Operation Backlog Completion 2026

The Tales Developers Hope to Remaster “as Many Titles as Possible”

 Video games  6 Responses »  Tagged with: ,
Sep 182024
 

The recent Nintendo Partner Showcase took me by surprise with several announcements, one of which was Tales of Graces f Remastered.

A since-removed retail listing made it seem as though Tales of Xillia would be the next Tales remaster, so the Graces news was especially unexpected.

It was soon revealed that Tales of Graces f Remastered is only the first of a Tales remaster project, with more to come. Now we have a few more details thanks to a Famitsu interview with producer Yusuke Tomizawa, translated by Automaton.

It seems they originally intended to release remasters in chronological order, but “due to various circumstances, trying to stick to chronological order too much made us unable to release anything” and instead their new goal is “prioritizing titles that had the highest potential for release.”

No further context is given, which makes this a curious statement.

Quite a few Tales games released in between Tales of Symphonia and Tales of Graces, so if the remaster plan started with Tales of Symphonia Remastered last year, that would mean they’d originally intended to remaster Rebirth next, then Legendia, then Abyss, and so on and so forth, but ran into difficulty. Without clarification, though, it’s unclear if he meant that or if they’d intended to start from the very beginning with Phantasia.

Now their decisions of which games to remaster take fan feedback into account, which apparently led to them prioritizing Graces f. (I’m surprised, I would have thought Abyss had the most requests.) Their ultimate goal is to release “as many titles as possible.”

This feels like it could be interpreted in either a positive or negative way. On one hand, wanting to remaster as many Tales games as possible sounds great! It should mean we’ll get more than just a handful. On the other hand, saying they couldn’t go in chronological order raises concerns that they’re going to skip over the earlier games after all.

But here’s an interpretation that takes both statements into account – what if they realized those earlier titles would require a lot more work, so they jumped ahead to a highly-requested game that would be easier to remaster, to get it out in the meantime while they’re working on the longer project? A Tales of Rebirth remaster, for example, might not be shelved but simply moved ahead since it will take longer to have ready.

(Tales of Rebirth is one of the few games left on my original list of untranslated games I wanted to see translated. Come on, Bandai Namco. It’s your turn.)

Overall, I think this interview is a positive sign for the future of the series and the revival of Tales games that are no longer readily available. Which games do you think they’ll remaster after Graces?

Let’s Talk About the Latest Like a Dragon Rumors

 Video games  3 Responses »  Tagged with:
Sep 162024
 

We’re getting closer and closer to the next Like a Dragon announcement, and rumors have begun to fly.

Let’s talk about what is confirmed first.

Fact: RGG Studio is set to reveal a new game at TGS that they say fans will be “surprised” about. They also selected the actresses who will appear in an upcoming game, after holding a contest. It’s not clear if those refer to the same game or not.

Fact: An RGG Summit will be held this Friday, September 20, where they’re expected to announce the next Like a Dragon game. It’s unclear if this is the same game as the TGS reveal and there was just some misinterpretation about when it would be announced, or if they’re two separate games.

Fact: Sega recently filed a trademark for “Yakuza Wars.”

Up until recently, we’d assumed Yakuza Wars was the surprising game they were set to reveal. However, it now appears that Yakuza Wars is a Chinese gacha mobile game, which is kind of disappointing but probably means it’s not the big Summit/TGS announcement after all. Since RGG isn’t developing that game, I wouldn’t expect it to get more than a brief mention.

So what could their next game be? Judgment 3? Kenzan remake? Like a Dragon 9? Dead Souls Kiwami?

Enter the pirate rumors.

It seems there’s a leaker teasing a game to be announced soon. Some people think the teases are for a new Ninja Gaiden game, but others are convinced it’s a pirate-themed Like a Dragon. A Like a Dragon pirate game would certainly be a surprise. Infinite Wealth already did a lot with water and Ishin had swordfighting (and guns), so it doesn’t feel implausible. A fan on Twitter also pointed out that when the actresses’ auditions were announced, there was a map featuring a ship visible in the background.

Things have taken a stranger turn, however, with an older claim surfacing that says it’s a modern-day spin-off in which Majima loses his memory and becomes a pirate.

That sounds like a questionable story premise to me. Given the choice between the two, I’d much rather a historical pirate game with the cast playing new characters a la Ishin than a Majima amnesia plot. But no matter which it is, there had better be a sea shanty mini-game to act as this game’s karaoke.

Of course, this whole rumor could come to nothing. The original leak could be for Ninja Gaiden while the Like a Dragon game is something entirely different. Even the claim that RGG teased the Majima game seems to only refer to a tweet about the Majima coat hanger merchandise, which is a stretch to consider a hint toward a pirate spin-off. We’ll know soon enough, though, because the RGG Summit is only a few days away!

Do you believe the Like a Dragon pirate game rumors?

A Reynatis Demo is Available Now

 Video games  No Responses »  Tagged with: ,
Sep 132024
 

A demo is now available for Reynatis, the upcoming action RPG from Furyu.

According to the demo announcement on Steam, progress is not carried over to the full game but you can get some bonuses if you’ve completed the demo.

The demo is available for all platforms Reynatis is coming to (PS4/5, Switch, PC).

We’ve talked about Reynatis quite a few times now, not only because it looks like my sort of game on its own but also because of its collaboration with The World Ends With You.

I’m interested enough in Reynatis that I already have it preordered, so I don’t know if I’ll try the demo or not, especially since progress doesn’t transfer. On the other hand, it might be good to check it out (especially to see if the Switch version has any performance concerns).

Reynatis is due out on September 27 in a year so stacked with great releases that I’m nowhere near caught up on them, but it’s one I definitely want to play sooner rather than later.

(In completely unrelated news, Voltage has a big announcement coming on September 20, so that could lead to yet another game added to my list. The upcoming weeks could be crazy.)

Are you interested in Reynatis? Are you planning to play the demo?

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