Tervetuloa takaisin, ihmiset! Sain mukavan puhelun parhaalta ystävältäni. Hän ja minä menemme takaisin, samoin kuin keskinäinen rakkautemme Atlus-peleihin. Hänellä on vaikeampaa pitää ajan tasalla peleistä, joten hän oli innostunut oppimaan uudesta Raidou Kuzunoha-remasterista. Hän on myös kaveri, joka esitteli minut Xenoblade Chronicles takaisin, kun, joten tietysti hän käy läpi Xenoblade Chronicles X Remasterin. Muistan, että oleskelin hänen paikassaan viikonloppuna, jolloin hän näytti minulle Xenoblade Chronicles X Artbook; Minut otettiin melko uskomattoman ponnisteluun maailman suunnitteluun ja kaikki Miran omituiset elämänmuodot. Siksi, miksi kun sain kytkimen, varmasti poimin Xenoblade Chronicles 2: n sen mukana. Se oli mukava viikonloppu pelien pohtimiseen ja siihen, kuinka he tuovat ihmiset yhteen.
Tämä on…
Square Enix-soittoja Final Fantasy IX: n vuosipäivänä uudella verkkosivustolla, tulevat suunnitelmat…
Holy Crap, Final Fantasy IX kääntää 25 tänä vuonna! Mikä söpö peli se on. Vaikka sen kaksi edeltäjänsä nojautuivat enemmän tieteelliseen fantasiaan Final Fantasy VII: n dieselpunk-esque-lähestymistavan kanssa taikuuteen ja Final Fantasy VIII: n avaruusaluksiin ja henkiin, Final Fantasy IX oli takaisku Final Fantasy, ER, Fantasy Roots: Tale, joka on palannut ruhtinaseen, joka on typerys-iskun, poliittiset toimet. Vaikka siellä on paljon melodramaa, se on varmasti kevytmielinen peli, jossa on viehättävä näyttelijä; Knight Steiner tekee fantastisen märän viltin, vaikka hänellä on iso sydän tuon ruosteisen panssarin sisällä. Vivi Musta mage on kaikkien rakastettu hahmo. Freya Crescent on yhtä ilmiömäinen ja viileä hahmo kuin sinun on oltava elääkseen Final Fantasy Dragoon. Quino on rakastettavasti outo. Mutta tietysti kaiken läpi ovat viehättävä zidane ja granaatti: viehättävä rapscallion ja päähenkilöstö, kaksi hahmoa eri elämänaloilta, joilla on silti paljon yhteistä kuin luulet.
The absolute worst part is how much energy Nintendo has going into the Switch 2. A brand-new 3D Donkey Kong game, with fully destructible environments! This is the first time Donkey Kong looks as powerful as he’s purported to be, with his new design brilliantly showcasing his characterful nature. This is the kind of title everyone can get excited for, and everyone would be! Kirby Air Riders? A sequel to the fan-favorite racing game we haven’t seen in almost 20 years, with Sakurai at the helm? That should be a”Run, don’t walk!”recommendation! But at US$80? That’s money I’d put down for a game if I had to cover it for work—I’d never be able to recommend a game to anyone at that price. I’ve spent less on Skeb commissions.
Everything surrounding the Switch 2 has been an exercise in realizing how much harder things are going to be for people going forward—not just in the gaming sphere, but everywhere. The boots are on people’s necks, and even the hobbies we enjoy are now increasingly out of our reach—not just gaming, but everything: toy collecting, reading, gardening, model assembly… everything costs more now. Just over the past day of the tariffs being imposed, I’m already seeing people in clothes manufacturing, tabletop gaming, and indie toylines have all come out with how much this blows a hole in their finances and how badly this upsets many of their plans. And all that rolls downhill to us. Existing costs more. And I can’t even look at Donkey Kong’s smiling face without remembering that someone out there would love nothing more than to pull that noose on our necks just a little tighter. Sure would be nice to pretend that politics isn’t part of that… but unfortunately, I learned pretty quickly when I was a teenager that being Puerto Rican meant games were going to be a political thing for me, whether I wanted them to or not–matters like The Jones Act or Puerto Rico’s longtime status as a tax haven meant even being able to purchase games was subject to the whims of political comings and goings.
The Switch 2 releases on June 5th for US$450. Pre-orders go live at most retailers this April 9th.
Let’s wrap up with some quick tidbits
Good news for Atelier fans: Atelier YuKaren has surpassed 300,000 units sold! This is a record for the Atelier series. Nintendo has already broken in their Nintendo Today service with the announcement of the release date for the hotly-anticipated feature film based off of The Legend of Zelda: look forward to it releasing on March 26th, 2027! Shohei Niikawa, formerly the President of Nippon Ichi Software, has formed a new studio named”SuperNiche,”to function as a”creator-first”venture in not just video games but also anime, novels, and manga. Currently, the company only has one employee; new projects will be announced on Niikawa’s Twitter account. Street Fighter 6 is getting a round of Rival Schools DLC! Players can get stickers and other decorations based on the Rival Schools cast–or Akira Kazama’s infamous skull-helmet!
That’ll do it for this week. It is a shame that the first console release I cover gets overshadowed the way it has. I don’t like covering bad news for This Week in Games. I love games! I love this hobby! And it hurts when stuff like this happens. I remember being broke and having to pass tons of games because I didn’t have the money for them. Unfortunately, games are a full-on industry, and they’re affected by labor strikes and material shortages same like any other industry. Remember that if you’re going to voice your concerns to The Powers That Be through social media to be courteous and respectful—the poor underpaid intern handling Nintendo’s social media isn’t to blame for anything. Be good to each other, I’ll see you in seven.
This Week In Games! is written from idyllic Portland by Jean-Karlo Lemus. When not collaborating with Anime News Network, Jean-Karlo can be found playing JRPGs, eating popcorn, watching v-tubers, and tokusatsu. You can keep up with him at @ventcard.bsky.social.