Julius

Well, there's a 20th anniversary event coming for Kingdom Hearts at some point in the future. Very bizarre to announce the event without a date, seems to hint that maybe they're busy at work on polishing something up just for the event...

I don't think so? Not in the Final Smash (the Smash logo on the door as opposed to Mickey's kind of says it all), no Disney music, etc. Makes sense though. Got to imagine getting Sora and the Keyblade was hard enough, but having Disney in this thing would have made it a future licensing nightmare, I mean I'm just imagining YouTube and Twitch channels getting strikes a decade from now because some Disney song came on. It's enough of a mess these days as it is, even with just the video game music. Oh yeah, don't get me wrong, I think it's funny and as a fan of JRPG anime swordsmen I'm going to be cool with it. Unfortunately you get the vocal minority who have run that joke into the ground, are going to be genuinely angry or upset about this and forget that this game is purely and simply about having fun And yeah, I'm really glad the more I think about it that Sakurai mentioned Iwata having knowledge of Sora being the most requested, and the team obviously having worked on it then and since his unfortunate passing, it pretty much shuts down any and all reasonable arguments for other characters being the final fighter in my mind Okay, now that's genuinely embarrassing. It'll be a great advertisement for the other systems at least One step forwards and two steps back all the time with S-E with collections and re-releases these days: Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters only coming to PC (for now), Dragon Quest X Offline - something they were very vocal about wanting to bring to the West if it ever happened - currently being Japan only, and now this. Still waiting for the inevitable Final Fantasy VII Remake: Cloud Edition...

Oh man, the return to the flames had me thinking Dark Souls to begin with, but figured there was no way that they'd end Ultimate on something like that. Very limited experience with the series (played some of the first game with my younger brother), but still made me react in the way I'm sure Nintendo wanted out of this. That music is great, and Sakurai's reaction was hilarious People are going to say they aren't familiar with the series, which is one thing (to be honest, I won't be surprised if they use this as a platform to bring the Kingdom Hearts games over [EDIT: well that was fast] ), but it's another to wave it off just because they aren't familiar, or because it's another JRPG anime sword user, etc. I'm sure there will be a lot of people salty about this - regardless of who this final fighter was, that was always going to be the case - but it makes sense, it's a massive character. Big in Japan and worldwide, a company they have a great working relationship with, the most asked for character in Smash and possibly one of the last things we'll see released with some tie back to Iwata. What they've done with this collaboration - and all of the others, to be honest the game as a whole! - is mind-boggling. Now go rest up Sakurai!!

My favourite Switch experience so far has to be Breath of the Wild. I didn't pick up a Switch until a couple years after launch, but those first two weeks of having the Switch when I was finding any excuse I could to swap between portable and TV mode as I trekked across Hyrule were pure bliss. I think it really knocks every other open world game out of the water, and when talking strictly about a sense of freedom and exploration, I seriously think it's a disservice to Breath of the Wild to bundle it in with other open world games releasing these days. There were moments in the game that simply overwhelmed me with awe and childlike wonder, which I will always cherish. And the funny thing about it is, as I've mentioned before, I have quite a few grievances with the game. The weapon durability system and inventory management aren't great; the music isn't as epic or as noticeable as I know it is from my encounters with other Zelda games; the lack of direction is as much a detriment as it is a freedom (no more evident than when I dropped the game for over six months after cruising through the first 40 hours). It was this game for me which underlined how much I'm not at all envious of reviewers, because as someone who typically judges entertainment based on how well it executes whatever it is that it's aiming for, I would score Breath of the Wild as an 8/10. There are plenty of hiccups and missteps which I really hope are rectified in the sequel. And yet as an experience, it's a 10/10; simply put, there's nothing else like it. It was also the first Zelda game I completed after I had tried to get through a number of other games in the series (sorry Ocarina of Time, I know I still need to get back to you!), and while it didn't hook me into going back to previous games, it was immediately obvious playing this why so many people hold the franchise so close to their hearts. Like others here, unfortunately the Switch just hasn't captured my imagination in the same way since my first few weeks with it: it sits almost exclusively in its dock, and rarely sees much play by me solo, though there have been other fun experiences I've had with it. Examples of these are Xenoblade Chronicles and Super Mario 64 last year (I've been dragging my heels on Sunshine a bit as I know I want to pick up a GameCube controller and adapter for it), and it's always a great thing to break out or take with me whenever I get to see my younger brother, be it the chaos of Overcooked when our sister joins us, the BM I get from him whenever we play Smash Bros. Ultimate, or going wheel to wheel in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Mount Wario might be my favourite track in any kart racer -- well, probably alongside Shibuya Downtown from SEGA All-Star Racing!). Like you though Aneres, I've got a growing pile of games to get to (a few of them for the Switch, but plenty on other consoles too), to the point where about a month ago I cancelled a bunch of pre-orders and only have one or two left for the year, so I'm hoping that by doing that I'll be able to get to some of those Switch games I've been meaning to. I think the thing for me is that I only grew up with one Nintendo home console under my roof: the Wii. I have a much stronger association with Nintendo when it comes to handhelds, which I'm sure is true for others here too, but knowing I don't have as much spare time now compared to when we got our Wii, having great times with family and friends on that console, and also having the means to pick up other consoles too these days, I think the Switch for me - to some extent - was always facing an uphill battle. But Nintendo is on the right track (for the most part) looking ahead at their upcoming slate, and I'm looking forward to diving deeper into the Switch catalogue, so who knows, maybe that could still change

