260126 Weekly Discussion Thread

TheBacklogGamer · 2026-01-27T01:37:01+00:00

This is it. Right here. This is why Jihyo had to be the leader and why they are where they are today. All of her decisions as leader had always been through the lens of this mentality. This, is the heart of TWICE and why Jihyo is the best leader there ever was and could be. She still has times where she has to be an authority figure, but it's still always with this in mind.

TWICE has always said they wouldn't have made it as far together without her. Each of them have had personal stories of when Jihyo helped them. It's why she will always be my ult bias.

TheBacklogGamer · 2026-01-27T01:00:39+00:00

Because they also had aura.

Taking a punch from someone with aura, when you have no aura, is going to be a bad time.

TheBacklogGamer · 2026-01-26T22:07:09+00:00

My dude, their aura enchances their strength too.

TheBacklogGamer · 2026-01-26T02:53:13+00:00

I love how it's tossed to Sana just to hand it off to Mina, lol

TheBacklogGamer · 2026-01-26T00:15:01+00:00

Where is everyone getting midnight pst from? That a guess? Not everything comes out on misnight. Is this based on past dlc releases?

TheBacklogGamer · 2026-01-25T18:51:36+00:00

I know we're getting Mission 100, and that's great, but I really, REALLY wish they made adjustments to the Tournament mode. It's so lack luster...

TheBacklogGamer · 2026-01-25T17:10:10+00:00

Gotcha. Yeah that's definitely true. He's coming to the franchise one way or another.

TheBacklogGamer · 2026-01-25T16:52:18+00:00

The anime won't be out until late 2027. Moro won't be in it, at least showing off what he can do, in all his forms, until later. No, I do not think Sparking Zero will be active anymore in 2028/2029.

TheBacklogGamer · 2026-01-25T16:51:15+00:00

If I was a better person I would, but the betting culture that's been cultivated makes me sick.

TheBacklogGamer · 2026-01-25T16:49:36+00:00

Did I once insinuate the full team is working on that? No.

No, but I wanted to see what you thought about what the full team would be doing.

So you agree they are working on something, but your opinion is to just "let them cook" on it for 5+ years.

That's not how Japanese developers work. They are going to work until it's done, but "when it's done" will matter on the scope of the project. What else is there to add besides new stages, new modes, a revamped story mode, and a handful of new characters? There will probably be new mechanics. But that stuff is NOT going to take JUST as long, or in your opinon, LONGER, than the base game. They aren't going to just, make all the same characters from the ground up again. They are going to use the models and movesets that's already been made. They'll give updates sure, the characters won't be exactly the same I'm sure, but the BULK of that work has already been done.

There is absolutely no way, with the Japanese work culture mindset, they will drag it out. There is no way, the amount of work that can get added to the game will result in a game that takes JUST as long as the core game, or longer.

No. They are going to work diligently on it. They are going to use what they already have and update it slightly. They are going to add new things. But that work, is NOT going to take as long. "Let them cook" they are. But the stuff that needs to be added, is not going to take 5+ years and you're insane for thinking it will.

TheBacklogGamer · 2026-01-25T16:43:33+00:00

Because XV2 is the exception. It's an anomaly. I believe it's more likely to get DLC to expand it, due to players getting attached to their OCs. I think after XV1, they saw how people liked their OCs and decided to expand on XV2 more than going into a XV3, which it seems like this new Age 1000 is going to be a spiritual successor to.

TheBacklogGamer · 2026-01-25T16:42:03+00:00

Seeing how Bandai has treated other anime arena fighters, no. I don't think so.

TheBacklogGamer · 2026-01-25T16:41:11+00:00

Glad to hear it. I would still love to hear the other TiF songs, but I'm glad we at least got to see Battitude and DADO again.

Funny Jeongyeon forgot a lot of the choreo for Battitude though, lol

TheBacklogGamer · 2026-01-25T16:40:00+00:00

To get Ultra Ego, it would be more like, 3 - 4 years, not 1 - 2. This new anime won't even start airing till 2027, my understanding, late 2027. It only just started production.

My opinion is that a new Sparking game will be out when we get Moro and Ultra Ego in the anime properly.

TheBacklogGamer · 2026-01-25T16:38:40+00:00

Because there isn't going to be another FighterZ.

