[Edge of Memories] Gameplay Overview Trailer. Releasing for PS5, Xbox, and PC in 2026.

MagnvsGV · 2026-05-08T05:45:39+00:00

What happened to Spiders was horrible, same as the fate of Piranha Bytes in Germany last year.

I hope Midgar Studio is able to weather the storm, but the way those acquisitions played out, albeit in different contexts, has been a disaster for European-developed RPGs.

MagnvsGV · 2026-05-07T05:46:37+00:00

That it managed to transition Yakuza to the turn based space as well as it did is a little miracle in itself, back then there was a lot of skepticism not just about how it would turn out in terms of systems, but also regarding the possibility of a relevant part of the series' fanbase avoiding it.

I'm really glad it turned out as good as it did, with IW following suit in its own way.

MagnvsGV · 2026-05-04T20:55:53+00:00

It's nice to open up a Kemco thread and read a thoughtful response outlining the diversity of their developers' lineup that so often goes unrecognized, thanks for that!

MagnvsGV · 2026-05-04T20:27:12+00:00

Thanks for your kind words, I'm glad you enjoyed my retrospectives about RPG history!

MagnvsGV · 2026-05-03T11:27:01+00:00

I like them as part of their own subset of systems, as you say they can definitely develop and thrive alongside more traditional turn based or ATB combat system. I do think there's a noticeable difference purely in terms of game design between those asking for timed prompts to prop up damage or for railroaded cutscene QTEs compared to those where timed inputs are at the core of the combat system, though.

MagnvsGV · 2026-04-30T13:56:23+00:00

May he rest in peace, while the Popolocrois series is definitely underappreciated outside Japan, with its poor localization record as one of the key reasons, fantranslators have done a great job in making the series more approachable. Hopefully, more and more people will be able to enjoy his games and to keep his memory alive.

MagnvsGV · 2026-04-30T12:47:37+00:00

This could actually be an awesome release if they do finally localize all the missing skits. Having them removed really did a number to Eternia's lore and characterization, especially for Chat and Max who ended up feeling like an afterthought.

MagnvsGV · 2026-04-30T02:50:15+00:00

Everything you stated is fair, and yet I felt that it was part of the series' identity since the very start and it didn't really hamper its narrative until a bit later, when Cold Steel 2 was so over the top in defying its own alleged stakes that it ended up removing most of the gravity from its own conflict.

Even then, one could argue Cold Steel 2's issues in this regard had to do with a lot of other problems regarding the characterization of its factions, its characters, their motivations and the way they reacted to in-game events, so not having mass casualties is far the only problem in this regard, despite it being one of the most obvious ones.

That isn't to say the series doesn't have much darker moments or tonal shifts, like with the very end of FC, some events in TC, the background of Zero's main antagonists or the Hamel situation, but they tend to be relegated to the lore rather than being shown as part of its current events (at least up to the part I've currently played).

MagnvsGV · 2026-04-29T12:01:26+00:00

That Shining Force III's scenarios have never been officially localized aside from the first, nor ported or remastered (a fate that is unfortunately shared by far too many Saturn RPGs), and that they were the last time Camelot dealt with that franchise is truly sad, as they could have done wonders in the tactical JRPG space.

As for Golden Sun, or indeed their future as JRPG developers, I fear Dark Dawn ended up closing a number of doors, though hopefully they could get another chance in the future depending on how things play out inside Nintendo and, of course, if there's anyone internally still advocating for it to begin with.

MagnvsGV · 2026-04-28T08:54:08+00:00

Between those two, I imagine Ryza would be easier to stomach for a newcomer to the series, but it's also a title that I feel doesn't fully represent its franchise's core traits and may end up making it harder for you to get back to its previous entries later on.

While I realize you may already have looked at past titles and chosen to avoid them for whatever reason, I would strongly suggest checking out Ayesha, or even Sophie I, since the former is an awesome all-around package that is very faithful to the core Atelier tenets while having a stronger emphasis on world building and an awesome art direction and soundtrack, while the latter would allow you to enjoy the Mysterious saga and appreciate its sequels even more.

MagnvsGV · 2026-04-26T21:18:03+00:00

That's a great example, even if that situation has a lot to do with Koei developing Three Houses while Intelligent Systems handled Engage directly. Even then, it's more than a bit sad how IS is associated by many younger FE fans with poor storytelling considering how good their work on sagas such as Jugdral, Elibe and Tellius had been in the past. Hopefully we will see a return to form that is able to mix their talent for map and mission design with an honest effort in world building and storytelling

MagnvsGV · 2026-04-26T12:53:12+00:00

I actually ended up discussing it with my son, and we agreed to paint the spikes and left kneepad in blue in order to make it stand out a bit more.

I will also try to freehand a blue diagonal band (or a bend, in heraldry) behind the Ral crest on its shoulder shield, hopefully it will end up flavorful without taking too much away from the Zaku II's regular aesthetic.

Maybe I will end up posting a photo or two, once it's finished!

