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On February 3, 2025 Marvelous Games announced it will have a new President and CEO. Executive Director, Shinichi Terui has now been promoted to President and CEO of Marvelous Games. Former CEO Suminobu Sato will step down from his position officially on March 31, 2025.

As of April 1, 2025 Shinichi Terui will assume the role of President and CEO. The reason for Sato stepping down is due to the poor performance of Marvelous Games. Two executives within Marvelous Games have volunteered to receive a 10% pay cut through the months of February and March 2025.

In August 2024, Marvelous and XSEED announced publishing duties between both companies would be split. An image was released detailing which company would be handling the publishing of individual titles such as Corpse Party, Ys, and Western titles such as Potionomics.

Marvelous Games currently publishes the Story of Seasons and Rune Factory series. A new Rune Factory game is on the horizon, which will feature a sizable amount of marriage candidates. Additionally, it will receive a Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin DLC. Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin was one of Marvelous Games' standout titles the year it released, selling upwards of a million copies in 2021.

The post Marvelous Games Has a New President and CEO appeared first on Siliconera.

During the Marvelous Game Showcase 2024, the new Story of Seasons game was revealed to offer a glider as a new means of getting around the world. This ended up being our first look at the title since its 2023 tease during the company’s last showcase, and it highlighted looks at familiar farm animals and crops.

Back when this new Story of Seasons game was announced, Marvelous noted it would be an entry “you can play with everyone.” Multiplayer was designed to be a goal. This was affirmed again in the latest showcase. So was the ability to use a glider to explore areas, which we got to see in the new video. New types of weather, which will be more realistic, will appear. So will pets like dogs and cats.

You can get a look at the latest footage in the video below. Aside from the Story of Seasons glider reveal, looks at classic animals, and view of crops and the new locations, no updated information or title appeared.

The last Story of Seasons game to appear worldwide was Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life. It was a remake of the GameCube entry. 

The new Story of Seasons game is in development.

The post New Story of Seasons Game Features a Glider  appeared first on Siliconera.

Marvelous and XSEED Games announced the Marvelous Game Showcase 2024 will appear on May 30, 2024 at 3pm PT/6pm ET/10pm UTC. It will be about a 30 minute presentation that covers games from the company.

There are no hints as to which games could appear in the Marvelous Game Showcase 2024. The announcement only mentioned updates and titles that would appear in Japan and worldwide. However, during the 2023 installment seven games appeared. One was Fashion Dreamer, which already released. Many of the others only appeared as vague announcement with few details about titles, gameplay, and release windows.

Here are the 2023 games that could return in the 2024 showcase with more details:

• Daemon x Machina: Titanic Scion
• New Story of Seasons entry
• Project Life is RPG
• Project Magia
• Rune Factory 6
• Rune Factory Project Dragon

There are no hints yet about the other new game announcements that could appear at the event.

The YouTube placeholder is already live, for those of us who may want to sign up for notifications, so here's where people can see the titles from the company and XSEED Games.

The Marvelous Game Showcase presentation will happen at 3pm PT/6pm ET/10pm UTC on May 30, 2024. 

The post Marvelous Game Showcase 2024 Spends 30 Minutes on Games appeared first on Siliconera.

Dungeon Meshi meets Rune Factory with Cuisineer, which is a cross between a roguelite dungeon crawler and restaurant manager simulation. With a fun and simple gameplay loop, as well as charming visuals, Cuisineer is a relaxing and casual treat.

In Cuisineer, you play as Pom, an adventurer, whose parents have gone on a trip around the world and left the family restaurant for her to look after. Unfortunately, they took on a massive debt in order to go on said trip. In an even more unfortunate turn of events, Pom is the one who has to pay it off or the restaurant will get repossessed.

Despite that threat, the tax person is very lax. It’s kind of like owing Tom Nook a debt, except there are absolutely no restrictions on what you can do. You can choose to spend your day going into a dungeon of your choice to find ingredients (kill monsters) or find construction and upgrade materials. It’s a roguelite, so the dungeons are randomly generated every time, though they’re not too difficult to navigate. If you don’t want to go to the dungeon, or if you have enough materials and ingredients, you can work in the restaurant. Managing it is fairly easy, and it reminds me of a cooking game I used to play on Facebook. That is to say, you’re mostly just pressing a button and waiting for it to cook.

This gameplay loop of Cuisineer is very fun. You usually need to do your other job right around when you start to get bored of your first one. For example, because of how slow the restaurant part is, I looked forward to exploring the dungeons the next day. However, because of how frustrating the dungeons can be, I’d want to relax a bit in the restaurant portion. Neither the dungeon crawling nor the cooking are incredibly deep in of mechanics or system. However, it’s effective precisely due to how simple the execution is. It never really felt like either part was particularly lacking, and the game integrated the two aspects in a very smooth way.

