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Dragon Quest is at a challenging turning point as Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake debuts, and it one that few gaming franchises will ever have to weather. It is exceptionally rare for a series this old to have retained so much of the same core creative staff from its inception to the present day. From Dragon Quest to Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age, three individuals have driven the mainline entries. Yuji Horii, the designer and scenario writer. Akira Toriyama, the character and monster designer. Koichi Sugiyama, the music composer. In an industry where change seems to be a constant, it's unusual to have a creative team stick with a series for their entire lives.

That trio of talents was stable core that led to perhaps one of the most consistent franchises around. Sadly, the march of time has broken up that band, and Dragon Quest will now have to get by without the direct contributions of Toriyama and and Sugiyama. A series long steeped in its traditions now has no choice but to turn to a new page. While we wait to see what that new direction looks like, it's as good a time as any to celebrate the games that made Dragon Quest so special to begin with. The original Dragon Quest trilogy of games has rarely out of circulation for long. With remakes for a wide array of platforms over the years, these three games have almost constantly been available.

Unfortunately, the quality of those remakes hasn't always been ideal. The most recent versions have their roots in feature phone releases, and it shows. Much of the combat animation found in previous releases was cut, perhaps to reduce the size of the for data-conscious customers. For Dragon Quest III, some content was also removed. The end result was a version that took a step back in many ways from its predecessors. That would be fine had it not ended up so ubiquitous, but that was the version that ended up serving as the basis for the most recent console releases on Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4.

Dragon Quest III deserves better. Luckily, "better" has arrived. Putting that fancy HD-2D tech to spectacular use, Square Enix has done a complete remake of Dragon Quest III with Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake. It just rolls off the tongue. This fresh take on the 36-year-old game aims to put a lot more meat on these old bones, and not only in of its presentation. But, you know, also in of its presentation.

This isn't the first time Square Enix performed this trick, with the HD-2D reissue of Live-a-Live showing already how a classic game can be juiced up via these means. This one feels a little different, though. Where that game was a late-era 16-bit release hailing from 1994, Dragon Quest III sits squarely in the middle of the 8-bit era. Its original February 1988 release puts it scant months after the debut of Final Fantasy, when JRPG developers were very much still figuring things out. Is a new coat of paint enough to entice modern audiences?

Time will ultimately have its say on that one, but whatever the outcome no one can accuse Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake of putting in a half-effort. Beyond the candy for your eyes and ears, there are a lot of new things to explore here. Every area is bigger, there are new things to discover in just about every location, and the story has been expanded upon. There are some new enemies to fight, a new character class to play with, and a significantly expanded Monster Arena that provides further incentive to poke around every nook and cranny of the world.

As a result of all of these changes, Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake is a much longer game than its previous incarnations. A person could easily spend twice as many hours making their way through this version, perhaps even more if they seek to do and see everything. There is a slight cost to all of this, with the brisk pacing of the original game taking a modest hit. Some of the dungeons in particular can feel a little too big, since most of them haven't become any more complex in the process. The distances between locations of interest are much bigger, too. It's not a huge issue, but those familiar with previous versions are probably going to notice.

Those new to Dragon Quest III are going to have to keep the original game's age in mind as they play. While it has been expanded upon, the narrative of this game is fairly lean. You're the child of the brave knight Ortega, who disappeared while on a quest to put a stop to the villainous Baramos. Upon reaching your 16th birthday, you set out on your own quest to finish what Ortega started and perhaps find some clues as to what happened to him. You'll have to travel the entire world on this journey, and we can see the eventual Dragon Quest custom of each stop having its own problem forming here in a prototypical fashion.

I think Square Enix did its best to flesh out the story of Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake as much as it could. We get some cinematic angles, fully voice-acted cutscenes, and additional dialog to make the NPCs feel less like props. There are some new story beats in here as well. The original game didn't give the main character much more than a basic quest and an ending, so having some additional narrative reinforcement along the way is nice. Nevertheless, this remains mostly true to the source material when it comes to the main plot and your party's place in it.

Your companions on this journey are characters you roll up yourself, more or less. You choose their vocation and appearance, and can then distribute a few stat boosters to customize them. Each comes with a pre-assigned personality that will affect their stat growth, but that's all it affects. They will almost never speak any dialog, and mostly serve as extra bodies in combat. You can choose whether you want to directly command them when the time comes or have the AI handle things via one of a few different routines. Basically, you shouldn't expect any narrative development for your team . It isn't that kind of game.

One thing going for this remake is that for an 8-bit JRPG, Dragon Quest III's world has always felt lively and connected. The remake builds on that nicely. There are lot of NPCs milling about in every town or city, and the layout of the world makes a fair amount of sense for a game of this vintage. There's a reason for that, of course, and those who have played a version of this game before will know what I'm talking about. I'll leave that as something fun for the new players to pick up on, though. The presence of a day and night cycle adds further to this sense of place, and the ability to rest at any inn until the time of day of your choosing helps avoid some of the irritations that system originally caused.

