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Bandai Namco announced that Furyu’s plush dolls of Kingdom Hearts series characters Sora, Riku, Kairi, Aqua, Terra, and Ventus as are now available as prizes in Japan. This applies to both physical arcades and Namco Online Crane games. As of time of writing, the only store that ships worldwide that seems to be selling them is Aitai Kuji, which is selling them individually for ¥2,800 (~$19) each. 

On the official Bandai Namco sites, the plush Sora, Riku, Kairi, Aqua, Terra, and Ventus are being referred to Kingdom Hearts Mascot groups 2 and 3. The second one features Sora, Riku, and Kairi in in their outfits from the first game. The third shows Aqua, Terra, and Ventus as they appeared in Birth by Sleep.

Here are the two photos Furyu and Bandai Namco released. In each case, the plush toys are about 5 inches (~14cm) tall.

This comes after two major series announcements. The first is that Square Enix canceled Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link. The second involved Kingdom Hearts 4 screenshots showing a playable Mickey Mouse. 

The Kingdom Hearts series characters Sora, Riku, Kairi, Aqua, Terra, and Ventus plush toys are now available in Japanese arcades and online grabbing machines. 

The post Kingdom Hearts Sora, Riku, Kairi, Aqua, Terra, and Ventus Plush Debut appeared first on Siliconera.

Not only did FuRyu and Monarkdeveloper Team Noir fully reveal the new, high school-set JRPG Varlet, but it already has a release date. It will come to the Switch, PS5, and PC on August 28, 2025. We’ve known the team was working on this since October 2024, and the companies promised a reveal earlier in April 2025. 

Varlet explores what happens when reality and virtual reality get entangled. In Kousei Academy, students can constantly access the Johari network. The problem is, students are disappearing into glitches and being replaced in the real world by monsters. It is up to of the Student Services group, which of course our avatar s, to fight back, get to know classmates, and figure out what’s going on. 

Some of the gameplay elements ended up being teased as part of this full reveal. It seems like there will be relationship-building elements like in Persona and The Caligula Effect, since Furyu specifically referred to building bonds and relationships. Another element is Triad Stats that lets you choose Light and Dark traits that get into their personality and influence battle skills. As suggested, Light tends to be more moral and kind, while dark would be a more dangerous and perhaps even villainous option. The official site even has a personality test tied to it.

Here’s the first trailer for the new FuRyu JRPG Varlet.

We also know who the main characters are. First, here's a look at our avatar and both the dark and light versions of their transformed self:

And here are their allies:

And here are the initial screenshots for the game:

Varlet will come to the Switch, PS5, and PC on August 28, 2025.

The post New FuRyu JRPG Varlet Launches in August appeared first on Siliconera.

Back in October 2024, FuRyu announced Team Noir, the folks behind Monark, would be working on a new JRPG. Now a teaser trailer and website revealed it will be unveiled on April 24, 2025. It is unknown if there will be any connections to Monark. 

While the new FuRyu JRPG from the Monark developers might be entirely new and starting an original IP, there are still quite a few details available based on the video and site. Tsukasa Masuko, who worked on soundtracks for old Shin Megami Tensei titles, Sword of Mana and Heroes of Mana, The Caligula Effect, and Monark, is the composer. Likewise, Monark writer Ryutaro Ito, who also worked on Shin Megami Tensei games, is back as a writer. He’s ed by Gakuto Mikumo, who primarily worked on light novels like Strike the Blood. 

We also know that this will involve some sort of high school setting. The initial trailer shows two people on a train. They are wearing the boy and girl versions of a high school uniform. The text on it noted the date more information will appear, and it also said, “ERROR: True self not recognized.”

Here’s how the initial teaser looks:

The new FuRyu JRPG from Monark developers Team Noir is in development and will be revealed on April 24, 2025.

The post FuRyu Monark Developers New JRPG Will Be Revealed Soon appeared first on Siliconera.

A new Beyblade X: Xone game is in development, as a result of the success of the first one. More information on it will come out in the future.

The official Beyblade X: Xone social media posted this news on March 20, 2025. However, since the project was only just greenlit, there’s not a lot of information on it so far. To celebrate this, though, Furyu is holding three separate promotion campaigns. For starters, you can submit the barcode on a physical edition of the game for a chance to win one of three Beyblades. 10 people have the chance of winning a Cobalt Drake 4-60F Clear Version. Meanwhile, a total of 90 people can receive either a DranBrave S6-60V or WizardArc R4-55LO. You must live in Japan to participate, and winners will receive their Beyblades in mid-July 2025.

