2016: Anicipated Games

Well, here it is - a working list of the major titles I'm looking forward to in gaming this year. Instead of bothering with some kind of formatting system applied to one long list, I'm just going to throw them into three categories for now.

Definite Purchases (Day-One/Preorder Tier)

Feb 02 - Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth [Vita/PS4]
Feb 19 - Fire Emblem Fates [3DS]
Feb 27 - Pokemon RBY [3DS VC]
Mar 04 - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD [Wii U]
Mar 18 - Pokken Tournament [Wii U]
Apr 15 - Bravely Second: End Layer [3DS]
Apr 22 - StarFox Zero (& StarFox Guard) [Wii U]
Jun 07 - Odin Sphere Leifthrasir [Vita/PS4/PS3]
Jun 24 - Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE [Wii U]
Jul 15 - Monster Hunter Generations [3DS]
Sep 13 - Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness [Vita/PS4]
Sep 20 - Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse [3DS]
Nov 18 - Pokemon Sun & Moon [3DS]

Possible Purchases (Delayed Get/Well-Reviewed/Sale Tier)

Feb 02 - Megadimension Neptunia V II [PS4/PC]
Feb 16 - Project X-Zone 2 [3DS]
Mar 29 - Nights of Azure [PS4]
Mar 29 - Trillion: God of Destruction [Vita]
Apr 19 - Langrisser Re: Incarnation - Tensei [3DS]
May 10 - MegaTagmension Blanc + Neptune VS Zombies [Vita]
May 17- Valkyria Chronicles Remaster [PS4]
Jun 10 - Kirby Planet Robobot [3DS]
Jun 21 - Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force [PS4]
Jun 28 - Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness [PS4]
Jun 28 - God Eater: Resurrection [PS4/Vita/PC]
Jul 19 - I Am Setsuna [PS4/Vita?/PC]
Aug 23 - Deus Ex: Mankind Divided - [PS4/X1/PC]
Aug 30 - God Eater 2: Rage Burst [PS4/Vita/PC]
Sep 06 - Touhou Genso Rondo: Bullet Ballet [PS4]
Sep 13 - MeiQ: Labyrinth of Death [Vita]
Sep 30 - Final Fantasy XV [PS4/X1]
Sep 30 - Yo-Kai Watch 2 [3DS]
Oct 25 - The Last Guardian [PS4]
Oct 25 - Yomawari: Night Alone [Vita/PC]
Nov 11 - Dishonored 2 [PS4/X1/PC]

To Be Announced (Undecided/General Interest Tier)

Akiba's Beat [PS4/Vita]
Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past [3DS]
Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King [3DS]
Dragon Quest Builders [PS4/Vita]
Fate/EXTELLA: The Umbral Star [PS4/Vita]
Gravity Rush 2 [PS4]
Horizon: Zero Dawn [PS4] {Delayed to Feb 28, 2017}
NieR: Automata [PS4] {Delayed to 2017}
Persona 5 [PS4/PS3] {Delayed to Feb 14, 2017}
Steins;Gate 0 [Vita]
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild [Wii U] {Delayed to 2017}
Touhou: Scarlet Curiosity [PS4]
Valkyria: Azure Revolution [PS4]
Yooka-Laylee [Wii U] {Delayed to 2017}

So there you go for now. As usual, I have a nagging feeling that I've left off several major titles for some reason or another, or simply lost track of releases that have been overshadowed by my interest in other games.

On a special note, I'm definitely going to get all three Fire Emblem Fates stories. It seems I really missed out on the chance to get a Special Edition this time, so unless Nintendo has the sense to announce a second wave or otherwise supply stock to meet demand, I'll be getting a vanilla Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest as my primary game and go ahead and install Birthright and Revelations on top of that. I'm still looking forward to Conquest the most, but Revelations sounds cool, and Birthright seems like it will at least offer a worthwhile alternate story.

On yet another sidenote, Project X Zone 2 is very tricky for me to decide on at this point. I almost want to pre-order it, but after the absolute bloated mess and mind-numbingly redundant schedule destruction the first title was responsible for, I'm just not sure if I want to subject myself to that again. I'll probably wait for some reviews or even watch a let's play to see if they've made the experience less tedious and fixed some of the massive flaws from the first game. I'll put it this way - I think that Project X Zone 2 could easily be one of the best 3DS titles of the year I might play, but it could just as easily be the worst.

Beyond that, I'll go ahead and note a few dishonorable mentions that are deliberately unlisted above - Dark Souls III and FFVII Remake. In my experience, Souls games have never been worth a day-one purchase especially when you get so much more value for waiting until the GOTY/Plus-everything edition is out. At this stage I'm actually kind of surprised that FromSoft hasn't converted the Souls series into a subscription-based format. So that's just a big case of nope. Likewise, the marketing and release plans for the FFVII remake are just laughable. I actually have nothing against them changing the gameplay or even story if they want - I'd still check it out. But episodic FFVII basically just means that I can comfortably wait that much longer before bothering with taking the time to play it out of my schedule.

