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While Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero isn’t due out for another couple of months, I caught up with Kento Jobana, the scenario writer for the game. In Part One of this two-part interview, we talk about writing the story for this sequel title, about his love for the mystery genre, and more!

You can check out Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero at the official website, on X, on Facebook and Instagram, on YouTube and Twitch, and on Discord.

Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero is coming to PC (Steam) in Sprin 2025, and to Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5 on January 30, 2025.

You can also pre-order the Collector’s Edition now for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.

This interview has been edited for content and clarity.

Operation Rainfall: My name is Quentin H. here with Operation Rainfall, and could you please introduce yourself?

Kento Jobana: My name is Kento Jobana, and I work at Nippon Ichi Software primarily as a scenario writer. And in terms of being involved with the actual planning of the game from the earliest stages, I made a game about a young man [in] Bokuhime PROJECT as well as I worked on the planning for a game called, in English, Process of Elimination. It’s kind of a mystery adventure.

And in terms of scenario writing, in 2023, I worked on Disgaea 7 [: Vows of the Virtueless] and now, of course, I worked on Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero, which will be coming out next year.

Marone (above) and Ash (below) were the protagonists of Phantom Brave, and both return for Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero. (Images courtesy of NIS America, Inc.)

OR: Real briefly, what is Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero about? Can you just give us a brief synopsis of the story?

KJ: So, the game starts about six months after the first game. Marona and her companion Ash had gone on this adventure and defeated the God of Destruction, Sulfur. The game starts right there – it starts with Marona and Ash living happily together, enjoying their lives and their work. One day, they go out on a mission far away from where they normally live. And on the way back from this mission, they encounter a fleet of ghost ships. Ash, in order to protect Marona, throws himself out there, which causes the two of them to become separated. Marona then has to journey to retrieve him.

After Marona falls off the ship – Ash throws her off, as it were – she is drifted along by the currents of the ocean [and] she winds up on a deserted island and meets this young Phantom called Apricot. So, Marona and Apricot hit it off really quickly in the beginning. It turns out that Apricot is also searching for a special someone, in this case, her father who ran this legendary pirate fleet. And so, the two of them, together, decide to reform this legendary pirate fleet under them and go searching for these two people who are very dear to them. One of the main things they do as they search for these two people and specifically as they search for Ash – they try to figure out just what is going on with this ghost pirate ship that they’ve seen before. So, part of that is solving that mystery to meet those two people that they care about.

OR: Why did you choose to set Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero six months after the first game instead of, say, years down the road when Marona and Ash are presumably more established in their Chroma skills and in their place in the world?

KJ: There are two reasons for that. The first reason is that Ash and Marona are very popular characters. And if [we] were to set the time too far later, it would change their appearance too much and fans wouldn’t appreciate that. So that’s one reason [we] reduced it to six months. And the second reason is that Phantom Brave ends very cleanly and very nicely. And so, setting a game so far out – it would be difficult to keep that flow going from the first game. So, what [we] landed upon was being able to show the world as it changed after the first game ended would be a much easier way to tell a story, and so that’s another reason [we] decided to have it set six months after instead of so many years after.

OR: Marona goes through the classical ‘Hero’s Journey’ [in Phantom Brave], and eventually her story is finished [in the first game]. How do you take characters whose story is finished and continue their growth?

KJ: That’s a great question – that’s something I struggled with myself. The first thing I actually thought was: ‘Why don’t I make a new main character?’, but because the fan attachment is so strong to Marona and Ash’s characters, [I] knew that there really wasn’t any other option than to use these two characters for the game.

One thing that I realized was that I could create another character that would be in a similar situation that Marona was in the first game – in other words, a young girl placed in very difficult circumstances and who had a lot going against her. Because we had Marona, who as a character experienced so much growth in the first game, she was able to understand where this young girl is coming from to look after her and kind of pull her along on this adventure. [I] went: ‘Ah! This is a way I can show this character’s growth.’

The second side is Marona, herself. As [I] mentioned, in the first game, she grows through her adventure, and she experiences tremendous character growth. However, when I was looking at the ending of the game and figuring out what areas I could portray further with these characters, I realized that there’s a scene towards the end of the first game where Ash and Marona get separated, but it’s very brief. However, that scene was very impactful because it made me think ‘[w]ell, how would Marona actually act if she was separated from this person who’d she’d known essentially her whole life?’

And so, I realized there’s a lot of aspects between these two characters – Marona and Ash – their relationship, that hadn’t been portrayed before. Particularly, in regard to how they would act if they were separated from one another. And so, I realized that there was a story to be told here and that’s why, in the story of Phanom Brave: The Lost Hero, very early on, we have Marona and Ash separated so we can see their character growth apart from one another. And it is also better to depict their relationship and how their relationship grows and changes.

“Honestly speaking, the scenario always comes first. In terms of game development, if you don’t have the story, the narrative thread, then you don’t really have a game.”

