To commemorate the 15th anniversary of Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep (BBS), which launched on January 9, 2010 in Japan, Share Enix once again shared the secret ending video from the second game and a message from Tetsuya Nomura about the series. At the end of the statement, the director suggested that we still have yet to hear about what the Lost Masters gained and lost when they met at a crossroads in Kingdom Hearts III. 

First, here’s the full Kingdom Hearts II secret ending, which marked the first appearance of Kingdom Hearts BBS heroes Aqua, Terra, and Ventus. In it, all three were wearing full suits of armor, meeting at X-shaped crossroads while grabbing their keyblades.

And here is the full Tetsuya Nomura statement in which he discussed the importance of crossroads in the Kingdom Hearts series and hinted that we still haven’t heard the story about the Lost Masters yet.

pic.twitter.com/KmxbWSPDBh

— KINGDOM HEARTS (@KINGDOMHEARTS) January 9, 2025

There are two Kingdom Hearts games in development that we know about at the moment. One is Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link for mobile devices. That was supposed to launch in 2024, but ended up delayed. The other is Kingdom Hearts 4, which was teased at the end of the third entry.

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep first appeared on the PlayStation Portable worldwide, and it is now available on the PS3, PS4, Switch, Xbox One, and PC via Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix. 

The post Tetsuya Nomura Kingdom Hearts BBS Anniversary Message Includes a Teaser appeared first on Siliconera.

Good Smile Company opened up pre-orders for a Nendoroid of Akechi Goro (School Uniform version) from Persona 5 Royal. Good Smile Company first announced this Nendoroid in November 2024.

You will have until February 19, 2025 to put in your pre-orders. If you order from the Japanese Good Smile Company site, it’ll cost 6200 JPY, and ship out some time in July 2025. Meanwhile, the North American site offers the Nendoroid for $36.99. It’ll ship out some time in Q4 2025. As a reminder, Good Smile Company will only ship to the United States and Canada.

The Persona 5 Royal Akechi Goro Nendoroid (School Uniform version) will come with two face plates, as opposed to the usual three. He has a smiling face and a default cheery expression. Optional parts include his attache case and extra hands. As opposed to his Crow (Prince version) Nendoroid, he doesn’t have a lot of options. However, since Nendoroid parts are interchangeable, you can technically swap around some of the parts if you have the other version of him.

Here are some more pictures of the figure:

The Persona 5 Royal Akechi Goro Nendoroid (School Uniform version) is available for pre-order via Good Smile Company until February 19, 2025.

The post Persona 5 Akechi Goro Nendoroid Wears His Uniform appeared first on Siliconera.

PlatinumGames has opened a new webpage on its official site to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Bayonetta. The new page is available in both Japanese and English.

Even though Sega first released Bayonetta for the PS3 and Xbox 360 in Japan in late October 2009, PlatinumGames opted to start celebrating the game's 15th anniversary in January 2025 to coincide with its global releases. Sega subsequently released Bayonetta on the same platforms in North America on January 5, 2010, in Australia on January 7, 2010, and in Europe on January 8, 2010.

The company that developed the Bayonetta video game series will use the new webpage to share new smartphone wallpapers with an optional calendar every month. The January 2025 wallpaper features Bayonetta and Jeanne with Japanese attires to symbolize the New Year festival season.

On the same webpage, PlatinumGames also shared the new Bayonetta music box, which Wayo Records will release in Q1 2025 for €220.00. The latter will design the music box after Bayonetta's Super Mirror, and it will play Masami Ueda's "Theme of Bayonetta - Mysterious Destiny" for 30 seconds with 10 loops.

The first Bayonetta is available on not only the PS3, Xbox 360, and Switch, but also PS4, Xbox One, Wii U, and PC worldwide.

The post Bayonetta 15th Anniversary Site and Merchandise Shared appeared first on Siliconera.

G-Walk announced the release of the PlayStation 3 Perfect Catalog book, a new entry in the publisher’s console retrospective series that will brings plenty of information on the different PS3 hardware and games released. The book will release in Japan on December 26, 2024 and it will cost 2,750 yen (~$18.04). [Thanks, Game Watch!]

The new volume is only available in Japanese via retailers such as Amazon Japan, which offer overseas shipping. The book is of B5 size and it includes 224 pages of information on the history of the PS3, the games released for the system and the hardware specifications for each version of the console released, as well as a record of all game titles released for Sony's seventh generation console.

Other Perfect Catalog books released by G-Walk feature retrospectives on various classic Sega consoles, such as the Mega Drive (known as Sega Genesis in North America,) Sega Saturn, and Dreamcast Perfect Catalogue books, released in 2018, 2019, and 2021 respectively.

Sony released the PlayStation 3 in Japan 18 years ago on November 11, 2006 and 6 days later in North America, with its PAL release taking over 4 months and being March 23, 2007. As a reminder, the PlayStation Portable console celebrates its 20th anniversary today, on December 12, 2004.

The PlayStation Partner Awards 2024 Japan Asia recently celebrated some of the best games released in the region in the last year, and it included the new PlayStation Generations Awards category that celebrated the best games in each generation of PlayStation consoles.

The PlayStation 3 Perfect Catalog book costs 2,750 yen (~$18.04) and will release in Japan on December 26, 2024.

The post PlayStation 3 Perfect Catalog Book Chronicles All Games and Systems appeared first on Siliconera.

