Operation Backlog Completion 2026
Apr 172026
 

(Yes, I’m still cropping the key art to avoid showing spoilers.)

We have a release date! Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter, the remake of the second Trails game, will be out on September 17 worldwide.

(Japanese preorders also include a download code for an HD remaster of the original Trails in the Sky, which is neat.)

There’s also a new trailer, although it’s a short one.

The trailer is fairly safe to watch in regards to spoilers, but I wouldn’t look into any other details about the game unless you’ve finished the first one.

Curiously, based on the character profiles on the official website, it seems there are also a couple recasts for the English voices since the first remake, which is surprising.

Click for Trails in the Sky FC antagonist spoilers
Loewe, who was voiced by Travis Willingham before, will now be voiced by Stephen Fu. Stephen Fu did his voice in Ys vs Trails in the Sky, so maybe they liked his direction more.

(It’s a little strange, though, since Loewe was one of the few characters to have dialogue in the initial teaser trailer for SC.)

Second, Weissmann is now voiced by Liam O’Brien instead of David Lodge.

It’s kind of a shame, because I thought it was really neat how they got pretty much the whole voice cast to return from the original games, even though the original English voice acting was pretty much just battle cries.

Anyway, Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter is coming soon! Meanwhile, I’m looking forward to continuing my journey through the later games…

Apr 152026
 

‘Twas the day before Tomodachi Life, and all through the backlog
not a game was in focus, not even for dialogue.
Living the Dream was imagined, its Miis planned out with care
in hopes that the full game soon would be there.
The Miis from the demo were all snug in their houses
awaiting who would be friends and who would be spouses.
And fans around the world and the writer at her desktop
kept checking their shipping or the download from the eShop,
when out on the Internet there arose such a clamor
I sprang onto Reddit to see people yammer.
Away to review threads I flew like a flash
opened each page to check for backlash.
The range of reviews on the upcoming game
made me check once more to see if mine came,
when what to my wondering eyes should appear
but a tracking page saying the ship date was near,
and a timeframe sadly not showing the past
which meant for release day it would have to be fast.
More rapid than eagles they’ve been times before,
and I called to them hoping they’d surprise me once more:
Now Best Buy! now packers! now shippers! now drivers!
everyone with my copy, please don’t be deprivers!
To the end of the street! to the edge of the door!
Now dash to me! Dash to me! Dash to me more!
As packages that with quick shipping do fly,
when they meet with a delay, speed up with a cry,
so up to my house I hoped the truck would arrive
with a package awaiting me fresh from the drive.
And then as I waited, I planned what I’d do
with some old ideas and some that were new.
As I imagined my island, I pictured them now
my favorite characters together, made by my vow.
They’d be good guys and bad guys and some in between,
in purple and blue and yellow and green,
with catchphrases given to make them seem better
and mannerisms given for each new go-getter.
Their facepaint, how clever! Their voices, how strange!
When it’s all said and done, there will be such a range!
Their arrival will be marked by chaos and laughter
as any sense of order is abandoned soon after.
The pairs I imagined will be left up to chance
especially now with more types of romance.
They’ll have meetings and greetings and fights like a drama
while I give them pets like a Stand or a llama.
My drawing skills, though, aren’t quite up to snuff,
and we can’t share designs, so it must be enough.
A glance at the old game and the memories it held
soon make sure my worries are quickly dispelled.
I know it’ll be a game full of delight,
like the silliest story I ever could write,
and all that remains is for it to be here
and I can begin to make new memories dear.
I check the tracking number just one more time
and pace as I hear the next hour chime
But whether it’s early or I’m late to the game
“Happy Tomodachi Life day to all, one and the same!”
Apr 132026
 

It was all the way back in 2017 that we first discussed Doki Doki Literature Club, a visual novel that looks like a cute romance on the surface but is actually horror.

I was surprised to look back and see how… sparse… my review is. I really didn’t want to spoil anything.

(After all this time, it’s become so well-known that most people have probably encountered the biggest spoilers in passing even if they haven’t played, but I still won’t spoil any specific details.)

Doki Doki Literature Club also got expanded release in 2021 as Doki Doki Literature Club Plus, which I reviewed for MonsterVine, and then just this past December, it got a mobile port that made the main game available for free with the Plus content purchasable as DLC.

…Except now, four months later, Google decided it isn’t fine after all and removed it from the Google Play Store.

According to the official statement from the developer, it was deemed to violate Google Play’s content guidelines for its “depiction of sensitive themes.”

If you know the game’s content, it’s pretty easy to guess what that might be.

It’s a shame, especially since other storefronts have been putting forth stricter content guidelines for various topics as well, from Steam to itch.io to the Nintendo eShop (although DDLC has only run into trouble with Google). It feels like a common trend nowadays, and not a good one.

Anyway, it remains to be seen if they’ll be able to get Doki Doki Literature Club reinstated on the Play Store or not. (I assume they had already warned about its content like on its other store pages, so I can’t see how it would return if the content itself is the issue, though.) How do you feel about this situation?