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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.

Empire of the Ants was originally a strategy game released in 2000 for PC. The game itself was based on a French novel called Les Fourmis, written by Bernard Weber. 24 years later, Microid has published a new game under the same title, but the gameplay has changed considerably. Is the new experience worth it?

You start the story campaign as 103,683rd, a red ant belonging to the warrior caste. Your ant can be considered a tactician rather than a fighter, as it will not fight other enemies directly, but will instead give orders to various legions of ants. You belong to a federation of anthills that is prosperous, but is about to face various crises threatening its balance. In order to protect your federation, you will have to complete various missions which can be divided into three categories: Strategy, Tactics, and Exploration. Strategy missions are the most common missions and make up the core of the game. They usually require you to develop an anthill and capture other nests, which will be used to collect resources, upgrade your troops, or develop your powers as a general, which will be needed to win. As you face new challenges, you will have to make good use of the strengths of your ants. The strengths and weaknesses of ants rely on a sort of weapons triangle, where warriors dominate workers but are weaker against artillery ants, which in turn are weak against workers. Two other types of units will help your troops, super predators and support units. Predators are other bugs which have been “tamed” by ants, like Dung Beetles or Hornets, which are  strong against all enemy ants.

You can only control one legion of super predators, but they make a real difference on the battlefield, and you will quickly want to have them. Support units, like snails or aphids, normally help your troops by providing a passive buff. You can control your units with a mouse or a controller, but even with a controller, the controls feel extremely intuitive. I played the game with a DualShock 4and I quickly got used to the controls, which is unusual for a real-time strategy (RTS), as the majority of RTS’ are better played with keyboard controls.

Like every RTS, the gameplay introduces resources to collect in order to develop your colony. Food and wood are generally collected by building farms in your anthills, or by sending your worker ants to collect items found in your environment, such as apples or pineapples. Sometimes, you may have to defeat some bugs, like firebugs, mantis or ladybugs. You generally win by destroying the enemy’s headquarters. Using special powers might help you achieve your goals, as you can acquire abilities that can, for example, temporarily increase the speed of your ants, give them a life shield, or increase their aggressiveness with pheromones. There are a lot of powers to acquire and they will be crucial during your battles. You will also have to pay attention to the weather, as the light, humidity and general weather impact all the troops on the battlefield, improving or reducing their efficiency as well as your powers.

Tactics missions use the same mechanics as Strategy missions, but they introduce specific conditions to win, such as having to resist waves of enemies, collecting resources in a limited amount of time, or escorting a unit. Finally, Exploration missions request you to collect information on your enemy or scan your environment. For example, you might find items used by humans, like balloons or tin cans, and have to scan them. You could also have to hunt butterflies or fireflies. While your ants are very smart, they cannot swim at all, which means you will quickly drown if you don’t pay attention. Fortunately, your ant can run and jump, which will help you overcome any obstacle.

If you struggle with a mission, you are generally free to not complete it. The majority of missions are not mandatory, and you only have to achieve a certain number of missions to progress through each chapter of the history. If you struggle with Strategy, you could decide to focus on Exploration missions, for example. The gameplay, however, is not as elitist as it can be in some RTS’ like Starcraft 2 or Warcraft 3 and you should be able to complete all missions if you persevere. I am generally not good at playing RTS’, but I was able to complete the campaign after playing for 40 hours. There is a multiplayer component, but I was unable to experience it.

Technically, the game runs fine and is well optimized. I played it with a PC using a 4070 Super NVIDIA Gpu, 32GB Ram and an AMD Ryzen 5 7600 CPU. The game should be seen as an RTS which does not try to compete with references of the genre, but more as a strategy game which highlights the beauty of nature and the incredible intelligence of ants. Since the game is based on a book, it’s important to mention that the ants you will meet are depicted as more clever than in reality, which explains why they are able to tame various species of bugs or talk about diplomacy. The soundtracks are very relaxing, and you will never find them repetitive. The gameplay might look simple at first glance, but as you play you get to learn more about the depth of its mechanics.

I had a great experience with Empire of the Ants and it might be the best RTS released this year, so far, as well as one the most beautiful and fun games of the year. The game costs $39.99 or $49.99 if you want to buy the Deluxe edition. You can confidently get the standard edition now as the game has solid content to experience.

Review Score
Overall

Game was provided by the publisher for review.

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Denneko Yuugi, the developer behind the Machina of the Planet Tree games, have announced that their upcoming 3D action roguelite, Eternal Palace Sakura, will be heading to Steam in the latter half of 2025. It is part of the Machina of the Planet Tree series. The player controls Retla, a brown-skinned, cat-eared girl wielding dual blades, as she battles her way through dungeons, getting stronger along the way.

You can check out a gameplay PV below.

You can check out screenshots via the game’s official website below.

Eternal Palace Sakura will release with support for multiple languages including Japanese, English, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese. A demo is also planned for release in June of 2025.  If you’re interested in the game, you can follow Denneko Yuugi on X and wishlist the game on Steam now.

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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.

The post Trails through Daybreak II – Story Overview Trailer appeared first on oprainfall.

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

The post REVIEW: Orange Season appeared first on oprainfall.

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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When this week’s Cooking Eorzea column goes live, it will be the first day of this year’s Saints Wake event in FINAL FANTASY XIV Online. It will also be the start of the end of the year rush through October, November, and through the Starlight Celebration and into the Heavensturn.

