Siliconera

Hololive announced a new Nanashi Mumei merchandise set to celebrate the Vtuber reaching 774,000 subscribers. The milestone is significant, because 774 can be read as "nanashi" in Japanese. She also announced she would be taking an approximately two-week-long break for health reasons.

The 774k subscriber celebration merchandise for Nanashi Mumei includes a porcelain mug and a hooded towel available individually or as a set. The set also includes a bonus sticker sheet. The items are available via the Hololive Store and Geekjack. The set will cost ¥4,400 JPY/$30 USD, or it is ¥2,200 JPY/$15 USD for each of the items individually. Shipping is estimated for late November-December 2023.

You can get a look at the new Hololive merchandise in the gallery below:

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Mumei reported having a cough for almost three months and said she will using the break to rest her vocal cords. She discussed the problem in her last stream before the break, which included pre-recorded singing sections.

You can watch the stream below:
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzgBF2XsT8k[/embed]

Bandai Namco’s Katsuhiro Harada appeared at Combo Breaker 2023. When he did, he also ended up showing his artistic skills. He drew a number of different characters, both from Tekken and other titles, then shared them online. For example, people could see “Unlucky” Chloe, Street Fighter’s Chun-Li, and KOF’s Mai Shiranui. After he did, he reminded people that he developed these skills due to starting as “a game planner and game designer.”

First, here's the picture of Chloe he drew:

Do you know what happened yesterday? Yes, the "Unlucky Chloe (Just a concept doesn't make it happen)” Trailer has leaked. It was a very unlucky day.
BTW, one of the "unlucky" TEKKEN fans who came to the Combo Breaker venue might get this original picture…I drew this 5 mins ago. pic.twitter.com/LQXPMaoAKX

— Katsuhiro Harada (@Harada_TEKKEN) May 28, 2023

Next, here's what Katsuhiro Harada's sketch of Chun-Li looked like:

Ok Smiling Chun-Li

I just drew this because I lost my job at Combo-Breaker. https://t.co/XHePwZUzpX pic.twitter.com/2x7QXTRMDq

Potential Street Fighter 6 PC players now have a benchmark tool to help look at system requirements. Capcom shared the free program worldwide. It's now live at the official site, with a brief download that lets someone see what to expect if they get the game at launch and play it on their current setup.

The Street Fighter 6 benchmark tool is easy to use. Once downloaded, start the program. You can then use it to automatically assess your computer. A score out of 100 will show how capable it is. A 91-100 score is ideal, but people who manage above 71 should also be able to play. Capcom also featured a 31-70 window, which could mean adjusting some settings. However, if the benchmark tool gives someone a 30 or lower, that means a person’s PC system requirements are not ready for Street Fighter 6.

As a reminder, here are the Street Fighter 6 PC system requirements from Steam.

MINIMUM:

Multiple Silent Hill games are on the way, and there’s a new look at the Silent Hill: Ascension “interactive series.” The trailer notes that this will be more of an adventure line featuring multiple characters who find themselves dealing with the horrors of the town. As such, it means players’ decisions decide what happens. There’s still no exact release date, but it will appear in 2023 from Behaviour Interactive, Genvid, and Bad Robot Games.

Here’s the Silent Hill: Ascension trailer showing off the new game’s characters. It hints that like other entries, the people we’ll follow are suffering from some sort of guilt due to their actions. While these protagonists are new, it does look like some monsters reminiscent of past ones appear. For example, it looks like Silent Hill 3’s Insane Cancer might be back.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TP6R0bC4LYI&ab_channel=GenvidEntertainment

Street Fighter 6 is a fighting game for everyone. With control schemes that will let you do cool things simply by mashing the buttons, a sprawling single player mode, and a character creation system that allows you to cobble together whatever moveset you like, it feels like something designed to give you whatever you want out of a fighting game. Not that it's leaving competitive players in the lurch, as its Drive Gauge system gives you plenty of tools to create wild combos from round start, an escape route from pressure, and an armored strike. Marry all this with a fantastic roster of new and old characters, and you have an exquisite fighting game.

Whether this is your first game or if you've been around since Street Fighter II, there are a few control schemes you can make use of to choose how you will be inputting your attacks and combos. Classic Control Type has the complex directional button inputs that long-time players will find instantly familiar. Quarter circle forward and punch to pull off Ryu's Hadouken, for example. Many of these inputs can be challenging when you're new at them, but since your special moves are tied to these inputs, that frees up more buttons for you to use light, medium, and heavy punches and kicks, as well as your Drive Impact and Drive Parry commands.