Last but not least, comparing this prototype of a list to last year's list, I'm quite happy to see how many long-anticipated games from last year are finally making their way over as confirmed releases this year. That said, it's also kind of unfortunate how long it's taken for some titles to come around. Kinda kills the spirit of anticipation, and as much as I've been looking forward to games like Trillion: God of Destruction, I'll probably hold off on getting it on release.

Of what you named, the only games I intend to get on that list are Bravely Second, and if I can get a PS4, Persona 5, which is unlikely. As much as I want P5, its not a system seller. Especially since there's not much else I'd want on the thing.

FF15, watching the BrainScratch commentary they just started, I am even more turned off of it than before. I already thought "Oh, its trying to be Xenoblade X but with a boyband and not as good." Now its "Oh, its trying to be X with the world, Blade with the SLOW AS HELL GRANDMA MOVEMENT, and DMC with the combat."

Valkyria: Azure Revolution would be a good buy. I wouldn't go for the remaster of VC since I got the original version here on my laptop, and the artstyle still holds up great. I just need to prepare myself to cry before I actually start playing it again.

SMTxFE I need to see more.

Zelda Wii U is gonna be 2017 far as I'm concerned. (also I doubt I'll get Twilight Princess Wii U)

Deus Ex I didn't play any of the previous games, as much as HR looks great fun. I'll just catch a playthrough on Youtube for the story. Just not worth starting now, especially with that my laptop probably can't run it, and SE pulled some serious BS with the preorders of MD.

As it stands, so far 2016 is gonna be only BS:SL and maybe some random stuff TB covers. We'll have to see how much my mind changes over the year

Lol, I actually think we're more or less on the same page in some ways. As for the obvious differences, I still haven't gotten around to playing Valkyria Chronicles on anything, so the remaster is the perfect excuse for me to finally get to it. Meanwhile, I am definitely going to go ahead and get a PS4 this year, and my Vita is far from dead, so of course my options are going to be pretty open.

I reckon this is going to be a pretty great year for the Wii U and 3DS when all is said and done, and you know Nintendo is definitely going to keep people playing the 3DS. Lol - I posted an anticipated games list for 2016, but let's face it - I've barely scratched the surface of Q1 and Q2 at this stage.

I admit, I've been tempted to put off Persona 5 and just skip it over for the almost-inevitable Persona 5G: The Crimson HD Portable VR Remake, or whatever, which will probably be bundled with Persona 5: The Exceptional Midnight Golfing, or something. Do you still not have a PS3 to play P5 on, or have you lost interest in playing P5 on a PS3 altogether?

You might be right about Zelda Wii U - I had a similar thought when I was writing the list.

SMTxFE is obviously a must-buy for me. I'll admit that the brands alone are pretty much a guaranteed sale/sure benefit of the doubt the first time around. Even if the game came out to <5/10 reviews and was loaded up with microtransactions that total >RRP for the base game, I'd still be getting it on day one. Would hold any sequels/future installments in either franchise to much higher standards if I did get burned, but yeah, for this one I'd go ahead and buy it just to have it. Heck, if I can secure a preorder of the special edition, I'd probably go ahead and order it even if I didn't have a Wii U or any time to play it.

And, back to your opening statement - do you need to edit your post, or did you intentionally leave off Fire Emblem Fates? Are you skipping it?! Bold choice sir. Is it the censorship? The 3 stories + DLC? The sheer potential for schedule destruction conflicting with your school/other obligations? Could it be...a simple lack of interest in the game?

Anyways, I've made two edits/additions to the list. Probably easy to spot even if you just skim. One is an entry that almost doesn't technically deserve to be on any list of games coming out in 2016, but will probably be better than the vast majority of games I've listed here. The other is more of a hopeful entry that has a slim chance of hitting stores this year, especially if NoA gets their **** together for a summer hit or winter surprise. Maybe at some point we can breakfast and really figure out what the best game purchases of this year will be.

Final Fantasy Explorers is a fun distraction currently.

Great to hear from you Bongo. I've been on the fence about FF Explorers. Given Square's track record, I could never quite decide whether it would be worth listing or just be an awkward franchise name money-grab. Great to hear that it's not a disappointment so far. I might check it out later this year.

I'm really enjoying Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth so far. Kind of annoyed that Vita is digital only, especially when I've been so hyped for this game that they could have easily taken me for as much as $100 if they had the sense to release a collector's edition physical vita copy.

Massively looking forward to FE: Fates.

I wouldn't put it past being a cash-grab. Once you play for a few minutes there will be no doubt that SE is trying to share in MH's pie. But I'm getting my money's worth.

Bongo wrote:

I wouldn't put it past being a cash-grab.  Once you play for a few minutes there will be no doubt that SE is trying to share in MH's pie.  But I'm getting my money's worth.

