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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.

Aniplex has announced that the Fate/strange Fake anime is scheduled to premiere on December 31st with Japanese voices and English subs on Crunchyroll. It is an adaptation of the light novel series written by Ryogo Narita. A anime film adaptation, Fate/strange Fake -Whispers of Dawn-, aired in July 2023 and serves as a prequel to the upcoming TV anime. That is also available to stream on Crunchyroll.

You can check out the latest trailer for the TV anime with English subs below.

Official Trailer (English Subs)

The latest character visual has also been shared, this time featuring Saber and Ayaka Sajyou. You can check that out below.

In addition to the premiere date announcement, the full first episode of the anime with English dub is now available to watch in its entirety. It can be seen for free on Crunchyroll’s YouTube channel. As per Crunchyroll’s official X account, the episode will only be available on their YouTube channel for one week. You can also check it out below.

Episode 1 (English Dub)

If you’re interested in the anime, you can follow its official X account and check out its official website.

The post Fate/strange Fake Anime Premieres with JP Voices December 31, English Dub Now Available on YouTube appeared first on oprainfall.

Sorry these Week in Gaming articles have been so sporadic the latter half of this year. Lately I’ve been doing a lot of review gaming and whenever I’m not review gaming, I’m never sure I have enough to say about other games to put out one of these articles. After the disaster that was Orange Season: which I thought was going to be a great fall game but ended up so bad I put it down early, I got a couple of recently released fall Nintendo titles to play which are very much appreciated. I’m currently mainly working my way through one of those, the first one they released, and sitting on the other one until afterwards. Hopefully I’ll have those reviews out before the year is over, or at least one of them. But on the side, I’ve finally jumped back into Stardew Valley, always a good farming game that never disappoints.

I’ve been getting the urge to go back to Stardew Valley all year but I’ve been holding back, waiting on that 1.6 update content to hit consoles and now it finally has. I quite enjoy playing Stardew on my Switch with an 8bitdo controller. I had a beach farm I started a while back, maybe last year, that I had planned on being my very first Joja route. However, I only ever got a little bit into the first year’s summer. So, since the new update is now out, I decided to start over on that route and deleted my old file. I know I read somewhere that there would be new postgame Joja content to make the route as substantial as the community center one is, thus this seemed like the best idea for me to enjoy the new content. I also ended up joining a friend online in a new multiplayer farm as well where we’re trying out the meadow farm map with blue grass.

So far I’m right about where I left off from my last attempt at this beach farm before the update. I’m in the middle of the very first summer. I always play Stardew pretty slowly, I’m not an efficient farmer whatsoever. My house doesn’t have a kitchen yet and I’m still trying to decide what tool to upgrade first, now that I have the money to go with the copper bars. My pickaxe being so weak in the mines since I’ve reached the icy area, has been an annoyance. Also, watering crops by hand on the beach has been quite slow. Yet on the other hand, I want to upgrade my regular axe a few times asap so I can clear out the regular dirt area the beach farm has that’s full of giant logs, then I can set-up my crops with sprinklers. At the same time though, I might already be about to unlock the greenhouse by the time I would be able to upgrade my axe enough, so maybe I should just focus on my watering can and pickaxe after all. I’ve mostly been collecting the stuff required for the community center because I wanted to try and do it myself as much as possible for the various rewards, and then I plan to buy a Joja membership near the end. I figure maybe I’ll leave the hardest community center requirements, like a lot of the fishing, left undone and buy my membership once I’ve at least donated all of the required farming and mining related items. – Jenae

