News by Lindsay M.
Welcome to Digitally Downloaded’s weekly news feature, Catch-up coffee Monday. Each Monday we will bring you the best news from the previous week that you may have missed. Grab the biggest mug you’ve got, fill it with your favourite brew, and catch up with us (and our favourite news anchor, Dee Dee)!
Galaga Wars soft launches in three countries
Bandai Namco sure seems to love updating classic arcade games as free-to-play iOS apps. And sure, Pac-Man 256 was pretty awesome… but Galaga? Galaga fans are pretty hardcore, and their reaction to this new version of the iconic space bee shoot-em-up remains to be seen. It’s not exactly like the classic — which is celebrating its 35 year anniversary! — as the ship you control is able to fly in all directions. Galaga Wars also promises other starships including Galaxian and Xevious. Being frank, I feel like this may be a kick in the pants to all those die-hard Galaga fans from the 80s who played the fixed shooter until they went cross-eyed. However, that was my take on Pac-Man 256 as well; that game had me (and others) addicted for weeks, but it also had our favourite free-to-play Aussie developer Hipster Whale at the helm and that certainly helped. Galaga Wars is available for free on iOS via the App Store in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.
Upcoming Yo-kai Watch film combines anime and live-action
The third film in the explosive Yo-kai watch franchise received a new trailer this week, and it confirms what Level-5 CEO teased about the movie being live action. Eiga Yōkai Watch: Sora Tobu Kujira to Double no Sekai no Daibōken da Nyan! (Yo-kai Watch The Movie: The Flying Whale and the Grand Adventure of the Double Worlds, Meow!) — what a mouthful that is, meow! — is set in both a live action and an anime world. Ryōka Minamide will play the main character in the live parts, with a Yo-kai named Koala-nyan (Koala cat?!?!) playing an integral part to the plot. The film will be released in Japan on December 17. If you’re new to Yo-kai watch we’ve got you covered: read our review and prepare for your new obsession!
Devil’s Third loses multiplayer support
A mere 16 months after its release in Japan (and even less in the West), Nintendo is pulling the plug on Devil’s Third multiplayer support. The game’s price has been cut in half effective immediately to reflect this change. Golden Eggs will no longer be sold beginning now, and online service will be halted on December 28. Devil’s Third was plagued with problems from the beginning, such as technical problems and its original publisher going out of business. Critics as a whole didn’t like the game (it has a score of 43 on Metacritic) but Matt had a far more flattering view of the game which can be read here.
Final Fantasy creator opening a new development studio
During a livestream for Mistwalker, his current studio, Hironobu Sakaguchi announced that he will open a new development company. To be located in Roppongi, Tokyo, the company (tentatively named Dawnwalker) is already recruiting staff. JRPG fans will recognize Sakaguchi’s name immediately, as he was the Square employee who created the first Final Fantasy. He directed a handful of games in the franchise and produced nine others. He left the company shortly after Square merged with Enix but has found success with Mistwalker. I don’t know about you, but I’m excited to see what Sakaguchi has up his sleeve!
Does any of this news tickle your fancy or make you steaming mad? Let us know in the comments! And meet us again next week for a new edition of Catch-up coffee Monday.
– Lindsay M.
News Editor