Sony Interactive Entertainment has announced the winners of the PlayStation Partner Awards 2024 Japan Asia. While the company has also opened worldwide polls for the PS Blog Game of the Year Awards 2024, this award presentation particularly continued the yearly tradition established by Sony Computer Entertainment Japan, which would also later expand to the rest of Asia.

One of the awards featured in this presentation is the Users' Choice Award, where Japanese and Asian PlayStation Network account owners voted for their favorite titles released on PlayStation platforms between October 2023 and September 2024. Five games won the award:

1. Black Myth: Wukong
2. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
3. Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
4. Rise of the Ronin
5. Stellar Blade

As announced previously in October 2024, this year's edition featured additional PlayStation Generations Awards where users would vote for their most favorite titles from each of the PlayStation consoles released before the PS5 that had also won in previous PlayStation Partner Awards.

• PlayStation Generations Award: Final Fantasy VII
• PlayStation 2 Generations Award: Final Fantasy X
• PlayStation Portable Generations Award: Monster Hunter Portable 3rd
• PlayStation 3 Generations Award: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
• PlayStation Vita Generations Award: Persona 4 Golden
• PlayStation 4 Generations Award: Elden Ring

In the same presentation, Sony Interactive Entertainment also gave awards to games based on sales performances on the PlayStation platforms between October 2023 and September 2024. One of which is the Special Award, which it gave to the following two titles for recording success while being developed by a third-party Japanese or Asian studio and published by SIE:

1. Stellar Blade (developed by Shift Up)
2. Rise of the Ronin (developed by Koei Tecmo's Team Ninja)

The company also handed over Partner Awards to seven PlayStation games with notable worldwide sales performances during the same period:

1. Dragon's Dogma 2
2. Honkai: Star Rail
3. Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
4. Persona 3 Reload
5. Tekken 8
6. The First Descendant
7. Zenless Zone Zero

In addition, it gave Grand Awards to the top three titles with the highest worldwide sales:

1. Black Myth: Wukong
2. Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
3. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

In the 2024 edition, Sony also added an Excellence Award for a game with a consistently significant impact for three straight years. It gave the award to HoYoverse's Genshin Impact, which has been available on the PS4 and PS5 among other platforms. A more recent PS5 bundle featuring the same game also appeared in Japan in July 2024.

The post PlayStation Partner Awards 2024 Winners Announced appeared first on Siliconera.

If you are a fan of the survival horror genre, then you owe a big, hearty "thank you" to Human Entertainment and its 1995 classic, Clock Tower. Clock Tower: Rewind is the enhanced international remaster, marking the first time that the game appeared in regions like North America. Since it's a remaster rather than a remake, you get to experience the first fear in all of its wonderful, old-timey glory.

Despite its dated graphics, B-horror campiness, and the fact I never actually played Clock Tower myself, the Clock Tower series holds a very special place in my heart. When I was a wee lass, I saw my friend play through the second game. (Not Ghost Head, I'm talking about the actual sequel.) However, I didn’t understand what was going on. He got Ending C, in which Jennifer dies, and when the paramedics are retrieving the sole survivor of the whole incident, we see that the survivor is the second Scissorman. The camera dramatically pans down on him and his eyes snap open, implying that he will go on to continue his reign of terror.

Somehow, I must’ve confused this scene with a nightmare I had and was under the impression that he was in an air vent. Strange how your mind can play tricks like this on you, especially when you were in the unlucky half of kids who suffered from chronic nightmares and night terrors. But the point is that because of this misunderstanding, I grew up with an irrational fear of looking into air vents, worried I’d see some crazy murderer staring out at me. So playing Clock Tower: Rewind wasn’t just a way to enjoy a piece of horror game history. It was a way for me to reclaim my ability to look into vents without fear.

The story of Clock Tower: The First Fear is fairly simple, since it’s not a very long game. It starts with Jennifer Simpson and three other girls from Granite Orphanage going to visit the Barrows mansion after the patriarch of the family adopts them all. Their teacher, Mary, tells them to wait in the foyer, as she’s going to go fetch Mister Barrows, but when Jennifer tries to check up on Mary, she hears an ear-piercing scream sound out through the night. And thus begins Jennifer’s jaunt through the Barrows house of horrors as she has to elude and survive the implacable Scissorman. Throughout her journey, Jennifer may come across the gruesome corpses of her friends and canonically, she is the only one who survives the night.

While the idea of a helpless horror protagonist isn’t so rare these days, Clock Tower: The First Fear pioneered it. In fact, during development, some people actually thought that a horror game in which you can’t shoot or fight your way out of trouble wouldn’t work. Time certainly vindicated director Kono though. Whether you enjoy the Clock Tower series or not, it’s hard to deny its overarching influence on the horror genre as a whole, considering it’s basically the first survival horror game.

Jennifer cannot fight off the Scissorman. She can only hide from him using set evasion points throughout the manor. For example, you can hide in one of the storage rooms behind the armoire. Throughout my playthroughs, Scissorman never caught onto my hiding spots, meaning that you could potentially use the same place over and over again. This must be a limitation of the AI. Future instalments like Haunting Ground (even if it’s more a spiritual successor rather than a direct sequel) had stalkers like Daniella start to wise up to your hiding locations and they’d drag you out if you tried to re-use them too much. Even disregarding the limited technology of the 1990s, I can understand why Human didn't want to make Scissorman too smart. The manor’s not that big. So on the off chance that you’re unlucky enough to trigger Scissorman too many times, it might lock you out of progressing the game if Scissorman could start catching onto your hiding points.

