Siliconera

In 2020, The Last of Us Part II released on the PS4 to critical acclaim. It evoked a wide spread of emotions in critics and fans alike. Now, a remaster is already here to hopefully capture some of the same feelings, and The Last of Us Part II Remastered on PS5 manages to justify its existence less than four years after the PS4 release.

Much like with The Last of Us Part I remaster, this one makes no changes to the overall plot and storyline. However, this doesn't detract from a single thing. The plot of The Last of Us Part II Remastered is a nuanced and layered story about humanity and of hatred and forgiveness. It's a bold swing, but I think it will be remembered as one of the all-time best pieces of fiction ever as we watch Ellie and Abby's parallel stories as each woman deals with her quest for revenge and the repercussions.

Nintendo joined the list of Japanese companies that offer support following the Noto earthquake. It revealed on its Japanese corporate account on X that it is donating 50 million yen (~$341,380) to the Japanese Red Cross. In addition, the company also announced that it will offer free repairs of its products belonging to people who reside in the affected area, regardless of their warranty status for six months since the earthquake occurred on the 2024 New Year's Day.

All Nintendo Switch models released to date are eligible. Most units in the 3DS and 2DS families, except the original 3DS [CTR-001] and 3DS LL (XL) [SPR-001] models, are also available for repairs. And even though Nintendo is on the verge of running out of Wii U spare parts, the legacy console is still eligible as the company has yet to add it to the list of completely discontinued platforms as of mid-January 2024.

Square Enix released brand new key art for FFVII Rebirth which highlights Yuffie and Cait Sith. The new key art replicates the iconic key art from the original Final Fantasy VII on the PlayStation.

The new key art of Yuffie shows her standing on the edge of a cliffside, looking out at the hills of Wutai, her home country where she serves as princess. The artwork of the ninja replicates her original key art from 1997, but the original art shows her standing on top of a building overlooking the countryside of Wutai.

https://twitter.com/finalfantasyvii/status/1746899046223278279?s=46&t=H5PQOQrVgcNnJC_jNkLBGA

In the key art from FFVII Rebirth showing off Cait Sith, he is shown standing atop Moogle while standing in front of the entry to the Gold Saucer. This artwork is vibrant and filled with different attractions including Space Square, Ghost Square, Event Square, and Chocobo Square. This artwork is nearly exactly the same to the original key art for the original Final Fantasy VII, except the original showed Cait Sith and Moogle standing in front of the Chocobo Racing area.

https://twitter.com/finalfantasyvii/status/1746904682759660009

Vtuber agency Hololive announced that it terminated its contract with the streamer Yozora Mel due to her leaking insider information to third parties. The streamer was part of Hololive's first Japanese generation and had been with the company for over five and a half years.

The statement from Hololive and its parent company Cover states that the contract was terminated on January 16, 2024 with agreement from the talent herself. The company plans to close her Youtube channel and membership by the end of February, 2024, when it is likely that her archived streams and music videos will become unavailable. This was the case with previous contract terminations involving Uruha Rushia and Hitomi Chris.

Her fellow first gen members Shirakami Fubuki, Akai Haato, Natsuiro Matsuri and Aki Rosenthal also released a Youtube video expressing their thoughts on the matter. Meanwhile, Mel herself released a comment on her Twitter account, wherein she expressed regret for her actions and apologized to her fans.

You can find the English and Japanese statement by Cover in the tweets below:

Almost two decades after the original release on the PlayStation 2 in 2006, players will get a chance to revisit Gekkoukan High School with the 2024 remake Persona 3 Reload. To learn more about what fans can expect from the HD reimagining, Siliconera spoke with producer Ryota Niitsuma and Director Takuya Yamaguchi to discuss their approach to remaking a classic JRPG while sticking faithfully to the game's original vision.

Brent Koepp: When did work on Persona 3 Reload begin?

Ryota Niitsuma, Takuya Yamaguchi: The development of Persona 3 Reload started at the end of 2019 and finished in 2023.

With Persona 3 Reload being a modern remake, how did the team determine what changes would be made to the story?

Niitsuma, Yamaguchi: In terms of story, we made sure to bring in the main story from the original Persona 3. So I think anybody who is worried that we have changed things around too much can feel safe to know that it's the full main story.

