Julius

Mother 3 Switch port coming to Japan of course (but why Geoff damn it)

That and brushing off Min-Min's spring arm so she fell had me in stitches

Well. No-one saw Kazuya coming

Not the Portugal match, don't mind highlights for that, but still undecided about what I'm doing during Treehouse as Germany vs France is at 20:00!

You people scoring on a 5 scale disgust me (also 8/10 would be great)

Absolutely. I think my biggest gripes with the game based on the demo are the dialogue, and the characters themselves doing nothing to justify being there - in fact, the two other characters with you (the fact that I can barely remember their names says a lot) I found got in the way more than anything. Maybe it's just the demo, I don't know, but there was only an introductory cutscene and a brief one before the final boss, and there was nothing there to attach to, they barely do any damage, they go down pretty quickly and you have to waste potions on them, etc. Make the main character silent (or tone down the edgelord at least) and take those characters out and have the main plot tell the story like in Souls (EDIT: just to clarify here I don't just mean through background info, but rather just the cutscenes themselves), I think it's clear that that decision was made with how they view the western audience in mind. The actual game, based on this demo, is extremely solid. Definitely needs more work but I had a lot of fun, feels much more Soulslike than say Fallen Order, and may genuinely be a good way to ease into Souls based on the general gameplay loop (I know it's the Nioh team, but have no experience with those games other than seeing them in a few streams, so it's tough for me to compare to that). I'm kind of tempted to go through it again as I noticed in the survey there was an Advanced Job I didn't unlock for the final Basic Job that becomes available (yes, there are jobs, and they're actually pretty cool!), but I'll probably wait until I finish Rift Apart before going back. I played on Normal and it was a bit of a cakewalk until Garland, which took me a few tries as I was caught off guard a bit in the difficulty spike compared to the other enemies up to that point, so will probably crank it up to Hard when I get back to it too, as I think it might flow better for me based on that. Will type up some more cohesive thoughts after lunch, but if anything it feels like Square Enix's creative input might be getting in the way here.

Likewise. Just about to take on what I imagine will be Garland, think my time with the demo is coming to an end, so I'll post more fleshed out thoughts afterwards, but so far so good.

Downloaded and about to dive in. Biggest hope by far is what we saw in the trailer is what the demo covers, and this boy band gets cut down at the end of it and we've been totally faked out. Someone turns up in the classic FF armour and cut to black. So basically I want some Kojima madness up in this demo. Please S-E. Even if the game plays well, I struggle to be excited for a game with characters that look like this. (But more realistically maybe the main character is the only one who survives the demo? We'll see I guess!)

There's been an update. And that update is to keep waiting. EDIT: looks like it might be good to go?

"To celebrate the 35th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda series, we have one more announcement. Please enjoy this new theme in Tetris 99. And that's it. Goodbye."

