Julius

Honestly, I think Gen III might be my favourite overall when it comes to starter designs? Not counting Mega Evolutions (to make it a fair comparison) I really like/love 6 of the 9 starter line designs this time around. As a quick aside - because I hadn't thought of tracking it that way before - for Kanto it would be 4 of the 9 (Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Wartortle and Charizard), and for Johto it would be 4 of the 9 again (Bayleef, Totodile, Feraligatr and Typhlosion). I'll try to keep on top of this list to create a mini-rankings for myself as these go on! Anyways favourite line of Gen III is the Treecko line. PMD aside - which is a pretty big thing to put aside, all things considered - I just have a pretty unique history with the line in the games. I've mentioned it on here before, many years ago (holy cow, six years ago?!), so I'll just quote myself from that other awesome Glen-generated thread So Treecko is definitely the coolest one to choose off the bat of the bunch for me, and I'm sure that Ash's always having a twig in its mouth in the anime only upped the coolness. Grovyle is again the coolest of the first evolutions, and in terms of final evolutions, I think Sceptile is on par with Blaziken for being the coolest (and as a Mega Evolution, too). After that, for me, it's the Mudkip line. Mudkip and Marshtomp are adorable. I mean just look at lil barista Marshtomp here. Idk what happened with Swampert - definitely the line to suffer from ugly final evo syndrome this time around, yet it's not even cool! - but Mega Swampert looks hilariously jacked and I love it. Torchic looks dumb. Combusken looks even more dumb. Blaziken and Mega Blaziken look awesome. Real ugly duckling thing going on here for a Pokémon based on a chicken... I'm not too sure about Treecko leaving - if he did, it certainly wasn't for very long, as it felt like Ash had it in his team a good amount of the time, and as a Grovyle even longer! He also ends up becoming a trusty Sceptile, too, but yeah, he certainly could've left at some point...a lot of Ash's Pokémon do choose to take a sabbatical or go AWOL at some point May getting Torchic was so...strange, in hindsight. Just doesn't suit the idea of a contest Pokémon at all (at least in the way that May approached contests) after being a cute little Torchic and going into an ugly and streaky Combusken, and then into the cool as hell Blaziken. Beautifly always felt like it was more appropriate as a contest Pokémon for May, and so it felt like her starter got shoved off to the sides a lot of the time The coolest use of the line in the anime was actually Harrison turning up with a Blaziken towards the end of Ash's journey in Johto, felt like a great tease for what was to come next I'm Hoenn. Really loved whenever the anime would do that sort of thing. And then yeah, you're right, Mudkip - and then later Marshtomp - was just kind of...there, and Lotad/Lombre/Ludicolo certainly got centre stage as his main Pokémon in Hoenn. Again, just another really strange choice for that one.

To be clear, I wasn't trying to call you or anyone else out as not thinking ahead by saying that, so I'm sorry if it did come off that way – more highlighting how utterly bonkers it is that Atlus and SEGA are getting away with some increasingly anti-consumer moves, like Atlus with this and Persona 5, or what SEGA recently did with NG+ and some other content being locked behind a certain (more costly) edition of Infinite Wealth. Totally get that, and totally agree that Atlus can get stuffed when it comes to this sort of thing

It's a really interesting price for DLC honestly (£34.99 who hasn't seen the UK pricing for it yet), and yeah, I do think everything we know about it - and it being in development for nearly two years now - certainly points to it being incredibly substantial. The Eurogamer interview with Miyazaki revealed that, based purely on surface area, the location it takes place in will be larger than Limgrave; there will be more than 10 new bosses; and 8 new weapon types, which is certainly a lot. Miyazaki also talks in this IGN Japan interview about there currently not being plans for a sequel or any further DLC - makes sense, we've waited nearly 2 years for this as it is - so I think it's reasonable to expect it to be pretty sizeable considering they're taking a one-and-done approach to DLC this time around. I've seen some say they think this will weigh in at 50 - 70 hours...which seems pretty preposterous, to me. I think realistically we're looking at something more akin to the length of their more linear titles with this all - seemingly? - taking place in the size of a larger region, so it all being condensed and focused in one area, with a bunch of legacy dungeons, etc., so I think it'll be something like 20 - 35 hours, obviously depending on skill level, how much you explore, etc. Anyways, still waiting for Vaati to turn up with a breakdown, but Quelaag had an awesome breakdown on the new trailer that's worth checking out if anyone else likes to speculate: And, additionally, I found Ratatoskr's (and the more widespread) idea on the origins of Messmer's title as "the Impaler" (the boss front and centre of Shadow's marketing) pretty damning: this dude totally impaled Marika. Seriously weighing up whether I want to replay this game before the DLC drops, because otherwise I think I've got an incredibly hefty re-spec on my hands, as playing Bloodborne and Armored Core VI last year sold me on a completely different approach to the combat in these games that I hadn't tried out in Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, or Elden Ring before (speed and dodging vs traditional sword and board). Hmm.

