Highlights from the PlayStation 5 Showcase and Nintendo Direct Mini

Yesterday’s PlayStation 5 showcase immediately began with the announcement of Final Fantasy XVI.

That’s right, it’s really happening!

Final Fantasy XVI has been officially revealed for the PlayStation 5. It’s currently unknown if it will come to other platforms or not. It’s also been confirmed that this is the mysterious new game from Business Division 3.

Naoki Yoshida (Yoshi-P) is the producer, Hiroshi Takai is the director, and while it hasn’t been confirmed, fans believe Masayoshi Soken is the composer. There’s also reason to believe Ryota Suzuki, who worked on Devil May Cry 5, might be in charge of the combat, since he joined Square Enix earlier this year to work on an unknown action game.

Whether that’s true or not, it’s definitely an action RPG. Now, I’d have been ecstatic if Final Fantasy XVI was turn-based, but I figured the chances of that were pretty much zero. So with that said, I’m excited for Final Fantasy XVI!

Let’s take a look at our very first Final Fantasy XVI trailer.

The bits of story we get in the trailer have me intrigued, and I can’t wait to learn more about it. (I hope it’s not open world, though.) People have jumped to all sorts of conclusions from this trailer, but I think it’s too early to make any definite judgments.

The next game from the showcase that caught my attention was Hogwarts Legacy. Back when rumors started coming out about it, I wasn’t too interested, mainly because it’s open world.

So… I’m still not sure I’d enjoy it. All the same, the trailer actually does make it look pretty interesting. Going with a setting in the 1800s is also an interesting choice, making it far enough removed from the existing series to allow for more freedom. For now, I’m cautiously intrigued by it.

I’m still not sure what to think about Resident Evil Village. I want to be excited for it, but I’m not convinced yet. I’ll need to see more gameplay from it.

Demon’s Souls, on the other hand, looks beautiful. And I suppose Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition is the version I should play if and when I get that far in the series, since it has new content.

Those were the last of the highlights of the showcase for me until the very end (not counting the split second at the start of the FNAF trailer when I thought it might be Silent Hill because it showed something that looks way too similar to the Halo of the Sun symbol), when they teased the next God of War!

And I do mean teased, because it was basically just a logo.

Anyway, the showcase left me with similar feelings as before. I’m definitely getting a PlayStation 5 eventually, but I feel no need to have it at launch. Not enough launch titles interest me.

That was it for the PlayStation 5 showcase, but this morning featured another Nintendo Direct Mini: Partner Showcase… and a surprise announcement of Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin.

I don’t care at all for the new main Monster Hunter game, but I’m so excited for this! Monster Hunter Stories was a lot of fun, and I was hoping it would get a sequel someday. I didn’t think chances of that were too good, but it’s happening!

There’s still a lot I want to know about Monster Hunter Stories 2, like whether or not it’s still a turn-based RPG, so I can’t wait to see more.

They also announced Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny and finally showed more of Rune Factory 5, both of which I’m curious about even though I haven’t played anything from their series. There was a new trailer for Balan Wonderworld, too. Ori and the Will of the Wisps is also coming to the Switch… today.

All in all, it was one of the better partner showcases we’ve had.

Final Fantasy XVI and Monster Hunter Stories 2 stand out as the games I’m most excited for from the recent showcases. The only thing that could make me happier would be if NIS America’s localization announcement today is Crossbell, but I probably won’t have that much luck.

What did you think of the PlayStation 5 Showcase and the Nintendo Direct Mini?