I will note that Clock Tower: Rewind features a rewind function in which you can turn back a short amount of time. Because all of my runs were perfect, I never had to use it. Okay, that was a joke. The reason that I didn’t really rewind time a lot is because early on, I was testing it to see precisely how much time I could undo. However, I must’ve bugged it out because the game became unresponsive. I could still open up the main menu, but Jennifer wouldn’t move or investigate anything. So, stuck in a random bathroom, I had no choice but to restart the game. Thanks to that incident scaring me off from the mechanic, I only rewound once to test Scissorman spawn logic. It was still possible to clear the game though, so I wouldn't worry too much about that.

As you can imagine, the goal of the game is to escape the Barrows house. You can collect various items throughout the house to help you with this endeavor. There are some items you desperately need to pick up or else risk a dead end. For example, if you hadn’t found the Ham in the house and you triggered the scene in which Jennifer is in a cage, you’ll have no choice but to restart the game or load up a previous save file. The game also randomizes where certain rooms are or what items you’ll need, so there’s quite a bit of trial and erroring you’ll need to get through. Once you know what you need and where things generally are, it's a lot smoother sailing.

As a game from 1995, it’s not very long. Barring random Scissorman encounters throwing you off, it only took me give or take an hour or two for a good ending. It also lacks a lot of modern conveniences like maps, meaning that you’ll need to rely either on your memory or your own mapping ability. Thanks to the changing layout of the Barrows mansion, existing maps online aren’t that precise, meaning you will need to pay attention every time you start up a game. Thankfully, while rooms shuffle around, they only shuffle around within their respective hallways. So for example, you won’t need to backtrack all the way to the foyer if you want to look for the taxidermy room because the taxidermy room will always be somewhere in the west wing.

I highly doubt Human intended this, but the 1990s aesthetic was really charming. There are some random scares in rooms, which remind me a lot of how old educational DOS games and Fisher-Price: Dream Dollhouse would have random stuff move and make noises. Something else about the age of the game is that it uses a really interesting control scheme that you don’t really see anymore these days. When you move Jennifer around, she goes in the direction you input until you tell her to stop. If you want to interact with items, use stairs, or open doors, you would need to use the cursor (via analog stick) to point and click. It can make for some tense moments when you only have a limited amount of time to do something, but you’re fumbling through your inventory or trying to click on the right thing.

Old games aren’t all charming though and Clock Tower: Rewind has its fair share of annoyances. Actually, the main annoyance is the big man himself: the Scissorman. As much as he terrified me as a kid (granted, I was scared of the second one), he is a mere nuisance in this one. Since the only sounds you really hear in the game are Jennifer’s footsteps, the scare chord marking his arrival can be a bit of a jump scare. He’s relentless too, pursuing Jennifer no matter how many turns she takes or doors she runs through. However, the game is surprisingly generous to you. That’s fantastic, of course, but it kind of sucks away a lot of tension from the encounters and makes them a lot more annoying than scary.

The Scissorman is really slow compared to how Jennifer can sprint around the Barrows mansion. She gets tired though, and if the Scissorman catches up to her when she's not at max stamina, he can overpower her and kill her. However, because of how slow the Scissorman is, it’s very easy for Jennifer to literally stop, sit down, take a breather, and keep going. It kind of sounds like a Hanna-Barbera skit when I describe it in that way, but I guarantee that it’s not supposed to be funny. This is a very serious game. 

As mentioned above, in order to make the Scissorman leave you alone, you’ll need to hide from him using certain spots in the mansion. Then you can continue your exploration. Sometimes you might need to tackle your way past Scissorman depending on how lost or turned around you get. Again, you want to be at maximum stamina to push past him or else you won’t survive. But this is yet another reason that he's not as big a threat as you may think, as Jennifer at max strength can literally fight off his shears. A funny thing is that the Scissorman is invincible when he’s entering a room, meaning that if you try to leave while he’s in the process of entering, he’ll just kill you.

One of the extras in the game is an old instruction pamphlet in which Human warned against saving while the game is changing between screens. I’m guessing that something about Jennifer knocking down Scissorman while he’s between screens would destabilize the code, hence his invincibility. In any case, it's not hard to avoid deaths. So it’s not that Scissorman’s scary, per se, and more that he can drive you out of areas and rooms you want to explore. This then forces you to have to backtrack through the manor, which is small in terms of scale but still large enough that it can be a slog. It makes the Scissorman more of a tedious obstacle to shake off than a legitimate threat. Not that this is a major complaint though, as that's kind of what eventually happens in most horror games.

Something else I like about Clock Tower: Rewind specifically is that it’s basically a collector’s item. It contains motion comics (complete with voice acting), as well as little documents from the original release and such of the game. It’s really cool! I think that someone who’s really into Clock Tower would get a kick out of seeing all of that. The one thing that I don’t like is how distracting the alert is when you unlock a new scene in the motion comic. This is really annoying because you usually unlock more stuff when a scene is occurring or when you trigger Scissorman, so you have the giant notification pop up and block your screen while you’re trying to see or do something. An alert popping up after a run or when you return to the main menu, or even just a little blip in the corner, would’ve been much nicer.