OR: One of the narrative traps that writers fall into is ‘flanderization’ – in other words, taking a single aspect of a character’s trait and making it their defining characterization to the exclusion of everything else. How do you address that to prevent that from happening in your sequel title?

KJ: I totally understand what you’re asking. What I did is obviously, aside from replaying the first game in its entirety, is that I went back and read the novelizations that were only in Japanese and some later stories that didn’t come out in English. [I] also went back to the original documents to read [them], and within [my] mind I created a high-resolution image of Marona. [I] went in very deeply about what made her a character, so that before [we] began working on the game, we were able to understand what made Marona, Marona.

And then in terms of how that affects not only the story and the narrative, but the gameplay – there were situations where I felt that, as a matter of course, this being a strategy RPG, there needs to be battles. There felt several times where Marona, as a character, wouldn’t necessarily want to participate in this battle or try to find a way around this battle.

So, what we did as an entire development team was sit down together, and again – reflected on what was said in the first game, and thought about the situations that Marona and Ash found themselves in, and thought ‘[w]hat would be the most naturalistic way that made sense for these characters to participate in these battles?’ Just to make sure how these characters were portrayed in the original wasn’t lost in the sequel, and they still acted like the characters that they were originally made to be in the original.

OR: How canon is Another Marona? How much did that side story content influence how you developed the storyline for Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero?

KJ: Well, for this in particular, that’s actually kind of a ‘what if’ story. Although the events are canonically happening, it’s very much a ‘what if’ and the truth is that there might be some players who are either unfamiliar with that from the first game, hadn’t played it, or didn’t know about it. So, to incorporate the events from that into this new [game] would just cause confusion for most players and they would go ‘[w]hat is this?’. And so, we decided to not focus on that or include any references to that within Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero.

That said, this is kind of maybe a hint for something – this is the first I’ve heard myself, but it turns out a lot of players did like Another Marona, as it were, and it seems to be a fan desire to see [Carona] again. Right now, the team is thinking about how they can potentially use that character again, use those events again, in the future. But nothing is set in stone.

OR: In addition to writing Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero‘s scenario, you also managed all the animations during story sequences, skill animations, and you also worked on the sound design and voice direction. How do you decide what of your storytelling and scenario writing is to be told through gameplay mechanics and visual design – such as the animations during story sequences- versus the explicit plot writing itself?

KJ: Honestly speaking, the scenario always comes first. In terms of game development, if you don’t have the story, the narrative thread, then you don’t really have a game. That becomes the baseline. However, from there, they ‘add meat to the bones’. And [by] ‘adding meat to the bones’ – in terms of enhancing the narrative – is by asking what music can be used in this scene here that can better express what we’re trying to do? What animations can we use in this scene in particular in order to better get across what we’re trying to portray in the story? However, without having a story, you can’t have those secondary things. So, the story comes first, however, there are times when they’re working on like, for example, music or sound design or animation design, that [we] realize ‘[o]h, this might necessarily affect a change in the story itself.’ That’s how the process goes, and that’s how [we] determine the importance of those different things. For [me] specifically, the story comes first, and it informs the rest of the development.

“What I love about mysteries is that they are essentially throwing the gauntlet and giving a challenge to the reader, or the person interacting with them.”

OR: In your NIS America interview from October 2024, you said about Process of Elimination that you were “able to work in many mystery novel elements, a personal love of mine.” Are there any particular mystery-genre books, games, movies, TV shows that you particularly love?

KJ: The first one is a famous manga series called The Kindaiichi Case Files [OR Note: 金田一少年の事件簿  by Seimaru Amagi, who goes by the pen name of Shin Kibayashi] about a young man who is a detective. First of all, [I] really love that one. The author, after creating that, there’s a sequel which depicts a school, a very typical Japanese school setting environment. [OR Note: 探偵学園Q, known in English as Detective School Q.] But it’s a school for detectives. These detectives learn within this school, and then they solve cases. [I] really, really love both of those manga.

There’s another one – Ryūsui Seiryōin created a [series] called Cosmic. [I] love this one too. This person was influenced by Nisio Isin, who created the Monogatari [OR Note: 物語] series and everything that falls within that is part of the mystery tradition, as well. [I] love that as well. But in particular, [Seiryōin] is influenced by the Monogatari [series] in his series Cosmic. [I’m] not sure if they’re translated into English or are well-known in English, but at least for him, they are very influential.

OR: What is it about this genre that appeals to you so much?

KJ: What I love about mysteries is that they are essentially throwing the gauntlet and giving a challenge to the reader, or the person interacting with them. Depending on the medium of the mystery, it completely changes how that challenge letter is sent to the readers. For example, within the written word, you’ve got various tricks you can use in how you write your sentences that offer hints to careful readers that can help readers figure out the mysteries. Within the medium of manga, you’ve got pictures. And so, the author would leave little hints within the pictures that the character would look at and be able to deduce what is happening. Finally, in my own game [I] made, Process of Elimination, [we] use sound design and [we] used the acting to give hints.

