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Bandai Namco announced the One Piece Odyssey Reunion of Memories DLC release date. It will be out before the end of the month. On Steam, PC players will be able to start playing on May 24, 2023. However, the overall and general release date for this story-based add-on is May 25, 2023. There’s also a new trailer showing people what to expect from this additional adventure, though it doesn’t show any specific fights like boss battles.

Here’s the latest One Piece Odyssey Reunion of Memories DLC trailer that accompanied the release date announcement. There are spoilers shown throughout it, in case people haven’t finished playing through the game. It begins by establishing that Luffy and the Straw Hats are once again subject to Memoria memory worlds due to a young woman who looks like Lim in a black outfit. We also see an even larger cube than some of the ones seen before in the game.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6oGuFW_jr8&ab_channel=BandaiNamcoEntertainmentAmerica

This also marks one of the longer looks at this new experience. Back when it was first announced in April 2023, we got to see an initial teaser and some screenshots of the characters.

One Piece Odyssey is available on the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC, and the Reunion of Memories DLC release date is May 25, 2023.

Square Enix shared new details about Sonon Kusakabe’s design in FFVII Remake Intergrade. Sonon is a warrior of Wutai, and he acts as Yuffie’s partner during the Episode INTERmission DLC campaign. Sonon’s design is inspired in part by Japanese samurai armor, in contrast to Yuffie’s design which is inspired by ninjas.

The tweet shared by the official FFVII Remake Twitter account showed a render of Sonon. The caption noted that, as Sonon is from Wutai, the red parts in his outfit were inspired by the plating in Japanese samurai armor. However, Square Enix also reminded people that Sonon himself attached and adjusted the red armor parts to his clothing, gloves, and gauntlet as a DIY project.

Additionally, the tongue in Sonon’s sneakers includes a black circle design featuring the relief of a stylized Chocobo in it. The detail is barely visible during gameplay, but it can be better appreciated in the renders.

You can take a better look at Sonon Kusakabe’s design in FFVII Remake Intergrade in the tweet below.

https://twitter.com/FFVIIR_CLOUD/status/1656584942615412737

Final Fantasy VII Remake is immediately available for the PS4. Meanwhile FFVII Remake Intergrade is available for PS5 and Windows PC. Intergrade includes the Episode InterMISSION DLC campaign, featuring Yuffie Kisaragi as the playable character, with Sonon Kusakabe accompanying her.

The next Honkai Impact 3rd update is about to appear, as HoYoVerse offered a release date for 6.6. Players will be able to participate the new Story Chapter XXXVII Salt Snow Holy City storyline. This update will also mark the addition of the Inscribed Whispers. It will also be possible to get the SP Terminal Aide 0017 AI Number 17 and S-rank Dreamweaver Misteln “Hare” Schariac playable characters. A trailer also appeared that went over all of them.

Here’s the official trailer for the Honkai Impact 3rd 6.6 update. (English subtitles are available if you turn on closed captions.) Things begin with a story segment featuring the Hare. After that, we get a look at the Salt Snow Holy City we’ll get to explore. Honkai: Star Rail players may recognize Seele’s appearance here, as the Impact 3rd version of her will apparently feature in this new storyline.

Pretty much everyone i stalking about The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom in 2023. After all, it’s a follow-up to a critically acclaimed installment and one of the biggest releases this year. But someone might also wonder if it is really the best The Legend of Zelda game to play at the moment, especially if someone is new to the series and it would be their first one. It’s going to be big and intimidating! Since I’ve been playing entries in the series since the NES, I figured suggesting different sorts of installments could help people pin down the right one to pick up and play.

I want to play the newest The Legend of Zelda game first: Tears of the Kingdom

I figured let’s start this out with an easy one. If you don’t care about history, gameplay, or style of gameplay and just want the newest game, go with The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. It’s the newest possible entry and you can find it on the Nintendo Switch.

However, since it is a sequel, I’d say you really might want to play The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild first if you can.

I want to play what may be all-time best The Legend of Zelda game first: A Link to the Past

While the original NES The Legend of Zelda titles lay an incredible foundation, A Link to the Past is perhaps one of the best games ever made. The artistry, game design, dungeons, and premise are all pretty much perfect. It appeared on the SNES, GBA (with Four Swords), 3DS, Wii, and Wii U via Virtual Console, and Nintendo Switch Online.

Lasengle announced the second batch of event Servants who are permanently available in Fate/Grand Order. Using Evocation Leaves, you can get previously-limited Servants, as well as materials to upgrade them, their skills, and their Noble Phantasm. This time, the Servants are Elisabeth Bathory (Halloween), Elisabeth Bathory (Brave), Mysterious Idol X (Alter), and Nobunaga.

