Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin is the newest title from Edelweiss, the team that made the bullet-hell game Astebreed back in 2014, for which we gave a perfect score. In Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin, you play as Sakuna, a harvest goddess who has to fight demons after she is banished to a new island home with outcast humans on it. In addition to fighting, Sakuna also raises and harvests rice across the game’s seasons in a simulation-action hybrid style game.

During E3 2019, I caught up with the two-man team behind Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin, Nal and Koichi. During our interview, we talked about shifting genres from their prior game, why they chose Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin‘s distinctive art style, about how they have literally put their entire future on the line to make this game, and more.

You can check out Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin at the offical website and you can check out my hands-on impressions of the just-announced Switch release or Josh Speer’s (oprainfall’s editor-in-chief and review manager) hands-on from E3 2018.

Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin comes out Winter 2019.

This interview has been edited for content and clarity.

Operation Rainfall: My name is Quentin H. with Operation Rainfall, and you all are?

[Translator]: Nal from Edelweiss, Koichi from Edelweiss.

OR: What is Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin?

Nal [Director]: Sakuna is, at its core, a combo of action and also [a] rice farming RPG.

OR: [Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin] is a game about Japanese mythology. Why did you choose to make a game about this?

Koichi [CG Artist]: So we had a game[play] system first, and then we tried to match the story [with] the elements to our game system. And thinking about tying it in and such, having a Japanese mythology-based story made sense and made it better for us.

“So we really wanted to create something that grows with the players.”

OR: Edelweiss’ previous title was Astebreed. How do you go from giant mechs fighting in space to a rice goddess platformer?

Nal: So this is actually based off of the title before Astrebreed, called [Fairy Bloom] Freesia. So the combo action part is from that game. And then we wanted to add some [more] depth to the story, and then a family-element. So that’s how we came up with this idea.

OR: The art style is very bold and distinct and has almost a painted look to it. Why go with that aesthetic design and choice?

Koichi: So we really thought about the art style. In Japan, cel-shading is very popular, but we didn’t want to go with that. And we didn’t want to make it photo-realistic. And after that, we were going back and forth. And just came up with this idea of something distinctive to us.

OR: So this is both an action-platformer and a harvesting game. How do the two interact with each other?

Nal: Have you heard of ActRaiser?

Koichi: So we really wanted to create something that grows with the players. And we were thinking ‘maybe not like an RPG game experience where you make your own character’. We wanted to make it distinctive for our game. So we thought rice farming was something different and so original.

“[We] actually dumped everything of our lives into this game- four years is quite a long time, compared to our prior release, Astebreed.

[…]

So we put all of ourselves into this game. We spent all our money and our savings- this game is everything.”

OR: Was it difficult crafting the two styles of gameplay into a cohesive game?

Koichi: So back to the ActRaiser, that game [has] a creation mode and an action mode. So it’s kind of similar to Sakuna’s style. But we knew it’s going to go well if we combine those two different elements together. So the difficulty, to me, was to make it a modern-type of game, because ActRaiser was not a modern game. That was the part we [had difficulty with].

So implementing the rice farming into the game was kind of tough to us.

OR: Why was it so tough?

Nal: The difficulty was more of the time spent in the game. Because, usually, you can only grow the rice once a year and [so] your level only goes up once a year. And that’s tough for a game. That was really difficult to consider.

OR: This game has been in development for four years. What unexpected challenges did you face developing Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin?

Nal: Of course, we had a hard time with the [gameplay] balancing. We also had more difficulty compared to our previous releases- Sakuna has more depth to the story, more character development. Those small tasks require so much- every time we make something [new], something else comes up. It was very tough.

OR: What of yourselves do you see in Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin?

Nal/Koichi: [We] actually dumped everything of our lives into this game- four years is quite a long time, compared to our prior release, Astebreed. That was actually one of the biggest games in the indie industry, but Sakuna is five times bigger than Astebreed. So we put all of ourselves into this game. We spent all our money and our savings- this game is everything.

“So we feel like this game has a visual appeal, and so people are going to go into the game and are going to see the world.”

OR: How long do you expect the gameplay to be?

Nal: It’s going to be about twenty hours.

OR: You announced [at E3 2019] that [Sakuna: Of Rice and Rain] was coming to Nintendo Switch. Why did you choose to bring it to that platform?

Nal: So after the Switch was released, we were interested in bringing this game to Switch. And then we met a Nintendo person, and they started talking about bringing this game to the Switch and they would be interested in it.

OR: Is there a release date set yet?

Nal: It’s going to be this Winter.

OR: Last question- since we have to wrap this up. To someone who may not have heard of Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin until E3, and is now thinking about picking it up, what do you have to say to them?

Koichi: So we feel like this game has a visual appeal, and so people are going to go into the game and are going to see the world. And it’s good for a casual player too, as they can grow Sakuna- the main character- it might be tough sometimes, but they can crawl through most of the stuff. And for the hardcore gamer, there are so many elemental and big [enemies] in the game. So the game will appeal to everyone.

OR: Thank you very much.

Are you excited for Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin? What do you think of this game being inspired by Fairy Bloom Freesia?

Let us know in the comments below!

The post E3 2019 INTERVIEW: Sakuna Of Rice and Ruin appeared first on oprainfall.

Title: Supermarket Shriek
Publisher(s): Billy Goat Entertainment Ltd.
Platform(s): Xbox One, PC
Release Date: June 9, 2019
Website / Twitter

In what turned out to be the very last game I played at E3 2019, Supermarket Shriek is one of those games that sounds both insane in concept and yet is incredibly fun to play. The gameplay is simple: navigate a shopping cart containing a shrieking goat and a shrieking human through a themed maze filled with obstacles and traps until you get to the exit. There are many different stages to experience, and each stage is timed. If you choose to play with a controller, you use the left trigger to make the human scream (turning the shopping cart one way), the right trigger to make the goat scream (turning the cart the other direction), and both triggers at once to move in the direction you’re facing. There are thirty-two different levels to play, secret parody levels, hats, and more to experience in this ID@Xbox title.

However, there is another way to play Supermarket Shriek: screaming with a friend into separate microphones in co-op mode to move the cart by each of you controlling the human or the goat. And this is where the game became my favorite experience of E3 2019 and one of the biggest standout moments overall for me across the past four years I’ve been attending. I played with Mariana Ayres (@marihanakah / Instagram) as my partner, and we each took a headset to use. Quickly, we found ourselves both shouting loudly into the microphone and planning together to navigate the traps, stay on the course without falling off either side, and ultimately make it to the end of that supermarket-themed stage.

With voice controls, each player’s scream is assigned to turn the cart in one direction, and both players have to shout in unison to move the cart forward. This meant that both myself and Mariana would have to shout loudly and in sync in order to navigate the course, while starting and stopping as necessary to snake our way through some of the trickier spots. While playing, Mariana and I managed to draw a small crowd, be heard across the Xbox demo area, and pull the game’s director, William Barr, out of seclusion while working on the game’s next patch to witness us playing as (at least I) went slightly hoarse by the end. Supermarket Shriek‘s co-op gameplay mode worked extremely well, even though both me and Mariana had not met previously, and we conquered the level after a couple failed attempts.

Supermarket Shriek is a game that controls well if you play with a controller, has suitably cartoony graphics, and has an amazing concept with a gameplay control option that is both a gimmick and makes this ID@Xbox title standout among the indie crowd. Unlike some other co-op games, Supermarket Shriek was clearly designed in such a way that voice-controlled co-op felt like it was intended as a completely viable way to play instead of a tacked-on experience like the campaign mode for the original Titanfall or the multiplayer mode in Dead Space 2. If you can pick up one ID@Xbox title to play with a friend or significant other who is into gaming -or even if that person is not- Supermarket Shriek is one of those games that is incredibly unique, fun, and just works.

Supermarket Shriek is out now for Xbox One and PC and is also available as part of the Xbox Game Pass.

What do you think of a voice-controlled game? Who would you like to play Supermarket Shriek with?

Let us know in the comments below!

The post E3 2019 Voice-On IMPRESSIONS: Supermarket Shriek (ID@Xbox) appeared first on oprainfall.

Cosmic Defenders is a game where your goal is to protect your world (in single player or co-op mode) from aliens that want to destroy it. As you run around the planet, you have to shoot the aliens as they appear overhead. The first of hopefully many indie games that Natsume is helping to bring to the marketplace as part of their indie program, Cosmic Defenders is the soon-to-be second title released by the one-man studio, Fiery Squirrel. During E3 2019, I caught up with the man behind both Fiery Squirrel and Cosmic Defenders, Henry Fernandez, and talked with him about working with Natsume, developing Cosmic Defenders, how he got into game development while living in Venezuela, and more.

You can check out Cosmic Defenders at its official website and at Fiery Squirrel’s official website. 

You can also check out our hands-on impressions of Cosmic Defender from E3 2019 by our own Josh Speer here.

Cosmic Defenders is scheduled to be released exclusively for the Nintendo Switch in Fall 2019.

This interview has been edited for content and clarity.