There are also lots of side quests to help stave off boredom from the above loop. Rewards come in the form of more recipes to cook in the restaurant. In my opinion, since you’re mostly just pressing a button rather than performing a Cooking Mama-like minigame when cooking, I think there could be more character-focused rewards. Some characters are really interesting, but you don’t really get to know them beyond the surface level. An intimacy or friendship system of some kind might have made the town feel more alive.

As I mentioned earlier, the dungeons can be frustrating. This is par for the course for this genre, of course. Pom doesn’t have a lot of weapons that can quickly attack in a broad range. This is normally not an issue, because you can dodge or avoid most attacks. But the enemies in the dungeon have a really annoying habit of jumping you as a mob, with some out of frame and shooting you with projectiles when you’re trying to disengage from the horde. The entire game feels very casual, like it’s something to play when you just want to unwind after a long day. So how irritating the roguelite portion can feel at times with enemy behavior stands out.

Cuisineer is fun and I genuinely enjoyed my time playing it. However, it constantly reminded me of a game that you'd play on Facebook back during the mid-2000s, or something like Mabinogi. There's no life to the town with how little you get to know everyone. Though I personally had fun with it, I enjoyed it as a de-stressing kind of game precisely because I hardly had to think while playing it. There were no consequences whatsoever to anything, so there was no need to worry about my debt or dying. Therefore, its simplicity and lack of deeper content may make Cuisineer a little dull for another's palate.

Cuisineer is available on Windows PCs.

The post Review: Cuisineer Might Not Be Everyone’s Cup of Tea appeared first on Siliconera.

Marvelous and XSEED Games released the opening movie for Silent Hope, which shows off its main characters. This is the new JRPG set in the Rune Factory universe. It features the theme song, which is performed by Kami wa Saikoro wo Furanai. However, the title of the track wasn’t revealed.

Here is the opening movie. It highlights the nature of the title. When we head into Silent Hope, we will have access to seven different characters. Each one uses a different weapon in the dungeon and can work at a different station outside of it. So one character can work at the Atelier to create items like adamantite, bronze, crystal, platinum, and silver for crafting. Another character may be able to use a sword and shield while in the dungeon, and then equip a Greater Flamestone Magistone to increase their attack speed, odds of burning an enemy, and critical rate.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8ijhd_CggM&ab_channel=XSEEDgames

As for Kami wa Saikoro wo Furanai, the group may sound familiar. The band is behind the World Trigger opening theme “Time Factor.”

Silent Hope will come to the Nintendo Switch and PC on October 3, 2023. There will be a Day 1 collector’s edition, which will be available while supplies last. In Japan, the game will be known as Frederica.

The post Silent Hope Opening Movie Focuses on Its Characters appeared first on Siliconera.

Maintaining a proper work-life balance is incredibly difficult. This can even happen in games, with titles like Persona forcing you to determine which relationships or stats to prioritize, ones like Princess Maker showing a delicate balance between actions improving one stat while lowering another, or farming sims sometimes forcing you to think only about the most profitable choices. Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life is weird in that it’s more of a champion of taking a moment and appreciating the world around you. It forsakes some elements of the series to tell a tale more focused on you and your loved ones, giving you plenty of time to manage interactions with people and tending to a farm.

Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life begins as many installments in the series does. You’re a young adult looking to start a new life following your dad’s death. As such, you move to Forgotten Valley to run a farm with his best friend Takakura. From there, you live your life. However, while in past games this means being caught in what is mostly a static snapshot focused on a specific window of your life, the “A Wonderful Life” subtitle refers to the fact that this does become the story of your life. It’s about you, the people you come to see as important to you, and the family you build. As such, things are also broken up to a chapter structure, covering different periods of the life of you and your family.

[caption id="attachment_968723" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Screenshot by Siliconera[/caption]

This means that Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life doesn’t behave as a typical Bokujou Monogatari installment. You start with a cow, two plots of land suitable for farming, and go through four seasons that each last ten days. Yes, the pace is quite sped up. However, it still feels rather full. You need to water crops twice a day, rather than once. Likewise, animals need to be tended and fed twice a day, which can result in getting say milk twice per day. Since the shipping works differently, you can open a small stall in-town at a plaza portion when Van isn’t there to sell the wares Takakura can’t take to town to sell for you via the shipping box.

Likewise, since Forgotten Valley is so small, there’s no ranch or general store. You can buy seeds from Vesta’s farm or get a meal at Gavin’s cafe, but everything else needs to be ordered through Takakura’s notebook or Van when he’s in town. (There’s also more of a focus on experimenting with plants, with the ability to fuse produce or trees to get an entirely new kind of hybrid crop.) Upgrading facilities or getting new ones doesn’t involve gathering stone or lumber. It means paying a fee and then enjoying your new pond or larger area.

[caption id="attachment_968724" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Screenshot by Siliconera[/caption]

It also means this is a game with more free time. Between tending farm in the morning and later in the afternoon or evening, you can do what you want. It’s a very small village, so it’s easy to find someone wandering around. This also means it can be rather easy to trigger events with characters, provided you started building up relationships. Setting up a stall in town is a good way to some time. You can also buy a fishing pole or dig at the ruins for artifacts. There is even an option to just… leave town for six hours. There’s a lot of time, and I did always feel like there was something to do.