Ahead of the Alone in the Dark Spotlight event on May 26, 2023, publisher THQ Nordic and developer Pieces Interactive offered a hands-off early look at Edward Carnby and Emily Hartwood’s Southern Gothic horror adventure at Derceto manor. (David Harbour and Jodie Comer are the actors that will be giving life to Edward and Emily, respectively.) The new Alone in the Dark takes cues from modern industry standards established by games such as the recent Resident Evil remakes, and even seems to model its own two-protagonist structure in a similar manner to the recent Resident Evil 2 remake.

Creative Director and Writer Mikael Hedberg said that they used the original 1992 Alone in the Dark as foundation for this new entry in the series. Publisher THQ Nordic added that the re-imagination of the 1992 classic will include many callbacks and references to it, while also serving as a post-modern reflection on the nature of remakes. This could be seen during the presentation in the interactions between Emily and Edward when arriving to Derceto. Emily remarks that she dreamt about seeing her uncle Jeremy die in the same way as he did in the original game, but that the manor looked different. Meanwhile, Carnby feels like he’s been at Derceto before.

With the first volume of the Oshi no Ko manga, we saw Aka Akasaka setting the stage. Aqua and Ruby, Ai Hoshino’s children, definitely play major parts. But a lot of the focus is on ensuring we care as much about their idol mother Ai as they did, to help ensure we’re invested in the story and things to come. With volume 2 of the Oshi no Ko manga, the kids don’t need to share the spotlight anymore, and it especially starts setting the stage for Aqua to begin taking steps to find answers and work toward his new goal.

This isn’t to say that Ruby doesn’t also feature quite often in these chapters. Rather, it’s more that Aqua is a driving force for many of the actions in the second volume of the Oshi no Ko manga. After all, it begins with him working behind the scenes to make Ruby believe she didn’t make it through one idol audition. Only for it to show a page later that her brother faked it using the phone of his mentor, Director Taishi Gotanda. This moment is brief, but immediately pulls the attention away from her by showing exactly how the events of the first volume changed him irrevocably and that he’s already willing to do terrible things in the name of his plans for revenge.

Even with the most serious games, there will be all sorts of memes and jokes surrounding them. They can involve absurdity of situations, play with the disconnect between an exceptionally silly kind of joke and serious situation, and highlight unintended implications that can arise from certain sorts of characters. What’s wonderful about the Elden Ring: The Road to the Erdtree gag manga is that it keeps this loving tribute to the game and maintains a similar sort of dramatic artistic direction, while being completely bonkers and playing with what we know about characters. It hits these notes perfectly, without being too over-the-top.

For example, the Elden Ring manga stars a Tarnished named Aseo who would either be picked by an extremely skilled player or someone just going into the game for a laugh: The Wretch. Given the person’s intelligence is quite low, even after Melina dumps points into the stat, it seems like the latter is the case. For almost the entire first volume, he’s running around in a loincloth. Which means there’s a running gag about where he even keeps his potion vials. As some reactions involve dashing in headfirst into danger or just dropping and preparing to die, we’re definitely presented with one of the silliest protagonists who is failing upwards in the funniest ways.

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The final set of Pandaemonium raids in FFXIV arrived via Anabaseios tier with Patch 6.4. A collection of four different raids, this offers a series of new, challenging fights for player to engage in as the Pandaemonium story wraps up in Final Fantasy XIV. In order to unlock the Anabaseios Pandaemonium raids, players will need to make sure a few prerequisites are met. Among these are completed content and required item levels.

To unlock Pandaemonium Anabaseios in FFXIV, players must have completed the Pandaemonium Abyssos raid tier. Once they have done this and are item level 615, they can dive into the raids. In order to unlock the raid series itself, they will need to accept the "Eater of Souls" quest in Labyrinthos at X:8.6, Y:27.5. To unlock the entire raid series, players will need to complete each tier. They can obtain one drop per week, which is distributed through a "roll" system, where they will need to roll against other players for the item they want.

Since this is the final raid tier Pandaemonium, this will conclude the story. Eventually, players can unlock the Savage version of the raids to obtain higher item level gear. This will appear in a future update patch.

Final Fantasy XIV is available for PC, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.

Final Fantasy XIV Patch 6.4 introduced another Extreme Trial, this in the form of The Voidcast Dias. Players will unlock the normal version of this Trial through completing Main Scenario Quests. It will be the last encounter of Patch 6.4 and will require players to be item level 615 at minimum. If players are not at the required level to complete The Voidcast Dias and unlock the Extreme Trial in FFXIV, they can either purchase weapons and armor from the market board or run The Aetherfront. The Aetherfront will be unlocked before The Voidcast Dias, so you can make up for any item level differences in a couple of runs.

After that, you can unlock The Voidcast Dias Extreme in FFXIV. Once you complete the Main Scenario Quests for Patch 6.4, go to Old Sharlayan and speak to The Wandering Minstrel at X:12.6,Y:14.2. You can teleport close to The Wandering Minstrel from the main Aetheryte to The Scholar's Harbor Aetheryte. Just head south and you'll see them.

