Happy Trails, Gang!

HIGH The cast’s a largely enjoyable bunch of rogues with solid writing.

LOW The battle systems are somewhat unexciting.

WTF Feri’s (13f) father’s ominously-worded letter to Van (24m).

The Trails series has been around for a while at this point, and unlike many other major JRPG series on the market, it doesn’t simply ditch the storyline of the previous entries and start afresh with each new installment. No, they’re all interlinked, with cameo appearances from one arc popping up in the next.

Such a long-term structure sounds like it could be pretty uninviting for new players beginning with later games, but as someone who only occasionally dips into this IP, I’m pleased to say that Trails through Daybreak works extremely well as a starting point for newcomers thanks to its new core cast, fresh setting and just enough explanation about prior events peppered in.

This new arc in the Trails series takes place in the Republic of Calvard, a fairly major superpower. It’s a region and world filled with recognizable tech — they have televisions, laptops, mobile phones, cars and highways, which makes much of the setting feel immediately relatable. Of course, this region has its own share of woes and social ills, and this is where a new story begins as a school girl with a heart of gold requests help from a local fixer in recovering something known as the Genesis — a keepsake of her grandfather… which, by the way, might just be part of something that might trigger the end of world.

The characters in Trails through Daybreak are pretty great overall. Protagonist Van Arkride isn’t some wide-eyed kid, instead having plenty of life already under his belt as the story begins. He’s got a reputation as a dependable fixer (here termed a “Spriggan”) who can get things done for a fee, and often employed by clients who may not want to get involved with the law for various reasons. I was initially concerned he’d lean too far into the ‘cool dependable guy’ side of the spectrum to be interesting, but he has unexpected personality quirks that make him a decent lead.

The backup cast run the gamut from good to excellent. Feri in particular is a superb addition — a fish-out-of-water child soldier whose limited experience living on the battlefield couples with her boundless enthusiasm and desire to be helpful in weird and amusing ways. Main heroine Agnes is fairly likable, even if her personality slots neatly into the kind-hearted-but-determined trope, then there’s a host of playable and nonplayable characters who get involved like Judith, a movie actress with a shadowy side gig, or the Direwolf, a beast of a dude with whom Van’s had an obviously turbulent history.

The writing and world building are solid throughout, with plenty of amusing dialogue to keep things entertaining, even when the cutscenes run long with exposition. Handled badly, the pacing in Trails through Daybreak could have been an absolute bore, but it all goes down easy thanks to a decent localization and good character work, much of it shining when players are allowed to simply breathe in each environment and potter around with relaxing, non-critical tasks between more serious events.

There’s also a minor morality system at play during certain points where Van can choose between lawful, chaotic or morally questionable outcomes. This doesn’t change who he is as a character — he’s a hero, so he’s not going to suddenly start kicking puppies into wood chippers out of nowhere. It’s more that a chaotic choice will have him come to a different conclusion. A lawful choice will have him leaving a thug in the hands of the police, whereas a chaotic choice would lead him to the conclusion that the police might not prosecute the criminal appropriately, so he’ll blackmail them to ensure compliance instead. It’s a minor thing, but it does gently guide certain responses and outcomes throughout the narrative.

In terms of gameplay, series regulars will find an admirable amount of player customization. Battles can be made as easy or as challenging as desired with multiple selectable difficulties, text and movement speeds can be sped up or cut down, and more.

Looking specifically at combat, there’s a new dual battle system on offer.

The first aspect is a little like that found in Falcom’s other famous action JRPG series Y’s, though admittedly more limited in scope. It’s a simple realtime setup where players get to stab enemies in real time or roll out of the way of attacks, best used to eliminate weaker enemies and to shunt larger foes off-balance by stunning them before transitioning to the turn-based mode to finish them off. It’s not particularly deep, but it’s nice to have the option to clear riffraff in a speedy manner instead of having to knuckle down for a turn-based brawl every time a poxy slime gets too close to the party.

This second aspect is a more traditional turn-based approach where players give each character various commands like defending from attacks, casting magical arts or simply stabbing an enemy in the face. This is paired alongside a realtime battle system where dashing around field monsters, tumbling out of the reach of attacks and smashing them into a stunned state with special moves is the order of the day.

There’s a decent amount of strategy in this turn-based, including maneuvering around the field to catch as many enemies in an area-of-effect attack as possible, or synergizing with allies so that they join in on the assault, but the delay between selection and activation of certain special moves robs play of immediacy, and seeing enemies walk out of said AOE before activation sucks.

While these systems are decent enough, I did find myself wishing the frequent battles would be over faster, so I could get back to continuing the story — a feeling I rarely have when encountering a genuinely gripping JRPG battle system. The lack of impact during battles is noticeable, with fairly stiff animations and no real oomph to each attack. As a result battles feel a little more mundane and perfunctory than they could be, and playing Daybreak right off the back of Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, it’s hard not to expect a little more from modern-day battle systems.

As a side note, Daybreak is full of “points of no return” where players will be warned that the storyline is about to advance and that if they haven’t done everything they’ll lose the chance forever. As someone with a completionist mindset, this left me in a near-perpetual state of anxiety. Did I talk to everyone? Did I do everything? Did I doublecheck that I talked to everyone and did everything? I’m sure I did, so let’s continue… okay, we’re now past the point of no retu — SHIT, I FORGOT TO FEED THAT F****** CAT MY PLAYTHROUGH IS RUINED GODDAMN IT!!!

Well, it’s maybe not that extreme, but I spent a lot of time doublechecking that I’d crossed everything off my list before daring to progress.

Despite completion anxiety and combat that was just a little bit lacking, I still had a great time with Trails through Daybreak — it offers an interesting world coupled with plenty of likeable characters, ultimately delivering an enjoyable journey filled with plenty of good times.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Disclosures: This game is developed by Nihon Falcom and published by NIS America. It is currently available on PS4/5, Switch and PC. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the PC. Approximately 35 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and the game was not completed. Still playing though!

Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated T and contains Blood, Drug References, Fantasy Violence, Language, and Suggestive Themes. The official description reads: “This is a role-playing game in which players assume the role of a hero hired to find a stolen heirloom. As players explore a fictional republic, they can complete missions/quests, interact with characters, and battle human enemies and fantasy creatures (e.g., giant insects, demons, robotic turrets). Players use swords, machine guns, and magic spells to defeat enemies in turn-based combat. Battles are highlighted by gunfire, impact sounds, and cries of pain. Some sequences depict blood-splatter effects as characters are attacked; a handful of scenes show blood on characters’ faces and underneath a corpse. The game contains some suggestive material: a gentleman’s club depicting female characters in lingerie dancing on poles; red-light district signage (e.g., “Show Girls”); innuendo/sexuality in dialogue (e.g.,“We’ve got a nice room out in the Entertainment District…[W]e’ll give you more girls…”; “Just don’t get too naughty, all right?”). The dialogue also references drugs (e.g., “…laced with illicit substances”; “hard drugs”; “…[I]f he’s going around selling drugs to children, he won’t be on the streets for long.”). The word “sh*t” is heard in the game.”

