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Perfect World announced the dates for the third closed beta of Persona 5: The Phantom X. Applications are open from January 3 to 12, 2024, and then the test will start on January 16, 2024.

The closed beta test will run from January 16-31, 2024. Players who get in will be able to download the client on January 15, 2024. As for the platforms, the game will be available on Android and iOS devices, as well as on Windows PC. Some differences between this test and the previous ones include a playable Morgana. He wasn’t available in the original test, which was in August 2023.

Here is a new trailer for the Heart Stealing Test, which is the name of the third closed Persona 5: The Phantom X beta:

Square Enix announced that the Final Fantasy XIV complete edition and Endwalker expansion are both on sale for 50% off in the Square Enix and Playstation stores. The sale also extends to the collector's editions of both items.

With the sale applied, the FFXIV complete edition base version is available for $29.99. It is $69.99 for the collector's complete edition. This includes the base game, as well as the Heavensward, Stormblood, Shadowbringers, and Endwalker expansions and 30 days of game time. The collector's edition includes all of that, as well as the various bonus items from each edition. The Endwalker expansion, meanwhile, is on sale for $19.99 for the base version. It costs $29.99 for the collector's edition, which includes bonus items like the Arion mount and Porum minion.

You can find the official announcement tweet below:

Sega will re-release two Asuka figures from the Rebuild of Evangelion series as crane game prizes at select arcade and entertainment centers throughout Japan. The figures feature Asuka standing on the shore, and Asuka holding the Spear of Cassius. [Thanks, Dengeki Hobby!]

The figure of Asuka on the shore is inspired by her appearance during a specific scene from Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time. It will be available as a prize on various arcade crane games from the third week of January 2024. You can check it out here:

The official Shonen Jump YouTube channel uploaded a new Jujutsu Kaisen “Strongest vs Strongest” Satoru Gojo and Ryomen Sukuna video previewing events contained in volume 25 of the manga. This comes ahead of the installment's January 4, 2024 release date in Japan.

You can watch the full "Strongest vs Strongest" video below. While there are no spoilers for what happens between Gojo and Sukuna during events in Jujutsu Kaisen volume 25, it does hint at the conflicts coming up. As a reminder, that volume begins with chapter 218. The last chapter to appear was 246 on December 24, 2024.

The popular Jujutsu Kaisen manga by Gege Akutama could come to a conclusion soon. At the Jump Festa 2024 event, the mangaka implied that it could reach an end in 2024. Before that, though, there’s more in store for the series.

Given how relaxing Netflix and Dwarf Studios’ Rilakkuma and Kaoru was, it seemed like Pokemon Concierge could be ready to also fill a cozy spot showing what life could be like with Pokemon. Now that it’s streaming on Netflix, it is truly an example of what everyday situations would be like in a world where Pokemon are all around us.

Editor's Note: There will be no Pokemon Concierge spoilers below.

Things start out in a very relatable way. Following a string of bad luck in her personal and professional life, Haru decides to start over as a concierge at a Pokemon Resort. It is a place where we see people visiting and trainers dropping of their Pokemon to relax. 

In a recent conversation with Hobonichi’s Shigesato Itoi, Shigeru Miyamoto said that he feels like he “couldn’t do anything anymore” when working in games and recalled the process which led him to him becoming a producer at Nintendo.

When Itoi asked Miyamoto for the tentative title of this talk, Miyamoto submitted the title of "I couldn't do anything, so I became a producer." Both Itoi and Miyamoto recalled their work days during the Famicom and Super Famicom era, when developing games required fewer people and smaller teams.

The developer said that it was during his late 30s and early 40s that he felt like he was unable to do any game work without a team anymore, and at the age of 60 he became a producer. However, since projects require high-level experts nowadays, Miyamoto feels like he can’t replace or provide support at the same level, even as a producer. Miyamoto said his way of leaving his mark on a project is to help and make people think “I’m glad he was there” or “I’d like to work with him next time.”

HoYoVerse released the artwork of characters for each of the Revelation Cards from the Honkai: Star Rail Fable of the Stars web event. These were shared through a series of posts on social media featuring all the images.

