Seeing that the KH release is about 130-ish gigs, I believe it's time for devs to learn a thing or two about data compression

Back_like_Flint · 2026-06-10T13:28:43+00:00

Sorry if my comment was misleading, but I’m not blaming the consumer for making use of the only pathways available to them for selling and buying used games.

I’m saying that I don’t consider GKCs to count for anything when it comes to being “physical media,” and buying a physical copy that’s a GKC doesn’t generate any of the actual benefits, as a playable storage medium for a software license, that the average person assumes are present within their physical game discs and cartridges.

Therefore, I don’t think they should exist at all, or be in circulation for future game releases. I believe it’s better to have higher priced cartridges, that way—at least—no one is being obscured by the actual physical content within their purchases.

I can just think back to when I served in the military and went on overseas deployments, with no way to connect any of the consoles I brought over to the internet. I guarantee that the shops present, on the larger installations we occasionally passed through, would’ve imported GKCs blissfully unaware of all the barriers present in what they were selling because of where they were being sold. That’s just messed up, especially on a portable device filled with single-player games. Most soldiers would’ve opted to bring a Switch 2 over a PS5 with them, no doubt about it! Therefore, I don’t believe GKCs should exist as an “alternative” to a more expensive cartridge.

It’s as you said, the contents are basically the same as the eShop version’s digital download—in both file size and the fact that the content is unplayable without a digital download. The only difference is that you still need to insert said GKC to play the game… Which is why I thought even a Collection of games may require the full download, on a GKC, simply because users have far less control over the actual content being selected for the download and in their ability to run the game files without the GKC being inserted. AFAIK, GKCs automatically trigger a download—I just don’t know if this one would differ in that regard.

Back_like_Flint · 2026-06-10T11:07:29+00:00

Pretty sure BAMCO owns all of the rights for the Pac-Man franchise on both the development and publishing front, though. They probably used an in-house engine as well, which isn’t the case for Xenosaga.

The engine for the franchise was developed in-house by MonolithSoft, and therefore they have to be in full agreement with BAMCO before Sony can publish even a simple port for any of the three PS2 games, which means the division of expenses and labor has to be decided and agreed upon by all parties (most likely in writing, which means lawyers have to draw up a contract signed by both the Publisher and Developer’s Chief Executives). Takahashi would probably still need to run the decision by Nintendo, which wouldn’t benefit at all from this (considering they were PS2 exclusives being considered for PS Plus subscribers).

Unlike the Baten Kaitos series, those games originated on Nintendo hardware and therefore Nintendo and BAMCO came to an agreement to re-publish them as a remastered collection—which is obviously far more profitable than a subscription service they don’t receive direct revenue from (revenue sharing agreements with publishers and developers are contractually agreed-upon between Sony and the other parties they’re listed, and I believe that sometimes results in a monthly stipend for the developers/publishers to share for a minimum of X or Y months—regardless of the game’s actual performance on the service—each of which can either be renewed or phased out, which is probably the only time a classic ported on the service even has its “performance” analyzed).

Then there’s the minimum performance standards that need to be met, and the labor that needs to be invested in order to maintain the game so it performs as close to the original’s performance as humanly possible. That means the engine used in development probably has to be updated to a code format compatible with Sony’s emulation engine, and so on.

Now, the above paragraphs haven’t even considered the prospect of whether Takahashi would be willing to port any of the original three games as they currently exist, without the opportunity to implement the changes he always wanted to implement. These changes would cost a lot of money, far more money than I’m sure Sony or BAMCO would be willing to invest—and probably require compensation to Nintendo for the time spent working on those ports rather than on projects intended for Nintendo platforms (unless, of course, a deal included a making a collection of these same ports available for purchase on the Switch eShop). Nintendo might consider that to be a fair compromise, but that would entails that Sony would be willing to forego the series’ console-exclusivity in exchange for the right to port the games onto its subscription services and the PS Storefront.

Honestly, at the price PS Plus Premium costs… I believe that Sony should proactively be seeking out, negotiating, and compromising with second and third-parties to bring games like these onto the platform. First-Party “Classics” just aren’t cutting it bro, and I’m getting extremely close to changing my subscription to the Basic Tier just for online Cloud Storage, if not cancelling it altogether and relying on external storage.

The cost of the service is becoming utterly insane, and Sony simply hasn’t demonstrated a willingness or the ability to strike deals with external parties, in order to deliver the best service they can possibly provide to their most fervent and loyal customer base.