Honestly, this is the biggest reason that I want to see it at their Treehouse, just because even a meaty 4 minute trailer will have trouble making clear what's new in terms of the world this time around. My biggest question is around the shrines, to be honest. They can't be the same, right? But then there were 120 in just the base game for BotW, so that seems like a bit of an undertaking (though I guess they've had time!), but what's there in their place? Or are they just gone now? Could they be replaced to some extent by longer main quest lines? And speaking of shrines: dungeons. I know many here have speculated about there being an underground, and I think yeah, there will probably be quite a lot of stuff going on underground this time around. I was listening to an old Easy Allies impressions video from E3 2016 from when they played Breath of the Wild, and Damiani mentioned that in the original game the "dungeons" weren't strictly referred to as dungeons, but rather the Underworld (which I'm sure many people here knew anyways, but it was new info to me ). I watched a few analysis videos at the time, and while everyone speculated that there would be proper dungeons based on one of the blink-and-you'll-miss-it shots in the trailer, I looked up art for the Underworld and the first hit matched with pretty much exactly what we saw in the trailer. Imagine loads have picked up on this too, but for those who hadn't seen it, thought it was worth sharing: The pillars, the balls atop those pillars, the teeth (though this time the lower jaw and not their upper canines), etc. Thought that was really neat, gives me the impression that it'll probably be like that original game in terms of accessing them, and makes me wonder what else they're going to go back and be influenced by from that first game. But back to the world, obviously new settlements in towns and cities would be great and are the expectation, but if Zelda is playable (especially if Link is stuck underground - maybe we're the one saving him this time around ) then I guess one way to make the world feel fresh if a lot of it is returning is to interact with it in a different way. The end of the first game, like one of my favourite films (also the thing that wraps around Link's arm in the trailer too...), made it abundantly clear that their next focus was on rebuilding Hyrule, so I'm imagining Zelda and Link journeying through the world with a larger emphasis on interacting with people you come across, helping them out (I still want a Seven Samurai-like side quest, damn it!), perhaps even a larger scale Tarrey Town situation. For this, Castle Town feels like it could be a hub of sorts (mean it is central) with upgradeable storefronts, new stores coming in, perhaps even some street food vendors and such, of course assuming it doesn't get wrecked by the castle going full on Laputa! And, if Zelda is playable (honestly, this is the part I doubt the most, simply because she was voiced in the first game) then there's also the chance to see her learn and use magic. I'm imagining a skill tree for it (so maybe shrines return but could be a challenge for Zelda's hypothetical magic instead, with Link focusing on the main dungeons?) and being able to swap between magic types similar to how you'd swap between Sheikah Slate Runes in the first game. I'm not sure just how much they could change the overworld beyond that, though. Maybe we get to travel across the ocean to some extent and there are new and massive regions to explore? I think they're in a tough spot to be honest, and as much as I'd love to see more areas added to the map to explore, I'm having a tough time seeing just how it could work, and the trailer we saw seemed to imply that they're focusing on expanding the world vertically (with what's under the ground and what's in the sky) rather than horizontally. Would love to be wrong on that, though! Something I'd love to see is some things carry over from a save transfer between the first Breath of the Wild and this one, it's a feature used far too infrequently in my eyes but could be great here. I'm going to have a tough time buying it that in a sequel Link ends up starting back at zero for health and stamina after all we went through in the first game (though I guess the green glowing arm could be a way to try to justify it in the story), especially so if Zelda is playable as we'd be starting from zero with her health and potentially magic, but I'd like to see those carried over from the first game if you've cleared it (and if you didn't then maybe just a flat 15 hearts and two stamina rings or something like that). I think carrying over your progress with your house in Hateno and what you have there would also be neat (side note: a more in-depth way to furnish the house would be great!), and I'm sure there are plenty of other examples of what they could carry over too (maybe what you've filled your compendium with?). It's tough, but when people have already spent hundreds of hours in a world like this especially, I think something like this would be a nice reward for those that played the first game and sank their teeth into it. I'm trying to temper expectations going in but it's hard to not get excited. I think there will be a trailer, we'll get a title for it, and we'll learn that they're aiming for a 2022 release; if it is there later, that would be my expectation, and so long as the trailer is good, I'll be happy with that. I honestly don't know if they will have this out by the end of their financial year in March (if they do then I think they'll imply as much), as there's no real need, what with the Pokémon Diamond & Pearl remakes this November and then Legends in January meaning they already have blockbusters to see out this year and start the next. I doubt that it will impact their plans, but from a player's perspective, with Elden Ring coming in January too, we already have two open world games in January alone (releasing just a week apart) from massive franchises, so unless one gets delayed (Pokémon, I mean Pokémon) I kind of selfishly wouldn't want it early next year? A massive open world feels like it should be a summer release (like how massive JRPG's should be in my eyes too), and I want to say if not early next year then probably September/October (you absolutely need to make sure people have had the time to play your game as much as they want before awards season), but I guess it depends on how they're approaching the rumoured Pro model. Either way, just under 7 hours until the Direct starts and we might see it again. I had issues with Breath of the Wild which I've talked about before, but it's still undeniably my favourite open world experience in a game, simply for the freedom of exploration. It's something I find myself thinking about often, and I think the fact that I'm even tempted to return to it after beating it just a year and a half ago, especially considering how much there is to see, says it all. Fingers crossed that this sequel builds on some of my/our misgivings with the first, because I think it's a solid foundation for them to knock it out of the park (again) this time around.

Well it took them until 20 hours before the event to confirm, but at least now we know that Bandai Namco is closing E3 with an event seemingly dedicated to House of Ashes: Apparently there's a Japanese stream on the 18th for Tales of Arise, but not getting Scarlet Nexus out there one more time this E3 is an odd decision (it releases today if I'm remembering right). Par for the course for this year's E3 I guess.

Easy Allies' E3 Noodles & Broth special is back! Was watching their Capcom coverage, it cut away to their interstitial for a few minutes, before Isla hilariously blasted us with Frame Trap's music Definitely the pick-me-up I think a lot of us need after this year's E3. Really hope they talk about how this E3 turned out in the Hottake, always a pleasure hearing their thoughts on things going on in the industry!