The 14 Fable of the Stars Revelation Cards each contain an image of different Honkai: Star Rail characters and resemble tarot cards. March 7th, Himeko, Bronya, Kafka, Jing Yuan, Jingliu, Dan Heng: Inhibitor Lunae, Luocha, Topaz, Argenti, Ruan Mei, Dr Ratio are all featured. Upcoming characters Black Swan and Sparkle are also part of the set. The social media posts also imply that players will be receiving a complete set of these cards, although it’s unclear when or how this complete set will be distributed.

Here is the full gallery of cards shared on social media.

Aniplex uploaded a promotional YouTube video from Aniplex promoting the sequel to the anime series The Irregular at Magic High School, and towards the end of the video, it reveals that the popular Japanese artist LiSA has been chosen to sing the opening theme song.

Back in January 2014, LiSA was announced as the artist to sing the first opening theme song of The Irregular at Magic High School. That song was her fifth single “Rising Hope.” A preview of this song is played for most of the promotional video.

Now, she has once again been chosen to sing for the anime’s second opening. A brief preview of the new song plays at the end of the video. It only comes in at about the 1:38 second mark, if you want to skip ahead and hear the new track.

You can watch the video teasing the new LiSA song for the The Irregular at Magic High School sequel below:

It isn’t uncommon for HoYoVerse to offer Honkai: Star Rail players morally dubious characters as allies. I mean, consider Kafka, Silver Wolf, Blade, Jingliu, and Luocha. There’s even a hint that Duke Inferno, who is head of the villainous Annihilation Gang and appears in recent 1.6 missions, could be playable after 2.0. But with Ruan Mei we have a new playable person in Honkai: Star Rail who is constantly questionable and doing things that are wrong, which I hate, but also became my favorite and most beloved support.

Editor’s Note: There will be Honkai: Star Rail spoilers for the 1.6 Trailblaze Continuance Missions storylines.

Microsoft announced the first round of new Xbox Game Pass games for January 2024, which includes Resident Evil 2 Remake. It’s one of eight games joining the service in the first half of January, including one game releasing via the EA Play service.

Here are all the initial Game Pass releases for January 2024:

• January 3, 2024: Close to the Sun (cloud, console and PC)
• January 4, 2024: Hell Let Loose (cloud, PC and Xbox Series X/S)
• January 9, 2024: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (cloud, console and PC)
• January 9, 2024: Figment (cloud, console and PC)
• January 11, 2024: Super Mega Baseball 4 (cloud, console and PC – via EA Play)
• January 11, 2024: We Happy Few (cloud, console and PC – returning)
• January 16, 2024: Resident Evil 2 Remake (cloud, console and PC)
• January 16, 2024: Those Who Remain (cloud, console and PC)

AYANEO announced that it opened the Indiegogo page for its upcoming AYANEO FLIP KB and DS Windows handheld PCs. Each one has a flip up screen, with one of the two devices having a second screen like a Nintendo DS or 3DS.

At the moment, the AYANEO FLIP KB and DS page is mainly informative. It shows the two latest Windows handhelds, offering a look at how they will function and details about their specs. It also offers an option to supply an email address to be notified about other updates.

The two handhelds feature similar specs, but different bottom halves servicing different purposes. The FLIP KB model has a full keyboard, in addition to Hall joysticks, controller-style buttons, and an optical finger mouse. The FLIP DS model is the AYANEO system that more greatly resembles a Nintendo DS or 3DS. It features a second touch screen and a controller. 

As for the insides and other functions, they remain the same for both. Each one has a 120Hz, 1080p screen that is seven inches. With the DS model, its touch screen is 3.5 inches. Both use an AMD Ryzen 7 7840U. There’s also a six-axis gyroscope built into it. Both versions have 120, 150, and 180 degree positions for the screen. 

Kuro Kurenai, the only VShojo male Vtuber, is currently on a brief break. He noted that he will return to streaming as usual on January 8, 2024.

Kuro did not offer an explanation for the brief absence. However, he did note in his statement that he’ll explain upon returning. Note that this announcement also came around the 2023-2024 holiday season and happened on New Year’s Day. 

