Operation Backlog Completion 2025

Granblue Fantasy: Relink Launches February 1, Persona 3 Reload February 2

 Video games  3 Responses »  Tagged with: , , ,
Aug 232023
 

(What is February trying to do to our wallets?)

Yesterday was the Gamescom opening night live stream, and while there weren’t a lot of announcements that stood out to me, the highlight of the show for me was Granblue Fantasy: Relink.

We’ve been waiting a long time for this game… a long, long time.

First announced in 2016, Granblue Fantasy: Relink is a full action RPG set in the universe of the Granblue Fantasy mobile game, and for a while it seemed like it might never come out. We last talked about it back in January, when it got a new trailer yet still had no release date despite a 2023 release window.

Now it’s been delayed to 2024, but with an actual release date this time! Granblue Fantasy: Relink will be out on February 1, 2024 for PS4, PS5, and PC, and preorders have opened up now. Deluxe and Collector’s Editions have also been announced.

My excitement diminished a little upon learning it will have a hub leading to stages, but it sounds like the stages still have exploration and things to discover, so I’ll be looking into that more. It does look beautiful, so I hope it will be worth the wait.

That was exciting enough, and then I woke up this morning to learn that the upcoming Persona 3 remake, Persona 3 Reload, also has a release date – February 2.

(With a $70 price for its standard edition.)

While the new trailer showcases the Xbox and PC versions, preorders have also opened up for the PS4 and PS5 versions. In addition to the standard edition, a special “Aigis Edition” was also announced.

I’m still conflicted about Persona 3 Reload, because it’s not quite definitive enough to be the clear choice for which version to play. On the other hand, it look fantastic in the new trailer…

Maybe I should play P3P first and then also play Reload? Although that’s a lot to put my backlog through.

Anyway, Granblue Fantasy: Relink comes out on February 1, followed by Persona 3 Reload on February 2, so February will be kicking off with a bang. Let’s not forget that Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth are also set for early 2024, plus Metaphor: ReFantazio later in the year. 2024 is looking to be a good time for JRPG fans!

Persona 3 Remake Rumors Surge, Paper Mario Rumors Resurface

 Video games  8 Responses »  Tagged with: , , ,
Apr 102023
 

I don’t know what made Easter the day for leaks, but I woke up Sunday morning to see a new surge of Persona 3 remake rumors.

A Persona 3 remake has been rumored for quite a while now, but the latest batch of rumors include footage claimed to be from a video shown at an internal Sega meeting in 2021.

The supposed leaked footage posted on Twitter contains a clip from the Persona 3 remake, a segment of Sonic Frontiers gameplay showing a boss that was cut from the game, and a clip from a Jet Set Radio game.

This ties back to Jet Set Radio reboot rumors from last April, and some people say they saw leaked images back then that match the footage in that video.

So if this is fake, that means someone not only made believable Persona 3 remake footage, but also footage based on a Sonic boss shown only in concept art, and Jet Set Radio footage that aligns with previous rumors as well. That’s an incredible amount of effort put into faking a leak.

(Although it’s not impossible. High-effort fake leaks have happened before.)

Meanwhile, Gematsu tweeted that they can’t verify the footage but understand a Persona 3 remake really has been in development.

The rumors further intensified when someone found a domain registration for “p3re.jp” (although keep in mind that Atlus has registered other potential Persona-related domain names without using them yet).

All of this together makes the Persona 3 remake rumors seem increasingly credible.

It might seem strange for them to release a port of Persona 3 Portable while a remake is in development, but then again, Atlus ported Catherine to PC within months of Catherine: Full Body being released for consoles. That’s one of the main reason the P3P port never entirely convinced me a remake couldn’t still happen, although I still might play through Persona 3 Portable in the meantime.

Persona 3 remake rumors dominated online discussions for a good portion of yesterday, but another rumor was right behind it… a claim on Famiboards that Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is being remastered.

This rumor has much less to support it than the Persona rumors. It basically comes down to one person claiming “sources” told them a Thousand-Year Door remaster is being worked on. Paper Mario rumors have cropped up in the past, so I won’t put too much stock in it. Then again, in a year when Ghost Trick and Baten Kaitos are being remastered, who knows?

Do you believe the Persona 3 remake rumors? What about the Thousand-Year Door remaster rumors? Are you hoping for either or both to be true?

Persona Mobile Game Persona 5: The Phantom X Announced

 Video games  2 Responses »  Tagged with: , , ,
Mar 172023
 

Do you remember a couple years ago when a mobile game called Code Name: X was revealed?

It appeared to be related to Persona, although some people weren’t even sure if it was an official collaboration at first.

Well, it is, and now it’s been officially announced as Persona 5: The Phantom X.

According to the details translated by Persona Central, Persona 5: The Phantom X will be a free-to-play mobile game with in-app purchases (probably gacha, although that hasn’t been confirmed).

The most interesting thing to me is that this game has its own cast. Despite being set specifically in the world of Persona 5, you play as a new protagonist, who gains a partner in the form of an animal (an owl, this time) and awakens to his Persona along with classmates of his. Igor has a new assistant in the Velvet Room as well, a woman named Merope.

It features the daily life and bonding mechanics, as well as exploring the Metaverse at night to fight enemies. In short, it looks and sounds exactly like a regular full-fledged Persona game.

If I saw those trailers without context, I wouldn’t guess it was a mobile spin-off.

I’m intrigued by Persona 5: The Phantom X, although wary since it’s most likely a gacha game. Since the gameplay looks like a regular Persona game, I’d imagine gacha elements would be introduced by having either Personas themselves be gacha, or party members added through gacha. There’s going to be a closed test on March 29, so hopefully we’ll learn more about it after that.

So far, Persona 5: The Phantom X has only been confirmed for a release in China. What do you think of what we’ve seen so far?

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