It doesn’t honestly feel like the holiday season is starting for me until the FINAL FANTASY XIV Online Halloween-equivilent event begins, and then everything happens so fast that I find myself almost unable to keep up with it. I find myself organizing a pair of Secret Smilebringer events in real life, the weather turns incredibly cold, I travel to see people, I shop for sales, and I wonder how I am going to make the next year better than the year that just passed as I somehow also find the time to squeeze in doing the fun little events that happen in game.

Somehow, I will still find time to write this column as we go along through the busy upcoming holidays.

Now, if only I could figure out a costume to wear…

If you’ve missed an installment of Cooking Eorzea, you can check out all the prior recipes here.

Recipe of the Week

This week’s side dish comes from the Thanalan region and it has a ‘Medium’ difficulty! While this is the 50th dish in the cookbook, it is only the 49th one I’ve made. I am deliberately waiting to make The Minstrel’s Ballad: Almond Cream Croissants until the very end of the column, since it has an Extreme difficulty rating.

I have never used arborio rice in a dish, let alone making risotto of any sort. I was honestly quite excited to see a dish that often gets featured in cooking competitions on TV, and I was extremely hopeful that I would be able to make it with no issues.

Anyway, here is what the Cheese Risotto is supposed to look like:

Featured Ingredient of the Week

Arborio rice is an Italian rice used in making risotto and rice pudding. Normally, when I use rice in a recipe, I first cook it in a rice cooker. Making cheese risotto was the first time I’ve ever used rice raw within a recipe, and I honestly found that to be so unique to use. All of this made me want to pick arborio rice as my ingredient of the week for this week!

My Cooking Attempt

First, a shot of all the ingredients used for Cheese Risotto:

First, I peeled and minced up the parsnips. This week’s Cooking Eorzea column was actually the first time I have ever bought parsnips in my life.

Setting the parsnips aside, I next peeled and diced up the onion. I had forgotten how the tears from chopping up the onions sting in my eyes!

Finally, I minced up the garlic.

I then measured out the chicken broth, added in a sprig of rosemary and a bay leaf, and brought it up to a boil.

While the chicken broth heated up, I shredded the Parmesan cheese wedge.

Once it was boiling, I put it on a different burner on low and then I got out another pan and melted butter into it.

Once the butter was melted, I added in the garlic, the parsnips, and the onions. I then blended them all together in the pan while they softened for about five minutes.

Once the vegetables were ready, I added in the arborio rice, and I stirred to coat the rice with the butter and vegetables. I then let it all sautée for a couple of minutes.

Once the rice was ready, I poured in a half cup of white wine and blended it in too. I kept blending it in until the white wine was fully absorbed by the arborio rice.

Next came the longest, most annoying part of the dish. I kept measuring out a half cup of the chicken broth (after I removed the rosemary sprig and bay leaf) and adding it to the main dish. Once I poured out the half cup, I would whisk it all together inside the pan to blend it all together. I would keep mixing it until all the liquid was absorbed. I would then repeat it again and again and again. The longer I worked, the more engorged the rice became, and the longer I had to stir into order to get all the liquid soaked up.

Once I FINALLY got all the broth used up, I took the pan off of the heat and added in the cottage cheese and the shredded Parmesan cheese.

I then sprinkled in pepper and salt on top for seasonings.

I then blended all of that together again.

I then scooped the cheese risotto out into a bowl and added the furikake on top.

And here is this week’s final Cooking Eorzea dish for Cheese Risotto!

I am going to be honest about this week’s Cooking Eorzea dish: I didn’t care for it. It wasn’t because the dish was bad – far from it – it was more the texture. It reminded me of thick porridge, and the parsnips and onions gave it a bit of a soft crunch on top of that. I didn’t care for how it felt in my mouth, to be honest. Additionally, I wish it was a lot cheesier than what it was!

Afterword

If I was to make this dish again, I would want to make it with a lot more cheese. I would probably also try to mince the parsnips up even more, as the soft crunch got distracting after a short bit. I would probably try to add in even more salt and pepper than I did to see if it enhances the flavor further. I just don’t know if I could get past the texture of the arborio rice when mixed in the other ingredients!

Alright, it’s time to run through the list of people that I want to thank for making this week’s column possible! First, I want to thank Victoria Rosenthal for writing The Ultimate FINAL FANTASY XIV Online Cookbook. I also want to thank the staff over at Insight Editions for giving me permission to use the photos from their book to show how these recipes are actually supposed to look- including this week’s one for Cheese Risotto. Furthermore, I owe Brandon Rose a special thanks for creating the logo for this series on short notice. You should check him and his works out over on X– and you really should look at them!

Finally, I want to thank both Hiromichi Tanaka and Naoki Yoshida for producing FINAL FANTASY XIV Online in both iterations of the game. Even though we are far and away into Dawntrail at the moment, it took the efforts of both to create Eorzea as it stands today.

Next Time, In November

Imam Bayildi is the next Side dish that I will be making in Cooking Eorzea!

I have never actually baked eggplants before, and so I am excited to work with it. Please be sure to return in November to see how the dish turns out!

Let us know in the comments below!

The post Cooking Eorzea Week 49: Cheese Risotto (FINAL FANTASY XIV Online) appeared first on oprainfall.

