March 2023

Back once again to prove that I will literally never get tired of an "-er? I hardly know her!" joke, it's episode five of series two of the Electronic Wireless Show podcast. This week we return to a subject we've touched on before, but in more detail. With EA asking if people would like remakes of Dead Spaces 2 and 3, and The Outer Worlds getting a remastered Spacer's Choice Edition, we're having a big old thinkeroo about remakes and remasters - including which games we'd most like to see remade.

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I feel like I’m still processing the Genshin Impact “Caribert” Archon Quest. These interludes with Dainsleif and be fascinating. While the other Archon Quests tied to certain regions and the Archons themselves tend to focus on more isolated, current events, each of these chapters appearing in between can be more tantalizing. We learn more about Khaenri'ah, the Traveler’s sibling, and the underlying issues plaguing Teyvat. However, while there are some hints at greater revelations in this short act, it’s almost unsatisfying given how much we still don’t know about people like Kaeya and Dainsleif or Khaenri'ah, and suddenly now there are more questions after its conclusion.

Editor’s Note: There will be Genshin Impact “Caribert” Archon Quest spoilers in the rest of this article.

Dainsleif and Kaeya meet, but it’s anticlimactic

There’s always been an air of mystery around Kaeya in Genshin Impact, mainly because we know he’s an orphan from Khaenri'ah. He was left on Mondstadt’s borders as a child, and Diluc’s father took him in to raise alongside his son. He has the same telltale eyes as Dainsleif and other characters from the region.

Outer Banks has made a name for itself as one of Netflix’s most popular shows, showcasing a storyline that involves beach town teens hunting down hidden treasures. With three seasons of thrill-seeking adventure featuring John B. and his friends, there are plenty of hilarious moments and gasp-worthy shockers to keep you hooked.

Part of the charm of Outer Banks is the cast of exciting and lovable characters, each portrayed with their strengths and flaws. There’s the treasure-obsessed surfer boy John. B; half-Kook, half-Pogue Kie; resident bad boy JJ; the seafood store owner’s incredibly book-smart son Pope; and rich girl runaway Sarah. Among these fictional characters, there are positive and negative traits that everyone can relate to on some level, giving them a unique and special energy that makes the show so memorable.

If you’re wondering which Outer Banks character you’re most similar to, we’ve got you covered with the quiz below. Will you be a Pogue or a Kook? A treasure hunter-type or a beach-partying boat enthusiast? Let’s find out!

The first episode of Valorant’s Episode 6 saw the arrival of the new map Lotus, and there’s more content on the way in the form of a new Agent for the second Act coming next week. After having now been revealed by Riot Games, we’re sharing everything there is to know about Valorant’s Agent 22, Gekko, as well as when you can play him.

Valorant Agent Gekko Reveal Trailer

Riot Games has now officially revealed Valorant’s latest Agent, Gekko, with a brand new story trailer. You can check it out below.

All Valorant Gekko Abilities Explained

Dizzy (E)

• EQUIP Dizzy FIRE to send Dizzy soaring forward through the air. Dizzy charges and then unleashes plasma blasts at enemies in line of sight. Enemies hit by her plasma are blinded. When Dizzy expires she reverts into a dormant globule INTERACT to reclaim the globule and gain another Dizzy charge after a short cooldown.

Wingman (Q)

Nintendo announced that the service that allows users to link Nintendo Network IDs, used on the 3DS and Wii U, with Nintendo Accounts will stop functioning in March 2024. This service allows users to consolidate the balance of the 3DS and Wii U eShop accounts to be usable on the Switch’s eShop. This service also makes it so Nintendo eShop purchases are linked to the email used in the Nintendo Account. [Thanks, Famitsu!]

As Nintendo will stop 3DS and Wii U eShop service on March 27, 2023, any unused balance on a 3DS or Wii U console will no longer be usable on either one. However, by linking a Nintendo Network ID with the Nintendo Account required to access the Switch’s internet features, the remaining balance on a 3DS or Wii U console can be transferred to the Switch.

This feature will no longer be possible on March 2024, as Nintendo will halt the service. The official Nintendo support website offered instructions on how to link a Nintendo Network ID with a Nintendo Account so that the funds can carry over to the Nintendo Switch eShop.

As a reminder, the 3DS and Wii U eShops will close down on March 27, 2023. Users won’t be able to make purchases on the online stores, but already purchased games are still accessible to download.

Square Enix shared some new information through the FFVII Remake official Twitter account about the song that plays during the fight against Nero the Sable, the final boss of the Episode InterMISSION DLC campaign in FFVII Remake Intergrade. The theme is composed using three different methods. All of them feature the double bass as a common instrument, one associated with him throughout.