What I also appreciated about Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life this time around is how much Marvelous did to make it more pleasant to play. There are so many quality of life changes here, and it really puts the past Special Edition to shame. This starts when you begin the game and can completely customize your character’s appearance, down to their face, preferred pronouns, and outfit.

[caption id="attachment_968725" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Screenshot by Siliconera[/caption]

When tending crops in the field, it feels effortless to perform actions like tilling soil, planting, watering, and harvesting, with it being possible to water over a larger space. The UI is also fantastic, making it easy to go through your tools on hand and the items in your backpack. The goat isn’t as useless, and you can breed them. You don’t have to waste time waiting for Van to arrive or setting up a stall for selling, as you can ship what is likely your most plentiful products (produce and animal products) from the shipping box. If you do sell to Van, you can sell eight items at once, which is a timesaver. It even feels easier to get around, given there is an extra area to cross over the river so you aren’t running back and forth to the one bridge between your farm and Vesta’s. Not to mention the romance elements do open up to include same-sex relationships. It’s also very transparent about your own abilities. You have a stamina gauge on-screen at all times to show how you’re doing, with a hunger indicator popping up when you need to restore fullness. (All of this also appears in your stat screen.) Character relationships are also very clearly shown in the menu, letting you keep track of things.

But really, the selling point is the connections. I feel so grounded when I play Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life. Yes, I want to earn more money and make my farm successful. But the motivations here don't feel the same as in Stardew Valley, where I want to customize my farming experience to make it look good and be as efficient as possible. It isn't like a typical Story of Seasons game where I end up on a set routine for myself. It's a little more open-ended, even though I know there is that chapter-based "schedule" waiting for me. I'm able to take things a bit more at my own pace and savor the moment.

[caption id="attachment_968726" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Screenshot by Siliconera[/caption]

Not to mention how much I appreciate how Forgotten Valley looks. The original game did have this almost historic sort of approach, with muted, sepia tones. However, I also felt like it could sometimes feel a bit empty at times, as though I was running through empty spaces that ate up valuable time. Things are a bit brighter, and it somehow also feels like the space is more effectively used. Though honestly, it might not be all that different and just feel better due to the way everything is rendered now. The town looks good, and as do the villagers living there. I especially like the new look for Gordy, though in my heart I'll always have a soft spot for the "weirder" version of Gustafa.

I’ve got to tell you, Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life feels like a game that arrived right when I needed it most. This is a game about redefining what matters to you. First, it’s about settling into a new community and forming bonds with your new neighbors. One of them being romantic. Then it’s about ing your growing family both emotionally and via working hard on the farm. As time es, you get to see how that influences things. It’s like you are building a life while farming, rather than working a farm and taking “you” time to be social when you can.

Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life will come to the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and PC on June 27, 2023.

The post Review: Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life Offers a Work-Life Balance appeared first on Siliconera.

It’s a shame how many good ideas end up disappointing when put into action. The success of visual novels means we’re getting memorable or enjoyable hybrids like Digimon Survive or Devil Survivor! The Persona series’ relationship and daily life systems mean developers try implementing similar mechanics into their own games! I hoped Loop8: Summer of Gods would be good, because it had these elements that called Gnosia and Persona to mind. Unfortunately, it feels both obtuse and pretentious, caught up in how clever it wants to be.

Novus “Nini” Nemo was raised in outer space on a space station. Beings known as Kegai assault the earth below, and people took to the skies in the hopes of escaping it. Unfortunately, that didn’t work out too well, and now he’s in the small, rural village of Ashihara. Its apparently known for being oddly safe from these unknown beings, but that’s about to change. The Kegai are about to pierce a barrier and assault this apparent last bastion. When they do, they’ll “infect” one of the people there, putting them at risk. However, Nini features the Demon Sight ability, as evidenced by being able to see things he shouldn’t and spy on characters’ current actions, moods, and desires, and finds he’s not the only “gifted” or unusual resident in the town. And so, he’ll regularly head into Yomotsu Hirasaka at the town’s shrine with certain neighbors to face the Kegai there and perhaps save the person being used as their host.

[caption id="attachment_965885" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via XSEED Games[/caption]

We go into Loop8 knowing we only have the month of August. What happens when it ends? Well, if you didn’t make the right choices or fall in battle to the Kegai, you die and the loop restarts. There are different endings tied to actions and affections, as you can imagine from a game with relationship elements. You essentially need to live each day as best you can, making good choices that build up the stats of Nini and his allies and form relationships. Doing things like attending classes and training at certain locations build up things like stamina and strength. You can happen upon blessings by talking to people or investigating certain suspicious environmental objects, prompting flying squirrel messenger of the gods Musasa to let you know about the latest buff. (It’s very annoying, but you can choose to “skip” these in the options.) Visiting the cafe or restaurant will restore your energy and stamina, as will getting candy from Saru. So during daylight hours, you’ll check the map to see where people are so you can talk to them, visit certain training spots, perhaps attend classes, and practice time management.