Which new gameplay feature in Persona 3 Reload were you most excited to implement, and what measures did you take to ensure it fit in with the existing content?

Square Enix released a brand new trailer for FFVII Rebirth showing off new footage and gameplay from the upcoming title. The trailer focuses predominantly on Sephiroth and his goal to "reclaim" the world.

In the latest trailer for FFVII Rebirth, Sephiroth is shown making his iconic pose as fire burns around him during the tragic massacre of Nibelheim. Footage of Midgar in chaos is shown as well as Zack walking with an unconscious Cloud across the plains outside of Midgar. The narration by Cloud mentions that Sephiroth "wants to finish what he started and rule over the planet."

As the trailer continues, it shows off gameplay from FFVII Rebirth including various Synergy attacks and Limit Breaks alongside combat against the Midgar Zolom. More scenes from the game are shown including a scene featuring Hojo, a moment where Tifa is falling off the edge of a ledge as Cloud screams her name, and a scene where Sephiroth says he will "reclaim our world."

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

The official Pokemon YouTube channel has posted a video detailing the story of Pecharunt. This video digs a little deeper into the history of Kitakami, which is the region that came with the Teal Mask DLC for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.

You can watch the video here:

The story follows Pecharunt, which is a Pokemon that can create something called Binding Mochi. It “draws out the greed” of those who eat it, and Pecharunt can bind these people to it. The old couple Pecharunt lives with eventually asks it for a set of masks, and it, along with some Pokemon it tamed, go on to fight Ogerpon. The player could hear something like this story through The Teal Mask, though a slightly altered version.

Bandai Namco announced the dates for Tales of Festival 2024. It’ll take place on June 1-2, 2024. [Thanks, Famitsu!]

The theme for this year’s Tales Fes will be a school festival, and it’ll be held at Kanagawa’s Yokohama Arena. Currently, there’s not much information on the website in regards to events or what to expect. However, here is a partial lists of voice actors who will be present on at least one of the two days:

• Chihiro Suzuki (Luke in Tales of the Abyss)
• Haruka Kudo (Kanonno in Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology)
• Katsuyuki Konishi (Lloyd in Tales of Symphonia)
• Kosuke Toriumi (Yuri in Tales of Vesperia)
• Masaya Onosaka (Zelos in Tales of Symphonia)
• Shino Shimoji (Shionne in Tales of Arise)

Two Hololive VTubers — Inugami Korone and Moona Hoshinova — will take a break from streaming. Moona wants to take a break to focus on something urgent she’s been putting off, whereas Korone will take a break because she’s sick.

Korone announced on social media that she has a fever of 37.9 degrees Celsius. However, she assured people that she does not have COVID-19. Korone did not give a time frame for when she expects she’ll recover, but she ended her message by saying to wait for her and that she’ll recover as quickly as possible. She also said that once she recovers, she wants to play Suspicious Person Information, which is an indie horror game.

As for Moona, she announced her hiatus on her January 15, 2024 freetalk stream. She stated that she has been so busy streaming that she has put off something urgent, but now she wants to focus on that. She also has a lot of homework she wants to do. Though she will be on break, she assures her viewers that she will be at Holo Expo and Holo Fes, which will be March 16 to March 17, 2024.

A 50th anniversary version of Hello Kitty Crocs will appear on January 18, 2024. There seem to be three different variations of the shoes.

The shoes will be available outside of Japan as well. For instance, they’re already on the Canadian Crocs website, though they’re Coming Soon and unavailable for pre-order. You can get a classic cog that’s in Hello Kitty’s white-and-red. This clog will come with black whiskers right on the shoes, as well as a bowtie Jibbitz charm. You can get this in multiple sizes for adults, children, and toddlers.

A figure of Hiita the Fire Charmer from Yu-Gi-Oh is available for purchase from Kotobukiya. It costs 19,800 JPY, or about $135.80. [Thanks, Hobby Watch!]