More news out of TGS: • the base game, which includes Awakening of the Five Tribes, releases 26th February 2022 in Japan. • some DLC will be coming to the game - on the DQ website amusingly referred to as "super-large expansion download content" - in line with the expansions released for the online version of DQ X. It's unclear if every expansion will be added from what I can find so far. The first expansion will be added in Spring 2022: The Sleeping Hero and the Guided Allies. • releasing on Switch, PS4/PS5 and PC (Steam). • retailing in three different SKU's: at ¥8,580 for the base game, with the DLC available separately for ¥4,400; ¥12,980 for the base game + DLC bundle; and at ¥15,370 for a super deluxe set, including some neat 35th anniversary merch.

Box art lookin' good:

Here we go again: new report from VGC saying that Konami is bringing back Metal Gear, Castlevania, and Silent Hill. Full article here. Virtuous are reportedly the ones working on a Metal Gear Solid 3 remake. Sigh. Keeping up with Konami leaks for the last couple of years has been exhausting!

Hiroyuki Ito has been relieved of his janitorial duties to work on...this. Coming to Switch, PS4, and PC. Uematsu doing the soundtrack tempts me to pick this up more than that trailer did...

New TGS trailer: Direct trailer from last week:

The game is releasing way earlier than I was expecting, on 18th March 2022. New demo available until 11th October 2021. TGS trailer: This trailer is leaps and bounds better than the debut trailer. Really excited for the new demo and to see what multiplayer features they're thinking of including! Though, XIV: Endwalker in November, this in March, Forspoken in spring...guess XVI is a release for next autumn at the earliest then. EDIT: Demo is up on the PlayStation Store.