I do genuinely want Clock Tower: Rewind to do well in hopes that we can see more ports or remasters of the other Clock Tower games. Honestly, I just want to see Haunting Ground, its spiritual successor. As for the main series itself though, it’s a little sad that Clock Tower 3 in 2002 was the last time Capcom really did anything with the property. As far as horror games go, Clock Tower isn’t exactly in my personal top five favorites, but it’s still such a highly influential and important work that I’m surprised it took this long for it to make its way out of Japan with an official English localization. While its dated graphics and gameplay may turn away some people, it’s definitely something to experience for yourself if you’re interested in this kind of history.

And no, I don’t believe that clearing this game cured my irrational phobia of vents. I suppose we’ll just have to wait until a Clock Tower 2: Rewind for that.

Clock Tower: Rewind will come out on October 29, 2024 for the PS4, PS5, and Nintendo Switch.

The post Review: Clock Tower: Rewind Is a Chilling Piece of Video Game History appeared first on Siliconera.

The PlayStation Partner Awards 2024 Japan & Asia will be held on December 3, 2024, and awards will include a new category to celebrate 30 years of the release of the original PlayStation games. Sony Interactive Entertainment also announced that user voting is now available until November 7, 2024 from the PlayStation Partner Awards 2024 official website.

As part of the new “PlayStation Generations Awards” prize category for the PlayStation Partner Awards 2024, users can vote for their favorite games in each PlayStation console released for the past 30 years. This includes the original PlayStation, as well as the PS2, PSP, PS3, PS Vita, and PS4.

As for the standard categories, the top three titles developed in Japan and other Asian countries will receive the Grand Award, and the top title will receive the Partner Award. Additionally, the Excellence Award will be given to titles that have received the Grand Award in three consecutive years, in recognition of the achievement.

Furthermore, the Special Award will be given to titles that have achieved noteworthy accomplishments. The "Users' Choice Awards" will be given to the top five new titles released during 2024, selected by user voting, out of the top 30 most-played titles in Japan and other Asian countries.

The PlayStation Partner Awards started as the PlayStation Awards in 1994, the year the original PlayStation console released, as a way to celebrate the creators and game developers that worked on titles for the console.

The voting period for the PlayStation Partner Awards 2024 is now open until November 7, 2024, and the winners will be announced on December 3, 2024.

The post PlayStation Partner Awards 2024 New Category Celebrates Classic Games appeared first on Siliconera.

Sega is a publisher usually known for series like Sonic that focus on platforming and other genres. But Sega surprisingly has some excellent Japanese role-playing games worth checking out. Here are the best recent Sega JRPGs across PS3, PS4, and PS5 alike. Note that I am excluding Atlus JRPGs, even though the company is owned by Sega, since they deserve their own dedicated list.

Best Recent Sega JRPGs on the PS3

The PlayStation 3 didn’t receive a ton of JRPG support from Sega since most of it went to handhelds at the time like the DS, PSP, and 3DS. However, there are some standouts like Resonance of Fate. This game has one of the sleekest combat systems I’ve ever seen with a pretty intriguing story, too.

There are also games like Shining Resonance for a flawed but still solid enough, more traditional 3D action RPG feel. That said, the best PS3 Sega JRPG comes from the original Valkyria Chronicles. This alternative World War II-set game features a flexible tactical RPG movement system that is fun to use and an emotional storyline.

Best Recent Sega JRPGs on the PS4

The return of Phantasy Star Online happened with Phantasy Star Online 2. It is a free-to-play MMORPG on PS4 that is worth checking out for a bit. There is so much content to this game that you will not find anywhere else on this list. And there is always more on the way, especially when it comes to great cosmetics and crossover events.

Sakura Wars also made a grand return in the West on PS4 with the 2019 version. The mix of mech combat and visual novel dating sim-like storyline is quite unique. If you want a bit of romance amidst the dramatic story about women fighting for their lives in a war, this is one to check out.

Then there is my personal favorite on this console: Valkyria Chronicles 4. Not only is this the best in the series but it is up there as one of my favorite Sega JRPGs of all time. The combat is strategic, deep, and full of challenging missions and decisions. Plus, the story is one of the most underrated on the PS4 with its colorful cast of soldiers and gut-wrenching twists.

Best Recent Sega JRPGs on the PS5

Even though the PS5 is well into its lifecycle, there aren’t too many Sega JRPGs not from Atlus on it. The core games come from the Like a Dragon series, including the one that started a massive shift for the franchise in Yakuza: Like a Dragon. This game switched out the brawler gameplay from previous titles for Dragon Quest-inspired turn-based combat with jobs and more.

It also has one of my favorite stories in gaming, focusing on the outcasts of outcasts as they rise up to get revenge. Then there is also its sequel in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. It continues the story of new protagonist Ichiban while bringing back Kiryu for a fascinating trip in Hawaii. The story is a bit rougher around the edges at times, but the turn-based gameplay is refined and the content is exceptionally varied.

Let us know what your favorite SEGA RPG is below!

The post Best Recent Sega JRPGs on PS3, PS4, and PS5 appeared first on Siliconera.

