Operation Backlog Completion 2026

Potential Yakuza News Coming This Friday

 Video games  2 Responses »  Tagged with: , ,
Apr 252022
 

This Friday, April 29, Sega is holding an event called Yakuza Super Talk Stage at Niconico Chokaigi 2022.

(Or… the Ryu Ga Gotoku Super Talk Stage, since I assume they’re using the Japanese title.)

Now, I’m not entirely sure when this was announced. I saw someone reference it as a place to potentially see Yakuza 8 news, and then I went and saw it listed as an event on Gematsu.

The important thing is that this presentation will feature director and executive producer Masayoshi Yokoyama answering questions and might include information about the future of the series.

So, what could potentially be shown at this event?

(Hey, it worked out well for me when I predicted Kingdom Hearts announcements.)

Yakuza 8

The next mainline Yakuza game feels like a safe bet. Yakuza 8 has been confirmed to be in development as another game following Ichiban, but has yet to be revealed. Since they release Yakuza titles pretty frequently and Yakuza: Like a Dragon came out in 2020, I wouldn’t be at all surprised for Yakuza 8 to have a 2022 release date.

What will they title it in the west, though? Dropping the number for Yakuza 7’s western title makes that quite a question. Yakuza: Like a Dragon 2, maybe?

Anyway, I think there’s a good chance we’ll learn more about Yakuza 8 on Friday.

Kenzan and/or Ishin Remasters

No, I will not let it go.

So many games people said would never be localized are being localized now. RGG Studio knows people want Kenzan and Ishin. The major sticking point is said to be over-saturation. I don’t think the games’ content will actually get in the way like some fans fear. The PlayStation Wrap-Up mysteriously recognized Ishin as Yakuza Ishin. I say it’s a question of when, not if. Could this finally be the time?

A remaster of Kenzan and a remaster or port of Ishin would be the first step toward localization, so I have my fingers crossed for such an announcement.

Judgment PC Ports

Unlike with Kingdom Hearts, where I thought PC ports were the most likely answer and turned out to be completely wrong, I think Judgment and Lost Judgment PC ports are unlikely. The report that the Judgment games can’t be brought to PC due to Takuya Kimura’s agency still remains a rumor, but nothing has really debunked it, either. On the other hand, a new claim is going around that a Lost Judgment PC port exists, but people say the screenshots could easily be from the Amazon Luna version.

But who knows? Maybe it’ll happen. I was completely wrong about Kingdom Hearts, after all.

Mysterious Unannounced Title

Back when they confirmed the development of Yakuza 8, they also said unannounced titles outside of both the Yakuza and Judgment series were also planned. Now, you might think it’s pointless to predict such a game for a Yakuza event, but since I’m counting Judgment as a plausible prediction, I think another spin-off also qualifies. Of course, we don’t know if those unannounced titles are linked to Yakuza or not, so this is probably the least likely prediction.

But who knows?

What do you think will be announced at the Yakuza Super Talk Stage event on Friday? Will any of these predictions actually come true? Share your thoughts and predictions in the comments!

Monochrome Mobius: Rights and Wrongs Forgotten Appears in SteamDB

 Video games  1 Response »  Tagged with: , ,
Apr 222022
 

SteamDB, which keeps track of everything in Steam’s database, has a new entry that should catch the attention of Utawarerumono fans: Monochrome Mobius: Rights and Wrongs Forgotten.

Back in November, we discussed the announcement of a new Utawarerumono game called Monochrome Moebius: Toki no Taika.

The appearance of Monochrome Mobius on SteamDB along with the new subtitle “Rights and Wrongs Forgotten” suggests both English localization and a PC version for the upcoming Utawarerumono midquel. No platforms have been officially announced yet.

This lines right up with the expectation of an announcement in the near future, too. April 26 is the 20th anniversary of the series, and the official anniversary website has opened up with a concert being streamed on that day.

Announcements have been hinted at for that day as well.

So with its sudden SteamDB entry right ahead of the 20th anniversary celebration, it’s quite likely we’ll learn more about Monochrome Mobius next week.

I still need to catch up on Utawarerumono, since so far I’ve only played Prelude to the Fallen. I’m excited to see the series getting new entries, though, so I’ll be looking forward to hearing about Monochrome Mobius. What do you think we’ll learn about the upcoming new Utawarerumono game?

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Moved Up to July 29

 Video games  4 Responses »  Tagged with: , ,
Apr 202022
 

Remember how thrilled we were back when Xenoblade Chronicles 3 was announced for a September 2022 release?

Yep, that’s not happening. It’s coming out July 29 instead.

An anticipated game actually having its release date moved sooner instead of being delayed is pretty rare. I know it’s happened before, but it’s still a shock.

So instead of having five months to get my backlog in order (hah!) so that I can play Xenoblade Chronicles 3, I have three months instead.

Alongside this release date change came and exciting new trailer, although I’ll admit I didn’t watch the trailer as attentively as I often would because trailers have spoiled me too often in the past.

I did watch enough to catch the major ideas, though, such as having more characters than ever in combat and a fusion system that is where the name Ouroboros comes into play.

They also announced a Special Edition, which includes a hardcover art book and a steelbook case. It will only be available from the My Nintendo Store, with details to come at a later date.

(I used the special edition’s art for this page image, although I took it from the Japanese site since the other images I found were all too small.)

Now, some people have taken this to be a bad sign, assuming that content must have been cut from the game or it’s been rushed, but I’m not worried. If they were trying to avoid a delay, then I could see it, but I find it hard to believe Monolith Soft would cut content or rush just to get the game out months ahead of the already-announced release window.

Everything shown of Xenoblade Chronicles 3 so far looks fantastic, so I’m confident this will be another excellent game.

Meanwhile, Digimon Survive’s worldwide release date was confirmed for… July 29. Xenoblade and Digimon Survive are now coming out on the same time. That’s just a few days after the Live A Live remake, as well. This year might not be as jam-packed with must-play games like the second half of the year was for me in 2021, but it’s starting to put forth a good effort.

What do you think about Xenoblade Chronicles 3’s sudden July 29 release date, trailer, and special edition? Will you be picking it up?

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