Operation Rainfall: My name is Quentin H. with Operation Rainfall, and you are?

Henry Fernandez: My name is Henry Fernandez, with Fiery Squirrel, and I’m part of the indie program with Natsume.

OR: You’re a developer from Caracas, Venezuela who came to Tokyo to develop games and earn your PhD at Tokyo University of Technology. How did you get involved with developing games in Venezuela?

HF: Well, I’ve liked games since I was a kid. I grew up with the Nintendo Entertainment System- NES. I actually didn’t realize that I could make games until I was [in] my fourth to fifth year [in] university- in my country, we take five years. I studied computer science, and most of the people actually focused not on games, but more on management and those kind of things. But when I actually realized that I could make games, I said “I want to focus on that for the rest of my career.” And I started to work on very small games.

The first game- besides the commercial games we’re going to talk about today- were [from] GameJams, like two days for full development based on a very specific topic. Besides that, I tried to learn as much as I [could] by myself in Caracas.

After that- I’ve been liking Japan since I was a kid. I was a fan of the Japanese culture and many other things like anime as well. I wanted to go to Japan since I was a kid. When I was studying, I had the opportunity to do the last year of the [program] in Japan, but not in Tokyo. A place called Niigata. I studied there for around one year. I liked it a lot, and I went back for some time. I went back again, and that’s how the story began.

“…my country was going through a lot of things- a lot of people know about that, I think- I thought that I couldn’t do anything since I was in Japan.

So I said ‘Let’s try to make a game that’s not directly related to what’s going on, but that can send a message to [the] world of something that [there] can be cooperation in the end.’“

OR: You mentioned that you had to teach yourself- [was] there not much of a game development scene in Venezuela in 2011, 2012?

HF: Not so much- not specifically [for] games. I think recently, they opened a master’s [degree] in one of the universities, but besides that, not so much. We are talking about computer science- the different aspects that are related to games like graphic design, programming mostly, those kind of things. But not specifically games. If people like to work on game development, most of them work by themselves. At least, in Venezuela, it is like that.

OR: Why stay in Tokyo after you finish your education?

HF: After I finished my college in Caracas, I applied for a scholarship in Japan related to game development at Tokyo University of Technology. I finished my master degree with the scholarship and I continued to stay. The main reason I wanted to keep studying- I thought it was a very natural opportunity to be closer to the Japanese industry and talk to people who have had a lot of experience in the industry. And I’ve learned a lot from them, they are very experienced people.

OR: Cosmic Defenders– what is it about?

HF: Cosmic Defenders is a game that is coming this year, hopefully. It is an action platformer in which there are four different kinds of defenders who want to protect their galaxy from aliens who want to steal this precious thing called the Tree of Life, which is what keeps the balance of all the galaxies.

OR: Where did this game idea come from?

HF: It’s interesting- the first idea came from a Game Jam. I used to participate in many different Game Jams, it is very nice how you push yourself to throw [together] ideas in a very short time. You waste a lot of time on that, and [do] not have many resources, and you can get interesting stuff. This game, though, the theme was ‘small world’.

That’s why when you play the game, you will see a personal war. Not only that, my country was going through a lot of things- a lot of people know about that, I think- I thought that I couldn’t do anything since I was in Japan.

So I said ‘Let’s try to make a game that’s not directly related to what’s going on, but that can send a message to [the] world of something that [there] can be cooperation in the end.’ When you play the first prototype of the game, which is very, very small, you cannot complete the game without collaborating with the rest of the characters. That’s a very, very first prototype of that. It has changed, however, since it has many things.

But if you didn’t cooperate with others to destroy the aliens, you would not be able to complete the game. That’s how this philosophy was included in the game.

“This is the way that I actually work so far- I start with gameplay, the mechanics. If I like them and if I feel they are good, then comes the aesthetics and the story. But I try to make everything work together from the mechanics as a core point of view.“

OR: You first game was Fluffy Eaters for Android and iOS in 2012. What lessons did you learn from your prior game that you’re applying to Cosmic Defenders?

HF: A lot of things. Not only from the development point of view- technical stuff. But all the things I learned and made from mistakes, I applied to Cosmic Defenders. I learned about game design, also since I am working mostly- not all, but mostly- by myself, before I started to work with Natsume, I also did a lot of marketing strategy, plans, and this kind of thing. Fluffy Eaters taught me a lot. I think I made plenty of mistakes when the game was released itself. I think it is an interesting idea, but the execution was not the best.

From that, I could do many different things in order to be happy with the game for people to enjoy in the right way.

OR: You mentioned that you’re a one-man studio over at Fiery Squirrel. What roles have Natsume taken over as part of their Natsume indie program?

HF: They have been very helpful from the beginning. We started when [Natsume and I] met at BitSummit. I was there representing the game. We started talking about the game, of course we didn’t know each other. We contacted each other and we started discussing the game. And since we started working together, it has been very very nice. I have to say that Taka- especially Taka, but everyone at Natsume- and I work every week together. Not just from the feedback point of view, but also for testing, which is very hard by myself. Having more people with that is very nice, especially for a multiplayer game, so we can kill more of the bugs.

Taka has been helping with the game design ideas. When he sees something, he gives me feedback and ideas. Actually, he shaped the part of the story mode [on demo at E3].

OR: Which came first: the story, the gameplay, or the aesthetic for Cosmic Defenders?

HF: This is the way that I actually work so far- I start with gameplay, the mechanics. If I like them and if I feel they are good, then comes the aesthetics and the story. But I try to make everything work together from the mechanics as a core point of view.

The reason why I did this, I like it and I think it is good, but not only that- you know how we study a lot by ourselves and try to see [what] other developers do [in making games]? I’ve discovered that Nintendo is on board with this philosophy for a long time. They focus on the gameplay mechanics to make something unique, something interesting for players, and from that point forward they focus on creating other things. So that’s what I’m trying to do.

OR: What platforms is Cosmic Defenders coming out on?

HF: It is coming out on Nintendo Switch, so far. There are no other platform announcements yet. But for sure, the Nintendo Switch.

OR: Is there multiplayer?

HF: There is multiplayer, yes.

OR: How does it work?

HF: The one [at E3] is the story mode, which includes the cooperation that we mentioned before. But since last year [after] actual development of the game started, I wanted to try many different ideas. And now [Cosmic Defenders] has Battle Mode, which is multiplayer. You can play in a casual way, but it will be battle [against] other players. In my mind, its really, really fun. Besides that, the core idea is cooperation, so battling is very, very nice.

There’s also a mixed mode in which you cooperate first, and then at the end before the session is over, you have to fight the others. It’s like fighting for the throne, that’s one of the modes.

The final mode is survival. You can collect coins, and you can purchase stuff-not like with real money, but in-game currency. You can buy hats, and other cute stuff like that.

OR: Do we have a release date?

HF: Not yet. We know its coming this year, but don’t know exactly when.

OR: Final question- for someone who may not have heard of Cosmic Defenders until this E3, and maybe is interested in picking it up, what do you have to say to them?

HF: I think if you like old-school action shooting games with a unique element, this will be the game for you. You will enjoy a lot of play with your friends, not only cooperating [with each other], but in the battle part. It’s a lot of fun.

OR: Thank you.

What do you think of Natsume’s first indie program title? Are you excited to play Cosmic Defenders solo or in co-op?

Let us know in the comments below!

The post E3 2019 INTERVIEW: Henry Fernandez talks Cosmic Defenders appeared first on oprainfall.

At E3 2019, I interviewed Matt Papa, producer/localization director and Takuya Aizu, president and CEO of INTI CREATES. We talked about developing Luminous Avenger iX for the Switch, what is new to the franchise with this entry, and more.

You can check out Luminous Avenger iX at their official website. You can also check out my hands-on impressions of the game from E3 2019 here.

Luminous Avenger iX is set to be released on September 26, 2019 for the Switch, PlayStation 4, and PC (Steam).

This interview has been edited for content and clarity.

Operation Rainfall: My name is Quentin H. with Operation Rainfall, and you are?

Matt Papa: I am Matt Papa, producer and localization director at INTI CREATES.

Takuya Aizu: I am Takuya Aizu, president and CEO of INTI CREATES.

OR: Luminous Avenger iX– what is new about this one compared to prior entries in the franchise?

TA: So as for new stuff compared to playing as Copen in Gunvolt 2, Copen has his standard moveset and how he operates is not all that different from Gunvolt 2. What’s new in this one is a whole new set of bosses for Copen to fight against, and that he has a whole new set of EX Weapons- which is a whole new set of weapons for him to use and a whole new set of stages that he can progress through.

“I think the big takeaway from Luminous Avenger iX is that it is in-and-of-itself a new series. It has a connection to the original Gunvolt series, [but] you can play Luminous Avenger iX without having played the original Gunvolt games.”

OR: Gunvolt 2 was released worldwide across 2016 on the 3DS. What was it like developing this franchise for a completely different Nintendo platform?

TA: So I think one of the biggest differences, for us, is that we have been making 2-D action games on Nintendo handhelds for quite awhile now. But one of the things about the 3DS that can be challenging is the resolution and the CPU is quite low.