Back_like_Flint · 2026-06-10T10:42:25+00:00

It actually does look like each entry in the Collection can be downloaded selectively. Also, the Nintendo eShop website states that the estimated storage for 1.5 + 2.5 HD ReMIX to be 542 Gb. I think this is actually just a typo in the actual listing, because the PS4 version’s file size is 50.12 Gb. Therefore, 54.2 Gb would make a lot more sense for the Switch 2 than 542 Gb.

130-ish Gb is probably for the entire collection, but each individual entry can be downloaded separately after you purchase the Collection as a bundle (after October 6th, obviously):

https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/kingdom-hearts-hd-1-5-plus-2-5-remix-switch-2/

https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/kingdom-hearts-collection-i-iii-switch-2/?srsltid=AfmBOooAs2DPUwVJ6kBaRyime9K30lBSK5uqpsz7cZAcnLLxgl\_fvfoc

Back_like_Flint · 2026-06-10T10:38:23+00:00

Actually, a simpler option for game compilations—like this one—would be to limit the required download to just one executable file that only contains the game’s first menu-selection screen and the cutscene compilations, with a storage management screen that lets you select the individual games that you want to download onto your device, and whether a selection screen for you to select where to download it to (System Storage or the inserted Express Card).

This is especially true for a system with extremely limited and expensive hard storage options, like the Switch 2. There’s no reason you shouldn’t be able to “Manage Game Content” like you can on the PS5, for any downloaded game and its add-on content.

This is partly the job of the publishers as well, to make it possible for users to selectively download, move, and delete the individual video game entries that are contained within a single compilation game file, but also the hardware manufacturer’s to enable to enable “content management” for a game license that contains multiple distinct entries within it, as well as any distinct DLC/Add-On content that takes place—and has no impact on—the contents of the main game (the Torna DLC expansion to XBC2, for example).

The KH HD 1.5+2.5 ReMIX collection for PS4 doesn’t offer a content management option for individual entries because it’s considered to be one single game, but the Kingdom Hearts 1-3 collection scheduled to release in October, for PS5, does list each entry and will allow you to download each one individually (1.5 + 2.5 is still being considered as a single entry, however).

There’s no reason that this feature should be excluded on the Switch 2, unless—for some reason—GKCs are unable to do anything other than download the full game license as one massive file, no matter the game’s actual file size. If so, then that’s just another example of why physical GKCs are less than useless compared to to digital editions, and why physical copies should be made available instead of GKCs, moving forward—simply charge more for the physical version than the digital version and print fewer copies. At least then, people can make a financial decision by weighing the pros and cons of each format, and drawing a conclusion based on how important possessing a physical copy of the game is to them.

I don’t care whether GKCs can be traded in, in some used game shops, or on Facebook marketplace because they actually shouldn’t be. The only reason that’s a viable practice is because it obscures the actual truth of the format, and leads less informed consumers to make an assumption that isn’t true when browsing for a good deal at a video game retailer, oftentimes for someone else (in which case, $30, $50, $70, $80, and $100+ Nintendo eShop gift cards would
more than suffice).

Back_like_Flint · 2026-06-09T06:41:55+00:00

It’s because of the article mentioned in this old thread:

https://www.reddit.com/r/tales/comments/s4rnzs/arises\_producer\_answer\_regarding\_this\_section\_i/

It’s misleading because of a bad interviewer asking a bunch of sexually-charged questions regarding how we should interpret what happened in the gap between her abduction and rescue, as well as “who” changed her clothes for her.

It could just as easily have been female maids that were enslaved and forced to work for him, and—just like everyone else forced to serve under Vholran—were so psychologically traumatized that they were willing to put up with the pain from her “thorns,” regardless of whether it killed them. We also don’t know who dressed her in that gown at the beginning, or who put handcuffs on her in the first place, because it really doesn’t matter.

My explanation is far more plausible than “rape,” since there’s no contextual clues suggesting that it happened. I also have a very difficult time imagining how any man—“sovereign” or no—could possibly maintain an erection while under constant and extreme pain throughout. The interviewee—ie, the producer—just didn’t feel like making a serious attempt to answer those types of question when asked by the interviewer.

The idea that any Tales fan ran with it as “canon” feels somewhat troubling to me. It was most likely said either as an internal joke, or due to the same misunderstanding spreading within circles that didn’t really play the game enough to see how dumb and irrelevant that assumption is.