I mean to be fair, other than the Wii, Nintendo's home consoles historically haven't exactly had stellar sales figures. The Wii's support and sales fell off a cliff in its latter years, and the Wii U was taken out back, silenced, and ejected into the atmosphere as a dumpster fire so big it could have taken out the dinosaurs. We're four and a half years into the life of the Switch and it is still breaking record after record, and the only thing that could really get in the way of that momentum right now is Nintendo pulling the rug from under it. Also, considering that Nintendo's home consoles haven't historically sold competitively on the whole besides the Wii - whereas their handheld consoles have virtually always seen a lot of success - and with the Switch being a hybrid, I think it's a bit unfair to not look back at their handhelds in this too. The DS was around for six and a half years before the 3DS came along, and the 3DS is a bit tougher to pin down just seeing as the New 2DS XL released after the Switch, but that was over six years too. I think that in particular lines up better with you thinking we could see something release in 2023 to be honest, but then again, to play devil's advocate, this is the first time since truly consolidating their handheld and home consoles - after phasing out the 3DS - that we'll be seeing a new console from them (assuming they don't do the silly thing and split them again after the Switch's life is complete). Personally, I'd like to see something come out in 2023 seeing as a Pro model is increasingly unlikely, because we've already seen the Switch's limited capabilities get in the way of some of its games being fully realised at this point. If they came out with something like a Pro next year, it could stretch the life of the Switch out to 2024/2025, but due to the chip shortages I think they'd be wise to leave that behind and move into the next generation, especially seeing as by 2023 both the PS5 and Series X | S will - I imagine - have started properly delivering on the promise of next-gen, and will be carrying a lot of momentum with them. I know some have seen Nintendo's growing slate for 2022 and view it as something of a last hurrah for the Switch, and while I think it's a bit too early to be making that call for now, I do hope that isn't the case and the Switch doesn't have the rug pulled from under it when it's likely to still be crushing it. Will be very interesting to see how it all plays out, and I'm especially curious to see how Nintendo market whatever comes next, even more so if they plan to continue Switch support for a year or two after its successor launches (hopefully with backwards compatibility!).

First details on The Game Awards, which will take place 10 weeks from today on December 9th -- and returning with an in-person crowd. I can't believe they're going to save the next Elden Ring trailer for The Game Awards!

FINALLY ! Well deserved for them to have the security of being picked up by someone, and I'm grateful it's someone that they've partnered with extensively (was starting to worry a bit that someone like Tencent could be sniffing about), should hopefully mean a smooth transition and, depending on if there next game is a remake or new IP...maybe we'll see something next year. The best is yet to come? EDIT: from Famitsu, seems Marco will be leading a team working on a new IP.

Well, it's a free country. You're entitled to your wrong opinion I kid, but while I did enjoy a fair chunk of Sword & Shield's OST, the cheering vocals didn't quite grab me like it did others, so there are quite a few main series soundtracks I'd stick above it. Then again, I have yet to play the Expansion Pass stuff. How's the music in that compared to the main game?

So I picked up White 2 last year about a month before the first lockdown was announced, and at the time it was the only story in a core series game I hadn't experienced myself in any shape or form beyond helping my younger brother back when the game originally launched with Black 2. I played it for a couple of hours, but dropped it. I think with everything going on it weirdly wasn't an attractive proposition at the time to go picking on the old nostalgia string, but I've got quite a bit of time to chomp away at it now, and so I just booted it back up. For some reason I decided to save in the Castelia gym before getting the third badge, which is super weird! Anyways, the real reason I'm posting here is that I had one note from my time with the game last year, and that was that the Female Clerk Encounter Theme was unnecessarily awesome. It's still true. I remember not starting the battle for a good few minutes just to listen to it (this is all to say that the DS games had the best music, don't @ me)

My friend actually managed to nab one on Amazon yesterday, and I just checked, and it looks like it's still up for pre-order on there right now? Think he mentioned he wasn't able to check out with just the Switch OLED so had to get the bundle with the case. I've got to be honest, I do think it looks great. Especially in white! But I don't use my Switch enough as it is, and when I do it's typically docked, so unfortunately there's not much for me to gain from getting one. Or at least, that's what I need to keep reminding myself of before I do something silly. The Diamond & Pearl Switch Lite also looks great, but practically I can't find a use for it.

Just for additional context from @Ashley's post, this is what Nintendo said: We've definitely been here with the tricky wording before, so yeah. I still think their original plan was to go with a Pro, but because of COVID and parts supply issues they had to pivot, and so we got the OLED. I wouldn't be surprised if their plans for a more powerful platform and 4K development have pivoted as a result of that from the Switch Pro to the Switch 2, but as @Cube points out, supply issues could continue to hinder their plans.