Though Nobunaga has been a very prominent character in virtually every GUDAGUDA event, it was impossible for new players to get her. This is because she was the welfare Servant from the 2015 Honnouji event. Lasengle very rarely re-runs events after a certain time frame outside of extenuating factors. Nobunaga is an Archer in her vanilla form.

Both versions of Elisabeth are from different Halloween events. The Halloween version is a Caster whereas the Brave version is a Saber. Finally, Mysterious Idol X (Alter) is an Alter Ego who debuted during the Moonlight/Lostroom collaboration event.

Final Fantasy XVI is on the horizon, set to release in June 2023. However, while players wait for the next major installment in the Final Fantasy series, there are plenty of other RPGs the developer and publisher has released to sink some time into. This naturally includes some Final Fantasy titles, but also other Square Enix games from the PlayStation one and Xbox 360 era that has shared some members of the development team for XVI or provided inspiration for the upcoming mainline game.

Tactics Ogre

Tactics Ogre is a given for those that want to experience what inspired Final Fantasy XVI. Naoki Yoshida, Producer of Final Fantasy XVI has stated in previous interviews that Tactics Ogre (and Final Fantasy Tactics) writer Yasumi Matsuno has been something of an inspiration to him. Tactics Ogre itself is a story-driven strategy RPG that focuses on the conflict between two nations currently at war. Featuring a highly nuanced story, it begs the question as to what sacrifices must be made in order to strive towards peace. It received a remaster, and was made available on the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC. For those that want a glimpse into what Final Fantasy XVI could be, it's worth checking out.

Gundam and Dragon Ball proved to be among the most lucrative IPs for Bandai Namco in the last financial year. In the Consolidated Financial Report for the Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2023, Bandai Namco revealed moderate success in the past year. Net sales saw a decent increase, but operating profits were slightly down compared to the previous year.

According to the report, Bandai Namco saw net sales increase 11.3% from last year, from 889 billion yen to 990 billion yen. However, operating profits fell 7.2%.

In the financial breakdown, video games proved to be a smaller segment in the past year, despite the ongoing success of Elden Ring. Net sales only increased by 2%, while operating profit was down 29.1% from the previous year. The bulk of Bandai Namco’s success in the past year came from its Toys and Hobby (merchandise) and Amusement (arcade) businesses.

Gundam was a leading IP within the Toys and Hobby division, making 60 billion yen for the division and a total of 131 billion yen across all divisions. Dragon Ball is another prominent IP listed in the reports, bringing in 144 billion yen across all divisions.

Bandai Namco offered modest predictions for the next year. The company expects most divisions to remain steady, only bringing in an extra 1-2% profit over the past year.

Yet another Genshin Impact web event is here, and this time it is a Glittering Elixirs one. The goal this time is to put together potions. After doing so, you earn in-game rewards like Primogems. HoYoVerse noted that as long as someone hit Adventure Rank 10, they can head to the event page to get started.

How does Genshin Impact Glittering Elixirs work?

The general gameplay for the event is fairly easy. Your goal is to figure out recipes for the 16 elixirs. Each one involves three ingredients, and one of the three will always either be water or oil. Once you select the three items you want to try, you stir them in the cauldron. If you get a combination correct, you unlock the recipe. If you don’t get it, then you get to keep the ingredients you used and try again.

Once a recipe is unlocked, you get 1,000 Mora for it. It also shows what the potion would “do” once used. When you hit the 2, 4, 8, 12, and 16 potions obtained milestones, you unlock event rewards. You also get additional rewards from getting crafting materials from Cyno and Nahida twice while participating as well. If you manage to complete all of the objectives, then you can get 4 Mystic Enhancement Ores, 5 Sanctifying Unctions, 8 Hero’s Wits, 120 Primogems, and 110,000 Mora.

Good Smile Company opened up pre-orders for a scale figure of Mysterious Alter Ego Lambda from Fate/Grand Order. She is actually the Swimsuit version of Meltlilith, who is a Lancer in this form. The figure is available for pre-order until June 22, 2023, and she'll arrive in 2024.

The Mysterious Alter Ego Lambda Fate/Grand Order figure costs 24,900 JPY, or $178.99. Japanese customers will get her around March 2024. Meanwhile, she will ship out in Q2 2024 for those in North America. That could mean anywhere between April and June 2024.

This figure uses her First Ascension for the design, and it comes with two penguins—actually, they’re Leviathans—as well. She is wearing a parka that may look like a penguin but is actually a Leviathan. Her bikini is also visible underneath the parka if you tilt it. Her long hair reaches the floor and border the Leviathans by her feet.

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Netflix uploaded a new promotional trailer for Baki Hanma season 2. As well, there is a new key visual and information on new cast members. The Tale of Pickle Saga will start airing on July 26, 2023, and the The Father VS Son Saga will air from August 24, 2023. [Thanks, Famitsu!]

