New and tentative game announcements (V2)

All other video games not related to the main farming series - Pokemon, Stardew Valley, My Time at Portia, and other indie-developed games.
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Kikki
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I feel like games can't really be delayed unless they already have specific dates, rather than just windows. Wasn't Fantasy Life i just scheduled for 'April'? Or 'Spring 2025'? When things are like that, to me they are just guesses the company is making, rather than promises. Just projections, and Level 5 always gets their projections wrong.

Or did it have an actual release date?

Anyway...honestly, I've disconnected from FLi. They've drawn it out too much and my interest in it has just kind of broken. I'm not anticipating it any more, so I don't even care if they keep pushing it back, except it makes Level 5 look like a foolish and unreliable company, which isn't nice to see.

Besides, I'll be playing Guardians of Azuma on May 30. I don't think I'd have time for FLi. I waited on it...it'll now have to wait on ME, buying it. I probably will eventually, but at this point I might even just wait for a sale since my radar is no longer focused on it.

Unless the response to it is huge and rekindles my interest with new details, I guess.

EDIT: Also, everyone keeps saying FLi looks great, so good, but to me it's absolutely eye-gouging. The colours are lurid, sickeningly vivid...so vivid they GLOW...and unnatural in tone (why are the greens so blue in some parts of the grass and so yellow in others?). And the construction options in terms of pathing...yikes. It looks like cheap fabric in a grid pattern, in a blue-white colour, cut, for some reason, with pinking shears.

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I am disappointed they are foregoing the physical version in the west and the price is going to be higher. I still want it but I don't know if I want it digitally or if I want to import the physical version from Playasia or one of the Canadian shops (VGP or PNP).
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Kikki
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Got an email from Nintendo. And other gaming sites have 'reported' this as well. Gold Points are being discontinued...the system is, I mean. You won't earn them any more after March 24, I believe it is. (Except on items you placed a pre-order for before that time, even if they actually release after it.)

AND, and this is a big one I think...don't try to hoard up Nintendo game vouchers in advance of the Switch 2 being released, because the vouchers can't be used to redeem any Switch 2-exclusive games.

I mean, I figured. I thought right away that getting vouchers in advance would be a great idea, but almost as quickly realized that everyone else and Nintendo would probably also think of that, and that probably vouchers purchased at the current price on the original Switch probably wouldn't work to get new games that are exclusive to the Switch 2.

Some people don't understand backwards compatibility. They think it means that all games playable on Switch will be playable on Switch 2, which is mostly true, but some also think it means that Switch 2 games will all play on original Switch. I've actually SEEN people say 'why do I have to buy a new Switch when 2 is backwards compatible? I can just play them on the Switch I've already got!'

NO. Guys...come on, we already know this from the DS/3DS era, even. We've lived through this already. You can play the OLD games on the NEW system, but you can't play the new games on the old system! Often the old system wouldn't be capable of it anyway, because the new system has higher specs and can do things the old system can't.

Anyway, if you're into gold points, you only have a month left to wrack some up. They will, as usual, expire after a year, so you can still redeem your points even after you can no longer earn them.

And don't buy any vouchers, hoping to use them to get games on the Switch 2. Maybe vouchers purchased on Switch 1 won't be useable at all on Switch 2...we don't know yet. But we do know that S2 exclusive games, at least, won't be voucher-eligible. (I guess that eventually they'll probably make new vouchers, with a new price, and the old ones will be pulled, but I'm just guessing.)

EDIT: This makes me wonder if S2 is releasing sooner rather than later.

EDIT 2: Checked and I currently only have $2.61 worth of GP. No biggie even if I didn't claim it, but I guess I will, next time I buy something. No way am I going to get anywhere near enough GP in a month to cover even an averagely-priced indie game, let alone something beefier, so no reason to save it up any more.
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Kikki
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I'm surprised no one is talking about the Pokemon Z-A game. I wasn't home today and haven't watched the video or whatever the announcement was, but apparently it's coming out late 2025. Not a very defined window, but I guess that means 'holiday season'.



The graphics are really nice quality. With 'late 2025' being the window, I guess it's a guaranteed Switch 2 title, good chance it's exclusive, huh? That'd make sense. If it's not, I'm pretty sure it won't look like that on OG Switch.
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I watched the Pokemon presentation at work while doing one of my stationary tasks, then I went home, did chores, and crashed lol. Otherwise I totally would have posted about it. I have a huge attachment to Generation 6 in Pokemon, and seeing it again in higher quality was really nice. My favorite character from X&Y is here too, so major bonus. As is tradition, people are already « Baaaa *glomp* » about literally everything since the trailer dropped. I am... unbothered by what I saw? It's early footage and seems to be running a hell of a lot better than S&V. If it ends up being a Switch 2 launch title, I'll grab it then.
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Kikki
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Is this game the 'sequel' to Arceus? Not a standard, mainline pokemon?