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I wasn’t expecting to go on a months-long hiatus again.

At the end of March, I got seriously injured and I ended up not being able to walk or live independently for months.

While I spent a lot of my recovery in Eorzea, I found myself being drawn into spending as much time as possible in the world of FINAL FANTASY VII Rebirth. I had tickets to see the orchestra performance in Los Angeles for the North American premiere, and then again to see the show in Munich, Germany a month-ish later, and I thought that I should play the game first.

A large part of why I wanted to see the concert in two places as far flung apart as they were is because I wanted to thank both Hamauzu-san and Suzuki-san for helping me discover my love for the piano through the wonderful music they created for the SQUARE ENIX game Lightning Returns: FINAL FANTASY XIII. I talked a little bit about how amazing the soundtrack was earlier this year for the game’s tenth anniversary, and I wanted to take the time to thank them both in person for helping create my real love for music. It’s hard to explain how important music can be to me now, especially since I listened to so little of it in high school.

The fact that I wanted to thank both of them is a large part of why I pushed myself so hard through my rehab. If I couldn’t function independently, then I wouldn’t be able to make it out to Los Angeles – let alone Munich – to see them both.

I even got both of them, and both Mr. Arnie Roth and Mr. Eric Roth, to sign my FINAL FANTASY VII Rebirth program – and you can see that in my final dish image for this week’s Cooking Eorzea.

You can check out my full concert review here. If you get a chance, you should really see the concert live and play the game. I promise you that you won’t regret it, and you can still even get tickets.

What about this column going forward?

I am definitely going to try to get back to doing this column weekly again when I can. I love cooking and Cooking Eorzea has been with me through so much of my life in California. It helped me handle my breakup after I moved here, and it gave me something to look forward to after the apartment fire I had. I can’t imagine not finishing this cookbook out: especially when there are simply so many amazing dishes left to try out!

If you’ve missed an installment of Cooking Eorzea, you can check out all the prior recipes here.

Recipe of the Week

The 49th recipe in The Official FINAL FANTASY XIV Online Cookbook and hailing from the Hingashi region of Eorzea…is Chawan-Mushi! With a hard difficulty rating, this Cooking Eorzea dish is one that looks deceptively easy to make, but in fact can be quite hard to create if you leave air in the custard or you overcook it on the stove top. This is also the start of the Sides section of the cookbook! It is crazy to think about how much I’ve made so far, and honestly…how much more I still need to create.

Chawan-Mushi also has a lot of different meat options in it, and it reminded me a bit of the Bouillabaisse I made way back in Week 27 because of that.

Anyway, here is what the dish is supposed to look like in the hands of a professional:

Featured Ingredient of the Week

This week’s featured ingredient is mitsuba.

It is also probably the second hardest ingredient I’ve had to find for Cooking Eorzea since I started writing it, right behind the mahi-mahi that I had to end up ordering in another state and cooking at a friend’s place. I spent my weekend searching every Asia grocery within a two-hour drive of my phone, and I could not find it anywhere. It turns out that while Italian parsley is quite common…mitsuba is not.

I ended up having to order it online and having it delivered to my home. It was either doing that or do a day trip down to Los Angeles to try to get my hands on some.

Mitsuba, also known as Japanese parsley, is known for its three leaves and for having a slightly bitter flavor.

Honestly, it was because of the sheer difficulty of obtaining it that it stuck out in my mind so much. I didn’t want to compromise on Cooking Eorzea by leaving this ingredient, even if it really is just garnish, out.

My Cooking Attempt

For my first installment in the Sides section of Cooking Eorzea, here are all the ingredients that I ended up using:

I first sliced up the chicken into bite-sized pieces.

I then removed the tails from the shrimp and cut them in half.

Finally, I quartered the scallops.

Once all the meats were set aside, I sliced up the shiitake mushrooms and thinly sliced the kamaboko.

After setting all of those cut ingredients aside, I made the dashi stock. First, I added water to a pot, added a dashi stock packet to the pot, and then brought it to a boil for three minutes.

Once the timer was up, I pulled the packet out and then poured the dashi stock into a measuring cup.

Setting the dashi stock aside, I placed the cut chicken into a small bowl, measured out sake and soy sauce into it.

I then let the chicken marinade for about 10 minutes.

During the 10 minutes, I cleaned the small pot I made the dashi stock in, and then added water to it, inserted a steamer basket into the pot, and then heated it up.

I then started to make the custard. First, I cracked three eggs and then added the dashi stock to the bowl.

I then added the salt, sake, and soy sauce to the custard. I then whisked it all together inside the bowl. I had to be careful to only whisk it just enough to make sure that the ingredients were blended together, but not so much that the custard had too much air and bubbles in it.

Once it was all blended together, I started to filter the custard mix from pot to bowl and back through a fine-mesh strainer so I could remove as much of the bubbles as possible.

At this point, I started to assemble the chawan-mushi dishes. First, I put a layer of chicken pieces down and then topped it with the shrimp layer.

I then added a layer of scallops on top and then a lawyer of shiitake mushrooms.

Finally, I added a layer of kamaboko on top.

I then poured the liquid custard on top of the multiple layers until it was just barely away from the top of the chawan-mushi cup. I also used a toothpick to pop any bubbles that rose in the liquid custard so that it wouldn’t interfere with the custard setting.

