Operation Backlog Completion 2026
Sep 182015
 

Kingdom-of-Kurain-subbed-trailer

The mysterious country in Ace Attorney 6 is Kurain?

Despite all my speculation that there would be a connection to the Fey family and Kurain Channeling Technique, I didn’t see that one coming.

Capcom released the first official Ace Attorney 6 trailer at TGS, and subbed trailers from Bolt2nd and Calios soon followed. They revealed many new details, including setting’s name, “The Kingdom of Kurain.”

This raises many questions. If this kingdom is part of the Kurain tradition, how do they feel toward the Master of the Kurain Channeling Technique, Maya Fey? If Ami Fey invented the Kurain Channeling Technique, does this mean these people aren’t mediums, despite their spiritual power? Since their leader uses the name Kurain rather than Fey, it seems likely that the Fey clan split off from the kingdom.

It's a Star Wars reference, right? They couldn't accidentally give a character names that sound like both Leia AND Padme, right?

It’s a Star Wars reference, right?
They couldn’t accidentally give a character names so close to Leia AND Padme, right?

Speaking of their leader, let’s talk about her.

Despite the initial reports that the mysterious woman had a “fourth role” in the courtroom rather than being a prosecutor, so far Princess Leifa Padma Kurain seems much like a prosecutor, albeit one who uses spiritual power and the Water Mirror, which displays the victim’s final moments before death, to make her claims.

Nevertheless, an actual prosecutor was also shown–a crown-wearing Payne (likely Gaspen) who seems to be prosecutor for this game’s tutorial case, according to the Destructoid preview. If Payne and Leifa both appear in the tutorial case, chances are good a new main prosecutor will also be introduced.

Of course, I’m still hoping to see cameos from some of my past favorites. (Hey, maybe Barnham left Labyrinthia and went to Kurain.)

The Water Mirror is an intriguing idea, and I look forward to seeing how Phoenix disproves this seemingly irrefutable evidence. It brings to mind the notorious DL-6 channeling from the first game’s backstory. Perhaps similar sorts of misinformation will be at work.

Fan reactions to the trailer have been mixed. People are displeased for every reason you can imagine: not enough returning characters, too many returning characters, too big a deviation from previous entries, not a big enough deviation from previous entries… you get the idea.

I say it’s too early to make judgement calls on most of this stuff, especially when it comes to returning characters (though Maya is all but guaranteed by the Kurain connection). After all, Apollo wasn’t shown in Dual Destinies promotional material for a long time, and he played a fairly important role in the game.

Some people also dislike that Phoenix goes to another country and immediately begins to revolutionize its court system. Admittedly, it does seem a little arrogant… on the other hand, I can’t see Phoenix Wright letting someone be condemned for murder without a defense.

Share your own thoughts on Kurain, Leifa, and Ace Attorney 6 in general in the comments below. As for me, I’m excited… but I still want The Great Ace Attorney.

Sep 162015
 

TGS-2015-Sony

While the Tokyo Game Show doesn’t officially begin until tomorrow (when we’ll hopefully hear more details about Ace Attorney 6), Sony held its TGS 2015 press conference yesterday and showed many great games.

Like with Gamescom, I won’t cover everything. Instead, I’ll just discuss my favorite announcements from Sony’s TGS conference. However, I’ve embedded the entire press conference below for you to watch if you missed it live.

The Bloodborne expansion interests me, but since I haven’t played Bloodborne yet, I don’t have much to say about it. It sure looks cool, though.

Instead, let’s talk about Nioh. Nioh, originally announced for the PS3 and finally resurrected, looks really cool and I want to learn more about it. So far, only a few details have been revealed. And why does the samurai look like Geralt of Rivia?

After Square Enix’s stellar E3 conference, I was excited to see their offerings… and they delivered! First up was the chibi turn-based RPG, World of Final Fantasy, which looks just as cute at it did at E3.

Star Ocean V, which we’ve discussed before, continues to look like an excellent space opera RPG. They also confirmed that it will be accessible to series newcomers. I might still try to play a Star Ocean game before it comes out, but if I don’t get to it, I’m pleased I can start there.

Kingdom-Hearts-2.8And while I’m still back playing the Kingdom Hearts 1.5 Remix, I have to give special mention to the gloriously-titled new compilation, Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue. Just let that name sink in.

It includes a remastered version of Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance, Kingdom Hearts χ Back Cover (the story from Kingdom Hearts χ), and a new episode called Kingdom Hearts: 0.2 Birth By Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage. I am not making this up.

Since I intend to play the entire Kingdom Hearts series, this interests me… although I sincerely hope Kingdom Hearts Unchained χ is still receiving the full Western release that was promised at E3.

Speaking of E3 announcements, remember Project Setsuna, the new RPG coming from Square Enix? A short trailer was displayed, showing off gameplay for the first time, with details revealed later. It’s definitely one I’ll keep an eye on.

Moving away from Square Enix, while Vanillaware revealed very little about its new game 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, the trailer was enough to catch my attention. I’m not entirely sure what sort of game it is, but I’m interested in learning more.

I have nothing to say about Resident Evil: Umbrella Corps, so let’s just ignore that and move on to a game announced recently: Exist Archive: The Other Side of the Sky.

Very cool.

They also announced a new Danganronpa game. I want this series. It sounds like Ace Attorney meets The Hunger Games. Seriously, the Danganronpa series is one of my primary reason for wanting a PS Vita.

So there you have it, my biggest takeaways from Sony’s 2015 TGS press conference. Which titles did you most enjoy seeing, and what are you looking forward to from the rest of this year’s Tokyo Game Show?

Sep 142015
 

A year ago, we discussed an upcoming Wii U 3D platformer called Fiona Frightening and the Wicked Wardrobe.

Fiona Frightening isn’t ready to be released yet, as the developers are still gathering demo funds through an art commission project, but the official Facebook page used this month to highlight “turnaround” art to show the enemies, Monsdresses, and other characters from all sides.

Waxworth turnaround from Fiona Frightening

Here’s Waxworth, a ghostly knight voiced by Linkara.

Waxworth may be my favorite, but you can check out the rest of the Fiona Frightening art on the Facebook page. Many characters have been featured all month long, and more are still being revealed.

So, what’s this about art commissions?

The creators of Fiona Frightening intend to release a playable demo before the Kickstarter begins. However, they need funds to create the demo, and they’ve decided to raise them through art commissions. You can commission artwork of any Fiona Frightening character for $10, and the artwork will not only be released now, but also appear in the in-game gallery.

We’ve seen a small resurgence of 3D platformers lately, and this sounds like one of the most intriguing. If you want to bring us a step closer to getting a playable demo (maybe even in time to give us something spooky to play for Halloween), commission some art or just spread the word about Fiona Frightening and the Wicked Wardrobe.