Yuji Naka talks about working at Square-Enix, says company doesn’t ‘value games’

It seems that Yuji Naka isn’t happy with his time working at Square-Enix, which started back in 2019. Since then Yuji Naka and Square-Enix have announced Balan Wonderworld, had him removed as director before the game released and ended with Yuji Naka leaving Square-Enix last year. Yuji Naka has actually been rather silent over the whole thing, even if Balan Wonderworld has been getting trashed online for months after release, which dragged his name through the dirt.

Now Yuji Naka has taken to Twitter to discuss working with Square-Enix, saying that the company doesn’t value making good games and that Yuji Naka even tried to get his lawyer involved so they could get more time to develop Balan Wonderworld. The messages below are from his Japanese Twitter thread, translated via @Cheesemeister3k:

Space Harrier II, Shining Force II, and Sonic Spinball Coming To The Nintendo Online Expansion Pass

Nintendo has announced three more games coming to the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack, this time it is the tactical role-playing title Shining Force II, the pseudo-Super Scaler title Space Harrier II, and the pinball game with ear bleed option menu music Sonic Spinball. All three games will be available in all regions for Nintendo Switch owners that have the NSO Expansion service.

What is your thoughts on the new titles? Please comment below your thoughts.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection Limited Edition Revealed

As you know, Konami is releasing a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection which is set to feature 13 of their classic Turtle games. While not all 13 are original games, some are the arcades and console ports (Turtles in Time for example comes both SNES and Arcade versions), but its a pretty comprehensive list of Konami Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles classic games. SEGA fans should be happy to hear that the rare, SEGA Genesis exclusive “TMNT: The Hyperstone Heist” is included!

Now Konami has revealed that you can also get the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowbunga Collection Limited Edition which will cost you a whopping $149.99 to pre-order (Best Buy: PS5, PS4, Switch, Xbox).  This version includes:

  • The physical game
  • 16″x 24″ loth poster
  • Acrylic diorama
  • Enamel pin set of five
  • Set of 12 trading cards\
  • 180 pg artbook

Shin Megami Tensei V has sold over one million units

Atlus has announced that Shin Megami Tensei V for the Nintendo Switch has surpassed one million units sold. This is counting both digital and physical shipments.

If you didn’t already know, Shin Megami Tensei V has been the best selling entry into the franchise’s history, which launched way back in 1992 on the Super Famicom (later receiving a SEGA CD port, for SEGA fanboys). All I can say is, well deserved!

 

 

Atlus Mobile RPG Megami Tensei Gaiden: Shinyaku Last Bible is coming to Nintendo Switch

Japanese developer G-MODE will be releasing Megami Tensei Gaiden: Shinyaku Last Bible, the game originally released back in 2007 for mobile devices. The game was co-published by BBMF Co LTD and Atlus. The game will be a part of G-MODE’s “G-Mode Archives+” series of re-releases of older mobile games to the Nintendo Switch. The company has two titles, G-Mode Archives which re-releases their own titles created by G-Mode and G-Mode Archives+ which re-releases 3rd party mobile titles.

Megami Tensei Gaiden: Shinyaku Last Bible is a spin-off of the Megami Tensei series and first launched for feature phones in September 2007 in Japan.

The story is set on the tragic planet Galleria, where the Demon Lord is resurrected and launches an invasion every 100 years. With the Demon Lord’s resurrection approaching, the protagonist sets off on a journey to save the world as a candidate to become the next “Gaia Master”—the savior who will defeat the Demon Lord

So far though, Megami Tensei Gaiden: Shinyaku Last Bible for the Nintendo Switch hasn’t had a price point or release date.

The House of the Dead: Remake Review – A Decent, Yet Deadly Fun Remake (Nintendo Switch)

The House of the Dead series has been regarded as one of SEGA’s successful arcade franchises over the years with the first title debuting in arcades worldwide in 1997. What makes this series so special to many of us SEGA fans are the following things: Horror elements with blood & gore, fast paced action, and of course, its cheesy voice acting; most notably, The House of the Dead 2 being the most popular titles in this long running franchise. Many of The House of the Dead titles have seen near arcade perfect ports on multiple consoles from Dreamcast to PlayStation 3 with the exception of the original game that started it all, which was only ported to the SEGA Saturn and Windows PC in 1998. 