The second promotion is a sale on the first game. For a limited time, you can buy the digital version of Beyblade X: Xone for 25% cheaper. Finally, the third promotional campaign is a free DLC booster pack for the Dran. This pack includes parts in various colors, and will become a paid DLC after the promotion ends. For Steam, you’ll have until April 4, 2025 to get your pack. Switch players will have until April 21, 2025.

Beyblade X: Xone is an action game that first came out in 2024, and is based on the Beyblade X anime. However, it has an entirely original story, as well as includes original characters. Aside from a single-player story mode, you can also engage in online or local multiplayer mode.

Beyblade X: Xone is available on the Nintendo Switch and Windows PC. A new game is in development.

The post There’ll be a New Beyblade X XONE Game  appeared first on Siliconera.

FuRyu revealed a new figure that will depict the famous NieR Automata character 2B in a Japanese Doll attire. The company has also opened pre-orders for the figure, which will be available in Japan in January 2026, with a price tag of 198,000 yen, or around $1,322.

Part of the reasons for the exorbitant price tag will be the figure's larger scale of 1/4 and an overall height of around 43 cm (~16.93 inches). The attire design for the static figure will also feature exquisite traditional Japanese art patterns.

Here are some of the sample images for the 2B figure:

While the FuRyu Hobby Mall website can only originally ship products domestically inside Japan, people residing outside the country can still place international orders via the Buyee widget. AmiAmi is also available as an alternative web store for non-Japanese residents. However, the latter can only ship the product to countries that EMS, but still excluding Argentina, Uruguay, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman, Spain, Denmark, and Rwanda.

As with most of the recent NieR Automata figures, this one will also be based on the character's appearances in the Ver1.1a anime adaptation rather than the original video game. The more recently revealed new figures include Good Smile Company's A2 figma and FREEing's bunny girl figures of 2B and A2.

Pre-orders for the 1/4 scale Japanese Doll version figure of 2B from the NieR Automata Ver1.1a anime adaptation are available until May 16, 2025. FuRyu will formally release the figure in January 2026.

The post NieR Automata 2B Japanese Doll Figure Costs Over $1,300 appeared first on Siliconera.

Best 3D Turn-based JRPGs on Switch

The Switch is well-known for its excellent selection of JRPGs, and traditionally these feature turn-based combat. However, in recent years, favor has turned to action RPGs and turn-based games have been pushed to the side; even Pokémon’s next game has real-time combat. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t excellent 3D turn-based JRPGs. On the contrary there are many excellent games on the Switch from the genre. Here are our 10 favorite 3D turn-based JRPGs available on Nintendo Switch. 

Atelier Ayesha: The Alchemist of Dusk 1k91f

As we excitedly wait for the next entry in the series, Atelier Yumia, we had to add one of these games to the list. While the more recent entries in the Atelier series are all action combat, the series is best known for its turn-based roots. Most games from the series are available on Switch, but we’ve chosen Atelier Ayesha as the representative for this list, as the beginning of the glorious Dusk Trilogy.

As the name suggests, the series is about people working in ateliers, and there is a strong emphasis on collecting resources out in the world in order to craft items and potions that you can use in battle. This means that the strategic layer to the game is evident both in and out of combat. One of the best things about Atelier Ayesha is that once you’re finished there are plenty of other games in the series to enjoy.

Super Mario RPG 3g286r

Everyone talks about Paper Mario – in particular The Thousand-Year Door – but the game that the series was built from hardly gets mentioned. Super Mario RPG originally launched on the SNES, when very few games were made with 3D graphics. It was a risk in many ways. There was not only the question of whether people would be interested in a turn-based Super Mario game, but the game also went against many long-standing RPG traditions.

Timing is crucial in Super Mario RPG, not only when you attack but when you defend as well. It adds an extra level of strategy to the game, and is something that few RPGs do. Separating it further from other RPGs is just how much damage is dealt and taken. Attacks often deal single-digit numbers, far from other bombastic RPGs that could see people hit for thousands. Super Mario RPG is not only one of the best turn-based JRPGs but the Switch version gives it several modern updates that fans love. The perfect place to start in your Mario RPG journey.

Persona 5 Royal 4er2r

For many people Persona 5 is the pinnacle of the always excellent Persona series, and Persona 5 Royal improves on the already excellent game. Persona 5 returns to the dungeon crawling formula of the original Persona games, with carefully crafted dungeons rather than the seemingly never-ending procedural abysses of the modern Persona series, namely Persona 3 and Persona 4. This is one of the main reasons that Persona 5 has risen above the pack.