To start with, Wagakki Band will perform the opening, “The Beast.” Upstart will be the singer or “Wilder,” which will be the ending. The key visual for the second season, which is available on the official Baki website and other social media accounts related to the show, features the titular Baki. He’s posing in front of Pickle with Kaiou Retsu, Jack Hammer, and Katsumi Orochi around him.

[gallery columns="1" ids="962500" link="file"]

Speaking of Pickle, Takeshi Kusao will voice him. Some of Kusao’s more prominent roles include Cless from Tales of Phantasia and Bankotsu from Inyasha. The other new voice actor to join the cast is Nobuo Tobita, who will voice Albert Payne. Tobita is the voice actor for Kamille Bidan in Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam and appears more recently as Kazami in Detective Conan.

You can watch the promotional trailer for Baki Hanma season 2 here:

Good Smile Company revealed a scale figure of Koyanskaya of Light, who is a five-star Assassin in Fate/Grand Order (FGO). The figure is a 1/4 scale and it draws inspiration from her Final Ascension card art. Pre-orders will close on July 6, 2023.

The figure costs $392.99, or 54,780 JPY. For those in Japan, she’ll ship out  in January 2024. Meanwhile, North American customers will get her some time in Q1 2024. That could range from January to March.

The Koyanskaya figure stands at around 350 millimeters in height and Koyanskaya looks like she is sitting backwards on a chair. She has her rifle out and is holding it with one hand while propping the gun against her leg. With her other hand, she is holding up a Joker playing card in between two fingers. This figure replicates the Final Ascension art for Koyanskaya of Light, which her character designer, Wada Arco, drew.

[gallery link="file" size="full" columns="1" ids="962481"]

Nintendo’s fifth and final The Legend of Zelda Ask the Developer interview with Producer Eiji Aonuma, Director Hidemaro Fujibayashi, Technical Director Takuhiro Dohta, and Art Director Satoru Takizawa, and Sound Director Hajime Wakai is now live. Each one’s gone over different elements of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. While this installment mainly wraps things up and explains the freedom in the game, it also touched on two topics. One is how the team used visual cues to show what people can and can’t move or break in the game. The other is that Aonuma already beat the “about 20 times.”

Due to Link’s abilities in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild allowing him to do things like lift with Ultrahand or Fuse things, the team decided to make it clear what could and couldn’t be done. Director Fujibayashi explained, “Since then, for any objects we don't want players to move, our designers have put ropes around them or covered them with a cloth to symbolize that they can't be moved. A lot of attention has been given to details like these.” An image also showed how the platform with wooden planks, wheels, and pieces of wood was open, while a rock next to it had a sheet on top.

As usual, HoYoVerse confirmed a 3.7 Genshin Impact Special Program is about to air ahead of the update. On May 13, 2023 at 4am PT/7am ET/1pm CET, the presentation will air on Twitch. As usual, it will show up on the official YouTube channel after the fact.

Here's the full list of when and at what time you can watch the Genshin Impact Special Program 3.7 in major time zones:

• Australian Eastern Time: 10pm
• Central European Time: 1pm
• Central Time: 6am
• Greenwich Mean Time: 12pm
• Eastern Time: 7am
• Japan Standard Time: 8pm
• Pacific Time: 4am

Typically, these announcements also include a hint as to which characters will appear on the new banners. However, this time the English and Japanese Twitter account banners don't feature any art showing the "hosts" for the presentation. Typically, a voice actor for Aether or Lumine may show up alongside one or two of the featured five-star or four-star characters.

A Nendoroid of Tails from the Sonic the Hedgehog series is open for pre-orders via Good Smile Company. There are multiple eye, mouth, and optional parts for you to pose him around displays as you like. The Tails Nendoroid is available to pre-order until July 6, 2023. He'll arrive in Japan before 2023 ends, but won't come to North America until next year.

Normally, Nendoroids have face plates that you can snap on or off to change a character’s look. But with the Tails Nendoroid, there is a further level of customization. Because you can mix and match his eye parts and mouth parts, you can make the expression you want him to have versus choosing from plates that come in the box. You can make him look to the right or left, or just have a generic happy expression with his eyes. His mouth parts are a closed-mouth smile and an open-mouthed smile. As for optional parts, he comes with googles, a wrench, and a Chaos Emerald.

Here are some more pictures of the Tails Nendoroid:

[gallery columns="5" ids="962497,962496,962495,962494,962493" link="file"]

Leading up to the new The Legend of Zelda debut, Nintendo shared details about the game in a series of Ask the Developer interviews. Producer Eiji Aonuma, Director Hidemaro Fujibayashi, Technical Director Takuhiro Dohta, and Art Director Satoru Takizawa, and Sound Director Hajime Wakai weighed in on development in each installment. In the fourth entry, the focus was on The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom building and fusing. That meant showing off a scythe people could craft, how glue peeks up at areas to show it is a customized item, and Takizawa explaining how “‘magic’ ultimately became...ahem, an electric fan.”