This is a 1/7 scale figure and stands at approximately 295 millimeters tall. In some of the pictures for Hiita, Kotobukiya has posed her with Eria the Water Charmer. There are also prototypes of Aussa the Earth Charmer and Wynn the Wind Charmer next to them. Kotobukiya’s Hiita the Fire Charmer has her in something like a battle pose, with her waving her staff through the air. She looks like she’s either in the middle of casting a spell or running into combat.

Reigns: Three Kingdoms does something a bit different. Rather than isolated lifetimes, you’re gradually building up a dynasty as your consciousness keeps going back into members of the family as it builds up. However, its new battle system is what really kept me fascinated in this situation.

To be honest, Reigns: Three Kingdoms’ start reminded me a bit of Assassin’s Creed and Abstergo. You are using experimental technology to send yourself back in time to the Three Kingdoms period. Your goal is to gradually build yourself and your family line up to conquer every region. 

It is a bit of an adjustment. Typically, I play the games approaching runs differently as I decide between decisions, and here it feels like there’s an incentive to keep fulfilling missions and making progress to ensure overall success. But the new battle system really helped make it feel a bit more distinct and unusual. 

Taito announced that it will shut down its online servers for Groove Coaster 4MAX: Diamond Galaxy and turn it into a permanently offline game on April 1, 2024, at 6 AM JST. The rhythm arcade game will remain available after the date, as long as arcade centers still retain its cabinets.

Once the game goes offline, players will no longer be able to record their play data with NESiCA cards. In exchange, the Extra mode and all difficulty levels for each song will be unlocked by default. Versus mode will only be available locally if the outlet is running multiple cabinets of the same game.

The company will also shut down the Groove Coaster 4MAX My Page website, where players could view achievements and customize their in-game interfaces, on April 8, 2024.

The Groove Coaster series producer Takuma Hanagata provided more context to the arcade game's offline transition. In late 2022, his team announced that new content updates were no longer possible due to hard drive constraints. Even though the team promised that the online servers would remain available for the foreseeable future, the lack of new content directly led to fewer outlets retaining the game's cabinets.

A snow sculpture of Rising Freedom Gundam, Kira Yamato's new Mobile Suit in Gundam SEED Freedom, will appear at the 74th Sapporo Snow Festival. The event will run from February 4 -11, 2024. Bandai Namco also noted that this will be the first time ever a Gundam-themed snow sculpture is shown at the annual festival.

The snow sculpture will feature a large bust of the Rising Freedom Gundam. The Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom logo will also appear on the panel.

Bandai Namco will also set up a merchandise booth wrapped with key visuals from Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom near the sculpture. The movie will be already available in Japanese theaters by the time the Sapporo Snow Festival runs in February 2024. The booth will be open every day during the event period from 11 AM to 8 PM JST.

Once Diablo IV released, I never really expected Blizzard Entertainment to continue supporting Diablo III outside of a skeleton crew. While Season 28 and 29 came and went, Diablo III Season 30 has been a pleasant surprise, as it has allowed players who otherwise lost interest in the ARPG during its early years to experience previous Seasons with some extra bells and whistles tacked on. While no major content updates have been planned for Diablo III as of the release of Season 30, there will still be enough to chew through as previous Seasons go on rotation.

As mentioned previously, Season 30 isn't exactly novel, but instead is an exploration of content that appeared in Season 1 with some mechanics from previous Seasons tacked on. What makes this interesting is that Diablo III has more or less all of it's kinks ironed out, which means that new and returning players are experiencing the game at its best. (Though this is debatable depending on what class or build you preferred.) For me, I sort of weaved in an out of Diablo III depending on when I wanted to scratch my ARPG itch. I played the game on launch and experienced it in it's roughest state, flipping through stages as a Demon Hunter only to drop the game a few weeks later after carrying a friend and their mom through the end game.

Bandai Namco revealed that the Tekken 8 original soundtrack will be available in both physical and digital formats and Eddy Gordo will be the first DLC character. Eddy will appear in Spring 2024. The digital soundtrack will appear first on the same day as the fighting game's release date, and the physical album will be released later in March 2024.

Here's the DLC announcement. Eddy will be the first of four DLC characters in 2024, with one appearing in each season.

The Tekken 8 original soundtrack will contain 42 tracks ranging from in-match BGMs to the Tekken Fight Lounge lobby theme. The tracks will have a combined total length of over 170 minutes.

