I baked the bottom crust on the stovetop for about five minutes.

Photo by author.

I then baked the pizza in the oven for about 12 minutes.

Photo by author.

Once the timer was up, I pulled the pizza out and sprinkled Parmesan cheese on top of it. I then put it back into the oven to bake for another three minutes.

Photos by author.

While the pizza was baking for a second time, I plucked fresh leaves off of the basil plant. Once the pizza was done, I added it to the pizza.

Photos by author.

And here is the final dish for this week’s Cooking Eorzea column! The red and gold confetti came from June’s FINAL FANTASY XVI Pre-Launch Celebration and August’s FINAL FANTASY XIV FAN FESTIVAL 2023-2024 events.

Photo by author.

And here is a single slice from a side angle!

Photo by author.

So, it turns out that I burned the bottom of the pizza in the skillet, and it had blackened. Other than that, it was absolutely fantastic! The pizza sauce was incredibly flavorful, and the cheese pulled apart as I ate it. I ended up eating everything but the bottom burned crust, and I loved the slight fresh pop that the basil leave added. The dough was fully cooked through too, and it was definitely a fluffy and fully done crust. The pizza was simply delicious, and it was incredibly filling.

Afterword

If I was to make this pizza dish a second time, I would definitely not burn the pizza bottom if I could. Otherwise, I would have probably let the dough sit in the refrigerator for awhile longer before I used it. Otherwise, this dish turned out extremely well and I was quite happy with how it turned out!

The final thank you’s for this year’s Cooking Eorzea column! I want to first thank Victoria Rosenthal for writing The Ultimate FINAL FANTASY XIV Online Cookbook. I also want to thank the staff over at Insight Editions for giving me permission to use the photos from their book to show how these recipes are actually supposed to look, and responding to my continual photo requests throughout the year. Furthermore, I owe Brandon Rose a special thanks for creating the logo for this series on short notice and for his photoediting work. You should check him and his works out over on X.

Finally, I want to thank both Hiromichi Tanaka and Naoki Yoshida for producing FINAL FANTASY XIV Online in 1.0 and in A Realm Reborn. Eorzea was shaped by both of them, and my life is so much better off because of it.

Coming in 2024

When Cooking Eorzea returns at the start of 2024, I will be making Pork Kakuni from the Higashi region.

I am pretty excited to be working with pork belly, and the dish looks simply fantastic to make and eat. So please look forward to it!

What toppings do you like to put on your pizza?

What are your New Year Resolutions?

Let us know in the comments below!

The post Cooking Eorzea Week 42: Pizza appeared first on oprainfall.

The latest Fate/Samurai Remnant update, version 1.03, is now available to download. It is the previously announced December update which adds more playable characters to its “Battle Recollections” mode and new difficulty levels.

The list of changes is as follows:

• Added the “Apprentice” and “Fatal Sword” difficulty levels.
• You can now control Rogue Servants and other teams in Battle Recollections.
• Fixed an issue where it was impossible to complete the “Networking: Ninja Trainee” commission when a certain condition was met on the second playthrough onwards.
• Fixed an issue that caused the game to stop responding when a certain condition was met.

Fate/Samurai Remnant is available now for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam. If you’re interested in the game, you can check out our review HERE.

The post Fate/Samurai Remnant Version 1.03 Now Available, Adds Features appeared first on oprainfall.

Kotobukiya has announced a new figure is in production for Joshua Bright from The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky. Based on the announcement image, the figure will utilize Joshua’s outfit from Trails in the Sky SC, similar to Estelle’s figure. The scale of the figure was not revealed, but based on the past Trails figures Kotobukiya has released and announced so far, it should be a 1/8 scale figure. A projected release time and prototype of the figure were not revealed.

