Graphics are back baby
Taito’s releasing these two LaserDisc games on PC in April. They got a Japan-only release on Switch a while back.
This is the first time I’ve felt compelled to consider saving up for the collector’s edition of a game. It looks absolutely buck wild!
I’m genuinely looking forward to checking out Xenoblade Chronicles X releasing this week. It’s the only Gears/Saga/blade Chronicles game I’ve never checked out, and I’m highly curious about it. I was turned off of the series after Xenoblade 3, which I brought on vacation to a lake house, and the beginning of that game is such a bummer and so melodramatic, I just couldn’t get into it and it kind of ruined by relaxation plans. After that, the idea of returning to a 100 hour, bloated open world RPG which I didn’t particularly care for the story, hasn’t really compelled me much. Xenoblade 10 seems to hit a better tone, and seems like a great game to play on the exercise bike or before bed.
I think the fact it’s releasing well after 2024’s constant stream of RPGs feels like good timing, but that gap in JRPGs is short! I just saw some footage of Atelier Yumia and it looks actually insane, it’s like a big budget open world shooter-exploration game with an Action Timed Battle system and a “build mode” where you create a base! I’ve been burned by Atelier in the past, so I’m sure it’s probably going to be too easy, have too much tedious dialogue, and over-designed crafting system despite looking kind of interesting. I am curious to see what people think once it’s out.
Dark Deity 2 is also releasing in the next week, and that’s another one I’ll wait and see. I’ll probably be too deep into Xenoblade to have bandwidth for this one right now but the first one was pretty decent.
I am also really excited about Xenoblade Chronicles X. When I played it in 2015, I wasn’t playing many single player games, as I was in a long distance relationship, worrying about finishing graduate school, and applying for jobs. (I also only had a Wii U and a PC.)
What XCX offered me was sessionability. On occasion I would have longer sessions where I could plow through a large chunk of story, but usually I was dipping in and doing a side quest or two, exploring part of a continent, or other low-key activities sometime between post-dinner angsting and bed. More than the other Xenoblade Chronicles games (before or since), the game not only teased openness but allowed one to do what one wanted. I could hyperfocus on the main story if I wanted to, or I could explore each continent painstakingly. Side quests came up organically, were written interestingly, and never felt like bloat. Only a couple of things were gated behind main story progression (mainly mobile suit features), and that fit pretty well with how frequently I progressed the main story with one exception. (I really wish you could unlock flight a step or two sooner.)
The reviews I’ve read so far sound like they kept the best parts and improved on them. I’m eager to see how well it holds up.
I’m also very curious about it, it’ll be my first time playing it. My feelings on the Xenoblade games are mostly negative but I do feel like this one has the potential to fix those. Basically a gameplay and exploration focused game without the lame bloated stories of the main entires.
Which have you tried? I picked up the first Ryza game and was immediately so lost on where to go and what exactly to do. Something about that game just didn’t click at a fundamental level.
This is how I would describe my Ryza experience as well, and I really couldn’t tell you what the problem was. Just that if I turned it on my eyes would immediately glaze over. On paper it looks like something I’d enjoy.
Mostly Ryza. I picked up Nelke but didn’t get far in it, and it’s not really a ‘core’ Atelier game so I don’t know how to really judge that one. Ryza was the new hotness around the time it came out. People were talking up the battle system but when I picked it up, it was just a lot of doing fetch quests with some twee smol bean little brother character. Like you mentioned, I didn’t know how to spend my time because the game did a terrible job signposting what is actually worth paying attention to, be it important dialogue or main quests, and so I spent about 10 hours trying to get my money’s worth and getting more and more sick of it.
I feel like Yumia could have the same pitfalls, but the weirdness of the open world exploration reminds me of some of the stuff I liked in Infinity Nikki but with turn ATB battles instead of fashion based battles.
I’m seeing quite the pattern here lol. It’s a real shame. Maybe Yumia is different but I don’t want to spend a bunch of money if I don’t know if I’ll like the game at all.