Operation Backlog Completion 2026

Yo-kai Watch News Teased On Its 10th Anniversary

 Video Games  2 Responses »  Tagged with: ,
Jul 122023
 

Yesterday was the 10th anniversary of Yo-kai Watch, and Level-5 opened up an anniversary website to celebrate.

There isn’t much of note for those of us outside of Japan, especially since the Switch games were never localized (not even the port of the first game).

What’s much more interesting is a tweet from Level-5 CEO Akihiro Hino, in which he talks about the anniversary.

If Google’s translation is accurate, his tweet says the “next work” is progressing even though it isn’t ready to be announced yet. This follows a tease back in February, in which he similarly commented on “the next amazing thing” in the works for Yo-kai Watch.

It’s been a long time since we’ve had any reason to discuss Yo-kai Watch.

For a while, the series seemed like it was poised to become the next big thing. It was huge in Japan and had begun to gain ground in the west. Yo-kai Watch, three different versions of Yo-kai Watch 2 (following the Pokémon model), the first Yo-kai Watch Blasters spin-off (also with two versions), and Yo-kai Watch 3 were all localized.

Then Yo-kai Watch localizations ground to a halt.

We never got Yo-kai Watch 4 or any other spin-offs, despite persistent hope for 4. Back in 2021, the trademark of “Y School Heroes” made fans hopeful that the spin-off Yo-kai Watch Jam: Yo-kai Academy Y was set to be localized, but nothing came of that.

(Then again, in that same blog post where I discussed that trademark, I mentioned that nothing had come of the Baten Kaitos trademark, and the Baten Kaitos remaster was finally announced this year.)

Now we have another chance. With Level-5 already having announced Decapolice, Fantasy Life i, Megaton Musashi: Wired, and Professor Layton and the New World of Steam this year, with a new commitment to worldwide releases, I’m hopeful that the next time a Yo-kai Watch game is announced, we’ll finally get it again in the west.

Back in March when the 3DS eShop was being shut down, I played through the start of Yo-kai Watch 3 to get far enough to download the free DLC before the eShop closed. It was fun, and it made me sad that we never got more Yo-kai Watch. While I still need to play 2 and 3, here’s hoping there is a new Yo-kai Watch game in our future!

It’s the 23rd Anniversary of Final Fantasy IX

 Video Games  6 Responses »  Tagged with: ,
Jul 072023
 

Today is the 23rd anniversary of Final Fantasy IX.

While it wouldn’t be released in North America until November (and not in Europe until the next February), July 7, 2000 was the date Final Fantasy IX first came out in Japan.

Final Fantasy IX holds a special place in my heart. It was my first Final Fantasy game, as well as one of my first JRPGs, although I might have already played Paper Mario and Pokémon.

I fell in love with it as soon as I started playing, and it got me hooked on the genre.

It’s been so long since I played Final Fantasy IX, I’ve probably forgotten a lot of details. Still, the parts I do remember are wonderful memories. The “You’re Not Alone” scene is one of the most powerful scenes in the series to me, along with a certain scene where two characters fight side-by-side.

So I keep wondering if we’ll see Final Fantasy IX return someday.

Most attention has been on Final Fantasy XVI and the upcoming Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, but there have been some whispers of Final Fantasy IX news. For one thing, there’s supposedly an animated series being made… although the total silence about it makes me wonder if it will ever exist.

There also have been rumors of a Final Fantasy IX remake for a while now. It was part of the Nvidia leak, and further rumors have followed since then. Even Gematsu says it’s in development. If the remake does exist, could it be set for 2025 for the game’s 25th anniversary?

I don’t often replay games since there are so many games I have yet to play in my backlog, but a Final Fantasy IX remake is one I’d play for sure.

Many fans think the rumored Final Fantasy IX remake will feature turn-based combat, as a love letter to the classics just like the original Final Fantasy IX was. I would love that. It would be amazing, especially with recent games in the series switching to action combat instead.

There’s no real news to discuss today or anything like that. But after seeing that it was the anniversary of the game that really got me into the genre, I wanted to make a post remembering it. Have you played Final Fantasy IX? Would you play a remake if one came out?

Remember, We Hardly Know Anything About Dragon Quest XII

 Video Games  6 Responses »  Tagged with: , ,
Jun 282023
 

Dragon Quest XII is once again a hot topic of debate, which is impressive considering how little we know about it.

Part of this comes from Final Fantasy XVI. Being an M-rated action RPG, it’s led many fans to think Dragon Quest XII will follow in its footsteps.

The concerns about Dragon Quest XII having action combat have been circulating ever since it was announced, despite there being no proof of that.

This time, however, the controversy is more about the game’s tone.

The latest news comes from an interview in which Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii was asked about the status of Dragon Quest XII, since we haven’t seen anything about it since it was announced in 2021.

As translated by Noisy Pixel, he responded:

Mmm, I guess it will take a little while. This time we are making a game directed toward an adult audience, so we are having a lot of trouble (laughs). There was also the Coronavirus pandemic.”

He goes on to say that a lot of employees are still working remotely.

This has spurred a lot of controversy over the idea that Dragon Quest XII will be a dark, edgy, M-rated game, along with the repeated claims that it won’t have turn-based combat, even though none of this has been confirmed. We still don’t know what they mean about the target audience being adults. We barely know anything about Dragon Quest XII at all.

Here’s what’s actually been confirmed about Dragon Quest XII:

  • The full title is Dragon Quest XII: The Flames of Fate.
  • It was described as “Dragon Quest for adults” when announced.
  • It will have choices.
  • The combat system will be “renewed” but still feel familiar to fans (based on the translation here).
  • The story is complete.
  • It has the same director as Dragon Quest XI.
  • It uses Unreal Engine 5.
  • Dragon Quest XII could set the path for the next 10-20 years of the series.

None of that says the combat will be a radical departure (if anything, it suggests the opposite). There’s no proof the tone will be dark and edgy or even rated M, either. All of those assumptions are coming from the “Dragon Quest for adults” line, which still hasn’t been explained. For all we know, that could mean they’re making the gameplay more complex.

So, what about this latest interview answer? Considering he laughed while giving the answer, I’m not sure we should attach too much significance to the adult target audience being what’s caused so much time to pass without news. The remote work and COVID-related delays feel like the more likely culprits.

Dragon Quest XII could have a completely different tone, but it’s too early to panic over it. In the meantime, I probably should play more Dragon Quest so I have more than two games to reference when talking about it!

What do you think Dragon Quest XII having an adult target audience means?

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