Joshua joins a line of figures Kotobukiya has produced for the Trails series. Figures produced so far include:

• Rean Schwarzer
• Altina Orion
• Rixia Mao
• Crow Armbrust
• Renne Bright

Upcoming figures include:

• Emma Millstein
• Tio Plato
• Estelle Bright

The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC first launched in 2006 for Windows PC in Japan and made its way overseas for both PlayStation Portable and Windows PC in 2015. It is the second game in what is known as the Liberl trilogy. The latest game in the Trails series for overseas fans, The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak, is scheduled to launch in Summer 2024 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC.

The post Kotobukiya Announces Figure for Trails in the Sky’s Joshua Bright appeared first on oprainfall.

Super Mario Bros. 3

This week, I didn’t get to play too much, but I did complete World 3 and some of 4. I should have mentioned last week; I’m playing through this by completing every stage without the use of warping or P Wings. My hopes with this playthrough are to appreciate every stage’s design, secrets, and challenge, and to gain a renewed awe for a game that provided so much fun in my childhood.

Before the ability to save, I usually skipped World 3 to get to later ones faster, but when I did play it, I thought using this boat was the coolest thing

I continue to be pretty terrible at it, though. My rusted skills don’t seem to be improving, most likely due to my inability to commit serious time to the game. Or I’m just getting older. Nonetheless, I’m enjoying all of the pleasant reminders of why I loved this game so much. That nostalgia factor is just one reason why I also love retro gaming in general.

I can still appreciate the different worlds and the creativity that went into their designs

A slight tangent now, earlier this week I was casually looking at my collection of Game Boy games and something came over me. I was remembering when I had gotten several of the games I was looking at and realized that I would never get to experience the feeling of purchasing or receiving a new Game Boy cartridge ever again. Yes I know, this isn’t quite a unique feeling, as systems have come and gone, but the Game Boy’s lifespan was quite long and was a large part of my young gaming life. It was a moment of…sadness? Loss? Longing, I think is the best way to describe it, though I did feel hints of those other feelings, too. It was strange, knowing I would never again get to look forward to the release of a new, physical Game Boy game. Nor opening the box, popping open the plastic case, or, as I often did, read the instruction booklet.

Just another indication that I’m getting older and time goes on. – Drew D.

This week in gaming I split my time between a couple of interesting titles. The first was YS 1 & 2 Chronicles. I’d never played a version of this despite playing other entries in the series, so I thought I’d give it a go. The bump mechanic is a little strange at first but it does work well overall. The game isn’t overly difficult, though there was one boss battle that gave me fits for a few minutes til I figured out exactly how to handle him. I’m just about to wrap-up the first game here, and I look forward to getting back to this later in the week.

The other game I’ve been into, Custom Mech Wars from D3 Publisher. I decided to take this one on for review cause I love mechs and EDF, so I figured this would be a mix of the two. It sorta is, but I think the mission structure could be a bit a better. I do love the almost infinite amount of ways you can customize your mechs, and the gameplay is pretty decent so far. I’ll hopefully have a full review of this one next week. -Steve

River City Rival Showdown

It’s not a secret that I have a huge soft spot for Kunio and Kunio-related games, so when the River City Rival Showdown remaster was announced for the Switch, naturally, I was interested and I picked up a copy. I loved the original version on the 3DS and I am happy to report that the game still plays well on the Switch. This game is just a real vibe with a very simple yet addicting gameplay loop. You have three days to explore town, complete quests and level up your character by beating up other gang members and delinquents. The sprites look more crisp than on the 3DS and the relatively lowpoly look works for the game giving it a rather distinct style compared to other modern beat em ups. What I forgot was just how much lore and worldbuilding is buried in this game. Just about every NPC has something to say and a lot of it further fleshes out the characters and the setting they’re in. It can be a lot to take in especially on a first playthrough, as you are trying to keep track of who is who. Still, the game lends itself quite nicely to replays as you likely won’t find or experience every event in one playthrough. There are even multiple endings based on your decisions throughout your journey. It’s a rather unique title overall and I was happy to revisit it. I’ll probably stream this one of these days. – Justin