Once the bubbles were all popped, I added the lids to the chawan-mushi cups and then added them into the steamer basket. It turned out I could only fit three into the pot at a time, and so I had to cook the fourth one later on.

After replacing the pot’s lid, I let the whole thing steam cook for 20 minutes.

After the timer was up, I removed the chawan-mushi lids and saw that the custard had set.

I then removed the cups from the steaming basket, and then added a layer of ikura and a stem of mitsuba to each one to finish off the dish!

And here is the final dish for this week’s Cooking Eorzea!

The overall dish was incredibly savory, and I was surprised that the custard really worked well with the mixture of chicken and seafood. I couldn’t really taste the soy sauce or the sake, and the ikura definitely reminded me of boba bubbles while I was eating the dish. Unfortunately, the custard didn’t fully cook through, and so it was a bit watery at the end. The fourth cup, the one that I made after these three, I cooked for around 6-7 minutes longer, and that one cooked through.

Overall, it was a very unique and enjoyable dish, and one that I wouldn’t mind making for other people…if I could find mitsuba a little easier again.

Afterword

If I was to make chawan-mushi again, I would definitely let it cook for more than twenty minutes. I had no issues with the custard itself, other than I didn’t let it cook long enough. It was quite enjoyable, and I could see it being a fun side dish for people to enjoy.

This is where I start with the ‘thank yous’…Even if it has been awhile! I want start off by thanking Victoria Rosenthal for writing The Ultimate FINAL FANTASY XIV Online Cookbook. I also want to thank the staff over at Insight Editions for giving me permission to use the photos from their book to show how these recipes are actually supposed to look. Furthermore, I owe Brandon Rose a special thanks for creating the logo for this series on short notice. You should check him and his works out over on X.

Finally, I want to thank both Hiromichi Tanaka and Naoki Yoshida for producing FINAL FANTASY XIV Online in both iterations of the game. When I wasn’t spending my recovery playing FINAL FANTASY VII Rebirth, I spent a lot of it in Eorzea.

Next Week

Assuming I don’t get injured again, next week’s dish is Thanalan’s Cheese Risotto!

As I am sure you won’t be surprised by…I haven’t made this dish before either, and so it will be a brand-new experience for me to explore!

Please tune in to see how it goes!

Have you made chawan-mushi before?

Have you been to the FINAL FANTASY VII Rebirth Orchestra World Tour?

Let us know in the comments below!

The post Cooking Eorzea Week 48: Chawan-Mushi (FINAL FANTASY XIV) appeared first on oprainfall.

After a long time, it’s finally time to review DATE A LIVE: Ren Dystopia. Following the release of Rio Reincarnation out west in 2019, this writer has been eagerly awaiting the next entry in the DATE A LIVE visual novel series. The reason for this being that in terms of presentation, I would argue that the visual novels have amazing storytelling moments that you just wouldn’t get from the anime. Here we are, five years later, and the question that I’ve asked before is back: How does it all hold up after all this time?

Right off the bat, I have a warning for curious onlookers. I highly recommend you play the first three visual novels prior to this. Thankfully, this is all available in one purchase via Rio Reincarnation on all storefronts as it is a triple pack. That means you can play Rinne Utopia, Arusu Install, and Rio Reincarnation. Sadly that’s not the only check on this list. I do recommend that you watch the first three seasons of DATE A LIVE, and the movie Mayuri Judgement. If you meet all these requirements, read on!

Repeating what I said earlier, it’s been five years since the last DATE A LIVE visual novels came out. Back then it felt like a novelty to be able to finally forge your own path with your favorite girl in the series. The sheer joy I personally felt being able to see Kurumi in a wedding outfit for an ending was immaculate. Not only that, I could do it three times across the aforementioned titles. Each ending then felt like a culmination of fan desires to love their girls even more than Shido could. It’s because of this that I felt renewed excitement for Ren Dystopia, coupled with the recent success of the series as it got its fourth and fifth seasons.

While that was the initial allure of the visual novels, if you dare to dig deeper (and you should), you’ll find something even better. I’m talking about the visual novel exclusive scenes with new girls that pack more emotional depth than anything else in the whole package. It’s how characters like Rinne, Marina, and Maria specifically climbed to my top girls list in the series. Those girls made the journey to achieving the true end all worthwhile. More fuel for the Ren Dystopia hype train.

That’s all well and good, but now we have to talk about the game that’s out now. If we take a peek under the hood, any person that owns the first three visual novels will immediately notice something. In terms of the UI, overworld map, art assets, and music, virtually nothing has changed. If it wasn’t for the title screen being different, and Natsumi being the first girl you see out the gate from when you start the game, I’d be doing double takes to make sure I launched the right game. The common route also plays out nearly identical to that of the other games as well.

To understand why this is a problem, you need to look at the original release dates for the games. Rinne Utopia, Arusu Install, and Rio Reincarnation all came out in 2013, 2014, and 2015 respectively. Furthermore, they were incorporated into a triple pack. It made sense for those games to be very similar given the release cycle. However, Ren Dystopia releases a whole five years later, and as a standalone that sits at the very same price point as the triple pack of all things. Noticing all this before talking about the routes is cause of concern from not just a reviewer point-of-view, but a fan of the series as a whole.