Dragon Quest III HD-2D has a lot of new features like that to make the play experience more comfortable. You can choose between three different difficulty settings. Veterans will probably want to go with the Draconian Quest option, which more closely mirrors the original game, while those who simply want to enjoy the story can pick Dracky Quest, where you literally cannot die. There's a new system that will point you towards your next goal should you want to make use of it, but you don't have to use that if you don't want to. Another pleasant change is that you don't need to talk to royalty to make a hard save anymore, as any person of the cloth will be able to handle that. With both a frequent auto-save and a quick-save option on top of that, you can pretty much stop and resume your quest whenever needed.

A lot of the additions to the game take the form of more information at your fingertips. Full area maps, quick references to how many Mini Medals you've collected, and so on. You have more traversal options, too. You can Zoom to another location even if you're indoors now, and Zoom points extend to almost every location you've visited instead of just the towns. If you Zoom from a location and then use Zoom again, it will take you right back to the original point. This helps cut down on a lot of trekking around, and I think it's a good way to offset the larger size of the areas you're exploring.

There are other incentives to keep you exploring those spaces. First of all, you'll find a lot more random loot laying around in just about every space via jars and barrels. For the most part you'll find basic consumable items, but they can be welcome relief if an outing goes longer than planned. The overworld map offers even more thrills. As you journey, you'll see sparkling spots strewn about. Searching them will give you caches of items and gear, and you can sometimes find really nice things this way. They appear to be random, and new spots will appear as you play.

Less random are the new Secret Spots. These places tend to stand out on the map. Maybe it's a bigger tree of a different color in a forest, or an oasis in the desert. Whatever the case, visiting them will take you to a separate screen. You'll sometimes find NPCs with helpful advice, some goodies in jars or barrels, treasure chests, or even stray monsters. Don't worry, they won't attack. Instead, they tie in with the new Monster Wrangler vocation and the reimagined Monster Arenas. The time of day you visit is important, as certain things will only appear if you come at the right time. You'll come across stray monsters in other locations as well, such as towns, and again it's all about that timing.

The Monster Wrangler vocation is an interesting new element. In their basic form, they're strong fighters who can make use of a decent array of gear. They aren't quite as good at this as the other combat-focused classes, but they make up for it with their abilities. As you find stray monsters and take them in, your Monster Wranglers will get access to some seriously powerful moves. We're talking group heals in the early game, strong multi-hit attacks, and more. How well they keep up with the other classes depends on how much work you put into finding those stray monsters, though. They're helpful to that end, at least. Some monsters are skittish but if you approach them with a Monster Wrangler in your party, they'll easily come with you.

There's another benefit to finding these critters. Square Enix adjusted how it handles the Monster Arena in Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake. Once a place where you could scare up some cash by betting on monster battles, these are now places where you take a more direct hand in the action. All the stray monsters you've collected find their way here, and you can pick a team of three to go into the arena. Each rank offers a nice reward for winning while also giving you access to the next rank up. The battles themselves are fully operated by the AI, but you can give them the same guidance each turn that you would give your normal companions. It's typically good enough to get them to do essentially what you want them to.

You can only have one of each monster type in your party, but finding more monsters of the same type will strengthen that first one you picked up. This is the only way to power them up, so make sure to look around every corner. You can find monsters in Secret Spots, in towns and dungeons, and even in castles. Since some of them only appear at certain times of the day, you'll want to scour every spot at every time of the day if you want to fully fill out your collection. It's not necessary to complete the game, instead serving as a treat for those who want to get as much out of the game as possible.

The main quest is essentially as it always was, when you dig down to the core. It starts off relatively linear, but once it's confident the player has their sea legs, it opens up dramatically in more ways than one. You can choose the order in which you get things done to a great degree, but it all needs to be done. You'll also eventually get access to the Alltrades Abbey, allowing you to change your companions' vocations for some sweet multiclassing power. This has always been one of my favorite elements in Dragon Quest III, because you can absolutely create some broken characters that will tear through your enemies.

With that core intact, it means that newcomers are going to have to brace for what is in many ways still that 1988 game. You're going to be fighting a ton of random battles, and even the hyper-fast-forward option can't help that fiftieth fight with an assorted bunch of monsters feel fresh. Sure, they're gorgeously animated, but even that shine can fade when you're deep in a dungeon. The inventory management's UI has seen some improvements to cut down on the busy work, but characters still have their own inventories with limited space. I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing, but it's something some might not be used to.

The sense of adventure that drove the original Dragon Quest III is as powerful as ever, even with the wrinkles from its age. You've never staying too long in one place, and there's a surprising amount of variety in the tasks you're given in each. There's a good balance between guiding the player and letting them find the way forward themselves. The vocation system gives you a lot of customizability in setting up your party , and this remake gives you plenty of options in of how they look and sound. I think the case could be made that Dragon Quest III is where the series finally got all of its pieces in place, which makes it perfect for a modern reimagining.

Beyond all of the nuts-and-bolts gameplay adjustments, the impressive new visuals and excellent new orchestral recordings of the soundtrack bring this quest alive in a whole new way. Seeing your next destination peek up over the horizon as the water glistens in the morning sunlight and the triumphant score swells up is truly something else. The cities are beautiful, the caves are extra-creepy, and every structure feels carefully hand-built. Even the battle backgrounds look great. The lighting effects in all of these scenes help everything pop just that little bit more.

