Jrpg News, Tips, Tricks & Ideas

Square Enix have announced 22.1 billion yen (around £112m) in "content abandonment losses" for the fiscal year ending March 2024. The loss is the result of the publisher being "more selective and focused in the allocation of development resources," suggesting they have cut funding to or cancelled undisclosed projects.

Falcom has released new information and screenshots for The Legend of Heroes: Kai no Kiseki – Farewell O Zemuria introducing characters Van Arkride, Agnes Claudel, and Bergard Zeman, as well as the story, settings, and new battle system elements.

Compile Heart has released the first information and screenshots for roguelike RPG Death end re;Quest Code Z, which is due out for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Switch on September 19 in Japan.

Nintendo has released a five-minute overview trailer for the Switch version of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.

Compile Heart will reveal a new title in its “Galapagos RPG Evolve” brand on April 24 at 7:30 p.m. PT / 10:30 p.m. ET, the developer teased.

Following a teaser last week, Edia has officially announced Tenshi no Uta Collection for Switch. A crowdfunding campaign is planned via Makuake.

ATLUS will host the “ATLUS Exclusive: Metaphor: ReFantazio – April 23, 2024″ broadcast on April 22 at 3:00 p.m. PT / 6:00 p.m. ET / 7:00 JST, the company announced (2). You will be able to watch it on YouTube in English and Japanese.

Publisher Bandai Namco and developer ILCA will release One Piece Odyssey: Deluxe Edition for Switch on July 25 in Japan and July 26 worldwide, the companies announced.

Persona 1 and 2 are getting remakes.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth creative director Tetsuya Nomura has «completed» the story for the remake's final third instalment.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth has reportedly sold «about half» the sales of its predecessor Remake in the same timeframe.

Falcom will release The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak II for Switch on July 25 in Japan for 4,800 yen, the company announced.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth players who bought the game digitally cannot platinum the game.

Dungeon RPGs Class of Heroes: Anniversary Edition and Class of Heroes 2G: Remaster Edition will launch digitally for PlayStation 5, Switch, and PC via Steam on April 26 worldwide, developer ACQUIRE announced.

Nintendo has released a new trailer for the Switch version of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door dubbed “Our Story Begins.”

Publisher Kadokawa Corporation and developer Elemental Craft have released the second official trailer for 3D RPG Re:ZERO – Starting Life in Another World Witch’s re:surrection featuring the theme song “Resurrection,” which was sung by Konomi Suzuki and written, composed, and arranged by Ayato Shinozaki and Ryosuke Tachibana.

Publisher Sony Interactive Entertainment and developer Team NINJA have released the fourth developer diary for open-world action adventure game Rise of the Ronin, titled “Rise as One.”

Publisher Sony Interactive Entertainment and developer Team NINJA have released the launch trailer for open-world action adventure game Rise of the Ronin, which is dubbed “The Aftermath.”

Publisher Sony Interactive Entertainment and developer Team NINJA have released a new “Story Vignette” trailer for open-world action adventure game Rise of the Ronin.

GungHo Online Entertainment will release GRANDIA HD Collection for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on March 26, the company announced. Pre-orders for a physical edition will open via Limited Run Games on March 15.

Capcom will release Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin for PlayStation 4 digitally on June 14, day and date with the remastered version of Monster Hunter Stories, the company announced. Both games will also be available as a special digital set. Pre-orders will be available soon and include Ena’s “Kamura Maiden” outfit.

The PC version of Final Fantasy XVI is currently in the “final stages of optimization,” according to producer Naoki Yoshida. A demo is planned before release for users to determine whether the game can run on their PC.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door will launch for Switch on May 23, Nintendo announced.

Publisher Sony Interactive Entertainment and developer Team NINJA have released the third developer diary for open-world action adventure game Rise of the Ronin, titled “The Cause.”

The Xbox Series version of massively multiplayer online RPG Final Fantasy XIV will launch on March 21, Square Enix announced.

Action RPG Neptunia Game Maker R:Evolution will launch for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Switch both physically and digitally in May in the west, publisher Idea Factory International announced. It will feature English and Japanese voice-overs with English, French, and Spanish subtitles.

Publisher Phoenixx and developer Aqua Style have announced Touhou Genso Wanderer: FORESIGHT, the next entry in the Touhou Project fan game dungeon crawler RPG series. It will launch for PC via Steam on May 15.

Publisher Sony Interactive Entertainment and developer Team NINJA have released a new set of trailers for open-world action adventure game Rise of the Ronin introducing the game’s various weapons and styles.

The remastered version of Riviera: The Promised Land, which launched for Switch via Nintendo eShop today in Japan, will come to PC via Steam, iOS, and Android at a later date, developer Sting announced.

Publisher Sony Interactive Entertainment and developer Team NINJA have released a new “Combat Vignette” trailer for open-world action adventure game Rise of the Ronin.

Publisher NIS America has confirmed a western release for action-RPG Reynatis, which was revealed during the Japanese version of last week's Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase.