While the VShojo member is on a streaming break, it seems it isn’t a complete content blackout. On January 2, 2024, he took to social media to tweet and check in with his fanbase.

In FFVII Ever Crisis, getting items the New Year’s banner for Cloud and young Sephiroth means getting live wallpapers. These can be used on the home screen, and two trailers appeared on social media for the latest additions.

As a reminder, you must pay or use earned gems on the gacha to eventually earn these wallpapers. Once you do, you get the moving image of Cloud or Sephiroth donning and using the new equipment for your main screen. This is a cosmetic change that only features imagery, as the background music is still the typical theme for the game.

The first of the two FFVII Ever Crisis New Year’s wallpapers is one of Cloud. He’s wearing the Official Festive Garb gear and wielding Skysplitter.

Next, here’s the newest young Sephiroth wallpaper. His unique gear for this banner and background is Celebratory Garb. He’s holding his new Radiant Edge sword.

Two new additions to the VShojo Vtuber Ironmouse and Gloomy Bear crossover merchandise line are now available to pre-order ahead of their eventual May 2024 debut. They are a limited edition Ironmouse plush and a Gloomy Bear plush available now on the Gloomy Bear online store for $45 and $60, respectively.

These collaboration plushes feature new designs for Ironmouse and Gloomy Bear illustrated by the original artist Mori Chack. Ironmouse has been drawn in a simplistic art style, and Gloomy Bear’s design has him dressed with horns, wings, and other motifs from the VShojo Vtuber. The Ironmouse Human plush measures ten inches in height, while the Gloomy Bear plush stands 12 inches tall.

You can view the official announcement from the Gloomy Bear social media account below:

Aladdin X announced that Suika Game (Watermelon Game) is now available on the Japanese iOS App Store. The game costs 240 yen (or approximately $1.70) and is published by popIn Inc.

Since Suika Game became available on the global Nintendo Switch store on October 21, 2023, it is likely that the game will also appear on the global iOS App Store. After the success of the original game, there have been plenty of unofficial knock-off versions releasing on mobile devices and consoles.

One example includes an unofficial release called The Suika Game, which appears to be headed to the PlayStation Store soon. In addition, developer Aladdin X recently warned of fake merchandise plushies of the titular watermelon has started to circulate as prizes on crane machines in Japan.

Sega will release a Luminasta figure of Ayanami Rei from Neon Genesis Evangelion in a racing get-up. This is a prize figure that you’ll be able to get from crane game machines. [Thanks, Hobby Dengeki!]

The full name of this figure is Ayanami Rei Pit Walk. The outfit is based on what the motorsports models (race queen is the Japanese term) for Evangelion Racing wear. These outfits usually resemble the plugsuits that the pilots wear in the show. As for what Evangelion Racing is, it’s a real, official racing team that was first created to promote Rebuild of Evangelion in 2010.

Sega first unveiled this figure in September 2023. The Ayanami Rei Pit Walk figure has her in a white plugsuit-like outfit that shows her midriff. However, a piece of cloth covers up her belly button. In total, the figure stands at about 21 centimeters. She’ll also come with a hexagonal base to stand on.

In the New Year’s round-up at Famitsu with video game developers, Yasuyuki Oda states that SNK is eagerly hiring to work on its new projects. The only game that he explicitly named in his resolution is Art of Fighting. [Thanks, Famitsu!]

Every year, Famitsu does short interviews with major video game developers in the Japanese industry. These developers give some information on their recent activities, as well as what they aspire to aim for in the coming year. In Oda’s case, he and other SNK developers are particularly interested in Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, which they hope to show more of in 2024. Oda states that SNK’s new office in Shin-Osaka is working on several games such as a new Art of Fighting, and they welcome new talent. Fellow SNK game designer Nobuyuki Kuroki expressed the same sentiment in his own interview.

2024 marks the 30th anniversary of Earthbound and there will be several campaigns, some involving exclusive limited-time merchandise, available throughout the year as celebration.