This means you can also see the trips to Yomotsu Hirasaka and deadlines to “save” people from Kegai attacks as being like heading into the Midnight Channel by a certain date. Nini can ask characters to “go for a walk” to add up to two to his party. Once you do, you can head to what is essentially this other plane of existence to face the Kegai. You’ll need to get magatamas to unlock access to its boss fights, then choose attacks tied to the feelings of friendship, love, and hate to assault the boss and other Ashihara resident tied to them. These plodding assaults are turn-based and, while the more poignant opponents might look impressive, are unfortunately lackluster. There’s no real sense of strategy here, especially since you can only choose Nini’s actions. You can use Demon Sight to predict responses, which is interesting. But winning these major bouts mainly comes down to ensuring you pick two allies who the possessed person you’re facing “likes” to make the fight easier, especially since there’s no surefire way to guarantee healing abilities will be used.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3or6Zdhu-hU&t=118s&ab_channel=XSEEDgames

Loop8 is a game where caring about characters is critical. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to do so. Yes, I’ll it some fondness for some of them. I’m a Hori, Ichika, Konoha, and Machina fan. But it’s more for specific character designs or certain things I know about them, rather than a real sense of connection. Which is especially distressing considering the game emphasizes the connections between everyone by looking feelings of friendship, love, and hate. But then, it’s hard to connect when it feels like they talk at you rather than with you. Many interactions involve selecting base concepts like “get to know better,” “flatter,” “annoy them,” tease them,” “let’s go for a walk,” or if you’re lucky a suggestion that will lead to an actual event. But instead of actually learning about someone, most suggestions just… feature a generic response and a small stat bump in exchange for expending energy. Not to mention I’ve found the rates of success may not be as clear cut as the suggestions, as 50/50 chance basically meant Nini’s attempt to connect would fail. So unless you really push toward building a relationship with someone and start to unlock those events or trigger another loop, you might not connect with some of the people around town.

What also hurts it is the amount of investment Loop8 seems to demand. I didn’t really start to “get” the game until my third loop, and it really feels geared toward triggering multiple ones—either via dying or purposely triggering the “loop” option in a conversation. It quickly gets repetitive, since you need to dedicate yourself to rebuilding relationships and stats once a loop restarts. It is easier to rebuild after a loop, but still. This is exacerbated by the general pacing being a mess. (It can take 10 minutes to run from the front gates of the school to the front door, even though it’s right there!) You can unlock new events and text, but much of the script repeats from one loop to the next. It also doesn’t help that some of your early conversations with characters will allude to things to come or immediately imply certain levels of familiarity,

[caption id="attachment_965887" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via XSEED Games[/caption]

But even worse is knowing that means heading into Yomotsu Hirasaka and battling again. The battle system is such a chore, especially since new skills are tied to performing actions and training during the day. When you’re in this underworld area, you need to directly travel to locations to find the glowing orbs you can interact with to gain magatama and reach the fights. Since there’s no traditional leveling system, any battles before a boss are pretty much pointless. Fighting them does boost a stat, perhaps, but it’s so easy to build relationships and earn stats from actions during the day that it’s better to rush in and face the foe. It’s such a slog. Which is a shame, because I feel like even just allowing us to control our allies actions could have been a great step toward making the turn-based RPG elements a little more enjoyable.

Loop8 squanders its goodwill. This is a game Marvelous and SIEG Games clearly want to be poignant and important. However, its frustratingly obtuse, the pacing is problematic, and it wears out its welcome with tedious interactions. I love the concept and the idea of wandering around Ashihara. Some characters are memorable too! But after a few loops and constant Musasa intrusions, I was tempted to let the Kegai win if it would shut that squirrel up.

Loop8: Summer of Gods will be available for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on June 6, 2023.

The post Review: Survive a Cruel Summer in Loop8 appeared first on Siliconera.

I receiving the first Rune Factory game as a gift, and I was eager and excited to cut my teeth on the hybrid dungeon-crawler/farming simulator. It became an immediately memorable experience. It managed to dabble in both genres effectively, proving that a more involved Harvest Moon (now Story of Seasons) was possible. Rune Factory 5 is the latest entry in the series, with the Nintendo Switch version arriving in North America and Europe in March 2022. However, its initial release was plagued with technical issues, and the PC version of the game isn’t exactly free of them.

Immediately, I noticed several visual errors that resulted in lighting dispersed over character models in large, triangular chunks that would flash in and out of existence. This became a source of pain some hours in, with the light flashing from this glitch proving to be more than just an annoyance. While there are several graphics options available that you can select before loading the game, none of these feel particularly significant. Not to mention textures for outfits on certain characters looking pixelated and extremely rough around the edges. Switching between these options and fiddling with the menus didn’t alleviate my initial issue.