Let’s talk routes. Ren Dystopia incorporates nine main routes, one for each girl from season three. Natsumi is the sole new character of this bunch. However, Origami, due to the third season, got a writing makeover. You may be telling yourself that this is going to be a serious time sink. However, this is not the case. Each route is an hour and thirty minutes of reading at moderate pace. In addition, it also features the exact ridiculous story with minor differences. The following is what you can expect without important details. Someone will open a box, make one wish, wish affects the next day, sleep, repeat until three wishes are made. While some wishes are more romantic than others, there’s hardly that relationship building charm that existed with previous games. It genuinely feels like I’ve been handed multiple 4-koma pages rather than a visual novel.

The reason why this is all so upsetting to me is because of the game’s true ending. An ending that does require you to do all of the nine routes. Nine routes that are significantly boring to sit through and aren’t satisfying to complete. However, if you to manage to power through these routes, you’ll receive something magical. An ending that properly demonstrates what could have been from the writing team. It’s an ending that almost brought me to tears, and yet I almost missed it entirely. I want you to envision the meme of the guy almost mining the diamonds but quits before he hits it big. That’s the meme that embodies this game. It doesn’t matter how much I love Kurumi, Origami, Kotori, and even Natsumi. Ren is the star of the show and she deserves better.

DATE A LIVE: Ren Dystopia is a truly head-scratching game. A game that looks and plays no different from its predecessors. All the while presenting fans with very underdeveloped and uninspired routes. While the Live2D models look great and the voice acting is phenomenal, it just can’t carry the weight that is everything else. Even the True Ending, which is some of the writing team’s best work, can’t save this. Ren deserves better. The reader deserves better. Especially when the company is asking for the same amount of money as the triple pack that came before it. If you do happen to own this title, please work your way to the true ending to get your money’s worth. The fact that only 9% of readers, at the time of writing, have seen it drives me insane. Otherwise consider waiting for a sale.

Review Score
Overall

Game provided by publisher for review purposes. Standard edition of the game retails for $39.99 USD.

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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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Jae (Fkkcloud), the director at indie developer Studio Sai, has announced that their debut indie title, Eternights, has sold 200,000 units. In celebration of this huge milestone, a Nintendo Switch version has been announced. It is scheduled to launch on October 17, 2024, and pre-orders are open now.

You can check out the Nintendo Switch release date trailer below.

Eternights is an indie title that blends dating simulation elements with hack ‘n’ slash gameplay. The game is described by the developer as follows:

In Eternights, the world we know is turned upside down when a mysterious event transforms people into violent monsters and creates giant walls that close in your city. When your arm is replaced with a magical, shapeshifting replica that grants you strange powers, it’s up to you to break through the wall and save the world… and your love life. Dates still happen during the apocalypse, and even when a surreal evil brings life as you know it crashing down, what matters most is the people around you.

Spend your time in Eternights surviving trips into fiendish dungeons and intense real-time battles with monstrous foes. Utilizing your own magical abilities and those of your companions, take these enemies down in stylish combos, aided by the survivors you bring into battle. But there are only so many hours in the day, and the apocalypse waits for no first kiss. How you spend the end of the world is up to you, but remember that every moment counts in Eternights.

Eternights is available now for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store. It is scheduled to launch on October 17, 2024 for Nintendo Switch. For more information, you can follow Fkkcloud’s X account, Studio Sai’s X account, or check out the game’s official website.

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FINAL FANTASY XVI introduces players to an original standalone story in the FINAL FANTASY universe, an epic dark fantasy that takes place in the realm of Valisthea – a land blessed in the light of the Mothercrystals, and where peace falters as the spread of the Blight threatens to destroy their dominions. The fate of the land is decided by the Eikons, mighty summoned beasts and their Dominants, men and women who have been blessed with the ability to call upon and wield them. This is the tale of Clive Rosfield, a warrior granted the title “First Shield of Rosaria” and sworn to protect his younger brother Joshua, the Dominant of the Phoenix, Eikon of Fire. Before long, Clive will be caught up in a great tragedy and swear revenge on the Dark Eikon known as Ifrit, a mysterious entity that brings calamity in its wake.

The first DLC chapter, “Echoes of the Fallen,” unlocks new story, battles, weapons, accessories, level cap and more. The adventure begins before the base game’s final battle, as strange, dark crystals begin to circulate on the black market. Players will follow Clive and company during their investigations as they encounter a group of suspicious traders, leading them to a long-abandoned Fallen tower known as the Sagespire and the terrible secrets that await within.

The second, and final DLC chapter, “The Rising Tide,” brings an all-new story, battles, sidequests, weapons, accessories, level cap and more, adding a new depth to Clive’s journey before the exciting conclusion of FINAL FANTASY XVI. Players will gain new Eikonic abilities, explore a beautiful new area in the hidden land of Mysidia, and dive into battle against the legendary water Eikon, Leviathan the Lost. This DLC also adds brand new end-game content with the Kairos Gate, where players will challenge 20 stages of intense scored and ranked battles against waves of enemies.

If you’d like to know more about FINAL FANTASY XVI, visit the game’s official website.

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Character Description of Metis: A mysterious android who claims to be Aigis’s “sister”. She appears before the S.E.E.S. members who are trapped in a never-ending March 31st time loop and leads them to the Abyss of Time that has appeared in the basement of the dormitory. Her unique Persona is Psyche, specializing in physical, wind, and ice skills.