Persona 3 Reload won’t contain certain content from past games at launch, such as the female main character or The Answer. However, new story DLC content beyond the usual costumes and soundtracks could make up for the remake lacking these features.

Persona 3 Reload DLC could be a perfect way to tie us over until Persona 6

Persona is a series with many costume DLC across titles like Persona 5, but it hasn’t yet attempted major story expansions through downloadable content. With the release of the inevitable Persona 6 likely a ways away, this new content could extend the lifetime of this highly anticipated remake and keep fans busy for a good while until the next game.

It isn’t uncommon for video games to also attempt to help people learn languages, and Terra Alia attempts to combine that with exploring another world in VR. However, it is a rudimentary experience that only covers one chapter, and it is one that doesn’t always make the best impression.

Terra Alia essentially starts by players heading to a parallel world where magic and otherworldly beings exist, and players end up invited to an academy by their mentor Esperanto. Except the former teacher isn’t there, just a painting with a message. Something is afoot. So players work with Falco and learn a new language words to perform magic since Language Wards are suppressing their magical abilities. You need to learn the names of things around you to proceed and solve puzzles. (Also, there are RPG-style magical battles.) However, it is important to note that it only took me about two hours, and this is only the first part. The developer promised updates, but it is a situation where if you want the full experience, you may want to wait.

Now that Viz Media picked up the Pokemon Adventures: Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire manga, people can once again revisit classic games and see certain characters again without playing the games. It’s a story that really taps into the nostalgia of the GBA and 3DS games in a pleasant way. 

While Pokemon Adventures: Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire covers a whole new arc of the saga from the games. Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald are once again young trainers caught up in the thick of things, with Ruby taking point in a way as they deal with a potential cataclysm. A meteor is heading to the world in ten days, and it is up to trainers and Pokemon to save the day. This also means learning how to make the most of Mega Evolutions.

Usada Pekora has shared the concept art for her collaboration figure with Fate/Grand order. It shows her wearing Mash’s outfit.

Takashi Takeuchi, the co-founder of Type Moon and one of its most prominent artists and character designers, was the one who drew the art. In it, Pekora is wearing Mash’s Third Ascension outfit from the original arc. She still has her big eyes and thick, small eyebrows. You can see Don-chan next to her as well. However, Don-chan’s ears are longer and have a slightly different shape, making them look closer to Fou’s ears. The figure based on this design is still in development. It will be on display at Chaldea Satellite Station though.

Aniplex has uploaded the opening song and sequence for Blue Exorcist: Shimane Illuminati Saga. The opening song for this series is UVERworld’s “Eye’s Sentry.”

The single for the song will come out on March 6, 2024. It’ll be available as both a physical and a digital release. This is not the first time that UVERworld sang a song for Blue Exorcist. The band sang “Core Pride” and “One Drop Impact,” which were the first openings for the original series and the Kyoto Saga, respectively.

You can watch the opening of Blue Exorcist: Shimane Illuminati Saga here:

I like Pokemon plush. A lot. As in, I’ve either bought or imported official Pokemon Center stuffed animals of things like the Charmander Pikachu, Gyarados Pikachu, and Eevee dressed as a Pikachu. (I’ve even bought adjacent, not as high quality ones.) Cassette Beasts is a remarkable Pokemon like game, and now I’m especially pleased to see the Symbiote Studios plush of Bansheep and Pombomb are equally high quality stuffed animals.

Alter has opened up pre-orders for a 1/7 scale figure of Merlin (Prototype) from Fate/Grand Order Arcade. She’ll cost 33,230 JPY (about $229.40) and has a release window of December 2024.

The figure shows Merlin (Prototype) in her second Ascension, when she has removed the hood she has in her first Ascension. There are some flowers on her stand, right near her feet, which look like the flowers that she and Merlin can both create as part of their magic. As for her pose, she is standing there while holding her staff. This is the exact same pose she has in her artwork on her character card when you get her in the game.

RGG Studio has announced that Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth will be available on the Steam Deck. You’ll be able to play it even when you’re not home.