The fact that you’re able to interact with the reader in this way, to challenge the reader to figure out the mysteries and the answer – depending on the medium that you’re actually using to show the mystery, it can completely change how you write and how you give your answers. It’s what [I] find very appealing about the genre.

And that concludes Part I of our two-part interview with Kento Jobana!

Please return on Monday for Part Two, where we will talk more about writing Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero’s scenario, DLC plans, and what Jobana-san sees of himself in this game!

Thank you very much to NIS America, Inc., for helping to arrange this interview.

You can wishlist Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero on Steam now.

You can also pre-order the Collector’s Edition now for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.

The post INTERVIEW- Kento Jobana On Writing Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero, His Love for the Mystery Genre, and More (Part One) appeared first on oprainfall.

About The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak II

No longer threatened by the mafia organization Almata, the people of Calvard have returned to their peaceful lives. But one day, a shocking series of murders involving a mysterious crimson beast sets the wheels of fate in motion once again. Various factions spring into action – both those who abide by the law to uncover the truth and those looking to capitalize on any new developments wherever possible, no matter how sinister. With chaos once again looming on the horizon, the spriggan Van Arkride receives an unexpected visitor, prompting his own investigation.

Who is behind the murders, and what is their goal? The sands of time bring old and new faces together for this thrilling second installment in the Trails through Daybreak saga.

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Oh how innocent I was a few weeks ago. I haven’t been following Orange Season too closely honestly, but I do believe I was following the game’s official account on social media for a while and when I’d see the occasional screenshot, I was pretty intrigued. I thought this would be a fun, relaxing fall review I could enjoy spending a few weeks on. I won’t waste any time keeping you in the dark. I don’t have much good to say about Orange Season. I spent all of five hours on it and was already regretting asking to review this one after only the first 20 minutes of playing it, due to the issues it has.

First, let’s discuss what kind of game Orange Season is. Orange Season is an indie farming game. Like other farming sims, your character moves to a new town to live the charming, rural farm life. You’re dropped off at your farm, told to greet everyone in town and take care of your farm, of course. I went into this review assuming there would be some big goal like most farming games have: for example, making the town more popular and bringing in new tourists, or restoring a community center. Well from what little I was able to put up with playing Orange Season, I never actually found out if there was some larger goal beyond making your farm a success. I started off cleaning up the area you get for planting crops and got stuck at least once in the middle of a rock.

After planting a few starting crops and cleaning up the area some, I spent my time hunting all over town looking for new characters to greet and introduce myself as the new farmer in town. This is where the biggest issue came into play and a large part of why I refused to spend anymore than five hours on Orange Season. So when the map is actually working, it’s not the most helpful. The main town area where most of the characters live and hangout regularly is quite large. I don’t know that I’ve played many farming sims with a town this large. Now you’d expect that the map would help you locate characters around town; however, as you can see in the picture above, you’re merely told who’s in which section of town at any given time and I found no way to actually pull up a legitimate diagram of the town to locate these people. You only know which separate, large section they’re in and seemingly if they’re in a building or not. I saw some of the characters had a blue house symbol so I figured maybe that meant they were in their homes. Still, a majority of the houses were seemingly locked at all times as well. I imagine this could be a feature where you have to get to know the characters better to be allowed into their homes, but it was quite obnoxious and made tracking them down near impossible.

Anyway, not only was the map an extremely bare minimum of any use to me, but it constantly would glitch and become 100 percent useless. I could open the map and it’d be fine, and two minutes later open it again and the map was completely blank. No section would be highlighted, I wouldn’t see any faces of who was in the area and the cursor to move between the sections on the map was gone. Plus, the map glitching like this required a full game reset. By that I mean, I had to close out and re-open the game to fix it, only for it to glitch again less than five minutes into starting the game back up. This is a farming game where characters are constantly giving you requests to complete and you need to be able to reliably track them down. I found myself spending multiple game days simply trying to find them all at least once and greet everyone for the first quest. Then there were four characters who told me to come find them once I had and they would give me new quests, which again, I’d have to track down various characters for later to complete.

The map glitching out was only one of two big issues I had. You may have noticed earlier I mentioned getting stuck in the middle of a rock. My character got stuck quite a lot as if there was an invisible barrier all around and I’d have to wriggle my way out as best I could. I got stuck on rocks, I got stuck in a circle of trees and I often got stuck on houses. Houses you can even phase into while wriggling around trying to escape. To get off the house, away from the invisible barrier, I’d have to go up into it and then keep coming back down trying to dislodge my character. I’ve included a clip above of one occasion where this occurred. Then when I accidentally opened my map while randomly pressing buttons to try to get unstuck, the map had gone blank yet again. I even once got stuck at the very edge of the fishing dock on a lake and went on an adventure walking across the lake. The lake has this treasure floating on a wooden plank and I thought to myself, “Why not go get that treasure while I’m stuck out here?” But alas, another invisible wall made this impossible and I was not allowed to go check out the treasure while stuck on top of this lake. So I went back to the dock and wriggled all around trying to get back on and away from it.