Persona 5 tells a beautiful, complex, and exceptionally long story about the power of friendship overcoming the status quo. Royal not only adds a new protagonist, but new social links, and additional scenes giving fans of the game even more to sink their teeth into. It runs flawlessly on the Switch, and its length means that the home to handheld feature of the console makes it the perfect way to play. Become part of the Phantom Thieves, and change society’s hearts.

Pokémon Legends: Arceus 684y6o

All mainline Pokémon games on the Switch are 3D turn-based JRPGs, and most of them are great, but we chose to highlight Pokémon Legends: Arceus as a completely fresh take on Pokémon’s formula. Instead of battling your way through a series of Gym Leaders before reaching the Elite Four and becoming the champion, you will be roaming around semi-open areas, catching Pokémon and studying them for the Pokédex.

Pokémon Legends: Arceus not only changes the focus to catching, but also changes Pokémon’s standard battle system. Battles are still turn-based, but they have an active system with Strong- and Agile-style moves. While the Pokémon and their movesets are the same as other games, what each move does is completely different in Pokémon Legends: Arceus. If you’ve tried out the mainline Pokémon games, and want something a little different, Pokémon Legends: Arceus is the way to go.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses zm5h

Fire Emblem is one of Nintendo’s flagship series, and Three Houses is one of the series’ best. It has all of the turn-based strategic battles that the series is known for, as well as the ability to bond with your teammates to level them up, but as the name suggests, Three Houses has three different paths you can follow, adding to its replayability.

Fire Emblem is well known for its brutal permadeath system, where if your characters die in battle, they die in real life too. However, Three Houses included a Casual Mode where nobody can be gone for good. You can still have the traditional experience, but if like many people the permadeath turned you off from the series, this is the perfect entry point.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak 6n3o49

The Legend of Heroes series is one of the longest running, beginning in the ‘80s, and many of them are available on the Switch. We have chosen Trails Through Daybreak to represent the series in this list, not just because it is one of the best, but because it is a great place to start as it begins a separate arc. Interestingly, Trails Through Daybreak is the only game on this list, which allows the player to choose between real-time combat similar to Nihon Falcom’s other major JRPG series Ys, or the turn-based combat the series is known for.

The series is known for its excellent characters and strategic combat, and Trails Through Daybreak exemplifies both of these. If you haven’t played the series before, you won’t understand every reference, but the developers have tried to make it one of the most accessible in the series in of the story and combat. It won’t take 30 years of video game knowledge to understand how good the intricate and complex writing is.

Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VIII Remastered 73386u

If you’re reading this list, you probably don’t need to be told how good Final Fantasy VII or even Final Fantasy VIII are. We’ll be holding our breaths a long time if we’re hoping for the excellent Final Fantasy VII Remake to come to Switch, but this console is one of the best places you can experience the original FF7. It can be purchased in a double pack with FF8, which is the game long-time fans of the series often point to as the best.

Both games have very different turn-based systems, which can create devastating synergies in different ways. FF7’s combat system is easier to use and more difficult to master. Creating devastating combinations requires good knowledge of Materia, Enemy Skills, and equipment that can link them in a way that stack. Conversely, FF8 is based on the Junction system, one that is difficult to grasp, but once you do, building up major damage is much simpler. Both can be purchased together at such a low cost, that it’s worth trying them out.

Monark 2x5x3m

Monark received middling reviews when it was released, and that’s because people found the battles too difficult. However, the battles are actually one of Monark’s greatest strengths, and where it fails is in explaining its systems properly. Once you understand how it works, and how your characters best synergize, it is one of the most satisfying turn-based strategy systems out there. The protagonist of Monark can Resonate with the other party sharing buffs across all characters, leading to extremely devastating damage.

Similar to the Persona series, Monark focuses on the character’s personal stories. Each character is based on one of the seven deadly sins, and each has a dark past. Despite this, they all band together to take on the forces that are keeping the students trapped in school and sucking the life out of them. Created by former Shin Megami Tensei developers, this one is perfect for those who enjoy diving deeply into combat systems.

Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch 6m6kd

Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is what happens when legendary anime maker Studio Ghibli teams up with the studio that created the epic turn-based JRPG Jeanne D’arc. Both Wrath of the White Witch and Revenant Kingdom are available on Switch, but we picked the first in the series as the best place to start. Ni No Kuni has an interesting battle system unlike the others on this list, it’s not just because it mixes turn-based and action combat.

Ni No Kuni’s combat features beastly familiars, and magical characters; think about it like if Pokémon let the trainers in the scrap. If you like the taming and training aspect of beastly battlers then this is another one you should try. Above all Ni No Kuni overwhelms players with its charm, and is a must play turn-based title.

