Operation Backlog Completion 2026

Bayonetta 3 Releases October 28, New Trailer, Special Edition Revealed

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Jul 132022
 

It’s finally happening!

After Bayonetta 3 finally resurfaced last September with a 2022 release window, we now have a new trailer and a specific release date.

Bayonetta 3 will be out on October 28.

In addition to the standard edition, they also revealed the Trinity Masquerade Edition, which includes a 200-page artbook and a panoramic artwork made up of all three Bayonetta covers.

According to the press release, it will be available at “select retailers and the My Nintendo Store.” After enduring the Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Special Edition preorders, I was very happy to read the words “select retailers.”

The first Bayonetta is also getting a limited standalone physical release on September 30, since previously it was only packaged with Bayonetta 2 or available digitally.

Now let’s take a look at the new Bayonetta 3 trailer (which I’d embed here, but it can only be viewed on Youtube).

After the previous trailer, I was a little concerned that the new gameplay elements might make the game feel too slow. Well, this trailer reassured me. The part where you directly control the demons still looks slower than the rest, but everything else looks as fast-spaced and smooth as ever.

The mysterious silhouetted character from the previous trailer is now officially revealed as a new playable character called Viola. Theories about her identity are still running rampant, however, especially since Luka seems to recognize her.

This trailer also confirms there are multiple worlds/timelines/universes in Bayonetta 3, including a character Nintendo strongly implied is an alternate Bayonetta.

The story description in the press release says “the unstoppable Umbra Witch must join forces with some familiar faces, the mysterious Viola and a multitude of other Bayonettas to stop human-made Homunculi from wreaking havoc” and that you’ll “meet a veritable coven of Bayonettas, each more fabulous than the last, while fighting through the streets of Tokyo, the mountains of China and beyond!”

In short, Bayonetta 3’s story sounds like it’ll be a crazy time.

Oh, and PlatinumGames also revealed “Naive Angel Mode,” aka the mode you turn on if you think someone might walk in and see you playing (or if you just want to avoid nudity). As shown in their comparison video, this essentially keeps Bayonetta’s clothes on during her special attacks and transformations.

(A few people are upset about this option existing for some reason, but most agree it’s great to have options.)

I’m so excited for Bayonetta 3, and I’m thrilled that we have a release date! I wish it wasn’t coming out right after Star Ocean (and the third Yomawari, which just got an October 25 release date), but it seems this will be another one of those years where the upcoming months are packed with excellent games!

What do you think of the new Bayonetta 3 trailer?

Dragon Quest Treasures Story and World Details

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Jul 112022
 

One game we’ve discussed a few times now, most recently after the Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase, is the upcoming Dragon Quest spin-off Dragon Quest Treasures.

It’s coming out in December, but we still hardly know anything about it.

The official Japanese website was recently updated with new details about the main characters and the story and world, and Gematsu translated these new details here.

Dragon Quest Treasures follows Erik and Mia, who are pulled into the world of Draconia where they begin searching for treasure. This world is inhabited by monsters, and they gain the ability to communicate with monsters thanks to something called the Dragon’s Dagger.

Erik and Mia are also joined by a cat spirit and a pig spirit, who partner with them. It goes on to say you can press a button to switch between Erik and Mia, who share the same level.

Putting that together with what we saw in the Nintendo Direct trailer, it sounds like you’ll control one human character directly while three monsters join you in your party. From the little bits of combat shown in the trailer, though, I’m not sure if that means there’s a meaningful difference between playing as Erik or Mia or if they’re functionally the same.

I’m most curious about what the gameplay loop is like, since it has such a focus on treasure-hunting. The story details revealed here don’t give much of an indication of what the overall goal is, either.

Now, Dragon Quest Treasures has been described by many people as being a successor to the Dragon Quest Monsters games, but back when Treasures was first announced, they said a new Dragon Quest Monsters game would be announced in the future. I’m looking forward to that.

I feel like I don’t have a solid grasp on what Dragon Quest Treasures is like yet, but it does look worth keeping an eye on. What do you think of Dragon Quest Treasures so far?

Crisis Core Remaster Will Remain Faithful, Rebirth Won’t Cut Content

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Jul 082022
 

Several new interviews have come out about the Crisis Core remaster and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, which were officially announced last month.

Since their announcement, there has been much speculation on how Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core Reunion might tie into the remake and how much Final Fantasy VII Rebirth will diverge from the original.

These new interviews shed some more light on the matter.

Gematsu has a nice round-up of the key information, as well as links to the individual interviews.

Although they’re officially referring to Crisis Core as a remaster, it sounds like they’ve done quite a lot. The assets have been replaced, combat has been adjusted to make it smoother, with combos and shortcuts, and the camera can be freely controlled.

However, when it comes to the story, it is a “faithful reproduction” of the original Crisis Core, and “no new story has been added as a result of Final Fantasy VII Remake.”

Fans have interpreted this in many ways (including some who are convinced they’re lying).

Now let’s talk about what the interviews covered regarding Rebirth. First, their rationale for calling it Rebirth instead of Remake 2 is that… calling it Remake 2 might make fans think there will be a 3, 4, 5, etc. They also want the title to give the impression that you can play Rebirth without having played Remake.

Okay… I don’t even know what to do with that first part, but this is the same company that picked the title Bravely Default 2 to make sure fans wouldn’t think it was a direct sequel…

The second part of that is surprising, though. Apparently they believe the story in Rebirth can be enjoyed on its own without the context from Remake. (Then again, companies tend to insist you can start with the newest entry no matter how reliant it is on its predecessors.)

Rebirth will be massive and vast, but they haven’t revealed whether or not it will be open world yet. That will be part of the next batch of information about the game.

More importantly, they assured fans that the trilogy will not trim down the story. Some of the progression is different, and “the order in which you visit some places may change,” but their policy is to not cut content. It will also contain new mysteries, but they’ve tried to avoid deviating from the original, which is… interesting.

That comment in particular has led to a new wave of arguments over whether this remake is telling a completely new story or if it is still following the original’s plot.

I’m curious about where they’re going with this. I’m also looking forward to the next time they release information about Rebirth, since it sounds like it’ll deal with the world. I’d prefer for Rebirth not to be open world, but having large zones to explore would be nice to see.

What do you think about the latest Crisis Core and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth interviews?

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