While there is no denying that the heart of Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake comes from another era, the level of quality across every aspect of this redo cannot be denied. If you love the original game, taking a trip through this version of its world is simply a must. If you've never played it, I can't imagine a better way to experience one of the genre's all-time classics. Its intentional adherence to the source might make some aspects of it hard for newcomers to swallow, but everything that could be done to make it palatable without changing it too much has been. It's a true celebration, both of the game and the series.

Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake will come to the Nintendo Switch, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC on November 14, 2024.

The post Review: Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake Does a Classic JRPG Justice appeared first on Siliconera.

The Gundam Aerial from Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury is now available as DLC for SD Gundam Battle Alliance. The able pack will also bring Suletta Mercury as a new pilot, along with expansion parts and Level Uncap Materials. In addition, it also includes the GM (Gatheroad) Gundam Game Collaboration BGM with 4 songs. This DLC pack is available across all platforms for $7.99.

Check out the announcement for the Gundam: Witch from Mercury DLC for SD Gundam Battle Alliance from the Bandai Namco SEA Twitter here below.
https://twitter.com/BandaiNamcoSEA/status/1656615264371494912?s=20

The Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury Pack includes the Aerial as a new playable unit and the anime series lead Suletta Mercury as a recruitable pilot. The DLC also features references in the form of the expansion parts for the unit such as the “Emblem of the Holder,” a “Miorine’s tomato,” and a “GUND-ARM Inc. Clip,” all of which offer bonus effects in-game. Moreover, the pack also includes three 100.000 CAPITAL tickets, along with 1st and 2nd Level Uncap Materials as well.

Additionally, the Witch from Mercury DLC also adds a set of BGM soundtracks from two previous Gundam video games: Mobile Suit Gundam Battle Operation 2 and Mobile Suit Gundam U.C. Engage. The bonus songs are as follows:

• CALM - MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM BATTLE OPERATION 2
• EMERGENCY - MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM BATTLE OPERATION 2
• Battle IV - MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM U.C. ENGAGE
• A New Encounter I - MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM U.C. ENGAGE

SD Gundam Battle Alliance is available on the PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC. You can also play it currently as part of the Xbox Game subscription. The Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury Pack is available across all platforms and costs $7.99.

The post SD Gundam Battle Alliance Gets The Witch from Mercury DLC appeared first on Siliconera.

Sword Art Online is a popular franchise with a vision of the future of video games lying at its core. And as might be expected of such a thing, a fair few real video games exist to cater to its fans. But where to start? The many game adaptations of Sword Art Online exist across multiple console generations and even multiple genres. In light of the recent announcement of Sword Art Online: Last Recollection, we've come up with a quick guide to help you find out the best place to start with SAO video games.

Where can I get Sword Art Online games?

SAO games are available on a variety of platforms, including the PSP, PS Vita, PS4, Nintendo Switch, PC, Xbox One, and once Last Recollection hits, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. That said, right now the most convenient way to play all of the relevant Sword Art Online games is via PC or PS4. All the officially-released single-player SAO games are available via Steam or the PSN store, so you can play them in order on a single platform, if you wish. The PC versions do have a slight advantage in that they tend to go on sale more often than on PSN, too, which will help minimize your outlay if you have to buy them.

What order should I play Sword Art Online Games in? 3uj3o

With the exception of various mobile and free-to-play entries, the game adaptations of Sword Art Online form a distinct, alternative timeline to the novels and anime series. The games have a number of original characters, and incorporate events and storylines from the source material in unique ways. The departures from "canon" don't alter the fundamental context of Sword Art Online's narrative, but they may confuse someone coming from the anime expecting things to be the same across media.

Luckily, the distinct timeline makes the task of playing the games in order pretty simple: Just play them in the order they were released (with one exception). The Sword Art Online games' narratives proceed in chronological order. While they aren't closely linked, they do reference each other occasionally. Players interested in exploring exploring the SAO games' would do best to have at least some familiarity with prior titles if they intend to jump into one of the later ones.

Now, here's a description of each Sword Art Online game, in the order they should be played.

Sword Art Online: Re: Hollow Fragment 3q1h6n

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCaIap4PEQ0

Technically speaking, 2013's Sword Art Online: Infinity Moment was the first title in this particular timeline of SAO games. However, it wasn't actually released in the west. There's also no need to play it, because Infinity Moment has been completely replaced by its quasi-sequel, 2014's Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment.

Hollow Fragment was an updated re-release brought to PS Vita that contains all of Infinity Moment's content as a base. It was further updated for PS4 (and later, PC) and titled Sword Art Online: Re: Hollow Fragment. In a way, this game lies at the root of the SAO games' alternate timeline. It asks "What if Kirito and the gang still had to clear the rest of the Aincrad tower before leaving the death game?" and uses that point as a springboard to introduce characters like Sinon, Leafa, and Yuuki to the story much earlier than they would've ed otherwise. It even adds an original character, Strea, to the mix.

Sword Art Online: Re: Hollow Fragment is available on PC via Steam and PS4.

Sword Art Online: Lost Song b4s5h

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMF0J9OH8Y4

Originally released for the PS Vita and PS3, then ported to PS4 and PC, 2015's Sword Art Online: Lost Song takes place in the fairy-themed Alfheim Online (ALO), the game Kirito, Asuna and their friends gravitate to after escaping from SAO and Aincrad. It also answers a slight continuity problem raised by Hollow Fragment by essentially skipping the whole "Fairy Dance" plotline (which couldn't have happened as originally written, anyway). Instead, the game leans in on an original adventure in a new expansion area to ALO called "Svart Alfheim".