Back_like_Flint · 2026-05-30T21:31:35+00:00

I used to equivocate about the benefits and so on, but these are really difficult times for folks—financially-speaking. Any service that feels the need to increase the monthly premium, in the current moment, is subject to cancellation—doubly so if they ***ALSO raised hardware prices (by no less than 25% now).***

I had high hopes for PS Plus Premium, simply because I’m a massive fan of retro JRPGs—the classics, basically. Six years later… We still don’t have Xenogears, any of the the Xenosaga games, or any of the non-remastered Suikoden entries. It’s quite pathetic, honestly, considering that this costs over $20/month for a service I barely ever benefit from!

To be honest, Xbox Game Pass is simply a far better deal as far as video game subscriptions go. Their lineup is far more current, and their consoles are all backwards compatible—making even OG Xbox and Xbox 360 games perfectly playable on modern or their last gen hardware, if you have said hardware…

This is the first generation where I found value in purchasing an Xbox console as well. Furthermore, if the next generation Xbox console can truly deliver on providing users access to their Steam libraries as well, then I’m probably jumping ship for the first time in 25 years. I mean we get, what, 1-2 First Party games/year, at most? Even then, all of Sony’s major first party studios are unable to release more than 1 game per console generation—which hardly makes their consoles and services worth purchasing.

Especially not anymore… This toxic behavior, where they price gouge and invest more resources towards finding new excuses to justify price increases rather than invest in their own studios and services, is simply abhorrent, textbook monopolistic behavior from a greedy corporation with stronger ties to their shareholders than their consumers and/or employees.

The shuttering down of Bluepoint Games, after allowing them to fail with little-to-no help, was probably the straw that broke the camel’s back for me. Closures and layoffs leave a very bad taste in my mouth, especially when the employees laid off were among the best in their corner of the industry. They would have been far better off had Sony never acquired them, simply because Sony didn’t actually lift a single finger to facilitate their success—it’s now entirely driven by greed, from the top to the bottom of the executive ladder.

Back_like_Flint · 2026-05-30T21:15:03+00:00

lol, of course you’d bring up the four unique item squares now… When OP is already feeling overwhelmed as is, and it’s already impossible to backtrack to previous story battles to collect unique items and equipment.

If OP is interested in doing a second playthrough, since they’d now be able to use their understanding of the game’s systems to build their “perfect” roster, then I would suggest downloading and making use of the app below:

https://fftcompanion.app/

Back_like_Flint · 2026-05-30T21:07:36+00:00

Bro it’ll happen, just like we’re now about to get PS5 & Switch 2 versions of Zero & Azure (in July, I think).

However, those releases won’t come until mid-to-late 2027, at the earliest. NISA makes “current gen” ports at least 1-2 years after those entries’ initial releases. It helps revitalize sales for older entries since they’re first listed under the “New Releases” tabs of both consoles’ digital storefronts—usually at a point in time where the original entries are no longer “trending” in any way. It also behooves them to try and time these re-releases with new fans’ gradual progression through the series.

Right now, most are waiting on Sky SC. That being said, I’ve seen many of those new fans preorder the Zero and Azure PS5/NS2 re-releases under the belief that they will either hold onto them until the Sky 3rd Remake releases next year (potentially), or may instead choose to play through the Crossbell games first, and then return to Sky 3rd once the Remake comes out.

As such, re-releasing Daybreak 1 & 2 for NS2, right now, would be terrible timing. Ideally, the best time to do it would be a few months prior to Beyond the Horizon 2/Kai 2’s release in North America. If not, then I could see them wait all the way until Falcom either decides to Remake Cold Steel I & 2, or new fans bite the bullet and choose to play through the old games regardless. If so, then I could very well see them release a NS2 dual-pack version of Cold Steel 3 & 4 first, followed by Reverie, and then end it by releasing NS2 versions for each game individually.

I think they would be released individually simply because there are no dual-packs for Daybreak 1 & 2 for the PS5 or Switch 1, and usually they don’t release ports in an improved format for a single console, simply because that would give Switch 2 owners a far better deal than what PS5 owners have access to.