Things began with Producer Aonuma explaining Director Fujibayashi was the one who wanted to add The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom building and fusing elements for custom creations. Fujibayashi then explained how he made his case for that element:

The Sword Art Online games Twitter account shared a new short clip comparing the gameplay and graphics of the upcoming Sword Art Online Last Recollection with the most recent entry in the SAO game series, Sword Art Online Alicization Lycoris. The caption of the tweet says that combat speed has increased, and animations are 1.2 times faster in Last Recollection. Additionally, the clip shows footage of both games running on PS4 Pro and PS5.

Not only the speed and animations of the game have become faster, and the graphics become sharper, but the framerate in Last Recollection has also received an upgrade from Alicization Lycoris. The new Sword Art Online Last Recollection gameplay video was also made available on the SAO games YouTube channel.

You can take a better look at the new Sword Art Online Last Recollection gameplay footage in the video below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCXn35UlGxw

Sword Art Online Last Recollection will adapt the events of the War of Underworld arc. However, it will also include some original events and game characters. For example, Philia and Strea will make an appearance in the game.

Sword Art Online Last Recollection will come out on October 6, 2023 for the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Windows PC via Steam.

Voice actor Kaito Ishikawa will take a month’s leave from late May 2023 for surgery. He has vocal polyps, which are growths that can affect the quality of one’s voice. While this will not affect any of his current or upcoming video game roles, there may be a need for replacement voice actors for his ongoing anime characters. [Thanks, Comic Natalie!]

According to his agency, he’s had polyps for a while now but they’ve gotten worse since the previous year. So Ishikawa decided to get surgery on the recommendation of his doctors. At the moment, the agency has stated that he will be on break for about a month. But that will depend on how well his recovery goes. Ishikawa apologizes for the worry and trouble he has caused everyone, but states that he will still work as usual until late May 2023.

Kaito Ishikawa has an illustrious career and has appeared in many anime and video game series. Some of his prominent anime roles include Kageyama in Haikyuu!!, Tenya Iida in My Hero Academia, and Genos in One Punch Man. For video games, he has portrayed Dimitri in the Fire Emblem series, Arrow in Soul Hackers 2, and Thorns in Arknights.

Square Enix released a new monthly playlist on streaming services with the theme of “Road Trip.” It includes many popular songs from some of their most popular IPs. Some of the game series featured in "Road Trip" include the Final Fantasy series, Chocobo’s Dungeon, Octopath Traveler, NieR Automata, Romancing SaGa, Star Ocean, Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross and the Mana series, among others.

On April 2023, the Square Enix Music Twitter account started a new trend of releasing a monthly playlist with a particular theme for the next 12 months. The playlist for April featured the theme of “Commute.” "Road Trip" is the latest playlist in this new trend, and it features 61 different songs from a variety of popular SE franchises.

As an interesting side-note, despite the theme for May 2023 being “Road Trip,” the playlist only includes one song from Final Fantasy XV. FFXV is notorious for its narrative focusing on the road trip adventure that Noctis and his closest friends and royal guard experience across the world of Eos.

As a reminder, on February 2023 Square Enix released a playlist with over 350 songs from the Kingdom Hearts franchise.

The official Jujutsu Kaisen Twitter account has revealed who the artists for the opening and ending of season 2 will be. Kitani Tatsuya will sing the opening, and the title of the song is “Blue  House.” Soushi Sakiyama will be the singer of the ending, which has the title “Lantern.” [Thanks, ryokutya2089!]

MAPPA will play a snippet of the opening during MAPPA STAGE on May 21, 2023. It will be a part of the new trailer, which will debut on that date as well. Both Kitani and Sakiyama have commented (directly and indirectly) that their songs are about Suguru Geto and Satoru Gojo. The second season looks like it will start with a flashback to Gojo’s school days when he and Geto were friends.

Sakiyama straight up explained that his song is about how Geto’s experiences and pain changed his philosophy on the world, and how the characters around him react to that. He also stated that he is very honored to have his song featured in a work as great as Jujutsu Kaisen. Kitani’s comment is much more poetic and abstract. However, it’s clearly referencing the day when Gojo and Geto had their split, but from Gojo’s perspective.

MegaHouse showed a teaser of the upcoming Oshi no Ko Look Up new line of figures. The official Twitter account showed a pictures of the prototype figures from the back. The four characters included in the new line of figures are Ai Hoshino, her two children Aqua and Ruby Hosino, and Kana Arima. Back in March 2023, the announcement tweet only showed placeholder images.

MegaHouse shared an in-progress picture taken from the back of all four Oshi no Ko Look Up figures currently in production. Only the Ai Hoshino and Ruby Hoshino figures appeared to be painted, with the Aqua Hoshino and Kana Arima figures still sporting the prototype, unpainted grey appearance.