The Pokemon Company and developer Game Freak have announced Pokemon Legends: Z-A for Switch. It will launch in 2025 worldwide.

Tomorrow marks Bravely Default 2's third anniversary, and Tomoya Asano has the best gift of all for fans: a tease that the team will be able to tell us more about what's happening with the franchise «later this year».

Publisher Sony Interactive Entertainment and developer Team NINJA have released the second developer diary for open-world action adventure game Rise of the Ronin, titled “The Fight.”

It looks like a demo for Dragon's Dogma 2 could be on the way.

In the event that I walk in front of a particle accelerator, get converted into digital data and am promptly isekai-ed into a gameworld, I hope that gameworld is the opening port town from the original Grandia, released on PS1 way back in 1997 (and ported to PC in 2019). There's something about that game's isometricky vantage point and precise combination of 2D pixel characters and 3D environments. The last sentence describes many virtual worlds of the late 90s, but none have stuck in my mind like Port Parm: that hodgepodge of green and rusty roofs, the canals cutting through the cobblestones, the smoky chimneys and people filling the alleyways. Bliss. I can still hear the seagulls blowing around the screen.

The PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 versions of free-to-play action RPG Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Familia Myth Battle Chronicle is now available via PlayStation Store worldwide, developer Aiming announced.

Publisher Idea Factory International has delayed the Xbox Series and Xbox One versions of Neptunia: Sisters VS Sisters from its previously planned April 16 release date to May 21.

A group of developers with credits across a number of Final Fantasy games - including the composer of Final Fantasy XII and a former Final Fantasy XIV artist - have unveiled their own upcoming JRPG headed to PC next year.

Artisan Studios has announced a new hand-painted RPG, with visuals and music from Final Fantasy veterans.

Publisher Sony Interactive Entertainment and developer Team NINJA have released the first chapter in a series of developer diaries for open-world action adventure game Rise of the Ronin. The first chapter is titled “The Beginning.”

Clouded Leopard Entertainment will release The Legend of Heroes: Kai no Kiseki – Farewell O Zemuria in Asia with Japanese audio and Traditional Chinese and Korean text in 2024, the publisher announced.

The global version of free-to-play cinematic alchemy RPG Atelier Resleriana: Forgotten Alchemy and the Polar Night Liberator is now available for PC via Steam, iOS via App Store, and Android via Google Play, Koei Tecmo and Akatsuki Games announced. It is localized in English, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese.

Mediascape has released The N Main Shop-developed Touhou Project quasi-3D action RPG Touhou Shoujo: Tale of Beautiful Memories for PlayStation 4 via PlayStation Store for $29.99.

The Xbox Series and Xbox One versions of Neptunia: Sisters VS Sisters will launch on April 16, publisher Idea Factory International announced.

Total worldwide shipments and digital sales for Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince surpassed one million units, Square Enix announced.

Publisher Sony Interactive Entertainment and developer Team NINJA have updated the official website for open-world action adventure game Rise of the Ronin with new information on the game’s factions.

Crystal Story: Dawn of Dusk is a combination of words that screams "predatory mobile fantasy RPG" but that's very much not my takeaway from the game's demo. Out tomorrow on Steam for free, this first instalment in the Crystal Story series blends the cuddly feel of a 16-bit Zelda with the dream logic of a Yume Nikki. There's a splash of Undertale's crackpot experimentalism to the writing and certain battles, as well.

The anime MMORPG Astral Tale has officially launched its global open beta version on this week, and even though there was a small delay in release, players are stoked to be able to dive in. 

Publisher Alliance Arts and developer Unknown X have announced Touhou Project officially approved derivative adventure RPG Marisa of Liartop Mountain for PC (Steam). It will launch in 2024.

Nippon Ichi Software has launched the 25th anniversary commemoration website for its Rhapsody series, which consists of Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure, Rhapsody II: Ballad of the Little Princess, and Rhapsody III: Memories of Marl Kingdom.

The PC version of Atelier Resleriana: Forgotten Alchemy and the Polar Night Liberator is now available for PC via Steam in Japan, publisher Koei Tecmo, and developers Gust and Akatsuki Games announced.

The third closed beta test—the “Heart Stealing Test”—for Persona 5: The Phantom X will run from January 16 to 31 in China, publisher Perfect World Games and developer Black Wings Game Studio announced. It will run across iOS, Android, and PC. Registration is available here until January 12.

Free-to-play mobile RPG Fullmetal Alchemist Mobile will end service on March 29, 2024 at 13:00 JST, Square Enix announced. All in-game purchases have been suspended as of today.

Following the new information from the Metaphor: ReFantazio end-of-year broadcast that aired last week, publisher ATLUS and developer Studio Zero have released further details and screenshots on the game’s concept, world, tribes, story, and characters.

Falcom has announced The Legend of Heroes: Kai no Kiseki – Farewell, O Zemuria, the 20th anniversary title in its Trails RPG series. It will launch for unspecified platforms in 2024 in Japan.