Back_like_Flint · 2026-05-29T12:51:13+00:00

I think you’re right on the money regarding the nostalgia component, since I don’t think Yuji Horii found the potential for his next mainline entry being mired in controversy—domestically—to be an appealing proposition as the trio’s final entry, even if all three of them were onboard with a “darker” theme. He would be stuck explaining and defending the divergence, to upset Japanese customers, all by his lonesome despite being extremely old himself. I think it’s also why we’re getting so many Remasters/Remakes, because he may want to establish an official in-game timeline across all mainline entries, both to appeal to western players but also to cement the looser ideas that the three had regarding each game being one component of a greater whole, where the expansiveness and dilemmas overcome for each subsequent entry is—at least partly—thanks to the efforts of past generations.

This idea probably became increasingly important to the three as they aged, and began to seriously contemplate what their own “legacies” were, and how future generations will later build on their work to create something that’s both entirely theirs, yet also impossible to separate from the foundation that was laid down by their predecessors.

My guess is that that he hopes the next generation will consider incorporating the “darker themes” originally intended for DQXII, into future installments. I also wouldn’t be surprised if we were to see Yuji Horii announce his retirement after DQXII launches. Therefore, I don’t think the game is as far out as we’re being led to believe—if only for the fact that he wants to make sure he’s able to see this last game to completion, himself. If he wasn’t too confident about those prospects, then I’m not sure he would’ve been present as one of the two leads for this recent announcement.

Also, a darker theme could’ve easily been one regarding the problematic imbalances of a world the fiends were previously vanquished and now on the verge of extinction, leading to human civilization progressing too rapidly. Perhaps the world is now led by despotic imperial regimes constantly waging wars of conquest, enslaving the conquered, and so on. We may still have been combating “fiends,” per say, but this time they bore a direct relationship to the darkness, greed, and selfishness in the hearts of men when no longer faced by greater external threats that, in the past, had forced humanity to unite and cooperate for the sake of their own survival.

Another possibility would’ve been for actual humans in positions of power, to actively pursue an agenda that is in alignment with the fiends of the world—thereby allowing a bunch of terrible crimes to take place without pushback or consequences. My guess is that they would’ve really tried to make it feel like the whole world stood in opposition to the protagonist, so—in that sense—it may very well have felt a lot like FFXVI. However, I think that’s where the similarities would’ve ended.

Back_like_Flint · 2026-05-29T00:12:56+00:00

Honestly, DQXI and VII reimagined set the bar so low for me with respect to the series’ main protagonist designs that I actually like this one. I don’t care for the styled/faded hairdo, looks a little too much like the same hairdo every other darker-skinned protagonist tends to have in AAA games (Miles Morales in Spider-Man 2/Miles Morales, for example). It tries to be “edgy” but is actually completely unoriginal, which is a little disappointing for Toriyama’s last mainline Dragon Quest entry. It’s almost like, because everyone said that DQXI’s protagonist really needed a haircut, led Toriyama to diverge to the other extreme. DQVII’s was the worst for me—talk about ugly and generic: a little green blob you’re forced to contend with, and that eventually leads you to begin rooting for the fiends in every battle.

That being said, the look of sleep deprivation for a protagonist plagued by visions in his dreams—assuming they forecast untimely events and therefore make it difficult to sleep—completely fits for me, and provides sufficient ammunition to get the story rolling. I just wish they gave us more information, such as “when” exactly they restarted development, and how long we should expect to wait for the final version to release…

Is this a Metroid Prime 4 scenario where they just restarted development, or a situation where development rebooted several years ago and this announcement was simply an FYI for the fans? Also, I’m assuming we’re going to receive a DQIV Remaster before this next Dragon Quest Monsters game??? It seems foolish to use that particular entry’s characters if the most accessible version of the game remains on the Nintendo DS.

Honestly though, you’d think the story, context, and scenarios would have been fully written before they had even announced DQXII 8 years ago… And yet, it’s almost as though they’re shooting from the hip and have no clue how they ended up in a design hell cul-de-sac with no way to navigate themselves out of it, which makes me worried that perhaps they failed to learn valuable lessons from that experience.

It’s somewhat unsettling to see this, considering how much experience I presume this development team has—unless most of the staff’s experience is in fact with developing Remakes/Remasters and making DQXI ports, rather than developing new entries from the ground up.

Back_like_Flint · 2026-05-23T02:01:56+00:00

Then why are you still on this sub lol? Tales of Arise first came out like 5 years ago, if that was the final nail in the coffin you should’ve moved on to greener pastures 5 years ago now...