Aside from the two big glitches that made this game completely unplayable for me, I still didn’t really enjoy it otherwise. Planting crops and growing stuff worked alright. But only the watering can and hoe had any guide for which square on the ground they were targeting. Also, trying to target anything properly seemed like you had to be at a very specific angle to do so. When I would walk right up to doors they wouldn’t activate very easily, neither to let me open them nor to get the being locked notice. I would have to move my character around a bit and come at them not quite right up front and be at the perfect angle. Not only that, but planting seeds doesn’t even have a targeting square, you kind of just hit the tool button as you walk around the dirt you used the hoe on and hope your seeds plant in the spot you want. One more issue I had was that I couldn’t cycle through the calendar and check the dates on the calendar page of the menu. It seemed there was no way to do anything with that menu, the only thing viewable is when the next festival is. I couldn’t figure out a way to physically move a cursor across the dates.

I truly went into this thinking it would be a fun farming game for fall. Even after I was disappointed and regretted asking for it in those first 20 minutes of gameplay, I still thought I could at least get through a full game year and then make my judgments after I gave it a shot. Unfortunately, the main two glitches in this game made it the most frustrating, impossible disaster I have ever reviewed. Now, I wanted to give the developers the benefit of the doubt, but then I went and looked up how long the game had been in Early Access on Steam. This game came out as an Early Access title in early 2017 and now over seven years later it’s finally received a full retail release, and they’re charging $29.99 for brand new console versions of the game. Sure, they may fix these issues later and it can become a game worth playing. Truthfully, I loved the atmosphere and I thought Orange Season was a very attractive game visually. I also had fun with the fishing gameplay. But the fact that after seven years of testing and polishing, this is the game they’re charging 30 bucks for, is utterly ridiculous. I refuse to waste anymore time giving this game and the developers the benefit of the doubt and I cannot recommend Orange Season whatsoever. I believe fans of cozy games or farming sims specifically are better off spending their money elsewhere.

Review Score
Overall

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Ys X: Nordics, the latest entry chronicling the adventures of Adol Christin, is now available in North America and Europe on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC (Steam, Epic Games Store, GOG).

You can check out the launch trailer below.

Ys X is available both physically and digitally. A physical limited edition for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch is available via NIS America’s Online Store. The limited edition costs $104.99 and comes with a physical copy of the game, a mini soundtrack, mini art book, a sling bag, a metal pin, and a postcard set.

NIS America describes the game as follows:

About Ys X: Nordics:

Following their tenuous encounter at sea, the young red-haired adventurer Adol Christin and the proud pirate Karja Balta find themselves bound by fate – and the mysterious power of Mana! As they search for a way to undo the mystical ties that bind them, they soon find themselves caught up in a conflict between two factions: the seafaring warriors known as the Normans and the enigmatic and seemingly immortal Griegr. In order to save the people of Obelia Gulf, Adol and Karja must navigate the depths of their unexpected bond and the power that it grants them.

Key Details:

• Two Heroes, One Story: Bound by unexpected circumstances, the young adventurer Adol and the Norman pirate Karja must work together to determine the fate of Obelia Gulf and its people.
• Cross Action System: Swap between controlling Adol and Karja independently or together. Combine their unique strengths to overcome enemies, and build up the Revenge Gauge to unleash devastating attacks.
• The Power of Mana: Harness the unique abilities of Mana to overcome challenges. Grapple and slide through dungeons, demolish obstacles, create new platforms, and uncover hidden treasures and critical points.
• Sailor’s Delight: The sailing ship known as the Sandras takes your exploration to new levels. Ocean travel, naval battles, and discovering uncharted islands are all made possible with this seaworthy vessel.

If you’re interested in Ys X: Nordics, you can try out a demo of the game on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC (Steam). You can play from the Prologue up to partway through Chapter 3. Demo save data can be carried over to the full game. You can also check out my review and see what I thought of the game.

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Take the fall for a murder and emerge from prison 10 years later to yakuza clans on the brink of a war that hurtles you on an intense journey of love, humanity, and betrayal. Fueled by your fists and unyielding resolve, fight your way through a bustling red-light district in modern day Japan.