Also, my eyes/brain must just not be well-tuned, because I saw no problems in that trailer. I rarely do with people saying 'ooh looks so smooth!' or 'this is so much better than the X version!' when side-by-side comparisons are being made...I can rarely see any difference at all, to the point where it feels like the world is trying to prank me with everyone saying how much better one side looks than the other.

It's nice, perhaps, not having the kind of brain that can see the graphical glitches. 30FPS is plenty for me, I see no difference in higher frame rates and I'm not sensitive to drops at all.
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Kikki wrote: Feb 28, 2025 4:43 am Is this game the 'sequel' to Arceus? Not a standard, mainline pokemon?

Also, my eyes/brain must just not be well-tuned, because I saw no problems in that trailer. I rarely do with people saying 'ooh looks so smooth!' or 'this is so much better than the X version!' when side-by-side comparisons are being made...I can rarely see any difference at all, to the point where it feels like the world is trying to prank me with everyone saying how much better one side looks than the other.

It's nice, perhaps, not having the kind of brain that can see the graphical glitches. 30FPS is plenty for me, I see no difference in higher frame rates and I'm not sensitive to drops at all.
It is a sequel.
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Bluie
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It's more in the vein of being part of the same 'Legends' series than a direct sequel, just to clarify. So, yes, not mainline, but also not directly taking place after Arceus. If we're going to get super specific, Legends Arceus is a prequel to Diamond&Pearl while Legends Z-A is a sequel to X&Y.
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Finally got to catch up on the new ZA news.

I'm surprised that the game has the same art and graphics style as Scarlet Violet. All the Pokemon Switch games have looked different from each other until now so this makes even more surprising for me. I think it looks fine, good even, in fact. Performance is what I'm always more concerned about, however. Scarlet Violet was an enjoyable game which was totally ruined for me because it ran really horrible. I'll always take an ugly game running perfect than a pretty game running at extremely bad frame rates. Scarlet Violet was both ugly and ran bad but I hope ZA will change that. Well, even if it doesn't, Switch 2 is on the horizon so it's bound to run much better on that thing already which should be good news for early Switch 2 adopters.

Glad to see that free aiming to catch Pokemon is still here. It's a feature that should definitely be carried onto future mainline Pokemon games. Moving away from turn based battles seems like a bold move that I totally expect people to hate. I'm personally hoping it works because I love seeing them trying to reinvent the wheel constantly. I love being strategical with Pokemon battles but I always hoped there would one day be action back to back like in the anime in my Pokemon games :lol: .

I honestly feel a bit mixed about the setting now. I like that they made it futuristic to completely contrast with Arceus but I hate it being all in the city. The idea of wild zones similar to wild areas in SwSh doesn't really excite me. Seeing the clips, they seem to be really small as well. I really would prefer them including some big routes outside the city.

I just hope the story turns out to be good. Arceus really won points for not shying away from not so happy go lucky moments which I totally expect this game to miss on.
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I'm not sure what this is...it just popped up in my suggested videos. It's from Level 5 and it's Fantasy Life i, obviously...but I think it's a video of the start of the game? And it's 17 minutes long. I don't know, cuz it's in Japanese, but it seems like they're giving us a look at the opening/start.

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Kikki
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Waaaaaah. :(

The spoiler contains details of new/changed mechanics. No plot is mentioned at all.

XCX Definitive has removed the entire
Spoiler:
BLADE system. :( I mean, you ARE still a BLADE...but they've removed the entire point of being one. Originally, you joined a division and gained BLADE points by doing things like recovering debris/treasure, planting probes, mining via probe, discovering landmarks, etc.

Now Division Points no longer exist AT ALL. There is no such thing as a BLADE level, either. You don't even have field skills. At least, not with levels. How the heck are they going to balance the recon and recovery?

I loved the way BLADE worked these past ten years (aka: in the original). There was some satisfying dialogue linked to some of your progress, and I liked being able to see that progress for myself, as well. Now, apparently, they've somehow tied your progression to simple main story progression. I HATE that idea. :( That's so impersonal and removed from what *I* do, as the player. Plus it made the world feel so ALIVE, having every other player visible as you played, seeing their achievements and getting reward tickets from doing your division tasks and participating in collection and hunter missions. All by yourself, but with everyone else.

What happened to tickets, then, if there are no divisions? Do tickets not exist at all? How can I redeem hard-to-get monster bits if there are no tickets? I neeeeeeeeeeeeeed to know these things before I know just how upset I am. I mean, I'll miss the way things worked, but it's possible that somehow they've managed to implement a new system that's just as good. I doubt it, since I already loved the way things worked (with only very small quibbles) but...it's possible!

Now, I haven't played that for myself. My copy doesn't arrive until tomorrow, and I don't know when tomorrow.

I do know of some GOOD changes, too, but the bad ones are the ones that knock me for a loop, of course. But it's nice that we can change the time of day at any time, without having to find an outpost or red bench. (Though I'll miss the outposts having that little speck of relevance.) I'm glad you can change party members from the menu instead of having to physically go and locate them to ask them to join back up...I always wanted to be able to do that. And it's great that EVERYONE gets EXP and you don't have to level each party member up separately if you've left them out of your party for a while and they lagged behind.