The House of the Dead: Remake confirms ‘gyroscopic functionalities’ for controls, doesn’t rule out a future VR port

The House of the Dead: Remake is coming out April 7, 2022. When the game was first announced, one of the missing details in the press release was if The House of the Dead: Remake would support gyro motion controls and now thanks to a interview by Way Too Many Games with producer and co-producers Artur Grzegorczyn and Benjamin Anseaume have confirmed that you will have the option to use ‘gyroscopic functionalities’:

Wonder Boy Returns Remix receiving physical Nintendo Switch release from Strictly Limited Games

Back in January 2019, Wonder Boy Returns received a physical release to the PlayStation 4 courtesy of Strictly Limited Games. The game was a remake of the original arcade classic Wonder Boy, which was published by SEGA and developed by Escape (later Westone Bit Entertainment). In 2016, the remake Wonder Boy Returns was developed and published by CFK for the PC and PlayStation 4, with a new version for the Nintendo Switch released as Wonder Boy Returns Remix in 2019.

Three SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive Titles Coming To Nintendo Online Expansion Pass

It has been recently revealed by Nintendo that three more titles from the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive are coming to the Nintendo Online Expansion Pass service. Two of them are from Treasure, being the coveted action game Alien Soldier and the isometric adventure game Light Crusader. The third being Super Fantasy Zone, an original game released for the Mega Drive originally developed by Sunsoft. All three games are now available for those that have the Nintendo Online Expansion Pass, in all regions.

It’s worth noting all three games were technically previously released on the SEGA Genesis Mini, albeit Alien Soldier was exclusive to the Asian (Korean and Chinese) market. But the lineup is still a solid reveal regardless, especially since Alien Soldier and Super Fantasy Zone are expensive on third-hand markets.

 

Rumor: “Wonder Boy Collection” rated by the ESRB for Nintendo Switch and Playstation 4

Continuing the trend of Wonder Boy (aka Monster World) getting a lot of love as of late, there is likely a new collection of the games that will be revealed soon. As revealed by this ESRB description, Wonder Boy Collection is a collection of four of the Wonder Boy/Monster World titles, with versions for the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch cited on the page. While the page doesn’t list the individual games, the description makes mention of alcohol like beer and cocktails being sold in a shop, which is likely a reference to Wonder Boy in Monster Land where one of the shopkeepers is a bartender lizard.

No other information has been revealed, such as pricing or other features, but the existence of this page implies that Wonder Boy Collection is far into development and will be released soon.

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax drops new ‘Fight’ Trailer

Atlus has dropped a new trailer for their upcoming port of Persona 4 Arena Ultimax which was developed by acclaimed fighting developer Arc System Works (Dragon Ball FighterZ, Guilty Gear, Blazblue). This is a dub trailer titled ‘Fight’.

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax is heading for Steam, PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch on March 17!

Official Sonic the Hedgehog HORI Switch Split Pad Pro revealed, available to pre-order now

Revealed today is an officially branded Sonic the Hedgehog HORI Switch Split Pad Pro, and guess what… you can pre-order it now! While Mario and Pikachu seem to have all the fun when it comes to branded Nintendo controllers, it’s great to finally see SEGA and Sonic stepping into the ring. The split pad retails for $59.99 and is said to release at the end of January, 2022.

Five SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive Games Get Added to Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pass

Five more SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive games are being added to the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack service. These five games are Altered Beast, Toejam & Earl, Sword of Vermilion, Thunder Force II, and Dynamite Headdy. Out of the five games, Thunder Force II is probably the most notable, as it was skipped over in favor of its two sequels Thunder Force III and Thunder Force IV with stuff like the SEGA Genesis Mini or the SEGA AGES series, until now. All five games are the same across every region, and are available now for anyone that uses the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack Service.

Rumor: SEGA working on Phantasy Star Online 2’s successor as their next ‘Super Game’, will use NFTs

Its not hard to see that SEGA’s Phantasy Star Online 2 has been a massive success for the company, so much so that it recently that it got a graphical update with Phantasy Star Online: New Genesis. But the company is already ’embracing the future’ with them planning the successor, if this new rumor is to be believed. The rumor comes from Japanese user Makino180 that says:

  • Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis will be supported for only 5 more years.
  • Phantasy Star Crew’s 3rd Division is in planning stages of the next “Super Game” and is aimed to be finished in under 5 years.
  • Phantasy Star Online veteran Satoshi Sakai will spearhead the project
  • Plans are to make the next “Super Game” running on Microsoft Azure Cloud Servers.
  • SEGA is thinking of using NFT Blockchain technology for its monetization to prolong the value and wants to spearhead the future of Gacha Games which will implement a possible SNS Distribution of virtual items.
  • Initial Budget for this “Super Game” is 5 times the budget of normal SEGA AAA Games!
  • The main audience of the new “Super Game” is the Western audience.

While gamers dislike NFTs, Blockchain technology, it seems that companies and developers see a avenue for them to be used in games. What is your thoughts on the rumored, next, “Super Game” by the developers that made Phantasy Star Online 2?