News by Lindsay M., News Editor
Welcome to Digitally Downloaded’s regular catch-up news feature. With each issue we will bring you the best news 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)!
The FF Crystal Chronicles remaster has a release date!
I’m tickled pink to share this news, as outside Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, Crystal Chronicles is my favourite non-mainstream Final Fantasy. I spent so much time playing in my dorm room, not going to class, but I am now an adult and can shirk more important responsibilities to pick up the remaster upon launch and play for days. But enough about that, it’s time to enjoy the official release date trailer:
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered Edition will launch for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and iOS/Android (interesting!) on January 23, 2020. If you, like us, are at TGS this week, a preview version of the title will be on the floor.
Crystal Chronicles is a co-op action game, best played with others (online multiplayer will be available) but also easily enjoyed solo. It takes place in a world where the Great Crystal was smashed by a meteorite carrying an alien parasite. The parasite creates a vapour that kills anyone who touches it. Fragments remaining of the Great Crystal will help contain these parasites, but we’ll need a team of four heroes to gather them. Along the way, they’ll meet new friends and learn the history of their land.
Rune Factory 4 Special is getting a pretty awesome Limited Edition
Rune Factory 4 Special is the HD remastered Nintendo Switch version of the 3DS title. It will be lovely to finally experience it on a big screen, not to mention the recently-announced Archival Version is just perfect.
The limited Archival Edition will include a physical copy of the game, 160-page art book, soundtrack CD with 36 tracks, the Swimsuit Day DLC that lets your characters appear in swimsuits, and a custom box to store it all in. The game will be released physically and digitally this (Northern) winter, published by Marvelous in Europe and XSEED in North America.
Rune Factory 4 is a Story of Seasons spinoff that combines farming with dungeon exploration. Our hero has fallen from the heavens, saved only by a dragon. They begin to live in a local castle as a designated ruler and begins their new life, developing the town, cultivating soil, and exploring the aforementioned dungeons. New features include a sparkly new opening movie, a “Hell” difficulty, and Newlywed Mode that introduces episodes about living the married life.
Train Simulator 2020 is only a week away from launch
It may seem boring, but like Farming Simulator, Train Simulator is actually quite stimulating. The series is in its tenth year, and Train Simulator 2020 will launch for PC via Steam on September 19. And does that mean it’s time for a new trailer? Of course!
Train Simulator 2020 has you driving diesel, electric, and steam trains across the worlds. A new location for this version is the Nürnberg & Regensburg Bahn, not seen in any other train sim series; it’s a modern route that runs both freight and stopping services between two of Germany’s oldest stations. That’s not the only location available, of course, as there are also lines in England and the USA. If you’re not up for any of those, you can create your own routes, stations, or scenarios.
There are new visual features in this version of Train Simulator, including ambient, sunlight, vignette, and field of view options. There’s also a filter feature, but I beg of you, don’t use filters when driving a train! Driving is engaging, as you need to mange your engine, passengers, safety systems, signaling, and more without leaving the cab.
Sayonara Wild Hearts won’t be a Switch exclusive
Originally announced only for the Nintendo Switch, developer Simogo and publisher Annapurna Interactive are ready to burst onto new consoles for its launch on September 19. In addition to the Switch, the game will be available on the PlayStation 4 and Apple Arcade. The Apple Arcade version was announced yesterday during Apple’s presentation about Apple Arcade, so you’re limited to being a Games subscriber to play on a mobile platform.
Sayonara Wild Hearts is set in an extremely stylised music video dreamabout, and I quote, “being awesome, riding motorcycles, skateboarding, dance battling, shooting lasers, wielding swords, and breaking hearts at 200 mph.” If that doesn’t sell you on the title, I don’t think anything will!
A young woman’s heart is breaking, and the balance of the universe is disturbed. A diamond butterfly appears in her dreams, leading her to her other self, a masked biker called The Fool. The Fool travels through cities, forests, and deserts to find harmony for the universe.