So one of the best things about the Switch by comparison is how it has a HD resolution and we were able to implement a lot [of] higher quality and higher powered graphics [and] to have our games run at sixty frames-per-second instead of the thirty that they were on the 3DS.

OR: What new [EX weapons] are available?

TA: So unfortunately, I can’t talk much about the EX Weapons yet. I haven’t introduced any of the boss characters yet. As we introduce the boss characters, we will talk more about the EX Weapons that come along with them.

I am sorry that I can’t go into them right now! We will get into them as we draw closer to release.

OR: About how long of gameplay are you looking for with [Luminous Avenger iX]?

TA: So if you’re really good, like our in-house staff is, they are clearing the game in about three hours if they cancel all of the conversations and all the demo scenes and any of the extra stuff that [the player] is not controlling.

But if you are good and watching all the cutscenes and all the conversations, then maybe four to five hours. If you’re really good.

OR: This isn’t the first entry in the franchise. What have you learned from prior entries in the franchise that influenced [Luminous Avenger iX]?

MP: So I think one of the big differences developing Luminous Avenger iX compared to something like Gunvolt 1, is that when we made Gunvolt 1 we had no idea what the reception would be [or] how well it would sell. After developing Gunvolt 1 and 2, we have been fortunate enough to have the series do well and we have developed a passionate fan base. So we get all these super supportive messages and how much people are looking forward to the next in the Gunvolt series. It really gives you a lot energy, gives you a lot of motivation. And it allows you to develop a new title with that ‘Yeah!’. You’re a lot more sure of what’s going on this time.

OR: When do you expect Luminous Avenger iX to release?

MP: Luminous Avenger iX will release September 26, 2019 on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Steam.

OR: Will it be PlayStation 4 Pro enhanced?

TA: There are no special things that it can only do on PlayStation 4. There’s no PlayStation 4 Pro settings or anything like that.

OR: To someone who may not have heard of Luminous Avenger iX until E3, and is now thinking about picking it up, what do you have to say to them?

TA: I think the big takeaway from Luminous Avenger iX is that it is in-and-of-itself a new series. It has a connection to the original Gunvolt series, [but] you can play Luminous Avenger iX without having played the original Gunvolt games. So you can really think of it as a new series.

Especially our PlayStation 4 players who’ve never had a Gunvolt game before, this is a perfect way to dive in: ‘Oh, I haven’t played 1 and 2, I don’t know what’s going on’- that’s not the case here. So they can have the perfect chance to dive into the Gunvolt series here. And then go back to Steam or the Switch, if they have one, and try the other ones.

OR: Thank you.

Are you excited for Luminous Avenger iX? What do you think of being able to play this entry without having to have played either of the original Gunvolt titles?

Let us know in the comments below!

The post E3 2019 INTERVIEW: INTI CREATES Talks About Luminous Avenger iX appeared first on oprainfall.

Title: The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
Publisher(s): Nintendo
Platform(s): Nintendo Switch
Release Date: September 20, 2019

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My twenty-minute demo of The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening started me off at the very beginning of the game where I am washed up on shore and went through the opening stages of the game until I very nearly completed the game’s first dungeon. The basic plot line behind The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening is that Link wakes up on a beach on Koholint Island and he has to collect eight musical instruments in order to wake up the Wind Fish so he can return home. It is a zany action-RPG that was the first The Legend of Zelda game I ever finished on my fat Game Boy back in the mid-1990’s, and so I eagerly dove into this Switch remake to see how it stacks up.

As muscle memory took over and I started to go through the familiar motions for the game’s opening sequence, I was struck by how well the game operated. My sword and shield items were mapped out permanently to two different buttons, freeing up my ‘X’ and ‘Y’ buttons for me to swap other items and other things into. This is a smart quality-of-life update by Nintendo from the original, as it meant that I could always have my sword/shield available for use unlike in the original Game Boy release. As I worked my way up to and through my first dungeon, I found that combat was as ‘simple’ as I remember it to be, and I found myself slashing and blocking projectiles with ease.

The gameplay world is gorgeous as well. The camera was locked at a three-quarter overhead view as I moved around. and there is a lot of detail in the brightly-colored environments. The framerate stuttered whenever there was much action or many different character models on the screen, though I am willing to put this down as the result of Nintendo still working on the game before its September release. All that said, I think the facial depictions of the characters are a bit creepy. Link, Marin, the shopkeeper, and so on all have pupil-less eyes that end up making them look like empty beings attempting emotion. It was a bit unsettling this otherwise perfect demo.

The classic minor gameplay stuff is in there too. The very first thing I did once I took control of Link was to make a beeline for the shop in order to steal from him. And while I was unsuccessful, I could tell that the ‘old moment patterns for the shopkeeper watching you in the original Game Boy release were still intact. After I retrieved my sword, and I started to slash at Cuccos repeatedly until they swarmed me and nearly killed me. These are the kinds of things that I wanted in a The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening remake more than anything else, and this demo delivered it.

Overall, the best thing about the new Switch version of The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening is that it is a faithful remake to the classic Nintendo Game Boy version of the game. While I did not get to try out the new Chamber Dungeon or dungeon building mechanic, I have strong hopes that if it is as well implemented as the other gameplay in The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening is, then it won’t be the like gimmicky train building in The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks or the terribly animated cutscenes in Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon. One thing that I am genuinely curious about -and nothing has been said yet by the Big N- is if the additional content from the Game Boy Color 1998 re-release, which included the then-brand new Color Dungeon and Game Boy Printer content, will be included in this version. Nintendo has not been shy about re-releasing the DX version of the game on the 3DS before, so I am hopeful that the dungeon and printer content will return in some fashion as well.

Overall, playing the Switch demo of The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening took me back to a simpler time in my life, and I loved every moment of it. It releases on September 20, 2019 on the Nintendo Switch and I already have my copy pre-ordered. You can also check out our retro review for The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening DX here if you want a more in-depth analysis of the classic version of this game.

You can pre-order The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening now for the Nintendo Switch.

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Are you excited for the re-release of The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening? What do you think of the graphic and character designs? 

Let us know in the comments below!

The post E3 2019 Hands-On IMPRESSIONS: The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening appeared first on oprainfall.

With the January 2019 launch of KINGDOM HEARTS III for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, SQUARE ENIX and La Fée Sauvage teamed up again after their successful 2017 KINGDOM HEARTS Orchestra -World Tour- concert series to bring KINGDOM HEARTS Orchestra -World of Tres- to the stage. I attended the June 8th, 2019 concert at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California and I was in love with what I saw, with a few minor caveats that still make this a concert worth attending.

The KINGDOM HEARTS Orchestra -World of Tres- concert is split into two parts: The first part plays original (as in, not-Disney related) compositions from all of the prior KINGDOM HEARTS games and the second half of the concert plays exclusively music from KINGDOM HEARTS III. In the first half, as each piece plays, cutscenes telling the story of that game play to ‘catch the view up’ on what has already happened in those KINGDOM HEARTS games. In the second half, the music matches up with the storyline from that particular world in KINGDOM HEARTS III.

Interestingly, this concert was almost entirely medley compositions. From what I can tell, the performances by the orchestra/chorus with Elio di Tanna on the piano (who performed again the next night in the FINAL FANTASY VII: A Symphonic Reunion concert that I also reviewed) did not shortchange any of the musical pieces themselves, and they did a stunning job in inserting all of the emotions and heart into the musical scores that KINGDOM HEARTS is known for, but it was still a surprising choice of how to present a concert. For example, KINGDOM HEARTS Re:Chain of Memories was represented by a medley of “Scent of Silence” and “Castle Oblivion” as the game’s storyline was told from beginning to end. This ended making the sixth piece performed, “Pretty Pretty Abilities” from coded, stand out awkwardly a bit as it was a standalone piece with no other music from coded being played. Furthermore, as evidenced by the person I went with who had only played the original KINGDOM HEARTS game, the cutscenes didn’t explain the storylines well enough for someone who wasn’t versed in the series already to grasp fully what was occurring.

My favorite performance of the entire concert was the encore performance, Don’t Think Twice- KINGDOM Orchestra Instrumental Version. Yoko Shimomura took the piano for that performance, just as she did for the “Fantasia alla Marcia” encore in 2017’s KINGDOM HEARTS Orchestra -World Tour-. I liked it so much that I really think that it is a serious omission from the official KINGDOM HEARTS Orchestra -World of Tres- CD. It is an excellent instrumental version of the KINGDOM HEARTS III song sung by Hikaru Utada, and it was a perfect way to close out the show. There is a definite thrill to seeing the composer for the KINGDOM HEARTS series playing her own music with the orchestra, and you could tell that she was genuinely enjoying herself there.

Aside from that, the choice of blending the different worlds from KINGDOM HEARTS III into joint medleys, with the exception of San Fransokyo and The Caribbean that were performed as standalone works, worked out a lot better than I expected. The transitions between worlds inspired by, for example, Tangled and  Monsters, Inc. was nearly seamless and made it seem like those two worlds actually do fit in together in a way that I didn’t see before the show. The standout moment of the night for, and the audience (aside from the encore), was easily when the entire orchestra stopped playing midway through the Toy Story piece to snap their fingers in time with the music. It was unexpected and extremely well received by the audience.