You can keep track of the Earthbound 30th Anniversary campaigns via the official website or on Twitter (X). As of the time of writing, the website is a page with the logo for the anniversary, as well as the same text as the press release. To summarize it, there will be commemorative merchandise, events that Nintendo and Hobonichi have never done before for Earthbound, and collaboration events. The team doesn’t know all the details just yet, in the sense that they’re still coming out with new ideas. They’ve finished planning out some, whereas they’ve only just secured permissions for others. So they cannot say anything for sure just yet.

In the 2024 Famitsu New Year Greetings column, Yoko Taro shared that he’s working on a new Bakuken stage play. This will be the fourth stage play in the Bakuken -An Explosion of Swords- series. [Thanks, Famitsu!]

The new Bakuken stage play is subtitled Teikoku Gensou Heidan, and it roughly translates to “Imperial Illusion Army.” Yoko Taro confirmed that he is currently writing the script for the new Bakuken stage play, and said that it will appear sometime before the end of 2024. The first two Bakuken stage plays and the introduction to the third entry are available to watch for free with English subtitles in the Shiro-Kuro official YouTube channel.

Additionally, Yoko Taro shared in the Famitsu column that he has been missing a lot of deadlines throughout 2023. The developer and writer said that he is “surprised at the potential of the human race to be unconcerned about missing deadlines.”

The New Year's banner for Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis is now live and features a new weapon and outfit for both Cloud and young Sephiroth. The banner is set to remain available until January 14, 2024, alongside various packs of draw tickets and upgrade materials.

Cloud's new weapon is called Skysplitter, and it is a black and silver katana that boasts a powerful and ATB-intensive ability called Blazing Strike. This attack can be further boosted by his new gear, the Official Festive Garb. It boosts his physical attack and fire ability damage.

Meanwhile, young Sephiroth will be able to equip the Radiant Edge, which has the ability to reduce enemy physical defenses and fire resistance, as well as deal non-elemental physical damage. His Celebratory Garb gear will boost his HP rather than his damage, though it does contain a similar fire ability damage buff.

Both weapons will be available by rolling on the New Year's banner. Meanwhile, the gear is obtained through Ever Crisis' stamp card system.

You can get a closer look at the weapon and outfit additions for both Cloud and young Sephiroth in FFVII Ever Crisis in the gallery below:

There are quite a few Cardcaptor Sakura character Nendoroids, with even a Nendoroid doll in the works, and that also means reruns of ones like the Sakura Kinomoto Tomoeda Junior High Uniform figure. As expected, it’s as adorable as it was during its 2018 run for its 2023 one. 

This is a rather basic Nendoroid of Sakura in her school uniform from the Clear Card follow-up series, so the character does look slightly older. However, because of the diminutive nature of Nendoroids, she still looks incredibly childlike and cute. She’s a charming chibi, with face plates that mimic CLAMP’s trademark eye design. The uniform itself is also an accurate representation, which is great. But all this also means that if you had past Nendoroids of Cardcaptor Sakura characters, you could mix and match easily. Tomoyo could wear this new uniform, for example.

The January 2024 PlayStation Plus games are now available. There are three titles to choose from this month, with Evil West (PS4, PS5), Nobody Saves the World (PS4, PS5), and A Plague Tale: Requiem (PS5) appearing.

Evil West first launched in November 2022. It is a third-person shooter set in the wild west, with players following Jesse Rentier as he attempts to deal with vampires and other supernatural creatures in the name of the Rentier Institute with the help of a new prototype Gauntlet. It normally costs $59.99. 

Nobody Saves the World is also a 2022 release, though it debuted in January 2022. It is an action-RPG that can be played alone or with others, with players following a nobody with a wand that lets them transform so they can use their new forms’ skills to save a procedurally generated world. It usually is $24.99. 

In Famitsu's New Year Greetings column for 2024, Silent Hill series Lead Producer Motoi Okamoto offered an update on the series. Okamoto’s keyword for 2024 is “delivery,” and the producer confirmed that 2024 will mark the beginning of new Silent Hill game releases. [Thanks, Famitsu!]

The producer’s aspirations for 2024 consist of continuing to build up the Silent Hill series with both games and other types of media. Motoi Okamoto mentioned the release of the interactive streaming Silent Hill Ascension in November 2023 as one of such types of non-game media for the franchise.