Ohlol. Fair enough. To be honest, I guess I'm not really considering any 3DS titles that aren't on the list at this point. I'm still not completely done with XCX, but I've finally reached the point where everything I do in the game is completely arbitrary and more or less just for the **** of it. Spent a lot of time on Cyber Sleuth yesterday and I'm really enjoying that. Probably get back to Stella Glow soon and see if I can finish that off before Fire Emblem: Fates hits my 3DS.

And yeah...at this rate, I am almost definitely skipping Project X Zone 2 until much, much later down the road.

I'd really, really like a Persona 5 summer announcement, but I have a nagging feeling that isn't going to happen. In theory, it's supposed to be out this summer in Japan, but things have been pretty bloody quiet.

In other news, I already have Pokken Tournament and Twilight Princess U preordered, so that's happening to my gaming schedule, for better or worse. Still think I'll probably main Gengar regardless of what tier he turns out to be, although the Chandelure reveal has me intrigued.

Huehuehue, I'm not sure if anybody will see this before it becomes irrelevant as the actual announcement may be made tomorrow during the Nintendo Direct, buuuuut...

http://gematsu.com/2016/03/monster-hunter-generations-trademarked-europe

Exciting stuff, friends! Unlike with my Japanese copy of X, I'll certainly play more than just through Village 2*. Huzzah!

Lol, I just saw the headlines myself. European trademarks sure are spilling all the beans. More MH sounds great. I'm looking forward to the Nintendo Direct today. It would be really nice to hear an announcement for SMTxFire Emblem and SMTIV: Final, but this Direct is supposed to cover 3DS and Wii U titles through Summer 2016, so that's probably not likely since I have a nagging feeling that those games will be Christmas holiday at best if they come out this year at all.

I'm expecting some Bravely Second hype in today's Direct. I've already preordered Pokken tournament, but hopefully they'll hype that up a bit too. I'd really like to see a ~surprise~ update/bonus announcement of some kind for Splatoon, but meh. Of course we all know the real star of today's show will be Blast Ball. That said, I actually wouldn't mind a 3DS remake/Wii U VC release of Metroid Prime: Hunters.

Oh wow, that Nintendo Direct actually delivered on just about everything I wanted and more...except SMTIV: Final. Even got confirmed Splatoon updates. It would be nice if they overhauled some old abilities that have all but been left in the dust like ninja squid, and maybe they'll finally adjust Splatfest to allow for other formats besides turf war.

But meh, one miss is a small price to pay for all those hits.

**** yeah MH Generations and SMTxFE, or rather, Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE.
Also, Blast Ball sort of looks like it's shaping up into a worthwhile endeavor. I probably won't get it on day one, but I don't think I'll blacklist it.

Kirby Planet Robobot really has my interest. Kirby with Mechas and a sidegame that's basically RPG Kirby x Magicka? All the yes.

Updated original list.

CATMANCER CATMANCER CATMANCER CATMANCER March 10th CATMANCER CATMANCER CATMANCER CATMANCER

Also, on this day, every Paper Mario fan cried out; "Oh?! A new Paper Mario?!... It... It looks like Sticker Star... It is Sticker Star.... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

By the way DID YOU SEE THE CATMANCER?!

Yes, Catmancer was amazing. Is amazing. Has always been amazing. Almost Malig Knight tier in terms of awesomeness.

Also, MH Generations Marth crossover DLC. Hopefully it doesn't wind up being amiibo-locked lol (although that wouldn't actually be a problem for me, since Marth is one of the ones I actually have).

Paper Mario looked cool at first from what little I saw of it, but I've never been much of a fan actually. I'm more excited about Kirby x Magicka tbh.

Sidenote - Atlus/Nintendo preserving the original voice over in SMTxFE is a nice call, and hopefully since it's Atlus, they won't bring torrential downpour levels of backlash on themselves for careless/botched localization. I'm looking forward to the release either way, but that little tidbit did seem geared to address concerns about upcoming localizations of high-profile Nintendo titles.

To finally reply to this message just because I've had a lot of time to stew on it and think:

Catmancer, catmancer, catmancer...

Marth will likely be amiibo-locked, but still be a sucky set and still no Glamour options.

Color Splash is going to be trash for sure. I am 100% going to be trash. I have no intention of holding my judgement at all. Just... no. TTYD will remain kind of Paper Mario games, and we'll never get our Luigi in the Waffle Kingdom game. Kirby Mech looks great still, though.

Sega has been super guaranteeing ATLUS will remain ATLUS, and their only changes will be back-end stuff. So, between that and them being ATLUS, I feel like SMTxFE will be solid enough... but now I'm not too sure if I'll get it. It went way too kawaii-desunee in that last Direct.

I mentioned the FFXV anime in the anime topic... mostly because of the super huge event they had. I watched Jesse Cox play the new demo, seen the new trailer a few times... I'm not all but convinced except on combat. I myself need to play the demo before I will make a final assessment. I mentioned it before that I saw a playthrough of the first demo that came with Type-0. The combat looks super monotonous. But I need to try it for myself before I give a final word.