Overall, I loved this concert, and I was thrilled that I went to it. This is an excellent way to spend an evening in the company of other KINGDOM HEARTS fans and I am excited to see what SQUARE ENIX and La Fée Sauvage do next. If you can get tickets to KINGDOM HEARTS Orchestra -World of Tres-, you absolutely should, for this is a show that should not be missed.

               You can check out future worldwide KINGDOM HEARTS Orchestra -World of Tres- concert dates, and find links to buy tickets, here.

What is your favorite KINGDOM HEARTS game? Are you planning on attending one of the upcoming show dates? 

Let us know in the comments below!

The post REVIEW: KINGDOM HEARTS ORCHESTRA -World of Tres- Concert appeared first on oprainfall.

At E3 2019, I was able to try out two competing racing titles by Codemasters: F1 2019 and GRID. Even though both of these games have the same underlying genre, racing, they couldn’t be more different from each other. I took on F1 2019 and then GRID and found that where one aims to present the most realistic racing experience possible, the other places racing fun first and foremost.

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F1 2019

Publisher(s): Codemasters
Platform(s): Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC
Release Date: June 28, 2019
Website

F1 2019 is a game that chooses to hew as closely to authentic Formula One racing as possible. The cars in the game are designed to operate with realistic physics on both the track and in various weather conditions, and they are gorgeously reproduced as the player grows out of the ‘minor league’ Formula 2 races into full Formula One glory. In addition to the different leagues, there is now both classic vehicles that are included in the racing mix, and other vehicles can form rivalries against you based upon decisions that you make during gameplay that will influence how they interact (a/k/a sabotage) with you on the track.

During my F1 2019 hands-on demo, I was put into the Austrian Grand Prix first behind the wheel of Max Verstappen’s Red Bull vehicle and then in a storied 2009 Brawn BGP 001. Each of these vehicles felt incredibly different, and you could tell that they had been not only weighed out to act differently with the track’s realistic physics, but that they would accelerate and all handle differently. The Austrian Grand Prix track itself was gorgeous, and as I found myself spinning out off the track or dealing with other driver’s AI, I kept eyeballing the surrounding F1 2019 track scene and my own vehicle as it would collide and become damaged.

F1 2019 is a damn fine racing simulation title, and it is clearly one that is meant for fans who want that authentic Formula One racing experience, and one that you can pick up today.

You can buy F1 2019 now for PlayStation 4 (Anniversary/Legends Editions), Xbox One (Anniversary/Legends Editions), and PC Steam (Anniversary/Legends Editions).

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GRID

Publisher(s): Codemasters
Platform(s): PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, Stadia
Release Date: September 13, 2019

GRID is a racing game that goes in the obverse direction of F1 2019: instead of hewing closely to an authentic and realistic experience, GRID chooses to let gaming factor take central stage. As a result, the physics were not completely realistic and there are a lot of vehicle crashes and craziness present that you will not find in real life. There is also a rewind function available that lets you roll the race back several seconds to let you play your way through where you messed up again.

My GRID demo took place in Bay Area Storm, which is set in San Francisco. As I was strapped into a Chevrolet Camero SSX Concept, I was more than a little impressed with the track environment around me, though there were a lot of rough edges- which is to be expected for a title that was still in development. I peeled away from the starting line and was able to successfully drive around the track for the most part, though I would have to deal with enemy AI that would hit me and other cars. This has a lot of combat that I honestly was not expecting. I was routinely bumped by my opponents into the walls, and I quickly found myself in last place.

Despite losing the race, I had a blast playing GRID. This is a fun title that is designed to take the racing genre not so seriously, and it succeeds at doing so. GRID is streetdated for later this year, and I am excited to see what the final game will be like when it is out.

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What do you think of F1 2019 and GRID? Are you looking more forward to one over the other?

Let us know in the comments below!

The post E3 2019 Hands-On IMPRESSIONS: F1 2019 & GRID appeared first on oprainfall.

Though I was already familiar with New Wave Toys because of their RepliCade lineup, I hadn’t actually managed to see any of it in person. That all changed at E3, and they had a whole lot of goodies on display. They had several mini cabinets on the showfloor, including Dragon’s Lair, Missile Command and Centipede. I also managed to get my hands on 1942, which was a hell of a lot of fun. It brought me back to when I used to spend way too much time playing the arcades around me.

Besides all that cool stuff, they also had some other unique products. One looked like a change machine and was actually a USB device. But perhaps the coolest was a miniature of a man playing on a mini version of a multiplayer game, not unlike some Pac-Man setups from back in the day. The level of detail on all these machines is fantastic, and they really appeal to gamers of a certain age.

I’m glad I finally found time to try out New Wave Toys‘ RepliCade lineup in person. If you love classic machines or just swimming around in your own nostalgia pool, be sure to stay tuned for their upcoming projects.

The post E3 2019 IMPRESSIONS: New Wave Toys appeared first on oprainfall.

The story of the game goes thus. You play Captain Ashley S. Nowak, the titular Riftbreaker. You’re a scientist and an elite commando in one bad ass package. Part of that bad assery comes from your massive Mech-Suit you ride around in. A one way portal has stranded you on Galatea 37, at the distant end of the Milky Way. Your goal is to use tools you find and to build a base that gets you back home to Earth.

The demo broke down into two main components – building and combat. In between these you explore the alien planet looking for resources. It’s almost a hybrid of tower defense with ARPG, and it works surprisingly well. I had a lot of fun wandering around, getting into fights with alien monsters and generally making a mess of things. I found the combat incredibly fluid and just fun, swinging around giant blades and firing clip after clip of ammunition into throngs of foes.

On the opposite side is the construction / tower defense, where you build various facilities to help and defend yourself. It was very intuitive and easy to understand. By the very end of the demo, I thought I was well situated, and instead got completely overrun by a swarm of alien beasts.

I had a lot of fun demoing The Riftbreaker at E3 2019. While I wasn’t that familiar with EXOR Studios before, they’ll certainly be on my radar from now on. If you think this looks interesting, you’ll be pleased that it’s coming to PC, PS4 and XBOX 1 sometime in 2020.

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eFootball PES 2020 is the latest entry in the Pro Evolution Soccer franchise by KONAMI that comes with a focus (as the name suggests) on the eSports aspect of the series. This new entry comes with a revamped Master League, the new Matchday mode, upgraded gameplay mechanics, and scanned player images to allow gamers to see their favorite licensed teams in full form on the field.

During E3 2019, I caught up with Lennart Bobzien, the European PES brand manager. During our time together, we talked about the return of Second Divisions for Italy/Spain, new features for this upcoming entry, and more.

If you want to check out more eFootball PES 2020 news, you can visit their offical website, like them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, and subscribe to them on YouTube.

You can also check out my E3 2019 hands-on impressions for eFootball PES 2020 here. If you’re interested in checking out a demo, it goes live on July 30th. eFootball PES 2020 releases worldwide on September 10, 2019, for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC (Steam).

This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Operation Rainfall: My name is Quentin Humphrey with Operation Rainfall, and are you?

LB: My name is Lennart Bobzien, and I am the European PES Brand Manager.

OR: So what is eFootball PES 2020?

LB: eFootball PES 2020 is a repositioning of our previously known Pro Evolution Soccer series. So this year, we decided to do our repositioning to underline our focus on eSports moving forward. eSports have already been a big part of our series, and moving forward, it will become more the focus.

OR: We’re going to talk about this in a moment, but let’s dive right in this first: Second Divisions for Italy and Spain have returned! What led to them finally coming back? Because they were left out in the 2019 edition.

LB: Yes. Last year, we made the decision- we had to remove them from the game. Immediately, we saw the negativity and the backlash from our community. So therefore, we just recognized that that was a huge mistake. And therefore, we decided that we will bring them back as mentioned yesterday.

“We have always been in touch with Messi in the past, even when we didn’t have him on the cover.“

OR: This year, the Master League is being revamped. How are you revamping it? What changing are coming, and why are they coming?

LB: With Master League, we are in the second year of a three-year plan. And this year, we’ve included new features such as realistic transfer system, which means that we’re working with our data collection team, which is providing us with the real data and the transfers from the real world of football. Just to make it as realistic as possible. We’ve also included interactive cutscenes, which means that you can make your own choices in certain situations, and create your very own bespoke Master League story. And what’s very cool is that now with the new Master League, we’ve introduced legendary players as managers. So now you can sign up [Diego] Maradona, [Johan] Cryuff, or Zico, for example, for your team as a manager. More [managers] will be announced soon.

OR: You mentioned a moment ago that there’s new dialogue trees to eFootball PES 2020. Where did this concept come from, and how does it actually influence gameplay?