You can listen to the song used during the fight against Nero the Sable, named in English after the character, here:

https://twitter.com/FFVIIR_CLOUD/status/1632667335973646336

The three different musical pieces that make up Nero’s boss fight in FFVII Remake are composed using different techniques. The first part of the song has a heavy emphasis on its use of the synthesizer, the second one predominantly features fast and passionate chamber music, and the third type of composition uses an orchestra and choir. The double bass is a constant throughout all three compositions.

Nero the Sable is one of the Tsviets, an elite group of soldiers from Deepground, which first made his appearance in Dirge of Cerberus: FFVII.

Final Fantasy VII Remake is available for the PS4. Meanwhile, Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade is available for the PS5 and Windows PC, and it includes Episode InterMISSION, a DLC campaign lead by Yuffie and in which Nero the Sable makes an appearance.

Agnea is great dancer in Octopath Traveler 2 for two reasons. One is that her story is refreshing, compared to darker and heavier tales like Osvald’s and Throne’s. There’s still corruption and you’ll meet villains, but she’s a very positive and lighthearted figure. The other is that it’s very clear going in what kind of role she’ll play in a party. This can help a lot and make it easier when deciding who to bring along on adventures.

How Do You Recruit Agnea in Octopath Traveler 2

If you didn’t start with Agnea in Octopath Traveler 2, you’ll find her in her hometown of Cropdale.

How Does Agnea Work in Octopath Traveler 2

Agnea is around to make your party stronger and your enemies weaker. Can you have her attack? Sure. I mean, at that point, give her a mage-type secondary job like cleric or scholar. But you really want to take advantage of her ability to make others better or worse, especially since her All Together Now Latent Power “limit break” can make single target skills, with limitations, affect all allies or enemies instead of just one.

Here is the full list of dancer skills Agnea can learn in Octopath Traveler 2. Keep in mind All Together Now will spread ones that aren’t designed to only hit her or are divine skills like Sealticge’s Seduction.

While steadily waiting for June so I can mangle folks with Marisa in Street Fighter VI, I needed something to fill the hole in my life. Street Fighter: Duel has been an interesting trip into the Street Fighter universe in the meantime, although my opinion of the game keeps shifting back and forth as I play it. As an RPG, it brings a (not unexpectedly) different feel to the franchise that rubbed me wrong at first. Even so, I found myself continually returning to the game to play a little bit here and there. It’s not something for all Street Fighter fans, but if you’re interested in something a bit more managerial, it will keep pulling you back in.

Starting with Ryu or Ken (your choice), you’ll assemble a roster of fighters from all over the globe to beat up a nigh-endless supply of other world warriors and thugs. You’ll do this in three-on-three matches (with one fighter in reserve). The group will auto-attack with basic blows as your special bar builds up. Once you have a single bar, you can use a Super move that will slam foes or cause one of several different effects depending on the character. Once you use one of these moves, you can get your other characters to do a free special follow-up (combo) with several different levels of attacks or abilities. These attacks have different levels (1, 2, or 3), so you’ll have to pick the moves you want in numerical order.

Bandai Namco revealed that a Dragon Ball Super Card Game Digital Version closed beta is on the way. Registration is already open at the official website. This announcement appeared during the Dragon Ball Games Battle Hour 2023 livestream, during which the company shared a teaser of the game.

Check out the trailer for the digital version of Dragon Ball Super Card Game. This digital version will feature the card designs from the physical game in a 3D battle arena. An in-game character will be in place to represent each player. There will also be animations for attacks and cards used.

https://youtu.be/_BvsQq4PEsw

12,000 slots for the closed beta will be available. The test will only be open to users residing in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Italy.

Only the "free match" game mode will be available during the closed beta. 100 cards will be available for players to make their own decks to play with during this build of the game. This test phase is mainly planned to get to know the behavior of players on the platform, make matchmaking adjustments, and test the servers for a later official launch.

Blizzard revealed another one of the Overwatch 2 One Punch Man character skins, and this time it involves Genji becoming Genos. The Associate Product Director Aimee Dennett and Art Director Dion Rogers discussed this latest costume on the PlayStation Blog. This also involved a look at some concept art for the skin, as well as confirming why this “cosplay” was picked.

Dennett specifically noted that Genji and Genos’ background led to this skin appearing for the Overwatch 2 One Punch Man crossover. Both characters are cyborgs. Genji ended up nearly left for dead by his brother Hanzo after a fight. The Overwatch body augmentations ended up saving him. Meanwhile, as a teenager, Genos and his family were attacked by a cyborg, and he ended up becoming a cyborg after being the only survivor.

