Operation Backlog Completion 2025
Apr 292024
 

Xenoblade Chronicles has become incredibly popular since the days of that first niche release we almost didn’t get in North America . These three games are now beloved by JRPG fans…

What, you say there’s four games? Ah yes, because Torna ~ the Golden Country was sold as a standalone release, right?

That’s sadly how it feels sometimes; while the main Xenoblade trilogy has soared in popularity, Xenoblade Chronicles X remains the odd game out, overshadowed by the other three and sometimes even forgotten entirely.

Today is the 9th anniversary of Xenoblade Chronicles X’s release. It came out on April 29, 2015 in Japan and would follow in other regions in December.

Although I had my doubts about it ahead of launch, I ended up loving it despite it being a fully open world game with a lessened emphasis on story. The worldbuilding, humor, characters, and exploration were that good.

Look how optimistic I was back when I wrote that review, ending with the hope that we would see Xenoblade Chronicles X 2 at E3 2016. Here we are 9 years later, and not only do we not have a sequel, but we got two other Xenoblade games and a remaster in the meantime.

Since Xenoblade Chronicles X is still stranded on the Wii U, far fewer people have played it than the others. That’s why it’s overlooked so often. Because of that, the farther we’ve gotten from it, the more I’ve hoped for a port or remaster to be announced. I want a Xenoblade Chronicles X sequel, and I think our best chance of getting that is if X is ported first and reaches a bigger audience.

With how many Wii U games made the jump to the Switch and how popular Xenoblade has become, it’s kind of shocking that Xenoblade Chronicles X is one of the few that’s still a Wii U exclusive.

Back in 2018, director Tetsuya Takahashi said in an interview that bringing X to the Switch would be “really difficult.” He said it was a money issue, because of how massive X is.

In the time since that 2018 interview, the Xenoblade series has become more popular than ever. Now we’re getting near the end of the Switch’s life, and rumors of its successor are on the horizon. Few things would make me happier than if Xenoblade Chronicles X was one of the first titles announced (hopefully to pave the way for a Xenoblade Chronicles X 2). Here’s hoping the series’ success on the switch is enough to make it worth the effort to port Xenoblade Chronicles X and give it a second chance to shine!

Apr 262024
 

You’d be forgiven if you forgot Megaton Musashi W: Wired was due out yesterday; we talked about the release date and I still forgot about it.

In fact, you’d be forgiven if you forgot about it entirely, because it feels like Level-5 has been giving it far less attention than their other upcoming games.

Inazuma Eleven, Fantasy Life i, DecaPolice, and of course Professor Layton have seen their share of coverage, but alongside those other announcements was also this mecha action RPG.

I’m not familiar with the Megaton Musashi series, but it seems there’s both an anime and a game that’s been expanded with each new release. From what I understand, Megaton Musashi X was an expanded release of Megaton Musashi, and Megaton Musashi W is an expanded version of that.

Megaton Musashi W: Wired came out a couple days ago to little fanfare, and it has barely any reviews due to them seemingly not sending out review copies.

It’s gotten some reviews on Steam now, and they’re pretty positive. What surprised me was learning that this wasn’t just a mecha action game, but also an RPG with at least a decent focus on story.

Of all of Level-5’s upcoming games, this one was on my radar the least. Nevertheless, now I’m feeling tempted to check it out… maybe when my backlog isn’t quite so overwhelming. In the meantime, I just hope Level-5 steps up their marketing when it comes to the rest (especially Professor Layton)!

Are you interested in Megaton Musashi W: Wired?

Apr 242024
 

I remember when Atlus’s Project Re Fantasy was a mysterious title whispered about with the worry that we might never actually see it.

But at last year’s Xbox Showcase, it was officially unveiled as Metaphor: ReFantazio, and the game that was once a mystery became one of the most-anticipated games of 2024.

On Monday evening, Atlus had a special Metaphor: ReFantazio showcase live stream to show off more of this upcoming JRPG.

This included the release date announcement. Metaphor: ReFantazio will be out on October 11.

Right now I’m drowning in a backlog of great games, so I hope I’ve made a bit more progress by October, because Metaphor looks like the sort of game I definitely want to play at launch. I even preordered the Collector’s Edition, which includes a steelbook case, a soundtrack, an art book, a set of pins, a set of stickers, a cloth map, and several digital bonuses along with the game itself.

Metaphor definitely has Persona-esque trappings – including the passage of time and deadlines, although it’s not clear yet if missing a deadline will lead to a game over or if there’s more flexibility.

The combat system also seems interesting. You can use action combat to defeat weak enemies and gain an advantage over stronger enemies, which you then fight in a turn-based combat system. Like I mentioned once before, this sounds quite similar to the combat system in the upcoming Trails Through Daybreak.

Social interactions are here in Metaphor as well, and forging bonds with these characters will unlock new “Archetypes” for you to use, which are basically jobs or classes.

Overall, Metaphor sounds like it’s going to be a really cool game with a lot of features. The story is the part I feel I know the least about at this point, but I have my fingers crossed that it will be great. I can’t wait to play Metaphor: ReFantazio when it comes out and find out for myself.

What you do think of the latest information about Metaphor: ReFantazio?