Visual Novel News:
Loopers, Key’s newest visual novel has had a fan translation announced and then quickly canceled after the announcement of an official English localization. The official release is certainly a welcome, if surprising announcement!
Key has brought us titles such as Clannad and Little Busters. Loopers itself is written by Ryukishi07, the creator of the When They Cry series. There’s certainly a lot of talent behind this title, so expectations are high.
You can find a translated video preview of Loopers here.
One day, as he is walking through this bustling city of monotony, moving through the crowds of people all dressed exactly the same… Something actually stands out—a girl dressed in a traditional school uniform from ages past…
The Blind Of The New World is out now. This Korean visual novel has been localized into English and released earlier than expected. It’s currently discounted by 40% which will last until the 4th June 2021 as a launch discount.
One of our writers is taking a thorough look at this game and will have a review to tell you all about it in the near future.
A chance falls from above to escape the despair of life on Earth. On the orbital city of Caelum Urbs, a battle to the death is about to begin – the Closed Game. Can you survive and elevate yourself to the heavens?
JAST USA has announced the release of Closed Game, an eroge about a death game. It features art by Japanese artist, Seishoujo who worked on Bible Black. There isn’t much detail mentioned, but it seems to contain pigmen which may not be to the taste of some readers.
See the product page here, with NSFW images.
Gaming News:
The Dragon Quest series is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year and Square-Enix chose to celebrate it in a big way! First off, we’re getting another remake of Dragon Quest III, but what makes this new version special is that it’s using the same 2.5D visual style of Octopath Traveler, which uses a mix of 2D sprites in gorgeous 3D environments. On top of that, they also announced that Dragon Quest XII is in production and has the subtitle The Flames of Fate.
Watch the trailer for the Dragon Quest III remake
Watch the teaser for Dragon Quest XII: The Flames of Fate
Another paragon of gaming culture is celebrating a milestone anniversary this year, as a certain blue blur is turning 30 this year! While it’s been 2 years since the last console Sonic game with Team Sonic Racing, SEGA announced their plans for the next entries in the Sonic series. First up is a remaster of a Nintendo Wii classic with Sonic Colors Ultimate. Next up is a re-release of the classic 2D Sonic games in Sonic Origins. This is notable because the Genesis classic Sonic 3 & Knuckles will be getting an official widescreen treatment for the first time in this collection. Last, but certainly not least, Sonic Team has teased the latest main entry in the Sonic series with a 30 second teaser.
Sonic Colors Ultimate launches for Playstation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch on September 7th.
Sonic Origins and the next main Sonic title have a release window of 2022.
Watch the trailer for Sonic Colors Ultimate
Watch the announcement teaser for Sonic Team’s next Sonic title
The anniversaries keep on coming, with Resident Evil celebrating its 25th anniversary this year! While we recently received the critically acclaimed Resident Evil Village, Capcom is choosing to add to the anniversary by having the franchise play a part in the popular asymmetrical multiplayer game Dead by Daylight. In the next DLC pack, fan-favorite villain Nemesis joins the roster of famous killers, with Leon S. Kennedy and Jill Valentine joining as survivors. The game will also be adding a map based on the Raccoon City Police Department from the Resident Evil 2 remake.
The Resident Evil pack for Dead by Daylight arrives on June 15th.
Watch the announcement trailer for the Dead by Daylight Resident Evil pack
The next entry in the Disgaea series is almost upon us, and NIS America are letting fans get a taste of the full game a little bit early. A demo for Disgaea 6 is now available on the Switch which covers the first two chapters. What’s makes it better is that you can carry over your save data from the demo into the full game once it releases.
Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny launches exclusively on Nintendo Switch on June 29th.
Watch the Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny demo trailer
Pokemon‘s 4th generation is coming back in a bit way with two new releases, both of which now have official release dates. The remakes of Pokemon Diamond and Pokemon Pearl are coming exclusively to the Switch on November 19th. Pokemon Legends Arceus, a bold new action RPG take on the Pokemon formula arrives exclusively on the Switch on January 28th, 2022.
Idea Factory and Compile Heart are no strangers to making new franchises, and one of them is coming to the Nintendo Switch! Dragon Star Varnir is being ported to the platform later this Summer. The digital version will be the primary way to get the game, with Limited Run Games and IFI’s Online Store offering a physical release.
Watch the trailer for Dragon Star Varnir‘s Switch port
Anime News:
It’s not just gaming that has big anniversaries coming soon; anime is also seeing some major milestones being reached! One of the most popular incarnations of the Gundam franchise, Gundam SEED celebrates its 20th anniversary next year, and to celebrate, a sequel movie to the franchise is now in production. Not much is known about it, but the show’s original director Mitsuo Fukuda is returning to helm the project.
Upcoming Releases:
Can we add one more announcement regarding an anniversary? Why, yes we can! As a part of SEGA’s 60th-anniversary celebration, Virtua Fighter 5 is getting an upgraded version with Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown. The game will be digitally available on PS4, with Playstation Plus members receiving the game for free as a part of their free games for June.
Virtual Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown releases on Playstation 4 on June 1st.
Watch the Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown announcement trailer
An anime/gaming aficionado, experienced content creator and lovable goofball. Name a game genre and Seamus has likely played it… yes, even that one. Follow him @TrueStorySeamus