Welcome support, of us! , it be frequently nice to mediate outdated vogue stuff from a franchise you esteem that you just didn’t know existed. For example, I didn’t know that the outdated vogue Captain N: The Game Grasp cartoon had an episode that featured the realm of Dragon Quest (then identified as Dragon Warrior). You gotta squint to stare it because they call it the realm of “Dragon’s Den,” but Dragonlord (a.k.a. Dracolord) is there—along side the principal and beloved Slimeswho suffice to converse live no longer resemble the in-game art as designed by the belated Akira Toriyama. I learned this because anyone modified into once also tweeting about an outdated vogue Dragon Quest LaserDisc that had come out in Japan to promote the game, that contains animatronic slimes. In-game, slimes are threatening (they’re monsters, in any case), but they’re also very adorable and have change into the mascots of Dragon Quest. In are living-lunge, they’re horrifying!
If I actually must see a Slime’s bloodshot eyes as it is being boiled alive in a frying pan, so do you.
Here is…
Art by Catfish
Cotton Reboot Continues Unabated, Witch Demands Her Snacks
We talk plenty about Success around right here, no longer as a vague theory, but as a Jap studio to blame for several cult-popular titles. Nintendo DS followers will doubtless be unsleeping them for the Touch Detective games. That Bitch™ remembers them for making the Izuna rogue-luxuriate in games (with a third game within the intervening time in pattern, which now we have no longer heard of in nearly a 300 and sixty five days). But they’re also identified for the Cotton games: a prolonged-working sequence of intellectual-’em-up shooters just a few purple-haired witch and her fairy companion as they neutral out trying to obtain a snack called “Willow.” The Cotton games have seen a valuable push within the US within the previous few years (as noteworthy as a cult sequence luxuriate in this will ever perceive, anyway); the sequence saw a reboot just a few years support, along with an outdated vogue classic of the sequence getting an updated re-originate within the US. We even have Rainbow Cottona remake of the Sega Dreamcast title of the identical title, which modified into once lastly launched within the US late last week after lacking the US marketplace for Two decades. What with Cotton Reboot, Cotton: Superlative Nights Dreamand Rainbow Cottonthe sequence is seeing Success enough that it continues to befriend Success to originate extra. So it is that Cotton Reboot! is getting a brand fresh sequel: Cotton Reboot! High Stress!.
We do not know much about Cotton Reboot! High Stress! yet, given that it has only just been announced. It will probably be a while before we see it: Success may not release it on PS4, PS5 and Nintendo Switch until 2025. But that’s okay; we all know how this story goes. Cotton the witch feels peckish, she tracks down the nearest willow tree. Everyone knows two new characters will join Cotton: a playable witch named Macaron and a villainous witch named Willow. Success will be auditioning for the roles of Macaron and Willow and trying to find an influencer to serve as the “knowledgeable” spokesperson for Cotton Reboot! High Stress! in Japan. Who knows, they might get Korone to do it for them. Wouldn’t that be a treat?
There will not be any word yet on an American release for Cotton Reboot! High Stress! but I would not bet against it. For such an obscure series, we have been seeing all of the Cotton games released in the US. Clearly, anyone is buying these games (except me). We will keep you posted.
Shin Megami Tensei V Slated For Delisting
Relating to the remakes of their titles, Atlus is no longer going to be beating The Allegations™ anytime quickly. The optics on Shin Megami Tensei V already weren’t the correct. Aren’t getting me sinister, I esteem that they are taking a 2nd crack at what modified into once already a gargantuan RPG with an expanded memoir, fresh demons, and a ton of other fresh aspects (I in particular luxuriate in that newly added demons from African folklore—I cannot imagine it took this prolonged for Anansi to be in a Shin Megami Tensei game). I already loved Shin Megami Tensei V; as some distance as I care, that is honest a sweetened pot for after I beat Xenoblade Chronicles 3. But many people feel luxuriate in this modified into once honest one other Atlus Remake, with the added rub of being created to “restore” remark material decrease out the main time around—a part no longer helped by many feeling luxuriate in Shin Megami Tensei V did not have noteworthy within the form of a delectable memoir arc. But now there may perhaps be an added wrinkle to your whole thing with the guidelines that the fashioned Shin Megami Tensei V (and its DLC) will doubtless be delisted from Nintendo‘s eShop.