With ports, I never expect anything to be significantly different from its original release - be it PC or console. And this illustrates a lot of issues Rune Factory 5 has. It goes beyond visual issues, but more or less with the structure of the game itself.

Areas feel over-large and populated by unusually large furniture. Most spaces remain empty, which leaves the village feeling barren compared to previous Rune Factory games. It feels like the transition to this new direction wasn’t given enough time to be fully realized. Even buildings in the village lack that certain kind of distinction and charm one might expect from Rune Factory. Everything feels infinitely less fantastical, lacking the soft pastel and painterly look of previous games and charming cottage-core designs. Even certain character designs don’t feel particularly interesting, which is a shame. Because they’re mostly just drawing from the same archetypes already experienced in previous Rune Factory games.

However, what I appreciated most about my time with Rune Factory 5 was the immediate availability of same-sex marriage options. I was glad to know I could pursue any of the bachelors and bachelorettes regardless of the gender of my player avatar. (I decided to marry Murakumo, because of course I did.) It's genuinely hard to describe it as anything other than just feeling nice, as simple as that sounds. It's just a good feeling knowing I can be myself in a series that I've enjoyed. The lack of this option honestly damped my interest in more recent farming simulators that incorporated a “family building” mechanic. I didn’t enjoy feeling like I had to engage with a system I wasn’t invested in to progress the game. I feeling a bit disappointed the Rune Factory 4 remaster didn't incorporate this option. But I’m glad that Rune Factory 5 allows for it, going so far as to include additional animated cutscenes for same-sex marriages, which are honestly quite sweet.

ittedly, this feels like the most significant step forward for the Rune Factory series. Yes, the gameplay and visuals don't particularly stand-out. The gameplay is mostly the same, with players crafting weapons, adventuring, farming, and living out their provincial lives while helping out the locals. But all of these things can be improved with time or subsequent sequels. I suppose I’m someone that’s easy to please. But the same-sex options feel significant to me as a gay man that has been playing these titles since I was a pre-teen. While it may just be the developers catching up with titles like Stardew Valley, it’s an improvement I hope they will keep moving forward. Because this signals a great change for a cult classic.

Rune Factory 5 is available on Nintendo Switch and will release for the PC through Steam on July 13, 2022.

The post Going Over the Rune Factory 5 PC Experience appeared first on Siliconera.

Rune Factory 5 is a perfect example of a game that, at a glance, has everything you’d expect from an installment in the series. There’s an amnesiac hero with a connection to nature. You have dragons. People from different fantasy races appear, some of whom you can even smooch and seduce. There’s farming and fighting. However, it’s also unfortunately a bit hollow and marred by technical issues. It’s like the developers at Hakama were told what the game needed to be and shown videos of Rune Factory 4, but didn't really grasp what makes the series special.

Like Rune Factory 4, the fifth entry begins with a person who seems to be someone notable and influential. However, circumstances result in them losing their memory almost immediately. They’re taken in by an authority figure of the town where they wind up and placed in a position of power in the community. In this case, players end up being a member of Rigbarth’s SEED force. They’re essentially an organization that helps people around by dealing with dangerous situations and monsters. However, because you’re special, you also can manage this division’s farm and issue Directives that result in festivals being held, storage increases, and getting licenses to craft. This means when you don’t have a case that will send you to a dungeon, you’ll be talking to people in town, running errands, and growing crops.

Right off the bat, Rune Factory 5 is going to give people a sense of deja vu. In the past, every mainline Rune Factory game had its own gimmick. The original set the pace. The second entry focused on the generational aspect. The third involved transforming into a monster. Tides of Destiny had two characters sharing a single body. The fourth involved being “royalty” while accomplishing your goals. I’m not going to get into any spoilers here! However, there are a number of story beats and elements that are very similar to Rune Factory 4. If other elements were executed better, this might have been forgivable. But unfortunately, they’re not.

One such flaw is how imprecise Rune Factory 5 can feel. Which is weird, given the amount of control it does offer a player. You can fast travel to set points in town, certain points on the world map, dragons you’ve unlocked, and to floors you’ve reached in dungeons. Which is great! It really helps you engage in activities and progress at your own pace. You can use the L button to pop into your pockets to immediately access farming tools, weapons, items, or other useful things you’ve designated. Everything is immediately on-hand. It's convenient! You can quickly pick up or harvest items.

But the game is also very floaty. Moving around can feel awkward, and you can overshoot your targets when running, attacking, or performing actions. Upgrading farm tools aside from the watering can or fishing rod doesn’t always feel necessary. I found I could sometimes button-mash to till, water, chop, or hammer faster than the time needed to charge up upgraded tools' actions for early stages. Not to mention your free axe and hammer can handle any tree stump or rock you’ll find on the farm and tackle mining ore. It meant I really didn't feel a need to invest in Recipe Bread for farming too often initially.