The Steam Deck is essentially a handheld gaming computer that you can use in a similar way as a Nintendo Switch. However, not all games are compatible with it. Examples of games that work equally well on Steam Deck as they do on a PC include Baldur’s Gate 3, Stardew Valley, and Valheim. Soon, Steam will be able to add Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth to that list of Steam Deck compatible titles.

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth will be the eighth and newest mainline installment of the long-running Like a Dragon (Yakuza) series. It’ll feature new protagonist Kasuga Ichiban and his (mis)adventures in Hawaii. Not only will his friends from Like a Dragon return, but Kiryu will be a fully playable character as well. Since the game will also come out on consoles (as the series originated as console-only), it will likely not be difficult for players to adjust to handling it on a Steam Deck.

APEX-TOYS will start advance sales for a 1/7 scale figure of Fu Xuan from Honkai: Star Rail. Sales will begin from January 17, 2024 and the figure looks like it’s only available in China for now. [Thanks, Hobby Watch!]

The Fu Xuan figure is posing like she does in her key visual, which appears when you pull her from the gacha or use her Ultimate. She has her left hand in the air while the sleeves of her robe billow around her. According to fan site Genshin Global, Fu Xuan costs $289.99 and you can also get a display case to put her in. This display case resembles the background in her Ultimate art. The display case will come out in August 2024 and the figure will come out in January 2025.

There are so, so many Final Fantasy games and spin-offs to go through and, depending on the genre you like, things you prioritize, and nostalgia, many have the potential to be the “best” for you to play at any given moment. To help pin down which ones to maybe pick and pay attention to, here are some suggestions for ones that are especially notable when you’re looking for certain sorts of experiences.

Best Classic Final Fantasy Game: Final Fantasy IV

Bandai Namco revealed that the Sand Land game will release on consoles on April 26, 2024. Alongside the reveal of the release date, Bandai Namco also released a brand new trailer for the Sand Land game showing off the vehicles that can be used while playing.

The Sand Land game is based on the original manga created by Akira Toriyama and ran in Weekly Shonen Jump. The game will focus on the storyline of the manga, but features a brand new story elements and characters. The trailer shows off a new character named Ann who joins Beelzebub on his journey in search of the Legendary Spring and works as a mechanic.

The Sand Land game release date trailer shows off the different vehicles that can be used to travel and fight enemies in the desert. Some of the vehicles includes a hovercar, hovertank, off-road vehicles, and giant robots. The hovercar can be used to travel across the wetlands and rough terrain. Hovertanks can be used to battle against enemies and can be equipped with long-range weapons. Vehicles can be customized with different parts and weapons which are obtained while exploring dungeons and finding treasure chests. Visual customizations can be made on vehicles using skins and decals. Skins and decals can be purchased from the paint shop in-game.

The brand new trailer announcing the release date for the game can be viewed below:

Universal Studios Japan and Nintendo announced that people will be able to get an early look at the new Donkey Kong Country expansion of the Super Nintendo World area of USJ. The Play Wild challenge event will allow participants to experience some of the features and activities that will appear at the theme park.

While there is not much information on what the Play Wild challenge will consist of, we know that part of the challenge will involve hitting question mark blocks and congas in real life. The Play Wild challenge event will be held on February 15-16 in Tokyo, February 22-23 in Nagoya, and March 7-8, 2024 in Fukuoka. Reservations are now open until January 24, 2023.

Approximately 3,000 people will be able to participate in the challenge. In addition, participants who share images and videos of the Play Wild event on X (formerly Twitter) will enter a lottery with the chance of winning special advance tickets to the Donkey Kong Country area.

KEMCO RPGs can get a bad rap sometimes, due to things like how often they come up, how some look like they’re made with RPG Maker software, and a few being titles that rely heavily on JRPG tropes. Metro Quester, a KEMCO title developed by Thousand Games, is something rather unique, and it’s one of the most special games from the company I’ve played.

Going into Metro Quester, it’s important to note that it isn’t a typical “save the world” JRPG. It isn’t bright and colorful, filled with NPCs and towns. It’s a far more streamlined and driven experience. The world basically ended, with people heading into the ruins of Tokyo to search for food and resources as long as the Purification Fuel will allow them to explore down in this new “dungeon” with the monsters. You’ll go in knowing you need to get 100 fuel each week to keep going, checking established food cites and moving to discovered campsites in places like Otemachi and Ginza, and surviving monster encounters until you’re forced to return to camp, regroup, and try again.