I’ve been doing a lot of retro gaming lately, both on original hardware and through recent remakes, and it’s been a ton of fun. My sister and I recently finished Lufia, which wasn’t as good as Lufia II but had a ton of charm all its own, and getting to see the evolution between the original and the sequel reminded me of just how much innovation happened during the SNES years. Jumping from that to Mega Man Legends on the PS1 was a different kind of reminder that those early years of 3D were rough when it came to control schemes. We opted to use the directional buttons for turning and the shoulder buttons for strafing, but even then controlling Mega Man around the 3D world comes with a major learning curve. The world of MML is incredibly charming, with that 90s dub you either love or hate, and wacky hijinks abound. The cast is impeccable, honestly. I understand now why Tron is so beloved. The comedy isn’t always a hit, but I have been having a great time watching these characters interact. The animations are also beautiful, and I adore Mega Man’s expressions. That being said, we eventually caved and used a GameShark code for invincibility so we could see more of the story rather than fight with the controls, though the safety buffer it provides has given me a lot more practice with the control scheme, since I do engage with it to the best of my ability. It’s fun when you get the hang of it, but it hurts my hands after extended periods. If ever a game would benefit from a remaster with modern controls, it’s Mega Man Legends. Maybe then I’d finally get to read the dirty magazines, too.

In modern retro news, I’ve been having a blast with the Dragon Quest III HD-2D remake. What a stunning glowup that retains the charms of its NES roots. I’m too old and busy to deal with the grindy nature of the RPGs I grew up with, so having some nice QoL updates here have made playing it incredibly comfy while remaining nostalgic. It’s visually gorgeous, with colorful, vibrant locations, beautiful lighting, and fun voice acting that really gives the characters some pop. I went with the most basic setup of the hero, warrior, mage and healer, but I’ve only reached the second major hub so far, leaving me plenty of time to experiment with new party configurations. The Dragon Quest difficulty feels a tad on the easy side, but I know I don’t have the patience to move up to Draconian, so I’m pretty happy having this to sit back and relax with a couple hours a night. – Leah

What games have you been playing this week? Let us know in the comments!

You can read previous Week in Gaming entries here!

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Nexon has announced that they are releasing the Blue Archive Anniversary OSTs (1-Year Anniversary OST, 2-Year Anniversary OST, 2.5-Year Anniversary OST) on digital streaming platforms. They will be available for YouTube Music, Spotify, Apple Music, JOOX, and kkbox on November 18 at 3:00 AM (UTC).

The track list for each OST is as follows (the format is Song Name – Artist):

1-Year Anniversary OST

1. Constant Moderato – Mitsukiyo
2. Midsummer cat – Mitsukiyo
3. Connected Sky – KARUT
4. Shooting Stars – KARUT
5. Step by Step – KARUT/TSK
6. MX Adventure – Mitsukiyo
7. Irasshaimase – Mitsukiyo
8. Daily Routine 247 – Nor
9. Future Bossa – Mitsukiyo
10. Lemonade Diary – Mitsukiyo
11. Plug and Play – KARUT
12. Water Drop – KARUT
13. Signal of Abydos – Nor
14. Sugar story – Nor
15. ARES – Nor
16. Vibes – Nor
17. Future Lab – Nor
18. After the Beep – Nor
19. Rolling beat – Mitsukiyo
20. Accelerator – KARUT
21. Mischievous Step – Mitsukiyo
22. Mechanical JUNGLE – KARUT
23. Virtual Storm – KARUT
24. Tech N Tech – KARUT
25. Party time – Mitsukiyo
26. Endless Carnival – Mitsukiyo
27. Fade Out – KARUT
28. Alert – KARUT
29. CrossFire – KARUT
30. Interface – KARUT
31. Out of Control – KARUT
32. Mechanical JUNGLE Hard Arrange – KARUT
33. Fearful Utopia – Nor
34. SAKURA PUNCH – Nor
35. Denshi Toujou! – KARUT
36. Kaiten Screw!!!! – KARUT
37. CrossFire Hard Arrange – KARUT
38. Fevertime – KARUT
39. Library of Omen – KARUT

2-Year Anniversary OST

1. Neo City Dive – KARUT
2. Pixel time – Mitsukiyo
3. Hue – KARUT
4. Koi is love – Mitsukiyo
5. Luminous memory – Mitsukiyo
6. Water Drop – KARUT
7. JACKPOT 777 – KARUT
8. Bunny Bunny Carrot Carrot – Mitsukiyo
9. OperationD – Nor
10. someday, sometime – KARUT
11. Colorful Mess – KARUT
12. Vivid Night – Nor
13. Snow Pantomime – Mitsukiyo
14. Barrier – KARUT
15. Black Suit – KARUT
16. Crucial Issue – Nor
17. Formless Dream – Mitsukiyo
18. Oxygen Destroyer – KARUT
19. Undefined Behavior – KARUT
20. GGF – Nor
21. Hello to Halo – Nor

2.5-Year Anniversary OST

1. Midnight Trip – Nor
2. Romantic Smile – Mitsukiyo
3. Guruguru Usagi – Mitsukiyo
4. Hifumi Daisuki – Mitsukiyo
5. Coffee Cats – Mitsukiyo
6. Lovely Picnic – Mitsukiyo
7. Honey Jam – Mitsukiyo
8. Dolce Biblioteca – Mitsukiyo
9. Colorful Beach – Mitsukiyo
10. After School Dessert – KARUT
11. FEEEEVER TIME – Nor
12. Walkthrough – Nor
13. Aira – Mitsukiyo
14. Aoharu – Nor
15. Glitch Street – KARUT
16. NRG FielD – KARUT
17. Alkaline Tears – Mitsukiyo
18. Kyrie Eleison – Mitsukiyo
19. Kaphar – Mitsukiyo
20. Morose Dreamer – Mitsukiyo
21. Agnus Dei – KARUT
22. Blood Stained Faith – KARUT
23. Codex of Omen – KARUT
24. RE Aoharu – Nor
25. Moment – Nor
26. Constant Moderato Piano Arrange – Mitsukiyo

Blue Archive is available now for Android and iOS mobile devices. The global version recently celebrated its 3rd anniversary on November 8. An anime adaptation of the game, Blue Archive The Animation, is available to watch with English subs on the global YouTube channel.

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Edelweiss and Marvelous have announced Sakuna Chronicles: Kokorowa and the Gears of Creation, a spin-off of the hit action and farm simulation game, Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin. The spin-off follows Kokorowa after she meets a peculiar automaton named Takebina. Meet new gods and tackle this new adventure as Sakuna’s friend, Princess Kokorowa!

You can check out the announcement teaser below.

Sakuna Chronicles: Kokorowa and the Gears of Creation is currently in development. Platforms and a release timeframe have not been announced at this time. If you’re interested in the game, you can check out its official website and follow XSEED Games and Edelweiss on their official X accounts.

The first game in the franchise, Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin, is available now on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PC. You can check out what we thought of the game HERE.

The post Sakuna Chronicles: Kokorowa and the Gears of Creation Announced with Teaser Trailer appeared first on oprainfall.

Manga

Rebuild World

Rebuild World is a manga I had come across about two year ago after a recommendation, though I admittedly dropped it after having read the first few chapters. Dystopian settings usually don’t draw my attention, however, there are elements of bio-manipulation and AI that were hard for me to overlook. After shelving it for some time, I now decided to give this manga another look, mainly because the light novel came to my attention recently. Simply, I wanted to refresh my memory before deciding as to whether I would give the first volume of the LN a try.

This manga, and its parent LN story, follows the journey of Akira, an orphan from the slums located at the edge between one of the remaining bastions of civilization and the rest of the dilapidated world. Humanity had reached its pinnacle with technology and bioengineering, however, said bio enhancement led to the near extinction of humanity. The world is now roamed by bio-techno- enhanced animals that stand guard over the old world ruins, full of technology and items that can make one tremendously wealthy in current society. Brave individuals, called hunters, set out into the old world for these relics in the hopes of riches and power.

Akira is one such individual, however, as an orphan from the slums, he is no hunter, and terribly underprepared to face the wilds of the old world. Desperation forces him out into this dystopia with a mere pistol, and when faced against bandits and those enhanced beasts, Akira can only run. Fate would then intervene when Akira is approached by a beautiful woman, one only he can see. This woman, an AI augmented reality projection named Alpha, immediately becomes his companion by commanding Akira to move, lest he wishes to die. Surviving an onslaught of lethal proportions, Alpha later explains that Akira is quite special to be able to see her and promises to help him. Now accompanied by this AI AR projection, Akira has a fighting chance in the world, yet the reasons for why Alpha offers to teach, guide, and protect Akira remain a mystery.

I have to say, I’m feeling the same intrigue that I once felt previously and maybe this time I’ll read a few more chapters of the manga. The same con that dissuaded me though, Akira’s dull, uninspired character, is something which I’m again finding difficult to overlook. I guess I’ll try to tolerate it, as the action and mystery of the world are attractive enough for now. – Drew D.

Flying Witch

I’ve liked this manga right from the start, with its themes of magic, mythology, and the supernatural. Flying Witch follows the light-hearted story of Matoko Kowata, a 15 year old witch-in-training. She moves in with her relatives in the countryside to continue her studies while also attending regular school. She’s incredibly casual about being a witch, as are her relatives, and soon many new classmates and friends learn of her abilities.

I think what truly makes this manga stand out is how it pulls off the slice-of-life genre so well. This is a story about a witch, yet it takes a poignant down-to-earth approach. We readers are made aware quickly that this is a very sweet, playful story that never takes the supernatural elements too seriously. Combining magic and the supernatural with slice-of-life themes and the overall inviting feel of charm and casualness are what I find most impressive, especially considering how easily the mangaka pulls this off, too.

The artwork is only a bit on the minimal side, but given the length of each chapter, it’s understandable. I do wish chapters released sooner than three months apart, but that’s just me being greedy and wanting more.

For those looking for an easy read with plenty of charm, light-hearted humor, and approachable fantasy elements, then I can most definitely recommend Flying Witch. – Drew D.

What anime are you watching? What manga and light novels are you reading? Let us know in the comments!

You can read previous Week in Anime & Manga entries here!

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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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Being a fan of the Neptunia franchise, I was pretty excited to finally get around to Neptunia Game Maker R:Evolution. I had some health problems earlier in the year, so I missed out on the previous releases, so I was more than happy to take a look at this on Xbox Series S. Let’s see if I created fantastic video games with the girls, or if the entire game is just one big bomb.

The story here follows Big Neptune as she has once again wandered into a new dimension. This time games rule everything and the makers keep the world in balance. She soon finds herself as the CEO of a defunct game studio run by some failed Goddesses. Can she help restore this studio to its former glory and help these Goddesses on their road to redemption?

Overall, I really had a blast with the story this time around. The new characters Jagaa, Pippih and Reedio were all great additions to the fantastic Neptunia cast. In case you can’t tell from their names, these girls are based on failed consoles in Japan. Jagaa is the Jaguar, Reedio is the 3DO, and Pippih is the Apple Pippin. They bring this front and center throughout the story as Jagaa says “Do The Math” constantly, which was an old ad for Jaguar even here in the states. The girls interact with each other very well and Big Nep adds a great dynamic to this foursome. Which is good since we see a lot more from them than our beloved Consoles Goddesses and their Sisters. Though that is kind of a shame since I think those girls playing off each other is always the best.

Graphically, Neptunia Game Maker R:Evolution looks pretty good. All of the character models are nicely done and stages have plenty of details, as well. Though, you will notice a lot of these have been reused from the Sisters VS. Sisters game that released a while back. Personally, I don’t have an issue with this, but some folks that don’t like reused assets may take issue with it. The game ran great on the Series S with no frame drops on my 4K TV.

Now, let’s dig into the gameplay. The first thing you will want to do as the new president of this company is make some games. This is where disc development comes into play. You will choose some developers based on their skills in the genre you’re trying to make and create game discs. The more skilled these creators are and the more upgrades you’ve unlocked, the better the game is you create. These will be packed with skills that can be used in combat if equipped on the girls just like in previous games, so it pays to make a few good ones as soon as you can.