Pretty big news via the PS Blog for PS VR2, which says PlayStation are currently testing the ability for owners to have access to additional games on PC. Could be huge for the platform, considering that it launched without backwards compatibility for original PS VR titles and the funding just hasn't been there to really draw newcomers in when it comes to new titles. Good stuff, looking forward to any updates on this.

More details on Vengeance: These details are a summary of yesterday's Vengeance Spotlight stream: Essentially - and it's not exactly a new perspective to have if you've followed their releases over the last couple of years - if you don't want the least definitive version of an Atlus game, don't pick it up at launch and be willing to wait 2-3 years for a definitive version. Which absolutely sucks. At least for Persona 3 Reload they had the decency to add that stuff as DLC (that's not confirmed but leaked, mind you, so that's not been communicated yet), but SMT V and Persona 5 have both now had definitive editions with content not made available through other means.

Reviews are starting to drop, and while it's very early on and these numbers will probably come down a little in the coming days as more reviews release, currently sitting at 93 on OpenCritic and 94 on Metacritic! Obligatory Digital Foundry tech breakdown: Seven Days till the End [of this nearly four-year wait!]

Kyle Bosman delivering on yet another Easy Allies bet...nearly three years on. By walking around a park dressed as Batman. A true man of his word

Megalovania in the style of Persona 5 is S-tier stuff

No Mother 3, but here are your Earthbound Beginnings icons To make matters worse/funnier/waaaaaaaaaay more cruel, icons for Earthbound are due out for a week from the 29th, and for Mother 3 for a week from the 7th (March)...at least in Japan, don't think we've had full confirmation of what's going on over here just yet (at least at the time of writing), but I would assume it's the same deal. Which makes it potential even worse/funnier/way, way more cruel; are we really about to see Mother 3 icons drop in the West in 2 weeks' time, despite the game having never released over here?

Felix the Cat drops March 28th! And Rocket Knight Adventures: Re-Sparked is coming...sometime in 2024?

Limited Run have confirmed plans for a physical release of the game for both Series X|S and PS5: Yeah, for me Pentiment is more of a curiosity, but this is the one which has grabbed me and that I really want to play. Grounded I couldn't care less, and Sea of Thieves, just by it's very nature, really depends on how willing my friends are to check it out. Certainly a level of irony here that after all of Xbox's acquisitions, the game produced by their only studio in Japan (I'm pretty sure?) is the only one of real interest to a lot of people not already on their platform

It's officially official now that this game is coming to PS5, after weeks of rumours, speculation, and Bethesda LATAM totally not jumping the gun earlier today. Feels like it deserves it's own thread seeing as all the other Xbox titles announced as coming to other consoles today already do. Developed by Tango Gameworks, it was originally shadow dropped on Xbox and PC last year on 25th January following a Developer_Direct by Xbox, and was received really well – arguably one of the highlights of Xbox's output last year, and certainly the one to grab the most attention during end of year award discussions. Really looking forward to finally checking this out!

@Hero-of-Time trophies confirmed on PlayStation per the PS Blog: The Death Star map seems like the obvious choice for that one I kind of want to see if I can get all the trophies in this just based on their descriptions much as I love the game I hope they don't get too silly with, say, separate trophies for winning Galactic Conquest with each faction. Anyways, my pre-order is in (there's a 10% pre-order discount incentive), so roll on the 14th! ...after the 29th and Rebirth, of course

That suit on the right looks beautiful. The one on the left and these atrocities (even if for a good cause?) are something else, though...

See, I totally get that, and also I imagine it's likely a case of already having handed off materials, the Direct cut likely being mostly if not 100% complete, etc. With how much Xbox leaks these days, though, they seriously need leak clauses in those contracts if that is the case – "if this news gets out ahead of time, we get to pivot it". The hype for and their control over these announcements has been torn from their hands and, as with all leaks, I feel like the announcement/s have been majorly blunted as a result. But even if we say that it's the case that there were arrangements already in place, which there likely were...you let Nintendo hype up your ancient legacy titles going to their Online platform but basically give no lip service or great fanfare to your modern, piecemeal offerings? That's just bad marketing. They need a new team, seriously, because it was thrown out there so carelessly that Pentiment and Grounded were coming to Switch that it felt like an afterthought. You could argue we already knew about it, but that doesn't change the fact that you're trying to sell the game to an entirely new and separate audience to your own! Completely blew their chance to make a splash with those announcements from my POV.