Lost Song is notable for featuring the ALO character designs for most of the original SAO crew, as well as bringing in various ALO-based characters from the Fairy Dance arc (like Alicia Rue and Sakuya) and the Girls Ops spin-off manga. A rudimentary "original character" system is incorporated, but it really only allows you to create a templated NPC and has no effect on the narrative. That narrative features more game-original characters: Sumeragi, Seven, and Rain. Notably, the game also features an alternative, arguably happier take to the "Mother's Rosario" story arc, as well.

Sword Art Online: Lost Song is available on PC via Steam, PS Vita, and PS4.

Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization 3q1k1e

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-Jzb8HiVYo

Sword Art Online: Infinity Moment and Hollow Fragment developer Aquria returned to the helm for the next SAO game adaptation, and essentially decided to make a more fully realized take on Hollow Fragment for the occasion. They even return to Sword Art Online itself - or rather, Sword Art: Origin - a new, non-lethal title that reuses assets and quests from Aincrad. The release intrigues Kirito and the crew, who decide to jump in to see what's up, only to discover the seeds of new adventure in Premiere, a strangely intelligent NPC that wasn't in the original SAO.

Hollow Realization revisits a lot of Hollow Fragment's ideas, particularly the ones involving the quasi-simulation of the meandering MMORPG game rhythm. Its NPC interaction system allows Kirito to chat up and play alongside even random NPC characters, building bonds with them beyond his stable of named s. These mechanics show up as well in in The Caligula Effect, another Aquria-developed RPG. Premiere and Genesis the roster of game-original characters, while Kizmel from the Sword Art Online Progressive series makes an appearance.

Hollow Realization is available on PC via Steam, PS Vita, Nintendo Switch, and on PS4.

Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet 6g2w6v

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgnlWy1lFvo

Of the many ways that Sword Art Online games have departed from the narratives of the original novels and anime, Fatal Bullet might be the most dramatic separation of them all. For one thing, the base game doesn't even star Kirito and his pals, but instead involves a player-created protagonist and their buddies. This player protagonist is a resident of Gun Gale Online, the gun-based VR MMORPG that serves as the setting for the "Death Gun" story arc. Being based on Gun Gale Online makes for a dramatic departure in game mechanics, too. Fatal Bullet was developed by Dimps, creators of Freedom Wars, and more than a little of that game's DNA manifests in Fatal Bullet, with its gun-based play and its use of a powerful grappling hook-like device, as well as an "assistant" NPC that you can customize.

Kirito and company won't be left out, of course, and the story gives players a chance to experience a Sword Art Online story that views Kirito from the outside, a relatively rare perspective, as SAO goes. The "Death Gun" story is also featured as a separate plotline, though, and does put Kirito in similar circumstances, complete with his effeminate "Kiriko" avatar. Fatal Bullet also features GGO-based incarnations of the now-familiar SAO cast. Characters like LLEN, Pitohui, Fukaziroh, and others from SAO Alternative: Gun Gale Online manga also show up.

Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet is available on PC via Steam, Nintendo Switch, PS4, and Xbox One.

Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris 303k3t

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whxHYYmgesU

The most recent of the Sword Art Online games, Alicization Lycoris represents something of a break from some of the ideas put forth in other SAO titles. Just like the Alicization story arc in the anime and novels feel like an SAO-flavored take on the popular "isekai" stories of the current age, Alicization Lycoris returns to the narrative roots of Infinity Moment by building off of what should've been the canonical "end" of a key story arc in the source material. Stuck in the virtual, AI-populated "Underworld", Kirito and his new buddy Eugeo work together to defeat its tyrannical "". But things don't go the way they did in the book, and essentially leaves Kirito in a position to adventure around in Underworld's Human Empire for the rest of the game, alongside many of his friends from the real world (and other games). The secondary plot also centers around Medina, a game-original Underworld resident, adding to the increasingly large cast of the SAO games' universe. Its sequel, Last Recollection, should expand the Underworld further, bringing in more elements from the "War for Underworld" storyline that closed out the most recent series.

Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris is available on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.

Sword Art Online vs. Accel World: Millennium Twilight 43t5z

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QIVqY9xMwU

You'll notice that I left out this game, though chronologically it came out in 2017, between Hollow Realization and Fatal Bullet. That's because even in a series of games that made its name by diverging from the source, Sword Art Online vs. Accel World is considered "non-canonical" by many of its players. Millennium Twilight is more of a tribute to another of SAO author Reki Kawahara's works: Accel World. Set (theoretically) a few decades into the SAO universe's future, Accel World stars a gang of kids that compete for territory in an Augmented Reality (AR) game called Brain Burst. Playable only by teenagers, Brain Burst unlocks a secret time-dilation function in every youth's cybernetic internet implant, allowing them to perform nearly superhuman feats in real life by paying "Burst Points" earned in-game. The contrivances of quantum mechanics and brand synergy come together to have Kirito and his pals hang out with a bunch of kids from a generation in the future. As ripe as the premise is for fan indulgence, the game is built on the creaky skeleton of Sword Art Online: Lost Song, and it isn't referenced much in subsequent games. Though an interesting curiosity, particularly for fans of Accel World (all several dozen of us!), it's largely inessential.