LB: First of all, Master League has been part of the series since the beginning. We just want to include more engagement for our users, more options [in order] to have an interactive way to play. And therefore, we just thought that it’s the best opportunity when you’re the manager, when you have discussions with one of your players, that to add this really nice touch to it- to have this direct influence on the story. And so we have decided to include it into the game.

OR: So what I say at a press conference, will that affect the players’ playing form?

LB: So, obviously, the press conference is something where you will interact with the press itself. And obviously, there will be press conferences before the game, but also after the game. And this will obviously have an impact on how media will receive you and how you will interact with those people. And obviously, it will have an impact on your progress later on in the mode.

OR: You have a new mode: Matchday.

LB: Matchday is a really interesting concept. It is a mode that reflects and embraces all the big matches in the real world of football. And it’s aligned very closely with the Matchday calendar from real football. So this means, for example, that we want to highlight, we want to include all the big games and rivalries, from the real world. We want to have them featured in the game. And then at the beginning of each week, you select a side from one of those two teams that will be highlighted.

You select the side, and then you play as that team. And you get points for performing outstandingly. For example, winning games, dribbling, goals. You will get points, you will add points to your team’s side. At the same time, there are thousands of other players playing for your side and for the opposition. So therefore, all the points are getting put together. And at the end of each week, you have the overall score. And then two representatives from each side will be picked, and those two will face each other online for the big finale. The fans can tune in through a livestream, [and] cheer and support them. And then in the end, there will be rewards for the ultimate winner.

So it’s a very engaging community-included mode.

OR: Lionel Messi from FC Barcelona has returned to the cover for the first time since 2011. How did you go about bringing him back?

LB: We have always been in touch with Messi in the past, even when we didn’t have him on the cover. And we’ve always looked for opportunities and ways- there’s some interest on both sides. And with the partnership with Barcelona, the one we just renewed to be [their] global partner, it made perfect sense to wrap this partnership up with having probably the best player in the world right now on the cover. And when we started the discussions with him last year, it was clear that it worked from both sides. Therefore, we managed to get him back on board.

OR: Not only that, but you’re working with ex-Barcelona captain Andrés Iniesta to improve gameplay. How that did that partnership develop, and what suggestions did he bring that were implemented into eFootball PES 2020?

LB: Iniesta is obviously an ex-Barcelona legend. Since he is now playing in Tokyo, it was perfect for our team in Japan who literally lives around the corner. When we approached him and asked, he said he would be interested in becoming an advisor for our team. He was absolutely up for it. And what he’s bringing to the game is, first of all, his wisdom, his experience, and his years played at the highest levels of football. And he sat down with the development team from different departments- from the gameplay department, from the ball department, from the animations department, and he looked at all those different aspects and gave tips [on] how to improve those areas. Whether the ball is behaving correctly, whether a rebound is coming up, whether the player is dribbling in the right way [and] right pace.

The pace is also is something where he had a huge impact on, to reflect the real football in game as much as possible.

“So overall, our full product is for every single audience. For the casual audience. For the hardcore audience.” 

OR: How long has eFootball PES 2020 been in development for?

LB: In development, the exact years I can’t tell you, but its definitely more than a year.

OR: Building on that- the UEFA Championship license deal ended in 2018, and y’all lost the rights to Borussia, Dortmund, [etc]. With this game still in development, you managed to put on a fairly well critically-received title. And 2020, from my hands on, should be received pretty well as well. How did you manage to pull it off, even losing these teams and licenses?

LB: In the end, when it comes to football products or licensing products, you have on one side the game itself. You have the game- just the pure game, the naked game, without any licenses. And in that way, that case, the game’s already brilliant. It’s an amazing football game. It’s realistic. It’s enjoyable. And on the other side, you have the licensing part. And with both mixed together, you can have the perfect, perfect football experience.

Obviously, with not renewing the UEFA Champions League or not having Dortmund in the game anymore, it wasn’t helpful. But on the other side, the game is still amazing. It’s an amazing product. And this year, in terms of licenses, you can definitely look forward to the next couple of months- July, August- since around those two months we will talk more about new licenses.

OR: I have to ask- Argentina, Belgum, Scotland, and more. Are there any new leagues or clubs that you are bringing that you can announce now?

LB: The short answer is ‘yes, but I cannot tell.’ But we have big announcements. When we meet at E3 next year, I hope, you will say ‘You’re right. You had big announcements.’

OR: Back to the gameplay- what are some new first touch techniques that are coming to eFootball PES 2020?

LB: One is the Trip Trap, which lets you do a feint to one side, and then go to the other side and actually beat the defender. And we have the so-called ‘no touch’ controller, which is where the ball is incoming, you can run next to the ball without touching it. This is a nice little feature and element of how to treat the ball when its incoming.

“But if you look at the past, we always have regular content updates and that’s definitely part of the series.“

OR: So you can’t tell me anything about new leagues or clubs, but can you tell me about new commentators for this year?

LB: We will talk more about commentators in August, but what I’ve seen so far, there are no big updates in terms that commentators will change. We are obviously working on improving our commentator system, adding in new phrases, adding in cutscenes, but the people- the commentators themselves- most of them will be the same.

OR: So 2019’s was called Pro Evolution Soccer 2019, and now this year’s is called eFootball PES 2020. Why the turn to eSports?

LB: To be fair, if you look at the series, we have been doing eSports for years, [but] on a smaller scale. As when you look back at the last three, four years- we’ve grown our eSports. We have the PES League. We work with our partners- Aresenal, Liverpool. We’ve hosted events at their stadiums. Last year, we started our initiative eFootball Pro, where you have teams such as Barcelona, Celtic, Monaco competing with each other.

If you look at our setup now, we are already there with eSports. We just wanted to grow more in the future and have more local competitions with the local leagues. We just finished in Russia with the Cyber League, which was an amazing success. And that’s just something we want to grow over the next years.

OR: This is one of the two big football franchises. How do you work to distinguish yourselves from FIFA?

LB: For us, it is clearly the gameplay. There is a massive difference between our product and our competitor’s product. The visuals- We’ve done loads of 3-D scans with lots of players. So the player likenesses in the game is just incredible. And then, to round it up, we have a very compelling eSports project. You have the professional one and the casual tournaments. So overall, our full product is for every single audience. For the casual audience. For the hardcore audience. And that’s how we wanted to distinguish ourselves from our competitor.

OR: What platforms will eFootball PES 2020 be out for?

LB: On PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC Steam.

OR: Will there be Xbox One X and PlayStation 4 Pro enhancements?

LB: The game will definitely look better on the enhanced consoles, that’s for sure.

OR: What’s the release date?

LB: The tenth of September, globally, which is a Tuesday.

OR: Now DLC. Will there be any DLC plans for eFootball PES 2020?

LB: Oh, definitely. That’s something that’s always been part of the series. We will release data packs post-launch. We will have regular updates coming to the game, including boots, player faces, kits, stadiums, eventually leagues- but I won’t want to talk about that yet.

But if you look at the past, we always have regular content updates and that’s definitely part of the series.

And what’s very important to us is that it’s up to date. So when you have kits being released, boots being releases, left goal keeper gloves being released, you want to have that in the game.

Obviously, we’re still working on signing additional partnerships with clubs, which also comes along with new stadiums. So therefore, stadiums, kits, additional content will come post-launch.

OR: To someone who hasn’t heard of or seen eFootball PES 2020 until this year’s E3, or have only played FIFA before, what do you have to say to them?

LB: Stay tuned for the demo, which will be released very soon. We will reveal more information [at the] end of June when we will be at the World Finals. This demo will definitely show you how beautiful our product is, and if you love football, you will definitely love PES. We want to get our game into as many people’s hands as possible, so that they can convince ourselves [of that].

It’s easy to say ‘yeah, you should play PES, so you should play FIFA for that.’ At the end, its your decision. You need to play the product to see how good our game is.

eFootball PES 2020 releases worldwide on September 10, 2019, for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC (Steam).

What new features are you excited for in eFootball PES 2020? Are you excited to partake in the new Matchday mode? 

Let us know in the comments below!

The post E3 2019 INTERVIEW: eFootball PES 2020 (Lennart Bobzien) appeared first on oprainfall.

Now that I’m in the home stretch for my E3 2019 coverage, it’s time to talk about NISA. They were extremely courteous during the show, letting me demo and check out several upcoming games as well as introducing me to the CEO, Takuro Yamashita, Senior Director, Sean Kim and PR boss, Erin. We met at the spacious Triple 8 China Bar & Grill, where I got to sit and relax in glorious air conditioning as I played what was available. Though there were a handful of playable demos, I went with two that I felt would most interest our audience. First I’ll mention those two games, and then briefly touch upon some upcoming titles I wasn’t able to check out.

I knew our audience (and several of our writers) would murder me if the first game I demoed with NISA wasn’t the newest entry in the Trails of Cold Steel series. So first thing I sat down to get some hands on time with The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III. I should mention that although I own the first two Trails games on Vita, I haven’t actually gotten a chance to play either yet. Having said that, I found the combat in the demo incredibly intuitive. Essentially, if you’ve played a classic turn based RPG, you should be able to figure things out quickly. I loved that about the game. If that wasn’t enough, the game will feature an interactive introduction if you aren’t familiar with the previous games.

