Operation Backlog Completion 2026
Apr 152026
 

‘Twas the day before Tomodachi Life, and all through the backlog
not a game was in focus, not even for dialogue.
Living the Dream was imagined, its Miis planned out with care
in hopes that the full game soon would be there.
The Miis from the demo were all snug in their houses
awaiting who would be friends and who would be spouses.
And fans around the world and the writer at her desktop
kept checking their shipping or the download from the eShop,
when out on the Internet there arose such a clamor
I sprang onto Reddit to see people yammer.
Away to review threads I flew like a flash
opened each page to check for backlash.
The range of reviews on the upcoming game
made me check once more to see if mine came,
when what to my wondering eyes should appear
but a tracking page saying the ship date was near,
and a timeframe sadly not showing the past
which meant for release day it would have to be fast.
More rapid than eagles they’ve been times before,
and I called to them hoping they’d surprise me once more:
Now Best Buy! now packers! now shippers! now drivers!
everyone with my copy, please don’t be deprivers!
To the end of the street! to the edge of the door!
Now dash to me! Dash to me! Dash to me more!
As packages that with quick shipping do fly,
when they meet with a delay, speed up with a cry,
so up to my house I hoped the truck would arrive
with a package awaiting me fresh from the drive.
And then as I waited, I planned what I’d do
with some old ideas and some that were new.
As I imagined my island, I pictured them now
my favorite characters together, made by my vow.
They’d be good guys and bad guys and some in between,
in purple and blue and yellow and green,
with catchphrases given to make them seem better
and mannerisms given for each new go-getter.
Their facepaint, how clever! Their voices, how strange!
When it’s all said and done, there will be such a range!
Their arrival will be marked by chaos and laughter
as any sense of order is abandoned soon after.
The pairs I imagined will be left up to chance
especially now with more types of romance.
They’ll have meetings and greetings and fights like a drama
while I give them pets like a Stand or a llama.
My drawing skills, though, aren’t quite up to snuff,
and we can’t share designs, so it must be enough.
A glance at the old game and the memories it held
soon make sure my worries are quickly dispelled.
I know it’ll be a game full of delight,
like the silliest story I ever could write,
and all that remains is for it to be here
and I can begin to make new memories dear.
I check the tracking number just one more time
and pace as I hear the next hour chime
But whether it’s early or I’m late to the game
“Happy Tomodachi Life day to all, one and the same!”
Mar 272026
 

We’ve got a strange assortment of topics to talk about today, so let’s start with Stranger Than Heaven.

As we discussed on Monday, yesterday’s Xbox Partner Preview was announced as having “an in-depth look” at Stranger Than Heaven.

Well, it wasn’t quite an in-depth look.

I have to admit that I was a little disappointed when it turned out to be a single trailer along with the announcement that an actual deep dive will be coming on May 6 at 4 PM PT / 7 PM ET. The trailer did explicitly confirm multiple eras, however, so that’s something new we learned.

In fact, it confirms 5 eras (1915, 1929, 1943, 1951, and 1965) and 5 cities, so it sounds like it will be a pretty big game. The 1965 shot in the trailer also clearly shows Kamurocho.

The trailer didn’t answer most of my questions, though, since I really want to know more about the story. I’m intrigued by what was shown, but hopefully the May 6 broadcast will show a lot more.

Moving on, this morning was the Blue Reflection broadcast announced last week, and although I didn’t watch it live, I woke up eager to find out what the news was.

(Actually, I woke up yesterday eager to see what the news was, too, because I misremembered it as being on the 26th, but anyway…)

There was a new announcement, although not a whole new game like I hoped. They announced Blue Reflection Quartet for the Switch, Switch 2, PlayStation 5, and PC, a collection that includes Blue Reflection and Blue Reflection: Second Light as well as a game version of Blue Reflection: Ray (the anime) that tells “the climactic arc of the anime” with 3D exploration in the Common and a console version of Blue Reflection: Sun (the mobile game) with the main story adapted alongside new characters stories.

It will be out on July 30, although it’s a digital-only release in the West.

Some additional information from the live stream and website, translated and summarized by fans on Reddit, includes the fact that the first game will be censored slightly compared to its original release, which is disappointing.

Still, I’m interested in the Ray and Sun content included in this collection, so I’ll probably get it eventually. In the meantime, I hope this collection is build-up to a full third game, and not a sign that the series is over.

Finally, let’s talk briefly about the Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream demo. The demo came out on Wednesday, so I downloaded it that evening and tried it out, and I had a blast. There isn’t much to do in the demo, only create 3 Miis and go through a few basic tasks with them, but I played it for the whole evening and woke up wishing there was more demo content. I’m already itching for the full release after that little taste. If you’re curious about Tomodachi Life, definitely try the demo.

April 16 can’t come fast enough. I’d better get to work on my backlog so Tomodachi Life doesn’t shove all my partly-completed games out of the way. At least it’s the sort of game best played in short bursts between other games (is what I could say more confidently if I hadn’t played the demo for literal hours despite its tiny amount of content).

So, how do you feel about Stranger Than Heaven, Blue Reflection Quartet, and the Tomodachi Life demo?

Jan 302026
 

Yesterday was the Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream Direct, and if you haven’t seen it, it’s worth watching the full live stream for the funny romantic drama going on throughout.

In short, the new Tomodachi Life game looks fantastic.

When we talked about this on Wednesday, I mentioned wanting to see confirmation that romance is still in, lots of customization options, and wacky random events.

I basically got everything I wanted.

The showcase began with a look at Mii customization, and it looks like it will be better than ever. On top of the physical customization, you can also set each Mii’s dating preferences to show which, if any, genders they want to date. So not only is romance in, but that’s just about the best way to handle it!

It also showed silly conversations, news broadcasts as absurd as I’d hoped for, and “quirks” that make Miis’ behavior a little more unique. Up to 8 Miis can live together in a big house, too!

You can customize the island, and the variety of designs they showed is incredible. Speaking of designs, it seems you can draw on just about anything to customize it further.

A few things are still unclear, like if Miis can still meet on their own, or if you have to introduce them to each other (although I’d assume they can), and if certain features like the Concert Hall are returning. A lot of fans are concerned about the Concert Hall since it wasn’t in the showcase, but on the other hand, I’m sure they didn’t show everything.

Only one negative thing came out of this presentation, and that’s the image-sharing restrictions. It sounds like you’ll be restricted on how you can share images from the game (probably due to that “draw any design you want” feature), which is a shame for a game basically made for sharing insane screenshots. The Japanese website, when translated, says these restrictions are on transferring images to smartphones and posting to social media, so hopefully that means we’ll still be able to take screenshots and share them by uploading them to a computer.

Anyway, that’s the one shadow on an otherwise stellar presentation. Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream sounds like everything I hoped for from a Tomodachi Life sequel, and I can’t wait!

What did you think of the Tomodachi Life Direct?