[caption id="attachment_965395" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Screenshot by Siliconera[/caption]

There’s a certain je ne sais quoi about RPG Maker games--especially the horror ones--that make them incredibly memorable and impactful, and Pocket Mirror: GoldenerTraum is no exception. This is the definitive remaster of Pocket Mirror, which originally came out in 2016. Like its predecessors, such as The Witch’s House, its retro appearance belies a thoughtful and meaningful message. The execution of it can be hit or miss, depending on how open you are to indirect storytelling.

Pocket Mirror: GoldenerTraum follows the story of an amnesiac girl who wakes up in a bizarre castle. As she wanders through it in search of her name, she meets a plethora of strange and hostile girls and entities. All of them seem to know more about her than she does, though none are willing to explain anything. Through these encounters, the girl discovers more about herself, her past, and just how she came to be. The story very rarely spells things out for you. In fact, some endings and routes never unravel the mystery of the protagonist's past. This adds to the overall replay value of the game, even if you’re not trying to get all the endings. However, it can make the game a bizarre and surreal experience.

The cast of One Piece is massive, with hundreds of major and minor characters. From heroes to villains and even incidental folks who show up briefly in movies or spin-off games, there are lots of people to love. For this week's Siliconera Speaks Up, we decided to talk about the ones we like best, even if they might not be the strongest or most influentual.

Chopper is definitely the One Piece character I like best. Why? Well, because he is also one of the better mascot characters in the anime world. His character design is good. He's genuinely helpful both as a supporter and strong fighter. Plus he's got a story arc I enjoy. -- Jenni

I guess many people will choose a member of the Straw Hat pirates or the Warlords of the Sea for obvious reasons, but my favorite character must be Koby. I just love how much he grows throughout the series through his perseverance and arduous training. His journey kind of mirrors Luffy's, but shows what he is able to do without the power of a Devil Fruit. I think he encapsulates that sense of hope and personal growth that is such a key part of One Piece. -- Frank

My favorite One Piece character has to be Ace. He's a cool, fun dude with an awesome Devil Fruit power, but for as incredibly strong as he is, he only ever wants what's best for the people he cares about. He goes way above and beyond to help the people who need him and does it all with a smile. -- Adam

Square Enix revealed new details about Red XIII and his design in the Final Fantasy VII Remake through the game’s official Twitter account. The tweet also included concept art of Red XIII and information about the materia slots in the weapon he uses as a guest near the end of the game. His weapons in the original Final Fantasy VII were hair ornaments, such as combs and clips. However, the remake has him use collars instead.

You can take a better look at the weapon Red XIII uses as a guest in the FFVII Remake below.

https://twitter.com/FFVIIR_CLOUD/status/1662020752630075393

Red XIII only acts as a guest party member in Final Fantasy VII Remake, and as such players can’t see details of his equipment from the start screen. Square Enix revealed Red XIII’s weapon is the Mythril Collar. This is a re-imagining of the Mythril Clip, which was his default starting weapon in the original FFVII. Both the clip and the collar have two connected materia slots and an independent one, and it is a relatively powerful weapon by the time he joins the party.

The tweet also revealed that the Mythril Collar can be found in the Shinra Branch Office in Lower Junon. The purpose of the materia slots in the collar is so that non-human Shinra experiment samples like Red XIII could still use their properties. Professor Hojo had the collar especially crafted so that it would include materia slots.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is one of the most highly anticipated games coming to the PS5, and the gameplay trailer revealed during the May 2023 PlayStation Showcase fueled up the hype even more. Just like in the last game, we are very likely to see new depictions of iconic foes from the rogues’ gallery. Plenty haven't been confirmed yet, but there are a number of villains we could see make an appearance during Marvel's Spider-Man 2.

Green Goblin

The Green Goblin may be the the most recognizable villain from Spider-Man’s stories. There have been many individuals to take the mantle, but the best-known one has to be Norman Osborn. During the first game’s events, we saw Osborn as the New York City mayor with some dark secrets that led to the devil’s breath crisis. Moreover, the game’s revelations and details about Miles Morales could lead one to believe that the gears are set in motion for the appearance of the Goblin.

Sandman

If you watched 2007 Spider-Man 3 movie, you may have already thought of this character as a possible villain who could appear in Marvel's Spider-Man 2. Although in the comics it’s never stated that William Baker (a.k.a. Flint Marko) was Uncle Ben’s murderer, it wouldn’t be the first time we see characters repurposed for the game’s storyline. Moreover, it would be an interesting reference to Sam Raimi’s movie to make him a villain here.

Like the Zom 100 anime, we knew Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Part 2 release date would fall in July 2023. Now we know they will kick off one after the other. The new Bleach episodes will begin airing on July 8, 2023. Zom 100 begins on July 9, 2023. Both Disney+ and Hulu are mentioned as streaming sources. There's also key art and a new trailer.