Another great thing about Trails of Cold Steel III is the art and atmosphere. This is the sort of game that reminds me why I love Japanese culture and JPRGs in particular. The characters are complex and animated, and the monsters are hideous and challenging. Most of my demo involved me running around a cold metallic facility, killing monsters and finding loot while learning the basics. Though the combat was intuitive, it also had tons of nuance and depth that I can imagine learning and perfecting over time. It was especially fun teaming up with party members to assault foes, as well as just using the various skills and physical attacks.

I think I can say with confidence that if you love the Trails of Cold Steel series, you’ll have a lot to look forward to when The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III releases. It officially is coming out September 24th in North America, and is exclusively for the PS4. It will feature both Japanese and English audio options, and English and French text options. My only hope is that it does so well that it eventually gets a Steam or Switch port, cause I had a lot of fun playing it.

If I didn’t know a lot about Trails III, the next game I demoed with NISA was even more mysterious. That game was Utawarerumono: ZAN. To say I am unfamiliar with the Utawarerumono series is a massive understatement, but that didn’t prevent me from enjoying the demo. This particular game is a musou styled one, so you’re facing off against hordes of nasty insectoid monsters in the demo. I played as Haku, using my fan to blow mighty gusts of wind all over, throwing the monsters into each other and generally causing mayhem. That worked quite well until a big one showed up, and I went from walking RAID can to mouse running from a cat. The action totally shifted, with me comically sprinting like hell as the gargantuan beast chased me, and little ones tried to corral me. I was finally victorious when I tricked it into running off a snowy ledge.

The gameplay was fantastic, but so was the art and style. There’s a ton of personality here, especially how different the various characters are. I only got to see a couple, but one was an over the top gentleman who inexplicably spoke old english. I could tell even from this brief demo that there’s a lot of great story to be told here. The little I know is that you play as Haku, who has a case of amnesia, though you can also play as 11 other legendary heroes.

If you love musou games or are a longtime fan of Utawarerumono, you should definitely check ZAN out. It’s not too far away, slated to release in North America on September 10th, also exclusively for PS4. As an added incentive, the game will feature up to 4 player multiplayer to help you massacre insectoid hordes.

One of the titles that I opted not to demo was The Alliance Alive HD Remastered. The primary reason I didn’t get hands on time with it is cause I already own the original on my 3DS. That said, The Alliance Alive HD Remastered gives a shiny new coat of paint to the original game, as well as bringing it to new consoles.

The game is technically turn based, though it has some very unusual combat conventions. To read more about them in depth, just check out our published review here. The game features a world split into separate regions where humans are enslaved by Daemonic overlords. Your goal is to rebel and find out the truth of what has brought this to the world. I enjoyed the original game, and think fans of classic RPGs should like this HD remaster published by NISA. The Alliance Alive HD Remastered is slated to release for PS4 and Nintendo Switch this October 8th.

The other title I wasn’t able to play during my NISA meeting was Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories. What’s interesting about this series is that, as far as I know, it’s never been released in North America. Japan, certainly, and I think Europe as well, but never here in the good old USA. Regardless, now one entry is coming stateside, and at what feels like a pretty timely moment. After all, our climate gets more and more chaotic by the day, so why not play a game about catastrophic environmental hazards?

Things start calm and quickly devolve into madness after a huge earthquake strikes your city. Your goal is to make quick decisions and try and survive, which leads to many possible endings. Run from fire and shifting buildings while doing your best to navigate the chaos. If nothing else, Disaster Report 4 certainly sounds unique, and I’m glad we’ll soon be able to check it out in this part of the world. If you’re interested in it, you’ll be happy to hear it’s releasing in 2020 for PC, PS4 and even Nintendo Switch.

All in all, I got to check out a lot of unique experiences courtesy of NISA, even a couple I can’t mention quite yet. Thanks for tuning in, and please check out my and Quentin’s last few E3 articles as they go out!

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For this article, Jenae R. and Quentin H. went hands-on with two different demos of DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS 2: Jenae R. (a series veteran) played the PlayStation 4 downloadable demo released June 27, 2019 and Quentin H. (new to the franchise) played the PlayStation 4 E3 2019 demo. This article contains thoughts from both people writing about both demos.

Jenae R.

DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS is a spin-off series, where each game is a new `what if this happened instead’ scenario, which is connected to the mainline DRAGON QUEST games. The first DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS title took place at the end of DRAGON QUEST 1. Instead of defeating the Dragonlord, the hero agreed to team up with him and as a result, the Dragonlord caused havoc and brought the world to ruin. This new entry, DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS 2, takes place after the end of the second mainline game. In an alternate turn of events, instead of being defeated completely, the Children of Hargon survive and look to bring destruction back to the world. One of their goals is to get rid of any builders who stand in their way. In both games, you take on the role of a builder and work towards restoring the world and defeating evil.

After playing the original for the first time last year, I absolutely fell in love with DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS. It was full of charm and very addicting to play. By the time I beat it, I knew a second entry was being developed and I could not wait. Now with the English demo of DQB2 having just been released, I finally got a taste of what the game will be like on PS4. There are a lot of new additions, but you only get to see a smidgen in the demo. First of all, you’re given a partner to help you with fighting monsters and gathering materials. That partner, Malroth, you find on a deserted island (called the Isle of Awakening) where you’ve washed up, after the Children of Hargon’s ship you were on sinks. Anytime you take a slash at an enemy or break something for materials, Malroth will do the same. That’s the first big change, getting more NPC help. You didn’t actually get much help at all in DQB1.

The second big change is how the game is overall set-up. In DQB1 the chapters were separated from each other. Each one was in its own area. You’d fulfill quests, build up a base throughout the chapter and eventually fight an end of chapter boss. Afterwards, you’d leave everything behind and teleport to the next area with almost nothing on you. From what I’ve seen so far in the demo, it looks like DQB2 has one home base area. Throughout the story you’ll take a boat to various islands and bring stuff back to the starting island for the purpose of building it up. This is exactly what I wanted in the sequel. I think it’ll be much more fun to slowly build up one grand area, rather than a bunch of smaller bases. Yes, you could do that in Terra Incognita in DQB1, but I didn’t find it as fun without anymore story or quests to go with.

Aside from those two main changes, there a lot of other smaller, but very welcome additions. Some of those additions are the ability to swim in the ocean, a new stamina meter for certain actions such as swimming underwater, online multiplayer and other social features, and even equipment that doesn’t break. There are far too many updates for me to mention all of them. But it’s a whole lot of new stuff not found in the first game. I’m extremely hyped for DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS 2. Though before I pass things off to Quentin (so he can tell you what he thought as a newcomer who played a special demo at E3), I have to mention the one major issue I ran into. Once the ship you’re on sinks and you find yourself stranded on a deserted island, it’s possible to screw around too much purely through exploration and completely skip over prompting the story to continue. I went swimming around in the ocean and eventually found myself on the complete other side of the island. Being a little lost, I wandered around aimlessly until finding some NPCs. It turns out, Malroth was standing around seemingly frozen and some other NPCs were washed up on shore. Talking to the apparently dead NPCs made their bodies vanish with the appropriate commentary notes you’re supposed to see. But the girl who wakes up later and was currently passed out, only gave you a `…..’ response. Talking to Malroth did absolutely nothing. Fortunately, I saved right as I woke up on the island and simply restarted the game so I could properly activate the story. Nonetheless, that’s a serious flaw that needs to be fixed.

In the end, despite the one glaring issue DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS 2 is equally as exciting as the first title. The demo was about an hour or so depending on if you take your time and read everything the characters say. I went through the basic tutorial on the Children of Hargon’s ship and then did a few basic quests for Lulu and Malroth on the Isle of Awakening. The demo story cuts off when a guy with a boat comes to take you to a farming island. But you can get even more playtime out of the demo if you choose to explore or build anything. To be honest, the wait to play the full thing has been agonizing. After finishing the demo I immediately secured myself a digital deluxe pre-order and now I anxiously await July 12th. Keep reading though to find out what someone brand new to the series thinks of it so far.

Read onto the next page to see what Quentin H. thought of the E3 2019 demo——>

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There were a handful of games I was unable to actually demo at E3 2019, but perhaps the one I most wanted to play was Maneater. One of the reasons I was so eager was because I kept hearing about the game from my partners in crime last year at E3. Another reason is simple. It’s an action RPG where you get to play a shark. No Ecco the Dolphin pacifist bullshit. This game is all about spectacle and mayhem, with a great sense of humor thrown in for good measure. Keep on reading to see how this crazy game works.

Even though I wasn’t able to demo Maneater, what I saw was quite compelling. For one thing, the premise of the game is unique. You play a young shark whose mother was killed in the course of a reality TV show called Sharkhunters vs. Maneaters. The man who murdered your mom is called Scaly Pete, and he’s bound and determined to kill every aquatic beast that comes his way. His reason for revenge is simple, his own father was killed by a monster shark. So this is a tale of revenge between species.