Both Rogers and Dennett both also noted that this skin is more of a hybrid. Rogers noted, “Genos’s spiky blonde hair was an interesting challenge, the closer we matched the style the more we lost Genji in the process. Our concept artists were careful to combine the two heroes’ main aesthetics without losing either character in the process.“

Worlds will collide when Capcom's popular Monster Hunter franchise arrives in Street Fighter: Duel for an event that will run from March 16-29, 2023. In this crossover, players can tackle new challenges as they battle Gore Megala, a powerful dragon-like creature that first appeared in Monster Hunter 4. It will also mark the debut of a new version of Ken called "Gore Magala Ken."

Gore Magala Ken can join players' team to lead the charge against the beasts from Monster Hunter. This new version of Street Fighter staple Ken belongs to the “Infernal King Faction” and boosts the power of your team based on the number of other characters you have with the same faction. He is a balanced-type fighter and has the Savage ability, granting him +25 attack. His most potent attack is Tetsuzanko, which deals a large amount of damage to a single target.

With Ken aboard, you can challenge Gore Megala. Fighting this monster will cause it to drop items based on those dropped in the Monster Hunter series. These include Gore Megala's wings, claw, and head. You can then take these drops and trade them for items at Wycademy Supply. These items include a new avatar frame, Arcade Coins, and fighters.

Gore Megala also can be challenged in two different modes, Normal State and Rage State, with Rage State being harder. You can make the fight easier by bringing Gore Megala Ken along to increase your damage output. The Shadaloo Invasion event will run alongside the Gore Megala hunt and gives items that can be used to unlock Gore Megala Ken, including monster bones and wyvern tears.

Yet another member of Hololive English Myth appeared on the Holo no Graffiti (Hologra) “anime” web series. This time, Calliope Mori made her debut. Now that all five members of the group have their English models, they’ve been gradually making appearances in new episodes introducing them to the other Vtubers. It’s the 198th episode of the series so far.

Here’s the Calliope Mori Holo no Graffiti episode “Reaper What You Sow.” English subtitles are available if you turn on closed captions. It begins with Lamy Yukihana and Aki Rosenthal collapsed. Calliope is holding her scythe and breathing heavily. Shion Murasaki happens upon the scene and declares her a murderer. A chase ensues, which results in Ayame Nakiri being summoned to the “fight.” Noel Shirogane also makes a cameo appearance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Z_OVu1vxrQ&ab_channel=hololive%E3%83%9B%E3%83%AD%E3%83%A9%E3%82%A4%E3%83%96-VTuberGroup

The Super Mario amiibo NFC figures are back in stores. The Target ad for the week of March 5, 2023 showed the five available, including its “exclusive” Luigi. In addition, Best Buy also restocked the Mario, Peach, Bowser, and Donkey Kong ones. These aren’t showing up at other retailers like Amazon or GameStop as of time of writing. They are $15.99 at each store.

These are actually reprints of some rather old amiibo. Back in March 2015, these Super Mario amiibo appeared alongside Mario Party 10 for the Wii U. The first “round” included Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, Toad, and Yoshi. Donkey Kong showed up in a November 2016 batch that also included Wario, Waluigi, Rosalina, Daisy, Diddy Kong, and Boo.

First, here are the Target links to all five characters:

Back in 2021, Eiichiro Oda drew a “Three Sword Style” Nami for the cover of One Piece Magazine Volume 13. She was essentially “stealing” Roronoa Zoro’s style for the pose. Now in December 2023, two figures inspired by the “dream scenario” design will be released. One is a more true-to-life Nami One Piece figure, while the other is a smaller, more cutesy World Collectable Figure (WCF). They can be pre-ordered through the Jump CS Shueisha storefront in Japan. Only a Japanese release has been confirmed.

First, here's how that One Piece Magazine Volume 13 by Oda looked.
[gallery columns="1" size="full" ids="953969" link="file"]

Here’s how the One Piece “Three Sword Style” Nami full-size scale figure will look. She will be about 165mm/6.4in tall. She will cost 13,200円 (~$97).
[gallery columns="5" size="full" ids="953971,953972,953973,953974,953975" link="file"]

Next, here’s the WCF version of this special version of Nami. Like all figures in this line, she’ll be smaller and more affordable. She’ll stand at 70mm/2.7in tall. She’ll also be the more affordable of the two, as she’ll only cost 2,640円 (~$19).
[gallery columns="4" size="full" ids="953978,953979,953980,953981" link="file"]

There’s a new Genshin Impact web event, and this time it is another round of the Hilichurl’s Treasure Trove. This appeared four times now, once in every update since 3.2. This latest run is available until April 11, 2023.

To participate, players need to head to the official site and log in. If you are above Adventure Rank 10, you can begin taking part in the "treasure hunt." Your goal is to earn keys to open treasure chests. These are earned via completing quests, which can involve logging into both the game and HoYoLab, sharing the page, and checking different sites. When you get these keys, you can redeem them for rewards like Hero’s Wit books, Mora, and Primogems. You can also take part in Prize Draw Zone pulls to earn more items.