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The Magazine Edition ($69.99) includes:

• Physical game
• Nepbike Magazine Art Book (64 pages)
• Poster set (5 fold-out posters)
• Nepbike Sticker Set (28 stickers)
• Official Soundtrack (10 tracks)
• Download code for the Neptunia Riders VS Dogoos Costume Set* (1x costume per set for Uzume Neptune, Noire, Blanc, Vert, 15x total)
  * Swimsuit Costume
  * Apocalyptic Costume
  * Race Queen Costume
• Reversible Cover Sleeve
• Exclusive Trading Card

Fans can also grab the Neptunia Riders VS Dogoos Deluxe Edition for PS4, PS5, and Nintendo Switch upon launch.

The Deluxe Edition ($49.99) includes:

• Digital game
• Digital Art Book (35 pages)
• Soundtrack (10 tracks)
• Neptunia Riders VS Dogoos Costume Set* (1x costume per set for Uzume Neptune, Noire, Blanc, Vert, 15x total)
  * Swimsuit Costume
  * Apocalyptic Costume
  * Race Queen Costume

The Neptunia Riders VS Dogoos Costume Set ($6.99) will also be available as a standalone DLC on launch.

The post Neptunia Riders VS Dogoos – Magazine Edition Announced appeared first on oprainfall.

A while back I had been in the mood for some otome and when 9 R.I.P. was announced for localization, I decided I would review this one. I didn’t know much about it going into things and typically I am extremely picky about the otome I’ll play. But, it sounded like it was a longer game than most and had a lot going on, so I was intrigued enough to take on this review. Was 9 R.I.P. worth the time investment? Or was it simply a failed horror show not worth the price of admission? Keep reading and find out my thoughts.

The main character of this one, Misa Isshiki, is at a loss for what to do with her future. She recently received this career path survey at school and is expected to fill it out with her plans. Misa lives at home with her mom and her older sister, as her dad passed away when she was little. Misa’s sister, Tsubasa, followed her own path in life. Now their mother expects Misa to follow the route she wants for her. Ideally, she wants Misa to become a doctor like her father and constantly pressures her to do as she wishes. Being lost in life and unsure what to do with this survey, not to mention constantly pressured by her mother, Misa ends up spirited away to one of a few different dimensions.

In one route, Misa ends up trapped in her school in a sort of limbo realm full of the dead. In another route, Misa finds herself in Hell. In a third potential spiriting away, she ends up a ghost herself. And finally, the last potential outcome is being haunted by spirits in the regular old mortal world, still a human herself. Regardless of the outcome, Misa Isshiki is expected to go through the challenges awaiting her and ultimately figure out what to do with her life. Each of these four routes contains two different potential romance options for you to get to know and you’ll make various choices along the way. In these initial common routes containing two love interests each, make the right choices and whoever you’re closer to by the end is the one Misa will end up falling for. After this, you’ll be lead to their specific route where you can get even closer with them, or find yourself doomed should you take a wrong turn.

9 R.I.P. has a lot of overlap between routes. I found myself tired out pretty early on. You’ll often be revisiting routes and have to skip over the various common route content you already saw to get to the choices you have to do differently. Despite that, this otome was relatively straightforward. If you leave on the option to see when you’ve raised a character’s affection, or you constantly check the status screen as you make choices, you’ll find it easy to go in a decent direction. However, I did find out that you can reach more than one good ending in a lot of the routes and trying to go back to get the best ending can prove difficult until you figure out how things work completely. Not to mention the game also has this insanity meter in some of the common routes, but I found it extremely difficult to even raise it naturally during a first playthrough. It wasn’t hard to avoid a lot of the bad ends. Also, these bad ends aren’t a true full ending like other otome with bad endings. They don’t have their own special bad end CGs or anything like that, it’s more of an abrupt fail. I got a few bad ends to see how they went, but typically I just went back through the game’s log and rewound a smidge to wherever things went awry. You’ll know relatively quickly when you make a bad choice, since most of the routes don’t make it too hard to figure out.

I really enjoyed my time with 9 R.I.P. Though, I do believe it was somewhat lacking in comparison to other Idea Factory otome. I mean, between all the events going on, most routes don’t have a ton of romantic parts. It’s kind of lightly dispersed between other happenings. Also, the horror wasn’t anything major. Some of the love interests in their initial common routes were cheerier and lacking in scary moments. And the ones that were more horror filled still weren’t anything crazy. I think my favorite of all the romanceable partners you can go after was definitely Koyo. His route was really fun honestly, mostly the beginning common route shared between both him and Sena. I had a hard time picking between them at first, but after going after both of them, Koyo was definitely my favorite.

I think the atmosphere in this otome is the best thing about it. It has a really good soundtrack, especially all of the ending songs. Hibiki, one of the love interests I was least interested in, I think actually had the best music theme of all of them. Each guy has their own unique music theme which will play often. While I’m on the topic of the game’s music, I should discuss the different extras in 9 R.I.P.‘s menu as you complete routes. It doesn’t have a significant amount of extras, there aren’t any additional stories following up on endings or anything like that. Still, like other Otomate titles, there are some special extras. The main extra content you’ll unlock from finishing routes are these voice lines for each guy. They each have a menu with different voice lines, some of them featuring aspects of your time with them after the story ends. In addition to that are the standard otome extras, like how you can listen to the soundtrack, check the glossary of terms from throughout the game, or look back at images of Misa with the different characters from throughout the story. You can also of course revisit specific chapters you’ve gone through to make different choices and get other endings, even starting with an already filled affection meter if you’d like. And finally, you can re-watch various videos as well, mainly the end credit music bits for each love interest.