If you’d like to know more about Persona 3 Reload, visit the game’s official website.

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When one trail ends, another begins. The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak starts a brand new arc in the long-running Trails series, leaving behind the familiar territories of the Erebonian Empire and Crossbell State. This time around, the story takes place in the Republic of Calvard, one of the two Zemuria superpowers and a country which was previously mentioned in past games. With a fresh cast of characters and a new hybrid turn-based/action battle system, Trails through Daybreak leaves a comfort zone established in the Erebonia arc, the Cold Steel games.  From Rean to Van, was this new hero, cast of characters, and setting able to captivate me like the games that came before? Did the gamble with this new hybrid combat system pay off? Did Trails through Daybreak start the Calvard arc off with a bang, or did it fall short of expectations?

In the seedy underbelly of Edith, Calvard’s capital, a deal between two parties goes awry and a suitcase goes missing. Van Arkride is a spriggan, a fixer that takes on jobs that clients can’t bring to the police or the Bracer Guild. One morning, Agnès Claudel, an Aramis Academy student, knocks on the door of Arkride Solutions with a job for Van. She needs help in recovering a memento of her great-grandfather. Van accepts her request and after some conflict and tragedy, is able to recover the item Agnes was looking for. However, during the course of this request, Van unlocks a mysterious power and has a run-in with a sinister mafia group, Armata. He also learns that there are seven more items similar to the one Agnes recovered, collectively known as Geneses. With this new information, Van reluctantly takes Agnes under his wing, and searches for the remaining Geneses to prevent an ominous future predicted by Agnes’ great-grandfather.

The story of Trails through Daybreak is mostly well done and I very much enjoyed it. It has that good mix of political intrigue, matters dealing in organized crime, fantastical elements, and enough mystery in the ongoing events to keep players guessing. The game also does not shy away from more mature and dark elements like racial discrimination, murder, drug dealing, and crimes against humanity. Mix in villains that have no redeemable features whatsoever, and you have one hell of a story. Honestly, I was shocked at the lengths Almata went to in their schemes. They make Heiyue and Ouroboros look like saints. 

In past games, you always had the POV of a bonafide hero. Whether it be Estelle, Lloyd, or Rean, you were almost always on the right side of the law, you did the right thing and the public looked favorably on you and the characters’ way of life. The same can’t be said of Van. Being a spriggan, Van tends to work in a gray area, and he is open to working with groups of ill repute such as jaegers and Ouroboros. Because of this, he tends to butt heads with more just groups, like the police and the Bracer Guild. He’s not outright enemies with them, but they are wary of him. Unlike past main characters, Van is also an adult right from the get go. He’s like a seasoned veteran at this point, so he has the ability to make more rational decisions. Combine that with his profession, and Van has more ways to fulfill requests, since he isn’t bound by the law or any type of code. Spriggan requests are known as 4SPGs, and at major turning points of these requests, Van is sometimes offered two or three options. Each option can represent one of three alignments: Law, Gray, and Chaos. Van’s affinity with a certain alignment will increase significantly based on the choice made, and this is reflected in the LGC meter. Each alignment can be leveled up to a max of 5, and the level of each alignment opens more options for Van to take in the main story. The choices Van makes in side 4SPGs can significantly affect its outcome, which I found to be a nice touch. I dislike choices that don’t matter, so I appreciate how this was implemented. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for the main story, as it was clear that some choices I made at major points didn’t really matter. I actually got a bit confused at how a certain late game event panned out because I felt it didn’t make sense based on a previous choice I made. Despite this, overall, I really enjoyed the game’s main story. There were some unanswered mysteries regarding the Geneses and Van’s AI partner, Mare, but I’m hoping more light is shed upon these in the sequel.

As many may know, Trails through Daybreak is the eleventh mainline title in the Trails franchise. This may scare off newcomers from starting the series, especially this late in the timeline. I’m here to assuage those fears. Despite being the latest game available for overseas players, I felt the story, overall, was very welcoming to newcomers. You could very much enjoy the game’s story without prior knowledge of the series. At most, there may be some past events referenced, but others will eventually give a short explanation on what that event was so you won’t feel lost. Characters from past games will also make an appearance, but you don’t need to know about their past experiences to understand their role in the current story. If you want to read a little about what occurred in past games, there’s an Archive section in the pause menu. Here, you can read backgrounds on each of the past games, but they don’t give you any huge spoilers, so if you still wanted to play any of those games after reading, you could still do that without feeling like you ruined the surprise for yourself. There’s also a nifty glossary available in the Archives section where newcomers can read up on terms needed to help understand the game’s story that much more. I think they did as much as possible to be welcoming to new players, and I definitely appreciate those efforts.