This is the second recent Genshin Impact web event. When Dehya joined the roster as a playable character, there was also a Scarlet Sands web event. This involved Dehya and Dunyarzard going around Sumeru’s deserts looking at points of interest, with players who participated getting Primogems and other rewards.

Cygames showed off some gameplay from Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising featuring Anila, the game's first new character. Anila was teased in a brief trailer aired during the Cygames Cup last week.

The latest reveal is a full gameplay trailer featuring the Divine General of the South-Southwest mixing it up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6H4U4bWK90

In Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising Anila uses her long polearm in combat, with generous involvement from her tame flock of sheep. She can send sheep running across the screen as ranged projectiles, or ride them forward to close a gap. She can also juggle foes on her polearm, and has a crashing pound attack that spawns a massive Japanese kadomatsu decoration that spawns a wave of sheep. Her ultimate move summons a stampede of white and black sheep to trample her enemies.

Anila was introduced to Granblue Fantasy in 2015 as a "Zodiac" character. The Zodiac characters are based on the Chinese Zodiac and are introduced each new year. She's voiced by Aoi Yuuki (Lucy in Cyberpunk Edgerunners, Clementine in Overlord) in Japanese. In English she'll be voiced by Leona Renee, who in addition to voice acting has also done professional localization work on series like The Legend of Heroes, Ys, and Senran Kagura.

Capcom’s been gradually offering new looks at returning Street Fighter 6 characters like Cammy and Zangief, and the latest involves an EX Lariat move for the wrestler. The company’s latest trailer shows him performing Cyclone Lariat. This is his Level 2 Super Art, and the video showing it also shows an anti-air grab.

Here’s a closer look at how the Level 2 Super Art Cyclone Lariat works as Zangief’s EX Lariat on Street Fighter 6.

Zangief wants to keep opponents so close they can smell his muscles.

He can utilize his Level 2 Super Art Cyclone Lariat to suck opponents in and follow up with a variety of bone-crunching attacks. pic.twitter.com/Gmu4IP38rE

— Street Fighter (@StreetFighter) March 6, 2023

Build-a-Bear announced its next Pokemon plush will be of Growlithe. The character will be available in a bundle online. However, right now it’s limited to an “early access” phase. People who are a part of the Build-A-Bear Bonus Club can purchase the stuffed animal before anyone else. The online bundle is $70. The product page also noted people can only purchase up to five of them.

First, here’s a look at the Growlithe plush both in and out of a Pokemon-inspired outfit. This online bundle version comes with a 5-in-1 Sound chip with various barking and “Growlithe” sounds. Normally, the plush with sound effects would cost $44 alone.
[gallery columns="2" size="full" ids="953962,953961" link="file"]

Next, here are the two outfits the Build-a-Bear Pokemon plush includes. These are billed as a Growlithe Cape and Growlithe Sleeper. The cape would be $12.50 separately, while the pajamas would be $13.50.
[gallery columns="2" size="full" ids="953963,953964" link="file"]

DMM Pictures released a new look at Rent-a-Girlfriend season 3. The third teaser for the ongoing anime series also introduces a new character named Mini Yaemori.

Check out the teaser below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jZWHwztqlk

The Rent-a-Girlfriend Season 3 trailer introduces Mini Yaemori, Kazuya's other neighbor. Mini is a cosplayer and a social media influencer. She plays a key role in the plot of Rent-a-Girlfriend Season 3, which involves Kazuya and Chizuru's attempt to make an independent film together.

The Rent-a-Girlfriend anime (a.k.a. Kanojo, Okarishimasu) is based on the manga created by Reiji Miyajima. The story follows Kazuya Kinoshita, a 20-year-old college student living in Tokyo. After being dumped by his girlfriend Mami after just a month of dating, a spiteful Kazuya turns to a certain app for solace. The app allows him to "rent" a date for a limited time, and his partner is Chizuru Mizuhara. After some drama and hard feelings, Kazuya finds that his family and friends love his new "girlfriend," and he's forced to keep renting her services to keep up appearances. It also turns out that Chizuru happens to be his neighbor and a student at the same college.

‘You can join your friends wherever they are’

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The Harry Potter prequel game has 4 different release dates

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Big guy, bigger world

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Rediscovering the only team-up between Best Actor and Actress frontrunners Brendan Fraser and Michelle Yeoh

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Platformers, deck-builders, shooters, and more

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The first-person mode is janky, but you can try it out if you want

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Reigning city-builder supreme coming to PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X

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Two cyborgs, one skin

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