I didn’t happen upon too many issues. Performance wise, 9 R.I.P. played smoothly for the most part. There wasn’t a true abundance of grammar mistakes or typos. Honestly, I now expect there to be some in all of these localized otome, they’re never flawless. Nonetheless, I do think Idea Factory International is a ton better at the quality control than certain other companies that localize these games. The biggest error I found was in the videos menu. The bars with the name of whatever should be the highlighted video you’re going to watch didn’t match up with what was pictured in the center and what the video ultimately ended up being once selected. I’ve provided a picture above of this issue. You’ll see the bar I had selected says it’s Sena’s video but in the center it shows it’s Koyo’s. That specific menu was pretty messed up and was the biggest issue I ran into.

When I went into this, upon looking up how long the game was – seeing as it’s already out in Japan – I was expecting it to be a bit longer than it actually is. But with so many different love interests and multiple endings for all of them, it still has quite a lot of content. I spent over 35 hours on this otome and completed six different routes, plus unlocked various alternate endings. I still have a couple more routes to go. In the end though, 9 R.I.P. was a fun time. It’s nowhere near the spiciest otome you can play, but the atmosphere and music is fantastic. If otome are your thing, you’ll enjoy yourself. I do believe it’s worth the price of admission. 9 R.I.P. releases on the Nintendo Switch Oct. 15, 2024.

Review Score
Overall

The post REVIEW: 9 R.I.P. appeared first on oprainfall.

A new adventure with new protagonists and an original story in the world of “Atelier Resleriana: Forgotten Alchemy and the Polar Night Liberator” is coming to PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, Nintendo Switch and Steam® as a “completely offline” title.

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The father of FINAL FANTASY, Hironobu Sakaguchi, and renowned composer Nobuo Uematsu return to deliver an original RPG story with FANTASIAN Neo Dimension. Experience an enhanced version of FANTASIAN, initially released for Apple Arcade in 2021, with brand-new features, including English and Japanese voiceovers and an additional difficulty option. PS5, Xbox Series X and PC versions of the game also offer 4K support.

In FANTASIAN Neo Dimension, assume the role of Leo as he journeys to recover his memories and solve the mystery of a strange mechanical infection destroying his world. Experience an original and modern take on the beloved turn-based battle system, with a wealth of unique mechanics and strategic combat that shake up the classic RPG formula, and explore a multi-dimensional universe come to life set against the backdrop of over 150 charming hand-crafted dioramas.

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 In the demo, players step into the shoes of the Emperor Leon and, with his second son, Prince Gerard, start an epic journey that will span across generations as Leon, Gerard and subsequent emperors contend with the Seven Heroes – once revered heroes who, for reasons unknown, now seek revenge against the world. The demo concludes with a battle with Kzinssie, one of the Seven Heroes, setting the stage for the multi-generation story to unfold. As save data from the demo is transferable to the full game, players can seamlessly continue their adventure upon the game’s Oct. 24 launch.

In Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven, players will embark on a multi-generation adventure to protect and expand their empire. With the free-form scenario system, the player’s choices will impact how the story develops, including who inherits the imperial throne with each successive generation. Developed by the team behind the 2020 remake Trials of Mana, this ground-up remake and standalone story will feature modern visuals, reworked strategic gameplay and various other enhancements that will delight longtime SaGa fans and newcomers alike, including the ability to switch between the classic soundtrack and a newly rearranged version, plus three difficulty modes that can be adjusted at any point.

If you’d like to know more about Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven, visit the game’s official website.

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The Digital Deluxe Edition (PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch) will be available for $69.99 and includes:

• Digital game
• Digital Art Book (57 pages)
• Digital Soundtrack (49 tracks)

Fans who purchase the Digital Standard or Digital Deluxe Edition within the first two weeks of the game’s launch will also receive the FREE Gensokyo Safe Adventure Pack, which contains 10x equipment and 1x consumable that will help get the adventure started!

The Gensokyo Safe Adventure Pack includes:

• Rare Yang Crystal x 1
• Rare Meteorite Shard x 1
• Rare Crystal Flower x 1
• Rare Ancient Card x 1
• Rare Helix Ritual Tool x 1
• Rare Warped Ring x 1
• Rare Foreign Charm x 1
• Rare Snowflake Badge x 1
• Rare Thin Feathers x 1
• Rare Shell Rosary x 1
• Rare Growth Elixir x 5

Touhou Spell Carnival Story
Gensokyo — A remote land isolated from the Outside World, where humans and youkai live side-by-side.