It’s been a couple weeks since I’ve added to one of these. Honestly, I’m somewhat back in one of my gaming slumps, or at least I had been most of these last few weeks, but I’ve been playing little bits here and there. A week or two ago, I was playing various Tetris games I have on Switch simply to pass a little time when I wasn’t sure what else I felt like. And of course I’ve still been keeping up with mahjong on my phone. I actually just got a great achievement the other day in Riichi City. I got their The Path to God achievement after coming in 1st and/or 2nd place for ten 4-player matches in a row. I was one win away from the next ranked room after that, but I had two losses and now I’m not quite there yet. In addition to this, most recently I’ve been trying to get back into Atelier Ryza 2. I’ve been playing Ryza 2 on and off for the last few years. I’m not sure why I can’t seem to ever finish it, but I’m enjoying playing it again. However, I’ve realized that all of my current character sidequests, which show up in the main story tab, are quite a bit further ahead than the actual main story. A couple of these sidequests require me to craft certain things through alchemy which require materials I’m not even far enough in the story to gather yet. Ultimately, I’m not super sucked into anything right now, but I’ve been cutting back enough on games during this latest slump, I should be playing a little bit more now. I’ve enjoyed getting back into Ryza 2 again. – Jenae

What games have you been playing this week? Let us know in the comments!

You can read previous Week in Gaming entries here!

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Currently Airing:

Dark Gathering

I got a little behind so I had to catch myself up with the series. The last few episodes really began to tell us more about the new antagonists and along with them becoming known to Yayoi and the others. If you like back stories of the spirits, the graduate and the spirit at the water gate were just as dark as should be expected by this point. The battle was pretty intense and the abilities of the graduate were interesting. I did like that they showed that even though captured by Yayoi, the graduates are still very dangerous and not easy to control. I was happy seeing the castle ghost make an appearance again. While the show usually focuses on Keitaro, the newest episode instead follows Yayoi instead and without Eiko too. I kind of liked that it follows her going to school and seeing her classmates, who not surprisingly think she’s kind of odd. Things are not going to be calm though, as we get introduced to a girl at her school who has been plotting something with one of the spirits at the school. The back story on that one is dark of course too. I did like the situation with this one since it reminded me a bit of Corpse Party. I hope that we do see more of Yayoi and her classmates in the future, depending on how many make it. – Walter

— You can watch Dark Gathering on HIDIVE.

What anime are you watching? What manga and light novels are you reading? Let us know in the comments!

You can read previous Week in Anime & Manga entries here!

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At a shareholder meeting, Nihon Falcom announced the next title in the Trails series, The Legend of Heroes: Kai no Kiseki -Farewell, O Zemuria-. The game will celebrate the Trails series’ 20th anniversary and is scheduled to release 2024 in Japan. Platforms it will be available on have not been revealed at this time.

You can check out more details about the game below. (Translation via Gematsu)

“In the year 120X, everything comes to an end.”

C. Epstein, the father of the orbal revolution, prophesized the end of the Zemurian continent.

As “X Day” approaches, a massive orbal rocket is about to be launched from a large military base built in the Kunlun Range.

“Can man make it past the planet’s atmosphere?”

“What lies at the end of the continent?”

“Will mankind be able to uncover the true nature of the ‘world’?”

While the whole world watches to witness the largest undertaking since the dawn of history, somewhere in the singularity that is Ored, forces from all over the land were about to gather, including a young “Spriggan.”

Will the single trail toward the distant heavens ultimately shape the future of Zemuria, or…

You can also check out screenshots for the new game below. (Please note: these are for a game that is currently under development.)

The Legend of Heroes: Kai no Kiseki -Farewell, O Zemuria- is scheduled to launch 2024 in Japan.