A story is made stronger by its characters and Trails through Daybreak is blessed with a fantastic starring cast. Van is the chief of Arkride Solutions. At first, he seems like a total bad boy. But as time progresses, you begin to see he’s a big softy and truly cares about those close to him. He really looks out for his younger employees and tries to guide them as best he can. He also has a massive sweet tooth which others take advantage of to give him requests. Agnès is Van’s first employee and a student at Aramis Academy. Despite her youth, she has a good head on her shoulders and tries to keep the rest on the straight and narrow. She doesn’t let the pressures of her family lineage get the better of her, and she really shows off how capable she can be as the story progresses. Feri is one of the youngest in the company and a jaeger with impeccable combat skills. While skilled in battle, she is very much ignorant in the way the rest of the world works, though she is willing to learn and expand her horizons. Her curiosity tends to make for some hilarious exchanges with other characters. Aaron, like Van, is a rebel and very perceptive. He goes at the beat of his own drum, loves to party, and cares a lot about his friends and hometown. He has no filter and really speaks his mind freely, willing to call people out when needed, and poke fun at Van’s age. He also isn’t afraid to make many dirty jokes and hit on women in front of the rest of the crew. Of all the employees, Aaron is probably the worst influence. Risette is arguably one of the most capable in the company. She’s strong, intelligent, good with technology, and even good at secretarial work. Aaron likes to joke that she should be the boss of Arkride Solutions, and with good reason. Quatre is a youth prodigy and, like Risette, is great with technology. His technical savvy really helps the crew when it comes to the Orbal Network, and he gives the company more avenues to tackle work. He can be a bit shy when he has to hang with the rest of the boys though, especially at the public bath. Judith is a famous actress with one of the worst guarded secrets. She has a very fiery personality and has no problems speaking her mind, sometimes to her own detriment. Bergard is the oldest of the crew and one of its strongest. He commands the respect of many people, and due to his age and experiences, can impart lessons and much needed guidance to Van and the others. All of these contrasting personalities seem like a volatile mixture, but they actually work together quite well. They are very much like a family and they cover for each other’s weaknesses. I enjoyed playing through the story that much more due to their chemistry and how each character worked and interacted with the other. Only having eight main party members was a benefit to the story, as well. It was easier to get attached to each character, and most of them got their own time to develop over the course of the story.

It’s not just the main cast that adds to the story, even the minor NPCs in Trails through Daybreak added flavor to the world. Though they aren’t as important as others like Nina Fenly and Saara, they still help bring the Calvard Republic to life. Lashkar is a young lad with dreams of becoming a bracer, all so he can protect his friend, Annie; San is a girl trying her best to live her life as free as she can, not bound by her Eastern lineage; Huck is an old man who loves playing mahjong and seems to be carefree, but he is also a capable businessman whom many go to for advice; Selma is a heartbroken girl who gets into running after her boyfriend breaks up with her for not being able to fit in a certain pair of pants; Seyla and Lulua are idols trying to make a breakthrough in the cutthroat music industry. These are just a couple of the NPCs you can talk to throughout your adventures in Calvard. I enjoyed going around and talking to every single one, checking to see how their life is progressing. It helped me develop an attachment to the cities and locals in the country, increasing my overall enjoyment of the main story. I highly recommend talking to NPCs when you can, it can really make the story that much better.

Xipha activate! Read up on the combat and more on page 2 ->

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I’ve been a big fan of the Touhou Genso Wanderer series of games, so I was pretty excited when a new game was announced a while back. I hoped Touhou Genso Wanderer -FORESIGHT- would be as great as the two dungeon crawlers that came before it. I’ve spent 20 hours with the game and I’m ready to share my thoughts on it. Did this one live up to my expectations? Let’s find out.

The story begins as Reimu is defeated by a dark version of herself. She awakens at the shrine, but has no memory of her past. Soon many incidents start occurring in Gensokyo, and it’s up to the shrine maiden and her friends to get to the bottom of these and bring peace to the land. Although, there is something about these that seem very familiar and Reimu is just beginning to uncover the mysteries.

Graphically, the game looks like the other games in the franchise. The characters are done in a very cute chibi style. They might be small, but they have a lot of detail and character. The environments are done nicely as well. Everything from sunflower-covered fields to haunted houses is represented here. The PC requirements on this game are very low and you should be able to run it well on any modern system. I got the game to run in 1440p at 120 FPS on my rig. I wasn’t able to get it up to 4K, but this could be something on my end.

In the sound department, Touhou Genso Wanderer -FORESIGHT- is fantastic. The remixed tunes we all know and love are here. Each one is just as good as the last, and you will find yourself humming along as you crawl through each dungeon. The game features some quality Japanese voice acting as well. These actors bring our favorite characters to life and give them a lot of personality.

Gameplay here is just about the same as the other titles in the franchise. You move along in grid-based dungeons slaying all the foes that get in your path. You can still upgrade your weapons, and they added a new buff system called Izanagi Links. These are cards filled with skills which you obtain by completing quests all around Gensokyo. You unlock these skills and buffs with LP you gain from simply defeating enemies in the dungeon. It is very important you unlock as many of these as possible since they will give defense against each of the monster types found in the game, as well as attack boosts against them. If you don’t unlock as many of these as possible, you’re gonna have a really hard time with the bosses.

The main problem I ran into here is there aren’t enough dungeons to level you for the last battle. I felt like I was going to have to grind for many hours just to be strong enough to take on the final boss. The other games in the franchise just had more content, more playable characters and more dungeons to play in. So while you were probably leveling that same amount of time, it didn’t feel like it since you were in different places. They have already added some content to the game through updates, and I hope they continue to do this until it is on par with the other releases in the franchise.