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: This game offers subtitles. Audio isn’t required to play. All dialogue is subtitled, few mechanics are aided by audio cues, and the few that do have visual accompaniments. It’s fully accessible.

Remappable Controls: Yes, this game offers fully remappable controls.

A Friend To All Monsties

HIGH Sublime creature designs.

LOW The age of the target audience.

WTF Stealing monster babies.

For 20 years, Monster Hunter has been one of Capcom’s most successful and enduring franchises. Yet for all its star power, the games themselves have done little to change up the central action role-playing mechanics of hunting kaiju and other beasts in its lush, feudal world.

Little, that is, until Monster Hunter Stories took it into the arena of monster-taming turn-based RPGs, ala Pokemon or Shin Megami Tensei. Having put some time into Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin, I can say it doesn’t take the genre to any new heights, but it does make for a solid entry into an overly saturated genre with just enough of its own character to stand out. 

For starters, MHS2 does a commendable job of replicating the core cycle of the mainline series — gear up and murder monsters using a wide array of tricks in the hope of harvesting some drops to forge or upgrade weapons and armor. Rinse and repeat with increasingly threatening beasts. 

Although mainline Monster Hunter is hardly blood-soaked, this one’s also more family friendly — the protagonist’s talking cat sidekick is only too willing to give the ol’ “Believe in yourself!” between bouts of pining for donuts. Given the genre, it’s clear this title was targeted towards a younger audience with an appropriately-attuned difficulty (AKA, pretty easy.)

The jovial tone carries through the rather serious — although not particularly grim — storyline. A mysterious evil is driving monsters to unnatural rage amid a prophecy foretelling destruction across the world. The player’s avatar must collect monsters and advance their skill as a Monster Rider to save their idyllic island home from these treacherous threats.

It’s not a particularly compelling plot, and characters lack the kind of depth that could give it more oomph, but as is the case with this genre especially, the story and questlines really aren’t important — what matters is the collecting and battling. In this, Wings of Ruin makes a strong case for itself.

Pulling from decades of material, it features some of the series’ iconic, sublime and oftentimes just badass creatures as potential partners — delightfully referred to as “Monsties.” Part of the franchise’s success is due to its memorable designs, here re-imagined in a more cartoony and vibrant graphic style. Rathalos, Tigrex, Nargacuga and more are here, along with weapons and armors that mirror them. 

Then there’s the manner in which they’re “caught.” Players enter dens — sometimes spawned when a monster fought in the wild retreats — and steal eggs to raise as their own. There is something intrinsically funny (and awful) about pulling an egg from a nest and watching the player goofily carry it out with both hands to go hatch and fight with — or, in another dark turn that never reaches the tonal surface, sacrifice it to boost the stats of another Monstie.

Stat lines are relatively straightforward — speed, crit rate, attack, defense — with some elemental flavor. There’s a neat gene mechanic where monsters try to line up certain attributes to make a bingo but this isn’t a system that needs a complex Excel spreadsheet to min-max a build. 

Similarly, combat is simple without ever being dull. It boils down to a rock-paper-scissors system of power, speed or technical attacks coupled with choice of the type of weapon (slash, pierce, or blunt). Correctly guessing which type to use against a wild monster will yield bigger rewards in damage and charging up a kinship meter, used for flashy skills and eventually to ride the player’s Monstie for a big damage finisher

On the technical side, I never ran into any issues. This release is a port of a previous Switch version, and the while graphics are nothing to particularly herald, Capcom has followed the original hardware’s limitations (and Nintendo’s ethos) in crafting an enjoyable experience, rather than anything particularly pretty.

Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin isn’t a shining exemplar of the monster taming genre, but it does successfully mesh the iconic aesthetics of its mainline counterpart with no-fat collect and battle systems that are as easy to approach as they are satisfying to master.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Disclosures: This game is developed by Capcom and Marvelous and published by Capcom. It is currently available on PS4, PC and Switch. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the PS5. Approximately 12 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and the game was not completed.

Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated E and contains Crude Humor, Fantasy Violence and Mild Language. The official description reads as follows: This is a role-playing game in which players assume the role of a monster rider on a quest to protect a mysterious egg. Players explore a fantasy world, complete quests, interact with characters, and battle fantastical creatures (e.g., dragons, dinosaurs, giant insects) in turn-based combat. Players can select various weapon attacks (e.g., sword slashes, arrow strikes, oversized-pistol shots) and monster attacks (e.g., flame breathe, dash attack) from a menu to defeat enemy creatures. Battles can be frenetic, accompanied by explosions and screen-shaking effects. During monster tracking, players can collect monster dung; players also encounter a creature that emits a brown flatulence attack. The word “hell” appears in the game.

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: This game offers subtitles. The subtitles cannot be altered and/or resized.  Audio cues for NPCs and enemies do not have a visual component onscreen. This game is not fully accessible.

Remappable Controls: Yes, this game offers partially remappable controls. Action mapping for buttons on the controller can be changed.

From the recently released SAND LAND to the unknown Blue Dragon or Chrono Trigger, we are fascinated by the artwork of Akira Toriyama. Let's see some of these.

SAND LAND

Sand Land, in a dramatic way, marks the farewell of one of our greatest storytellers, Akira Toriyama. Through this journey, we see his artistic evolution move from Dragon Ball's fast action and explosions of his signature anime style, all the way to this introspective desert adventure. Though an element of sadness remains when knowing this may be his final work, Sand Land serves instead as a celebration. Sand Land isn't without its flaws; some side quests may feel repetitive and the combat system might lack some of the depth craved by hardcore action game fans; nonetheless, these minor shortcomings won't take anything away from your experience - its greatest strength lies in being pure fun - something too seldom experienced today when gaming comes out with all-inclusive offerings like Sand Land does!

Blue Dragon

The art style of Akira Toriyama has left an indelible imprint on the JRPG universe contributing to the success of so many games, from iconic characters of Dragon Ball and the whimsical charm of Dragon Quest to lesser-known titles like Blue Dragon about whom I will say a few words here. This is maybe the only game that did not receive mainstream recognition. However, this game - filled with potential yet rarely recognized - should never have fallen under the radar. One must appreciate Blue Dragon for its artistic prowess before discussing its content because Toriyama's signature style can be seen throughout the game. Blue Dragon's characters boast their spiky hair and exaggerated features. They are brought here straight out of a Dragon Ball manga pages, while its vibrant world, full of floating islands and ancient ruins, provides an exciting sense of adventure reminiscent of classic JRPGs.