It occurred to me the other day how many of my friends own Pomeranians. I get it: they’re a cute and sassy little breed. It’s still a funny coincidence considering how many dog breeds there are in the world and how little friends I have that somehow, about 75% of the dog owners I know have the same type of dog. Whenever I think about pomeranians though, there’s one thing that comes to mind: Tokyo Jungle. What kind of world do we live in that Tokyo Jungle is trapped on the PS3 and PS Vita? A world in which Tokyo Jungle 2 does not exist? The PS4 is on its way out, but before it becomes as defunct as the PS3, I sure would like to see a PS4 or PS5 port of Tokyo Jungle.

For those who are unfamiliar with Tokyo Jungle, it’s a single or multiplayer action-roguelike. It takes place in post-apocalyptic Tokyo, in a world absent of humans. House pets and zoo animals roam free and must survive in this new natural order. Oh, yes, and dinosaurs are here too. Go figure. I personally really enjoyed the story, though playing the story mode was a whole other beast.

The ultimate goal of the main meat of the game—survival mode—is to make it to a hundred years with a species of your choice. You can choose to play as a herbivore or a carnivore. Each type has its own pros and cons. Carnivores need to kill their prey in order to eat, but you can find non-toxic food even in the endgame. Meanwhile, herbivores have more babies per litter, equalling a larger pack and higher survivability. You can also breed to pass on stat boosts to future generations. I’ve played through almost fifty generations of pomeranians in my file, for instance. The stat boosts I accumulated with the Pomeranian alone makes the fluffy little thing more powerful than a default tosa. This adds yet another layer of replayability value, as you can grind stats for your favorite animal.

When Tokyo Jungle first came out in 2012, it received a lukewarm response. Europeans loved it while Americans hated it. In its native Japan, people either adored it for its unique gameplay and replay value, or despised it for its lack of depth. Though I would love to see Tokyo Jungle come back on modern consoles like the PS4 or PS5, I had my own issues with the game, of course. The toxicity mechanic felt like a way to make runs way more difficult for no reason. For reference, if you stay in an area or eat something with high toxicity levels and you reach 100% toxicity, you will start losing HP. This really sucks. When I replayed my file to jog my memory for this, 90% of my deaths occurred for reasons other than toxicity.

While there were ways to manage toxicity, it felt like an unnecessary layer of difficulty in a game that’s already quite hard. The controls aren’t the greatest to handle. It’s easy to lose control of a situation when enemies swarm you like ants on candy. Novices are sure to find it difficult to balance everything—age, hunger, toxicity, time-limited quests, calorie count for better mates, and whatnot. It definitely took me more than a few runs to stop dying in the first three decades or so. But the feeling of improving at the game and beating your own record kept me going back again and again. I’m sure enjoyers of difficult games can understand that sensation.

Tokyo Jungle felt unique in its setting and gameplay. Kataoka and the development team at Crispy’s accomplished their goal of creating something that felt original in both idea and execution. Now, is the game fun? Well...I sure romanticized it in my memory. It’s not fun, per se. It’s an addictive time sink, though. When runs don’t go well, I want to try again. When runs do go well, I want to play again to boost stats or clear more goals. Fun is subjective, but Tokyo Jungle in particular feels like a game that really appeals to certain personalities. Like people who enjoy the feeling of completing lots of little tasks for a greater reward at the end. Or people who like mindless games so they can turn off their brain for a while. And oh boy, am I smack dab in the middle of both audiences.

Rights are a complicated affair. Though I started this with hopes that a PS4 or PS5 port of Tokyo Jungle will show up, I know that I’m just huffing decade-old copium. Crispy’s! hasn’t made anything since 2014 and no longer exists anyway. Japan Studio became defunct in 2021. It’s hard to say if the Freedom Wars remaster is a viable ray of hope, considering Dimps is around. But if Freedom Wars got to escape Vita jail, then hopefully one day, players will be able to explore the concrete greens of Tokyo Jungle once again.

Tokyo Jungle is readily available on the PS3, and Tokyo Jungle Mobile appeared on the PS Vita and mobile devices until PlayStation Mobile was shut down.

The post I Still Wish a Tokyo Jungle Remaster Would Appear appeared first on Siliconera.

The 30th anniversary of the Tales series is just around the corner and Bandai Namco has already started preparations with the Remastered Project. For those who would like to take a walk down memory lane, or are curious about what other Tales games they can play while waiting for new (or remastered) releases, here is a full list of the mothership Tales titles.

Tales of Phantasia

Release Date: December 15, 1995

Platforms: Super Famicom, PlayStation, GBA, PSP, iOS, mobile devices

The first Tales title takes place in Aselia and follows Cless Albane, who seeks revenge after his hometown is destroyed. He learns that the culprits behind the attack wish to revive a powerful sorcerer king, Dhaos. Using the power of time travel, Cless and his friends travel to the past and future in order to defeat Dhaos for good.

Tales of Destiny

Release Date: December 23, 1997

Platforms: PlayStation

The original Tales of Destiny came out on the PlayStation and the remake came out in 2006 for the PS2. It follows Stahn, who accidentally finds a sentient sword that calls itself Dymlos. He, along with other wielders of speaking swords, fight for the Eye of Atamoni, which is a powerful relic from an ancient war.

Tales of Destiny Remake is one of the best titles in the Tales series for its story—which expands on the original and includes a redemption arc for popular character Leon—and fighting style. Hopefully, Bandai Namco has plans for a remaster so that it can officially release the game to the west.

