When it comes to the Atelier series, combat and synthesis are core gameplay elements. Upcoming Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land (first announced during August 2024’s Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase) is no different, but both elements have been revamped to give the JRPG a new, fresh feel. Today, Gust and Koei Tecmo shared updated gameplay details…
It’s easy to wonder why Square Enix would go to such great effort to remake one of the oldest Dragon Quest titles. After all, the HD-2D engine they’ve applied to Dragon Quest III would have made the SNES trilogy positively sparkle, and those titles are far more renowned for their…
For the first time the now-iconic Yakuza series is on a Nintendo…
Starting a game in the middle of a story arc often means…
Once on the DDNet podcast, we got to talking about “canon” games – ones that many people would consider to have historical or aesthetic significance. These are games that are worth going back to, even after technological increments have iterated and refined their design. For the JRPG genre, we immediately…
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I worry that the wonderful folk at the developer, Gust, have lost their creative thrust with Atelier. That’s not to say Atelier Ryza 3 here is by any means a poor game, because it is lovely and comforting, but the last five Atelier titles have been a nostalgic return to…
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The difference between a very fine game, and an inferior, derivative pastiche can at times be very slim. Mato Anomalies is an excellent example of just how fine this line can be. Clearly inspired by Persona, and a novel attempt and bringing a kind of neon-noir approach to the genre,…
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There is a problem when you make something subversive: how do you back it up with a sequel? If the sequel is too familiar and follows in the footsteps of its predecessor, it is no longer subversive by definition. It has lost its creative identity. This is unfortunately the case…
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Koei Tecmo is no stranger to the classic Chinese novel, Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The entire Dynasty Warriors series is, of course, based on that classic text. In many ways, it’s what makes Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty such a captivating game, because it’s such a different creative take on…
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Gosh Ryza’s gorgeous. Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key, the game, I mean. Not the character (but yeah, also her). The third and final chapter of Ryza’s story is almost upon us, and I’ve had the opportunity to sit down with the opening chapter or…
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Odencat isn’t exactly a household name, but this Japanese studio, behind the likes of Fishing Paradiso and Bear’s Restaurant, has been steadily building up a reputation for interesting ideas, executed well. The team’s next game is called Meg’s Monster, and it’s got a lot of promise. The game’s concept is…
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“It’s more of the same!” You just know that this is going to be the main comment (and complaint) about Octopath Traveler II. “It’s too much like the first.” Except it’s not. Of course it’s not. Octopath Traveler was a narrative-driven game that focused on the stories of eight distinct…
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Little Witch Nobeta has been a significant (and perhaps mildly surprising) hit since first releasing on PC last year. For a game developed by a tiny team, having a “Very Positive” rating on Steam, off more than 8,300 players, is a significant achievement. Soon, courtesy of Idea Factory International, the…
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Octopath Traveler broke some impressive ground back in 2018. As the first effort with the all-new HD-2D visual engine, it presented us with a new vision of what sprite-based games could look like. It backed that up with a wonderful fusion of the kind of turn-based gameplay that had been…
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