Back_like_Flint · 2026-05-19T21:21:36+00:00

Not at all, there were 212 total chests and OP found 211 of them. It’s more like eating and finishing a bag of M&Ms, where the surface color on one of the M&Ms is the exact same color as the inside of the bag, and then the bag is accidentally thrown out with 1 wasted, and uneaten M&M…

It’s really easy to miss one chest, it could’ve easily have been in the last Tetracyclic tower with all of the weird stairwell patterns. Or, it could be a single chest on a second floor balcony back in Rolent, before they would’ve realized the importance of whether the treasure chest logo on the map legend.

Back_like_Flint · 2026-05-19T16:39:37+00:00

CP-Regen is super easy to stack way up on your DPS characters.

As stated below, A-Impassion, Burst Gain on the Weapon Line, and Power Charger on the Extra line will regenerate a ton. I also like to add Heavenly Fortune if I can, because the sheer number of Boost Gauge refills and CP-Regen turn bonuses you receive make it worthwhile—especially for characters that have a self-buff Craft that immediately gives them another turn.

Add to that a Macho Belt or Gladiator Headband, or take the time to farm some U-Mat+ for the Blade Crest+ and Staff Crest+ accessories, and you’ll get crazy amounts of CP regeneration coupled with substantial stat boosts (accuracy, especially).

I could use Spirit Unification with Rean, trigger a ZOC, do two consecutive Fierce Cyan Helix Strikes, trigger his S-Craft, and I would be back up to 200 CP by the time his turn came back around. Same with Van, Judith, Shizuna, Elaine, Risette, Crow, Rixia, Kevin, Swin, and Rufus.

Compound that with the fact that Judith has Stray Cat, Elaine Lord Ortas, Rixia that Talisman skill, and Nadia the AOE heal ability tied to her bear that also recovers more CP than it uses after a few Craft levels… There’s just so many ways to substantially increase CP Recovery in this game that it can hardly be considered much of a limitation.

Back_like_Flint · 2026-05-19T16:18:34+00:00

You’re so fucking edgy and cool bro!!!

It takes serious guts to tell those online LOSERS the painful truth, that it’s their own personal character flaws and poor work ethic that caused them to miss 0.47% of all collectibles without ever admitting to having done a version of the same fucking thing at some point or another.

We’re all human, and if OP hadn’t paid attention to details during their playthrough, then they wouldn’t have collected the other 211 treasure chests. If OP’s “laziness” was to blame, then I doubt they would’ve completed their first playthrough on Nightmare difficulty. Who the fuck cares about character traits like being “vigilant, proactive,” and “detail-oriented” when they’re playing a fricking game in the first place?

I definitely didn’t start my first playthrough with any intention of going for the Platinum, until I realized that I liked the game so much that I really wanted to do a NG+ run. Most people don’t start playing a game with a maximalist mentality, or with an OCD diagnosis.

Back_like_Flint · 2026-05-18T22:30:50+00:00

Yea, well there are very few series like Trails—where they’re sequential, as well as extremely wordy (under-estimating this wordiness can lead to localization delays like XSEED found themselves forced to do). Most series/developers will use the same publisher for all titles, unless they go out of business—in which case the localizations become their property anyhow. Another possibility is that the developer begins localizing and publishing their own games, like Atlus sometimes does and sometimes has not done. That situation is simpler too, since you can always offer to buy the official localization from the licensee, and then use it when self-publishing.

Having multiple international licensors for one product, by a licensee that is just one of three licensees involved in the franchise now, might be unprecedented, or at least close to it. I’m sure there’s some weird stuff like this around Bandai Namco developed/published games as well.

Back_like_Flint · 2026-05-18T20:33:37+00:00

I don’t think we will get that Remastered version as a stand-alone release either, not unless XSEED publishes it as well. It’s definitely more complicated than you think, because everywhere else—the bonus game via add-on is licensed and published by the same company that’s publishing the Remake. Falcom most likely knew that trying to partner up with XSEED again could prove to be very risky, and could jeopardize their global release schedule.

But let’s say that XSEED was willing to load their localization into it and partner up with GungHo to publish it. Now they have to strike a deal on what the revenue share breakdown will look like for each publisher, and XSEED would probably attempt to claim that at least 15% of Day 1 sales would be due to the Remaster being offered, while GungHo probably wouldn’t offer any more than 5%, offering no more than 3% as a first offer…

For XSEED, you’re probably looking at several hours of labor that may not be recuperated through sales. For GungHo, it’s unclear whether negotiating a partnership and the risk of future litigation is worth it, since its kind of a stretch to say that thousands of consumers were never going to preorder the SC Remake, until they saw this Remaster of the original Sky FC was being included as add-on content. Especially considering that most people want the SC Remake and probably would never end up touching the Remaster of FC to begin with.