Dragon Ball FighterZ

Dragon Ball FighterZ serves as an important tribute to Akira Toriyama's legacy and visual storytelling within the fighting game genre. While we honor a master artist like Akira Toriyama with our memory of him and his masterpieces, Dragon Ball FighterZ stands as an ongoing reminder of their lasting appeal and impactful enjoyment by fans worldwide. For any true Dragon Ball fan - and particularly Toriyama fans like myself - this fighting game provides the complete Dragon Ball experience! Other fighting games may have attempted to capture its magic, but none come close; FighterZ truly nails it! Imagine playing as your favorite characters like Goku, Vegeta, and all the rest from Dragon Ball Z and feeling exactly as though you were entering into one of its episodes - with animations so accurate they mirror Toriyama's artwork perfectly - it feels just like being right there in an episode! FighterZ makes that dream possible like no other game has before it!

Dragon Quest

Toriyama's work can easily be identified among its characters, monsters, and environments found within Dragon Quest. His signature style characterized by faces with expressive features like expressive facial features such as expressive facial features such expressive faces with expressive facial features; expressive hair; dynamic poses; and dynamic poses is integral to its identity and visual identity. While core elements remain constant over time; his art style has slowly transformed over time: earlier games had sharper lines with detailed designs while later entries feature smoother curves with rounder faces - so Dragon Quest serves as an accurate depiction of Akira Toriyama's video game artwork! So if you're searching for Akira Toriyama artwork in video game form then Dragon Quest is a surefire way!

Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot

Kakarot takes it one step further than Dragon Ball FighterZ did, however. Remember how Toriyama designed an amazing original character just for FighterZ? Kakarot delivers that magic too: Bonyu from Toriyama is here as well, providing Goku with yet another boss battle straight out of his mind - adding even more dimension and originality!  every piece of detail from Toriyama makes Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot more than worth playing! JRPGs were at their most beloved when Dragon Ball Z first hit theaters, leaving us to spend hours grinding levels, pouring over stat sheets, dreaming about Kamehameha blasts and transformations, all the while dreaming about them all the same! Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot capitalizes on these memories while staying true to Akira Toriyama's artwork! Furthermore, modern open-world JRPG games remain true to Akira Toriyama's artwork!

Conclusion

Perhaps this article has brought back fond memories from your golden JRPG days or awakened curiosity about an obscure title; either way, take this as your invitation to go deeper - endless worlds are waiting to be discovered that offer us magical storytelling from master storytellers all waiting to transport us with their masterful artful artistry of true master storytellers waiting to transport us into his imagination & artistry of such masterful storytellers's masterworks!

Wikipedia page – Official site – Official microsite

I love how the store credit system works on the Nintendo eShop. When you purchase games, you get golden coins that you can use as a discount for other games. If you have enough coins, you can even buy the game outright. One of the games I have bought with this system is Trinity Trigger. From the description, it sounded like an interesting and unique action JRPG, and I’m always interested to play new and unique games. Especially since key staff on this game worked on amazing games like Chrono Cross and the Mana series. Now, is it any good and should you pick up this game, or is it a game that you should skip? Well, in this first impression I have after playing 1/4th of the game, I want to tell you my opinion so far. I’m also curious to hear your opinion on the game and/or the content of this article in the comment section down below. And with that said, let’s dive right into Trinity Trigger.

Just A Bit More

In this game, we take on the role of Cyan. Cyan is an average boy from a small village. He is also a treasure hunter that one day learns he is chosen by the God of Chaos as his Warrior of Chaos.

In the fantasy world of Trinitia, there are two main Gods. The God of Order and the God of Chaos. In ancient times, they used to wage war for control of the lands. Now, they chose a warrior each to represent them and fight the other warrior to the death for dominance. Cyan doesn’t know what that even means, but it might explain why he has amnesia, those weird dreams and that special glowing mark in his eye. In search for answers, he sets out on a journey, and that’s how this game starts.

When this game was originally teased, the main setup for this game was to create a game and story that was nostalgic to those who played old school JRPG’s. A lot of talent who worked on other big titles like Xenoblade, Pokémon and Bravely Default II were working on this game as well. I always find it dangerous to mention these things, since it might set the expectations of players way too high. What if this isn’t going to work out or when the story just doesn’t hit the mark?

You can never predict how the chemistry is between people, and it’s possible that they are unable to work together. But, it’s also possible they hit it off big and make something extremely unique and special. I remember how a game like World’s End Club could have been so much more with two amazing directors behind it, Kazutake Kodaka from Danganronpa fame and Kotaro Uchikoshi from the Zero Escape fame. Yet, that game was decent but could have been so much more if it had more depth and polish.

If I’m honest with myself, Trinity Trigger falls into the same boat then World’s End Club. Take the story, for example. When I started playing this game, an amazing world was being setup and I started to get interested and immersed in this new world. But, it didn’t take long before I noticed that this game hits all the familiar story beats you expect from a JRPG. But the biggest issue in this story is that it doesn’t do anything special during its journey. I have already visited a couple of towns and each time it’s the exact same basic premise that happens.

The best way I can describe the story is that it’s unoffensively bland. It does what it’s supposed to do, but nothing more. It’s a shame, since the amazing voice cast behind this game brought this game to live so much. I have nothing to critique there. The only thing that can be a bit annoying is hearing the same grunts over and over again while you are fighting in the dungeons, but that’s part of the course in JRPG’s.

Playing it safe

For some people, having a bland story in a JRPG’s is a dealbreaker. But, I can handle that if the main gameplay loop is enjoyable. In this game, you go from town to town and explore the town dungeon to become stronger and get new unique abilities.

The battles in this game aren’t turn based like in other JRPG’s. This is an action JRPG, after all, so you have to dodge and time your attacks well. You can even choose to ignore battles if you want to, apart from scripted fights or boss battles, that is. The combat system is decent and does the job. The only complaint I have is that your stamina drains a bit too fast, making your attacks quite weak against enemies. So, you have to use other mechanics like having better damage when you dodge roll an attack in time.

After each dungeon, you unlock a new weapon that has a slightly different playstyle. You can choose between which weapon you use on the fly with a weapon wheel. It works quite well, and it’s fun to figure out which enemies are weak against which weapons. Especially the bosses, since hitting them with the right weapon creates even more damage.

During your exploration, you can find hidden chests with items. Underneath the mini-map, you can find a counter with how many hidden treasures are still left in the area. I find it quite enjoyable to explore the whole map to find these hidden treasures. Some of the hidden passages are hidden away extremely well, and finding them was a blast.