I know nothing about the post game content, yet. I'll see it when I get to it myself. I'm worried, for sure. I never find I like what Monosoft adds via extra stories.

I don't give a hoot about autosave...I never needed it in the original so that's not a feature I was looking for. I also don't really care about having actual save slots, either...ones you can choose from. I never felt the need for that, either, but I guess there are a few circumstances where it might be useful. Though I don't think I'll need it.

They've made the combat somehow easier. I'm not sure how to say it, but I watched a stream, and the combat is definitely easier, now. (XCX has always been by far the most difficult system to learn, especially with all the various resistances and armor stats and so on, and the augments and terrain stuff.) I loved how stupidly complicated it all was. I don't yet know everything they may have changed, there. I really hope it still feels the same.
I dunno. I dunno, I dunno! Waah. :( My game...

Please don't wreck my game...
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Bluie
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I backed two games on Kickstarter the other day. Monsterpatch from the Littlewood dev, and Monster Crown: Sin Eater.





I am a sucker for 'retro' GBC aesthetics and I love monster collecting games. Therefore, this was a no brainer to me. I also liked Littlewood and loved Monster Crown, so bonus points there too. I'll be looking forward to these.
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I wondered when Sean Young's monster game would finally come out...hadn't heard about it in a long time.

The more obviously based on Pokemon a game is, the more risky it feels, with Nintendo being as litigious as they are about their stupid game. (I don't even like Pokemon, so it's a bit extra annoying to me that they're so protective of the entire concept of monster collecting.) So much of that from Monster Patch is a direct rip. He's even going with two versions (a thing I hate about Pokemon, mind you, so not impressed, there) though you get both when you buy one game. (I guess you have to choose which one you're playing when you start the game.)

I wish these games would go to greater lengths to not use terms and things directly from Pokemon, like 'shinies' and 'legendaries' and so on. At least create your own names for things so it's not quite as obvious where all the ideas are from. Both because it'd be more fun to see more of the dev's ideas rather than Game Freak's ideas, and because it'd be safer. (Maybe.)

I'd like to see more monster collecting games that were little to nothing like Pokemon, in other words. I haven't tried Ooblets (and may never try it, the humour in it is worn out and looks tiresome to me even just looking at screenshots so I think I'd get sick of it, and I find the colour scheme exhausting to look at for long, it's too garish.) but it's definitely completely different from Pokemon and I give it big props for that. Whatever a prop is. Probably not a stage term. And probably not a cane or a crutch.

The games look cute and all, though. I assume Monster Crown didn't get in trouble with Nintendo, so hopefully this gets ignored, too. And Monster Patch. The problem is that the more SUCCESSFUL a Pokemon copy is, the more likely Nintendo is to target it, and these games are pretty likely to do well given the success the devs have had before. (Though I don't know anything about Monster Crown, actually. It has pretty bad reviews on Steam, most saying it's very buggy, even reviews left only a few days ago, so still the current state.)

Anyway, I'm concerned for these little indie devs, especially Sean Young, a lone dev with a wife and child about three or four years old, now, and no way to stand up to a lawsuit from a big company, if one lands on his head. I hope Nintendo doesn't target these.

I'd also like to see some more unique monster collecting games just for my own sake. I love collecting, but the Pokemon formula has never appealed to me, so...
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Monster Crown has a pretty decent community you don't really see much outside of it (Discord). I'm a part of it and they're pretty chill. The creator is sickly and can't do dev work any more on the first game and has tried his damndest to fix it, but I don't know if he has the means any more to work on it (plus, there's been publishing issues with the free DLC update he has no control over either). He's super chill and nice, even apologized to me personally when I encountered a glitch when playing (was preventing progress) and made sure it was fixed when the next patch came out. I really, really loved Monster Crown - the vibe, the music, the gameplay; it's fantastic when it works. I managed to finish the game and have wanted to go back for more, but have been too busy. They also put out a TCG that's got top notch artwork and I got a box of it for Christmas last year from the hubs.

This new game has a new dev on it with the previous being the creative director/supervisor. I hope they really nail it this time and solidify the series as good as it really is. I'm not overly worried about Nintendo as besides emulating the style of GBC graphics (which they do not own the rights to), they don't have much else to get antsy about. I legit hope their dumb Palworld lawsuits get thrown out.
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I have to say, the actual mechanics of the two versions for Monsterpatch sound more like the Digimon Story Cybersleuth games than Pokémon. Cybersleuth also did the two different stories with interaction between the save files to trade Digimon back and forth. But aesthetically it's definitely pulling from Pokémon as well with the box designs and version legendary monsters.

I didn't know that about the Monster Crown dev! I liked how that game looked but had heard it was terribly glitchy... It's too bad that the issues are out of his control, but I'm more interested in giving it a chance with that in mind than if it had been simply abandoned :)

It's not a new trailer but Bluie, have you see Petal Runner? It's another upcoming game in the same sort of GB/GBC monster collecting aesthetic, and has really beautiful art. Seems like something you might like as well!
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