Visual Novel News:
NekoNyan have announced the release dates of two upcoming visual novels.
First is Happiness! Sakura Celebration! (also known as Happiness! 2 Sakura Celebration!) which will be releasing on Steam on September 26th, 2024 according to a recent update on the Steam page. Other platforms announced include JAST, Mangagamer, Denpasoft, Kagura and Fakku.
Update: Shortly after this post, NekoNyan announced that the release of Happiness! Sakura Celebration will experience a short delay due to bugs. The new release date has not yet been announced.
Once every ten years, the cherry blossoms stay in bloom longer than usual, and the seasonal festivals are much more grandiose. This year is known as the Year of the Cherry Blossoms. With the arrival of the Year of the Cherry Blossoms once more, various people begin to feel various feelings sprout up again.
Kakenuke★Seishun Sparking! by Saga Planets has also been given a release date on the Steam page. This is by same developer as the highly-regarded Kinkoi: Golden Loveriche. Kakenuke★Seishun Sparking is planned to release on October 18th, 2024 via Steam. Other platforms have not been specified at this time.
What does “youth” mean to you? Is it a time in your life meant for having fun? For devoting yourself to a cause? For Yuu Tono, it’s meant earning money and studying to build a brighter future for him and his family. But maybe the new (or maybe old?) friend who’s come into his life will change that.
While information is currently minimal, Frontwing have also announced two upcoming visual novels.
They will be working with Good Smile Company on KANADE which is planned for release in Spring 2025 and COCORO in 2026. In the case of KANADE, the line “I have to sing the greatest love song in order to save the world.” was given, along with a brief video clip giving some details about the staff which includes Asou Ei known for euphoria and more recently Lilja and Natsuka: Painting Lies along with Watanabe Akio who has worked on titles including Popotan and more recently GINKA.
HAPPY SAIN† SHEOL has also now launched on Steam with a free DLC to restore cut content found on the Sekai Project website. The developer HungryCult has announced that certain scenes will not be restored with this patch. As explained in this statement, these changes were not influenced by the sales platform or publisher but due to the part of the community that began to criticize the game and the developer, including slander and false information and a feeling of being threatened in real life.
Two thousand years ago, the Pestis Disaster swept through the land, corrupting all living things and making it to difficult to live on the land. Having touched the darkest darkness the world has seen, one must now face the dazzling light. Thus I pose this question. Whose wings did I see that day?
More Visual Novel News
- ICHU: Chibi Edition’ will be launching on the 3rd October, 2024 on Nintendo Switch
- The Mysteries of Ranko Togawa Vol. 2 has launched for funding on Kickstarter
Gaming News:
Only a week after the last trailer, Dragon Ball Sparking! Zero revealed not only more information on some of the game modes but the full roster for the game! The trailer focused on characters from Dragon Ball Super but also gave fans a huge surprise when they also announced that characters from the Dragon Ball Z movies will also be joining the base roster. The game now boasts an absolutely massive 182 playable characters at launch! They also confirmed that if you pre-order the game, you’ll get to play as Goku (Mini) from Dragon Ball Daima.
Dragon Ball Sparking! Zero launches for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and PC on October 11th.
Watch the Super and Movies trailer for Dragon Ball Sparking! Zero
During a recent Ryu Go Gotoku livestream, we got the reveal of a brand new game in the Like a Dragon franchise that serves as a spin-off to Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth! This new game is titled Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii and stars the fan-favorite character, Goro Majima. As the title implies, the game is themed around pirates, with the long announcement trailer highlighting the game’s plot and locations.
Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii releases for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, and PC on February 28th, 2025.
Watch the announcement trailer for Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii
2024 marks the 10-year anniversary of the PlayStation Vita exclusive, Freedom Wars! This action game centers around your character being incarcerated with a hefty jail sentence of one million years! Thankfully, you won’t have to dust off your Vita to play it again, as Bandai Namco announced that a remaster for the game is coming to modern platforms! This new version will include updated textures, 60 frames a second performance, and even the option to change the game’s difficulty.
Freedom Wars Remastered launches for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC on January 10th, 2025.
Watch the announcement trailer for Freedom Wars Remastered
Anime News:
Three years after the second season, Kyoto Animation has revealed that we’re getting a new installment in Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid in the form of a movie! The film’s subtitle is A Lonely Dragon Wants to Be Loved and outside of a teaser, key art, and release year, we don’t know much about this new film.
Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid: A Lonely Dragon Wants to Be Loved releases in Japanese theaters in 2025. No Western release has been announced at this time.
Watch the teaser trailer for Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid: A Lonely Dragon Wants to Be Loved
The anime remake of Rumiko Takahashi’s Ranma 1/2 got a brand-new trailer! It showcases the many wacky characters and situations, along with a taste of the series’ opening theme song provided by ano.
The Ranma 1/2 anime remake premieres on October 5th.
Watch the trailer for the Ranma 1/2 anime remake
Studio Mir’s animated adaptation of Capcom’s Devil May Cry got its first full teaser trailer! The new teaser showcased some of the animation and crazy fight scenes that are well-known by fans of the original games, as well as confirming that Dante will be played by Johnny Yong Bosch.
Devil May Cry releases on Netflix in April 2025.
Watch the teaser trailer for the Devil May Cry animated series
Netflix also revealed that a second season of Castlevania: Nocturne is in the works! The trailer reveals that Alucard will be a part of this new season and announced the release window for the follow-up.
Castlevania: Nocturne season 2 arrives on Netflix in January 2025.
Watch the teaser trailer for Castlevania: Nocturne season 2
Upcoming Releases:
Epic Mickey is getting a fresh coat of paint with a full remaster this week! The original game was a Nintendo Wii exclusive, but this enhanced version will be available on all modern platforms. Take on the role of Mickey Mouse exploring a strange wasteland of forgotten characters and run into a familiar face from Disney’s past: Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.
Epic Mickey Rebrushed releases for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC on September 24th.
The next entry in the Legend of Zelda franchise arrives this week, but it’s got quite a twist this time around! You play as Princess Zelda with the task of bringing peace to the land of Hyrule with a magic wand that can duplicate objects, enemies, items, and more.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom launches exclusively for Nintendo Switch on September 26th.
If you’re looking for an all-new urban-themed game to play, this next title should pique your interest! Reynatis takes place in Tokyo and is themed around magic and wizards but with a modern twist. This action role-playing game has some pretty big names attached to it, such as Kazushige Nojima providing the story and Yoko Shimomura composing the soundtrack.
If you’re looking forward to this, you can read our detailed review and our interview with the developers while you wait.
Reynatis releases for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC on September 27th.
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