This extends to combat. Rune Factory 5 is an action-RPG, like past installments. Normal enemies spawn from gates. Which means defeating them stops the flow of foes. You have magic, provided you stumble upon, buy, or earn spells. But the amount of time to cast and reach enemies and their power means they aren’t very viable. Standard weapons are better. And the strongest “fast” weapon you have tends to be the best. (Even if it is tied to an element.) Which means investing in Weapon Recipe Bread for those crafting recipes is an easy way to break the game. There are no “walled off” areas. You can explore any part of the huge map from the beginning. However, you’ll quickly hit barriers in the form of enemies you won’t deal any damage to who are about ten steps away from ones you can wipe out in one or two hits.

But what really got to me about Rune Factory 5 is how cumbersome the little things can be. When you leave your room every morning, it will take a few minutes for things like crops and your health/RP bar to “load up.” Especially on festival days, when confetti is raining down. The initial load makes it feel like you literally drag yourself out of bed. You get outside. Then, you have to wait 10 to 15 seconds for items in your field to "pop in" and populate. There are also frame rate issues.

I felt like I would overshoot targets because the game perhaps was trying to catch up to what I was attempting to do. This becomes a problem when trying to dodge opponents’ — in particular bosses’ — various attacks. Dashing can feel like you’re trudging through mud. It seems like there’s no collision detection sometimes, which means your avatar could play hide-and-seek by literally standing inside of another character like Palmo. (Which I mean means you won't get trapped somewhere, I suppose.) You can lock onto enemies, but I’d find it would switch my target to whichever foe would be closer to me without my input. It's not great if you’re trying to take out the gate first so additional monsters don't spawn!

It can also be extraordinarily time-consuming to get things done. I’d attribute this to it being “too” big, too empty, and having terrible monster drop rates. The dungeons are generally fine, though a bit boring since there’s no real puzzle-solving or thought to them. The town and world map, on the other hand, are overly large and empty. It feels like you’re running forever across dull, empty expanses to get anything done. Once you finally reach a destination to perhaps fight monsters for materials, good luck getting them! I’d need to typically fight at least ten of one kind of creature if I wanted to get one of their typical drops. With bosses, I would maybe get their item once every five times after I’d return.

Which made me feel discouraged from casually following a daily routine. Especially when I hit the endgame and post-game. Let’s say there are quite a few reused assets throughout Rune Factory 5. Not to mention that the bosses aren’t terribly challenging, so the prospect of returning to them isn’t exactly thrilling. If you don't really need their materials for crafting, there isn't much of a reason to repeat cleared encounters.

As for the love interests? Some can come across as bland, one-note characters. Martin is a workaholic, and one of his first encounters involves berating Ryker for being a halfling. Reinhard is the knight devoted to his liege. If you spend enough time with them, there can be a bit more nuance. However, I feel they aren’t as well actualized as the Rune Factory 4 romance options. This made it more difficult for me to connect to them.

But hey, at least now you see map markers letting you know when an event with one of them is available. That helps you romance them faster! Though heart events do play out over multiple days and locations in this entry. So if you accidentally start one for a character you aren't fond of, you have to spend a few days clearing it until you can pursue someone you do like. Say you finish Reinhard's first event, which ends in the restaurant. But you don't notice Fuuka's first heart event opened up the second it was done and is a few steps away. You could unintentionally walk into it, locking you into needing to complete that over the course of the next in-game week before you could continue a love affair with someone else.

If you need a farming-and-fighting fix, Rune Factory 5 is an option. It just isn’t the best one out there. It’s living in the shadow of its far superior siblings. Even if patches fix all of the technical issues, it would still feel uneven. I do think that, if we get a Rune Factory 6, it could be better and build off of this entry’s missteps. There were times when I enjoyed myself while playing, but going back to Rune Factory 4 Special for another run would be a wiser choice.

Rune Factory 5 is available for the Nintendo Switch.

The post Review: Rune Factory 5 Does the Series a Disservice appeared first on Siliconera.

Marvelous has released the fifth DLC for Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town and with it comes summer-themed yukata for the main character, as well as ten romanceable characters. Additionally, the new DLC also includes "The Legendary Sprite Dance" sub-scenario, which rewards players with a special Earth Sprite costume.

https://twitter.com/bokumono_PR/status/1420550980114870274?s=20

Similar to the Animal Attire update back in April 2021, the new DLC will provide wearable yukata for both main characters and romantic partners, each with unique printed designs. Yukata are traditional Japanese summer wear that is commonly worn to special events like fireworks festivals. Notably, Emilio, Jack, Blaire, Damon, and Reina come with festival masks that fit the aesthetic of the Fireworks Display event.

The DLC also adds a new sub-scenario with the Earth Sprites. The main character will have to help the small critters host a feast and dance at the Earth Sprite village. Completing the scenario will reward players with a comical Earth Sprite lookalike costume.

You can get a better look at each character's yukata, as well as the Earth Sprite costume below.