Now that 2024 has begun, Naoki Yoshida, the producer and director for Final Fantasy XIV, shared details about the game's future in a New Year’s message. In his greeting, he explained how the current plans for future updates and preparations for the Tokyo 2024 Fan Festival on January 7, 2024 are faring.

Yoshida admitted that the Final Fantasy XIV development team in Japan has been hard at work preparing for the upcoming Fan Festival 2024 in Tokyo, as well as the 7.0 update and Dawntrail expansion. The team hopes to ensure the conclusion to the world tour is a success. Yoshida also noted that even though the event would take place in the large Tokyo Dome, the same Fan Festival shenanigans would ensue.

Yoshida teased that a note was "delivered" to his office. It reads as follows:

Persona 3 Portable and Persona 4 Golden will be leaving Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass subscription service within the next two weeks. The official site noted that they are among the four games leaving on January 15, 2024.

Here is a full list of the video games leaving Xbox Game Pass within the next two weeks. All four of them are playable on both consoles and PCs with subscriptions.

• Garden Story
• MotoGP 22
• Persona 3 Portable
• Persona 4 Golden

In addition, Grand Theft Auto V apparently was removed from the service on December 31, 2023.

Persona 3 Portable and Persona 4 Golden each long campaigns, with the former being around 60 hours and the latter being about 80. Atlus announced both titles, along with Persona 5 Royal, would join the Xbox Game Pass service in 2022.

The Version 1.6 Update for Honkai: Star Rail is full of exciting new additions, including Ruan Mei, Pure Fiction, and you can even play as Peppy the Dog at some point! But with all these additions, one stood out to me more than any other: the changes to Daily Training.

It’s a small thing to get excited about, but I have my reasons. I finished the story of Honkai: Star Rail up to the end of Version 1.0 before putting the game down. This allowed me to play other things until more updates were added. Except I didn’t come back when the updates were added. I consistently got distracted by other games until, eventually I finally came back to the game partway through Version 1.5’s updates.

Final Fantasy XI Producer and Director Yoji Fujito discussed the state of the game, including its server replacements, Windows 11 support, and the ongoing existence of the We Are Vana’diel site as a repository of information. The 2024 New Year’s letter also went over plans in and out of the MMORPG for the next year.

First, Fujito brought up the Final Fantasy XI server replacement and Windows 11 support as part of efforts to ensure stability and compatibility. He noted that in the case of both, there is “steady progress.” There was no update on when either project will be finished. 

After that, he noted that We Are Vana’diel will not only remain online, but it will get more updates about the development of Final Fantasy XI. Specifically, more interviews were confirmed. However, he also noted it will also offer “oral histories” for the game.

Nijisanji Vtuber Selen Tatsuki offered an update on her condition following her hospitalization. She is now home for the hospital, but still on break.

On December 27, 2023, Selen announced she needed to be hospitalized following an accident. This followed two days of silence and her not appearing during scheduled streams following her cover of the song “Last Cup of Coffee” being removed by Anycolor. At the time, she encouraged her followers to reupload the track, noting how much of her own money and effort from all sides went into its creation. She mentioned she was “under supervision” for a brief period.

On December 31, 2023, Selen posted to social media that she is home and with her parents. She also thanked her followers. 

Timi Studio and The Pokemon Company International kicked off 2024 by revealing Magikarp and Gyarados will appear in Pokemon Unite on January 25, 2024. The announcement also confirmed that Magikarp’s “Splash” attack will be tied to its evolution method.

First, here’s the first screenshot of Magikarp in Pokemon Unite, which shows a new gauge below the health bar that is apparently tied to the attack Splash (はねる). The UI in the bottom right also notes the move Flail (じたばた) is present.

Square Enix shared the first FFVII Rebirth January 2024 calendars, and this time Yuffie and Red XIII get to be the featured characters. While both appeared in FFVII Remake and its DLC, they will be playable members of the main party in the second part.

Here are the two Red XIII FFVII Rebirth January 2024 calendars. As there are no characters from the game with birthdays this month, none of the dates are highlighted to remind people.