You can take a better look at the teaser for the figures here:

https://twitter.com/megahouse_tori/status/1656305640208502795

The Look Up line of figures features a variety of popular anime characters sitting while looking up, as the name implies. The figures have an articulable neck joint that can move so that the figures look in the desired direction. Recently, MegaHouse announced that Spy x Family and Yu-Gi-Oh will be joining the Look Up line of figures.

VShojo announced its new VTuber will be Henya the Genius. Following the third chapter of animated shorts, it abruptly announced on its Japanese and English Twitter accounts that a reveal would arrive the evening of May 10, 2023. It then shared a final video noting the performer would debut at 9pm PT on May 13, 2023. (That’s 12am ET/6am CET/1pm JST on May 14, 2023.) Her Twitter, Twitch, and YouTube accounts are now online. While some VShojo personalities are existing independent performers, she is an entirely new addition.

Here's the final animated short introducing new VShojo VTuber Henya. It also suggested a sort of connection with existing performer Zentreya. She showed up in the segment as the person from the group who "discovered" her. It also

Follow @henyathegenius today to prepare for her VShojo and Twitch debut this Saturday!

May 13th, 9pm PDT / May 14th, 1PM JST

There are two especially notable and mysterious figures in Honkai: Star Rail, with both players Caelus and Stelle and the Aeon Akivili being major unknowns. We know precious little about "ourselves" in this game, beyond a connection to Kafka and her Stellaron hunters and a new bond with the Astral Express travelers. Our past? Who knows! Likewise, the Aeon of Trailblaze Akivili is just as mysterious. Where are they? They disappeared! However, with the early Trailblaze Missions and teasing, it almost feels like HoYoVerse is setting them up to be quite closely connected. As I've played, it's made me wonder if the Trailblazer in Honkai: Star Rail could actually be the Aeon Akivili.

Editor's Note: There will be Honkai: Star Rail spoilers for the story, Trailblazer, and Akivili below.

[caption id="attachment_962442" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Screenshot via Siliconera[/caption]

Akivili is an Aeon who’s a bit of a mystery in Honkai: Star Rail. They disappeared. There’s no exact idea what happened to them. We know Aeons can die. Kafka makes that very clear once you get to the Xianzhou Luofu Trailblaze Missionsin Honkai: Star Rail. But even she’s vague about what happened.

Kotobukiya revealed a new selection of Mega Man model kits from various entries in the franchise. The new figures include Black Zero, a new Max Armor version, a Falcon Armor, and a revision to the original Mega Man plastic model kit. According to the company, these releases will be made to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Mega Man X.

The Black Zero model is based on the upgrade version of Zero that appears from Mega Man X 4 onwards. Most notably, this new figure will include both blue and red parts for the forehead so as to also replicate the appearance of Fake Zero from Mega Man X2.

https://twitter.com/Kotobukiya_EN/status/1656298054436237312?s=20

The new Max Armor will be based on the Triad Thunder weapon iteration with matching colors. In addition, it will be released with thunder effects and accessories to add the original version of the armor to change its aspect.

https://twitter.com/Kotobukiya_EN/status/1656300557907427328?s=20

For the Falcon Armor, Kotobukiya shared photos of the unpainted Mega Man X model. This version of X’s armor features the armor’s iconic bird-like details such as the robotic wings and the chest plate resembling a beak.

https://twitter.com/Kotobukiya_EN/status/1656320846754107398?s=20

Finally, the last new model kit is a revision of the classic Mega Man based on its appearance from the 11^th game. This is the only one of the lot with a planned released window, set for Autumn 2023, the rest are yet to be determined

Nintendo released a new The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom commercial featuring an older adult man playing the game in his free time. The video shares a few parts of gameplay, mainly showcasing the new fusion ability, combat, and exploration elements.

Check out for yourself this new The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom commercial. It was shared by the Nintendo of Australia YouTube Channel.

https://youtu.be/wIJODMsYbkc

As you can see, the commercial shows what appears to be a fragment in an older player’s life. The man plays the new The Legend of Zelda game in his spare time, be it at night after arriving from work or during his early commute on public transport. The whole video is full of ambient noises and under-the-breath dialogue accompanied by mostly cold color undertones, a style very different from the usual funny and family-friendly kind of advertisements Nintendo used for the Switch before.

The reception online appeared to be mixed. Some stated that this new ad is presenting a gloomy scenario. Some others praised it for showing a more “human” side of gaming as an adult player.

Hook is a four-star in Honkai: Star Rail, and she happened to be one of the first “focus” characters on the Seele Butterfly on Swordtip Event Warp. This means between that and her appearance in the always-available pool of character, there’s a good chance she joined your party. While Hook is not one of the "best" characters in Honkai: Star Rail, she is easy to build and use due to her working with a lot of commonly found Relic sets and Light Cones.