I dunno, maybe they'll be reasonable about the Marth content and make it available to all. Heh - they could've amiibo-locked the Samus content in MH4U, but didn't. Who knows...

Yeah lol, Color Splash is just kinda meh. I guess I probably wouldn't be getting it in the first place so I don't care as much if it's trash? And if it turns out to actually be decent, then great?

Atlus has managed to stay awesome for the most part, even with the delays on Persona 5 and the usual localization barriers. Heh - I guess SMTxFE is going to be a love-or-hate game for a lot of general audiences due to exactly the same sentiment you've expressed. For what it's worth, I've heard the gameplay is top-notch and the story is supposed to be solid, but yeah, I suppose the focus on idol production and related themes/content might be a bit too much for our poor western audiences to cope with. It does seem to be fairly heavy shift in atmosphere compared to both SMT and FE games, which is great if it does stand on its own, but perhaps not what a lot of people would want from this long-anticipated crossover. Still, given one or the other, I think I'd rather have the Atlus raw unadulterated max J-pop edition than a Treehouse'd, certifiably appropriate for western audiences cut. Personally, I'm not bothered by the former at all obviously and I quite look forward to it, especially given the fact that it's still SMT/Persona enough to likely add a lot more depth than an unfamiliar player would judge it to have at a glance. But meh, people have different tastes. Their loss. Right now my biggest issue with the game is that I've heard the physical release has significantly slower loading times than the digital release.

On a sidenote lol, in case you haven't seen it, Gaming Wildlife finally got around to doing a 100% Honest video for Atlus USA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvnyowZKOCw

I'll watch the FFXV anime soon enough, although I haven't actually checked out anything regarding the game in a while. I still don't have a PS4, and with news of the PS4.5 coming out, I probably won't get one. Meanwhile, one of the biggest points in me getting Persona 5 on the PS4 was to play it on the latest and greatest tech, so now that the PS4.5 is all but officially announced, I'm either going to get Persona 5 for the PS3 if it comes out before the PS4.5, or I'll go ahead and get a PS4.5 if it comes out before/with Persona 5...probably. Lol, still in no real hurry to get a PS4, even though the list of games I want to play is really starting to grow. Heh, I might go ahead and preorder Valkyria Chronicles remaster even though I don't have a PS4 just because it's cheap enough...but meh.

Meanwhile, I did wind up getting Trillion: God of Destruction. So far it has been excellent. The core gameplay is solid, the characters and story are tons of fun and there is a surprising amount of depth, and even the more tedious gruntwork aspects of the game are fairly addictive. I'm not sure it's balanced as well as it could be, because right from the beginning I noticed some potentially game-breaking skills that I've been avoiding (including but not limited to a skill that can pretty much give your first overlord max stats in her first fights and possibly let you kill Trillion in your first set of ~attempts~ without any casualties). Anyway, I've noticed this game has been met with extremely mixed reviews (you'll probably see ratings around 3/10 as well as ratings around 9/10). Definitely not a game for everyone, but I'd say the haters are trying way too hard, or just plain suck at the game. Another possible issue is that the balance of gameplay is sort of like an inversion/mirror of Fire Emblem in the sense that Trillion is more of a visual novel first and foremost with light, no-consequences gruntwork supporting the general gameplay progression - but with the massive boss, hardcore encounter, and permadeath looming over you every step of the way and periodically wrecking everything you're working for.

Not that it matters to most people, I guess...unless it gets a PC port?

Well, my copy of Bravely Second CE shipped today, although it could be one or two weeks before I actually play it because I was too cheap to shell out the cash for faster shipping again on top of the base price.

Meanwhile, Atlus has finally announced SMTIV: Final, now called SMTIV: Apocalypse, for NA release this Summer. So, it wasn't in the Nintendo Direct, but that's pretty much everything I wanted to see from the ~Summer Nintendo lineup~ covered.

Let's just say I finally found myself time to reply. Things weren't kind to me last week... and I'll leave it at that.

Since I didn't actually order the CE, I'll probably have the chance to pick up the game on Monday. If for whatever reason GameSuck doesn't have it, I can try Target. I just won a $50 Target gift card so it'll end up being free. If GS has it, I'll just have an excuse to finally play Codename: STEAM and possibly get something else with it too. Otherwise, no changes to what I want.

Updated release list slightly, mainly dates. As stated in other thread, I finally have my Bravely Second CE, so **** yeah. Time to get started on playing that. Meanwhile, I was somewhat happy to hear that they are actually releasing a CE for TMS#FE in the west, although I don't want to get it from gamestop, so as much as I'd like that CE, right now I'm just going to wait for Amazon to get it together, if they ever list it for sale, and if I can get to it before it's sold out. I'm really starting to develop a love-hate relationship with CEs in general. I'm almost tempted to go full embargo against them, especially with publishers like Nintendo that practically favor scalpers over fans.