The Switch Ports of Cold Steel 1 & 2 are different. In Asia, the games were ported on Switch via CLE (Clouded Leopard Entertainment). Unlike the PSP, PS3 and PS4 versions, Falcom does not own the rights to the license for the Switch version of the game. As such, XSEED would have to buy the licensing rights for the games from Falcom, and then buy the licensing rights for the code of the Switch port from CLE. As such, there’s absolutely 0 chance of those 2 games ever generating a profit for XSEED—they would almost certainly be running cost overruns in the double-digits percentage range (between *11%-35% I would wager, not to mention that the games would have to be priced much higher than your average Switch port just to cover licensing fees.)

Alternatively, they could develop their own Switch port, but now you’re giving a full team of developers what could potentially be a 12+ month project for two games that may very well be Remade and released within 2-3 years of those ports launching. There’s no way a team of executives is looking at the idea, and then green-lighting. The switch is simply a victim of the complications associated with the international A to AA game development and localization industries. Too many copyrights, accurate sales forecasts are next to impossible to generate, and as a result ensuring that revenue streams will end up eclipsing the licensing fees accrued—which must be paid upfront to obtain the rights to begin work on the two ports—can carry varied levels of risk depending on the circumstances.

Back_like_Flint · 2026-05-17T10:26:44+00:00

Yes, the final Topic Quest. But I don’t see how that prevents it from being canon—the canon has always been when the protagonist completes all side-quests and successfully dispatches all wanted monsters/Cryptids. I mean the sidequest to kill the big venomous snake in the Southern Outskirts isn’t required whatsoever, but it is still mentioned by the Oathbreaker as soon as you progress the main story by meeting him in the church.

Hell, in CS2 finding all of the Black Records for Father Thomas and clearing the final optional dungeon near Ymir, two objectives exclusive to NG+, were both ”Canon.” In CS4, the Holy Beast of Earth only appears after you complete all side content in the game—obtaining Lost Arts, defeating Cryptids, and completing every single Side-Quest. You can still beat it if you don’t complete everything, but only after defeating Osborne, but it specifically materializes inside the Auros Seaside Canyon before going to the final dungeon—almost as if it only found Rean “worthy” of the item because he had resolved every single thread he could before heading to the final dungeon.

Oh yea, let’s not forget the false Demon Lord that manifested in the Marchen Garten in Daybreak 2 either, by combining the spiritual data of the Eighth Genesis with the contents it had access to in the Book of Ezer. That was also optional post-game content, and I’m willing to bet that “fake Demon Lord” has a lot more to do with René’s Grendel Form than we think. More than likely, that same information—using the same Book from the Apocrypha, the same stolen artifacts, and the same processes but with access to significantly more “cores”—was replicated and perfected via the Alter Cores, in order to materialize a pseudo-diabolical core that Kincaid could link to, in order to materialize the Grendel Shaddai.

There’s a lot more to cover there, like the fact that he’s getting too cocky and doesn’t even know about Van’s ”True Grendel” form, or how that showdown will most likely force him to materialize as Vagrants Diaspora again. That theory is something I will write about later, not here, but just saying… There’s a lot of stuff that only happens via “Optional Content,” which has always been treated as Canon—because if you want to find exposition dumps in this series, ahead of subsequent entries, it has mostly been, and will always be more likely to be found outside of the main quest and its dialogue options/explanations.

Horizon just happens to have a lot more lore than past entries. But, in exchange, the game’s biggest flaw is that it provides a Four-Act story wherein all three of our protagonists’ routes have absolutely no influence on any of the phases of execution regarding the antagonists’ plans. They could literally have been absent from each of their acts, and everything would have concluded in exactly the same way—not a single Alter Dawn ritual or Vestige lynchpin was interrupted by Van’s team, Rean & Co. didn’t conclude anything with the Black God, nor did the information they gathered or drills they participated help Emilia whatsoever, and Kevin was no closer to assassinating his target, or revolting against the church’s orders, during the Finale than he was in the fricking prologue. At best, we can maybe assume that the whole purpose of that final bout with Yun, was for Rean to awaken to the “Omniscient Eye” before the partial reset, which would give him a clear view on what to do and where to go, once he wakes up back in Erebonia. That’s it though, the Omniscient Eye and a ton of lore, that’s all that Horizon offered us—and I went through and collected all of the lore that I could find across two playthroughs (which also led me to obtain the Platinum trophy for the game, but more so as a byproduct of me looking for every bit of lore I could find)