What are the best Light Cones for a Hook build in Honkai: Star Rail?

Okay. So yes, you could put a five-star Light Cone on Hook. I’d say On the Fall of an Aeon, so you can take advantage of using her to break an enemy’s weakness while also getting an attack buff for every attack.

But really, there are so many good four-star Light Cones that boost her attack and help her that you should consider and stick with those instead. Woof! Walk Time!, one featuring Peppy that you can get for free, increases her attack and damage dealt to enemies affected by Burn. Which she can inflict, due to her being a Fire-type character. The Moles Welcome You, which is inspired by her, lets her get up to five stacks of Mischievous to boost her attack after every attack, Skill, or Ultimate use. Under the Blue Sky increases her attack in general, as well as boosts her critical hit rate every time she defeats an enemy. But really, any attack-boosting Destruction four-star Light Cone works.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom will be the first $69.99 Nintendo Switch game, but a GameStop trade-in promotion offer will bring the price down to $19.99. The way it works is that the two games a person would be trading in will net them a guaranteed $25 each. This offer includes both old and new titles from platforms like the 3DS, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

Here’s a list of some of the more notable recent releases that qualify for the GameStop The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom trade-in offer. In the case of a multiplatform game, like Mega Man Battle Network Legacy, either version applies. However, in some instances like Elden Ring, only the PS4 version works with the deal.

Bandai Namco announced it sold more than 10 million units of both Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 and Dragon Ball FighterZ worldwide. To commemorate the milestone, Xenoverse 2 will dole out a variety of rewards for players to claim during the celebration. The festivities will start running in-game starting on May 17, 2023.

You can see the official announcement of the 10 million milestone from the official Bandai Namco SEA Twitter account here below.
https://twitter.com/BandaiNamcoSEA/status/1656116874697113600?s=20

The first of the rewards in Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 will be a login bonus of 100 TP medals during the first week of the event from May 17-24, 2023. Right after that period, players can also claim 50 TP medals for the next 18 weeks for a total of 1,000.

The 10M Campaign will also feature a Special Raid Quest with two main prizes for players joining in. People can get an exclusive "6-Star Dragon Ball Tournament Outfit". There is also a "10-Million Celebration Balloon" accessory earned by defeating enough enemies as part of the themed raid. You can join the in-game event from May 18, 2023 to June 14, 2023.

https://twitter.com/BandaiNamcoSEA/status/1656116875523420161?s=20

MegaHouse announced new details about not only the One Piece Yamato RunRunRun figure, but about a new figure of Uta. The line of figures shows versions of the series cast as children energetically running. The Yamato one will ship out in late October 2023 in Japan. Meanwhile the Uta one is now in development.

As Yamato is arriving sooner, we actually know how he will look. It will cost 7,480円 (~$56). People can display him either either holding Oden's logbook or with open hands. His head can also be turned. As with all characters in this line, he looks as he did as a child and is running.
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As for the One Piece Uta figure, there’s no official art yet. Rather, MegaHouse only shared a silhouette of the character. While it will depict Uta as a child, she will still keep her distinctive hairstyle.

【本日解禁】

〝G.E.M.〟シリーズ
『RUN!RUN!RUN!』第4弾はウタ！

そのシルエットを初公開！
鋭意制作中ですので、完成をお楽しみに✨

Capcom announced another year of record profits in its Consolidated Results for the Year Ended March 2023 report. It attributed this to many factors, although both the remake of Resident Evil 4 and Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak are mentioned by name.

Capcom’s net sales for the past financial year were 125.9 billion yen (roughly $936 million), an increase of 14.4% from the previous year. Operating income increased 18.4%, ordinary income was up by 15.9%, and net income was up 12.9%. This marks Capcom’s sixth consecutive year of record profits at all levels and a record high for net sales.

Resident Evil and Monster Hunter continue to be huge successes for Capcom. Resident Evil 4 reached sales numbers of 4 million units as of April 7, 2023 while Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak has sold 5 million units as of January 18, 2023.

The next batch of Pokemon Ultimate Journeys: The Series episodes are scheduled to premiere on June 23, 2023 on Netflix in the US. They will include the moments when Ash is finally crowned Pokemon Champion. This is to be the last series to star Ash and his Pikachu as protagonists, and is set to conclude with a collection of special episodes to commemorate their 25 season journey. The release window for these final special episodes is set to be announced "at a later date."

The first batch of episodes of the Pokemon Ultimate Journeys: The Series anime also been made available to buy or rent from iTunes, Google Play and Amazon in the US. This batch comprises 12 episodes including "The Spectral Express," "Meeting Up With the Monarch," and
Battling in the Freezing Raid."