Here's the official Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Part 2 release date announcement, which includes the anime's new key art. It shows both Ichigo Kurosaki and Uryu Ishida on opposite sides, with the keywords "the separation" between them.

New Key Visual! ⚔️ Ichigo Kurosaki will face the rise of Uryu Ishida.#BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War, Part 2 – The Separation streams in six languages starting on July 8. pic.twitter.com/lwfa1gYyKb

— VIZ (@VIZMedia) May 28, 2023

The Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead anime release date isn't too far away. We knew it'd show up in July, and now we have an exact date. Viz Media announced it will air worldwide starting on July 9, 2023. People in regions like North America can find it on both Hulu and Netflix starting that month. In addition, new key art and theme song details appeared.

First, here’s the new Zom 100 anime key art that appeared alongside the announcement. From left to right, Akira Tendo, Kencho, Shizuka Mikazuki, and Beatrix Amerhauser appear. All four are surviving the zombie apocalypse. For those unfamiliar with the series, it takes its name from the fact that former office worker Akira is attempting to complete his “bucket list” of 100 things he’d like to do before possibly also becoming a zombie.

Join Akira on his post-apocalyptic journey towards true freedom! #Zom100: Bucket List of the Dead premieres on July 9 on @netflix and @hulu! pic.twitter.com/Rxm6OGvtFY

VShojo VTuber Kson won the Sega and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio Grand Prix to not only appear in the Yakuza spin-off Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name as a cabaret hostess, but also Like a Dragon 8. She beat out fellow competitors Ai Kaname, Ai Sayama, Ayu, and Kokoro Nakayama. She was also the only VTuber to participate. As a reminder, this process began with auditions, with the five winners selected in April 2023. While all five will be in Like a Dragon Gaiden, only Kson will appear in both as the grand prize winner.

Here is the announcement tweet from VShojo regarding Kson’s win. Because of this, she will appear as a hostess in both games and appear in promotional materials. The banner she’s holding noted both the 1,000,000円 prize and Like a Dragon 8 appearance.

WINNER!!!

BIG congratulations to Kson on achieving her dream of being featured in both Like a Dragon Gaiden and Like a Dragon 8!! pic.twitter.com/v9EGWjoE8K

— VShojo (@VShojo) May 28, 2023

Here’s Ryu Ga Gotoku’s announcement:

During the first official livestream for 404 Game Re:Set, Sega revealed that the game will hold a crossover event with the Fatal Fury series. The game will add new playable characters inspired by the Fatal Fury series. The Anode version of the character is designed after Terry Bogard. In addition, in-game collectable figures based on Terry and Andy Bogard will appear as log-in bonuses and gacha prices. The event kicks off on May 30, 2023. [Thanks, 4Gamer!]

As part of the collaboration event, 404 Game Re:Set will include two new playable Anode and Cathode versions of characters representing the Fatal Fury franchise. Both Anode and Cathode versions of the character will be voiced by Ayane Sakura. She is also known for voicing Ochako Uraraka in My Hero Academia, Gabi Braun in Attack on Titan, and Yotsuba Nakano in The Quintessential Quintuplets.

You can take a better look at the Anode and Cathode versions of the Fatal Fury characters being added to 404 Game Re:Set here:

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In the world of Fairy Fencer F, there are people called Fencers who can wield special weapons crafted by gods known as Furies by making contracts with magical creatures called Fairies which have various looks from animal and robot-like to fully human-like. If this sounds familiar to you, you’re not the only one, as the whole game feels like many anime tropes I’ve learned to love mixed together in a tight, well-developed package.

The case of Fairy Fencer F: Refrain Chord is noteworthy in its own right; it is a sequel being released almost a whole decade after the first game. It completely changes the gameplay from turn-based combats to a tactical RPG, and it does it right. The game’s story follows Fang and his group of Fencers as they try to gather all the Furies to ask for a wish from the Goddess, but on the road, they meet Muses capable of healing or brainwashing anyone who listens to their songs. Now they must be prepared to uncover many secrets and plots that threaten the fate of the whole world.

[caption id="attachment_962333" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Screenshot via Siliconera[/caption]

The new Pokemon Trading Card Game set, Paldea Evolved, appeals to a lot of audiences. Long-time players! Collectors who never bothered to learn the rules! Iono fans! Whichever camp you’re in, here are some standouts from the new expansion.

The coolest Paldea Evolved cards

Illustrator Rares continue to be very cool! Perhaps to the detriment of normal cards, the existence of which seem less and less justified over time. Maybe if they made more interesting illustration choices and fewer boring ones? Regardless, we’re fans of the Arctibax line, with its bright colors and analog aesthetic. Commission more like these, will ya, Pokemon Company?