The Caligula Effect: Overdose 6o6q1k

Written by Tadashi Satomi, best known for working on the original Persona series, The Caligula Effect: Overdose follows a group of people who have realized that they are living in the Matrix. Despite knowing that the world they inhabit is fake, there is no way to escape. First, they must take down the Ostinato Musicians, a group of people who want to keep the idyllic world alive.

Overdose adds a lot to the story beyond the original The Caligula Effect, including new party and chapters that you can play from the point of view of the Musicians. You grow closer to your teammates, and learn more about their lives both inside and outside of the world you can currently see. The Caligula Effect: Overdose has an active turn-based system where timing and sequencing play a major role in your success or failure. It can be difficult, but once you master it, it’s very satisfying.

Let us know what your favorite turn-based JRPGs on the Nintendo Switch are in the comments below!

The post Best 3D Turn-based JRPGs on Switch appeared first on Siliconera.

Furyu announced that its Bloomit purikura machines will, for a limited time, have Sanrio collaboration frames. You’ll be able to take pictures and decorate them with mascots like Hello Kitty between February 17 and May 11, 2025.

The theme of this collaboration focuses on kogal culture (think characters like Momo from Dandadan) from the Heisei era (1989 to 2019). Frames you can choose during the Sanrio and Bloomit collaboration look like a student ID card to match with this theme. While you can’t really use this as an actual student ID, you can use it to commemorate your high school or middle school years. Of course, you don’t have to be in middle or high school to take these pictures with a friend.

Though the frames will remain the same throughout the campaign, the stickers you can choose will change depending on what month it is. Between February 17 and March 31, the stickers will look like the mascots are at a graduation ceremony, or like they’re changing classes. Then, between April 1 and May 11, it’ll look like they’re at an opening ceremony or they’re moving to the next grade. The collaboration only features three mascots: Hello Kitty, My Melody, and Kuromi.

The Bloomit purikura machines will have the Sanrio frames and stickers between February 17 and May 11, 2025.

The post Bloomit Purikura Photo Booths Feature Sanrio Mascots appeared first on Siliconera.

FuRyu has revealed a new lineup of Kirby merchandise, titled Kirby Diary Obento. These items will appear as crane game prizes in Japanese amusement centers in late December 2024.

The collection will primarily consist of three item types. The first one will be a large plush of Kirby with a chef hat and a partially eaten onigiri. The second will be a sub-collection of mascot plushes featuring the likes of Kirby and Waddle Dee inside meal boxes. While there have also been more food-themed collaborations like Monaka cakes and Heinz ketchup pouches revealed in late 2024, neither the mascots nor the meal boxes in this lineup will be actually usable or edible, as all of them are being made with fluffy materials.

The third and last item type in the lineup will be stainless drink bottles that people can actually use to store water. There will be two variations of the bottles, with each of them featuring Kirby and Waddle Dee separately. The bottles will have an approximate size of around 17 cm (~6.69 inches).

The Kirby Diary Obento lineup will have its own separate category from FuRyu's prior Kirby-themed crane game prizes. The company has been gradually releasing merchandise based on Nintendo and HAL Laboratory's game franchise since August 2024.

The Kirby Diary Obento items will be available as prizes from crane games in amusement centers across Japan starting from the fourth week of December 2024.

The post Kirby Diary Obento Crane Game Merchandise Lineup Revealed appeared first on Siliconera.

It's hard to believe that the Beyblade franchise is over twenty years old. However, the concept of two spinning tops duking it out with one another has been ubiquitously ingrained in cultures for generations. It even can be traced back to the Edo Period with the game Beigoma. (You know, that mini-game in Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes.) There have also been a plethora of Beyblade video games, which do not have the best track record. They tend to fall into the trap of offering repetitive gameplay. Beyblade X: Xone is probably my favorite Beyblade game to date, and it has a ton of irable qualities. But it still features the same drawbacks of its predecessors, which won't persuade casual fans to give it a go.

Beyblade X: Xone is the first Beyblade title to reach Western audiences since Beyblade: Evolution, which released over a decade ago. The game's premise is set around Beyblade X, the franchise's fourth generation. You don't necessarily need to watch Beyblade X to understand Beyblade X: Xone, as the storyline is primarily focused on new characters. However, the game does feature characters such as Multi-Nana-Iro, Jian Strong, and the protagonist Robin, so there are plenty of easter eggs if you are up-to-date with the franchise.

The entire narrative feels true to the show's spirit and has some upbeat and comedic moments, which any avid fan will find enduring. All these moments unfold with some wonderful visual novel cutscenes, very similar to Digimon Survive. You take control of a brand new character called Sheer, who is entering a Beyblade competition using the Knife Shinobi 4-60LF they inherited from their father. To win this competition, Sheer will have to earn points by beating Bladers and climb to the highest floor of The X Tower. Sheer quickly gets noticed by fellow competitors for their raw talent and the rare Beyblade they use, which results in them forging some unlikely friendships.