Sword Art Online vs. Accel World: Millennium Twilight is available on PC via Steam, PS4 and PS Vita.

The post Where to Play Sword Art Online Games in Order appeared first on Siliconera.

Triangle Strategy, the second new game showcasing Square Enix's "HD-2D" tech, brings the distinctive look to a new sort of game. The tactical role-playing game renaissance has brought a lot of new and returning players to the subgenre! So it's good timing for Triangle Strategy's release. Does it capitalize on the opportunity?

In Triangle Strategy, you control Serenoa, heir of House Wolffort and one of the military leaders of his nation. You're pinned between two powers, each controlling a vital resource. Inevitably, of course, you're thrust into conflict! How things go from there depends on periodic voting sequences. The "scales of conviction," a central piece of the game's marketing, let Serenoa's companions vote about which path to take. The gameplay, then, is in convincing your friends to make the decision you want, as well as traditional tactical combat.

The playable units of Triangle Strategy all perform distinct roles. Some players may miss the custom unit crafting of games like Final Fantasy Tactics! But retaining strict classes means each feels very different. Precisely one unit can fly for most of the game. Exactly one can attack twice. It doesn’t quite reach the puzzle-like nature of Into the Breach, but it’s a step in that direction. You can augment units with stat upgrades and equippable accessories, but these don’t fundamentally change how they function.

While you can’t break a map with a devious character build, you can occasionally do so with knowledge of the game’s tactics. We won’t spoil any more than we must! But we found that we could render one near-hopeless map trivial if we flew our flying archer up to a roof. No one could reach her! And since the game doesn’t feature “permadeath” or any penalties for falling in combat, she could sit up there and pick off foes by herself for 25 turns.

Triangle Strategy is very proud of its narrative. There’s some merit to it — it does craft some interesting dilemmas — but you definitely need to prepare yourself for a lot of text. All the exposition makes for a very slow start, one a lot of players noticed in the pre-release Prologue Demo. This does get better with time, and those looking for more battling between narrative segments can take advantage of the legitimately interesting barkeep maps.

If you're looking to limit your reading time, you can stick to the main story beats. The character stories and green side scenes are interesting if you have the temperament to enjoy them! But skipping all of the story is going to detract from enjoying the decisions you make, so at least pay attention to those.

In your first playthrough, you’ll see a message when you earn points toward the game’s three narrative-related stats, but it obscures which you’re boosting. (You can see more information in a New Game+ campaign.) We'd recommend playing the first just trusting your own judgment, as all the paths have something interesting to see. Aiming for the "true ending" takes away from making decisions and seeing their consequences, something this game does better than a lot in its genre.

A big selling point of Triangle Strategy is its "HD-2D" aesthetic. The look, which started with Octopath Traveler, takes pixel art and coats it with all sorts of filters and effects. It’s handled fairly nicely here, but the subgenre does make things more difficult. Camera control’s sort of important in a tactics game with elevation and 3D presentation, as you regularly need to see around things. (Also, hey, people have preferences about height and default positioning!) So you definitely see the seams more often in Triangle than Octopath.

The game also seems to struggle to run at times on the Switch. As a result, the dev team appears to have dialed back the resolution, making for a blurrier experience even in handheld mode. We started to ignore it after a while! It’s tolerable! But if Triangle Strategy makes its way to other platforms like Octopath before it, it might see a significant visual upgrade.

You'll get the most out of Triangle Strategy if you bring a little patience to the proceedings. It starts slow. It throws a lot of story at you. The most interesting tactical powers show up in later levels. And you only see some of its compelling narrative beats in a second or third play. It's destined to be a game you either shrug off in the early hours or add to your list of favorites.

Triangle Strategy was developed by Artdink and Square Enix, and published in the West by Nintendo. It’s available now on Switch.

The post Review: Triangle Strategy Showcases Sharp Writing, Fuzzy Pixels appeared first on Siliconera.

Not every game needs to be remade. That’s fine! Some games are fine as-is. Especially if the ensuing revisitation doesn’t do all that much new. Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World feels like a project that happened because Wonder Boy III: The Dragon’s Trap inspired not one, but two good games in the 2010s. So now Asha is back and, while the game is fine, it doesn’t have the same level of improvements and investment.

And yet, Asha’s time has come again. She’s a young woman with potential, and begins the game heading to a tower to prove herself as a warrior. However, no sooner does she accomplish that feat does she learn the world in general is in danger. The Elemental Spirits are threatened. So, immediately after being recognized for her strength and abilities, she’s sent out by the queen to visit the spirits and set things right.

Now, going in, know that Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World’s story is neither great or substantial. NPCs who aren’t major characters, like Asha’s family or Queen Praprill, won’t have much of value to say. You In fact, when you get to Rapadagna, you’ll find some NPCs repeat the same phrases as others. But then, the story was rather flimsy in the original, so people probably wouldn’t return and expect more.

The gameplay is fairly rudimentary as well. This is your basic platformer without too many frills. Asha starts out with a sword and shield. If you build up a gauge, you can perform a Magical Hit to deal more damage. You can get heart pieces for additional hearts, to increase your odds of survival. You can earn money to put toward things like equipment and healing items. As you gather these things, you essentially go through one area to another with nothing thought provoking happening. You don’t have puzzles to solve. Rather, proceeding forward eventually becomes a matter of going backward to open the way. It’s like two steps forward, then two steps back.