Publisher Sony Interactive Entertainment and developer Team NINJA have opened physical and digital pre-orders for Rise of the Ronin, which will launch for PlayStation 5 on March 22, 2024. It will cost $69.99 for the standard physical or digital edition, and $79.99 for the Digital Deluxe Edition. Physical edition pre-orders are available at retailers such as Amazon, Best Buy, Play-Asia, PlayStation Direct, Walmart.

I'm not normally in a rush to post marketing videos in which developers talk about how great their new game is, but I need all the help I can get in understanding Metaphor: ReFantazio. The new RPG from the makers of Persona looks stylish, dense, exciting, and almost entirely baffling in its trailers, so 14 minutes of the folks from Atlus just describing it is welcome.

Publisher ATLUS and developer Studio Zero shared new information on the setting, tribes, prologue, and unique gameplay mechanics of fantasy RPG Metaphor: ReFantazio during today’s end-of-year broadcast with the voice cast.

Rise of the Ronin will launch for PlayStation 5 on March 22, 2024, publisher Sony Interactive Entertainment and developer Team NINJA announced. Pre-orders will open on December 14.

The Pokemon Company and developer Game Freak have released new information, video, and screenshots for Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet downloadable content “The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero Part 2: The Indigo Disk,” which is due out on December 14. Today’s update introduces the Syncro Machine, the power of flight, and legendary Pokemon encounters.

Publisher Bushiroad Games and developers Apollosoft and Mebius have released the third official trailer for strategy RPG Goblin Slayer Another Adventurer: Nightmare Feast, which features the ending theme song “Duetting Solo” performed by Mili.

When first I learned of Born Of Bread, it was getting towards lunchtime - yes, 10.30am absolutely counts as "getting toward lunchtime" - and my brain was immediately filled with savoursome thoughts of simulated baking. Born of Bread isn't actually a baking sim. Even better than that: it's some kind of spin on vintage Ninty RPG Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, except that instead of being made of paper, the main character Loaf is made of living dough... but kind of looks like he's made of paper, this being a 2.5D game with flat character art. Look, just watch the trailer while I make myself a sandwich.

RideonJapan will release bar owner simulation RPG Adventure Bar Story for Switch on December 21 in Japan for 1,500 yen, followed by PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 at a later date, the developer announced. All three versions are also planned for release in the west at a later date, a RideonJapan representative told Gematsu.

The PC version of free-to-play RPG Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis will launch via Steam on December 7, Square Enix announced.

“Social slow-life RPG” FANTASY LIFE i: The Girl Who Steals Time will launch for Switch in summer 2024 worldwide, publisher LEVEL-5 and developer LEVEL5comcept announced. It will support English, Japanese, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), French, Italian, German, Spanish, and Korean language options.

LEVEL-5 has delayed crime suspense RPG DECAPOLICE from its previously planned 2023 release window to 2024. It will be available for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Switch.

Square Enix has released new information and screenshots for Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince introducing four-monster synthesis, new story details, and Reverse Search feature.

Koei Tecmo and Akatsuki Games will release Atelier Resleriana: Forgotten Alchemy and the Polar Night Liberator for PC via Steam, iOS via App Store, and Android via Google Play in 2024 worldwide, the companies announced.

Square Enix has released a new trailer for Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince introducing just some of the over 500 wild and whimsical monsters players can scout or synthesize…

Square Enix has released a three-minute gameplay introduction trailer for Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince.

The Switch version of Neptunia: Sisters VS Sisters will launch on January 23, 2024 in the west, publisher Idea Factory International announced.

Publisher LEVEL-5 and developer LEVEL5comcept have delayed FANTASY LIFE i: The Girl Who Steals Time from its previously planned 2023 release window to 2024.

Square Enix has released new information and screenshots for Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince introducing the game’s online features.

"Star Ocean" is a fantastic name, evoking a sense of adventure, 16-bit blue skies, the majesty of space. "The Second Story R" is a terrible subtitle, evoking WhatsApp messages where I accidentally press 'send' too soon. Combined they produce Star Ocean: The Second Story R, a beautiful-seeming 2.5D remake of a Square Enix PlayStation JRPG. It's out on Steam now and there's a demo.

Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet downloadable content “The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero Part 2: The Indigo Disk” will launch on December 14, The Pokemon Company and developer Game Freak announced.

Falcom will release The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak for Switch on February 15, 2024 in Japan, the developer announced. Clouded Leopard Entertainment will release Traditional Chinese and Korean versions in Asia in March 2024.

Nintendo has released a five-minute overview for Super Mario RPG, its upcoming remake of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System RPG Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars.

The PlayStation 5 versions of The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III and The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV will launch on February 16, 2024, publisher NIS America announced. The titles will be sold via a two-in-one pack at physical retail and individually via PlayStation Store.

404 GAME RE:SET will end service on January 5, 2024 at 12:00 JST, less than one year after its launch, SEGA announced.