Christopher Judge (who portrays Kratos) has shared that he was severely injured in August 2019, and which he feels is a big reason for the delay. Look, I still think - maybe even more so with this context - that PlayStation shouldn't have slated the game for 2021 when they originally did, as they could have just confirmed it was coming, without telling us a release year. I don't think it was dishonest, because the game is still coming and let's be clear, it's a massive company working on a global scale: they don't really owe anyone anything, in the same way that we don't owe them anything; however, this reason coupled with COVID makes it pretty clear that in a perfect world, it probably would have hit it's goal of a 2021 release. Either way, glad Judge is doing better, that the studio didn't sulk and delayed the game, and of course that he stayed on. His performance in God of War was immense and I'm excited to see what he brings to the table in Ragnarök!

Yeah, probably a bit of a generalisation on my part, but I think the core of it rings true. I'll rephrase it to "popular and mainstream Western animation", but my main point is that in terms of global awareness and sheer output of Western animation, I'd say it's unfortunately an accurate depiction of how it is these days. Outside of Japanese animation and the use of foreign studios for cheap labour, foreign language animation itself is an incredibly niche corner of the industry. I'd love some examples of studios that fall outside of this, because I'm genuinely having a hard time locating more than just a few!

Glad to see you enjoyed it @Ronnie. I've kind of been dragging my heels on it as I l started sinking my teeth into The Sopranos a couple of weeks back, and it's proving veeeeeeery difficult to drag myself away from it; the only way I would right now is by treating Visions like a film and digesting it all in one go, but that doesn't seem like the best way to take it in from what you're saying. ...okay, half-jokingly but also half-seriously, I hear what you're saying and I'd love to see some other studios take a crack at it. One of those things where I think Star Wars is a big enough pie for everyone to get a chance to take it on. But western animation has been in a bind for a long time, almost fully transitioning to 3D, with a lot of 2D projects these days (such as Cartoon Network shows) being outsourced to Asia (often South Korea). I think one of the key reasons Visions could be made in the was because anime studios already have the infrastructure and organisation in place to crank out relatively short episodes in a reasonable amount of time (and for most of these studios it's worth remembering it was likely a side project). Not only that, but with enough time and resource they can put out movie quality animation - many of these studios putting out episodic projects as well as films - whereas outside of big studios in the West (such as PIXAR, DreamWorks, WB Animation and Illumination), because of the focus on 3D films these days, I think it just wouldn't be as practical. That's not to say that there aren't teams that I wouldn't love to see tackle Star Wars from the West though - Laika and Cartoon Saloon come to mind in particular - but those teams in particular are in a very niche corner of animation as it is, and it wouldn't surprise me if they simply didn't have the time and manpower to turn something around in a reasonable timeframe for a project like this. And I hear you on the Jedi and lightsaber duels, even without watching the series yet, because it was something I was concerned about based on the trailers. With 10 - 22 minutes to work with, I'm not surprised by what @bob said about it being too short a time to tell a story, and I think the decision to go a certain way by some of these studios is because they're basically auditioning pretty openly to be part of a potential second season (or even crazier, I wouldn't be surprised if Disney had at the back of their minds to ask for a miniseries from some of the studios with more positively received episodes) or just want to put something out to grab the eyes of Star Wars fans - I mean, this could be their only chance to work on Star Wars! But, at the same time, it sounds like it might have worked out better if some treated this like a pilot episode rather than a short. I won't go any deeper than that until I've watched it, but from every short I've watched, going too large in scale can easily backfire, and so it's generally better to focus in on something intensely. An intense match of Dejarik? A night in the Mos Eisley cantina? An Imperial cadets' classroom? A high stakes game of Sabacc? There's so much they could do. Which other animation studios would you like to see tackle Visions or some other potential projects in the future? I've got a few in mind, but I'll wait until I've watched the series first

Yeah, you're probably right. But hey, if it's Staraptor (and who are we kidding, or probably would be), at least it'll feel like a bit of a throwback to pretty much everyone flying around the regions on Staraptor in the later Ranger games. flashbacks to flying around in Guardian Signs, and then ORAS, and then realising we ain't getting that here While I'm still not sold on the music we've heard so far from the remakes, I've made the mistake of sticking the original OST on in the background, and I've got to say...it's winning me over and making me want to pre-order this. starts planning my team