A new trailer for third batch of episodes was also released, which you can watch below:

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQXDkdARmCo[/embed]

After Ash's story ends, the Pokemon Ultimate Journeys anime was succeeded by Pokemon Horizons. It stars new protagonists Riko and Roy. A North American release date for the series is yet to be announced, but several episodes have already aired in Japan. A new, turtle-like Pokemon was also teased in the episodes.

Kotobukiya announced it will be releasing a new plastic model kit based on the upcoming Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon. This release would join the list of plastic models based on the Armored Core franchise by the company. However, not much information has been revealed yet about this new arriving model. There's also no silhouette or preliminary art.

Check out the official announcement for the new Armored Core 6 model kit from the Kotobukiya Twitter account here below.

https://twitter.com/Kotobukiya_EN/status/1656104012666798080?s=20

If you check on the official Kotobukiya site, you can find an image announcing the project. As for the information segment, the product name is listed only as “Armored Core 6 New Plastic Model Kit”. On the same note, the release date and scale appear as to be determined. Nonetheless, the company has already clarified that it will share more information in the near future.

It may come as a surprise that Bandai Namco is not in charge of producing this new model, as the company is the distributors of the game and are also the creators of the official Gundam model kits. However, Kotobukiya has been the one releasing the games’ official plastic models, such as the CO3 MALICIOUS R.I.P. from Armored Core: Verdict Day, and the Rayleonard 03-AALIYAH from Armored Core 4.

Square Enix announced the release date for Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross DLC songs for Theatrhythm Final Bar Line. The pack of six songs will release on May 17, 2023 for both versions of the game. They are available alone or in the season pass.

The six tracks included in the Theatrhythm Final Bar Line DLC pack include five tracks from Chrono Trigger and a track from Radical Dreamers, the visual novel set between the two games. The tracks are:

• "Wings That Cross Time"
• "Chrono Trigger"
• "Boss Battle 2"
• "Battle with Magus"
• "Corridors of Time"
• "Radical Dreams -Le Tresor Interdit-"

All tracks were originally composed by Yasunori Mitsuda.

https://twitter.com/FinalFantasy/status/1656283268218769409

This is not the first DLC for Theatrhythm Final Bar Line featuring music from other Square Enix titles. The Nier series, the SaGa series and The World Ends with You have also featured in previous DLC packs.

More Eevee evolutions are coming to Pokemon Unite as playable characters, with Leafeon and Umbreon on the way. The official Twitter account announced an Eevee Festival that will celebrate current and upcoming characters. The Japanese site offered even more details, providing release dates for both. Umbreon will join the game on May 25, 2023. Leafeon will follow on June 8, 2023. Inteleon will also eventually join the game, according to the Japanese update.

Here's the official announcement for the new characters and upcoming event. Like current playable evolutions Espeon, Glaceon, and Sylveon, Leafeon and Umbreon will start out as Eevee. As people play, they’ll then eventually level up to their final forms over the course of the map.

The Eevee Festival is coming to #PokemonUNITE!

Umbreon and Leafeon will join the battle on Aeos Island soon, and an Eevee-filled Quick Battle will become available soon! pic.twitter.com/lgKncSZCwY

HoYoVerse promised an anime-like animated short involving Honkai: Star Rail five-star character Jing Yuan, and it's now live. People can view it online or download it. Not only that, but it features his mentor Jingliu, another person from Xianzhou Luofu. However, HoYoVerse hasn't announced if she'll be playable yet.

Editor's Note: The Honkai: Star Rail Jing Yuan and Jingliu miHoYo Anime animated short features spoilers for the game's story.

The four and a half minute long short covers multiple phases of Jing Yuan’s life. It begins with a look at more recent events, as he heads to see Jingliu. It’s then that he experiences a flashback to when he first met his “master.” As the two duel, we see how she helped him train and become the general we see in the Xianzhou Luofu portion of the storyline. The video also offers a bit of a brief explanation of mara, which players encounter when on the starship.

At the very end, we see Jing Yuan with his own apprentice, Yanqing. We then see how his past shaped him as a result.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-MFg_0wY4U&ab_channel=Honkai%3AStarRail

Honkai: Star Rail is available for PCs and mobile devices, and the Jing Yuan banner arrives on May 17, 2023.

Nintendo released yet another The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom interview, and this one features a discussion about its dungeons. In Breath of the Wild, people could head to the four Divine Beasts. Here, Director Hidemaro Fujibayashi, Technical Director Takuhiro Dohta, and Art Director Satoru Takizawa offered details about what people can expect.

The discussion about The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom dungeons noted that they’ll feel more like the traditional ones in the series, rather than Breath of the Wild’s Divine Beasts. Both Dohta and Takizawa referred to them as offering a “wide variety” of differences. Takizawa specifically noted how this differed, due to the previous entry’s looking a bit alike. Dohta said, “We’ve made dungeons unique to their respective environments, so we think you’ll be able to enjoy the wide variety of regional characteristics.”