Atlus shared a new Persona 3 Reload trailer that focuses on some of the locations and activities that players can explore on Tatsumi Port Island. Players can buy useful items and equipment, work part time, spend time with Social Link characters, or hang out to improve their social skills at various locations.

Paulownia Mall is home to Karaoke Mandragora and a game center, where players can go to raise social stats. The mall also houses the Club Escapade. The trailer shows the main character talking to a Fortune Teller new to Persona 3 Reload. There seem to be three different types of fortunes that players can request to have read, and one of them has the effect of increasing the chance of encountering rare enemies when exploring Tartarus.

The Aohige Pharmacy and Police Station allow players to purchase recovery items and equipment respectively. Shinshoudo Antiques has been renamed to Mayoido Antiques. At the antique shop, players can transform Personas into powerful equipment, and exchange materials found on Tartarus for useful items or skill cards. Be Blue V allows players to reorganize party members Persona skills. In Persona 3 and P3FES, Be Blue V was an accessory store, and a healing store that improve character conditions from tired to great in P3P.

Nintendo announced that the Golden Sun games will be coming to Nintendo Switch Online. Both of the GBA games will be added as part of the Expansion Pack tier on January 17, 2024.

Golden Sun originally released for the Game Boy Advance in 2001. It was developed by Camelot Software Planning, best known for their work on Mario Golf and Mario Tennis, as well as developing the Shining Force series with Sega. Golden Sun featured a group of teenagers with magical powers known as Adepts. Its sequel, Golden Sun: The Lost Age was released in 2002 in Japan and 2003 in North America and Europe. It featured the antagonists of the first game as its protagonists.

Yakuza: Like a Dragon has gone the way of the RPG, adding in a new leveling system that works in tandem with jobs that can be assigned to individual characters. Naturally, some characters excel in areas where others do not. That is why I've broken down what are the best jobs in Yakuza: Like a Dragon for each character are. This will include the secret character that can only be obtained through the Ichiban Confectionary business management minigame and party members found at the end. Please keep in mind there will be some major spoilers going forward.

Best Jobs For Your Party Members in Yakuza: Like a Dragon

Best Jobs for Ichiban Kasuga

The protagonist and hero of the story, Ichiban is arguably at his best when using the Hero job. It is unlocked through basic story progression, and you'll know once you've unlocked it since Ichiban will be carrying around his signature bat from them on. What makes the Hero job so great for Ichiban? Well, the best weapon for this class adds additional hits onto Ichiban's normal attacks. Reserving MP can really make a difference in specific boss fights, so allowing Ichiban to get in those extra hits without any MP cost makes it invaluable.

Atlus and Vanillaware’s latest Unicorn Overlord gameplay trailer focuses on going over how liberating regions by exploring them will work. It’s framed as an information lecture by former Kingdom of Cornia Holy Knight Josef for former Cornian Prince Alain.

The main focus is overworld exploration with the Liberation Army. During the game, players will go to different areas in Fevrith, dealing with enemies, improving their army, and preparing to face the Empire of Zenoira. Quests involve helping people in the area to gradually liberate it and take part in battle stages for rewards. There will also be Settlements  that can be freed by taking part in battles. When you do this, you can then gain the help of those people and visit their stores. It’s also possible to invest in the towns and forts to improve them. 

Here’s the “Josef’s Guide to Exploration” Unicorn Overlord trailer showing off gameplay and what it’s like to explore and liberate regions.

Kadokawa Game Linkage released the Game Sword Art Online 10th Anniversary Official Design Works book. It marks the tenth anniversary of the video game series based on Reki Kawahara's light novel, which started with the Japan-exclusive PSP entry Infinity Moment in March 2013.

Despite the title, this book only covers games that were released between 2018 and 2023. This is because Kadokawa had already published the 5th Anniversary Official Design Works book in March 2018, which covered titles released in the first five years.

Bandai Namco released the latest Tekken 8 character trailer, this time focused on Alisa Bosconovitch. The company showed off the android girl’s fighting style ahead of the game’s release on January 26, 2024.