The same goes for the full-art Magikarp. Looking very cool goes a long way for a near-useless card like Magikarp, and it’ll likely be the preferred option for people using it as a stepping stone to Gyarados. And cards like Gothorita? We’ve learned from past TCG sets that printing a lot of gems and sparks in foil looks very nice.

And honestly, cards overall are looking a bit cooler these days with the slick silver borders, introduced to the West in the previous set. Art decisions have long been made with them in mind since the Japanese borders were silver, so the consistency is settling in nicely over here.

Nihon Falcom revealed more information about the upcoming Ys X: Nordics alongside its Japanese release date. The game will appear for the PS4, PS5, and Switch on September 28, 2023. There will be a special Adol Christin Edition, which includes a mini soundtrack for the game, an armor set, a pin badge, a set of illustration cards, and a body bag with the logo of the game. New characters and details about naval combat appeared as well. [Thanks, Game Watch!]

Nihon Falcom introduced some new characters that will appear in Adol Christin’s new adventure. Leif Yvelise is a childhood friend of Glenn and Cruz, two other characters that will appear in the game. He is not a native of Karnack, but a migrant worker from outside the city. Mirabel Asrad is a nurse working at the clinic in Karnack that her father opened. She is cheerful and has a good-willed, but has a strong and brave personality as well.

Lila is a mysterious woman that can communicate with Adol through a seashell he picked up at the beach in Karnack, and asks him for help. She is located somewhere in the Gulf of Obelia. The nameless old man is an amnesiac who lives alone in a small hut on an island, and teaches people how to use mana.

Square Enix announced a new game called Foamstars at the May 2023 PlayStation Showcase. It’s a multiplayer shooter where players shoot multi-colored foam at each other with wacky weapons. There’s just one problem. This game already exists, right?

The internet responded to Foamstars by accusing it of being a copy of Splatoon. It's easy to see why. After all, Nintendo’s franchise is a multiplayer shooter where players shoot multi-colored ink at each other with wacky weapons. It's almost the same concept.

It goes beyond that though. So many of the weapons in the Foamstars trailer feel like imitations of Splatoon’s weapons, even down to the sound effects. A montage of special attacks reveals clones of the Baller, Inkzooka, Killer Wail, Inkstrike and Splashdown. The design of the pink-haired girl who appears prominently in the trailer bears similarities to the Inkling girl from the cover of Splatoon 2. I did initially think the surfboards were unique at least, until I realized that they could simply be considered a variant of Splatoon's squid and octopus forms.

Obviously, Nintendo doesn’t have an exclusive right to make painting-turf gameplay. Plenty of other developers are welcome to make something new out of Nintendo’s base concept. However, the more the trailer showed off ideas ripped straight out of Splatoon, the more baffling it became.

The Tokimeki Memorial dating sim series celebrates its 29th anniversary on May 27, 2023, and to celebrate the occasion Konami has revealed an official Twitter account for the series. The account aims to deliver news and information leading towards the 30th anniversary of the franchise in 2024.

Additionally, the Tokimeki Memorial character designer and artist Masashi Kokura celebrated the occasion by drawing a new illustration of Shiori Fujisaki, the primary protagonist of the first Tokimeki Memorial game.

You can take a better look at the announcement tweet for the Tokimeki Memorial series Twitter account and the new illustration here:

https://twitter.com/tokimeki573/status/1662111548926746625

Tokimeki Memorial is a long-running dating sim franchise developed and published by Konami. The series has remained exclusive to Japan throughout its existence. The original game has spanned four sequels, alongside several spin offs with multiple genres. The most popular spin-off is the Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side series, which reuses the dating sim formula of the main entries with the added twist that the player romances male characters instead.

It can be difficult to take situations seriously in a tense adventure game when the most grave moments are accompanied by the voice acting for the first two or three words in a sentence repeating, amorphous blobs of “energy” popping in, and unnecessary quick time events (QTEs). Unfortunately, that’s exactly what I faced in the PS4 version of Star Trek Resurgence. Poignant moments could be punctuated by unnecessary inputs. Character expressions became comical.

First, Star Trek Resurgence takes place around the same time as The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine. The USS Resolute and its crew went through a lot. A warp core experiment led to an accident and malfunction that killed multiple people. The ship itself ended up practically torn apart. It’s about to head out on a diplomatic mission to hopefully stop a war between two normally peaceful groups. Players follow this process through two viewpoints. One is Engineer Carter Diaz, a human who was a member of the crew when the incident happened. The other is the new First Officer Jara Rydeck. She’s a new staff member taking over someone who died in the tragedy and faces some opposition both due to being a replacement and a member of the Kobliad race that will essentially die without a proper and consistent supply of deuridium. (If you followed Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, you’re aware of the scarcity of that.)