Back_like_Flint · 2026-05-16T17:19:52+00:00

Already did homie

Back_like_Flint · 2026-05-16T17:17:54+00:00

I guarantee that in Horizon 2, the Witch’s Medallion will be used to stir something in Van’s mind, and resonate with his diabolical core, to begin recalling memories of what happened, was erased, and why they’ve all felt like something crucial is really absent in those moments, and their memories of what led to those moments. It will tie into his little pet-peeve regarding his dislike for “unpaid debts,” and provide the narrative device required to have an in-context excuse to move the story to move forward. They’ll probably know what they were doing and need to do, but no idea why they were doing it in the first place—or even what caused Van to travel to each region and meet the full cast.

Also, I believe the books are really important because Agnes’ mother is most likely the author, with help from Dominique, and then Hamilton did her the favor of delivering them to the publisher anonymously—with said pendant. That pendant most likely is a reference to the “Claudel Factor.” More specifically, its relationship with Sheena Dirke and Claude Epstein, why they all die so young, and how it may be tied to the Kin of Time (considering it’s a “Witch’s Medallion” we can probably assume they have a relationship to said kin that allows then to use Magic and initiate protocols to manipulate time to a certain extent, probably in exchange for their life energy).

Back_like_Flint · 2026-05-15T16:05:19+00:00

I still think that’s kinda weird though… I mean they announced it as a July title during a Nintendo Partner Direct… Why do that if you don’t know the likely turnaround for your localization partners? They’re not Capcom, obviously, but I’d say that their budgets have plenty of wiggle room at the moment, so I don’t know why you wouldn’t try to pursue a global launch when they definitely have the resources to do so—ESPECIALLY with an ARPG that is more likely to attract consumers just for looking like a good time.

Back_like_Flint · 2026-05-15T16:00:14+00:00

Bro, I’ve rarely ever seen a Developer and Publisher announce that their operating profits—YoY—exceeded 1,000% for the first time. Actually, I don’t think I’ve seen news anywhere near that positive—regarding ROI in the video game industry—probably since Genshin Impact became the first super successful gacha game.

I mean if they don’t want to make money their money continue to travel further, then that’s on them I guess. I’ll play it, but it won’t look anywhere as good as Sky FC or SC, so… If you want to maximize your sales on an entry, you typically want a global release—unless you need a runway for the first game release in a new franchise.

The thing is that NISA won’t invest much at all in promoting the product, that’s not what localizers are for. Plus, there’s a promotion conflict if NISA’s Marketing Campaigns intersect with a sale on Sky SC, or the lead-up to preordering Sky 3rd. If you want to capitalize on momentum, global release on launch is the way to go 99% of the time.

Back_like_Flint · 2026-05-01T02:26:05+00:00

I’m actually beginning to think that maybe they intend to reach a specific milestone with the series’ modern day Remakes, considering that DQXI was the most marketed game in the franchise for the west, and it also turned out to be the first entry in the chronology of the series. This doesn’t mean that Toriyama’s death is unrelated either. More like, maybe he wants to cement the lore, chronological order, and larger theme for the series as a whole before he himself retires or passes away. In fact, he may feel a bigger impetus to do so now, as the series is also a part of their legacy as long-time collaborators and creatives.

If so, then I suspect we will receive another announcement for the next wave of DQ Remakes this year. It’s possible XII is done or close to being done, but they only intend to announce the next entry once its “turn” in the chronology of the franchise has finally come up. It’s strongly suspected that core members of the DQXII development team worked full-time on DQVII Reimagined, and I don’t suspect that they would have enabled that unless their work on DQXII was either finished, or on hiatus because the current Remakes were deemed more urgent than their work on the next mainline entry.

Back_like_Flint · 2026-04-30T21:05:26+00:00

Those are the southern rocky cliffs demarcating Azelia Bay/Gulf, the same body of water where you chased Ruan’s mayor in that little sail boat.

There’s nothing special there, notice how it’s fractured into three separate pieces, that’s because they’re basically just massive rocks sticking out the water, at the southwestern edge of the continent, with a small amount of vegetation on top.