Looks like it's been made private now but seriously, the more we see of their plans for other consoles, the more I'm questioning my own sanity. Why exactly couldn't they reveal the names of any of Grounded, Pentiment, Hi-Fi Rush or Sea of Thieves last Thursday, but then they've had two officially announced today - in the weirdest and most nonchalant way possible, mind you - and had one leak out and confirm it 100%, when it was already 99% confirmed anyways from previous datamines and the like? I guess you'd maybe have deals in place but plans change all the time and they were suffering some major PR blowback, why didn't you wrest your own announcements back? You fools! And you don't even make any big deal out of it in the Direct? No Phil cameo? This is insane. There's no connection there to tell me these games are also on Xbox other than a small logo in the corner. Come on, guys. Do better than that. The fact that we're getting Pentiment tomorrow, Hi-Fi next month, and Grounded in April makes me think Sea of Thieves drops in May...at which point, does anyone believe they aren't planning more with potentially four consecutive months of drops on other platforms? Also, respect to Bethesda LATAM for jumping the gun. It was the smart move. Muchas gracias mi amigos I'm not too surprised by this, I remember questioning if this thing could even run on Switch back when we were talking about GOTYs/TGAs and that Xbox should've got this on everything else and taken a real crack at the big awards with a For Your Consideration-like campaign for the game. Really seems like it depends on a super solid and high frame rate because of the style of game and it's mechanics. Switch 2 for sure.

Some more details on this release, which looks to be astronomically priced - I've seen £31.49 flying around? I mean I'm in at whatever price, but come on, that seems far steeper than it needs to be Adding (copying?) maps to Battlefront II is great, as is the inclusion of Kit Fisto and Ventress. Hero Assault on any ground map is awesome. So pumped for this

May 24th, and now confirmed for Switch, too, as revealed in today's Direct! @Ashley any chance you could move this across to Nintendo Gaming now that a Switch version has been confirmed please?

Some more details and a separate trailer (without the countdown): The expansion will be priced at $39.99 USD. There will be a Collector's Edition. Really digging just how distinct the environmental design is compared to the base game! And that Gatling crossbow (and that guy's armour)!

Shadow of the Erdtree arrives 21st June! What a trailer. Oh my goodness.

Honestly? I wonder if their logic is just that they've shadow dropped five different Rare games across NSO's various consoles, and that got priority over Pentiment purely because, well, those were originally games on Nintendo consoles and will surely have a more positive reception (in terms of the Direct). Not sure I agree with that logic, though. Totally could've dropped it today, anyone interested in Pentiment is going to pick it up as and when, and same for the NSO games I feel

That was a surprisingly solid Partner Showcase. I'd need to go back and check the others they've done but with those all being Minis, this definitely felt like a step up in terms of lineup and just general pacing. Anyways, as for what tickled my fancy: • Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance. I'll get to it...eventually, but sure, it's the Year of the JRPG, why not add another to the list and make it multiplatform while we're at it? Some day. • Battlefront Classic Collection. The only thing I paused the Direct for. My jaw dropped. This is one of my favourite games of all-time. This is going to be very bad for my backlog. Day 1. • Pepper Grinder. Not sure if I'll pick this up on Switch or Steam Deck, but I've been keeping an eye on this game for a little while now. I expect a lot of noise around it at release, I mean, assuming that it's any good. I won't be playing the demo (like we have the time for demos in the year of gaming that is 2024?!), but appreciate that there is one. If I'm not busy, Day 1. • Pentiment. Heard way too many good things about this to just let it slide. Another one where I'm not sure if I want it on Switch or Steam Deck, but I've seen little else besides the art style and a few seconds of gameplay out of context, so it is purely curiosity and the hype around it which has me interested. I am busy, so not Day 1, but, some day soonish I hope. • Pocket Card Jockey: Ride On! Man, I've been meaning to get to this forever. I have it on 3DS. But I just haven't got around to it. Some day. I do agree with @EEVILMURRAY that calling out H1 2024 as the focus then having games with dates in the latter part of the year and just general "some time this year" is a bit weird, but hey, at least they didn't start talking about 2025! With all of that in mind, I'm going to give it a Totally Official Event Score (or TOES, because...these money-guzzling, coin-licking, cheque-hungry companies are all little piggies?) of 7.5/10. Got that little Battlefront bump, baby

Snake Rattle 'n' Roll and R.C. PRO-AM both join the service today:

Battletoads in Battlemaniacs and Killer Instinct both join the service today:

...and the second of Xbox's offerings on other platforms, as announced in today's Direct.