Tales of Eternia

Release Date: November 30, 2000

Platforms: PlayStation, PSP

Tales of Eternia, released in the west as Tales of Destiny 2, has nothing to do with Tales of Destiny. Instead, it follows Reid Hershel and his friends, who live together in the world of Inferia. One day, they come across a mysterious foreign girl named Meredy and through their interactions with her, learn of a different world called Celestia. They journey together to stop an ages-old conflict between the two worlds.

Tales of Eternia feels like the turning point for the Tales series in that it propelled the series into its initial popularity. It was popular enough for an anime adaptation and a MMO, though the anime was pretty bad (in that it had little to do with the game) and the MMO didn’t last long. The battle system feels a lot more fluid compared to Phantasia and Destiny, and it holds up to newer 2D Tales games too. 

Tales of Destiny 2

Release Date: November 28, 2002

Platforms: PS2, PSP

The actual sequel to Tales of Destiny, Tales of Destiny 2 follows Kyle, who’s the son of Stahn and Rutee from the first game. Due to his parents’ heroic past, he’s also obsessed with becoming a hero. One day, he meets a mysterious girl named Reala and embarks on a journey to become a true hero.

Like the above Tales of Destiny Remake, Tales of Destiny 2 is a fantastic game. It’s got a great story, compelling characters, and a difficult battle system that’s rewarding to master. The meme himself, Barbatos, is also from this game. Considering how much trouble he can give you, it can be a little hard to laugh at the jokes Bandai Namco make at his expense.

Tales of Symphonia

Release Date: August 29, 2003

Platforms: Nintendo GameCube, PS2, PS3, Windows PC, Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One

Tales of Symphonia was popular in its native Japan, but it’s what really put the franchise on the map for the western audience. While the west had gotten Phantasia and Eternia, they weren’t exactly selling like hotcakes in the way that Symphonia did. The story follows Lloyd, who joins his friend Colette’s pilgrimage to regenerate the world of Sylvarant.

Tales of Rebirth

Release Date: December 16, 2004

Platforms: PS2, PSP

The story of Tales of Rebirth heavily focuses on racism. It takes place in a world where people wield a magical power called Force after King Ladras, in his final moments, uses his power to unleash the potential in people around his kingdom. Veigue lost power of his Force of Ice and froze his childhood friend Claire in a pillar. Even after he manages to free her with the help of new friends Eugene and Mao, soldiers acting on orders from Karegia Kingdom heiress Agarte take her away. His journey to rescue her from the palace morphs into a battle to end racism.

Tales of Legendia

Release Date: August 25, 2005

Platforms: PS2

Tales of Legendia follows the story of Senel and his surrogate little sister Shirley. Shirley is the Merines, a legendary figure among the Ferines, which is a race of people who can live underwater. Because Shirley is the Merines, many different factions want to capture her to use them for their own schemes.

Compared to previous titles (and its successor Abyss), Tales of Legendia looks and plays in a very weird way. This likely has to do with the fact that the developer, Project MelFes, consists of Tales Studio members, along with developers from the Tekken and Soul Calibur series. It’s the first Tales game with Go Shiina as the composer and the soundtrack is objectively the game’s highest point.

Tales of the Abyss

Release Date: December 15, 2005

Platforms: PS2, Nintendo 3DS

Tales of the Abyss is the eighth mothership title, but it’s the commemorative game for the series’s 10th anniversary. It follows Luke fon Fabre, a pampered noble and swordsman who ends up outside of his comfy mansion after heroine Tear appears to assassinate her brother, who’s also Luke’s teacher. The story heavily focuses on Luke’s personal development as he seeks the meaning of his birth. There is also an anime adaptation for Abyss, which you can watch on YouTube.

Tales of the Tempest

Release Date: October 26, 2006

Platforms: Nintendo DS

Tales of the Tempest follows Caius Qualls, who is a Leymon (essentially a werewolf). After the church takes his guardian prisoner and kill the parents of his childhood friend Rubia, the two of them set out for the capital. The adventure then turns into one to overthrow the church.

Tales of the Tempest is the first Tales game for a handheld console. However, the reception to the game was very mixed, with some places giving it a very positive score and others giving it a very negative one. Points of criticism included the story’s short length, lack of content, unappealing relationship between Caius and Rubia, and more.

Tales of Innocence

Release Date: December 6, 2007

Platforms: Nintendo DS, PS Vita

The story of Tales of Innocence follows avatars, human reincarnations of the divine Devalokans who can still use supernatural powers from their past lives. Ruca, a timid boy, is an avatar of the powerful Asura and he awakens to his powers after rescuing fugitive Illia, a fellow avatar. They meet up with other avatars, who then travel to do something about the wars engulfing their world.

Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World

Release Date: June 26, 2008

Platforms: Wii, PS3

Though the sequel of Tales of Symphonia, Dawn of the New World introduces a lot of lore and elements that weren’t in the original game. It follows Emil, a timid boy who survived a massacre that Lloyd from the first game perpetrated. After meeting with Marta, a girl with Ratatosk’s Core on her forehead, the two of them set out on a journey to fix the meteorological problems occurring around the world and escape from Marta’s pursuers.