One day, the shrine maiden of Hakurei Shrine, Reimu Hakurei, spots mysterious pillars towering over various locations throughout Gensokyo.

These pillars signaled the start of the Spell Carnival, a festival hosted by Yukari Yakumo where one must put their Spell Cards on the line in battle.

In order to investigate the true intentions of Yukari Yakumo, who initiated the Spell Carnival so suddenly, Reimu Hakurei joins the fight for Spell Cards.

Key Features
Strategy RPG Meets Bullet Hell Mania — Battle in a grid system with a unique blend of real-time strategy elements and bullet hell madness! Hone your strategy skills by moving characters to grid-specific areas, grazing enemy bullets, and unleashing special skills in one simultaneous, action-packed battle!

Gotta Stay Prepped — Don’t just run into battle unprepared! Organize your party’s positioning on the grid, assign skills according to your enemies’ weaknesses, and choose wisely which Ace Spell Card you’ll use.

Need a Boost? — Players will occasionally see objects and Attributes during battle. Objects can block incoming bullets and provide additional effects once destroyed. Attributes can provide boosts and status effects. Use these boosts to your advantage, and maybe you’ll be able to collect extra loot from your victories!

Find Peace in the Hakurei Shrine — Explore the Hakurei Shrine through the lens of Reimu Hakurei! Keep tabs on any active missions, revisit sub-events, strike a pose with Photo Mode, and even talk to some of your favorite Touhou Project characters in Hakurei Shrine as you progress through the story!

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To celebrate the 10 year anniversary of Freedom Wars, Bandai Namco Entertainment has announced a remaster titled FREEDOM WARS REMASTERED. It will launch for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam on January 10th, 2025. The original game was developed by Sony Computer Entertainment’s Japan Studio alongside Shift and Dimps for PlayStation Vita and launched in 2014.

You can check out the announcement trailer below.

The remaster will feature the following improvements:

• Improved visuals, supporting 4K resolution and 60fps
• Adjusted game balance and difficulty options
• Updates to weapon crafting and upgrading

FREEDOM WARS REMASTERED launches January 25th, 2025 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam. You can follow Bandai Namco Entertainment’s official X account for more information.

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Dragami Games has announced that LOLLIPOP CHAINSAW RePOP is now available digitally for players in North America, Central and South America, and Europe on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch. The game is available worldwide on PC via Steam. It is scheduled to launch for consoles in Asia on September 26, 2024. The game retails for $44.99.

You can check out the launch trailer below.

LOLLIPOP CHAINSAW RePOP is a remaster of LOLLIPOP CHAINSAW which originally launched for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It was developed by Grasshopper Manufacture and was a collaborative effort between Suda51 and James Gunn.

The remaster is developed by Dragami Games and produced by Yoshimi Yasuda. Its features are described as follows:

• Quality of Life Improvements
• The resolution of the game has been increased to full HD, and load times have been greatly
  shortened.
• The chainsaw action has been sped up with the introduction of the Chained Hits Hunting system, in
  which chaining multiple hits in succession increases the player’s attack speed.
• The input timings for Combo Actions have been adjusted, to better fit players’ expectations.
• Chainsaw Blaster action has been improved with the addition of auto-lock and auto-fire modes
  that can be toggled, and an increased maximum ammo count of 99.
• The player can now immediately use Combo Actions at the start of the game

• Additional Gameplay Content
• Separate from Original Mode, RePOP adds “RePOP mode”, which uses a unique and colorful pop art-inspired art style for damage effects.
• Unique new chainsaws with distinctly different features have been added.
• There are 30 costumes, more than the original game’s costume count. Combined with the addition
  of 4 new hair colors and 4 new chainsaws, this adds up to 750 different possible combinations.
• JULIET’S ROOM has been expanded with more features.
• A Time Attack mode with ranking feature has been added.

LOLLIPOP CHAINSAW RePOP is out now digitally in the Americas and Europe for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch. It is out worldwide for PC via Steam. It will launch for consoles in Asia on September 26, 2024. RePOP will also launch worldwide for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in November 2024. For more information, you can check out its official website.

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Natsu-Mon: 20th Century Summer Kid is not a game I had been watching or was expecting to do a review for. However, when I was informed we had a copy for review, I decided I could use a relaxing summer game to play. Last year, I took on a different game for review that I had hoped would be my relaxing summer game, and it was not that, whatsoever. But Natsu-Mon looked like it could actually be what I hoped and thus, I decided to take it on. I spent 32 hours playing this game throughout August and I’m now finally ready to give my thoughts.

The game takes place during this kid’s summer break in 1999. Satoru is an elementary school kid whose parents have been running a traveling circus troupe. They stop by Yomogi Town where they’ll next be setting up the circus and doing shows later that summer, in the middle of August. Satoru is pretty much left to his own devices while enjoying his summer break in Yomogi. Right from the start you’re sent out to explore the town.

