Operation Backlog Completion 2026

Final Fantasy XVI Has Gone Gold

 Video games  No Responses »  Tagged with: , ,
Mar 312023
 

Final Fantasy XVI, my second-most anticipated game of the year, has officially gone gold.

Square Enix made the announcement in a tweet that also includes another look at the adorable Torgal plushies I wish they’d sell as merchandise.

I haven’t been following Final Fantasy XVI too closely to avoid spoilers, although I did check out the “World of Valisthea” trailer to see the gameplay environments, since exploration is the one thing I still have questions about. From that trailer alone, the world looks beautiful.

Final Fantasy XVI is due out on June 22, so if the game has already gone gold, I think it’s safe to say we don’t have to worry about any delays.

While I had some concerns early on, I’ve been getting more and more excited for Final Fantasy XVI. April is supposed to feature news about exploration and RPG elements, so I’ll be looking forward to that. Now, I still don’t have a PS5, since there haven’t been enough exclusives to convince me, but this should be the game that gets me to take the plunge.

Discourse around Final Fantasy XVI has caused this strange divide where some people think it’s a disastrous insult to Final Fantasy and other people think it will be the greatest, most innovative game that ever existed. I fall somewhere in the middle, leaning toward the positive side. While I would have loved a turn-based Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy XVI looks like it’s shaping up to be a great game.

Are you excited for Final Fantasy XVI? Do you want to buy a Torgal plush? Were you surprised to hear it’s gone gold this far ahead of launch?

(In unrelated news, I saw an article from Noisy Pixel saying a Tokyo Xanadu sequel is being teased, but since the article warns of spoilers and I haven’t finished Tokyo Xanadu yet, I didn’t look into it any further. Here’s hoping I finish my Tokyo Xanadu playthrough in the near future. Then we can actually talk about the potential sequel tease!)

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?

Celebrating All Things Romantic: Knight Bewitched

 Celebrating All Things Romantic, Reviews, Video games  6 Responses »  Tagged with: , ,
Feb 272023
 

As we approach the end of Celebrating All Things Romantic 2023, we actually have a game to discuss that isn’t a visual novel!

Knight Bewitched is a turn-based RPG that follows Ruth, a knight who has defeated many monsters in the kingdom and is next tasked with killing a witch.

But when the witch, Gwen, turned out to be a good-natured alchemist who saves her life, Ruth refuses to kill her. This decision makes her an enemy of the kingdom, who believe her to be bewitched.

The stakes quickly rise higher as an ancient enemy returns, but amidst all the world-saving, the growing relationship between Ruth and Gwen is an important part of the story.

As an RPG, Knight Bewitched plays like a classic turn-based JRPG (albeit one that lets you save anywhere) and has a strong focus on applying debuffs and status effects. I found myself paying more attention to that than in most JRPGs. Combat is fun and can be challenging at times, and the game rewards exploration with a handful of side quests, some optional bosses, and a number of secret areas to find. Dungeons are maze-like enough that eventually I got tired and no longer cared to find all the items, but that’s the only thing I disliked about the gameplay.

The story is fine, with nothing too unpredictable. A few character moments felt rushed, but overall it works well enough for such a short RPG – around 10 hours, a little more or less depending on how much optional content you do.

Although the main story is wrapped up, it ends with a sequel tease. There is a sequel called Knight Bewitched 2, as well as a few other games set in the same series. I have Knight Bewitched 2, so I’ll probably play that eventually, and then we’ll see about the others.

In the meantime, if you’re looking for a short turn-based RPG with a love story at its heart, Knight Bewitched is worth a look.

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