Operation Backlog Completion 2026

Fantasian Appears on SteamDB

 Video games  3 Responses »  Tagged with: ,
Aug 022023
 

Fantasian is a game I’ve had my eye on ever since it was first announced.

The most recent game to come from Hironobu Sakaguchi’s company Mistwalker, Fantasian is a turn-based JRPG reminiscent of classic Final Fantasy, and it looks fantastic.

However, it’s currently exclusive to Apple Arcade.

Back in December, when we learned of a new Mistwalker game in development, I mentioned that I finally had a device capable of playing Fantasian. Indeed, I used the Apple Arcade free trial that came with my new iPad to start Fantasian a few months ago.

I really like what I’ve played so far… and I really dislike playing it on a tablet.

It looked like there was no port in sight, but now that might finally be changing. Fantasian has appeared on SteamDB, the site that tracks everything in Steam’s database. While there’s no official announcement yet, this could mean an impending Fantasian PC port.

Since I’ve only played the start so far, I’d be more than happy to buy Fantasian on PC and play it there instead. Having it on consoles would be even nicer, but I’m just excited at the possibility that it might be finally leaving Apple Arcade exclusivity.

Will you play Fantasian if it’s finally ported?

Eiyuden Chronicle Delayed to 2024, New Final Fantasy XIV Expansion Announced

 Video games  2 Responses »  Tagged with: , ,
Jul 282023
 

Eiyuden Chronicle was one of my most-anticipated games of 2023, but it looks like I’ll have to push that to 2024.

Announced in 2020 with a wildly successful Kickstarter campaign, Eiyuden Chronicle is a spiritual successor to the Suikoden series.

Everything about it looks great, so I’m pretty excited for it. While it was originally planned for 2022 and then moved to 2023, however, it’s now been delayed to Q2 2024.

I’m a little disappointed in the delay, but I’m so mired in my backlog right now that I don’t mind as much. Maybe by the time it comes out in 2024, I’ll be all caught up!

…All right, so that’s an unrealistic goal. Maybe I’ll at least have finished enough of my must-play titles to be ready to dive into Eiyuden on day one.

(The actual Suikoden series is supposed to see the HD remaster of Suikoden and Suikoden II released this year, too, but there haven’t been any updates in a while.)

Meanwhile, the new Final Fantasy XIV expansion was announced today! Titled Dawntrail, it’s set for summer 2024. That’s as much as I’ve seen about it, because I still need to avoid spoilers. The winner of our last contest tasked me with playing Stormblood, so at least I’m making progress! Maybe I’ll be completely caught up in time for this new expansion?

2024 is already shaping up to be a fantastic year for RPGs. Are you planning to play either of these? What other 2024 RPGs are you looking forward to?

Could Breath of Fire Return?

 Video games  3 Responses »  Tagged with: ,
Jul 212023
 

Remember when Capcom had a turn-based JRPG series called Breath of Fire?

Breath of Fire feels like a forgotten series, with its last release being a 2016 Japan-exclusive mobile game that fans hated, and the last entry before that being from 2002.

But maybe we shouldn’t lose hope yet.

As part of its new “Capcom Town” feature, Capcom has been holding polls about various Capcom games.

The latest poll, which just ended on the 17th, asked fans if they wanted Sengoku Basara, Breath of Fire, or Capcom Arcade Stadium featured in the next Capcom Town museum exhibit.

Now the results are out (presented by Phoenix Wright and Maya Fey, just as the previous poll’s results were, and I love that Capcom apparently considers Ace Attorney iconic enough to give them this role), and… Sengoku Basara won. But the international breakdown shows that Breath of Fire got 71% of the vote in North America and Europe, as well as 56% of the vote from countries under “Others.”

After the voting ended, Capcom also posted an additional poll on Twitter asking fans which Breath of Fire game they played first. They did a similar poll for Sengoku Basara, although only in Japanese.

While celebrating Capcom history is a big focus of Capcom Town, even this much attention being given to Breath of Fire is more than the series has seen in a while. With fans showing their love for the series, maybe Capcom will realize it’s popular enough to deserve a collection or even a new entry.

Breath of Fire III is still the only Breath of Fire game I’ve played, so I might not be in the best position to ask for more. But I love JRPGs, and I’d love to see the series return. It’s been my hope for a while now that the success of Monster Hunter Stories will show them that they have a market for turn-based RPGs.

In the meantime, maybe I should get around to playing the other Breath of Fire games that are still in my backlog…

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