Something I also really enjoy is that you can easily choose between which character you control. Some characters have unique skills and being able to quickly switch between them is amazing. Since, some enemies have a long range attack, and then it’s a blast being able to switch to a character that can use a bow to take them out more easily.

Enemies also drop various items that you can use to craft items in shops or at special stations. And crafting these items actually cost in game money. The amount you have to spend for crafting is a lot lower, but this is a mechanic I’m hesitant about. It would have been quite a lot of fun to be able to craft healing items during your exploration. Maybe these healing items were less effective than the potions you can buy in the shops. But then again, it might break the balance of the game and make you a bit overpowered.

You can only carry so many potions and to be very honest, I never really had problems with a boss battle or a dungeon when I was stocked up on potions. When you don’t do anything crazy and keep your stock high and manage your stat boosting items well, this game becomes quite easy. So easy in fact that boss battles become an endurance test and extremely repetitive.

Each boss battle has the same basic premise. You have to dodge their attacks and use the right weapon to break the shield of the boss. In most cases, this is the newly unlocked weapon. After you have broken the shield, you can damage the boss. If you have broken the shield 4 to 5 times, and kept hitting the boss, you have beaten the fight.

Now, the dungeons play like your typical The Legend of Zelda dungeon to a degree. There is one main theme and puzzle mechanic for you to solve. Once you reached the final room of the dungeon, you fight a final boss and progress in the game. When I think about it, the structure of this game resembles 2D Zelda games here and there. And maybe, the structure of a Zelda game would have fit the game better than an action JRPG. Since, I wouldn’t be surprised if players drop this game and call it repetitive. Since, it really is. I tried to play this game in longer sessions, but I started to feel bored after playing it for an hour or two. Yet, I kept enjoying myself with the game while playing it on my 30-minute train ride from and to work.

Middle of the Road

The more I play this game, the more I feel like this game could have been so much more. The basic foundation of this game is rock solid, and I barely have anything to critique there. Like the controls and the UI for example. The controls are extremely responsive and a blast to work with.

Now, the other characters are AI controlled. Overall, the AI does an okay job following you and aiding you in combat, but it can do some brain-dead actions as well. One of the dungeons where it frustrated me to no end was the ice dungeon, where your AI allies slid into the spikes every single time.

Visually, this game looks pretty decent. There is quite a lot of detail put into this world and the underused area exclusive mechanics are quite a lot of fun to play with. For example, I love how in the forest area the mushrooms can have different effects depending on the color. Especially the one that allows you to light up the area.

But then you have moments where some textures are bland and look like they are from an earlier generation, creating a mismatch. And on top of that, some battle animations can’t be canceled. And the final attack of the bow is just silly. Yet, if a certain attack is in progress, you can’t switch weapons. This is something that annoyed me quite a lot as well.

The soundtrack of this game is quite enjoyable. It fits the atmosphere of the game like a glove. Overall, this orchestral soundtrack is a joy to listen too. But, there are some tracks that are a bit too short and the rather repetitive melody isn’t it doing any favors. Thankfully, these tracks don’t appear to often so I don’t mind it too hard.

The sound effects are pretty good too. I’d recommend that you use the option menu to tweak the sound balancing to your liking, since the basic sound balancing is a bit off when it comes to the balance between sound effects and music. I had to lower the music a little bit so I could hear the important sound effects better during battles.

This game really feels like it’s walking the middle of the road here. My biggest complaint with this game is that it lacks depth in almost every aspect of the game. And it’s just that lack of depth that’s hurting this game. This game has a lot of great idea’s like how easy to read the UI is, but it barely does anything with the stat boosting items.

The game also has local co-op, but I don’t see a reason why to play this game in co-op. There aren’t enough elements to justify for me to have a friend over and play this game. It’s just too bland for that. It’s a shame, since if the combat system was more in depth, it would have been an amazing feature. Now, it’s just another ticked box of features this game has.

Just like how some of the monster design is amazing and sometimes even looks somewhat creepy. They also telegraph their attacks quite well, so you can easily dodge them. Dodging attacks in time is quite important, since you can do special attacks or even more damage. Now, you also have your typical enemies like your slimes and bees, but they look unique and fit their setting quite well.

To be honest, this game is the perfect entry game for young childern to get into roleplaying games. I think that if you have played other more expansive JRPG’s, you will notice the cracks this game has and feel mixed about the game like the whole reception is for this game.

This brings me to the price. To be honest, I wouldn’t pay the full price for this game. The asking price for this game is 40€. And if you want all the DLC, it’s even more. Around 50€. Now, I don’t recommend buying all the DLC apart from the one that comes with the Deluxe edition. The other DLC is just a one time booster pack you can buy to make the game even easier than it already is.

The asking price is too high for this game and it’s length. This game can be beaten in 15 hours and it doesn’t really have replay value. I personally feel that 25€ would have been a better price for the base game and Deluxe edition should have been 40€. If you are interested by this game, I’d buy it if it were on sale. While this game isn’t doing anything new or innovate, it still manages to be enjoyable.

I’m happy that I gave this game a chance. While I expected a lot more from it, I don’t think it’s a bad game. I can totally understand why people don’t like this game or drop it. Since, it’s a very basic middle of the road JRPG that could do something unique but doesn’t. Now, the Japanese publishers of this game FuRyu have developed a game that became the basis for another larger game (The Legend of Legacy feels like the basis for The Alliance Alive). Maybe this game is creating the basis for another larger and better game.

If that’s the case, I’d love to see more unique puzzles in the dungeons for a start. The dungeons were so easy to beat and didn’t provide too much challenge. Maybe some puzzles were only the unique dungeon weapon has to be used to progress or even exit the dungeon.

I’d also love to see more expansion on the armor and stat items. I felt they barely had any impact in this game and I often forgot you could change the stones in your equipement to increase the damage output in certain cases or decrease the taken damage in certain cases.

The biggest thing I’d love to see improved is more depth in the game. Develop the town more and make them more memorable, instead of just a stop to stock up on supplies to go to the next dungeon. The side quests were introduced too late into the game.

I could go on for a while giving examples of what they can expand or improve, but I want to avoid that you get the impression that this game is bad. This game is decent, but not great. That’s the best way to describe this game. I’d recommend it to younger players who want to give an action JRPG a try. If you are in love with the action JRPG games, I’d highly advice you to lower your expecations. I’d compare to that animated summer blockbuster movie that everybody forgets about in a few months. It didn’t do anything memorable but it a fun time while it lasted. It’s a great snack inbetween games for me and I’m curious to see what the developer does next. Since, the potential is there.