[gallery columns="2" ids="892250,892249" link="file"]

Furthermore, Marvelous has released a short introduction video featuring some of the DLC's content.

https://youtu.be/Zi8f4ySJ1AI

Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town is immediately available for the Nintendo Switch, with the Yukata DLC included separately in the game's expansion set.

The post Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town Yukata and Legendary Sprite Dance DLC Arrives appeared first on Siliconera.

People can now romance Iris and Raegar in Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town, as the Terracotta Oasis DLC is now available. It launched on June 24, 2021 outside Japan, the same day the add-on debuted there. It adds a new town with four new people to visit. In addition, people can now get a $1.99 White Fox Costume for their avatar to wear. That was only available in Europe before.

All four of the Terracotta Oasis residents in Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town originally appeared in the 3DS game Story of Seasons. Iris is a novelist, Raeger is a chef, Marian is a doctor, and Giorgio is a farmer. In order to visit with all of these people and see their events, you need to take the boat at the dock on your farm to head to the new town. Those four people will be the only ones there.

Here’s a trailer introducing people to the Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town versions of Giorgio, Iris, Marian, and Raeger.

Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town is available for the Nintendo Switch, as is its Terracotta Oasis add-on with Iris and Raeger. To get the add-on, you must purchase the $19.99 expansion . The last DLC added Windswept Falls and Neil and Felicia as love interests.

The post Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town Terracotta Oasis DLC Arrives appeared first on Siliconera.

We already had an idea of who we’ll get to potentially marry in Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town. Now, over the past few days in December 2020, XSEED Games offered ways to see them. An array of tweets looked at the Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town bachelors and bachelorettes, with each one offering a character description, gift idea, and peeks at an English-language events with the marriage candidates.

First, let’s start with the Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town bachelorettes. Blaire works as a waitress at a cafe, but she’d love to be an actress. She likes daisies.

Head to the local bistro to meet our next bachelorette of Olive Town!

Meet Blaire and hear all about her big city dreams in #STORYOFSEASONS: Pioneers of Olive Town, coming March 23, 2021 to #NintendoSwitch: https://t.co/X4beRj1NZz pic.twitter.com/N1Ee65fKG4

— XSEED Games (@XSEEDGames) December 27, 2020

Bridget has a way with animals, which is handy since she works at the store that sells them in town. She likes milk.

Have you met Bridget? She may be a bit clumsy, but this bachelorette can befriend any animal she meets!

Start your new farm life from scratch and get to know the locals in #STORYOFSEASONS: Pioneers of Olive Town, coming March 23, 2021: https://t.co/X4beRj1NZz pic.twitter.com/EimxYjZ5R2

— XSEED Games (@XSEEDGames) December 29, 2020

Laura is the Olive Town tour guide who also works at the grocery store. Fittingly enough, this Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town bachelorette likes olives.

Every town needs a good tour guide, and Olive Town's no exception! Meet Laura, a town tour guide with a love for the ocean!

Head to Olive Town and meet all of the bachelorettes in #STORYOFSEASONS: Pioneers of Olive Town, coming March 23, 2021: https://t.co/X4beRj1NZz pic.twitter.com/7v7hAsA54c

— XSEED Games (@XSEEDGames) December 25, 2020

Linh works at the flower shop and is great with herbs. She loves mangos.

Let's welcome Linh to the bachelorette lineup! This wholesome girl has a kind heart, enjoys gardening, and even knows quite a bit about herbal medicine! 

Meet Linh in #STORYOFSEASONS: Pioneers of Olive Town, coming March 23, 2021 to #NintendoSwitch: https://t.co/X4beRj1NZz pic.twitter.com/wDYCxrEYrS

— XSEED Games (@XSEEDGames) December 23, 2020

Here’s Reina. She works at the museum and likes lemons.

It's not a party without Reina!

Find Reina at Olive Museum working with Gloria! Meet Reina and the rest of the bachelorettes of Olive Town in #STORYOFSEASONS: Pioneers of Olive Town, coming March 23, 2021 to #NintendoSwitch: https://t.co/5ezH122102 pic.twitter.com/vlIAR8yicr

— XSEED Games (@XSEEDGames) December 21, 2020

Now, on to the Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town bachelors. Damon is the local bad boy. However, he also loves coffee and both taking care of animals and making accessories.

Meet Damon, the coffee-loving motorcyclist! While he may be a bit of a mysterious misfit, this brooding bachelor is surprisingly reliable.

Get to know Damon and the rest of the marriage candidates in #STORYOFSEASONS: Pioneers of Olive Town: https://t.co/X4beRj1NZz pic.twitter.com/eEYm4walsK

— XSEED Games (@XSEEDGames) December 30, 2020

Here’s Emilio, the fisherman who likes watermelons.

Generous and sociable, Emilio has a deep connection to the ocean and can often be found fishing! 

Meet Emilio and the rest of the new bachelors in #STORYOFSEASONS: Pioneers of Olive Town, coming March 23, 2021 to #NintendoSwitch: https://t.co/X4beRj1NZz pic.twitter.com/8wt1BsAUuw

— XSEED Games (@XSEEDGames) December 22, 2020

Like players, Iori is a Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town bachelor who is new to the area too. He likes matsutake mushrooms.