Tales of Vesperia

Release Date: August 7, 2008

Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3, Nintendo Switch, PS4, Windows PC, Xbox One

Tales of Vesperia is a very popular and successful entry in the Tales franchise, selling over 1.5 million copies worldwide. It also has a prequel film, though Flynn in particular is so out-of-character it might as well be fanfiction. The story follows Yuri Lowell, a former soldier who’s now doing odd jobs around his neighborhood. After meeting a noble named Estelle and fleeing from the capital with her, he forms a guild called Brave Vesperia.

Tales of Hearts

Release Date: December 18, 2008

Platforms: Nintendo DS, PS Vita, iOS

Tales of Hearts follows Kor Meteor (Shing Meteoryte) who meets siblings Kohaku and Hisui Hearts. A monster infects Kohaku and in an attempt to save her, Kor accidentally destroys her Spiria (her heart and emotions). The three of them set off on a journey to restore Kohaku’s Spiria.

People don’t talk about the CG Movie Edition, but I definitely remember that one. People were comparing the models to the Evil Goddess MOCCOS, an old 2ch meme about the ugly KOS-MOS figure that came with the Xenosaga Episode 2 Premium Box Set.

Tales of Graces

Release Date: December 10, 2009

Platforms: Wii, PS3, Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Windows PC

Tales of Graces follows the story of Asbel Lhant, who is the future heir of the Lhant village. As a child, he befriends an amnesiac girl named Sophie and the prince of Windsor, Richard. Witnessing Sophie’s death traumatizes him and he runs away from home to become a knight. Seven years later, he reunites with Sophie, setting into motion an adventure that takes him all across the world of Ephinea.

Tales of Xillia

Release Date: September 8, 2011

Platforms: PS3

Tales of Xillia is the first Tales game that combines character designs from Kosuke Fujishima (Phantasia, Symphonia, Abyss) and Mutsumi Inomata (Destiny, Eternia, Rebirth). Like Tales of the Abyss, it’s a celebratory mothership title. In Xillia's case, it was for the 15th anniversary. It follows Jude Mathis, a medical student who encounters Milla Maxwell after she breaks into a military research facility in an attempt to destroy a secret weapon. Now that they’re on the run from the military, Jude and Milla, along with their companions, journey to help Milla with her mission to save the world.

Tales of Xillia 2

Release Date: November 1, 2012

Platforms: PS3

Tales of Xillia 2, like Dawn of the New World, is a sequel of its predecessor while introducing elements and lore that the original game never really mentioned. It takes place a year after Xillia and follows Ludger Will Kresnik, a guy who just wants to cook. It turns out he’s not just a good cook, as he possesses the Chromatus. He and the cast from the first Xillia need to go into parallel worlds—essentially what-if scenarios from the first game—and destroy them to prevent their own world’s destruction. He also has to pay off a huge medical debt. Ah, adult life.

Tales of Zestiria

Release Date: January 22, 2015

Platforms: PS3, PS4, Windows PC

Tales of Zestiria was, like Abyss and Xillia, an anniversary title and this time, it was for the 20th anniversary. It draws inspiration from Arthurian legends and it follows the story of Sorey, a young human who can see the mystical spirits Seraphim. He leaves the village of Elysia with his best friend Mikleo and, after forming a pact with the Seraph Lailah, he becomes the Shepherd whose job is to purify the Hellion rampaging throughout Glenwood.

For an anniversary title, Zestiria had its fair share of controversies. Before the game came out, Japanese fans were ticked off about how prominent advertising for Alisha was, yet she was a mere guest party member in the actual game. After it came out, fans seemed split on the story, battle system, and tutorials.

Tales of Berseria

Release Date: August 18, 2016

Platforms: PS3, PS4, Windows PC

Tales of Berseria technically serves as the prequel to Tales of Zestiria. However, you don’t have to play Zestiria to understand Berseria. It follows Velvet Crowe, a normal village girl who lost her pregnant sister after a daemon attack. One day, tragedy strikes the village and Velvet comes across her brother-in-law Artorius killing her younger brother Laphicet in a ritual. She transforms into a daemon and Artorius tosses her into jail. Once she wakes, she swears vengeance on the man who used to be her family.

Tales of Arise

Release Date: September 10, 2021

Platforms: PS4, PS5, Windows PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X

Tales of Arise follows the story of Dahnan slave Alphen, or “Iron Mask,” and a Renan girl named Shionne. A curse on Shionne hurts anyone who touches her but since Alphen can’t feel pain, he’s the only person who can pull a sword from the Master Core she has. Like Rebirth and Eternia, it deals with themes of racism and oppression.

The post All Mothership Titles in the Tales Series in Release Order appeared first on Siliconera.

Nissin has uploaded a new collaborative Cup Noodle commercial video which features the Japanese meme based on El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron. In this new trailer, Lucifel questions Enoch's choice of his Cup Noodle-branded gear.

The meme originated when a promotional trailer for the El Shaddai game appeared at E3 2010. Enoch's insistence on his original armor and his concession after the reset became a timeless classic in the Japanese gaming community.

Nissin launched this commercial to promote four special-flavored Tokujo Cup Noodle packages. Each of them is themed after the Matsutake mushroom, Seafood, Curry, and Chili Tomato.

The company not only worked with Crim to apply Cup Noodle branding to Enoch's armors in the El Shaddai trailer. It even employed Lucifel's Japanese voice actor Ryota Takeuchi to record new quotes for the commercial, including parody lines that replaced the word "equipment" with "Cup Noodle."