But meh. Speaking of much-anticipated game releases and CEs, as you may notice, I've updated the list with the confirmed release date (at least Vita/PS4, not sure about X1/PC release date) for Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness. And it's even getting a CE. Thankfully I've secured a preorder of that. Tbh, if it's one or the other, I'd rather have Psycho-Pass CE than TMS#FE CE, so at least there's that.

And...I wound up ordering StarFox Zero. I was on the fence about it, but dat Amazon Prime discount and the appeal of the game(s) in general were enough for me to lean in favor of getting it sooner rather than later. Plus, now that I've finished Trillion, I have just enough space to allow for one more game without letting something else slip into the backlog or get burnt after being left too long on the backburner. Poor, poor Yo-kai Watch. It might be time for me to admit that it's in my backlog, and at this rate, I don't know if I'll get to it before Pokemon S&M are out, and I doubt I'll get to it before SMT4A is out. Likewise, Rodea is completely charred at this point. I think I'm closer to playing Skyward Sword than I am to picking Rodea back up.

EDIT:
Also, w00t, Persona 5 hype: http://persona5.jp/0505/

Meanwhile, according to a siliconera article, it sounds like Atlus, not Nintendo, is actually handling localization of TMS#FE. Hopefully that means it won't be treehoused, and maybe if we're lucky, Atlus being at the helm will also mean that supply actually meets demand, and fans are served before scalpers. At least...Atlus seems to be doing better on that front these days.

Well Lost, you called it. I tried to give them the benefit of the doubt, but it looks like Nintendo has indeed decided to postpone Legend of Zelda U to 2017, confirming development for both Wii U and NX versions just as you expected. I figured as much without any hint of it coming out, but I was still willing to allow for them to ~surprise~ us this year's holiday cycle.

Meanwhile, March 2017 release for NX from the sounds of it.

I'm actually not bothered so much by Legend of Zelda UltimaX being delayed as I am by the prospect of the NX releasing to an almost completely meh launch list. I love my Wii U, but let's be honest: it's still catching up from its weak launch. Then again, so is every other "next gen" console.

Oh well, one more year (roughly) to actually play Skyward Sword before I'm faced with the dilemma of purchasing a brand new and shiny Zelda or sticking to my ~no new Zelda until I finish what I have~ principle. Likewise, I'm a lot happier about my Twilight Princess HD purchase now.

I didn't want to be right. But I saw it coming from so far off. Wii U is dead, long live the Wii NeXt. (THEY BETTER FUCKING NOT) Though apparently tomorrow Wii U is getting Xenoblade Chronicles to download, so you can play as annoying Shulk IN EICH DEEEEEEEEEEEEE~

Starfox Zero... I've seen so many complaints about the controls, and I don't blame them. Motion controls in stuff like Zelda haven't been like, super important. Even in Skyward Sword, it was mostly just sword swings. Not too bad. But from how it all seems with Zero... Just no! Stop it Nintendo! Unique does not mean good!

All of the P5 hype. Under 200 hours now!

I also read that the localization has been Nintendo'd, and there have been GameFAQ complaints about censorship for TMS#FE so... not a good sign.

As you probably noticed, in my trips, in addition to Bravely Second, I nabbed Codename STEAM too. I also grabbed Bayonetta 2. Go go free Target cards, and a friend that knows how to price compare quickly. STEAM is making me want to get back to Valkyria Chronicles and/or possibly take part in the HD port... but apparently there's not too much HD about that.

lmfao, NeXTstation - the new console from Nintendo coming 2017, because confounding the brand with former Nintendo products is a thing of the past.

I am the meta.

inb4 Wii [lowercase upsilon]
Also, meh at Square Enix for not releasing a special edition Wii Yew with Nintendo to boost 3DS and Wii U offerings.

What would be really hilarious is if they made an ultra-lite new 3ds and called it μ3DS.

Lol, the Wii U being dead...it's funny, because I was just writing up a potential blog/post/article on how much of a complete and utter failure the current gen is, especially considering the state of Microsoft and Sony's offerings...and with the NX pretty much ready to go soon, it seems like both the nail in the coffin and the swan song of the current generation. In many ways, I consider the Wii U to be both the best and worst of the current gen options, and on that note, I think it deserves even more credit for Nintendo basically keeping the Wii U's life cycle to a reasonable window and moving on to get out of the current gen deathtrap that everyone's currently stuck in. On the flipside, there is the aforementioned possibility of the NX having next to nothing on launch. Unless they pull Metroid Dread out of freaking nowhere.

Ok, back to the actual discussion at hand. Yeah, I saw the news of XC vanilla for VC here finally, although I have no interest since I'd actually prefer the 3DS version if I'm going to play it.