Not long after Baldur’s Gate 3 debuted on the Xbox Series X, a save bug also appeared. While the problem is still lingering in 2024, Larian Studios shared a step-by-step process on social media that involves using a Larian account and cross-saves as a workaround.

How this process works is someone would need to make a Larian account. From there, you need to go into the game on the Xbox. If you head into options, you can enable the cross-save feature and enable the ability to automatically upload the five most recent saves that were made while playing Baldur’s Gate 3 on the Xbox Series X to deal with the bug. The developer also noted you need to go through the process of turning on cross-saves each time the issue comes up and you lose your saves, so you can then download the five most recent saves. 

Larian Studios also didn’t note when this save bug will be fixed. The last update on it came on December 31, 2023. It did note that both it and Microsoft are aware of the issue. Only the Xbox Series X is affected by the problem.

Here’s the full announcement going over the four steps to mitigate after effects for the issue. 

The Japanese magazine Famitsu released a series of 163 messages from various game developers asking them about their aspirations for the 2024 new year. Hideki Kamiya, the founder of PlatinumGames who also worked on titles like Resident Evil, Resident Evil 2, Devil May Cry, Okami, Astral Chain, and Bayonetta, answered that he hopes to get a job in the game industry again this year. [Thanks, Famitsu!]

Ever since his retirement from Platinum Games in October 2023, Hideki Kamiya has been officially unemployed. Apparently, this dormancy has been impacting him over time. He noted:

I want to get a job making games so that I can have a meal.

It seems that the retired game developer wishes to reappear to develop video games once again with the new year. Rather than spending time on social media, he hopes to regain relevancy and employment in the video game industry in 2024. He also said:

According to a 2024 New Year’s message from the Square Enix director and president Takashi Kiryu, he stated he feels "there is a possibility" that AI " will fundamentally change the way we make things." After watching this advent in technology boom over the past year, he decided that it would be best for the company to embrace it.

Takashi Kiryu’s statement on AI comes from his observance of its ability to remain relevant in the public eye. Though it has taken some time to normalize the use of it, he suggests there is potential for it in the digital entertainment field. He even mentioned that Square Enix believes in the potential it to change the way the company creates things.

Here is the full part of his statement in the Square Enix New Year's message for 2024 concerning AI.

As usual, the Japanese magazine Famitsu kicked off 2024 by sharing messages from 163 game developers regarding their future plans for this year and asking them to reflect on the previous year’s accomplishments. Daisuke Ishiwatari, the general director of the Guilty Gear series, detailed the direction of Arc System Works in the coming year. [Thanks, Famitsu!]

Daisuke Ishiwatari expressed his concerns with the game development side of the industry in his statement. He believes that there should be a space for new indie developers to become relevant in the market, and that they should be allowed to fail and grow.

As part of his statement, Ishiwatari noted:

To sum it up, we are living in an era in which failure is not an option… Young people who are aiming to become game developers are losing the opportunity to nurture their own creativity.

The keywords Ishiwatari reported for the video game industry in 2024 are “core markets,” “indie,” “corporate development schemes,” and “compliance.” The keywords for his own goals at Arc System Works are “challenge,” “pioneering,” “return,” and “dawn.”

The Japanese magazine Famitsu released a series of messages from 163 game developers asking them about their aspirations for the year 2024. Shinjiro Takata, the product manager at the Atlus 1st Production division responsible for the Shin Megami Tensei series, detailed his current involvement with the upcoming Vanillaware title Unicorn Overlord, as well as hinted at other future plans for additional Atlus games. [Thanks, Famitsu!]

As is the plan, Unicorn Overlord is still scheduled to be released on March 8, 2024 for the PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, and the Nintendo Switch.

Shinjiro Takata mentioned that there is more than just Unicorn Overlord in the works at Atlus. According to his aspirations for 2024, he is ready to prepare additional an additional title, as well as other games. in the future.

Here's the message in which he teased other new Atlus games:

In 2024, we plan to release Vanillaware’s Unicorn Overlord and one other title… At the same time, I’d like to prepare projects for the future.