That said, you play the young shark, and you have a surprising versatility of ways to fight back. Since you’re a shark, you mostly devour things, but you can also ram ships, leap into the air and even use unsuspecting humans as projectiles. You literally fling them from your mouth, and it’s a thing of horrible beauty. But that’s not all. Since this is an action RPG, you can level up and actually evolve. By eating different proteins and fats you can adjust how you grow. You can also defeat legendary aquatic nightmares and in so doing get new forms. You might grow scaly bone spikes or get the capacity to conduct electricity. Maneater is only loosely bound by reality, and I think it’ll be better because of it.

The artistry in Maneater is stunning. You wouldn’t necessarily think so, but there’s a lot of lush realism and attention to detail. Since you spend a lot of time underwater, there’s tons of ripples and various water effects. The use of light in particular was haunting, and the game showed off bright neon lights and earthy hues. Just watching them maneuver the shark around was a joy, and the action never slowed down. In combat, things were fast and furious, and it was quickly apparent how much of a force of nature you are. That said, humans with powerful technology and guns will hunt you if you make a mess, so you’ll have your work cut out for you.

I didn’t expect much story in Maneater, but there’s a good amount of lore and humor on display. Since the format of the game is a reality show, you have a narrator announcing what’s happening, and it’s none other than Chris Parnell. The mad man from SNL, 30 Rock, Archer and more does a fantastic job of using sarcastic humor in his analysis. You won’t get bored by his commentary, I strongly suspect.

The good news is, Maneater is coming out to PC. The bad news is, it’s coming to Epic Games first, and moves onto other platforms some months later. I’m impressed by what Tripwire Interactive has here, and hope to see Maneater swim its way to other consoles later on. Because there’s very few things as entertaining as tearing through gawking humans as a deadly shark.

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One of the series coming here courtesy of Idea Factory International are the Date A Live light novels. Illustrated by Tsunako and written by Kōshi Tachibana, the series deals with life or death stakes that can only be solved by dating beautiful spirits. If that sounds crazy, you’ve obviously never played a Japanese video game before. As for the first one, Date A Live: Rio Reincarnation deals with a series of Spacequakes caused by angry Spirits. Naturally, to stop them you have to date said Spirits. The game features 11 characters and 150 possible dates, which means there’s a ton of replay value here. If that sounds like your cup of tea, you’ll be happy that Date A Live: Rio Reincarnation comes to PC and PS4; July 23rd for NA Steam, and the 26th for Europe.

Another game coming from Idea Factory International is Arc of Alchemist. The world has been turned into an endless desert, and it’s your job to search for a cure. You play the young Quinn Bravesford as she sets out on her quest. Armed with only the Lunagear, you face off against horrific Machine Dolls, as well as the Principality of Neuhaven. Using your Lunagear, you find 4 elemental orbs to obtain eldritch forces. Hack and slash your way through hordes of foes with your team and organize your forces from a mobile base. Much like Date A Live: Rio Reincarnation before it, this one is also slated to release Winter 2019, but only for PS4. If nothing else, it looks colorful and interesting with complex battle mechanics. Maybe not my sort of RPG, but it should have lots of fans.

Next up is a sequel of sorts to the uber challenging and twisted Mary Skelter, Mary Skelter 2! Set in an alternate timeline to the original Mary Skelter: Nightmares, this one does things a bit differently. For one, Jack is now Nightmare Jack. But don’t let his hideous appearance fool you, he’s still a good guy, so long as you keep him calm. You’ll make your way through intense dungeons using turn based mechanics to fight back against the monsters of the game. And fear not, the titular Nightmares will still be after you, and can only be killed once you defeat a dungeon’s core. Otherwise, they’re invincible, and your only hope is to stun them and escape. Perhaps the best feature of Mary Skelter 2 is that you get two games for the price of one. They have balanced and re-released the Vita original with the sequel. The only downside is that currently Mary Skelter 2 is only going to be digital, but the upside is it’s coming to Nintendo Switch! So if, like me, you were intrigued by the art of the original and wanted to give it a go, this is a great incentive to pick up the sequel.

The next game is technically already out as of yesterday, but I’ll mention it since I got some hands on time with it. That game includes none other than Idea Factory International’s pink mascot, Super Neptunia RPG! Unlike most of the other games, this one is a mix of 2D platformer aspects and traditional turn based team mechanics. It’s also the first Nep game by Artisan Studios. I found the game to be pretty intuitive, and liked how switching around my team formation on the fly in battle changed their available attacks. Other than that, the game is still colorful, witty and fun. While you’ll be able to find out much more when oprainfall’s official review of the game goes live, I’d say it’s worth checking out now. If you need more Nep in your life, then you can pick it up right now for PS4 and Switch.

Last but certainly not least is a series I’ve been hearing a lot about lately. That series is Azur Lane, and the game is Azur Lane: Crosswave. Once I wrapped my head around the concept of ship girls, the game sounded pretty fun. Unlike the mobile incarnation, this one isn’t a side scrolling shooter. Instead, Crosswave is a 3D Action Shooter. It features beautiful cel-shaded artwork and frantic and chaotic battles involving tons of moving pieces. The game also has a huge cast of playable characters and tons of rivals to defeat. When you add the usual Idea Factory International fixation on customization, you know this is gonna be a huge game. If you love Azur Lane and need more in your life, you can pick up Azur Lane: Crosswave on PS4 sometime later in 2020.

Overall, I had a great time checking out what Idea Factory International had to show at E3 2019. There’s lots of cool stuff on the horizon, for fans old and new. Keep on checking out oprainfall for the last portion of my E3 coverage.

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Title: Gunvolt Chronicles: Luminous Avenger iX
Publisher(s): INTI CREATES
Platform(s): Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PC (Steam)
Release Date: September 26, 2019
Website

Gunvolt Chronicles: Luminous Avenger iX is one of those games that manages to exceed the quality of the series that some people claim it is a clone of. At E3 2019, I dove into a hands-on demo of the game where I played as Copen and I took on a level (‘Stone Ruins’) in the game, complete with a boss fight at the end.

First thing first: Gunvolt Chronicles: Luminous Avenger iX is a beautiful throwback to the SNES-era graphics. The pixel-style art is well done, and the character models and background graphics are top-notch. Even when I was zipping around the level from battle to battle, I felt like I needed to keep one eye on the design that was around me due to the fact that I simply didn’t want to miss any of the artwork, and I am hopeful that INTI CREATES will put out an artbook after the game’s release to satisfy my desire for this world’s design.

The gameplay of Gunvolt Chronicles: Luminous Avenger iX is designed around the concept of ricocheting off of as many walls as possible using the Bullit Dash ability and by dashing into as many enemies as possible. In a way to encourage the ricocheting mechanic, Copen is given three ‘bullits’ that appear on the bottom of the screen, with each bullit used for a Dash move. With each bounce off the wall, a bullit partially refills. Furthermore, as you dash into enemies, a homing target appears on the enemy that allows you to ‘shoot-and-forget’ your attacks from wherever on the screen with your photon laser gun that will fire endlessly. I was also given an EX Weapon called Stellar Spark that I mixed up my regular attacks with, and I could summon Lola to the screen in a massive pixel-art attack on all present enemies (that would then recharge through a meter).

This game, if you can’t tell, moves FAST as a result. While there is another way to refill all your bullits with a ground pound-esque move, I ended up not liking to do that as it slowed the game’s movement and combat down with a sudden ‘stop’ before I could start bouncing all over the place again. This gameplay philosophy extended even to the boss fight, when I more or less brute-forced my way through by bouncing off the enemy, shooting homing shots, and summoning Lola whenever possible while trying to avoid having to do a full reload as much as possible. I honestly think that the ground pound-like move is meant as a ‘last resort’ option instead of a frequently-used gameplay option, though I did it a few more times than I liked as I was trying to get into the gameplay. There was also a hovering move that I could use after performing a Bullit Dash move, but I just didn’t bother with it too much, as I found myself wanting to bounce off of walls more in order to refill my bullits while getting through the level.

I am going to say that I genuinely liked Gunvolt Chronicles: Luminous Avenger iX and it reminded me of an improved version of the Mega Man X series- which is a classic franchise in and of itself. With Gunvolt Chronicles: Luminous Avenger iX coming to Nintendo Switch, PC on Steam, and PlayStation 4 in September 2019, it also means that I won’t have to wait too much longer to get my hands on it.

How excited are you to try out Gunvolt Chronicles: Luminous Avenger iX when it comes out later this year?

Are you going to pick it up on a Nintendo or non-Nintendo platform?

Let us know in the comments below!

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When I saw the screenshots for The Last Friend, I knew I had to demo it. I fully intended to at the MIX, but was lost in the never-ending corridors of games, food and more games. Thankfully, I managed to find Stonebot Studio’s booth on the E3 showfloor, and promptly headed over to check the game out. The concept of The Last Friend is like a mix of Mad Max with puppies. Let’s see how well they meshed.