SOURCE: Nihon Falcom IR News Release, Gematsu

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ATLUS has put out a brand new behind the scenes video for Persona 3 Reload. The press release states that this latest video, The Voices of Persona 3 | Behind the Scenes – Episode 3, features the voice actors for Shinjiro, Akihiko and Mitsuru and contains their personal stories of working on the game. You can check out the new behind the scenes video down below. Persona 3 Reload is scheduled to launch on February 2nd, 2024 for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and PC via Windows and Steam.

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The new remaster of Witch on the Holy Night, which first released for Switch and PS4 last year, is now officially available on Steam. This visual novel currently contains a launch discount of 10% off for the first week after launch, which will end on December 21st. After that, the game will cost you $39.99. Feel free to check out the previously released Japanese trailer down below. Also down below, you’ll find out more about Witch on the Holy Night from the official Steam page.

Product Description
TYPE-MOON, known for the wildly popular mobile game “Fate/Grand Order” and the epic visual novel “Tsukihime,” is releasing a remaster of the 2012 hit “Witch on the Holy Night. Experience a coming of age story set in the vibrant, bustling 1980s, which follows an innocent young man and two young “witches.” Updates added since the original release include long-awaited fully voiced characters as well as visuals remastered in full HD, bringing the experience to life with unparalleled quality and fidelity. Masterful manipulation of visual elements imbues combat scenes with nail-biting tension, but also breathes life into the characters’ everyday activities. Animated graphical elements bring an entirely new level of depth to the reading experience as well!

STORY
In the mansion on the hill, there lived two witches…

It is the late 1980s—the twilight of an era of beauty and vigor.
A boy moves to the city, barely missing two witches living in modern times.

The boy leads a completely ordinary life.
She carries herself with gallant pride.
The girl lives a sleepy, hidden life.

Each walks a starlit path.
One would never expect their paths to cross.
The story of how these three disparate people came together is soon to be told.

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D3 PUBLISHER has released their over the top mecha combat title, Custom Mech Wars, on PlayStation 5 and Steam. The game features the ability for players to fully customize their mech before taking it into battle. This includes giving them various legs, arms, heads and other appendages, in any configuration your mind can come up with. You can destroy other units in battle to collect more parts and even join up with players online to complete story missions.

There are three different editions of Custom Mech Wars to choose from. The Standard, “EDF Collab”, and Ultimate editions for $49.99, $64.99, and $74.99 respectively. The “EDF Collab” edition includes the base game, EDF Collab Mech Parts Set (five mechs), EDF Collab Accessories Parts Set, and 10 additional missions, while the Ultimate Edition adds the Heroine Collab Accessories (70 items) and four custom voices.

Key Features

• Build one-of-a-kind mechs using the Omega Customization System – Not being restricted to bipedal builds, freely customize mechs to include multiple heads, legs, and arms in whatever positions and angles imaginable. Depending on the parts used, the parameters will vary wildly, allowing players to build mechs with whatever abilities and fighting styles they wish!

• Battle with Omega Customized mechs in this thrilling third-person action shooter – Arm a custom mech to the teeth with every weapon imaginable and blast through oncoming enemies. Experience the heart-pounding mecha action that only the uniquely-designed Omega Customized units can provide. Destroy enemy units, collect their parts, and customize mechs even more. Complete a variety of missions as players battle, customize, and then battle and customize some more!

• Join forces with other players online in the competition between Omega Customized mechs – With support for online multiplayer, up to four players can cooperate to complete story missions just like in single-player mode. Experience the rush of tackling missions with friends and showing off personally-customized mechs.

About CUSTOM MECH WARS

In CUSTOM MECH WARS, players can take customization to the extreme with the “Omega Customization System” and battle with one-of-a-kind combat units in this all-new third-person shooter mecha game from leading Japanese games publisher D3PUBLISHER. Taking place in the not-too-distant future, rogue AI have bared their fangs on humanity in the wake of a global crisis and it’s up to the Four-Seven Security Service to defend the planet from an environmental catastrophe and hostile robots alike. As a new member of the Four-Seven Security Service, take control of the unit provided by the company to suppress the rogue G-Mechs and enter the fray in a furious battle destined to alter the very fate of mankind…

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Today Atlus has released more information about their upcoming release of Unicorn Overlord. This one looks like its shaping up to be another amazing Vanillaware title with plenty of depth and features. Today they detailed a few more allies found in the game as well as some of the activities the game has to offer.