As is common with HoYoVerse presentations, the 1.1 Special Program for Honkai: Star Rail included codes for free Stellar Jades and items. While the global version of the showcase was delayed, the codes are now live and can be redeemed in other regions. These are limited, and they also only apply on May 27, 2023. However, if you do apply them, you'll get a stash of currency like Stellar Jade and consumables to help with your adventure.

Square Enix announced that a new entry in the Dragon Quest Monsters series is currently in development for the Nintendo Switch. The official Dragon Quest Twitter account celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Dragon Quest Monsters series with the reveal. Square Enix shared a video celebrating the history of the Monsters spin-off series, and at the end of it revealed the surprise.

The new Dragon Quest Monsters announcement video includes text in both English and Japanese, and you can see it here:

https://twitter.com/DragonQuest/status/1662292541503422465

While the announcement of this new entry in the Dragon Quest Monsters series doesn’t come with any other information, developers at Square Enix never really lost interest in continuing the series.

Dragon Quest Treasures Producer Taichi Inuzuka said to Famitsu in a December 2022 interview that the existence of the new game didn’t mean that the Monsters series was over. In fact, Dragon Quest Treasures was initially conceptualized as a Monsters game. The game shares much of its Monster-collecting ideas with the long-running sub-series.

The latest entry in the Monsters series was Dragon Quest Monsters Joker 3, released exclusively in Japan for the Nintendo 3DS on March 2016.

Good Smile Company announced three figures of Goddess of Victory: Nikke characters at WonHobbyG 2023 Spring. However, two of them are of the same person. There will be scale figures of both Guren and Modernia. However, Modernia will also join the Hyper Body line. There are no unpainted or painted prototypes yet, only announcements.

First, here’s the Guren figure announcement.

#WonHobbyG 2023 Spring Figure Update!

Good Smile Arts Shanghai
GODDESS OF VICTORY: NIKKE
Scale Figure Guren

Web Gallery: https://t.co/FNdfWTqnoF#NIKKE #goodsmile pic.twitter.com/nN3p1FmhTH

— GoodSmile_US (@GoodSmile_US) May 27, 2023

And here's one of the two announcement tweets for the Nikke figures of the character Modernia. As a reminder, the Hyper Body line combines an articulated, finished figure with model kit elements as people create additional parts to use for posing.

It seems the Silent Hill 2 Pyramid Head Pop Up Parade figure is inching closer to its inevitable release. At WonHobbyG 2023 Spring, Good Smile Company shared the painted prototype of the budget figure. It last showed up in February 2022 as an unpainted prototype.

Here's a closer look at how the figure is turning out. Since it is part of the budget line, people should expect to pay around $34.99 for it once it launches.

#WonHobbyG 2023 Spring Figure Update!

Good Smile Company
Silent Hill 2
POP UP PARADE Red Pyramid Thing

Web Gallery: https://t.co/1BYGuqqAAn#SilentHill #PopUpParade #goodsmile pic.twitter.com/gIkHLOH1zV

— GoodSmile_US (@GoodSmile_US) May 27, 2023

As part of the WonHobbyG 2023 Spring reveals, Good Smile Company offered updates on the VShojo Kson and Nazuna Amemiya Nendoroids. Both of them first appeared back in February 2023. At that point, we only saw chibi concept art suggesting how both could end up looking. Now, both of them are at the “unpainted prototype” phase.

First, here’s how the Kson Nendoroid looks. The pose has her wielding her sword. There are also already glasses on the prototype.

#WonHobbyG 2023 Spring Figure Update!

Good Smile Company
VShojo
Nendoroid kson

Web Gallery: https://t.co/Xe2OwROO1L#vshojo #nendoroid #goodsmile pic.twitter.com/ze57KdaWmd

— GoodSmile_US (@GoodSmile_US) May 27, 2023

Next, here’s the Nazuna Nendoroid. She’s holding her staff for her pose. It also seems the figure will include her hat.

As part of the video game figures appearing at Good Smile Company’s WonHobby G 2023 Spring event, the Guilty Gear Strive Bridget Nendoroid showed up. Initially, the company only shared general art of her. That appeared in February 2023. Now the unpainted prototype is here.

Here’s a closer look at the Guilty Gear Strive Bridget Nendoroid. She’s wielding her yo-yo in the photo. However, Roger didn’t appear alongside the prototype. It’s unknown if a version of the bear will be included for posing purposes. However, the handcuff “belt” does appear around her waist.

#WonHobbyG 2023 Spring Figure Update!

Good Smile Company
GUILTY GEAR -STRIVE-
Nendoroid Bridget

Web Gallery: https://t.co/lVKf7HB9nm#GuiltyGearStrive #nendoroid #goodsmile pic.twitter.com/uwxurVpDMF

— GoodSmile_US (@GoodSmile_US) May 27, 2023

Good Smile Company shared an update on its Persona 5 Royal Kasumi "Violet" Yoshizawa Nendoroid at WonHobbyG 2023 Spring. We first learned the figure was on the way back in February 2023. At that point, only concept art of the character appeared. Now she's shown up as an unpainted prototype.