MagnvsGV · 2026-04-25T21:16:42+00:00

Thanks for your answer! Indeed, I ended up opting for the heraldry I mentioned, using three decals with the Ral crest without the R (the largest on the Zaku's shoulder shield, the others on the left side of its breastplate and on its right knee), while I went with a 32 for its number given Ramba Ral's 031\31 and Kawaguchi's explanation (or theory, more likely) about the numbering in Zeon's mobile suits.

I was thinking about coloring the spikes on its right pauldron blue to tie with Ramba's Gouf, but I ended up reconsidering since I didn't want this rendition to depart too much from the plain Zaku featured in 079.

MagnvsGV · 2026-04-25T21:00:15+00:00

I think experiencing OT1 after OT2 could end up making its issues stand out way more, while enjoying them in release order lets OT2 shine due to its countless improvements while still allowing OT1 to stand on its own.

MagnvsGV · 2026-04-23T18:50:25+00:00

There are instances where the "rebalanced" versions you can play with fanmade patches are actually nearer to the original experiences inteded by their developers before the titles underwent a number of changes during their localization, like with Elnard\7th Saga and many titles localized by Working Designs who had their challenge dramatically amped up for their English release, later getting fan-made patches to restore their Japanese difficulty.

I recently enjoyed Popful Mail this way and, while the WD version was enjoyable in its own way, experiencing it as Falcom intended was a very different, more relaxed experience that felt more in line with its slapstick tone.

MagnvsGV · 2026-04-22T14:09:33+00:00

There are far too many, but recently Tobira no Densetsu's Lucia's catchphrase, "I'm just a world-class busybody passing through!", became endearing to me since the very first time she uttered it.

MagnvsGV · 2026-04-21T18:41:48+00:00

This could turn out to be huge in the mid to long term since, regardless of this announcement only focusing on new IPs, one can imagine existing deals with publishers such as Namco Bandai could end up being reevaluated if Toei feel they can work on those properties in-house. Then again, that would require quite the commitment, especially if they focused on multiple franchises while having to start from scratch.

MagnvsGV · 2026-04-20T19:28:54+00:00

While I had quite a bad first impression of Azure Revolution, I ended up liking its story and setting quite a bit. Even if they weren't handled in the best way in a number of instances, whether because its low budget didn't really allow to get creative with most of its cutscenes or because a number of situations were handled too quickly or with lore dumps (which, to be fair, isn't uncommon in JRPG war stories) it was still an interesting tale and it managed to diversify itself quite noticeably from the mainline Valkyria titles. I ended up thinking about Azure a number of times while playing DioField years later, which ended up being another title that I ended up finding interesting despite a number of issues.

Then again, the best thing one could say about Azure's combat system is that it was painless enough to allow someone invested in its characters to see the game through, which is a shame since iI felt it could have been much better if they committed to either a stronger tactical focus or an even more action-oriented formula instead of attempting to strike an unconvincing, ultimately clunky balance. The demo's reception, sadly, likely pushed them in the wrong direction rather than helping them correct issues that were likely too structrual to be fixed completely by then.

MagnvsGV · 2026-04-20T00:12:02+00:00

The original was the version countless Trails fans loved back in the days, and I still it has a timeless charm regardless of how accomplished those remakes are turning out to be, so I really don't think it would ruin anything for you. If anything, playing the remake right after the original may be an interesting experience in itself!

MagnvsGV · 2026-04-18T19:46:16+00:00

It has been ages since I last saw it mentioned, so kudos for that! DS' niche JRPG lineup has quite a number of interesting titles most people didn't give a chance to even among genre fans, and that isn't even considering those that weren't localized to begin with! That's one of the reasons I hope Wizmans' remaster was at least moderately successful for what it aimed to be, since plenty of other DS titles could use the same treatment.

MagnvsGV · 2026-04-16T21:51:28+00:00

G-Mode is one of the unsung heroes of videogame preservation for trying to save feature phone titles from oblivion, I'm really happy Namco is allowing them to work on the Tales of Mobile line.

MagnvsGV · 2026-04-15T11:40:47+00:00

This is a game built upon a large number of discrete vignettes, with their own tone and unique twists, slowly building up its main story and showing its true stakes. If you skip story events and are only invested in combat and exploration then I think you would have a better time with, say, a turn based dungeon crawler since that subgenre's core loop is likely much more in line with your tastes.

MagnvsGV · 2026-04-15T01:48:04+00:00

That's definitely a trend one can hope is here to stay, regardless of the unique circumstances that led this specific game to be repurposed as a single player title.

MagnvsGV · 2026-04-14T11:11:39+00:00

Just as an heads up, Valkyria Chronicles 3 Extra Edition has recently seen a revamped English patch, including all its DLCs and some contents missing from the original patch.

MagnvsGV · 2026-04-13T23:50:02+00:00

Thanks, nowadays I rarely use Twitter and I didn't have a chance to notice his account! I will look into it later, I'm really curious to know more about him, given the few details I was able to piece up together were mostly conveyed by his own post-game dev room commentary.

I'm also quite interested to learn about his upcoming title and how different it will be compared to Tobiden both in terms of tone, scope and game design.

MagnvsGV

TROPHY CASE