As I said, that is not going to help Atlus beat The Allegations™ anytime soon; gamers have come to expect that their major RPGs will have a remake at some point down the line. It used to be that these remakes were barely worthwhile, a “greatest hits” version of the game that added new events or cutscenes and rebalanced certain details to keep players on their toes (see, Persona 3 DO). You could point to these games being duly praised for porting older games to newer hardware, expanding the audience (see: Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne HD Remaster and Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked). But now it is expected that an Atlus RPG will get a remake with a brand-new woman added to serve as the linchpin for the new content in the game. These are allegations for a reason—by all accounts, Shin Megami Tensei V is more like the first two cases combined. The impetus was to add in many ideas cut during the planning stages while also porting SMTV to all of the other consoles besides just the Switch. Vengeance may even include the game’s original version as an option. And I think in that light, I understand why they would not want a redundant copy of Shin Megami Tensei V on the eShop, especially since they’d dislike for people to pay $60 for an outdated “version” of a game…
But part of me also feels like the original version of the game should be made available for archival purposes. I mean, Atlus can’t go out and track down every last physical copy of Shin Megami Tensei V to destroy them, it’s inevitable that sooner or later it will go out of print. But the elephant in the room here is, if the original SMTV is so redundant, why not give everyone who owns a copy of V a free upgrade to Vengeance? Any other time, the reasoning is simple: there are valuable graphical or behind-the-scenes upgrades to SMTV that wouldn’t make sense with it, but once again: The Allegations™.
The upside is Atlus will release the four DLC packs for Shin Megami Tensei V as baseline content for Vengeance; this includes the “Lawful Demon” DLC that allowed players to fight Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne‘s Demi-Fiend. Also, it is possible you will also be able to recruit Demi-Fiend after defeating them! In the meantime, anyone still playing Shin Megami Tensei V‘s DLC will be able to do so until January 13.
Shadow Hearts Spiritual Successor in Dark Horse
It has been a while since we covered Penny Blood, the spiritual successor to the fan-favorite PS2 Shadow Hearts RPGs. Created by Matsuzo Machida and Studio Wildrose, the game followed in its predecessor’s footsteps, featuring a protagonist who can merge with demons to fight occult entities in a 1920s-esque world. There was also a minor rhythm element courtesy of the game’s combat system, relying on timed button presses for maximum effect. The game has been in development for a while, particularly after the Success of its paired Kickstarter campaign with Armed Fantasia (a spiritual successor to Wild ARMs).
Sadly, it looks like development has halted on Penny Blood. It is not the money; they still have their funds; the team simply cannot find a publisher for their game. Currently, the team at Studio Wildrose has been pitching publishers, but progress is slow on that front. It is a sad time when a game with such pedigree behind it cannot find a publisher; usually, this would have been a shoo-in for anyone like Atlus. The game even has Nobuo Uematsu contributing to the game’s music, along with noted composers Yoshitaka Hirota (of the Shadow Hearts series) and Akari Kaida (noted CAPCOM composer who has worked on Eyes, Dino Crisis and Earth Defense Force: World Brothers).
The upside is that Studio Wildrose is working on another game in the meantime: Penny Blood: Hellbound, a rogue-like that serves as a prequel to Penny Blood, starring the villains. For those concerned: Hellbound was not developed with any of the funding from the main Penny Blood game and was developed so that the devs had something to work on while Penny Blood is in publisher limbo (also, potentially to give Studio Wildrose some additional revenue). Think of it as Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising.
I wish I had a happier ending to this one; there may perhaps be nothing noteworthy we can do but hope for the best for Studio Wildrose and Penny Blood.