StarFox Zero has been great so far. Tons of fun and still plenty addictive, although I didn't get the 3DS 64. I've seen tons of complaints about the controls too, but I haven't struggled with the controls. If anything, the controls are too gud, and gamepad/gyro shooting is borderline broken, especially in dogfights. There is some room for improvement - mostly regarding button mapping/input options rather than the actual controls and gamepad-specific features themselves, but StarFox Zero has fine controls, and the game is very much in legit git gud territory in that regard. Anyone who says otherwise to the absolute degree is in textbook noobmode, and I say this as someone mediocre enough at StarFox in general to be sure that anyone who purportedly struggles with the "controls" more than I do isn't giving it a fair go. Learning curve will probably vary for a lot of people though. So far, one of the fairest reviews I've seen of StarFox Zero is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Xagzb0g8NY

tbh, I think most of the control hate is from people who are-
[1] Decidedly going to hate on the Wii U's gamepad with extreme prejudice no matter what
or
[2] Part of the sub-group of salty lolvets who feel entitled to instantly be masters at any game with StarFox in the title because they put a lot of time into one of the past titles, and because **** acknowledging the need to git gud and adapt to changes when one can just blame the controls and superficially justify every ragequit

Likewise, the other problem with the ~muh terrible controls~ rhetoric is that there's only so much a critic can reasonably fault the controls for without overshooting beyond the controls and getting into flight mechanics/physics, and basically just whining about how the Arwing and other vehicles themselves function. I've seen quite a few reviews that whine about the Wii U "controls" without bringing up much of anything that isn't just as troublesome in 64. I'm almost tempted to say that Zero-specific controls are better than previous StarFox games, but I'm not quite ready to go absolutemadman in fleshing that out, and I want to explore all routes in Zero a couple times to put a test to a few things I really like about Zero.

But meh. Very much a case of ~ignore the haters - play it yourself or reserve judgment~.

Nintendo really isn't going for a Unique = Good approach. More of a Same = Sales. Lol, a complaint that Zero is basically 64HD holds much more merit than anything along the lines of ~Zero is contrived Wii U gamepad gimmick techdemo~.

All of that said, performance aside, N64 controller is still pretty much the best controller of all time, and I think that undeniable fact may be one of the major sources of bias influencing all of these ~Zero's controls suck~ opinions.

---

Aww yeah, P5 hype. There's supposed to be a proper gameplay stream from the sounds of it along with some more general hype too from what I've heard. On a related note, P5's release is going to be a critical point of consideration for me. Sony better wake up and announce the PS4 Neo, because the whole point of getting P5 for PS4 at all is playing it on the latest tech it's available for, so I've just about decided to just get P5 for PS3 if it comes ahead of the PS4 Neo. On the flipside, I have a nagging feeling that some of the extended production P5 has gone through may include some PS4-exclusive/superior stuffs. Kind of a damned if do damned if don't possibility, that is.

---

Yeah, TMS#FE discussion is an outright whirlwind. One day it's all ~oh noes, totally treehouse'd confirmed~, and the next it's ~great news, atlus holding their own and preserving the game's integrity despite concerns that they'd have to march to a different beat~, and then back around again. I'm still in it for the gameplay, but meh on censorship. I'll probably take roughly the same approach I did with Fire Emblem Fates and leave the specific censorship notes for postgame consideration. Japanese audio is a huge plus for me, so even if they do go fuller treehouse on the text localization, as long as they don't pickle the voice track, well...
...
*stares*
...
Yeah, right now I think the biggest potential problem is if they make heavy edits on the level of messing with animations and cutting audio segments entirely. Cosmetic differences and stupid censorship decisions akin to what we see on an all-too-regular basis are kinda meh-tier in the grand scheme of things. Part of the price I pay for living in the US, yeah?

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Yay Bayo 2...which I still need to start. Lol, I got sidetracked still playing Bayo 1.

Lol, I'm probably going to buy Valkyria Remastered even though I don't have a PS4 yet. May or may not be cheaper to get it sooner rather than later, and it's a better deal for me to get it on PS4 than PS3. Also, Valkyria Chronicles Remastered on PS4 is officially the most metal edition. Of course, best deal on the game itself is probably Steam when it's on sale, but I haven't seen Remastered vs Vanilla comparisons. It would be pretty ridiculous if the PC vanilla turned out to be superior/equivalent to Remaster, but it's an undeniable possibility that it's basically just a re-issue for PS4 in comparison.

The Persona 5 Hype Train has left the station and completed a full route lol. All the new preview footage and material looks great. Characters all seem awesome, game is super stylish all around, and that added 20th anniversary hype to push everything over the top. Heh, Japan's got a release date and they're getting a deluxe anniversary-style limited edition for ~$130. I hope we get something like that. With Japan shooting for a September release date, I think we might finally get P5 in time for the Christmas holiday this year...maybe a little sooner depending on how Atlus plays things. An international release date would've been awesome, and I'd still like to think that maybe Atlus will surprise us with a release date significantly earlier than December, but who knows?

Persona 5 Hype Levels: | llllllllllllllllllllll
Yooka Laylee Hype lvl: | lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
Mighty No. 9 hype lvl:llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll |

Oh god the trailer they put out today... oh god... Luckily YL looks amazing. Persona 5 I still have to wait on for a PS4 in my possession or a PC release.