Fujibayashi teased even more details about what to expect from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom dungeons and discussed one specific one that is underground.

It’s not been that long since Gust released the most recent game in the long-running Atelier series. With Atelier Ryza 3 still fresh in people’s minds, Atelier Marie Remake is now ready to take the series back to where it all began.

Until now, Western Atelier fans needed to rely on fan translations to experience the origins of the series. Atelier Marie: The Alchemist of Salburg originally released in 1997 for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn. It later got a slightly improved re-release for Dreamcast and PS2, although this also never left Japan. However, the game is now coming to the West in the form of a remake, now with a chibi art style similar to the Switch remake of The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening.

[caption id="attachment_962265" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Screenshot via Siliconera[/caption]

The premise for Atelier Marie is a simple one. You play as Marlone, aka Marie, who is a student at the esteemed alchemy academy in Salburg. The problem is, she has the worst test scores in the history of the school. Marie now has five years to prove herself as an alchemist, and it’s your job to help her.

Cover Corporation released a new original song from the Hololive VTuber music group UMISEA titled “UMISEA no SACHIHAPPY!” This new song is performed by the Japanese livers of the group, Sakamata Chloe, Houshou Marine, and Minato Aqua. Hololive released the song as part of a collaboration between UMISEA with Hokkaido-based seafood company Yoshida Kanko. The song is also available on select streaming services.

UMISEA is a music group consisting of several Hololive and Hololive EN talents. The lineup consists of Gawr Gura, Ninomae Ina’nis, Houshou Marine, Minato Aqua, and Sakamata Chloe. One particular aspect of UMISEA is that each member of the group shares some element in their presentation with the ocean, such as Gawr Gura or Ninomae being partial sea creatures.

UMISEA debuted back in September 2021 with their first song “Domination! All the World Is an Ocean.” Sakamata Chloe joined the group in August 2022 for the release of the group’s second single, “It Comes Ryuuu And It Goes Kyuuu.”

You can check out the music video for “UMISEA no SACHIHAPPY!” here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTX41QjX_VI

Toro Inoue is Sony Japan’s cat mascot, and he recently celebrated his birthday for the first time in four years. “Toro's Birthday Party 2023” fan event was held on May 6, 2023 to celebrate the creation of the mascot. Approximately 160 fans gathered at the event, and Toro and his partner Kuro themselves made an appearance. [Thanks, Famitsu!]

Toro Inoue, also known as the “Sony Cat,” first appeared as one of the Pokepi (short for Pocket People) in the first game of the Doko Demo Issyo game series, released in Japan in 1999. Toro has also appeared in plenty of mobile games, has had collaborations with other franchises such as Sanrio, and continues to be a popular character in Japan nowadays.

The latest birthday party for Toro was the first in-person event since the start of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Toro and Doko Demo Issyo merchandise, alongside select food items themed after the character were also sold at the venue. As is customary for the cat’s birthday, the venue also held a small altar for fans to display their Toro creations and memorabilia.

Square Enix revealed that a new FFXI Adventurer Gratitude Campaign will be held between May and July 2023. Things will begin on May 15, 2023. Over a period of seven weeks, players that log in at least once per week will receive special items. Players can receive items for up to four different weeks. In addition, some of the items included as rewards are designed to help returning players.

For the first login, players will be able to obtain one echad ring. It is a special item that confers an experience point gain bonus. Players in possession of the item will instead receive a red mog pell. The second login will grant a ♪Red Crab mount. Those in possession of the mount will receive 12 copper A.M.A.N. vouchers instead.

The third login will grant a Cipher: Kupofried. This is a summon that will grant an experience point gain bonus on the summoner. Players that already own Kupofried will receive a silver mog pell. The reward for the fourth and last login of the campaign will be a Vana’clock, a furnishing item for a Mog House. Owners of a Vana’clock will instead receive a red mog pell.

This isn’t the first time that an Adventurer Gratitude Campaign has appeared in Final Fantasy XI, with the most recent one happening on December 2022.

Final Fantasy XI is available for PC. The new FFXI Adventurer Gratitude Campaign will be held between May 15, 2023 and July 3, 2023.

Yet another VShojo VTuber is getting a new model, and this time it is Kson. She announced it via her official Twitter account. People will get to see it at 12pm PT/3pm ET on May 11, 2023. The teaser video noted people can see it on the Smite Twitch channel.

Here's the teaser footage. It shows some art of Kson and model imagery. There's no silhouette to offer more of a hint at what people can expect.

一体何が始まるんです！？

ARE YOU READY?? pic.twitter.com/ODVHw74BYG

— ksonSOUCHOUVSHOJO✨ (@ksononair) May 10, 2023

Kson shared her schedule for the week already. For May 11, 2023, it only noted a Gunpla & Chill stream at 12pm JST/8pm PT/11pm ET.