No More Heroes Sees Most Fundamental Bug-Fixes On PC
Typically, I would have relegated this memoir to the Fleet Tidbits portion, but I feel like this one deserves the eyeballs, brief as it will doubtless be. I’ve never played No More Heroes—I never had a Wii, and that entire experience of gaming between 2012 and 2017 was once the time when I was financially incapable of doing much to enjoy then-fresh games. But I know people esteem it, and for good reason. Travis Landing is an icon to us all, Suda51 has performed a fabulous job of blending weeb culture with his uncommon blend of Tarantino-esque ultraviolence, and criticism of inclined EA Games CEO (and up-to-the-minute Team spirit CEO) John Riccitiello. Marvelous and XSeed have been kind enough to compensate me with a copy of No More Heroes 3 back in 2022; it has a treasured place in my backlog. The original No More Heroes will be on Steam but followers had reason to be dissatisfied with it. There have been many bugs in that copy, in particular a bunch that prevented players from acquiring several in-game achievements. No More Heroes 2 is in an analogous design bug-riddled, sadly. Well, no more! No More Heroes has been patched!
A brand new update is available for the Steam version of No More Heroes.
The corrections are quite substantial. In addition to the achievements being fixed, players can now properly use a keyboard and mouse, the controls can be fully remapped, and a certain bug has been corrected. The reason we’re highlighting this patch is that we now have a title we can associate with it: on top of people, the patch was developed by Sara Lee, a programmer and VTuber who has also contributed to the Ys and Trails games. We don’t often hear about these major “fix” reports, and even less frequently do we have a name or face to attach to them. Thanks to Sara and her team for their work on No More Heroes! Reportedly, they’re working hard to fix No More Heroes 2. Best of luck to them! We’re looking forward to the real news!
This week, we had a valuable shake-up at Sony Interactive Entertainmenthigher identified as “PlayStation“. Longtime CEO Jim Ryan announced his departure on the tip of March; we lastly know who will change him, and uh… it be going to be two dudes: Hermen Hulst may perhaps presumably presumably be the CEO of Studios, while Hideaki Nishino may perhaps presumably presumably be the CEO of Platforms. The two of them will file to Hiroki Tokoi, the chairman of Sony. Two CEOs for the worth of one, am I honest?
Jim Ryan had been a controversial settle at Sonywe may perhaps presumably presumably insist. His very prolonged timeframe as president modified into once dotted with a form of moments when other folks felt alienated by the emblem. This modified into once very principal support during the times of the PS3; with a $600 console leaving many people out within the frigid, Ryan’s seize on the matter didn’t live noteworthy to originate issues extra delectable for followers. The PS3 modified into once infamously the console that made other folks feel luxuriate in Sony “had no games” for its console, a sentiment that has returned with a vengeance with the PS5.
Within the intervening time, Sony as a designate has grown a ton since the PS3 days, no matter other folks’s misgivings about their game output. So I will be succesful to extra or much less perceive the keep aside they’re coming from with desiring two CEOs to regulate the PlayStation designate. One CEO to offer consideration to the general course of the PlayStation platform at huge—which may perhaps presumably presumably theoretically consist of any matters about, insist, turning established PlayStation IP into multimedia tasks, luxuriate in the Gravity Bustle movie that’s in production—while the different CEO manages the main-birthday party studios at Sony and their game tasks. This is colorful, in particular since Hideo Kojima is within the intervening time working with A24 to adapt Death Stranding into a film. Video games will doubtless change droll books as the fresh IP farm for adapting potentially lucrative film tasks. I sure cannot no longer sleep for the melodramatically-serious Ape Trail film with a trailer neutral to Harry Belafonte’s Banana Boat in a minor key…!
Keep in mind that, this can even be easy outdated vogue Sony extra at work. At any price, Nishino and Hulst will formally seize their seats as CEOs this June 1.
