Operation Backlog Completion 2026

Highlights from the PlayStation 5 Showcase and Nintendo Direct Mini

 Video Games  7 Responses »  Tagged with: , , ,
Sep 172020
 

Yesterday’s PlayStation 5 showcase immediately began with the announcement of Final Fantasy XVI.

That’s right, it’s really happening!

Final Fantasy XVI has been officially revealed for the PlayStation 5. It’s currently unknown if it will come to other platforms or not. It’s also been confirmed that this is the mysterious new game from Business Division 3.

Naoki Yoshida (Yoshi-P) is the producer, Hiroshi Takai is the director, and while it hasn’t been confirmed, fans believe Masayoshi Soken is the composer. There’s also reason to believe Ryota Suzuki, who worked on Devil May Cry 5, might be in charge of the combat, since he joined Square Enix earlier this year to work on an unknown action game.

Whether that’s true or not, it’s definitely an action RPG. Now, I’d have been ecstatic if Final Fantasy XVI was turn-based, but I figured the chances of that were pretty much zero. So with that said, I’m excited for Final Fantasy XVI!

Let’s take a look at our very first Final Fantasy XVI trailer.

The bits of story we get in the trailer have me intrigued, and I can’t wait to learn more about it. (I hope it’s not open world, though.) People have jumped to all sorts of conclusions from this trailer, but I think it’s too early to make any definite judgments.

The next game from the showcase that caught my attention was Hogwarts Legacy. Back when rumors started coming out about it, I wasn’t too interested, mainly because it’s open world.

So… I’m still not sure I’d enjoy it. All the same, the trailer actually does make it look pretty interesting. Going with a setting in the 1800s is also an interesting choice, making it far enough removed from the existing series to allow for more freedom. For now, I’m cautiously intrigued by it.

I’m still not sure what to think about Resident Evil Village. I want to be excited for it, but I’m not convinced yet. I’ll need to see more gameplay from it.

Demon’s Souls, on the other hand, looks beautiful. And I suppose Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition is the version I should play if and when I get that far in the series, since it has new content.

Those were the last of the highlights of the showcase for me until the very end (not counting the split second at the start of the FNAF trailer when I thought it might be Silent Hill because it showed something that looks way too similar to the Halo of the Sun symbol), when they teased the next God of War!

And I do mean teased, because it was basically just a logo.

Anyway, the showcase left me with similar feelings as before. I’m definitely getting a PlayStation 5 eventually, but I feel no need to have it at launch. Not enough launch titles interest me.

That was it for the PlayStation 5 showcase, but this morning featured another Nintendo Direct Mini: Partner Showcase… and a surprise announcement of Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin.

I don’t care at all for the new main Monster Hunter game, but I’m so excited for this! Monster Hunter Stories was a lot of fun, and I was hoping it would get a sequel someday. I didn’t think chances of that were too good, but it’s happening!

There’s still a lot I want to know about Monster Hunter Stories 2, like whether or not it’s still a turn-based RPG, so I can’t wait to see more.

They also announced Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny and finally showed more of Rune Factory 5, both of which I’m curious about even though I haven’t played anything from their series. There was a new trailer for Balan Wonderworld, too. Ori and the Will of the Wisps is also coming to the Switch… today.

All in all, it was one of the better partner showcases we’ve had.

Final Fantasy XVI and Monster Hunter Stories 2 stand out as the games I’m most excited for from the recent showcases. The only thing that could make me happier would be if NIS America’s localization announcement today is Crossbell, but I probably won’t have that much luck.

What did you think of the PlayStation 5 Showcase and the Nintendo Direct Mini?

God of War (2018) is a Fantastic, Emotional Journey

 Reviews, Video Games  1 Response »  Tagged with:
Jan 092019
 

While I didn’t finish the new God of War in time for my list of the top games I played in 2018, I finished it early this year and it was as good as I’d hoped it would be.

And it carried on the legacy of the previous games.

One of the main reasons I decided to play the previous God of War titles first (in addition to wanting to see the fully story and character development) was because I wanted a better appreciation of the changes.

As a Resident Evil fan, I’m sensitive to series making radical gameplay changes… but to my surprise, while the new God of War definitely plays differently, much of it felt familiar. Combat is slower, but you’re still using a mix of light/heavy melee attacks, ranged attacks, and special attacks, although with less magic and a greater emphasis on fighting a handful of enemies at a time instead of a mob.

Click for God of War (2018) spoilers
Once you get the Blades of Chaos, it feels even more like the originals despite the over-the-shoulder camera.

The focus on puzzles was lessened, with the bulk being for opening chests rather than progressing through the story, but there were still lots of little things that felt like the God of War formula evolved to fit the new game.

For me personally, it felt like it took everything I liked the most about the originals and gave me more.

Exploration? Now there are whole optional areas to explore, with their own treasures and collectibles and side quests, instead of just occasional secret areas with chests.

Lore? I loved the little world-building notes in God of War and God of War III, and God of War (2018) ramped it up with lore shrines and journal entries for just about everything in addition to the occasional little notes.