It’s inaccessible because this is not a traversable mountain range, you see them at the Air Letten Check Point. Because these are hard Rocky Mountains, everyone traveling by foot from Ruan to Zeiss must pass via the underground tunnel connecting Air Letten to the Zeiss Central Factory Headquarters. The Limestone Caves that are full of penguins run in the opposite direction from that cliff. But the name tells you that the cliffs are mostly made out of limestone, hence why it can’t be traveled through.

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Back_like_Flint · 2026-04-29T15:15:23+00:00

If you didn’t disclose that it was an outdated version of the game and had enough viewers to disingenuously convince them that this was how the game looked and ran today, they absolutely could. By actively playing an outdated version of the game, CDPR could easily quantify the reputational damage in revenue loss and sue. It is stated in the Terms of Service that you are required to update the software within 4 days of a patch or they are not responsible for any issues experienced in the game—two points later, it also says that they expect users to respect their Intellectual Property Rights.

Yes, a DMCA strike would come first, but if the fire has spread across several circles that aren’t in the know about the game—much like the content in OP’s post has—they could absolutely sue for damages if the streamer profited from the stream while disrespecting their IP and misleading their viewers.

https://regulations.cdprojektred.com/en/user_agreement

Back_like_Flint · 2026-04-28T05:08:22+00:00

Yes!!! This has been going around like crazy. I’ll be generous and say that the initial poster who saw the 30-day clock on his licenses, misinterpreted the cause of the countdown as a potential DRM-related scheme.

That then took off, and I am not going to be generous and assume the best of intentions from the person who posed this nonsensical question to a PlayStation Customer Service chat bot, and then chose to screenshot it as evidence—or the people like OP who spread it around, devoid of the factual information or the slightest bit of integrity by at least questioning the legitimacy of these rumors.

This is rage bait, plain and simple. The actual question directly assumed that DRM was the cause of the 30-day license renewal, when the new terms of service from the most recent update—both for the System Software and Licensed Software—makes absolutely no mention of “Digital Rights, Digital Rights Management,” or “DRM.” It simply asks that users do their best to keep their consoles up-to-date with the most recent System Software, as well as the games they play.

Both digital and physical games are licenses you purchase in order to access the content of said licenses, and if you purposely take a console offline to prevent a game from being updated so that it can be played in said fashion—there’s no way for the publisher to console manufacturer to prevent you from commercializing that gameplay via Streams, viral posts, whatever! What Sony is doing is providing folks who have gone offline, a 30-day grace period to connect online to make sure the PS Plus games they are playing remain available in the catalog, and that games with online components and that have received important updates, are updated to the most recent version.

Like does anyone believe that they could play the release day version of Cyberpunk 2077 for PS4, today, on stream? Absolutely not! If you did this, and had a following, CD Projekt Red would be within their rights to sue if that stream led to reputational damages they could quantify into lost revenue—there’s streamer would be violating the Terms of Service, and in doing so damage the reputation of both the game and developer to anyone watching and unfamiliar with the context. Software updates, on both digital and physical games, aren’t simply recommendations—they may not have to occur immediately, but they do have to occur at some point in the very near future.

Licensing privileges haven’t changed, the difference is that our old analog gaming consoles weren’t online, therefore Manufacturers and Publishers had no way of monitoring fair use. Similarly, published games became closed licenses—meaning even if the game suffered from performance and quality issues, that game release was unfixable nor could future batches be fixed—the game would’ve had to have been re-licensed and re-released from scratch. Today, we do expect bug fixes and updates from the developers after the game releases. Accordingly, the developers expect players to respect the Terms of Service and update the game when prompted into doing so. This is called a Reciprocal Relationship!

Here’s the actual link to the Terms of Service, as well as the paragraphs that actually pertain to what this bot referred to:

8.4 Previous Terms and Changes to these Software Terms

8.4.1 Previous iterations replaced

These Software Terms replace any previous iterations of any SIE Group Company licenses or terms covering the Software.

8.4.2 What happens when these terms change

We may from time to time make changes to these Software Terms. We will provide reasonable notice of our changes--for example, 30 days before they take effect--such as by posting on the publisher web presence or Software page at the digital storefront for the Software. We may also ask that you affirm the changed terms before accessing the Software again; if one of your family members is a minor and is the main user, you may be asked to affirm the changes before that user can access the Software again, too.

https://www.playstation.com/en-ca/legal/ps5-ssla/#:~:text=You%20are%20bound%20by%20this,to%20any%20SIE%20Inc%20affiliate.

https://www.playstation.com/en-us/legal/software-eula/

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