The trailer features Alisa facing off against Lars Alexandersson, referencing her debut as his sidekick in the Scenario Campaign of Tekken 6. She shows off her trademark chainsaw arms and explosive punches.

The second part of the Alisa character trailer features a special intro with Jack-8, the other robot on the Tekken 8 roster. The fight that follows shows of more of Alisa’s Heat moves, including her hitting an opponent with her head as a Heat Engager. Her Rage Art is also shown, where she kicks her head at her opponent, which then explodes. The fight takes place on a new stage too, set on an asteroid in orbit around Earth.

HoYoVerse released a trailer for Honkai: Star Rail titled “Supreme Idiocy” that stars Dr Ratio. He will be a new addition to the cast in the second phase of Version 1.6, with his banner appearing on January 17, 2024, and every player will get him for free..

The trailer features narration from Dr Ratio talking about wanting to cure ignorance and tackle the “symptoms of dullness.” Meanwhile, the footage shows him using his Mold of Idolatry Technique, summoning statue versions of himself to distract the Infernal Fire. This references the "Mundane Troubles" Trailblaze Continuance from Honkai: Star Rail Version 1.6, which features Dr Ratio as a prominent character. The trailer ends with him using his Ultimate on a group of enemies before walking off.

Here is the full trailer:

FREEing started accepting pre-orders for its upcoming 1/4 scale figure of the Hololive VTuber Usada Pekora. The large figure will cost ¥44,000 / $290.99. People residing outside Japan can also place orders on web stores that support international shipping, such as AmiAmi and Good Smile Company Online Shop.

The large scaled figure will have an overall height of around 460mm (~18.11 inches), measured from the pedestal to the rabbit ears. The company will base the figure on an image by Pekora's official illustrator Hagure Yuuki. The pre-painted PVC figure will also accurately depict Pekora's outfit, which includes realistic net tights on her legs.

Here are some of the sample images for the 1/4 scale figure of Usada Pekora:

HoYoVerse announced the release date for the Honkai Impact 3rd 7.2 update that brings the Fu Hua battlesuit and more events. It will launch on January 18, 2024. 

We already knew about the Fenghuang of Vicissitude battlesuit for Fu Hua. A past trailer showed some cinematic and gameplay footage of the S-rank suit. The latest reveal during the update showcase noted it is also a BIO type that deals Fire DMG to opponents when in its two different stances. 

While there’s no story update here, as it is preparing more for Part 2 in February 2024, there are some events on the way. One is Wild Phoenix Chase with Fu Hua and Senti, which includes a Reverist Calico Pardofelis costume. Another is the interlude The Star Which the Moon Gazes Upon. That’s paving the way to 7.3 and part 2. It will star newcomers Coralie and Helia. However, we’ll also see Bronya, Durandal, and Kiana during it as they teach them. 

Sega announced the release dates for the Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth original soundtrack. It will be available both physically and digitally, but each version will have a different release date. The digital version will appear on music streaming platforms first on the same day as the full game's release. Wave Master will handle the physical album, which will be released on March 6, 2024.

The Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth original soundtrack will contain over 130 tracks. The physical album will have six CDs with a total cost of 7,700 yen (~$53). The album will also come with a booklet containing liner notes from the game's production staff members.

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth will appear as the series' eighth mainline game. It is known in Japan as Ryu Ga Gotoku 8, but the development studio's director Masayoshi Yokoyama noted that the team changed the English title to follow up with Ryu Ga Gotoku 7 getting localized into Yakuza: Like a Dragon.

Square Enix announced a new FFXIV Meister Quality Hydaelyn and Zodiark figure, which will include a Sundering Emote when it launches on March 20, 2024. It costs 39,600円 (~$273) in the Japanese e-Store, and pre-orders will open in the US store at 8am PT/11am ET on January 12, 2024.

This figure depicts the two Primals together. The two are perched alongside each other on a decorative stand. It will stand at nine inches tall, and be over a foot wide. It is also expected to weigh over three pounds. As usual, it’s a PVC figure. 

Here’s the first set of four photos of the upcoming figure Square Enix shared with us: