“I killed someone.
I have to pay for my crime.
This is a farewell.
Goodbye.”
So begins your investigation of a murder that took place 15 years ago in √Letter, or Root Letter, a newly-announced adventure game from Kadokawa Games.
In 1999, you had a high school pen pal named Aya Fumino. However, you never heard from her after graduation.
Fifteen years later, you receive the final letter you thought she never sent… in which she confesses to murder.
You go to the Shimane Prefecture in search of the truth about Aya. All you have are 11 letters and photographs, and seven classmates who refuse to talk. If you want to learn what really happened 15 years ago, you’ll need to get the truth from Aya’s classmates while also going through her letters.
According to Kotaku, gameplay is split into two parts. During simulation sections, you’ll read Aya’s letters and choose how you responded 15 years ago. In this way, your choices affect the past and help determine which ending you get.
During adventure sections, you’ll question Aya’s classmates and use information from the letters to pull more details from them. This sounds similar to Ace Attorney’s investigation sections, and some fans see similarities between the two Ace Attorney.
And like Ace Attorney 6, we can start looking forward to it now, because Root Letter has been confirmed for a worldwide release in Spring 2016 for PS4 and PS Vita. One more trailer was released today, a very short video in which Aya introduces the game.
More information is available at the Root Letter official site, although it’s all in Japanese.
Between Root Letter, Ace Attorney 6, Black Holmes, and Aviary Attorney, we have a lot of mysteries to look forward to. Now, if Capcom would just announce localization of Gyakuten Kenji 2 and Dai Gyakuten Saiban…
Of the Nintendo Direct predictions I made on Wednesday, only a handful game true. And when I expected a new Smash Bros. character to be announced, I would never in a million years have guessed Cloud Strife.
It seems too early for him to be the winner of the ballot, so do his few appearances on Nintendo consoles (like in Chain of Memories, which I’m playing now) qualify him as a Nintendo character? Weird…
Well, there’s a special Smash Bros. broadcast coming in December, so maybe we’ll learn more then.
But while Cloud was the stand-out shocker of the Nintendo Direct, it was actually a great presentation even without that. If you missed it, you can watch the full video below.
The Twilight Princess HD rumors were true after all. Not only that, it’s getting a retail release and a special amiibo! I’m actually tempted. I enjoyed Twilight Princess a lot.
Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon also caught my attention. I’ve never played any of the PMD games, but maybe this one will be a good place to start.
I have a wary interest in Xenoblade Chronicles X. While its open world structure turns me away, its sci-fi story keeps me interested. I’ll probably play it, and since I love retail copies, I probably should get some external storage and start downloading those data packs…
Of the indie games shown, Typoman interests me the most. Although its aesthetic reminds me of Limbo, which I didn’t love, its use of words has my attention. I ignored it up until now, but I might need to try it once it comes out.
And… that Yo-Kai Watch ad…
I’m really enjoying Yo-Kai Watch so far, and I loved the Yo-Kai Watch ad during the Nintendo Direct. It was much more entertaining than if they just reminded us the game was out.
Makes perfect sense.
Now, let’s talk for a minute about Pokkén Tournament. I have little interest in it. While I love Pokémon, I’m not a big fan of fighting games. If I couldn’t even get into Smash, why on Earth would I look twice at Pokkén?
That Shadow Mewtwo, though…
Shadow Mewtwo is not enough to make me want to play Pokkén Tournament. As much as I love Mewtwo, it’s not enough. Really.
…
Ahem. I’m still conflicted about Star Fox. It’s not a genre that greatly appeals to me. On the other hand, Platinum is involved. I’ll keep my eye on it as its release draws near. Maybe the reviews will convince me.
But the game I’m conflicted about more than anything is Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam. I want to believe in it. Yet when I look at it, I see more Sticker Star (which I hated) than Dream Team (which I consider a great, albeit flawed, game).
I need to see some story. Please, Nintendo. Original characters, plot, anything!
Final Fantasy Explorers could be entertaining, and the announcement that Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow will be coming to Virtual Console really took me by surprise. I expected Pokémon Z, but this is great news, especially for people who never got to play the original Pokémon games!
Moving on, I never played Hyrule Warriors, but I want to. Maybe I should just wait for Hyrule Warriors Legends instead. (Does anyone know if Tetra will be available on the Wii U version without the 3DS version?) The new character “Linkle” has also caused a stir, though she was first discovered over a year ago. Just saying.
And in fantastic news for Dragon Quest fans, the 3DS remakes of Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past and Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King are coming West!
From what I understand, Nintendo is publishing them, not Square Enix, which suggests this is another situation like Bravely Default, where Nintendo stepped in to localize a game Square Enix didn’t want to. (Someone correct me if I’m wrong.) It’s stuff like this that makes me think Nintendo could be the ones to finally give us Gyakuten Kenji 2.
And of course, Cloud’s big announcement blew my mind at the end.
Despite the lack of Ace Attorney news, this was a fun Nintendo Direct. What were your favorite moments, and which games are you looking forward to the most?
This will be the first Nintendo Direct since the sad passing of Mr. Iwata, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see some sort of tribute to him. Aside from that, it will focus on upcoming Wii U and 3DS games (and not NX or mobile).
So, what can we expect to see?
Let me get my usual unlikely guesses out of the way first. These are not predictions so much as more of my pipe dreams: I want Ace Attorney Investigations 2. Bundle it with Apollo Justice and Investigations, and you’ve got the perfect 3DS follow-up to the Trilogy to bring the entire series to 3DS.
They can call it the Not Phoenix Wright Trilogy, or the Red Trilogy, or anything they want, but I want to see AAI2 officially localized.
The same goes for Dai Gyakuten Saiban. Maybe Capcom’s lack of news was actually because Nintendo wanted to keep it a secret for this Nintendo Direct. Yeah.
Actual Predictions
Now that the pipe dreams are out of the way, what about new information about Ace Attorney 6? That one is being localized, and it certainly qualifies as an upcoming 3DS game.
I expect to see new details about Xenoblade Chronicles X. It comes out in less than a month, the latest “survival guide” was just revealed, and this is the perfect way to remind people about it before the holidays.
I also predict at least a few details about Star Fox Zero and The Legend of Zelda Wii U. And possibly Genei Ibun Roku #Fe, which could use an official English title so people don’t say, “What?” when I talk about it. Nintendo needs to remind people about the Wii U’s strong upcoming games.
Then there are rumors of games like Twilight Princess HD, which has enough supporting evidence that it could be officially announced tomorrow. I’d love to see other Wii games announced for the Wii U, too.
When it comes to surprises, what about Pokémon Z?
No one knew if X and Y would get a third version, but with the recent details about Zygarde, it seems likely (unless they get direct sequels like the previous generation did).
Personally, I found Pokémon X/Y disappointing, and it’ll take a lot to convince me to get Z. Nevertheless, I think we have a good chance of seeing it.
I also predict we’ll see more of Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, the crossover between the Mario & Luigi and Paper Mario series announced at E3. It’s coming out everywhere but here next month (why such a long delay?), so it’s about time they show more footage.
Those are my only Nintendo Direct predictions right now. Tomorrow, join me in watching it on the official site. What do you hope to see–and what do you expect to see?
“I killed someone.