Square Enix also determined to descend some complicated enterprise-vogue data this week! The house that Dragon Quest built has been on some shaky ground for the previous few years and has determined to attach a three-300 and sixty five days notion that can expectantly honest their floundering. The three-300 and sixty five days notion does no longer mention the leisure about diminishing their efforts close to “Web 3.0” (learn: crypto) or generative AI, so I am no longer sure how effective it will doubtless be as a notion, but my Grasp’s Diploma is no longer in Commerce so what live I know?
Anyway, Square Enix’s Thought entails four main substances: “[Enhancing] productivity by optimizing the pattern footprint within the Digital Entertainment section” (learn: “originate relaxing games very most lifelike we can originate”); “diversify earnings opportunities by strengthening customer contact points” (translation: no extra Sony exclusives); “roll out initiatives to earn additional foundational steadiness” (learn: rebuild Square Enix‘s enterprise out of the nation), and “strike a steadiness between shareholder return and development investment when allocating capital” (learn: investing in stock buybacks). It be planned that through these four main efforts, Square Enix can “shift from quality to quantity” and “bring “relaxing” during the realm.” Yeah, they effect “relaxing” in quotations. They’re executives; they live that; one has to imagine they’ve never ridden a scramble at a playground.
Square Enix‘s reasoning behind this is simple and clear. For starters, Final Fantasy XVI and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth infamously sold below expectations. With the relatively little effort that went into production, it is easy to see that these were titles that suffered from the “sold well, but not well-enough” scenario that these kinds of major AAA releases tend to face. There was also the very public failure of Foamstars, Square Enix‘s attempt to capture Splatoon‘s lightning in a bottle. But Square Enix also “has been relying too much on a particular individual’s creativity”. I believe this refers to how many of Square Enix‘s major projects, such as Final Fantasy XVI, are usually led by the “bigger” creatives at Square Enix like Yoshi-P. So, they need to build more institutional knowledge. Which sounds like a reasonable idea? I hope it does not mean we lose out on the Team Asano games. Especially since this new approach comes with significant restructuring. Which means—yes—more layoffs! Instead of cutting the exorbitant salaries of their CEOs, Square Enix will likely be laying off workers in their American and European branches, specifically in publishing, IT, and Square Enix‘s Collective indie games division. Don’t you appreciate saving money by harming the lives of your employees?
Square Enix‘s fresh notion begins within the fiscal 300 and sixty five days ending in 2025. We will perceive how it goes, in particular since they give the affect of being to peaceful desire to dump money into stuff luxuriate in their NFT art venture/game Symbiogenesis.
Let’s wrap up with some quick updates
A Love Live! anime project is in the works: Love Live! The Sharp Future Map is currently in development for the Nintendo Switch, featuring a lineup of 12 high school idol singers. More details to follow, but you can track its progress on its Twitter page. This will be the first Love Live! anime project ever made.
Koei Tecmo has just released Samurai Warriors 4 on Steam. Worth noting these quiet releases.
Needy Streamer Overdose is getting a special-edition physical release in the US. The Premium Edition includes a reversible chipboard standee of both Ame and OMGKawaiiAngel, glittery stickers and a download code for the soundtrack. The Collector’s Edition includes all of these, and a spinning acrylic charm, a Happi Coat featuring Ame and KAngel, and a plushie of KAngel.
That’ll live it for this week, I mediate. We’re previous the midway be aware in Might presumably, so Summer Video games Fest is honest during the corner—along with Nintendo‘s June Recount. We’re passing the gargantuan first hill on the curler coaster; revel within the easy-going weeks now we have now because the guidelines will ramp up within the latter half of the 300 and sixty five days. As frequently: be staunch to each other, I could perceive you in seven.
This Week In Video games! is written from idyllic Portland by Jean-Karlo Lemus. When not taking part with Anime News Network, Jean-Karlo may perhaps also be found playing JRPGs, eating popcorn, watching v-tubers, and tokusatsu. You can follow him at @mouse_inhouse or @ventcard.bsky.social.