With that said, I have said everything I wanted to say about the game for now. I want to thank you for reading this article and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope to be able to welcome you in another article, but until then have a great rest of your day and take care.

Rubber Arm Bandit Misfits

Following on from it’s PlayStation, Xbox and Windows release One Piece Odyssey has finally shipped it’s way to the Nintendo Switch in the form of a Deluxe Edition but is it a Pirates life for you or a sunken ship better left in the depths? Read on to find out.

One Piece is a well established manga and anime series well known in Japan that follows a band of misfit adventurers, the stories are usually built on wackiness, humour and its storytelling. One Piece Odyssey is a game that follows that formula but envelopes it into a JRPG, with quests, turn based battles and a story that fans will pretty much fall in love with.

The story follows D. Luffy and his fellow band of pirates as they lose all of their power and fall deserted to an island. The games premise is set up quite well although the beginning of the game has you navigating small areas whilst a lot of tutorials play out with small segments of gameplay thrown in. You will almost obliterate all enemies that stand in your way before you are soon stripped of your powers by a local mysterious girl for the sole reason of that she hates pirates. Your characters shrug it off like Okay we will just get them back and then the adventure really begins. This sets the tone of what is to come as the game is very eccentric in all aspects and does not stop.

In the first hour of the game you may ask why these characters all have rubber arms and why is everyone so mismatched in the way they dress? Well this follows the popular manga stories that has been versed for some time now so if you are playing this game for the first time like me without any prior knowledge to the books it all feels odd but once you get past the initial crux of it all there is some fun in the game to be had.

As you navigate the world you will use your characters abilities to navigate such as using Luffies stretchy arms to reach across deep chasms, there are areas of interest and Items lying around either on the ground or in pots and other smashable objects. Enemies themselves can be seen on the map and you will approach them to initiate combat.

Combat takes place in a separate field to navigating and requires you to tactfully take out the enemies who are if not just as strange as the characters of One Piece Odyssey. The combat can also be jarring at first even for veteran JRPG players. Battles can have each character in a different area of the battle fighting different foes to that of your comrades however this is not really explained. Characters have an advantage over certain monsters that essentially plays like rock-paper-scissors. The three attack types are technique which beats power, power which beats speed and speed which beats technique. It’s a little confusing at first but at least the game tells you if your current character is strong against the monster that you’re up against. Switching out characters can see you overcome this advantage but allowing the team to come together in the battle is the overall goal. I would say that the early battles are relatively easy anyway so it gives you enough time to get used to this system and if you can’t then you can still breeze through the story. Battles also use a TP system, TP is a power that can be accumulated by attacking normally and then used to carry out special attacks, it can also carry over into future battles allowing you to easily build it up for the more bigger fights.

Character abilities are equally just as weird as the rest of One Piece. Nico Robin has a move where she literally causes manhood inducing pain, ouch! it didn’t really occur to me what was going on until I saw the crotch view of the camera which became apparent after a few times using it. Usopp has move where he flicks a rubber band which lands poorly on the ground in front of him but dishes out huge damage on the enemy. It makes no sense but with what we have already seen of the game then I think we can let it slide.

If you’re into the super weird wacky world of One Piece then this game may be just the thing. There are new features in the game which will alleviate you from the main story such as side quests and crafting but these are by no means a requirement. The game remains relatively easy and grind free. The characters themselves while vividly different all have their own personality and clearly different traits but are all very likeable.

The games sound and music is really superb and some of the music later differs in that it grand and orchestral and sets the tone. The game has an English language but unfortunately lacks an English dub so a lot of the humour may be lost in translation however it is still a blast to play.

Performance on the Switch so far has been really good and there have been no noticeable frame drops during docked and undocked mode, while the game is not remarkable graphically it is good enough, the game whilst vibrant, graphics have definitely been toned down for it’s Switch version but if you want the full experience that can be played on the go this may just be the best way to play One Piece Odyssey.

A Nintendo Switch review code was provided by Bandai Namco

The post Review – One Piece Odyssey Deluxe Edition (Switch) appeared first on GameHype.

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Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, the next infusion of the reborn classic JRPG, is coming soon. The release date for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth has been...

The post Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth launch date announced for early 2024 appeared first on ISK Mogul Adventures. Written by .

As the first Something Of Mana game to come out in 15 years, Visions Of Mana is bound to be exciting some of you out there. Well, funnel all that anticipation into your mouse-clicking finger, because developers Square Enix have just put up a playable demo of the bright JRPG on Steam. I'm not sure how much the demo offers, as we're only told it includes "a section of the story, battles and exploration." But that's better than nothing, and with a full month before release, you have plenty of time to scope it out.

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As the first Something Of Mana game to come out in 15 years, Visions Of Mana is bound to be exciting some of you out there. Well, funnel all that anticipation into your mouse-clicking finger, because developers Square Enix have just put up a playable demo of the bright JRPG on Steam. I'm not sure how much the demo offers, as we're only told it includes "a section of the story, battles and exploration." But that's better than nothing, and with a full month before release, you have plenty of time to scope it out.

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Classic RPG Dragon Quest 3 is getting a remake in Square Enix's now familiar HD-2D style, which blends high-resolution 2D sprites together with 3D worlds. It'll land on November 14th. "Waitaminute," you might be saying, "Shouldn't they remake the first two games beforehand?" No, you numpty, you nyaff, you roaster; within the internal chronology of Dragon Quest, 3 comes first.

Plus, they are remaking 1 and 2 as well, for release sometime in 2025.

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The impenetrable wall of crossover fiction known as Kingdom Hearts has come to Steam. The games have been on Epic Games Store since 2021, so they're not new to PC folk. But this does open them up to players who shy away from Epic's storefront. I use the term "open up" loosely, because Kingdom Hearts is popularly regarded as a tangle of criss-crossing JRPG confuse-o-plots that require diagrams and multiple explainer videos to follow. I don't know if that's true, having never followed Alice down this Buster Sword-shaped rabbit hole, but it is the popular joke. And, looking into Goofy's cold, dead eyes, I find I am afraid to question it.

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Classic RPG Dragon Quest 3 is getting a remake in Square Enix's now familiar HD-2D style, which blends high-resolution 2D sprites together with 3D worlds. It'll land on November 14th. "Waitaminute," you might be saying, "Shouldn't they remake the first two games beforehand?" No, you numpty, you nyaff, you roaster; within the internal chronology of Dragon Quest, 3 comes first.

Plus, they are remaking 1 and 2 as well, for release sometime in 2025.