Overall, I have mixed feelings on Touhou Genso Wanderer -FORESIGHT-. I feel like the game is a very approachable dungeon crawler since you lose nothing when you die, but the amount of grinding here is just a bit much. I can’t say I didn’t have fun during my playtime, and I will probably finish this at some point down the line, but it’s hard for me to recommend this one to anyone outside of hardcore fans at the $34.99 price tag.

Review Score
Overall

Game was provided for review by the publisher.

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During the June 18, 2024 Nintendo Direct, Capcom announced the Ace Attorney Investigations Collection. It includes two Ace Attorney spin-off games starring Miles Edgeworth: Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth and Ace Attorney Investigations 2: Prosecutor’s Gambit. The first Investigations game launched in the West for Nintendo DS. Investigations 2 was also available on Nintendo DS, however this title did not receive an official release in the West, but now fans overseas will get the chance to play this title. The collection will be available digitally on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. It will also have a physical release on Nintendo Switch.

Ace Attorney Investigations Collection features HD visuals and redrawn character sprites by the series’ original character designer. In addition to the redrawn sprites, players will also have the option to switch back to the classic pixel sprites. That’s not all, the collection also features text and voice-over options for seven languages including English, Japanese, French, German, Korean, and Traditional and Simplified Chinese (Mandarin).

You can check out the announcement trailer, key art, character art, and screenshots below.

Announcement Trailer

Key Art

Character Art

Screenshots

Capcom describes the collection’s features as follows:

FEATURES

• Experience Ace Attorney Like Never Before – Unlike the mainline Ace Attorney games, these titles focus more on point and click puzzle and adventure gameplay, offering a fresh perspective within the Ace Attorney universe. Players will explore crime scenes, interact with diverse environments, and solve puzzles to uncover the truth, providing a more hands on investigative experience.
• Crime Scenes and Witness Confrontations Optimized for Newer Consoles – Ace Attorney Investigations Collection will be available on modern platforms including Nintendo Switch, PlayStation®4, Xbox One, Windows, and Steam for the first time ever. The highly anticipated release also features improved resolution with more fluid character animations, as well as richer expressions for both classic and new sprites – all created by the Investigations series’ original character designer. Players will have the ability to change between classic sprites and the new character sprites. Each game will also have text and voice-overs available in English, Japanese, French, German, Korean, and Traditional and Simplified Chinese (Mandarin).
• Newly Added Features for a More In-Depth Gameplay Experience – The collection allow s new and veteran players to experience both titles in an exciting and more in depth way . With the History functionality, players can review any dialogue they may have missed and can freely choose which game, chapter, or section they want to start from or revisit. With the Story Mode feature, players can immerse themselves in the twisting tales of each case with a story and puzzles that progress automatically. Mind Chess is another new feature players can explore from Ace Attorney Investigations 2: Prosecutor’s Gambit, where they engage in mental battles to pull important information from witnesses.
• A Collection of Special Items for Passionate Prosecutors – Players can delve deeper in to the world of Ace Attorney Investigations with the Gallery , which features a catalog of illustrations, sketches, character animations, promotional art, and accolades, as well as all 106 in-game background music tracks, 23 orchestral tracks, one completely new song, and five arranged tracks from the original Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth.

Ace Attorney Investigations Collection launches September 6, 2024 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. Those who pre-order the game will also receive five arrange music tracks for use in-game. For more information you can check out its official website and follow the Ace Attorney official X account.

SOURCES: Press Release, June 2024 Nintendo Direct

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During the June 18, 2024 Nintendo Direct, Capcom announced MARVEL vs. CAPCOM Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics, a huge collection of past fighting games and a beat ’em up title. It is set to come to Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PC via Steam. The collection will be available both physically and digitally and will cost $49.99. It is scheduled to launch sometime in 2024.

It includes 7 titles and they are as follows:

• X-MEN® CHILDREN OF THE ATOM
• MARVEL SUPER HEROES
• MARVEL vs. CAPCOM® CLASH OF SUPER HEROES
• MARVEL vs. CAPCOM® 2 New Age of Heroes
• MARVEL SUPER HEROES vs. STREET FIGHTER®
• X-MEN vs. STREET FIGHTER®
• THE PUNISHER

You can check out the announcement trailer and some screenshots below.

Announcement Trailer

Screenshots

Capcom also mentioned some of the collection’s features and they are as follows:

• Battle It Out Online – All of the fighting games in the collection will have online ranked, casual, and lobby matches unlocked for players to showcase their abilities with friends, family, and other players from around the world!
• Robust Rollback Netcode – Online play for the collection is supported with rollback netcode for a strong and stable online experience!
• Be the Best! – Global high score leaderboards come to every game in the collection so players can track their journey to the top of the list!
• Practice Makes Perfect – Training Mode comes to all fighting games in the collection so players can learn, practice, and master their moves!
• A Rare Gem – The classic beat ‘em up arcade game THE PUNISHER comes to PC and modern consoles for the first time ever in the U.S.!
• Watch This! – Spectator Mode is available so you can enjoy watching your friends and co-combatants battle it out!
• Additional Features – Check out the collection’s enhanced features like a music jukebox, in-game Museum, new display filters, and more!

MARVEL vs. CAPCOM Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics launches in 2024 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PC via Steam. For more information you can check out its official website or follow Capcom USA’s official X account.

SOURCES: Press Release, June 2024 Nintendo Direct

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