The new collaborative commercial video is available to watch via YouTube:

Nissin has been holding collaborations between Cup Noodles and many Japanese game franchises. The most well-known one was the Final Fantasy XV crossover in 2016. In recent years, Nissin has also collaborated with the mobile game Project Sekai Colorful Stage! feat. Hatsune Miku in 2022 and the Pokemon franchise in 2023.

El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron was originally released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2011. Crim has released remastered ports for the game on PC via Steam in 2021 and Nintendo Switch in 2024.

The post New Cup Noodle Ad Is Based on the El Shaddai Meme appeared first on Siliconera.

A Persona art book book is on the way, as Udon is publishing the Atlus and Shigenori Soejima Persona 5 + Persona 5 Royal: Official Design Works outside Japan. Pre-orders are now already open on Amazon ahead of its November 26, 2024, with the hardcover book costing $73.40.

As the title notes, this art book covers both Persona 5 and the updated Royal release. The product listing noted that concept art and other types of illustrations of characters, enemies, and other game elements will be present. There will also be an interview with Soejima, the character designer for the entry. 

Here’s how the English cover art will look for this Official Design Works art book will look:

Udon’s been behind a number of Persona 5 book releases. It released three Persona 5: Mementos Mission manga volumes. It also handled the localization and publication duties for Persona 5: Comic a la Carte outside Japan. Its been behind some merchandise like pin sets too. Other entries in the series’ manga lines also are handled by the company, such as ones based on Persona 3 and 4.

The Persona 5 + Persona 5 Royal: Official Design Works art book will launch on November 26, 2024, according to the Amazon listing. Persona 5 is on the PS3 and PS4, while Royal is on the PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC.

The post Udon Persona 5 + Persona 5 Royal: Official Design Works Art Book Orders Open appeared first on Siliconera.

Atlus and Sanshee announced the Persona 5 plush and pin collection is growing, this time with Futaba Sakura joining the ranks. The stuffed toy is being shown as available now on the official site for $39.99, while the $12.99 pin has an August 2024 release window.

The design for the plush is by Jaime Ugarte, while Morton Wayman worked on the pin. Both feature a chibi version of Futaba Sakura in her casual clothing. She has big eyes, her glasses, and her headphones on. However, in the case of the stuffed doll, the headphones are magnetic and removable. 

Here is the full announcement, which included the official art for the Futaba Sakura plush and pin.

The Persona 5 Futaba Sakura plush and pin are both the most recent additions in an already existing line. Previously, some other members of the cast appeared. For example, Makoto Niijima is already around. Prior to that, Ryuji Sakamoto appeared as the first character in the collection.

Persona 5 is available on the PS3 and PS4, while Persona 5 Royal is available on the PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC. The Futaba Sakura plush is now available at Sanshee, while pre-orders are open for the pin based on the character.

The post Persona 5 Futaba Sakura Plush and Pin Arrive  appeared first on Siliconera.

A number of figmas showed up at Good Smile Company’s Smile Fest 2024, and one was an updated version of the Metal Gear Solid 2 Solid Snake figure. It is a new take on the item that first appeared back in August 2018. 

The Metal Gear Solid 2 Solid Snake figma wears his original uniform, just like the first version of the figure. His face plate is a stern, stoic expression in the example photo. He’s also holding the tranquilizer that he came with originally. It does seem like the bodysuit is a different shade than the original version of the figma. Also, the paint job on the face seems a bit different and more in line with other recent releases.

Here’s how that looks:

To compare, here’s how the original 2018 version of the Metal Gear Solid 2 Solid figure looked. The additional accessories also included an assault rifle and a cardboard box. Some of the hand parts would even allow the figma to be posed as though it is hanging from a shelf or table.

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty is available on the PS2, PS3, PS4, PS5, Vita, Switch, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox Series X, Windows PC via various collections, and the Solid Snake figma will return in the future.

The post Metal Gear Solid 2 Solid Snake Figma’s an Update Figure appeared first on Siliconera.

Square Enix started a 60% off sale for Final Fantasy XIV in preparation for the Dawntrail expansion. The sale will end on June 11, 2024.

It appears that this promotion is only for players who will play on a Windows PC or Mac. For example, Endwalker (which is part of the sale) is $15.99 from the Square Enix store, but $39.99 from the PlayStation Store. You can purchase the products on sale from the Square Enix Store or Mog Station. This sale is valid for the Complete Edition and Complete Collector’s Edition of Final Fantasy XIV. You can also use it to purchase the Standard Edition and Collector’s Edition of Endwalker. 

Square Enix first announced Dawntrail as the newest expansion of the long-running MMORPG back during Final Fantasy XIV Fan Fest 2023. It will appear alongside update 7.0 on July 2, 2024. This expansion will feature new jobs (Viper and Pictomancer), a new location (Tural), and a new race (female Hrothgar). Other than that, there are updates like a higher level up, new dungeons, and new raids. The full list of new content is available via the Square Enix webpage for the expansion.

Final Fantasy XIV is readily available on the PS3, PS4, PS5, Windows PC, MacOS, and Xbox Series X. The Final Fantasy XIV sale will end on June 11, 2024.

The post Final Fantasy XIV Sale Drops Price By 60% appeared first on Siliconera.