As mentioned in the original announcement, Kasumi is wearing her Phantom Thief attire for this Persona 5 Royal Nendoroid. In the preliminary pose, she's also wielding a rapier. Her mask is also on for this photo.

#WonHobbyG 2023 Spring Figure Update!

Good Smile Company
Persona5 Royal
Nendoroid Kasumi Yoshizawa: Phantom Thief Ver.

Web Gallery: https://t.co/gexWLi3fYT#persona #nendoroid #goodsmile pic.twitter.com/FkpY9ccrJV

— GoodSmile_US (@GoodSmile_US) May 27, 2023

When events come around, Good Smile Company often announces new figures. At WonHobbyG Spring 2023, it revealed it is working on a Resident Evil 4 Nendoroid of Leon S. Kennedy. It didn't specify if it is inspired by the original game or the remake. The company also only showed concept art of the character in a "chibi" form, so it is fairly early in development. This means we may not see it until the end of 2023 or 2024.

Here's the official concept art for the Resident Evil 4 Leon Nendoroid.

#WonHobbyG 2023 Spring Figure Update!

Good Smile Company
Resident Evil 4
Nendoroid Leon S. Kennedy

Web Gallery: https://t.co/5KOpUNlBlJ#ResidentEvil4 #nendoroid #goodsmile pic.twitter.com/wv98vuEuRQ

— GoodSmile_US (@GoodSmile_US) May 27, 2023

As Good Smile Company continued its WonHobbyG Spring announcements, it confirmed four Oshi no Ko Pop Up Parade figures and two Nendoroids are in development. All of them are fairly early along in development. As such, the photos for all of them are unpainted prototypes. There will be Aqua and Kana Nendoroids, and Ai, Aqua, Ruby, and Kana figures are planned.

First, here are the Aqua and Kana Oshi no Ko Nendoroids. She'll be wearing her hat for her figure. Both seem to be wearing their school uniforms. No information came up regarding possible ones for Ai or Ruby at this event.

／
　商品化決定
　&原型初公開🌟
＼
￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣
ねんどろいど
🌟アクア
🌟有馬かな
＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿

▼#ワンホビG フォトギャラリーhttps://t.co/WZut4D2kpi#推しの子 #goodsmile #ねんどろいど pic.twitter.com/wcTzczTB0n

— カホタン＠グッスマのすみっこ (@gsc_kahotan) May 27, 2023

Tamashii Nations revealed a new Dragon Ball Z SH Figuarts figure based on Goku in his Legendary Super Saiyan form. It will have his looks from the end of the Frieza arc. It will also feature a new joint structure Bandai Namco will use for the brand's figures. Pre-orders will open worldwide on June 1, 2023, and it will cost ¥ 7,150 / $50.99 (tax included).

Here is the official announcement for the SH Figuarts Super Saiyan Goku from the Tamashii Nations Twitter account.

https://twitter.com/TamashiiNations/status/1661901725001818112?s=20

This Goku will come with 3 different faces with screaming, clenching, and grinning expressions, along with 5 pairs of hands, interchangeable hair and head parts, and effect parts for the Kamehameha wave. Most notably, this will be the first figure to use a new articulation technology for more accurate and smooth poses. You can check out a 3D model visor of the figure on the Tamashii website.

It is no surprise we see more Dragon Ball figures being released, as a recent report confirmed it to be one of the most lucrative IPs for Bandai Namco in the last financial year, along with Gundam. Another example of this is the 10 million sales milestone reached by the Dragon Ball FighterZ and Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 games.

Square Enix is working on new Kingdom Hearts jewelry. This latest one comes in two variants and hides a secret. Two Kingdom Hearts Roxas ring versions will appear in Japan on November 11, 2023, and each one also pays tribute to Axel and Xion via hidden art. The items will cost 24,200円 (~$172) each. The Square Enix worldwide storefront doesn't offer listings for either one yet. However, it often also offers these kinds of items not long after the Japanese announcement.

Aside from the color variations, the two rings are identical. Both Kingdom Hearts rings feature a checkerboard design on the outside that is inspired by Roxas’ clothing. On the inside, a picture of Axel, Roxas, and Xion eating sea-salt ice cream as they did in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days is engraved into the band. They are also each made of 925 sterling silver. You can get them in specific sizes ranging from 7-23. The difference is one is just silver, and the other features a black coating.