I think we heard rumours of something to similar effect a week or two ago, but VGC getting in on this definitely gives it a bit more substance. A shame, because that game looks great visually, but makes total sense.

Capcom. Positives: at least it was only 25 minutes? Re:Verse (for anyone that's actually going to play that) got a mention as releasing next month, there's going to be a trial for Monster Hunter Stories 2, and Village for DLC production announced as starting. So I'm sure some people are happy. Host was very energetic, and the actual presenting side of this event was well done, I think it moved at a decent pace and didn't drag, however... Negatives: unfortunately, as others have said, none of that stuff they moved onto was a new game announcement, the only new things being updates for games already released or that we knew were coming. And why do I get the feeling we might see some of those games tomorrow night at Nintendo, too? The eSports segment was nice but just went on too long. Inoffensive is how I'd probably describe it. Feels like if there is anything new to come from Capcom, it will be at Nintendo tomorrow or PlayStation later in the summer. So yeah, even though presented well, it was a total non-starter and didn't need to be here. Genuinely feel that Capcom let that presenter down, they did a good job and deserved to have something of substance to announce. My Totally Official Score: 4.5/10 Nintendo up next tomorrow, trying to keep my hopes in check, honestly I feel like they'll have done the best out of everyone at E3 if we get a good trailer for the Breath of the Wild sequel (probably a title too) and one nice surprise. Unbelievably low bar. Then there's Bandai Namco tomorrow at 22:35 BST, the actual last publisher event at E3 this year, which is quite a late one, especially considering that Bandai Namco have said zilch about the event themselves. No seriously, the only game we know is going to be there is House of Ashes, and that's because they tweeted it out - Bandai Namco have said nothing! Do they even know it's happening? Obviously the hope would be more Elden Ring, but there's a less than 1% chance of that happening in my eyes. I imagine it'll be a focus on anime licensed games, Scarlet Nexus, and Tales of Arise, if anything.

Honestly, I'm kind of glad they did to temper expectations just a little bit. Still a chance for some surprises (that Village DLC confirmation just being text really makes me think it's only just started), but I'm not expecting much out of this. More curious to see if they can present it well, because the how the conferences have been actually presented so far has been very hit and miss.

Ahead of the Direct tomorrow, seeing as I think there's a good chance this game will be there: what do we think this game is going to be called? I ask because I know normally, even when the same Link has returned in the past, the title is completely different, but considering that Breath of the Wild is the biggest Zelda game in terms of sales by some margin, would it be smart of them for that title to return in some way, such as by being called Breath of the Wild 2 or Breath of the Wild - [Forbidden East or some other such nonsense]? Do you think it'll be named after an item this time around? Or just be completely different? The only title I've thought of so far in keeping with "Breath of the Wild" would be something like Whisper of Malice, just based on the first game and what we saw in the trailer for this.

Hahaha pretty much! Huh? Did they just say remasters of the classic Final Fantasy games?! That was such a weird musical cut. OH MY GOD THEY'RE ACTUALLY DOING IT, ALL SIX! WHY ARE THE SCREENS SO DISTANT YOU MONSTERS I CAN'T SEE ANYTHING YES, YES, TAKE ALL OF MY MONEY Steam and mobile *A moment of silence* You bastards.

It's been nearly 24 hours since the demo went up and still no word on a fix. Their official account's most recent tweet: Total botch. Trailer wasn't great, but if the gameplay is good then maybe there's something to salvage here. Sadly, it's impossible to tell with a broken demo

I could have sworn we heard something a few days ago where we basically learned it would be a glorified Zoom call, that's why I didn't bother tuning in! Though you've made me curious now... EDIT: found it, it was part of how their event was described on E3's website:

Some interesting stuff being said by Todd Howard in his interview with The Telegraph (unfortunately it's behind a paywall so I won't bother linking it):

An update on Sports Story from Sidebar Games: Good reason to stretch development time!

Normally I find Sky to be very hit and miss, but I've got a lot of respect to them for highlighting the importance of CPR after what happened with Eriksen the other day and demonstrating how to perform it: Last time I did a CPR course was way back doing DofE in high school, should probably look back into it.

I love the poster, which I imagine will end up being the cover art, so much: Bethesda have dropped a short video which goes a bit more behind the scenes with some of the staff working on the hame and shows off some great concept art, and in my opinion should absolutely have been there yesterday. Was nice to hear the music a bit more here too, sounds exactly how I wanted it to, feels like a throwback to classic orchestral sci-fi. No surprise here as many had guessed it a few months ago, but Inon Zur is composing the game's soundtrack: Yesterday's E3 trailer: