James "Red Beard" McMahon

Dark Rose Valkyrie

An IF/Compile Heart game that isn’t Neptunia based?  Yes, they do exist.  While Nep-Nep is dear to my heart, it’s nice to see something different from these guys too.  Fairy Fencer was a nice excursion, so hopefully this is a more refined outing.  I don’t have much details on it yet, but it looks like the battle system will be quite familiar at its core.

Release Date: Q1/Q2 Platforms: PS4

The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the 3rd

Now that I’ve completed both Trails of Cold Steel, it’s time to work on Trails in the Sky.  Hopefully I can catch up before this one drops.  XSeed making good headway with this chapter, so there shouldn’t be any reason to see this get pushed back, barring something disastrous.

Release Date: 2017 Platforms: PC

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

I continue to cautiously look forward to this title as Skyward Sword did not give hope of a positive trend.  I’m hoping Nintendo is ready to take the kiddy gloves off once again.  From what has been shown so far, it appears to be returning to its roots of an open world adventure.  Of course a new Zelda game also begs the question: where does it sit on the timeline?  I guess we’ll find out sometime in the following year.  They’re also pulling a Twilight Princess by having the game show up on both their dying system and brand new, yet to be released one.

Release Date: 2017 Platforms: Wii U, Switch

And that’s that, thanks for reading/following along, perhaps something new caught your eye.  It doesn’t look like it’ll be the bevy of releases 2016 saw, but there are some real high quality titles coming in the near future.  Happy New Year everyone and keep on gaming!

Kingdom Hearts 3

With Final Fantasy XV finally released, that leaves KH3 with longest game in development at Square-Enix.  With endless amounts of re-releases, remixes, and side-stories, will next year finally be the one we can see Sora’s story take some steps forward?

JP Status: Unreleased (No date set) Likelihood of 2017 US Release: Keep dreaming, though it is the 20th anniversary of the series next year... Platforms: PS4, XOne

Four Goddess Online: Cyber Dimension Neptune

Did you really think you’d make it through one of my game lists without seeing a Nep-Nep title?  This new entry into the series brings action combat to the PS4 and I love what I’m seeing, as it is a welcome departure to how the action titles on the Vita were handled.  It should also be loads of fun with all the new character class directions, I’m sure they’ll be plenty of jokes to go along with it.

JP Status: Will be released February 9th Likelihood of 2017 US Release: Medium Platforms: PS4

Valkyria: Azure Revolution

Ok, did I miss something?  Since when did Selvaria’s boobs look that big?  Anyway, glad to see this series is still going, even if the poor reception of the 2nd game (for good reason) prevented the superior 3rd game from seeing a stateside released.  I’ve heard that Azure Revolution will actually changes things up from it’s strategy game predecessors, but have not seen any gameplay to get a feel for where it’s heading.  Regardless, it looks like it’s going to be one hectic and emotional trip.

JP Status: Will be released January 19th Likelihood of 2017 US Release: Apparently I missed an announcement somewhere, it seems to be set for a Q2 release next year Platforms: PS4, PSV, XOne

Nights of Azure 2

Being a new IP and generally a new style of game for Gust, the original had a very nice first showing.  Obviously not all aspects hit the mark, but it was a strong foundation to build off.  From what I’ve seen so far the combat appears to have gone through the largest amount of changes, instead of traveling with a pack of summonable familiars you’ll have actual human companions to wipe up the minions of the night.  Certainly not a series for everyone, heavy yuri elements could be a deal breaker to some, but the characters and gameplay were solid and the music is amazing.

13 Sentinels

This game was on my radar last year, but as an unlikely to be released game, it’s technically not a “repeat offender”.  Nothing new seems to have surfaced over the past year which is puts a little damper on any hope to see it come stateside next year.  As a Vanillaware game though, I think a release over here is more a matter of ‘when’ than ‘if’.

JP Status: Unreleased (No date set) Likelihood of 2017 US Release: Highly Unlikely Platforms: PS4, PSV

Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana

Having actually played the Japanese demo I can say I’m super psyched to get my hands on the full release.  Ys VIII, as one might imagine, continues the line of fast paced action RPG goodness the series is known for.  More than likely a US publisher is waiting on the PS4 release to bring it across the pacific, as unfortunately Sony has all but declared the Vita dead in the west.  As is tradition, Adol will start off on a seafaring vessel, only to have it become not so much very shortly into the game.

JP Status: Released (PS4 version set for May 25th) Likelihood of 2017 US Release: Medium Platforms: PSV (PS4)

Tokyo Xanadu eX+

If you know me well, you might have noticed a trend in my gaming preferences over the past few years, that is a shift to play as many Nihon Falcom games as I can get my hands on.  The good folks over at @xseedgames released Xanadu Next on Steam this year, and while I have yet to get around to it (it’s on my list) I’m already looking forward to them hopefully keeping up with their great work of bringing these wonderful, if niche, games over the pond.

Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 Remix

Just in case you haven’t sated you Kingdom Hearts itch yet, now you’ll be able to do so on the PS4.  Eventually when KH3 releases, it’ll actually be possible to own the entire experience on a single console, crazy I know.

Release Date: March 31st Platforms: PS4

Crash Bandicoot Remastered Collection

Any fans of this series can rest easy since this revival looks to be in good hands.  Early looks show it’s coated in a very nice new layer of paint, keeping true to the original architecture of the first 3 games.

Release Date: 2017 Platforms: PS4

Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age

I still haven’t beat this FF, so I’m a little on the fence as to whether or not I want to pick this up at some point.  It looks to be mostly a texture update, as well as a few more modern touches like re-recorded soundtrack, wide-screen support and trophies.  The big selling point here is that it contains the international patch that includes fixes, fine-tuning, and extra bosses.

Red Dead Redemption 2

Grand Theft Auto with horses returns.

Release Date: Q3/Q4 Platforms: PS4, XOne

Injustice 2

I’m not particularly a fan of NetherRealm’s fighting engine, too stiff for my tastes.  If recall correctly, they are looking to bring in a number of more obscure DC heroes and villains for this round.

Release Date: 2017 Platforms: PS4, XOne

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III

Hopefully this returns to something closer to the original game and not the shit that was it’s piss-poor sequel.  Bringing back the large variety of races and having campaigns for more than just the Space Marines, should be their priorities here.  Skeptical of this one, but if they can turn things around I’ll be back on board.

Release Date: 2017 Platforms: PC

ToeJam and Earl: Back in the Groove

While checking out releases for upcoming I would have never guessed a new TJ&E game was on the horizon.  I never played the old titles, but thought this was quite an interesting listing.

Shenmue III

Not much has surfaced since its reveal at E3 2015, but being that it isn’t set to show up until the end of next year that’s not entirely surprising.

Release Date: December Platforms: PS4, PC

South Park: The Fractured But Whole

The Stick of Truth hit all the right buttons for fans that Mark and Trey are back at it again.  This round they’re taking jabs at the superhero genre and if the above trailer is any indication, it’s going to be brutal.  If you are a fan of the previous game or South Park in general, this game is for you.

Release Date: Q1 Platforms: PS4, XOne, PC

Tekken 7

Not a Tekken fan in the slightest, so I’ve got no idea what’s going on here.  What I am curious about is how buddy-buddy have Namco and Capcom become for Akuma to show up here.  And what the heck happened to Tekken X Street Fighter?

Resident Evil 7

This looks to be a throwback title for the long running series.  Not particularly a fan of the horror genre myself, so my RE knowledge is rather limited.  Seems like there is a new protagonist to go along with a story that breaks the norm of the series.  I will say though that the VR aspect of this looks crazy.  No way in hell can you get me to try that though.

Release Date: January 24th Platforms: PS4, XOne, PC

Tales of Berseria

Another lengthy series seeing an early release next year.  Berseria continues the long line of anime action RPG.  Tales of games are typically stand alone, so now’s as good a time as any if you’re looking to jump into the series.  And it seems that even though main character Velvet’s attire will survive censoring, certain scenes were not so lucky as fans have already discovered at least one altered in the above trailer.

Release Date: January 24th [27th] Platforms: PS4 [PC]

Nioh

A slight departure from Team Ninja’s Ninja Gaiden franchise, Nioh looks to add RPG elements to the over the top ninja action the developer is notable for.  While the yokai may be supernatural elements, it appears that the main character is actually based off a historical western samurai of the same name.  This could be a game for any gamer craving more Dark Souls (or its ilk) as the gameplay is said to feel similar.

Persona 5

I need to catch up with this series, pronto.  Persona games have style in spades and the 5th iteration looks to continue this trend.

Release Date: April 4th Platforms: PS3, PS4

Mass Effect: Andromeda

Looks like this sprawling space adventure sequel is still rather epic.

Release Date: Spring 2017 Platforms: PS4

Yooka-Laylee

Not too much longer until you can get your hands on the zany Banjo-Kazooie spiritual successor.

Release Date: Q1 2017 Platforms: PS4

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice

The erie and psychological tale of Senua will hopefully see the light of day this year.

Gravity Rush 2

Kat’s upcoming adventure looks exceedingly breathtaking with each new look.  Free DLC for the delay is just icing on the cake.

Release Date: January 20th Platforms: PS4

Kingdom Hearts 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue

Looking forward to exploring more of Aqua’s story and the other new content.

Release Date: January 24th Platforms: PS4

Horizon Zero Dawn

Mystery and wonder continue to grow around Aloy and this impressive world she has to explore. 

Release Date: February 28th Platforms: PS4

NieR: Automata

Every video of this game gives me chills, I can’t wait to find out what is in store this time.

Title: To the Moon Genre: RPG Available On: PC Why It’s Awesome: Incredible emotional story, memorable characters, retro 16-bit style graphics, lovely soundtrack, short and sweet Possible Turn Offs: Zero action  

Title: Drakengard 3 Genre: Action, RPG Available On: PS3 Why It’s Awesome: Characters types you haven’t seen anywhere else, more than meets the eye story, masterful use of music/sound, DLC that is worth it (if you want to expand the lore) Possible Turn Offs: Can be repetitive in some respect, last encounter *shudders*

Title: Axiom Verge Genre: Action, Adventure Available On: PSV, PS4, Wii U, XOne, PC, Mac Why It’s Awesome: Fantastic throwback style with excellent blend of modern tech, classic exploration lets you learn for yourself, crafty puzzles, tons of weapons and items, solid soundtrack Possible Turn Offs: some difficulty spikes

Title: Odin Sphere Genre: Action, RPG Available On: PS2, PS4, PSV Why It’s Awesome: Beautiful artwork tells an incredibly weaved tale,  revamped combat (Leifthrasir) plays smooth and satisfyingly,  Possible Turn Offs: Since each character starts at lv 1, early game can be a little repetitive 

Title: The World Ends With You Genre: Action, RPG Available On: DS, iOS, Android Why It’s Awesome: Unique dual-screen combat, excellent story, catchy soundtrack, blends fantasy and reality by using Shibuya (district of Tokyo) and some of it’s iconic landmarks, A Nomura style game without the Disney influence. Possible Turn Offs: Dual-screen combat can be hard for some to follow

Title: Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth Genre: Action, RPG Available On: PS1, PSP Why It’s Awesome: Unique combat system, crazy hidden story beneath the surface, invigorating soundtrack, sense of urgency with a fixed ‘duration’ (not real time), great for those who dig character focused stories Possible Turn Offs: Tri-Ace is notorious for having deep and oft complex systems integrated that can be confusing or game breaking, best ending is hidden too well (use a guide when attempting it)

Title: Beyond Good & Evil Genre: Adventure, Action, Stealth Available On: PS2, Xbox, Gamecube, PS3, X360 Why It’s Awesome: Intriguing story, great mix of game-play elements, Zelda influences Possible Turn Offs: I honestly can’t think of anything 

Title: Nier Genre: Action, RPG Available On: PS3, X360 Why It’s Awesome: Incredible music, interesting characters, story (anymore would be spoiling), weird (in a good way) mix of RPG elements Possible Turn Offs: Combat can be bland/repetitive

Kicking things off in June was a personal PS1 favorite of mine, Legend of Mana.  LoM had a lot going for it: lush sprite graphics, beautiful soundtrack, build-your-own-story level of non-linearity and an exciting action based combat system.  For the unfamiliar, you play as a customizable hero tasked with rebuilding a ruined world by finding artifacts that host locations sealed away to save them from destruction.  As your reconstruction progresses more and more characters, friend and foe alike, show up and with them additional story paths to follow or continue.

Mana hit some rough spots with some of its rather convoluted crafting and  breeding systems, but otherwise was mechanically pretty solid.

Sprites don’t go out of fashion

From an aging stand point, LoM is still looking rather well, though it helps that it’s entirely sprite based.  A dream remake would see a collaboration with Vanillaware, but regardless it’s got to remain sprites.  Some basic plans would be to smooth out the graphics and perhaps remaster the soundtrack a little.  Light changes to the combat would be nice to let it flow smoother.  The brunt of the work would be overhauling the extraneous systems and clearing up their foggy mechanics.  Other than that, some new or more deeply fanned out story arcs would be a plus. Also, Implementing multi-player in a much more useful and less complicated way and we’ll be golden like Aura.

July saw the release of the twin-taled (get it?), Threads of Fate.  ToF blends RPG, action, and platforming in one tightly packed bundle of interwoven stories.  Follow the path of shape-shifting adventurer Rue as he selflessly searches for a way to bring back a dear friend from death or spell-slinging princess Mint as she looks for a way to get back at her sister for usurping her from the throne.  Threads is full of a colorful cast that you’ll bump into along the winding road.

Mint’s “this guy is a sucker” face

Surprisingly, ToF doesn’t look half bad for a PS1 era game.  Still, jumping it up to current generation level would make the visuals really pop, as long as they stick with the more cartoonish style that gives it such charm.  Some quality of life improvements like skippable cutscenes and tighter controls would definitely help.  The combat wasn’t bad from what I remember, and tighter controls would likely help any issue there, but I think it could benefit from some expansion of the core systems like more attacks/actions for Rue’s monster transformations for example.

Last, but certainly not least August held the release of the highly anticipated Chrono Cross.  CC is the pseudo sequel to best game of all time (probably?) Chrono Trigger, that plays with dimensional travel rather than jumping through time.  On one side of a rift we have our classic silent protagonist Surge who one day winds up in an alternate reality where he had in fact died many years prior.  The story is absolutely incredible, even if it only has loose connections to the previous game.  Soundtrack wise, this is easily in the top 5 of awesome (and also the inspiration for this post).

Cross had a host of collectible party members, 50+ if i recall correctly.  Unfortunately, short of having 3 unique techs most characters were more or less the same mechanically, at which point minor statistical differences were the defining reason to use one over the other.  The multi-tech system carried over from Trigger was also done rather halfheartedly.

The ‘glory’ days of  pre-rendered backgrounds

Fans have no doubt been yearning for a next Chrono game for a long time now and I think a remake of this would do wonders, both for the game itself and garnering interest in perhaps continuing the saga.  Chrono Cross has unfortunately not aged as well as the others, the pre-rendered back-drops and character models are in dire need of an overhaul.

Since they would be building off a core, I think a pass over the characters and what they bring to the table would be in order, perhaps splash in some more multi-techs and give each character a reason to be used.  As a whole I’m not sure how the battle system should be approached, its unique style should definitely be preserved, but it might be in need of some polish in making it more stream-lined and less sluggish.  I would also love to see the integrate more connects between the two games,

So there you have it, at least 3 titles that were more deserving of being re-made instead of Final Fantasy VII.  I can only hope that once it’s finally out, Square will take a look back at the creative games from their past and pull out one of these treasures, instead of another rock.  Stay salty my friends!

Day -1 (this numbering is getting a little silly guys) played host to EA and Bethesda.  Holding no interest in either company I glanced over some cliff notes.  It looks like EA was an even bigger joke than usual, when you’re metaphorically the jocks at nerd convention that’s bound to happen.  The original Titanfall wasn’t a bad grab for about $5, if the sequel fixes the flaws I might only wait till it’s down to $10 this time.  Later in the day Bethesda continued its trend of reviving old ID Software titles by showing off a new Quake.  This is nice, ‘cause ID actually know how to release quality products.

The bulk of the pre-show occurred on Day 0 with Microsoft, Ubisoft, and Sony.  A tweet from MatPat gave me all I really needed to know about the MS show: “Started by announcing a new console. Ended by announcing a console to replace that new console. Man, tech evolves fast these days. #XBoxE3 ″ (https://twitter.com/MatPatGT/status/742416676616994816).  If MS was trying to convince me they have figured out what they are doing, they have failed yet again.  Once again Ubisoft made an appearance and once again I am left wondering “why?”.

It’s a good thing Sony brings up the anchor position, gives the show something worth waiting for.  Granted, for my personal genre tastes there wasn’t as large a showing as there was last year, but that was expected.  However, it was a rather strong showing none the less, complete with a live orchestra and started things off strong with a new God of War reveal.  Highlights include more footage of The Last Guardian and Horizon.  The VR segment was rather meh, but I’m not particularly interested in that, though the new Resident Evil on VR should get fans pretty stoked I think.  And dare I say the trailer for Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare has actually piqued my interest (blasphemous, I know).  Crash Bandicoot is set to make a return, but only as remastered versions of his first 3 outings, likely to fish for interest in reviving the series.  Oh and this happened:

Where does one even start to explain this

I’m not suggesting that Konami should start kicking themselves, but I’m also not saying they shouldn’t.  Kojima’s new game has undoubtedly left fans desperate to know more after that very peculiar trailer.

Square-Enix unsurprisingly did not have a conference this year, since just about all the games from last year have yet to be released (but they are coming oh so soon).  There was some juicy updates though.

Neir was unfortunately pushed back to next year, so the pain of waiting continues for now.

Star Ocean, however, is right around the corner.

And then there was Nintendo.  Sad, sorry, little Nintendo and their meek showing that was essentially just coasting through on the wings (hang glider?) of the upcoming Zelda.  Yet, somehow they managed to drum up a host of conversation.  Well when your console hasn’t had a quality release in... um... yeah, I don’t even know.  Anyway, the starvation of content from Nintendo seems to have made the press go stir crazy with excitement and bizarre comments regarding the upcoming entry in the storied franchise.  Some of the commotion revolving around the open world nature was a little telling that people have forgotten the roots of the series since its shift to 3D.  2D Zelda’s have been open world since the beginning, so I for one will be cautiously optimistic on the return to form (and hopefully drop all the hand holding crap).

I’ll leave on this Trails of Cold Steel II trailer though, because it’s amazing and I’m hyped as hell for it.

I’m prepared for another 100 hours of awesome

The show is bound to have it’s share of surprises, but some companies just can’t wait, like Square-Enix and their recent reveal of Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age.  This new iteration of the series gives it a shiny HD coat of paint to all aspects as well as include the changes made in the Japanese only (and oddly named) International Version.

Story time!  If you’ve ever talked Final Fantasy with me you may have heard this one before, but bear with me for now.  FF12 released all the way back in October 2006, being a fan of the series such as I am, I pre-ordered it to net the spiffy metal casing and “making of”/”extras” DVD.  However, as hyped as I was for its release I still to this day have not beaten it, actually I haven’t really even gotten that far.  See there was this lesser known game that came out the month prior called Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria.  Long story short, VP2 was absolutely fantastic and I was playing it well past FF12′s release.  After that my hype and enthusiasm had completely died out and I shelved it.

Fast forward to present day we now have a new version of XII and I’m kinda on the fence about whether I should be excited about it or not, after all I still have the original (as well as a backwards compatible PS3).  But as fate would have it, Valkyrie Profile seems to be making a small resurgence with its recent cell phone distraction game (its mobile, I use this term lightly).  I can’t help but ponder if perhaps a new VP title will be revealed this year and end a severely long drought of E3 disappointment in this respect.  At which point I would probably laugh thinking about the old adage that history repeats itself.

In other high speculation news Chrono Trigger director Takashi Tokita was recently talking about said game and brought up bringing back CT in some glorious new age fashion (likely read: HD Remake).  It sounds nice in theory, but honestly I would love a new entry into the series, perhaps one that better bridges the gap between CT and CC, or maybe just revamp Chrono Cross ala what Vanillaware is doing with Odin Sphere.  Regardless any Chrono news would be more than welcome this year.

So I somehow managed to make the gut of this post about Square-Enix, which I sure some of you are probably not surprised about.  I do love speculating and wondering the line-up they bring each year, after all they are my favorite game developer.  But alright, let’s switch gears for the end here and hype up a new trailer from Guerrilla Games’ Horizon Zero Dawn which continues to look fantastic.