Next, you will want to explore dungeons in each area to establish trade routes to increase your shares. This is pretty simple, just explore each one to the fullest, and I would suggest clearing out all the treasures while you’re in there as well. Once fully explored, you unlock time trials for Big Nep on her bike or races against one of the enemies in the stage. Winning these will grant you some rewards that help you develop better discs.

Combat is a lot like what was found in Neptunia: Sisters VS. Sisters. Players can equip moves to either the X or A buttons and thrash your enemies to pieces. There are a bunch of different moves to choose from and you will unlock these as you level up. You can tag in other party members after so many moves to continue the combo by pressing one of the four directions on the D-Pad. Doing this will get you a lot of bonus damage and help you defeat even the toughest foes, but if you ever need more, each girl has a big EXE Drive they can use when the Link Gauge is full and can also transform into their Goddess mode for even more damage during attacks.

Overall, I had a great time with Neptunia Game Maker R:Evolution. The story was great, I love the new characters, and even if the combat hasn’t changed from the last game, it’s still a lot of fun. I spent about 30 hours with this one and completed the main story. You could invest a lot more time in this if you wanted to do both of the towers and all of the fights in the battle arena, so I feel like it is well worth the $49.99 price tag. I do think it’s a bummer the swimsuits are once again locked to the Special Edition release at $69.99, they should allow you to purchase these separately and I hope they do at some point. Still, Neptunia fans will find a lot to love here, and this is also a good jumping in point for new fans on the Xbox as well.

Review Score
Overall

Game was provided by the publisher for review.

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Kotobukiya has produced many Trails series figures as of late, including for characters such as Estelle Bright, Rean Schwarzer, Tio Plato, and more. In addition to these already released characters, they are also currently working on figures for Joshua Bright and Elaine Auclair. Now, a new character from the Calvard arc will be joining the figure lineup. Shizuna Rem Misurugi, known as the Divine Blade of Silver, will be receiving her own figure. While not much has been shown of her figure, Kotobukiya has shared sneak peeks of the prototype. You can check those out below.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak was published by NIS America in the west and launched on July 5th, 2024. Its sequel, Trails through Daybreak II, is currently scheduled to launch in the west on February 14, 2024. The latest game in the series, The Legend of Heroes: Kai no Kiseki -Farewell, O Zemuria-, launched in Japan on September 26th, 2024.

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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

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If you’d like to know more about Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana, visit the game’s official website.

The post Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana – Release Date Announced appeared first on oprainfall.

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During the STEINS;GATE 15th Live -One World-, an event celebrating the 15th anniversary of the visual novel, a new title was announced. STEINS;GATE RE:BOOT, a remake of the original visual novel, is scheduled to release in 2025. It will be based off the original visual novel, not the more recent Elite release, and will feature new graphics and additional story. The visual novel’s original character designer, huke, returns to work on RE:BOOT.

You can check out the announcement teaser and some screenshots from the teaser below.

Based on the images in the teaser, the announced cast is as follows:

• Miyano Mamoru as Okabe Rintaro
• Seki Tomokazu as Hashida Itaru
• Imai Asami as Makise Kurisu
• Hanazawa Kana as Shiina Mayuri
• Tamura Yukari as Amane Suzuha
• Momoi Haruko as Feris NyanNyan
• Kobayashi Yu as Urushibara Luka
• Goto Saori as Kiryu Moeka

STEINS;GATE RE:BOOT is scheduled to launch in 2025. No platforms have been announced at this time. If you’re interested in the new title, you can check out the Science Adventure series’ official website and follow their official X account.

SOURCES: Famitsu, Science Adventure series X account

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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 action RPG, brings Shiki, Rebecca, Weisz, Homura and other beloved characters from the popular manga for all to play on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC(Steam/Windows).

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