just finished the Summer Game Festival 2024the post-pandemic substitute for Electronic Entertainment Expo (better known as E3). A great avalanche of announcements that contemplates the second half of the year and the titles that are still in the oven until 2025. We saw some teasers of games already announced previously, new updates, but not too many new features. Or at least, not of great magnitude as some expected. He Steam Next Festa week where the platform highlights future releases, with demos and trailers, turned out to be personally of greater interest, with some games even having space in the SGF (Aero GPX, Bloodless, Blade Chimera and Dice & Fold caught my attention). Of Monster Hunter Wilds, Metaphor: ReFantazio, Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves and Black Myth: Wukongto name a few titles, we have more information, but they don’t come out until the second half of the year or 2025.
The big absentee this time was Nintendo. Although saying “absent” is an exaggeration: they did not have a dedicated space in the show, but the company gave advance notice that His next Direct was going to be in June. These videos serve as a newsletter for the company’s most loyal fans, to the point that the viewers themselves evaluate with a grade or personal expectations what is shown. This Direct specifically took on greater importance for a reason: it would be one of the last before the company shows off the successor to the Nintendo Switch. In a way, expectations are raised, considering that the Steam Deck and the ASUS ROG Ally try to compete for their space in the portable market. What is the finishing touch with which Nintendo seeks to close its most successful cycle?
Here are some of the most important announcements from the show.
Mario & Luigi: Brotherhood
In 2003, under the supervision of the Japanese giant, AlphaDream developed the excellent Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga for Gameboy Advance. The RPG for the portable console proved to be quite successful to develop several sequels and remakesbeing the most recent Bowser’s Inside Story + Bowser Jr.’s Journey in 2019 for Nintendo 3DS. Unfortunately the company declared bankruptcy the same year and closed its doors in 2020.
It doesn’t help that his last game in the series (Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam2015) was released in Nintendo’s least successful era, and that the remakes They didn’t sell enough to stay afloat. That is why it is surprising that the first announcement of the day was a sequel for Nintendo Switch, with 3D models that reproduce the style of Masanori Sato, the illustrator in charge of the art of the original series. What was shown is brief, but it is enough to observe that the gameplay of their predecessors, both in exploration and combat. It premieres on November 7, 2024.
Square-Enix: FANTASIAN: Neo Dimension, Dragon Quest, Romancing SaGa 2
On this occasion, Square-Enix announced three new RPGs in its catalog, although they are not “new”. FANTASIAN: Neo Dimension was released on Apple Arcade in 2021, with the peculiarity of having veterans Hironobu Sakaguchi and Nobuo Uematsu (final fantasy). The graphic style, which mixes scale mockups with 3D models (similar to the pre-rendered backgrounds of resident Evil either Final Fantasy VII), caught the public’s attention when it was announced in 2019, although it was also frustrating that was exclusive for mobile devices. Now it will have a multiplatform release, on PC, PS5 and Nintendo Switch. This title also has the honor of being the first from the Mistwalker studio (founded by Sakaguchi in 2004) in 13 years since The Last Story (2011, Wii). Its launch is projected for the end of this year.
The most surprising, perhaps, is the return of Dragon Quest. In 2021 this was announced remake which uses the graphic style of Octopath Traveler (referred to as “HD-2D”) along with Dragon Quest XII. The second is still waiting to come to light, but we already have good news about the first: not only is a remake of Dragon Quest III (for some the best of the series), but also of the first 2 games. It already existed a remaster of these exclusive titles for the Nintendo console, although with quite questionable graphic decisions (to be brief: the same ones that afflict the mobile version of Final Fantasy VI). Dragon Quest III: HD-2D Remake will be released on November 14, 2024 for all current platforms, with the other two titles planned for next year.
And, although overshadowed by its older brother, it is no less important: a remake of Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven. The original was considered a Japan-only cult classic until the release of a port in 2017 (which, judging by Steam reviews, It wasn’t very well received.). He never managed to capture an audience as large as final fantasy in North America, but the series was not totally unknown to the West. Ironically, its history also includes its origins on a Nintendo handheld console (Game Boy) and being translated as The Final Fantasy Legend (1990) by Squaresoft’s marketing department. It will be released on October 24, 2024 for all current platforms.
Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: The Arcade Classics
Nobody saw this coming: even if it was through emulation, Marvel vs Capcom returns in glory and majesty, with all the titles released in the 90s. Not only that, Marvel vs Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes receives his first port official console after 15 years (2009, PS3/Xbox 360). Its historical importance lies in the fact that, after Marvel vs Capcom: Infiniteit seemed that the series was doomed to death. The infinity stones that looked like Easter eggs, a poorly organized competitive tourand rumors of a definitive break in the commercial relationship between Capcom and Disney marked the recent history of the franchise.
The enthusiasm of the fans has been so great that the competitive community of Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 had a space on the main stage of EVO 2023 after a decade, and a group of fans is working on an ambitious graphical mod MvC:I. It’s going to be difficult to recommend it beyond the novelty of having a mini-museum of conceptual art and music when Fightcade delivers the same online experience for free (not to mention the disappointing lack of crossplay). But judging by the fervent enthusiasm on social networksit is possible that I am wrong and MvC Fighting Collection have a longer useful life in that sense. It is planned to launch this year, available for PC, PS4 and Switch.
Super Mario Party Jamboree
No introduction needed: Mario Party It is the best way to lose friends, a partner, or family relationships. It is also a best-seller guaranteed by the company since 1998. It has had problems when innovating (Mario Party 10, Mario Party Advance and Super Mario Party are testimonies of this), and that is why paradoxically Mario Party Superstars I ended up being the most successful game in the series: An anthology of classic boards and minigames. On this occasion, Super Mario Party Jamboree seeks to experiment with new boards (including some from previous games) and an online mode with up to 20 simultaneous players. Even if you don’t completely trust Nintendo’s online infrastructure, receiving Superstars has been generally positive, and it remains to be seen if, in fact, it holds up to 20 players. Available October 17 exclusively for Nintendo Switch.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
After Tears of the Kingdom, who knows how many years we will have to wait for the next main installment of the series. Meanwhile, Echoes of Wisdom serves as a spin-off where you control (for the first time outside of the infamous Phillips CD-i games) the titular princess. However, she does not use a sword and shield to fight like Link, but rather a magic wand that copies and manifests objects and enemies in different spaces, being closer to a game of puzzle than a traditional adventure. Uses the same graphic style as the remake of Link’s Awakeningand judging by the trailer it takes place in the same Hyrule as A Link to the Past and A Link Between Worlds. Available September 26 exclusively for Nintendo Switch.
Metroid Prime 4
Another of the great surprises of the show. Emerging from the seemingly eternal limbo she finds herself in silksongand after a change of team (returning under the supervision of Retro Studios), Metroid Prime 4 is officially shown to the public, with a new logo and subtitle (Beyond). This title was announced shortly after the launch of the console, and in between the series has received more love than ever from Nintendo: Metroid Dreadhe remaster of Metroid Primeand the inclusion of Metroid Fusion and Metroid Zero Mission to the Nintendo Switch Online service. This is the main course that fans have been waiting for for years, and in addition to including elements from the original games (a first-person camera, open exploration and scenery scanning) it appears to include 2.5D sections, also present in the maligned Metroid: Other M. We won’t know what this new installment has in store for us until next year, which is possibly the time when Nintendo will reveal its new console. We just have to wait and see what the future holds for us.
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