The game is an open-world adventure where you control Satoru and do all kinds of stuff. See, your ultimate goal is to study whatever you want for your summer research project, which all the elementary school kids in town find themselves doing for summer homework. To complete this project, Satoru is provided a study set, which includes a sketchbook and colored pencils for making a picture journal to document his adventures. Throughout the game you can either activate the sketchbook documenting whenever you want during the day, or let it happen automatically when you go to bed each night. Either way the pictures appear on their own, but you can choose how in depth the text goes about the latest events and choose a stamp for the corner of each picture. Satoru draws scenes for events he finds significant that occurred during the day and also all fish and bugs he catches are documented when you newly catch one. Fish, you never really know what you’re catching before reeling them in. You can kinda guess based on the shape or size of their shadows, but otherwise it’s a bit of a mystery. Bugs, you’ll know if they’re brand new ones you haven’t caught yet because new bugs will have white circles around them, and old ones you’ve caught previously won’t.

You’re mostly free to explore and discover stuff at whatever pace you like, since you can change the time speed in the game’s settings to a much slower pace, or a quicker one. One of the circus members, Tokotoko, will collect you each night at 5 for dinner, and also you’ll have to go to bed by 10. If you send yourself to bed before you pass out at 10, you can get up early and do the radio exercises at the local shrine. You’ll get a stamp card to fill out each day that you go. Also, between those hours of 5 and 10 at night, you can’t explore the whole map like you can before dinner, only nearby areas closer to the Ashitaba Guesthouse where you’re staying.

Some of the activities you’ll find yourself spending your August days on are: fishing, catching bugs, climbing stuff, swimming and even helping the local elementary school kids investigate mysteries around town. The fishing rod you won’t get until a few days into the game, and there’s also an acorn shooter you can buy with money you earn. You can sometimes find coins out and about to fund your purchases, but it’s usually mere pocket change. You can get more cash by locating and collecting various colored diamonds in the area and selling them at one of the available shops. Plus, there are other various items laying around worth a bit less, like the numerous plastic and glass bottles laying at construction sites or near rivers. Eventually, you’ll also find dig spots where you’ll either get junk in varying degrees of quality you can sell, or fossils to donate to the local museum. You can donate these fossil pieces to the museum, in addition to very specific rare fish and bugs whenever you manage to catch them. Satoru will get paid for the stuff you donate to the museum too.

I had a lot of fun exploring all over the place, climbing stuff, finding new secrets and investigating the mysteries throughout Yomogi Town. There’s even a neighboring town called Tonari Town. You can take a train between the two towns, or you can take a bus to numerous bus stops across the map as you find and activate them. Also, in the beginning of Natsu-Mon, you won’t be able to climb very far or run for too long at once. Satoru is limited by his Sticker Gauge. This Sticker Gauge is essentially a stamina meter. There is a limited number of stickers you’ll be able to collect and you do this by completing the different tasks available in the game. You’ll get stickers for donating rare bugs to the museum, for playing with a little ghost girl a certain amount of times, for locating very specific ancient treasures, and many other goals found throughout the two towns and surrounding areas.

Atmosphere wise, the game is quite pleasant. There isn’t a lot of music in the game, mostly you’ll be hearing the sounds of nature. For example, the sound of nearby ocean waves rolling in, or the cicadas buzzing on trees. Every now and then though, at certain spots on the map, a bit of pleasing music will play in the background. Visually, the game is a very simple cartoon style. You’ll also see stuff cut-in now and then as you get closer. Although, I’m not sure if this is simply an aspect of the game no matter what, or if you’d also see it on PC. This review is strictly covering my experience with the Switch version of the game.

Ultimately, I truly enjoyed the time I spent on Natsu-Mon: 20th Century Summer Kid. It was fitting to play this game slowly throughout the month of August and it was definitely the carefree summer adventure I was looking for. One last thing I’d like to mention, while on the normal time speed, the game days can seem to move a bit too fast to accomplish much. Despite that, I really do suggest enjoying the game at your own pace and playing it as carefree as possible. A new game plus mode is included, where you can transfer your sticker energy and quests you’ve already completed over to a new path. I wouldn’t worry about getting everything possible done in one playthrough. Also, the game has a $15 DLC expansion with more to do and some extra story revolving around a radio station. Unfortunately, I don’t yet have that DLC and can’t tell you whether or not it’s worth the cost. But, if a relaxing slice-of-life summer adventure in a Japanese town back in 1999 sounds like a fun time to you, then I do highly recommend this game. I should also mention that while I did spend 32 hours on the game, I spent most days on the relaxed time speed. So, your playtime with this one may vary and you’ll have to decide for yourself if you think it’s worth $40 for the base game.

Review Score
Overall

Review copy was provided by the publisher.

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