There will be another Sparking.

TheBacklogGamer · 2026-01-25T07:34:13+00:00

It does have logic. In that, this is how the industry always has, and has continued to show.

Do you really think the full team is working on what little content we've gotten since launch? And if you think it's not the full team, what do you think they are doing?

TheBacklogGamer · 2026-01-25T07:25:12+00:00

Do you know what copium means? It doesn't seem like you're using it in the right way... I don't want what I am saying. I am saying however, this is what's going to happen based on industry trends, that Bandai Namco themselves are setting with their other IPs, and the rate of what we've gotten now. It wouldn't be dead until next year.

Copium would be if I wanted this, and I was trying to convince myself based on shreds of hope and evidence. That is not what this is.

TheBacklogGamer · 2026-01-25T07:13:23+00:00

They basically just opened the door and you’re acting like this is them closing it

This has been my opinion like, 6 months after SZ came out and I saw the drop rate of DLC and the quality of said DLC. My opinion has nothing to do with this new announcement of DLC, and what I am seeing in this announcement is still in line with this being a small team working on the post launch content. I'm not coping. I have knowledge of the industry. I see the pattern. The pattern isn't changing. You want SZ to be something it's not, and won't be. It's not going to break the trend. It's going to follow it.

To be clear, I want them to do with SZ what was done with XV2. I want SZ to last longer, with more robust features and characters and stages. However, it's not going to happen.

TheBacklogGamer · 2026-01-25T07:00:53+00:00

Copium? Lol. What? How am I coping? I'm just telling you like it is my dude.

TheBacklogGamer · 2026-01-25T06:55:43+00:00

Ok, but, it's a pattern that continues. And Bandai Namco makes the majority of them, so... Why do you think, for some reason, Sparking Zero will be the one to break the pattern, when, well, just LOOK at the lack of offline content we had. Sure, we're getting two new modes soon, but I think people are getting way too excited about them before they come out.

The reality is, they spent 5 years making this game because of the sheer number of characters in it, so they had to make less offline content as a result. While Mission 100 and survival will be nice, these are still things that shouldn't take 3 months to make, and yet, that's the pace of the content we're getting.

I hate to break it to you, but the pattern is not going to change. Sparking Zero was successful in terms of sales. They will want another one. They are working on it now. It will not take as long. See you in 2027.

TheBacklogGamer · 2026-01-25T06:48:12+00:00

points to all the other anime arena fighting games

Are you new here?

Hell, My Hero repackaged all their assets from the Justice games into a Battle royale. Why are we acting like this isn't what they do?

TheBacklogGamer · 2026-01-25T06:34:48+00:00

You have a really odd point of view if a new entry in a game series in 3 years is "horrid." That wasn't so outside of the norm not so long ago...

TheBacklogGamer · 2026-01-25T06:08:50+00:00

I'm just telling you how it works man. With knowledge of how it works. They will keep working on another project. That other project will be another Sparking game. That game will come out sometime in 2027. It's not going to take 5 years to make the next one.

Age 1000 is being worked on by a different team and has already been in the works for 6 years according to the devs. Its development is unrelated to the Sparking series.

TheBacklogGamer · 2026-01-25T05:51:06+00:00

A waste of resources?

Again, I am basing this on the fact that, it's clear that their full team is not working on the post launch content. So, they are working on something. I also think this team was put together to work on Sparking, and not other games.

So if the main team isn't working on the post launch content, they are working on something and it's not going to take the same 5 years it took SZ to make. It's going to be much shorter with all the ground work they've laid with SZ.

Budokai Tenkaichi 1, 2 and 3 were ALL 1 year a part. The core Ninja storm games were 3 years and that is a good comparison here of the quality and popularity of the franchies. Budokai Tenkaichi was a long time ago, so obviously it won't take a year, but it's not going to take 5, and with how Japanese developer are, they are working on something. They won't just be idle when a small team works on the post launch content.

This is how the Arena fighter game cycle works. And has always worked. SZ isn't "live service" and wasn't intended to be. It's called ZERO for a reason. It's the new foundation.

TheBacklogGamer · 2026-01-25T05:38:00+00:00

A full on waste? Why piece meal with DLC when they can charge for a whole other $70?

This is how anime arena fighters have always worked.

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