Yeah, so much hype - this is going to be a great Summer, and a great year. That said, everything related to Mighty No. 9 is kinda bittersweet, and at this point I almost want to be done with the kickstarter shenanigans more so than I want to play the bloody game. Dunno quite how to describe it...but I think I'm more anti-hyped about Mighty No. 9. I'll be very glad when the transaction is entirely complete, so to speak, and I look forward to finally being free of this awkward pseudo-obligation to constantly keep up with news and project updates for this game.

Btw, what platform did you decide on for Mighty No. 9 in the end? If you've even decided that is. I'm not even sure if the platform selection survey I got was the fixed one or the broken one, since I only received one and the jokers that set it up didn't even have the sense to arrange for confirmation emails. My guess is that I probably got the broken one, and if I really want the game on my platform of choice, I'll probably have to contact them myself. Meh...this whole thing is such a mess. It's almost as if they were actively looking for something else to **** up now that they are more or less committed to a release date that they can't get away with delaying much more. I hate to be this harsh, but this whole year has been so awful for Mighty No. 9 supporters that I can't help but wonder if they're doing it on purpose just to generate more buzz. It almost goes without saying that they stopped caring about the kickstarter supporters and shifted focus entirely to the rest of the potential market quite a while ago.

But meh...

Now that the Mighty No. 9 ranting is out of the way...

I've made a few edits to the main list. I almost forgot about I Am Setsuna until I saw news of there being some preorder sales for it, and then I double-checked and saw that it's still only announced for PS4 and PC, and I instantly remembered why I almost entirely scrapped any thoughts of buying it. Meanwhile, Squeenix is still being super derpy about whether the Vita version will ever get localized.

Also, all the **** yeah. Vita Steins;Gate 0 confirmed for localization and western release this year. So much hype.

What else...it seems MH Generations has had its release date changed again, although this time it looks like it's going to be coming sooner rather than later, which is fine by me.

And, other than that, I guess I'll leave this post on one last note:
I did indeed wind up getting Valkyria Chronicles Remastered for the PS4 (so metal). No regrets, even though I still don't have a PS4 of my own to play it on. Lol, I actually think this is the perfect choice for my first PS4 game on so many levels. Aside from being a top-shelf game in and of itself, the purchase is just so...completely emblematic of everything both great and awful about this console generation. Well, at least the Wii U is going out with a bang this year while its ~superior~ competitors continue to whimper in a state of arrested development after a critical failure to mature significantly past their infancy.

Some really interesting news today, and potentially great news for people like me who missed out on getting a physical/special edition release of Hotaru no Nikki-
Yomawari: Night Alone is getting a localized release on Vita and PC this October. Even better (for some people) - both the standard and collector's editions are getting bundled with Hotaru no Nikki. Of course, this is also a bit of a mixed bag, because the pricepoint is pretty bloody expensive, and there isn't really an option for people who just want Yomawari physical on Vita by itself.

But, here's a breakdown of what you can get:

$40 Physical Vita Standard Edition-
*Yomawari: Night Alone
*Bundled Hotaru no Nikki: The Firefly Diaries

$50 Physical Vita ~General~ Limited Edition-
*Yomawari: Night Alone
*Bundled Hotaru no Nikki: The Firefly Diaries
*Deluxe Limited Edition Box
*Jewel-case Soundtracks for both games
*Full-color artbooks for both games

$60 Physical Vita NISA Online Store Exclusive Limited Edition-
*Yomawari: Night Alone
*Bundled Hotaru no Nikki: The Firefly Diaries
*Deluxe Limited Edition Box
*Jewel-case Soundtracks for both games
*Full-color artbooks for both games
*NISA Online Store Exclusive: Yomawari-themed heat changing tumbler.

$20 Steam Digital Standard Edition
*Yomawari: Night Alone digital download

$20 Steam Digital Special Edition (Pre-Purchase price?)
*Yomawari: Night Alone "Pitch Dark" edition digital download
*Digital Art Book DLC included (otherwise $1.99 separately)
*Digital Soundtrack DLC included (otherwise $0.99 separately)

$60 PC NISA Online Store Limited Edition Bundle
*Yomawari: Night Alone Steam code
*Bundled Hotaru no Nikki: The Firefly Diaries Steam code
*Deluxe Limited Edition Box
*Jewel-case Soundtracks for both games
*Full-color artbooks for both games
*NISA Online Store Exclusive: Yomawari-themed heat changing tumbler.

And there you have it - even a PC bundle that comes with digital codes for the two games in addition to all of the physical limited edition ~extras~. It may also be worth noting that NISA's Online store has a promotion where you get free shipping if you buy the $15 Mousepad they have featuring both games. For what it's worth, the mousepad and tumbler do look pretty great:
Mousepad Picture
Tumbler Picture

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I have mixed sentiments about this release and especially the pricepoints, but I'm glad it's being localized and released, and I'm sort of thankful to have a chance to make up for missing out on the Hotaru no Nikki limited edition. And yet, as much as I find myself looking forward to this, I'm also incredibly disappointed and somewhat irritated by the specific details and costs of the different options.