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The impenetrable wall of crossover fiction known as Kingdom Hearts has come to Steam. The games have been on Epic Games Store since 2021, so they're not new to PC folk. But this does open them up to players who shy away from Epic's storefront. I use the term "open up" loosely, because Kingdom Hearts is popularly regarded as a tangle of criss-crossing JRPG confuse-o-plots that require diagrams and multiple explainer videos to follow. I don't know if that's true, having never followed Alice down this Buster Sword-shaped rabbit hole, but it is the popular joke. And, looking into Goofy's cold, dead eyes, I find I am afraid to question it.

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While levels and gear were the most important aspects of power progression in base Elden Ring, Shadow Realm Blessings take center stage in its exclaimed expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree. While this may be hard to believe, there are numerous reasons why you should be aware of this mechanic.

Should you use the Shadow Realm Blessing system in Shadow of the Erdtree?

Shadow Realm Blessings provide your character with a significant amount of power and defense to help you kill your foes and survive them efficiently. Without using them, you'll find yourself struggling massively against the denizens of the Shadow Realm. Even basic footsoldiers will prove to be incredible challenges for you. So yes, you should be making full use of the Shadow Realm Blessings. If you do not use these blessings and build them up, you're in for a hard time and a world of frustration. For your reference, there are two types of blessings you should know about.

• Scadutree Blessing - Provides your character directly with free offensive and defense stats. This blessing stacks in power and must be upgraded using Scadutree Fragments found throughout the Shadow Realm.
• Revered Spirit Ash Blessing - Boosts the offensive and defensive stats of your Spirit Ash summons, allowing them to remain relevant in the Shadow Realm. Like the Scadutree Blessing, you need a special resource called Revered Spirit Ashes to upgrade it, allowing it to stack in power.

When you find the necessary resources to upgrade a Shadow Realm Blessing, the process can be done by sitting at any Grace and selecting the Shadow Realm Blessing option.

Doing so will allow you to choose which of the two blessings you wish to upgrade. As you level both blessings up, eventually, the cost for each will increase. Note that the upgrade materials for both Blessings are scarcely found, and you'll need to search the Shadow Realm high and low to locate them. This is a process you'll be constantly doing throughout your playthrough of Shadow of the Erdtree.

As for where to find more, Scadutree Fragments and Revered Spirit Ashes are found throughout the Realm of Shadows. Some are hidden away in catacombs or waiting after a tough boss room, while others are just tucked away in the open world. If you ever see a ghostly shade holding a pot, make sure to take them out and loot the body, as some appear to be held by those enemies.

One last thing you should know about these Blessings is that they only take effect while you're within the Shadow Realm. The benefits they reward you with is staggeringly high, so if you could use them elsewhere, you would effectively be trivializing base Elden Ring, in its entirety.

The post Why you should not ignore the new Blessing system in Shadow of the Erdtree appeared first on Destructoid.

Summer Game Fest 2024's opening livestream has come to a close after bringing us trailers for upcoming games, updates for released titles and a couple of surprises too! No fear if you missed the showcase though as below you'll find everything announced during Summer Game Fest 2024.

Before we get started though - no, there was no new GTA 6 trailer. Sorry, nothing I can do about that. With that out of the way, let's take a look at what did make an appearance.

Summer Game Fest began with Lego Horizon Adventures showing off how you can play as Aloy from the Horizon series and transform the robotic wastelands into a Lego paradise. It will arrive on PC, PlayStation 5 and even Nintendo Switch during "holiday" 2024.

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It's a new month, which means Microsoft have detailed a new batch of games arriving on Game Pass. Not all of the games themselves are new, mind you: they include Octopath Traveler, the HD-2D RPG released in 2018, and its sequel.

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Alzara Radiant Echoes is a clear love letter to golden age JRPGs, pulling inspiration from the likes of Golden Sun and Lost Odyssey for a 3D turn-based RPG set in a Mediterranean fantasy world. Dark Souls composer Motoi Sakuraba is on board, along with Genshin Impact and Fire Emblem artist Yoshiro Ambe. And if that hadn’t already sold me already, developers Studio Camelia are also paying tribute to the best Final Fantasy game: FFIX, obviously.

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I have a couple of takes on Nico Papalia's new RPG Athenian Rhapsody, which launched on Steam yesterday and still has a demo. The first is that it's a brighter, glitzier version of Toby Fox's Undertale that looks like it belongs on Gameboy Advance - a retro parody created in GameMaker whose turn-based combat houses many an inventive minigame, and whose writing doesn't so much break the fourth wall as moonwalk along the parapet, showering the player in poop, anime tropes and off-colour mental health advice.

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Square Enix have announced 22.1 billion yen (around £112m) in "content abandonment losses" for the fiscal year ending March 2024. The loss is the result of the publisher being "more selective and focused in the allocation of development resources," suggesting they have cut funding to or cancelled undisclosed projects.

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While no live-action film of Final Fantasy VII has been announced, it's not hard to imagine Hollywood doesn't at least have an overly eager eye on it. Depending on perspective, that's either a threat or delight to muse over, especially when you consider Square Enix isn't too shy to flirt with the big screen — looking at you, Spirits Within and Advent Children.

For better or for worse, I often find myself musing over ideal actors for the inevitable, like Zelda or Shadow. So, in case Hollywood goes for it, I'm shouting out my choices now. In honor of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth's launch, here are my picks for a live-action FF7 cast that I think, if made now, would be worthy of such a classic legacy.

Cloud Strife - Cody Christian, Darren Barnet

As one of Final Fantasy’s best protagonists, Cloud deserves someone who can understand him and his complexities. So who better than Cody Christian, Cloud’s current VA? The transition wouldn’t be too jarring, as his resume’s mainly live-action, being in Teen Wolf and All-American. Plus, he's proven himself to play the ex-SOLDIER quite well. 

If Hollywood wants more stardom, I offer up Darren Barnet. Striking success with shows like Never Have I Ever and Blue Eye Samurai, he’s done video games and adaptations, including Immortals of Aveum and Gran Turismo. He can grow into the role, much like Cody has been. It’s a tough role but I'm confident Darren could carry the Buster Sword and rock spiky yellow hair.

Tifa Lockhart - Britt Baron, Jessica Henwick

Who doesn't like Tifa? She has a heart of gold and kicks (and punches) some serious ass. You’ll need someone skilled in combat and not afraid to get their hands dirty. Britt Baron, Tifa’s VA, stars in many live-action projects including the wrestling-oriented show GLOW.

On the other hand, there's Jessica Henwick. She's portrayed many badasses on-screen in projects like The Matrix Resurrections, Game of Thrones, and Iron Fist. Whoever they go with, Tifa will be in good hands (or fists in this case).