First off let’s dig into the new allies:

Virginia (Protagonist’s Ally)
“Today… the Knights of the Rose have their vengeance!”

A survivor of the Cornian royal family. Niece of Queen Ilenia and older cousin of Alain. When Cornia fell, she fled to Drakenhold.

Gilbert (Protagonist’s Ally)
“You’ve quite the grand vision for yourself, seeking to unify the entire continent.”

The crown prince of Drakenhold. Stepping into the shoes of his father the king, slain fighting the Zenoiran army, Gilbert is secretly amassing a force with the aim of restoring the kingdom.

Berengaria (Protagonist’s Ally)
“I told you plain, I don’t want you near me. Now go home and bury yourself in your beloved books, why don’t you?”

Former leader of the Tricorn Mercenaries. Widely feared as a deadly warrior, Berengaria established her own band of mercenaries and quickly grew it into a powerful force—until the day she abruptly disbanded the group and disappeared.

Aramis (Protagonist’s Ally)
“And I, a simple wanderer. You can call me… Aramis.”

A mercenary from Drakenhold hired by the Zenoira army. While his speech and affect is more elegant than might be expected, no one can deny his skill with the blade.

Next up let’s discuss some of the social aspects of Unicorn Overlord. The Rapport stat shows the level of affinity between your characters. This level will increase when you keep a pair of characters together for a length of time. This can trigger events that will show how deeply the pair have connected with each other.  This will come with some bonus in combat as well when they are in the same unit. Rapport can be built up at taverns as well. You will do so by having your allies have a meal together. The amount gained will depend on the meal served, so don’t be cheap, feed your troops well. Lastly, Alain’s Ring of the Unicorn has a counterpart called the Ring of the Maiden.  If Alain’s Rapport level is maxed out with a character, you can give them this ring and the Rite of Covenant will take place. This joins the two together, forever. There are many allies, but in the end there can only be one true bond!

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Years ago when I watched Love Live! Sunshine!! I was very taken with Yoshiko Tsushima, AKA Yohane. I thought she was by far the cutest member of Aqours and her chunni antics just made me love her even more. So I was very excited when I found she was getting her own spin off anime project, Yohane the Parhelion: Sunshine in the Mirror, and even more so when Inti Creates announced they were making a Metroidvania title based off the anime, called Yohane the Parhelion: BLAZE in the DEEP BLUE. After I enjoyed the anime series, I was very excited to dig into the game to see where this story continuation was going. Let’s see how everything turned out!

The story here begins as a strange undersea dungeon suddenly surfaces near the town of Numazu. It quickly becomes all folks in town can talk about, so Yohane’s friends each begin to explore the dungeon one by one, but they never return. Yohane decides to venture into the dungeon to rescue her lost friends with the help her faithful dog Lailaps. What mysteries lie ahead of her in the dungeon, and will she be able to rescue her friends?

The story here is pretty basic, but for those who enjoyed the anime this is a great side adventure. I love seeing the girls interact with each other, and the Easter Eggs they threw in here for fans of the anime and Aqours in general. This one isn’t going to blow you away with amazing storytelling, but if you’re a fan of Yohane or Love Live! Sunshine!! you will have a good time here seeing all the girls in action once again.

Graphically the game is done in that fantastic pixel art style Inti Creates is known for. The character sprite works still comes out quite detailed this way, and all of the girls’ sprites were very cute, down to the last details! Enemy models look great as well, with a pretty good assortment of them. There are still re-colors, but I felt like there were less here than in some of their other games. The boss monsters really shine with their huge size and impressive looks. You can tell the team put some love into each one. The environments themselves are great as well. Each one is very detailed and you really get immersed into the type of area, from lava filled volcano to fluffy candy style areas. The game ran great on the Switch from start to finish with no frame drops.