Story? It has more of a focus on story and character interactions than ever, largely because Kratos isn’t journeying alone, so he has someone to interact with almost all the time. This allows for many smaller moments of storytelling, rather than restricting it to the major cutscenes.

One thing I hadn’t been expecting was the sense of humor. The new God of War is much funnier than the previous games, with Kratos’s grumpiness and general lack of humor contributing to the humor as much as anything else. Really, the character interactions in this game were fantastic.

So I loved the characters (especially Atreus), and I enjoyed the story – even more so as I remembered bits and pieces of Norse mythology, which had gotten rather fuzzy in my memory over the years.

Click for major God of War (2018) spoilers
Including one point where I was away from the game doing an entirely unrelated task and my thoughts abruptly went something along the lines of, “Mistletoe… mistletoe arrows… Isn’t there a thing about–MISTLETOE IS THE ONE THING THAT CAN KILL BALDUR! ATREUS IS GOING TO SHOOT HIM WITH THE ARROWS!”

and then I was crushed when Freya burned my arrows.

Speaking of which, I appreciate a lot of their attention to little mythology details. I thought they’d just changed mythology to make Freya Baldur’s mother for a twist, but apparently there are scholars who believe Freya and Frigg came from the same goddess originally.

Also, Laufey -> Fey -> Faye. Even if I remembered the name Laufey, I doubt I’d have made the connection, but there it is.

Watching Kratos develop as a character was one of the best parts. He’s come a long way and he’s trying to move on from his past. After everything he’d gone through in the previous games, I just wanted him and Atreus to be happy. And while it might not be that easy, the emotional payoff after having played the previous games was definitely worth it.

Click for God of War (2018) spoilers
The whole sequence when Kratos takes sick Atreus to Freya, learns he’ll need to get different weapons, and rides the boat back to his house for the Blades of Chaos was such an emotionally intense series of events, it gave me chills watching it.

(Also, Helheim, for the obligatory God of War underworld section.)

The story also had some great twists and foreshadowing, and I can’t wait to see what happens in the sequel. I have a few theories of my own, and I’ll be looking forward to news about the next game.

And yes, I know I haven’t played Ascension yet. I decided to skip it after learning it didn’t add much to the overall story. I’ll still probably play it eventually… perhaps this year?

What did you think of the new God of War game? How do you feel about the significant changes it made to the God of War formula?

God of War: Ghost of Sparta Explores Kratos’s Past

 Reviews, Video Games  3 Responses »  Tagged with:
Dec 102018
 

The fifth and final game included in the God of War Saga collection is God of War: Ghost of Sparta.

When I beat God of War, I unlocked a bonus video that teased the future of the series. That storyline teased there didn’t surface in God of War II. It didn’t happen in Chains of Olympus. It didn’t come up in God of War III. No, they finally brought it back four games later, in Ghost of Sparta.

Set in between God of War and God of War II, Ghost of Sparta was originally released for the PSP, just like Chains of Olympus.

And once again, it features Kratos out for something other than revenge. This time, he’s on a rescue mission.

Haunted by nightmares of his past, Kratos leaves Olympus in search of his mother. When he reunites with her, in a scene adapted from another video unlocked after the original game, she reveals that his brother Deimos is still alive and trapped in the Domain of Death.

(Amazingly, this is the game that breaks the always-visit-the-underworld trend, since the Domain of Death is a separate realm in between the world of the living and the underworld.)

Ghost of Sparta is one of the shorter games in the series, but it has much better pacing than Chains of Olympus does. The gameplay is solid, not quite as smooth as in God of War II and III, perhaps, but with some nice additions. There’s no clear reason why Kratos doesn’t have all of his powers from the end of God of War, although I suppose it would feel contrived if he lost his powers at the start again.

Anyway, this is a much more personal story for Kratos than we’ve seen in the previous games. Not only is he trying to save his brother, but there are also flashbacks to his childhood, showing how he and his brother were separated.

Ghost of Sparta tells a sad story that provides more context for Kratos’s behavior at the start of God of War II, as well as for a few lines in God of War III that reference it. It’s also a deeper exploration of Kratos as a person, with more humanizing moments for him and insight into his past, and it has a lot of great scenes.

Click for Ghost of Sparta spoilers
I loved the part set in Sparta. It felt so strange to see people actually happy to see Kratos. That was nice, finally getting to see how he’s viewed in his home.

…of course, that makes it all the more upsetting that Zeus wiped out Sparta in God of War II.

Even aside from what the gods did to Deimos, I think a major purpose of Ghost of Sparta is to further justify Kratos’s anger.

While it doesn’t have as many epic scenes or battles as some of the previous games, its story is one of the best in the series so far. And that’s it for the God of War Saga, so since I’ve decided to skip Ascension for the time being, I’m finally ready for the new God of War!

What did you think of God of War: Ghost of Sparta?

(Oh, and the Yakuza news teased for Saturday turned out to be an official English title for Project Judge, Judgment, as well as the announcement that it will have an English dub. No release date, but a window of Summer 2019.)

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