Barret Wallace - Colman Domingo

The gun-armed Barret strikes fear into the hearts of Shinra yet has a heart of gold. You want an actor who can balance it with finesse and poise. That's where Colman Domingo comes in. His award-winning work in Euphoria and Rustin and his badassery in Fear the Walking Dead prove he has the chops. It's the perfect duo that I can't help wanting to see come to fruition.

Aerith Gainsborough - Hailee Steinfeld

As the last living Ancient, Aerith is a key figure in FFVII’s narrative beloved for her carefree and brash personality. I'd go with Hailee Steinfeld to deliver on all fronts. While she's done action-oriented roles, projects like Arcane, Dickinson, and True Grit show her versatility as an actor to handle those sincere moments with wit and ease. If anything, it proves she can blossom as the beloved flower girl.

Zack Fair - Xolo Maridueña

Being Cloud's mentor and the protagonist of Crisis Core, Zack is as charming as he is audacious. For the role, you need someone who exudes infectious energy and fierce determination. Enter Xolo Maridueña. His starring roles in Cobra Kai and Blue Beetle nail Zack’s qualities with precision aim, with the latter even letting him conjure a Buster Sword to use. It's practically asking for Xolo to become the SOLDIER we all know and love.

Yuffie Kisaragi - Karen Fukuhara, Stephanie Hsu

Energetic and vivacious, Yuffie brings more than her Materia and ninja moves to the party. The character requires someone not afraid to embarrass themselves and step out of their comfort zone. Enter rising stars Karen Fukuhara and Stephanie Hsu.

The Boys’ Karen Fukuhara’s very much capable of taking on the Wutai warrior with comedic finesse (as well as kicking ass). The same can be said for Everything Everywhere, All at Once's Stephanie Hsu, as her background in musicals and comedies fits the lovable ninja precisely. Either of these actresses can make Yuffie just as fun as she is in-game.

Red XIII - Max Mittelman, Regé-Jean Page

An experiment of Hojo's, Red XIII aids AVALANCHE on their quest to stop Sephiroth. Like others, I’ll throw in current VA Max Mittelman for the role. His performance is extremely impressive for someone who knows him as Ryuji from Persona 5. I also nominate Regé-Jean Page. Known for his roles in Bridgerton and Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, his voice and range is pretty close to Red's tone now.

Cait Sith - Ewan McGregor

It's a magical Scottish cat. Need I say more to justify Ewan McGregor? Despite being a respected actor (and Obi-Wan Kenobi), he's not afraid to experiment with genres. Cait would be fun for him to do outside of Star Wars and various ventures. If anything, it'd showcase Ewan's versatility as a voice actor, something he hasn't done much of.

Vincent Valentine - Hayden Christensen

Many characters claim to be edgy but none come close to the immortal gunslinger Vincent Valentine. So, of course, I picked Hayden Christensen to play him. Known for Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars prequels, he's due for a vengeful comeback. Vincent would be a great character for Hayden to strut his stuff.

Cid Highwind - Bradley Cooper

Chain-smoking mechanic Cid deserves someone who knows their way around things. Luckily, there's one fit for the job: Maestro's Bradley Cooper. Sure, given his resume, it’s a rich pick, but I don't think anyone could do the role justice like he would. His charisma and nailing of a Southern twang is a major draw (or drawl) for me. While a surefire blockbuster, Cid is right up his alley.

Rufus Shinra - Taz Skylar

Nepo baby Rufus Shinra needs someone who can nail his cockiness. I vouch for Taz Skylar. His role as Sanji in Netflix’s One Piece radiates a sort of charm that makes him enjoyable to watch. Plus, given his recent foray into Hollywood, this would be a great way to make an even bigger name for himself.

Tseng - Andrew Koji

As the leader of the Turks, Tseng is intimidating and precise, so it requires someone who can command a room and kick ass. So, I turned to Andrew Koji. He's wrecked people in Warrior and wants to play Jin Sakai in the live-action Ghost of Tsushima. While he hasn't had many dramatic performances, Tseng may provide a good character for Andrew to spread his wings with.

Rude- Kelvin Harrison Jr.

Rude is a tight-laced Turk of few words, opting for results rather than reason. An actor I think would knock it out of the park is Kelvin Harrison Jr. Starting from 12 Years a Slave, he's gained traction in Hollywood, leading films like Waves and Chevalier. Rude, while not as musical, is a role that can shine if done right. Kelvin may be the actor to do just that.

Reno - Brandon Perea

The funny man against Rude, Reno is quick to crack both a joke and your bones. While he's seen as comedic relief, he's pretty ruthless given his hot-headedness. With this, I chose Brandon Perea. He's new to acting, but his performance in Nope convinced me to choose him. He's witty, brash, and prime for another scene-stealing role. He's just the type of actor that'd make Reno as fun a character as he is.

Sephiroth - Robert Pattison

Sephiroth needs to be played by someone menacing and fierce. May I present to you Robert Pattison. Yes, I think the Twilight and The Batman actor would be a good Sephiroth. He's got insane range and can bring in lots of newcomers. Also, Robert’s a huge FFVII fan, calling it one of his favorite games. His portrayal as the perfect SOLDIER can strike plenty of chords with audiences. Also, he hasn't done many villain roles, so Sephiroth would be the best character to take a stab at.

The post If FF7 ever sees the live-action treatment, here’s who we would cast as Cloud and the gang appeared first on Destructoid.

Publisher NIS America has confirmed a western release for action-RPG Reynatis, which was revealed during the Japanese version of last week's Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase.

Reynatis wasn't present in the showcase for overseas, but yesterday NIS America announced it'll also be released outside of Japan on Nintendo Switch, PC (Steam), PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.

The announcement trailer gives us a flavour of the magic-infused world of Reynatis, set in contemporary Shibuya. The immediate vibes the trailer gives off are Kingdom Hearts meets The World Ends With You, with some hints of Final Fantasy Versus 13 and Kingdom Hearts 3's game-within-a-game Verum Rex. You have my attention, Reynatis.

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Shortly after David Gaider was born, his parents bought a set of 1971 encyclopaedias to freeze-frame the world as it was when he entered it. He still remembers the maps they contained: his first atlas. But there are two moments in Gaider's life when a gift of maps leads to adventure. In the second, he's older, and already working at the job we know him best for. He was a lead writer at BioWare.

At the time, BioWare was embarking on a new adventure, creating two brand new games and the universes around them. One was to be science fiction and would become Mass Effect. One was fantasy and would become Dragon Age. That's the game Gaider was working on - or rather, it was the world he would dream up.

