Brian Gray is a veteran of the localization industry, working on big franchises such as Kingdom Hearts and Fire Emblem, cult favorites like The World Ends with You and Jeanne d’Arc and recent releases like Xenoblade Chronicles X and Azure Striker Gunvolt. We talked with him about his latest project: Gotta Protectors, a 3DS eShop release from composer Yuzo Koshiro’s studio, Ancient.
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Not long ago, we went over the Harvest Moon series. It is somewhat complicated to cover, seeing how the Bokujou Monogatari line ended up splitting into Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons outside of Japan. But that is only one reason. The other is because of Rune Factory, a spin-off that ended up founding its own line of games.
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The time has come. A new Animal Crossing is upon us. The Switch is getting the first actual installment since 2012’s New Leaf. It’s a big deal. But maybe this is your first one? Or maybe it has been a while since you took Tom Nook up on his offer to move to an isolated community.
Let’s go over the series and game together.
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Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. is a game that is divisive, to say the least. It’s an underappreciated classic that regularly appears on clearance racks. Which is a shame, given the involvement of Advance Wars and Fire Emblem developer Intelligent Systems and the sorcery it works to get an XCOM-like experience onto the Nintendo 3DS. Especially since now, as it turns five years old, it holds up so well.
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As the 3DS moves into its retirement years, it’s an intriguing time to jump into the world of its imports, as it’s clearer than ever to see which games will never see Western release. Sadly, it’s not region-free, but if you take the plunge on the hardware (or explore other options), there are a lot of compelling Japan-only experiences to try, even if you don’t know the language!
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With Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon out on the Nintendo 3DS last year and Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate gracing Vitas two weeks ago, you may have developed a taste for tough-as-nails dungeon-crawlers. Roguelikes are on the rise. But then, when it comes to these Spike Chunsoft joints, they always have been.
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Have you ever wondered why so many of the virtual board games coming out of Japan seem to all have the same sort of feel to them? You go around a colorful board, throwing dice to move your avatar forward. Different notable locations can appear, with there being rewards for reaching certain places. These tend to always have a theme, perhaps involving Final Fantasy or Super Mario character. Plus, they all come down to chance. Well, the similarities aren’t a coincidence. All of these are sugoroku games.
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Etrian Odyssey is was born into the world once Atlus had the opportunity to experiment with what the Nintendo DS could do. First-person dungeon crawlers where players completely customize parties aren’t terribly uncommon, and they all tend to have a map that fills in as you explore environments. Etrian Odyssey always kicked things up by making mapping feel as important as adventuring. With the end of the 3DS lifespan and journey into new frontiers, Etrian Odyssey Nexus acts as a celebration of everything the series did in its first eleven years.
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It is a good time to be a Luigi fan. Mario’s little brother not only has a place in Super Mario Maker 2, but 2019 brought his adventure series back. Luigi’s Mansion has returned! But, what if someone didn’t play it on the GameCube? What if a person missed the handheld releases? Here’s why everyone should help Luigi suck up some unruly spirits.
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