This will tie in nicely to Glen-i's point about Charizard... Ah well you see, that's because they heard how much you don't like Gen I fan service Also, there's no way Staraptor is just going to be the default Pokémon we see every time...right? But then again, I also don't see them bringing back the nebulous shadow flying Pokémon, which did always look like a Staraptor to me... I've talked before about how Staraptor was my ace back when I played Diamond for the first time - holy crap haha that was 14 years ago! - and I still remember it's moveset that always seemed to trounce my friends and their legendary Pokémon: • Fly • Pluck - back as a Starly and then Staravia, grabbing this TM (I think from Floarama?) and teaching it was the difference to taking down Mars' Purugly because of its stupid Oran Berry. Man I hate Purugly, I mean it looks so obnoxious... • Brave Bird - honestly, I think I loved this because it was the most shonen-type move I could find. "THIS MIGHT HURT ME...BUT NOT AS MUCH AS IT'S ABOUT TO HURT YOU!" • Defog - yeah, the only Pokémon on my team capable of learning Defog was my ace. Go figure. An entire wasted move slot Why do I feel like nostalgia is what will tip me over to picking this game up?

Tokyo Game Show is running from this Thursday (30th September) until Sunday (3rd October), and it seems like there might actually be a reason to be excited, rather than the usual stuff being regurgitated from other events about Japanese games and everyone praying for, but being disappointed by, Persona 6 not turning up. And that is Square Enix turning up. First up is their Square Enix Presents this Friday, starting at 19:00 JST (that's 11:00 BST for us Brits). They've also shared the lineup for the event: Solid lineup, looking forward to seeing more on Forspoken, Stranger of Paradise, and Triangle Strategy. Speaking of Forspoken, it will get its own dedicated segment at 22:00 JST (14:00 BST) on the same day. And lastly, Stranger of Paradise will also get its own dedicated segment at TGS, on Saturday at 21:00 JST (13:00 BST). Hopefully we'll get to see some more of the game and maybe even hear how the demo feedback has been taken and will be implemented!

I don't know what it is, but they're seriously having a tough time pushing me over the edge on picking this up, and it's one of my favourite gens. But still, a solid showing, and curious why this wasn't included in the Direct, considering it's less than two months away and is a pretty short video. My takeaways: • agreed with @Dcubed, the water does look fantastic now. Honestly, considering it's a remake, I feel they should've let it cook a bit longer (as they should've done with Arceus) before initially showing it off, think that first showing really negatively coloured many opinions of the game. • I still think the humans in this game look stupid, with their massive foam hands, but, similar to the water, the colour palette and general look of the game has got much better every time the game has reared its head over the last 7 months. • Pokétch returning - good. HM's being thrown in there to whatever extent - good. Looking the exact same as in the base game and having no massive upgrades (PokéNav from ORAS has spoiled me) - bad. Being thrown up in the corner - bad, but that was always going to be the case with no second screen. • maybe we've seen HM's being used before - if we did I didn't clock it - but unsurprisingly using the same blue colour for the PokéBall background during the animation for HM's from Diamond and Pearl, vs the yellow we saw in Platinum. • awesome seeing Staraptor turn up when you use Fly. • look, I used to enjoy making Poffins and visiting Amity Square. But they really didn't need to take up so much of the video. • no surprise seeing allies like Cheryl and Riley return, always been one of the things I wish they had running through the games to make them feel more episodic. Like with the Arceus video, super weird cut to the boxes and release dates at the end. Felt like they were slamming it into your face. Still not sold on this soundtrack, if I'm being honest, it sounds like they haven't done much with it, if anything at all listening to some of the tracks. That's the biggest thing that's hurting me getting this right now, to be honest, after listening to the Let's Go soundtrack made me want to pick it up.

Huh, weird that wasn't mentioned in the trailer either. Imagine it's part of a press release or on the official site somewhere. If it is called that, feel like this is a big hint that Celestic Town is making a return in this entry, as there's a town at the foot of Mt Coronet which could be it, but has no real distinguishing features based on the map. EDIT: just seen that there will also be a pre-order bonus of a Hisuian Growlithe Kimono set. Try saying that three times fast.