The demo of The Last Friend that was available to play takes place somewhat later in the game. That’s relevant since it meant that the demo was a bit more challenging than I anticipated. Your goal in the game is to protect the puppies in a post apocalyptic environment from deranged mutants and dog haters. Your canine companions aren’t just cargo either, they gift you with special abilities as well. It’s a cool concept, and in the demo my puppy was slowly recovering the health of my turrets.

Besides the setting of the game, The Last Friend is also unique since it’s a hybrid of tower defense and beat-em-up. Your wild haired hero can place batteries on the field, and where they intersect you can attach gun turrets and other goodies. Once set, the waves of angry mutants come running, and your job is to supplement your weapons with a few well placed punches and kicks. You can move from lane to lane while you do so, and you’ll quickly need to get adept at doing so.

While I enjoyed the basic mechanics, I was quickly overwhelmed by the hordes of mutants in the demo. Thankfully, I did enjoy the basic mechanics, and feel there’s a good game here once it gets a bit more polished and balanced. When you pair the cool premise with fantastic art and pumping music, I feel Stonebot Studio might have a gem here. If you enjoy either of the genres represented here or just like colorful, fun games with doggos, stay tuned, since The Last Friend is slated to release Q4 of 2019 on Steam and all major consoles.

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When I returned to the Dolby Theater for the second night in a row after attending the KINGDOM HEARTS Orchestra -World of Tres- the day before, I was expecting more of the same as pretty much every other video game concert that I’ve ever seen to: They show the name of the song, the orchestra performs the song, and there is a video montage of video game cutscenes and gameplay sequences that are both expertly timed to the ebbs and swells of the music and are meant to tie story-wise into the piece being played. FINAL FANTASY VII- A Symphonic Reunion subverted my expectations in a bold and experimental manner.

After the Symphonic Reunion Harmonic Orchestra and Chorus, Elio di Tanna (piano soloist), and Arnie Roth (conductor) all took the stage and introductory remarks were given by FINAL FANTASY VII director Yoshinori Kitase, the orchestra launched into The Prelude with the full opening credits for FINAL FANTASY VII playing on the screen behind it. It was beautifully played…and then the burned-into-memory screen of New Game or Continue appeared. At that point it became obvious what SQUARE ENIX and La Fée Sauvage had planned: this concert was going to be a truncated playthrough of FINAL FANTASY VII on the PlayStation One, complete with the original graphics and calling Aerith by ‘Aeris’. This format change was totally unexpected, and it worked extremely well as it progressed through the entirety of the game until the very end, even if the audience was expected to have a passing formality already with the storyline and characters.

Every so often, the ‘gameplay’ would stop and trailers for various other titles in the Compilation of FINAL FANTASY VII would be shown on the screen and they would be dated in reference to the storyline of FINAL FANTASY VII. While it was pretty darn cool to see all of the other games, the one that really stuck out to me was that Before Crisis: FINAL FANTASY VII was represented not by images from the now-defunct Japan-only mobile game, but instead was reworked into anime-style character designs. With this game never having been allowed out of Japan, very few people worldwide have been able to play it- and it makes me really hope that we will get to see some form of Before Crisis to be released in a similar fashion to how BROTHERHOOD: FINAL FANTASY XV was before FINAL FANTASY XV was released.

Another effort such as this would definitely be appreciated in advance of FINAL FANTASY VII Remake coming out.

The music itself, however, is where the concert began to fall short. The live portions of the concert were a mixture of orchestra-performed pieces and piano soloist pieces. The Symphonic Reunion Harmonic Orchestra and the Symphonic Reunion Chorus were amazing and perfect with their playing and singing, and Elio di Tanna performed the best piano soloist rendition of Tifa’s Theme that I have ever heard in my life. The Dolby Theater, of course, is an amazingly acoustically-friendly place to the point where any seat in the auditorium is a good seat. Where the concert fell frustratingly short, however, is that the lights would frequently drop on the orchestra, Mr. Roth would literally walk off stage, and the gameplay would continue with pre-recorded music for songs such as Rufus Welcoming Ceremony, Sandy Badlands, and Turk’s Theme for lengthy periods of time. I have never been to an orchestra concert before where the live orchestra/piano would stop playing for sections of a time and it wasn’t an homage to John Cage’s 4’33”, and both myself and the other concert goers around me were surprised by this. Even though the gameplay was still amazing to watch in all its 1997-glory, the constant shifts back and forth between live and recorded music did really detract from the performance as a whole, as people came to see an orchestra play music and not to hear pre-recorded music be played instead for significant portions of the show.

At the conclusion of the concert, the director of FINAL FANTASY VII Remake,Tetsuya Nomura, took the stage and quipped “[y]ou already knew I was going to come on stage, right?” as the audience gave him a standing ovation. A gameplay trailer with voice acting was shown to the audience, and a release date was given: March 3, 2020. You can check out the trailer yourself below, and you can check out my hands-on impressions of the E3 2019 demo here:

Considering the fact that I loved the live music portions and this experimental concert format as a whole, the concert wasn’t ‘bad’ per se. It just had a lot of potential that was missed in how the concert shifted between fourteen live music pieces and plenty of pre-recorded music. I wonder -and this is purely conjecture- if the performer’s preparation time for the concert was not as long as it could have been, and SQUARE ENIX attempted to make up for it with the combination of the three piano solo pieces and the pre-recorded music. This concert was definitely aimed at the fans: the terrible attempt at marching in the Junon parade, Cloud choosing the option to run away from Aeris early on in the game, and the video sequence that showed just how hard it can be to capture a chocobo are all part of the gameplay and were meant to invoke laughs from those that are long-time fans of FINAL FANTASY VII.

At the beginning of the concert, Yoshinori Kitase took the stage and stated “[o]ur hope was for you to re-experience this game”. In that way, I think the FINAL FANTASY VII- A Symphonic Reunion succeeded, and I would honestly buy a video recording of the performance to occasionally watch at home (not that there was any merchandise whatsoever for the performance itself available, just merch from the Distant Worlds concert series and that is also available on the SQUARE ENIX Store). I just wish that there was live accompaniment throughout the entire performance.

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The first title I played at the FriendTimes booth was Yokai Kitchen. I figured anything with yokai in it was a safe bet for our audience, and turns out I was right. Visually Yokai Kitchen reminded me somewhat of games like God Wars: Future Past or even a little like Okami. It’s bright, colorful and definitely inspired by Asian culture (which would be a running theme).

Your goal in the game is to summon yokai to do various tasks for you, such as run your kitchen, fight in battles and much more. You also will come across foodimon, which are creatures you use for culinary preparation. In the demo, I was able to check out a ranch full of them, as well as assign tasks to my wait staff in my restaurant. Sadly some aspects of the demo were being glitchy, so I wasn’t able to try out the combat first hand, but what I did experience piqued my interest.

This is a really attractive game, and in no way a quick cash grab like I usually expect from mobile. I was most impressed by the varied artists that have contributed to the yokai in the game, and there’s a ton of style and personality on display. While the release date has yet to be announced, eventually Yokai Kitchen will be available for iOS and Android devices.

The second game I played was Empress: Tales of the Heart, and as you can ascertain from the screens above, it’s still in the process of being translated into English. Thankfully, I had one of the FriendTimes team members on standby for translation duties, as well as explaining the mechanics of the various games. Whereas Yokai Kitchen is more of a fanciful sim game, Empress: Tales of the Heart is a more mature 3D MMO experience. You can take on various quests, fight dramatic battles and more.

You have an avatar in the game which you can fully customize as well, and I loved the distinctive and elegant art style here. Frankly, when I think of mobile games, this is not the image my brain comes up with. You can tell a lot of effort went into the aesthetics of the game, and that goes a long way to making any game successful. It also doesn’t hurt the game has wonderful animated cutscenes.

While I do wish I had more of a clear idea what I was doing in the game, even I could tell there’s a lot of complexity and nuance to how it works. An example of this is the day / night and weather systems. Each of your team members has distinct moves and skills, and you can level up and enhance them like in any other RPG experience. Also, depending on which tasks you take on, your fate will change. Much like Yokai Kitchen before it, Empress: Tales of the Heart also doesn’t have a release date yet, but it is slated to release on iOS and Android as well.

The final FriendTimes title was one I didn’t actually get to demo, the previously unannounced WizardLord. Unlike the other two, this one is distinctively Western flavored, not unlike a Lord of the Rings or World or Warcraft sort of vibe. This one is also the most combat oriented of the games, at least from what I could gather. In WizardLord there’s a ton of variety in your units, and a focus on PVP duels and collectible cards. As if that wasn’t enough, there are also 3 lanes you can fight on.

I honestly wish I had played WizardLord at E3, cause it looks very much like my type of game. I love deckbuilding and I love fantasy. If you love those as well, you can enjoy it right now on both iOS and Android.

Overall, I had a lot of fun checking out what FriendTimes had on display. Despite my inherent bias towards most mobile games (and to be fair, there’s a lot of garbage out there) these three may have convinced me to be more open minded in the future. Be sure to keep tuning into oprainfall in the coming days as I wrap up my E3 coverage!

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