The protagonist's default name is Sheer, but you can change this at any time. When I initially started playing Beyblade X: Xone, there was a character limit of four to five words, but a patch the other day has completely solved this issue. You can also change the gender of your character to male or female. I wish there were more customization options for your character, like different hairstyles or clothes, as this would have helped personalize them.

You're quickly thrown into spinning tops with a basic tutorial on participating in Beyblade matches. Sadly, the English translation for this tutorial is not the best, which makes the first few battles confusing. It might take a while to get the gist of the fundamentals because of this, but when it clicks it can be fun. Your goal is to ensure your Beyblade outlasts the opponent, but how you beat the enemy's tops will determine the points you will be rewarded. Whoever earns the predetermined number of points first will be crowned the winner. This adds a strategic element to each fight, as you could win a match in one round if you knock out the foe's Beyblade in the right way. When you first start the battle, you will be in the launch phase, propelling the top into the stadium. Where you launch it in the arena will determine its movement.

When the Beyblades are launched into the stadium, they will move automatically. If they collide with one another, they will take damage. Each Beyblade has the equivalent of two health bars: the spin gauge and the burst gauge. The spin gauge represents how long the Beyblade can stay spinning, and this bar depletes over time. The other health bar, the burst gauge, indicates how many hits the Beyblade can endure before it breaks into different pieces. One point will be rewarded if the Beyblade stops spinning, and two points will be awarded if it bursts.

You can perform attacks and counterattack moves by consuming bars in your active gauge, which, if implemented correctly, can cause a healthy amount of damage to the opposing side. However, the most exciting aspect of a battle is the X Phase. If a Beyblade collides enough times with a rival, the X gauge will become full and will trigger the X Phase. This is basically an elaborate rock, paper, scissors mini-game. If you win, you will inflict a ton of damage to the opponent. Knocking out the enemy during the X Phase will give you a staggering three points, which can sometimes be enough to win a 1v1 Beyblade match. A small cutscene will also transpire as a result. Graphics-wise, these segments are rather solid and somehow make the battles feel far more intense than they actually are. The cutscene will also change depending on what move or Beyblade you're using, which makes these moments more intersting.

The Beyblade battles feel so high-paced that it's hard not to find them entertaining. Even if you blink for a second, the whole course of the match can change. Every battle also has a rock soundtrack, which some may find a bit obnoxious as it leans on the heavier side, but it adds to the octane, exhilarating tone they're trying to achieve. The soundtrack is good, but nothing compares to the Beyblade X opening from L'arc~en~Ciel. I guess anything other than that would have always been interpreted as a downgrade. My only minor critique of the battling system was when I was near the end of the game, some of the matches became a little repetitive because no new gameplay mechanics were introduced. But for the majority of my time, I found them engaging, and the battling system ticked all the boxes for what I wanted from a Beyblade experience.

You can freely move around The X Tower when you're not partaking in battles. This lets you talk to other characters, customize your Beyblades, or head to a shop to spend money you have earned from winning battles. There are three types of Beyblades: attack, defence and balance, which all have different benefits in a match. I gravitated towards offensive beyblade setups, but I often bought different Beyblades in the shop and experimented, as they are relatively cheap to buy. No matter your preference, you will find a playstyle tailored to you, as many options are available.

You can also take on exhibition battles by heading to the world map. These fights will give you points you can spend on a Beyblade to make them more powerful. But when you head to one of these locations, it will activate a cutscene and take you to a battle. So, if you were expecting an experience like Shadowverse: Champions Battle, where you freely walk around environments, then you will be disappointed. The only place you can roam is The X Tower, which is incredibly linear. Call me greedy, but I would have liked to travel around the small locations on the world map, like the Sushi Bar or the Beyblade Gym. This could have been an easy way to make the game feel bigger.

There is also an online mode with three options: casual, ranked and custom. You can pick three Beyblades you currently have on your save file and then bring them to an online game. I could only find matches in ranked mode, but they were pretty decent. That said, if you encounter an overpowered player, they will demolish you within seconds, which is not so fun. If you intend to play Beyblade X: Xone with a friend online, using more basic Beyblades for the fights might be a good idea. I ran into no lag or connectivity problems in any of my matches online.  

Beyblade video games have a reputation for not being too great. Although there are blemishes in the gameplay and the environmental spaces, which could have been improved, I think this is the best Beyblade game out there. But by no means is this game stellar, either. Ultimately, you will find redeemable characteristics to Beyblade X: Xone if you keep up-to-date with the franchise or have nostalgic memories of earlier generations.