Today's bachelor hails from a far-off country to the east! Meet Iori, a dignified young man who came to Olive Town with his retainer. 

Discover more about Iori and begin your new farm life in #STORYOFSEASONS: Pioneers of Olive Town, coming 3.23.2021: https://t.co/X4beRj1NZz pic.twitter.com/onBDeVRIJp

— XSEED Games (@XSEEDGames) December 24, 2020

Like many people in Olive Town, Jack works at the family business. In this case, it’s the general store. He likes chuka soba.

Searching for a laid-back bachelor to match your vibe? Look no further than Jack, our next potential romantic interest from Olive Town!

Meet Jack and the rest of the locals in #STORYOFSEASONS: Pioneers of Olive Town, sprouting up March 23, 2021: https://t.co/X4beRj1NZz pic.twitter.com/WEVzrXlTAb

— XSEED Games (@XSEEDGames) December 28, 2020

If you’re interested in Ralph, you better learn how to bake. This forest ranger loves bread.

Our next bachelor has a rugged side and prefers to spend his time in the wilderness! If you're looking for a reliable leader, Ralph's a natural. 

Meet Ralph in #STORYOFSEASONS: Pioneers of Olive Town, sprouting up March 23, 2021: https://t.co/X4beRj1NZz pic.twitter.com/t0IeyqnAdY

— XSEED Games (@XSEEDGames) December 26, 2020

Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town will come to the Nintendo Switch on March 23, 2021.

The post Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town Bachelors and Bachelorettes Star in New Videos appeared first on Siliconera.

Another third-party game is being offered up for Nintendo Switch Online to try. This time, people can add a little farming and monster-mashing to their lives, as the Rune Factory 4 Special Switch trial is available in another region. Europeans can sample it between November 4-10, 2020.

This comes on the heels of its free trial in another region. Back on October 30, 2020, Nintendo’s Japanese branch offered an identical offer in the region. There’s even a bit of an overlap, as the active period for the promotion is November 2-8, 2020 there.

Now, all that’s left is to see if this Nintendo Switch Online Trial will appear in North America too. Sometimes, there is a delay between when the offer is extended in Japan, then in other regions. The same thing happened with the free Overwatch trial back in October 2020.

Rune Factory 4 Special is available for the Nintendo Switch worldwide and adds more romantic events and story options. The original Rune Factory 4 is available on the Nintendo 3DS. With Nintendo Switch Online free game trials, people can sample the full game for that time period, even creating save data. After the offer is over, that data can be carried over to a paid copy of the game.

The post Free Rune Factory 4 Switch Trial Begins in Europe This Week appeared first on Siliconera.

The Uppers PC port is actually going to be released. Marvelous and XSEED announced the Bullets game will launch on October 21, 2020. The Steam page is already live and confirms it will things like Steam achievements, cloud saves, and trading cards.

Two versions of the game will be available. The standard edition will be $29.99/€29.99/£24.99, though it will be 15% off until October 28, 2020. Meanwhile, the Uppers PC Digital Deluxe Edition will give people a digital art book and 46-track soundtrack with the game for $39.99/€39.99/£34.99.

Here’s the latest Uppers PC trailer. It starts off with a look at Ranma Kamishiro and his moves, before shifting its focus to Michiru Sakurai.

And here’s a gallery showing off some screenshots.

[gallery ids="855011,855012,855013,855014,855015,855016"]

It has been quite a ride for Uppers. Back in a 2017 interview with Siliconera, Kenichiro Takaki said they were working on it being released outside of Japan. In August 2018, Marvelous said it would release the game in North America and Europe, but on the PlayStation 4 and PC later in 2018. Now the Uppers PC version is almost here, but there’s no word on the PS4 port.

Uppers will come to the PC on October 21, 2020. It is immediately available on the PlayStation Vita in Japan.

The post Uppers PC Version Will Arrive in October 2020 appeared first on Siliconera.

This summer will bring with it some perfect farming and friend (or fiance) making weather. It turns out the Story of Seasons Switch game will be releasing in North America around the same time as the Australian and European ones. On July 14, 2020, people will be able to settle down with Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town.

This means it will only be a few days behind the other localizations. People in both Australia and Europe will be able to grab the game on July 10, 2020. Though, if someone decided to import, the Japanese copy has already been around since October 2019.

A new trailer was released to go along with the reveal. It reminds people what farming life would be like when someone would grab the first Story of Seasons Switch installment and head back down to the farm. You can see what it is like to tend crops, care for animals, and meet potential spouses.

Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town will come to the Nintendo Switch in Australia and Europe on July 10, 2020. The North American debut will follow on July 14, 2020. As a reminder, people who preorder a North American physical copy will also end up getting a Strawberry Cow plush toy.

The post You Can Get Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town in North America in July appeared first on Siliconera.