Here's how the standard silver one looks:
[gallery columns="2" size="full" ids="965273,965274,965275,965276" link="file"]

And here's how the alternative option will look:
[gallery columns="2" size="full" ids="965277,965278,965279,965280" link="file"]

Good Smile Company often makes figures based on real-life personalities, in addition to ones of anime and game characters. At WonHobbyG 2023 Spring, it showed off one of them. A Bruce Lee Nendoroid is in the works, and a painted prototype of the figure made its debut at the event. There's no release window for it yet. However, due to the photo and displays in a video, it seems far along in development.

Here's a closer look at the upcoming figure. In this photo, he's wielding a pair of nunchaku.

#WonHobbyG 2023 Spring Figure Update!

Good Smile Company
Bruce Lee
Nendoroid Bruce Lee

WonHobbyG Info: https://t.co/fLxvqcDOYN

*Photo gallery opens May 27 at 9:30JST#BruceLee #nendoroid #goodsmile pic.twitter.com/jFdlA1x0vv

— GoodSmile_US (@GoodSmile_US) May 26, 2023

Bandai Namco finally confirmed the release date for Mobile Suit Gundam Battle Operation 2 PC version. It will be May 31, 2023. However, the release time means it will appear in the Pacific Time zone on May 30, 2023. Until now, the game was only available on the PS4 and PS5. However, this PC port will not support cross-play or cross-save with the home console versions.

Some of the features available for the PC version include keyboard and mouse control support. There will also be keybinding options. This version of the game will feature a 4K resolution and uncapped FPS as well. However, computers with minimum requirements will be able to play in 1080p/30FPS with graphics setting at low.

The minimum specifications to play Gundam Battle Operation 2 on PC are as follows:

• OS: Windows 10 64-bit
• Processor: Intel Core i5-3470 / AMD Ryzen 3 1200
• Memory: 8 GB RAM
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti / Radeon R9 280X
• DirectX: Version 11

In addition, a pre-release campaign is also currently ongoing on the Gundam Battle Operation 2 Twitter account ahead of its release date. New players will receive in-game currency depending on the number of retweets the announcement post gets. People can also pre-load the game right now through the Steam Page.

https://twitter.com/GBO2EN/status/1661960355847831554?s=20

Good Smile Company will release a figure of Chiaki Nanami from Danganronpa 2: Despair wearing a black bunny outfit. Pre-orders are open until July 20, 2023. She costs 26,400 JPY and will ship out in September 2023 for Japanese customers. Those in North America will pay $189.99 and get her in Q4 2023.

Unlike the baggy clothes she wears in the game, the Black Bunny figure of Chiaki is more on the skimpy side. This is a 1/4 scale figure that is around 215 millimeters in height. She’s is sitting down for the figure's pose. This is actually a recolor of the Chiaki Nanami: Bunny Version figure that came out in May 2020. That one had a white hat and leotard.

Here are some more pictures of the Chiaki Nanami: Black Bunny Version figure:

[gallery columns="4" ids="965255,965254,965253,965252" link="file"]

From June 12, 2023, you will no longer be able to purchase any Pokemon shirts from Original Stitch. This is due to the closure of the company. Those who wanted something from Original Stitch should do so before June 12, 2023. [Thanks, Serebii!]

Original Stitch is a company that allows you to customize your own Pokemon shirt. You can choose your own patterns, buttons, and designs. Aside from shirts, you can also get bandanas, masks, and accessories such as aprons that have Pokemon designs on them. During 2021 when the pandemic forced countries into lockdown, it also had custom Zoom backgrounds to spruce up your work meetings. Original Stitch doesn’t deliver to every country, so fans should check the website before making a purchase.

As of the time of writing, Original Stitch’s website is not very stable due to a high volume of traffic. So it can be difficult to check what patterns are available. However, the latest updates are from 2021, and some of the new patterns from then introduced species from Hoenn (Ruby/Sapphire). This means that you won’t be able to get shirts with newer Pokemon like Sprigatito, who debuted in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.

Back in March 2023, Forever Entertainment announced a June 2023 Front Mission 2: Remake release date, but the Nintendo Switch game is now delayed. It cited concerns about the quality and a desire to put more work into the title as the reason for the decision. It also noted while there is no new release date yet, the strategy game could still show up in Q3 2023.

Here is the full statement issued by Forever Entertainment regarding its decision to delay Front Mission 2: Remake:

As the premiere date for Front Mission 2: Remake approaches, we have made the decision to postpone the release of the game on Nintendo Switch. This decision was not taken lightly, but in collaboration with the development team, we want to ensure that we have sufficient time to add as many functionalities as possible while proceeding with proper implementation and tests, in order to meet your expectations for a modern-day remake.

We understand the anticipation surrounding Front Mission 2: Remake and the excitement you have shown throughout its development. Please rest assured that we are fully committed to delivering a polished and faithful remake of your beloved franchise.

While we are currently unable to provide a specific revised premiere date, we assure you that we are working tirelessly to complete the project as soon as possible, with the aim of releasing the game in the third quarter of this year.