Ideas had been swirling about what Dragon Age would be for a few months. The team knew it would be like D&D but would not be actual D&D, because BioWare was sick of licensed games at the time. They knew they were going for Tolkien rather than Conan or Diablo. "We definitely had at least some idea of the kind of RPG this was going to be," Gaider tells me when in a video call. But BioWare didn't have a world, and that's where the second collection of maps comes in. One day, Gaider was handed a historical atlas of Europe and tasked with going away and coming up with a fantasy world for players to explore.

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Tomorrow marks Bravely Default 2's third anniversary, and Tomoya Asano has the best gift of all for fans: a tease that the team will be able to tell us more about what's happening with the franchise "later this year".

Marking the event with celebratory art posted to X/Twitter, producer Asano thanked fans for their support and teased that we should "keep an eye out" for more "developments" about the Bravely series.

"[Bravely] Default 2 3rd anniversary celebration!" Asano wrote, as translated by Google. "Many messages will be sent during the year-end and New Year project. Thank you!

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It looks like a demo for Dragon's Dogma 2 could be on the way.

According to a recent Steam update – and spotted by the eagle-eyed community on the Dragon's Dogma subreddit – an update to Steam's backend hints that a mysterious "unknown app" was added to Dragon's Dogma 2's Steam listing.

Furthermore, the app has been listed as "free on demand", which is often the text appended to Steam demos.

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It’s been a long old journey, but we’re thrilled to finally be able to say critically acclaimed Online RPG Final Fantasy XIV Online is officially available on Xbox Series X|S!

Today’s launch into Open Beta offers Xbox players the full breadth of content available in the much-hyped Free Trial, with more to come when the full release arrives. Better yet, all progress will carry over, so let’s take a look at what’s on offer as well as give you some tips and tricks about how to start your adventures in Eorzea!

What is Final Fantasy XIV Online?

We covered this in detail last time, but Final Fantasy XIV Online is an online massively multiplayer role-playing game boasting a global community over 30 million adventurers strong, and widely regarded as having one of the most welcoming communities on the internet.

Despite the title, a key point is that Final Fantasy XIV Online is a standalone game that doesn’t require any previous experience with the franchise, making it the perfect place to jump in. Expect a world filled with bustling cities, towering forests and deadly deserts, with a constantly updated and ever-engaging world taking you to the far reaches of the land—and beyond—with a captivating and ongoing story.

If multiplayer games feel a bit overwhelming, FFXIV includes a feature called the Duty Support system that enables tackling content with a party of NPC allies as opposed to other players. This now spans all the main story dungeons currently in the game, meaning you can experience the award-winning narrative all on your own.

What’s Available Now… and What’s Coming Next?

Today’s launch into Open Beta brings all the content available in the Free Trial to Xbox Series X|S. This means you can enjoy the entirety of A Realm Reborn as well as the award-winning Heavensward and Stormblood expansions up to level 70, with no restrictions on playtime!

All progress made will carry over to the full release when it arrives, giving you plenty of time to get up to speed before our newest expansion, Dawntrail arrives in Summer… but more on that another time!

Any Tips and Tricks for Beginners?

With a world as big as FFXIV’s, it can be a bit overwhelming to know where to start. Thankfully, our Starter Guide series has your back. The seven-part video series offers early tips and tricks for new players to get the most out of their adventures in Eorzea. The series follows the journey of new player Kaz and his mentor Mayra, who guides him through his first steps in FFXIV.

Each episode is designed to assist with beginning your journey, whether playing solo at your own pace, or joining others to explore the world together. If you’re a more experienced Warrior of Light, feel free to share this series with friends who are just taking the first steps of their adventures!

You can check out the whole series in a playlist here, or click on the first episode below.

That’s all for today – we’re so excited to welcome you to Eorzea, and can’t wait to share more information on Dawntrail very soon indeed! Until then, happy adventuring!

FINAL FANTASY XIV Online – Free Trial

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Play FINAL FANTASY XIV Online for FREE! The FINAL FANTASY XIV Online Free Trial includes three award-winning titles – FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn the base game, and the first and second expansions: FINAL FANTASY XIV: Heavensward and FINAL FANTASY XIV: Stormblood. Join over 30 million adventurers worldwide and take part in an epic and ever-changing FINAL FANTASY. Experience all the hallmarks of the best-selling franchise – an unforgettable story, exhilarating battles, and a myriad of diverse and captivating environments to explore. Party up with friends or play solo! Experience all the main story dungeons on your own by calling upon NPC allies to fight by your side. The FFXIV Open Beta is only available for newly created Square Enix accounts. • Users will not be able to link existing accounts during the Open Beta period. If you would like to link an existing Square Enix account, please wait until the full launch of FFXIV on Xbox. • If you create a new Square Enix account in order to play the Xbox Open Beta, please be aware that you will not be able to link it to another Square Enix account in the future. If you wish to play FFXIV on Xbox with an existing Square Enix account and its associated characters, please wait until the full Xbox launch. IMPORTANT: • Requires game purchase and on-going subscription to continue playing after the Free Trial. • All editions of the game require user registration. • Age restrictions and other terms and conditions apply. Please refer to the User Agreement (https://sqex.to/ffxiv_agreement) and Square Enix Account Terms of Use (https://sqex.to/ffxiv_terms) for the terms and conditions of registration and service. Please visit the FINAL FANTASY XIV website at https://www.finalfantasyxiv.com/ for additional information.

The post Final Fantasy XIV Online Open Beta Now Available on Xbox Series X|S appeared first on Xbox Wire.

It looks like a demo for Dragon's Dogma 2 could be on the way.

According to a recent Steam update – and spotted by the eagle-eyed community on the Dragon's Dogma subreddit – an update to Steam's backend hints that a mysterious "unknown app" was added to Dragon's Dogma 2's Steam listing.

Furthermore, the app has been listed as "free on demand", which is often the text appended to Steam demos.

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In the event that I walk in front of a particle accelerator, get converted into digital data and am promptly isekai-ed into a gameworld, I hope that gameworld is the opening port town from the original Grandia, released on PS1 way back in 1997 (and ported to PC in 2019). There's something about that game's isometricky vantage point and precise combination of 2D pixel characters and 3D environments. The last sentence describes many virtual worlds of the late 90s, but none have stuck in my mind like Port Parm: that hodgepodge of green and rusty roofs, the canals cutting through the cobblestones, the smoky chimneys and people filling the alleyways. Bliss. I can still hear the seagulls blowing around the screen.

Oh sorry, I rhetorically lost myself for a minute there! I'm supposed to be telling you about Terra Memoria, a new RPG featuring time travel, magic crystals and animal wizards. Here's a trailer.

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A group of developers with credits across a number of Final Fantasy games - including the composer of Final Fantasy XII and a former Final Fantasy XIV artist - have unveiled their own upcoming JRPG headed to PC next year.

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