In the music department, Yohane the Parhelion: BLAZE in the DEEP BLUE really shines. Each area has amazing theme music that fits the feel of it. This includes a mysterious sounding theme for the temple and more upbeat theme as you begin to explore this underwater dungeon. The theme song, “Deep Blue”, is an amazing tune that got stuck in my head for a long time after I stopped playing this one. I wish Inti Creates would’ve included an in-game music library, or something for completing the game, so you could enjoy these tunes on the fly, but there was nothing unlocked post game. Which is one of my complaints here: it’s pretty bare bones overall outside of the main game.

The gameplay here is very much that of your standard Metroidvania title. You will explore each area of the dungeon, battling enemies and bosses as you save your friends and gain new abilities. Each girl has two unique skills, one you gain as soon as you free them, and the other when you find a hidden item in the dungeon. All of these skills can be used to slay enemies in the dungeons, such as Dia’s electric slash and Hanamaru’s adorable rolling attack. These skills can also be used to solve puzzles in the dungeon to gain access to new areas as well, but players should also look out for special items in treasure chests too. These will give Yohane some new skills and allow her to equip more accessories as well.

Yohane can purchase a number of healing items and items that will buff your stats from her fortune telling shop with in-game currency. These help you out in a pinch if you need to restore your health or Darkness points. The latter is what you use to call out your friends to help you in combat or use the variety of weapons you can cast. That’s right: you can cast a variety of weapons and accessories from the materials dropped from defeated monsters.

Weapon casts include several different types of bows and swords, each with different properties, so you can choose whichever fits your play style the best. Cloaks and accessories can be cast as well. These give you various buffs that will keep you alive during the harshest areas of the dungeon. Some will give immunity to status aliments while others may cut down different types of damage. Each one will give Yohane a boost in HP and Darkness points, so you will have to balance her out as you see fit. I went with a big HP build and tanked a lot of the bosses, but this is totally up to you.

Overall I had a great time with Yohane the Parhelion: BLAZE in the DEEP BLUE. I loved exploring the dungeon and seeing all of my favorite Aqours members once again. Each girl’s skills were very unique and suited them very well. Hanamaru having a laptop fall from the heavens to make it explode with a single touch made me laugh out loud since I got the reference from the original anime, and this is what games like this should do. I feel like the package is a bit light on extras since there is nothing to do after completing the game. No new game plus with more difficulty, unlockable galleries or even a way to listen to the music post game. It will take you around eight hours to see everything the game has to offer and I feel like it is worth the $29.99 price tag for fans of the anime or Yohane, but everyone else might want to wait for a sale to snatch this one up. While I loved everything here personally, I was a big fan of the series going into this, so I know I got a bit more out of this than those just looking for another Metroidvania to pick up. That said, I have no issue telling fans to snatch this up ASAP, it’s a lot of fun with girls you know and love.

Review Score
Overall

Game was purchased by the reviewer.

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Idea Factory International has announced that North American fans can now pre-order the physical Nintendo Switch Standard Edition version of Neptunia: Sisters VS Sisters. The Standard Edition will cost you $49.99. EU copies will be available for pre-order this Friday. The press release also states that the digital copy will be available for pre-order in the eShop on January 16th at a 10% discount. The 10% discount will also be available at launch, January 23rd, and end on February 5th. Down below you’ll find the previously released teaser trailer for the game and a little bit more about the game’s Nintendo Switch release.

Fans and newcomers to the series can rejoice as Maho and Anri are playable characters exclusive to the Nintendo Switch release. The Nintendo Switch version also will have the Swimsuit DLC exclusive to the Digital Deluxe Edition.

If you’d like to know more about Neptunia: Sisters VS Sisters, visit the game’s official website.

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