As much as I hate the idea of missing out on another chance to get Hotaru no Nikki limited stuff and another cool game plus its limited stuff all in one great buy...NISA's decisions have already made it not such a great buy. First, there's the fact that these are basically $5~$10 games by themselves that are already set at a pricepoint effectively valuing them at $20 each. But even putting that aside, by making a NISA store exclusive ~complete~ limited edition on top of a more general limited store release, they have just about killed the value of the general limited edition.

Part of the whole point of getting a limited edition in the first place is to get all the cool extras up for offer. Now, if I want a limited edition, I'm stuck with a choice between getting the general limited edition from Amazon for $40 and free 2-day shipping (thanks to Prime benefits) or shelling out the $60+shipping for the same set with the exclusive tumbler. Of course, I could also shell out another $15 for a mousepad, which I might as well for the sake of getting all the things and not having to worry about shipping costs.

In other words, when everything's said and done, it's not really the $40 standard vs $60 limited that it is in theory. It's more like $40 standard vs $75 limited, or in my case, $32 standard vs $40 budget partial-limited vs $75 complete limited. Bloody insane, that is, and as much as I like that tumbler, I don't like the idea of effectively paying $20 for it.

It would have been so much better if NISA Online had made the tumbler a separate item like the mousepad that was still technically exclusive to their store, and could optionally be bundled with the limited edition for free shipping or discount price. Pretty much any arrangement except the exclusive ~complete~ limited edition competing with an incomplete limited edition would have been great. And of course the prices... I'm not sure whether PC gamers are better or worse off than those of us looking to get it on the Vita. If you don't care about physical stuff, PC gamers can pretty much get the ~essence~ of the limited edition for Yomawari: Night Alone...alone...for a mere $20. However, if you want all the stuff - and who doesn't - you'll have to shell out for the $75 exclusive ~complete~ limited edition like the rest of us, except you won't have a physical PC disc to show for it, so there isn't even really a true complete limited ultra edition deluxe for PC gamers.

Meanwhile, there's also the issue that if I do buy the exclusive complete limited edition that technically costs $60 and effectively costs $75...I'm basically just encouraging NISA to leverage their online store that much harder and continue finding creative ways to pad out the price of their products.

I was so excited and glad when I first saw news of this release, and now I'm just about so fed up thinking about it that I might not even bother getting any of the releases for this game/bundle. Might just wait for Yomawari to be $5 on PSN and call it a day. Or...I might just turn out to be a complete sucker and wind up forking over $75 so that I can say I successfully acquired all the things in this release, and made up for missing out on Hotaru no Nikki. Lol, meanwhile, you can get Hotaru no Nikki's limited edition for a mere $70~$90 on Amazon, because scalpers need to eat (not really - if you ever encounter a scalper in the wild - do not feed them - it's a common misconception that they need to eat too like everyone else does, but scalpers aren't even really living people).

This is such a mess...
Alright, I'm done talking about it.

Lol, I just finished making some slight edits and marking delayed games on the list yesterday, and now first thing in the news today, I also have to edit again to mark Persona 5 as delayed. At this rate, I might have to make a "delayed until 2017" section, or just start my "2017: Anticipated Games" thread early. Actually, I guess starting that thread in 2016 beats starting it after 2017, so yeah...

Well, at least we have a solid, official release date and release details including edition prices now. So, Persona 5 is finally releasing on Feb 14, 2017. Unfortunately, it looks like we won't be getting the expansive 20th Anniversary edition Japan is getting, but our special edition might actually be better if you don't care about the music/DLC and do care about the cost lol. Also, who needs a 5-disc soundtrack set featuring music from every Persona game when you get a 4" Morgana plush? Not even being (entirely) sarcastic there. I want that plush.

So yeah...

Meanwhile, both the regular-price metal Launch edition and limited "Take Your Heart" premium edition are only for the PS4. Looks like PS3 is just getting a vanilla release. No alarms and no surprises there, but possibly a bit of a letdown for some folks. The "Take Your Heart" LE is going for $90, so that's not too bad, especially if you have discounts from something like the Amazon Prime or Best Buy Gamers Club Unlocked.

Heads up - the regular and limited editions are both currently available for preorder on Amazon.com as of writing this. Official Atlus site lists retailers and gives links to active product pages as usual: http://www.atlus.com/persona5/purchase.html

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So there we have it, another great title delayed, but otherwise things seem to be going well for it.

Of course, the delay isn't all that bad. One less thing to budget for this year in terms of both time and money, and now I'll actually be able to enjoy the many games releasing in later months this year without having my gaming schedule nuked by P5. Likewise, without P5 releasing this year, TMS#FE and SMTIVA might actually get some proper attention as SMT titles, and I'll have plenty of time to focus on them for my part. Heh, they might even get some GOTY awards or similar recognition, if Pokemon doesn't eclipse the competition.