According to an official announcement from Cover, the New Year’s outfit reveal streams for Hololive English Advent Vtubers have been postponed due to the earthquake and disasters that struck Japan on January 1, 2024. This was announced directly on social media this morning.

The members of Hololive English Advent were originally scheduled to each reveal a new outfit on January 1, 2024. That date will be redecided to respect the immediate crisis at this time. Cover noted that the company will keep fans updated via social media when a new date has been decided to show the Vtubers’ new outfits.

See the official announcement in the post below:

[embed]https://twitter.com/hololive_en/status/1741814165432623354[/embed]

The earthquake and disaster that struck Japan on January 1, 2024 is currently still ongoing, and more information will be released as it progresses. Currently, we know that Ishikawa and its surrounding prefectures have been heavily negatively impacted by the disaster. The recorded earthquake’s tremors measured a maximum seismic intensity of 7, the highest on the Japan Meteorological Agency’s seismic intensity scale. A major tsunami warning has been issued for most of Japan’s western coastline, and evacuation orders have been called for Ishikawa, Niigata, Toyama, and Yamagata.

The New Year’s outfit reveal streams for the members of Hololive English Advent must be postponed and will be moved to a later date due to the earthquake that struck Japan today.

Now that Headbangers: Rhythm Royale has had some time to breathe, I really can’t help but feel like this minigame based battle royale is still not quite on par with Fall Guys. It’s close, but certain elements hold it back a bit. 

Like Fall Guys, Headbangers: Rhythm Royale is a battle royale in which 30 players go through rounds by playing music-based minigames to determine which player is the best. Each person has a mascot character, like the titular Fall Guys, only here they are pigeons. It’s designed to follow a quick get in, place in the group, get out, go again gameplay loop as well too. 

After a lengthy development cycle, Neko Atsume VR is finally around as Neko Atsume Purrfect Kitty Collector for Meta Quest 2, 3, and Pro headsets. While it is cute and quite relaxing, it feels like it sticks a bit too closely to the mobile balancing and doesn’t take into account that someone might only play it once or twice each day.

Like the mobile game, Neko Atsume Purrfect Kitty Collector is about making your virtual home inviting to stray cats. You set out food and place objects and toys for the cats to use. Then, you take some time away and come back to see what animals were lured in by your treats. You then get to take photos of them being adorable, which you catalog in a journal, collect fish as gifts from them or mementos if they like you enough, and put out more food and items to repeat the process. Here, the new gimmicks involve handheld items to feed treats or shake toys, the opportunity to pet or pick up cats after calling them over, and taking advantage of mixed reality features to see the cats in the “real world.”

Turn-based combat is one of the oldest forms of battle in video games. Decades later, genres like the RPG still use turn-based combat effectively, so why has it stood the test of time?

The iconic combat system originated in pen-and-paper RPGs like Dungeons & Dragons. When making the first RPG video games, translating the turn-based system was a natural choice for developers. It circumvented many technical issues, as the system was basically all math. You didn't need to see characters or really anything at all, but it still offered complexity and depth.

However, as the video game industry grew in popularity, so did the technical capabilities of games. Now, there are plenty of ways to portray combat in real-time effectively. Despite there being more advanced alternatives available, we still have many games released that are turn-based. This is because the combat system still offers a unique depth.

Touhou spin-off, indie games are hit or miss. You never know what the experience and quality will be like until you give one a shot. Koumajou Remilia II: Stranger's Requiem is a follow-up to Frontier Aja and CFK’s original 2022 Castlevania sort of release and, while the game doesn’t do too much new for this series or genre, it’s a challenging enough adventure.

Some background with the Touhou series helps here, but the story of  Koumajou Remilia II: Stranger's Requiem is pretty easy to jump into. Sakuya Izayoi is essentially a maid/bodyguard for Remilia Scarlet. Upon returning to the Scarlet Devil Mansion, she finds things are awry and everyone else there missing. You’ll need to defeat familiar and unfamiliar bosses, who retain their bullet hell sort of energy attack patterns despite this being a Castlevania-like, reunite with characters who can become summon partners, and fight your way through stages to discover what’s going on.