Beyblade: X Xone is now available on the Switch and PC.

The post Review: Beyblade X: Xone Isn’t Revolutionary appeared first on Siliconera.

FuRyu has released Beyblade X: XONE on Switch and PC. The top versus game is now available worldwide in Japanese and English. Multiplayer matches for this game are only available via online or local Switch connections, as the offline modes are exclusively single-player.

A majority of characters appearing in this game will come from Beyblade X, which had its manga and anime adaptations launched in 2023. However, it lets the player enter the series' universe with an original avatar. They will be able to play in matches against the anime characters in the main offline mode.

FuRyu is also gradually releasing more Beys as paid DLC. The first Digital Beybooster pack appeared on the game's launch day with the Rudder Phoenix 9-70G, Crest Leon 7-60GN, and Tide Whale 5-80E. The company also plans to put up two more DLC packs in the near future.

As a side note, the game's Asian English website noted that the Switch version is available via the Hong Kong eShop. But even though Chinese is the main language for the territory's eShop, it only contains the English version of the game. This is partly caused by the lack of an eShop dedicated to Southeast Asian countries, even though Nintendo has opened official webpages in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines in the early 2020s.

Beyblade X: XONE is available worldwide on Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam.

The post Beyblade X: XONE Appears Worldwide on Switch and PC appeared first on Siliconera.

Furyu announced via social media the release of a new Hatsune Miku figure in its FNEX line dubbed the Japanese Bunny. It will be a 1/7 scale figure. This figure features the Vocaloid character in a kimono-inspired bunny outfit, marking the third installment in Furyu's Japanese Bunny series.

The product page for the figure is now live, allowing fans to favorite the figure ahead of its release. It is not available to order yet. Likewise, we don't know its price or release date. However Furyu Hobby Mall does offer worldwide shipping, so it can be ordered no matter where you live.

View the official figure announcement post below:

Those interested in the Hatsune Miku Japanese Bunny figure should note that this item is made to order. As such, the final product may differ slightly from the initial photos. Cancellations or exchanges for convenience are not permitted. Delivery dates may vary based on order quantities, and sales may end early if limits are reached. 

This isn't the only Hatsune Miku variant to appear in the last few weeks. The official website for Snow Miku 2025 has launched, unveiling the main visual for the character. This year, that is created by illustrator tokki_517. The main event for Snow Miku 2025 is set to take place in Hokkaido, and a Snow Miku-themed train featuring the new character designs will operate in Sapporo.

The product page for the Hatsune Miku Japanese Bunny figure is in development, with pre-orders opening soon.

The post Furyu Hatsune Miku Figure Dresses Her as a Bunny in a Kimono  appeared first on Siliconera.

Furyu's Team Noir, the developer behind Monark, announced it is working on a new game project. The announcement coincided with the third anniversary of Monark’s release and was accompanied by a commemorative illustration by artist Ohajiki celebrating the milestone. [Thanks, Famitsu!]

While details are still limited, the team shared that this project will focus on themes different from those explored in Monark. We also don't know anything about possible platforms for the new Furyu and Team Noir game.

You can view the official social media post with the Monark anniversary illustration below:

The third-anniversary celebration includes two campaigns on the official Monark developers social media . Those in Japan who are interested can participate by using the hashtag #Happy3rdAnniversaryMonark or reposting the campaign post for a chance to win autographed cards from 16 of Monark's voice actors.

This follows the recent release of Furyu's latest RPG Reynatis, which launched globally via NIS America. The game follows the story of a wizard named Marin who finds themselves in modern-day Shibuya, navigating the decision to use magical powers or blend in as an ordinary person. Additionally, extra DLC has been released to add to the story after launch.

Furyu and Team Noir's new game is in development, though details about the project are slim at the moment.

The post Furyu Monark Developers Working on New Game appeared first on Siliconera.

Furyu has opened up pre-orders for 1/4 scale figures of Japanese dolls of Madoka and Homura from Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie: Rebellion. These dolls depict them wearing Japanese kimono, looking like they’re ready for the New Year’s or some other important festival.

You can get either one on their own, or a collection of both. Buying both of them at once will also net you an acrylic case to display them in. Each doll costs 198,000 JPY ($1348.10) or you can buy both for 396,000 JPY ($2696.20). These are pretty pricey, but these are completely made to order and as they’re 1/4 scales, they’re quite big. Pre-orders are open until December 9, 2024 and they’ll come out some time in December 2025. Shipment will start in December 2025. Furyu offers international shipping, so overseas customers can also purchase these dolls.

Doll artist Ayumi Uyama designed the costumes. The kimono aren’t exactly traditional, and combines some Western styles and sensibilities into them. This seems to be a reference to their magical girl outfits. Non-traditional elements include the lace at the collar and hem. While Madoka is holding a temari ball in her hand, Homura is holding a bag. The bag’s design makes it look as if she’s carting around Kyubey’s decapitated head.

The Madoka and Homura Japanese dolls are available for pre-order via Furyu and will come out in December 2025.

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I was unsure what to make of Reynatis for the first few hours. It throws a lot of interesting mechanics at you but simultaneously adopts a linear pacing and environmental structure that you would expect to see in the PlayStation 2 era. When I reached the halfway point, I became invested in Reynatis and started really enjoying my time with the game. However, it undoubtedly has flaws and some notable graphical issues on the Switch, which will be a dealbreaker for some players.

Kazushige Nojima, who has been involved in Kingdom Hearts and the Final Fantasy franchise, is the scenario writer for Reynatis. And oh boy, it shows as the story here is stellar. While playing, I couldn't help but think that Reynatis must have gotten inspiration from the cancelled Final Fantasy Versus XIII game (which Kazushige Nojima was the scenario writer for) because there are some uncanny parallels here, which we will get into later.  

Reynatis is set in a world where magic is outlawed, and its use is strictly prohibited. Wizards conceal their powers from the public, and a night-time curfew is enforced to maintain law and order in Shibuya. There is also an illegal drug circulating called rubrum, and anyone who consumes it will eventually turn into a hideous monster.

In some weird ways, the plot feels like a bizarre amalgamation of Kingdom Hearts meets Tokyo Ghoul. That statement might be polarizing to some people, but these two themes strangely work together. On the one hand, you have overpowered warriors wielding magical weapons, venturing through portals to alternative dimensions. The other explores dark supernatural themes, as the urban city is troubled by gruesome half-human creatures, with ideals and philosophies constantly being challenged.

For the first half of the game, the story bounces back and forth between two characters, Marin and Sari, who have contrasting ideological beliefs regarding how magic should be treated and conducted. The story-pacing is a bit rigid, mainly because it frequently changes between both protagonists. One time, I played as one of the characters for less than 25 minutes before it jumped back into the other character's perspective. I really wished it stayed with one character longer. But as you might expect, their paths eventually intertwine, and they up as one big team, and that's when the game starts to flourish.

For wizards to conceal their identity, they enter a suppressed form, which, for some reason, means putting some hat or hood over their heads. If you are in this form, citizens of Shibuya will assume you're a member of the general public and will ignore you while you walk around. However, you can also enter a liberated form, which shows your true magical prowess in full swing. If citizens see you, you will start trending on social media, and if you reach the number one spot, the M.E.A. officers will hunt you down unless you go to a safe spot to lower the attention drawn to you. Think of it like the GTA wanted system.

Not only that, but the pressure of trending on social media will put stress on you, giving buffs and debuffs when you're in combat. To begin with, this stress system might seem like a big balancing act, and to an extent, it is, but its purpose is to give players options on how they want to play. You can play it safe by keeping your stress low and having many defence perks, or you can amp up the stress levels to strengthen your attacks but be more vulnerable to offensive blows. 

Reynatis, on surface value, seems to harbor a standard hack-and-slash combat system, like Kingdom Hearts, but it adopts a unique mechanic that spices up the fighting and revolves around constantly changing and adapting your playstyle. You can only unleash attacks when you're liberated, but being in this form will slowly deplete your MP. In contrast, if you're in a suppressed state, MP will slowly replenish, but this is the only time you can dodge attacks, which builds up your MP bar at a substantial rate. Essentially, the liberated state is offensive, whereas the suppressed state is defensive. It's an exciting system to play, but it will take a few hours before you start switching between states seamlessly.

At the end of the skirmish, you are ranked out of five stars, which will determine the number of experience points you will get from that fight, which is based on various factors like how many times you changed characters, the amount MP absorbed and performing certain moves. This encourages you to change the way you're fighting constantly. It's rather fun to try and aim to get higher star ratings, and the combat difficulty never gets too crazy that you feel like these aspects hinder you.

Now, the people who never got over the cancellation of Final Fantasy Versus XIII will notice that the combat system in Reynatis appears to have a lot of similarities. The main striking one is the main character. Marin's final menace attack is an animation of swords floating in the sky before they all fly towards the enemy, similar to Noctis in the Final Fantasy Versus XIII trailer. There was also a big emphasis on dodging incoming attacks back in the trailer, which is present in Reynatis. The atmosphere of the fights feels very alike, and I find it hard to believe that Reynatis didn't get some inspiration from Final Fantasy Versus XIII.

Although this is not the only game which has clearly inspired Reynatis, as when you reach just over halfway through the game, you will come across a cross-over-event with The World Ends with You, where you will bump into Rindo and Shoka in an alternative Shibuya. Without giving too much away, this side mission diversion is super enjoyable, and any fan of the franchise will get giddy from seeing this inclusion. It even has a boss fight featured in NEO: The World Ends with You.  

The environmental structure in Reynatis is worth highlighting. Let's start with the positives. Shibuya is phenomenal and perfectly captures the nightlife of the hustling urban streets of Japan. But the way the streets are designed is small and incredibly cramped. At first, I thought this might have been intentional in capturing Shibuya's real-life mood. However, at specific points in the game, you travel to different dimensions, which act as dungeons, but their paths are even narrower, and to make matters worse, the environmental backdrops are mediocre at best. All these flaws create an experience that mimics what you would find in a PlayStation 2 RPG, which some are bound to adore and others will loathe. For the most part, I liked many of these aspects, but I wish the areas you transported to had more life to them.

The aesthetics are another aspect that might be hit or miss for people. The entire attitude and atmosphere embodies an edgy persona from start to finish. This is to match the gritty and sombre tone of the plot, which it succeeds at. Some of the outfits are highly detailed and really give off futuristic urban street vibes. But the characters would look unpolished in cutscenes and in-game. I also observed what I believe may be a model issue with the character called Moa. Her hair would shake during cutscenes, which would be a bit off-putting.

I've been playing Reynatis on the Switch, so I can't comment on other systems, but there are a few issues. Firstly, the game crashed on me a few times, which was annoying, but luckily, there is an auto-save system, so I never lost too much progress. The main issue was the camera angle, which in some of the cramped environments is just pure bad. If I were playing in handheld mode on the Switch, this would be even worse, and sometimes I wouldn't even be able to see the character performing their move, so I always stayed playing on the dock. To its merit, the loading times were excellent and faster than I expected on the Switch.

Reynatis is the pineapple on pizza of RPG's this year. Some will love that Reynatis tries to implement various concepts while attempting to keep the magic that made some of the classic titles on the PlayStation 2 so renowned. Others will feel this type of RPG is a massive step backwards for the genre. Personally, I liked Reynatis, but the performance issues held back the experience for me.

Reynatis will come to the PS4, PS5, Switch, and PC in North America and Europe on September 27, 2024, and then in Australia on October 4, 2024.

The post Review: Reynatis Unapologetically Feels like a PS2 Game appeared first on Siliconera.

NIS America and Furyu’s next big game is going to be Reynatis, a JRPG with a story from Scenario Writer Kazushige Nojima. While Nojima’s work on entries in the Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts involved fantasy worlds and fictional locales, this one brings us into the heart of Shibuya. To better understand what that involved, Siliconera had the chance to ask a few questions about the game’s development.

Jenni Lada: What led to you working on Reynatis? 

Kazushige Nojima: My encounter with Creative Producer TAKUMI’s enthusiasm is what started things.

What was your biggest influence when writing the story?

Nojima: The town of Shibuya itself. It’s a place I’m familiar with, so I walked around it thinking about what kinds of things could happen in which places.

What kinds of efforts did you take to balance realism and magic and the supernatural in the story?

Nojima: Aside from the magic, wizards, magic organizations, and the other world that exists because of magic and monsters, I made sure to keep everything else grounded.

After launch, Reynatis is getting additional story episodes. What did the development and creation of those look like?

Nojima: I think FURYU Corporation is very generous. During development, we tried to make sure that no one would think, “Couldn’t this have been in the main game?”

Given these are post-launch story episodes, what sorts of opportunities came when deciding what they’d cover and address?

Nojima: Events that happened before and after the main game. I wanted to make sure all the side story-type content went into the main game.

Do you feel like you accomplished all you wanted to with Reynatis, or do you feel like there’s opportunity for more to be explored in a possible sequel?

Nojima: It’s always difficult to tell a linear story in a game with an open map structure. I encountered this issue with Reynatis, but I don’t think I quite solved it. I’d love to take another crack at it.

Also, we weren’t able to put in episodes for the individual characters, so if there were the opportunity to do that [it would be great].

Reynatis will come to the PS4, PS5, Switch, and PC in North America and Europe on September 27, 2024, and then in Australia on October 4, 2024. 

The post Interview: Kazushige Nojima Talks About Reynatis’ Story and Influences appeared first on Siliconera.