And then there’s Pepelogoo. That’s the little blue buddy following Asha. Think of it as being the trigger for the lite Metroidvania elements. As you go through the world, you’ll need Pepelogoo to do things like double jump, extinguish fires, glide, melt ice, press switches, and shield Asha. But to do things, you have to whistle for Pepelogoo. Which makes sense. But you need Pepelogoo so often that it draws every experience out. I want to double jump. Well, I have to whistle for Pepelogoo. I have to wait for my buddy to come over, Then I perform the action. But hey! I have to double jump again. Then have to go through it all again. Maybe I have to press switches along the way too. And if I don’t get the trajectory lined up right, that’s multiple whistles and waits to pull things off.

There’s also another unskippable action that became more of a nuisance each time it happened. Asha doesn’t immediately open treasure chests. First, she stands in front of it. She wiggles her butt back and forth. Then, after a bit of preamble, she opens it. Fine. Yes, I felt it came across as a means to show a silent protagonist’s excitement over finding something. The issue is that like the Pepelogoo whistle, it means you waste time for it.

In general, a lot of things in Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World can wear you down. The boss fights are another good example. They’re all relatively simplistic. Their patterns aren’t complex and are easy to work out. If I took damage, it was more likely because I had responsiveness issues when doing something like performing Asha’s downward thrust to deal damage. And because they never feel like any threat, there’s no sense of accomplishment after beating them.

It isn’t to say things are all bad. Everything is clearly telegraphed. If someone isn’t as familiar with action games or is a younger player, there is an “easy” difficulty option that is quite forgiving. You can save at any time and there are 12 slots. (I only ever needed the one.) The text is easy to read. It’s also fairly easy to work out what you have to do in any given situation.

Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World’s greatest sin is that it is simply adequate. There’s nothing earth-shattering about this remake. It looks fine, but isn’t nearly as striking as Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap. It plays okay, but there are times when you feel the frustrations and limitations of Asha’s moveset. It is okay and people who loved the original will probably appreciate it being freshened up. But as far as remakes go, it’s nothing special.

Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World is available on the PS4 and Switch.

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There won’t be that big of a gap between the Japanese and worldwide release dates for Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World. It showed up in Japan back in April 2021. Everywhere else will get its Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World PS4 and Switch copies on May 28, 2021. However, the PC version won’t show up on Steam until June 29, 2021.

Exact prices for both digital and physical console copies also came up. Digital copies will be $34.99/€34.99/£31.49. However, the physical ones will be $39.99/€39.99/£34.99. People who opt for the latter will get both the StudioArtDink remake and playable ports of the original Monster World IV. (The Collector’s and Mega Collector’s Editions both include the extra game as well.)

As a reminder, Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World isn’t the only remake of a game in the series. For example, there was also 2017’s Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap. That offered a new take on Wonder Boy III: The Dragon’s Trap.

Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World will come to the PS4 and Switch on May 28, 2021 outside Japan. It is immediately available in Japan. It will come to the PC worldwide on June 29, 2021.

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There’s a whole new Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World trailer out now. It helps show how Monster World IV changed in this Artdink remake. People can get a better look at the new character designs, see how the game plays, and get a better idea of what’s going on.

After introducing the title, we get to see Asha and Pepelogoo explore and fight their way through plenty of different environments. We see how Pepelogoo can help her hit switches, fly, reach new areas, and deal with hazards. It also reminded people that Ryuichi Nishizawa is returning as its director and will be ed again by Character Designer Maki Ozora and Sound Designer Shinichi Sakamoto. Takanori Kurihara is also back to handle Creative Management.

Here’s the full Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World trailer.

Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World will come to the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PC in Japan on April 22, 2021 and appear in other regions in Q2 2021. As the new trailer pointed out, people who get a physical copy instead of the digital one don’t just get the new game. They’ll also get a copy of the original Monster World IV to play.

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It’s taken some time, but the trains are running again on a Nintendo platform. A-Train: All Aboard! Tourism pulled into the station worldwide on the Switch and, as you might imagine, it builds on the sort of transportation management found in A-Train 3D: City Simulator. However, this time it might seem even more overwhelming, as you aren’t just managing things like a bus or a train as in that installment. You’re trying to make tourist attractions successful, earn money from new avenues, and even design scenarios for other people.

Your goals in A-Train: All Aboard! Tourism vary, depending on the premade or custom scenario you’re exploring. The common goal is to build a functional transportation system that takes into things like trains, subways, and roadways and the area’s general needs. However, each one also has more focused goals to achieve. So basically, you want to keep growing and being profitable, while also keeping track of all the complex issues. Which is a lot, considering you are managing the train, the stations, your staff, the stock market, and even influencing town growth by determining where people live near stations.

For example, A-Train: All Aboard! Tourism tries so hard to prepare people for the game. The introduction to railway planning is thoughtful, gives you chances to see everything in action, and offers attainable goals. It even plots out some potential moves for you. But, there are still some controls that clearly don’t feel as well-suited to a console, compared to a keyboard and mouse. (I would actually recommend playing in handheld mode, for the optional touch screen control options.) And it isn’t really the sort of game where if you don’t pick something up immediately, it feels easy to go back and figure it out. The best way I can describe it is that it does have some elements in place to assist you, but I feel it expects a certain level of familiarity with these sorts of simulations.

For people who do have that familiarity, there’s so much here. Let’s think about what you have to consider when building a new line out to a new station. First, when laying the track, you have to look for and hopefully avoid existing buildings. (It costs more if you do.) You want to have an idea of where the station will go, since that will be bigger. You’ll need to survey the area, to see if there’s a populated area or tourist spot that acts as a point of interest. Maybe you’ll need additional platforms to meet demand. (That’s definitely a necessity in a busy area.) Will it only need normal or express trains? You determine when it will run. Are there roads near it? You might need to construct roads. But do you have the money for all that? Well, perhaps you need to play the stock market. If you’re trying to make it difficult for yourself, you’ll have to check on employee satisfaction. It’s extensive.

It’s also a game that is incredibly open-ended. A-Train: All Aboard! Tourism has its eight scenarios. Some are more simple, like Accessible City of Old, set in 1955, that is about making a city better in five years. Others, like City Switch, begins in 2006 and involves making an industrial area into a thriving urban center. If you don’t like those, it lets you make your own scenarios. If you want to just enjoy, you can sample scenarios other people made. (Be advised, there were only five when I was playing ahead of writing this review.) This is a game where you can manage everything. You try to shape a city in a way that will do things like make it a tourist center or have its population grow. You try to make everyone, from people taking your train to business people playing the stock market, happy with your decisions.

But for all of the fastidiousness, it’s also surprisingly relaxing. Once you get things settled, it becomes about taking some time to see how things play out. You can “ride” one of your trains along the track, seeing the path it takes. You could zoom in enough to watch even people walk around the city. You can see if your lines are driving the sort of growth you need, such as if nightclubs are being built around city centers or tourist hubs. It’s demanding, sure, but it’s also giving you plenty of time to savor the things you have built. And even with two tutorial and six main scenarios you have, you determine how hard you want it to be. There are three difficulties to help you test yourself.

Just… you have to be careful how you savor it. I’ve noticed zooming in too much can cause the game to chug along, especially if things are really busy. I also don’t think it looks as good as a more classic A-Train game. (Turning off shadows and weather effects can help.) I experienced a crash when going through the second tutorial scenario. I’d also recommend saving often, as even though patches are coming regularly, the experience left me leery. Not to mention, it’s the sort of game where having backups at different points of development can help if you get too far off course. 

A-Train: All Aboard! Tourism is definitely impressive. People have an extraordinary degree of control over all elements of transportation and the entire health of towns. It demands you pay attention, to be sure. There are some technical issues here, to be sure. (Patches were released as I was playing, so it seems Artdink is aware of problems.) People willing to give it a chance could find a simulation they could spend months playing. Though, I would recommend anyone interested sample the demo first to be certain it is something they can handle.

A-Train: All Aboard Tourism is available for the Nintendo Switch.

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The latest A-Train game will head to the Switch worldwide on March 12, 2021, and everyone can try a demo now to see what it’s like. Nintendo took to its North American and European Twitter s to announce the game. It also revealed the official localized name: A-Train: All Aboard! Tourism.

While the focus in A-Train games is always to figure out how to arrange a city’s train, managing the city itself is a factor. You will determine the best ways to make money, including getting involved in the stock market. You’ll work with a Tourism Lead to determine routes to attractions like Ropponmatsu Castle, Suma Shrine, or Oshio Hot Springs. You’ll even customize the trains themselves.

Artdink announced A-Train: All Aboard! Tourism back in February 2020. The Switch version offers an updated, 3D look for the title. It also included new character designs for the people you’ll “work” with in game. For example, the Secretary got a makeover. Yuji Himukai, who designed the characters for Etrian Odyssey, worked on the art for all of the people in this latest installment.

The A-Train: All Aboard! Tourism Switch game will appear in North America, Japan, and Europe on March 12, 2021. The A-Train Switch demo is available now.

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There are Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World remake dates for all regions. The definite release date is for Japan, which will get the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PC game on April 22, 2021. As for the global release, it will show up on all three platforms outside of Japan in Q2 2021. This marks a minor delay for the game. It originally had a Q1 2021 launch window.

As a reminder, the game will be available digitally and physically via Strictly Limited Games. The standard copies will be €39,99 (~$48) for the Switch and PS4. The collector’s edition, with two soundtracks, an art book, and a Pepelogoo squishie stress ball, will be €99.99 (~$121). The €179.99 (~$218) option adds items like a 7” tall Asha and Pepelogoo figure, pin, stamp, magnet, poster, and shikishi.

There’s also a new trailer to go with the updated release information. The video focuses on the Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World remake’s gameplay. Event scenes, exploration elements, and boss fights are all shown off.

Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World will come to the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PC on April 22, 2021 in Japan. Then, it will show up in regions like Australia, Europe, and North America in Q2 2021.

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The curtains have been thrown back in Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World, and it turns out that it’s not a completely new game. Instead, this title is going to be a remake of Monster World IV, which originally launched for Sega's Mega Drive in Japan and saw digital English release through 2012 ports. The game will release on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PC in Q1 2021.

Check out the reveal trailer below:

Key figures from the original team at Westone are behind Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World, along with Artdink and Inin Games. As previously reported, Ryuichi Nishizawa will be acting as its director, Shinichi Sakamoto will handle the audio, and Maki Ozora will design characters. It will also feature full voice acting throughout the adventure.

The trailer shows off how this game remasters some of the game's bosses and scenery, and we also see how gameplay looks with its new 2.5D artstyle. The trailer refers to the game as “fully remastering” the original, which likely means that the gameplay will be very similar to the original.

Asha in Monster World isn't the only remake in the series to have released in recent years. Back in 2017, Wonder Boy and the Dragon's Trap released as a remake of Master System release Wonder Boy III. Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom, meanwhile, was a completely original game made in the style of Wonder Boy III.

Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World releases on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PC in Q1 2021.

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It took a while for the Wonder Boy Universe: Asha in Monster World leak to pay off, but the project connected to it has finally been officially revealed as Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World. As noted in the GDC 2020 Exhibitor List, it is being developed by Artdink and Inin Games, with the full reveal coming during IGN and gamescom 2020’s Awesome Indies Showcase on August 29, 2020. [Thanks, IGN!]

IGN’s initial reveal covered a few details about the project. Ryuichi Nishizawa will be acting as its director. Shinichi Sakamoto will handle the audio, and Maki Ozora will design characters. It will also feature full voice acting throughout the adventure.

As the title suggests, this will be a successor to Monster World IV. Estafan Village’s Asha, who protected Monster World with the help of her  Pepelogoo in the previous game, is being called back into action. It is unknown if the four spirits will also return for this new installment. 

Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World will be revealed during the gamescom 2020 Awesome Indies Showcase at 10am PT/1pm ET/7pm CET on August 29, 2020. gamescom 2020 will be held August 27-30, 2020, with things kicking off with Opening Night Live.

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An odd leak has appeared at the GDC 2020 website. A possible game name has appeared under the Exhibitor listing that is supposed to only list companies and developers. Instead of stating that Studio Artdink, the developer behind games like Neo Atlas 1469 and Accel World VS Sword Art Online: Millennium Dusk would be there, it says ‘'Wonder Boy Universe: Asha in Monster World will be attending and provides the company’s address. [Thanks, Resetera!]

No other information is provided about Wonder Boy Universe: Asha in Monster World. It is not referenced on Studio Artdink’s website. The most recent project it has contributed on that is shown there is Ys IX: Monstrum Nox.

It appears Wonder Boy Universe: Asha in Monster World is referencing Westone and Sega’s Monster World IV. It is a Metroidvania sort of game that originally only appeared on the Sega Genesis in Japan, before eventually being localized and released worldwide first on the Wii Virtual Console, then on other platforms. In it, players follow Asha as she attempts to free the Earth, Moon, Sun, and Wind Spirits with the help of her Lamp Spirit and pet Pepelogoo monster. While it is mainly an action game, Asha eventually gains new abilities that let her reach new areas and acquires extra equipment. 

New Wonder Boy games have proved increasingly common, though Studio Artdink hasn’t been involved with any of them yet. CFK released Wonder Boy Returns, a remake of the original game, for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PC. Lizardcube and Dotemu also put together a remake of Wonder Boy III, called Wonder Boy and the Dragon’s Trap, while Game Atelier and FDG put together the Wonder Boy III-like Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom.

No Wonder Boy Universe: Asha in Monster World announcements will be made. We'll have to wait until GDC 2020, which will be held March 16-20, 2020, for more news.

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A-Train developer Artdink announced that A-Train's Secretary character will receive a new, modernized look for the Nintendo Switch title, which is currently in development. [Thanks, Famitsu!]

The redesigned Secretary character will be illustrated by Yuji Himukai. Here's a look at her newly refreshed style!

[caption id="attachment_824612" align="aligncenter" width="512"] A-Train’s refreshed Secretary![/caption]

Yuji Himukai is a well-known Japanese illustrator and game artist. Himukai's is known for being a character designer on all of the Etrian Odyssey series entries, including the most recent title, Etrian Odyssey Nexus.

Himukai was also a special guest contributor for the 3DS title Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth. Himukai has done various character art for Fire Emblem Heroes: most recently, Himukai illustrated the heroine Mamorin from Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore.

In light of the Secretary’s new look, Artdink has asked that fans send their thoughts, opinions, and ive messages to the inbox of its newly redesigned secretary character who will “forward” any and all messages to Artdink’s development staff. The form is currently active and ready to receive fan messages.

A-Train is in development for the Nintendo Switch in Japan.

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A game in Artdink's A-Train series is in development for the Nintendo Switch, the developer has announced via Twitter.

A-Train is a series of train simulation games that first began in 1985. Ever since, Artdink has developed A-Train games for the Famicom, Mega Drive, PlayStation, Nintendo 3DS, and everything in between. The latest game in the series, A-Train: City Simulator, was released for the 3DS in 2014. In it, you played the CEO of a transportation company, and were tasked with building a transportation system to help turn the city's fortunes around.

A-Train: City Simulator was localized a year later by Natsume, and eventually ported to the PC as A-Train PC Classic (pictured above). More recently, ArtDink also released A-Train Express, a port of A-Train 9 for the PlayStation 4, with VR .

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