Operation Backlog Completion 2026

Amnesia: Later x Crowd and Other NGPX Highlights

 Video games  1 Response »  Tagged with: , ,
Apr 012022
 

Yesterday was the New Game Plus Expo, which you can watch here if you want to catch all the announcements.

The biggest news was probably that we’re getting the Switch port of Amnesia: Memories, along with Amnesia: Later x Crowd.

Amnesia is an otome visual novel we discussed last year, but Later x Crowd is a bundle of the two fandisks (Amnesia: Later and Amnesia: Crowd) that were never released outside of Japan.

So while seeing an Amnesia port wasn’t too exciting, seeing it followed by Later x Crowd was big news.

Now, I had mixed feelings when I finished Amnesia, but I’ll pick up Later x Crowd for the sake of the two love interests I really liked, and because apparently Later has part that focuses on Waka, the unromanceable side character I preferred to half the actual love interests.

It also looks like the limited edition will allow you to choose whether you want Amnesia: Memories, Later x Crowd, or both, so that’s cool.

Aside from the Amnesia news, Idea Factory also showed off the trailer and June 28 release date for Birushana, which would have been much more exciting if the trailer hadn’t accidentally gone live last week. It also turns out that Aksys is handling the Jack Jeanne localization, not IFI or PQube, and that was officially shown as well.

So does this mean Amnesia was the mysterious third otome title teased by Idea Factory last year? That’s unclear. It seems probable, but they haven’t actually said so yet.

(They also teased an unannounced game, with their hints being a black cat and a cauldron, which has added to the confusion since they didn’t specify if that’s otome or something else.)

Anyway, outside of the otome news, there wasn’t a lot at NGPX that caught my eye. Dusk Diver 2 localization had already been announced, but was featured prominently at the event, and that looks like it could be cool. The PS2 stealth game Kamizawa: Way of the Thief is also being remastered, so I’m curious about that. And even though NIS Classics Vol. 2 isn’t out yet, a third collection has now been announced, containing La Pucelle: Ragnarok (the La Pucelle remake that was never translated before) and Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure (based on the PlayStation version).

None of the other games stood out to me as much, but let me know if I overlooked one that was a favorite for you!

Oh, and I’d just like to point out that Amnesia: Later originally came out in 2012. Amnesia: Crowd originally came out in 2013. After all this time, they definitely fit into the “that’s never getting localized!” category, so I’m adding it to the list of unexpected localizations. The Yakuza spin-offs are surely next (please).

Are you excited for any of the games announced or showcased at the New Game Plus Expo?

Action Platformer Nine Sols is the Next Game from Red Candle Games

 Video games  5 Responses »  Tagged with: ,
Mar 302022
 

We’ve talked a few times about Red Candle Games, as they developed the excellent horror game Detention, as well as Devotion, which I finally got to play last year.

But their next game, Nine Sols, is something significantly different.

Nine Sols was first announced last December after being teased earlier in the year, and Red Candle Games recently started a crowdfunding campaign for it.

(They’re handling the campaign personally, which I wonder if is a response to the disaster that was Devotion’s delisting. I’ve seen a few sites say it’s being funded through Kickstarter, but either those writers are using “Kickstarter” in a generic sense or I missed something.)

While Detention was a 2D side-scrolling horror game and Devotion was a first-person horror game, Nine Sols is a 2D action platformer set in a “Taopunk” world, with gameplay inspired by Sekiro, Hollow Knight, and Katana Zero.

You’ll play as Yi, a forgotten hero on a quest for revenge against the 9 Sols that rule over the land. It features an interconnected world made up of multiple regions, a leveling system with skills and upgrades to unlock, and deflection-based combat, among other details explained on the crowdfunding page.

It looks pretty good, and normally I would have said I’d absolutely back their next game, but I’m a little unsure since it’s so different from their previous games, especially since I haven’t played any of the listed inspirations (yet). However, GamesRadar reported that a demo is coming next week, so if so, I’ll be sure to check that out.

Anyway, the crowdfunding campaign is doing quite well, as they already made it well past their initial goal and are working toward the first stretch goal.

If you’re interested in Nine Sols, be sure to check out the crowdfunding page. How do you think this intriguing departure will compare to their past games?

Ace Attorney Mobile Trilogy to be Replaced By the Better Version

 Video games  5 Responses »  Tagged with: , ,
Mar 282022
 

There’s a good chance you thought the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy was the same across all its various releases, but that’s not quite true.

The mobile version in particular had several problems and was considered the worst of the available versions.

(The mobile port of the first game alone, which is actually what got me into the series and was much better, was taken down in favor of that, too.)

Anyway, Capcom announced that the mobile version of the Phoenix Wright Trilogy is being discontinued on June 9.

However, it will be replaced by a port of the Phoenix Wright Trilogy that has been released on everything else.

Save data won’t carry over, but in short, soon the mobile trilogy will match the better version available on other systems. Considering the problems the mobile version had, I’m surprised it took them this long.

The announcement has only been made for Japan so far, but I assume the same will happen globally.

Okay, so this isn’t quite the exciting Ace Attorney news we’ve been hoping to see, but anything that makes it easier for people to play the games is a good thing! I’m still holding out hope for something to come of that mysterious Apollo Justice trademark.

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