The Nintendo Switch demo features Ameya, “…a witch-in-training who visits Miyako City and lives in secret as a schoolgirl as a part of her graduation exam. After Ameya is attacked by an unknown person, she loses practically all of her magical power and must find a way to regain what was lost and pass her final exam.”

PlayStation 4 and 5 owners will meet Tsunanori Mido, while the PC demo involves Diva No. 5. Never fear, though, Nintendo faithful—the full version of the game will allow to work through the stories of all six leading characters. You’ll just need to start with Ameya, as “…demo save data will transfer over to the full game on each respective platform.”

As for the story, this latest entry in the SaGa series is very much a standalone experience that brings together elements from previous entries to offer players a unique experience affected by their choices. SaGA Emerald Beyond will feature:

• Six leading characters, all from diverse backgrounds and with vastly different goals, in five unique story arcs. Multiple playthroughs will lead to completely new events and stories even when using the same character.
• The greatest number of branching plots of any game in the SaGa series. As the story unfolds, it becomes a tale all of your own. Multiple paths lead to multiple potential endings for each protagonist.
• Refinement of the strategic Timeline Battles for which the franchise is known. The new combat system adds more drama than ever before, allowing you to support party members, interrupt enemy actions, and use United Attacks by strategically manipulating the order of ally actions.

SaGa Emerald Beyond is rated T (Teen) by the ESRB, and will launch digitally on April 25, 2024. Along with the demo, pre-orders are now open. For more information, visit saga-franchise.square-enix-games.com.

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Square Enix Collective has announced that Little Goody Two Shoes—a new “fairytale anime adventure with a dark twist”—will be released for Nintendo Switch on, appropriately enough, October 31st. Developed by Portugal-based indie team AstralShift, Little Goody Two Shoes is a narrative-focused horror game inspired by PS and PS2 RPGs and ’90s/’00s anime.

There once was Elise , a vibrant and ambitious young lass with a big dream – becoming filthy rich. In spite of this, the stars didn’t seem to have reserved our protagonist much fortune in life. Elise, who came from humble beginnings, had no choice but to spend her days away assisting her fellow neighbours with menial tasks to make a living.

One day, Elise discovers a pair of beautiful shiny red shoes buried in her backyard – what a surprise! Bewitched, Elise embarks on a fearful journey that pulls her closer and closer into the heart of the mysterious Woods!

Will Elise risk it all for the sake of a dream come true, or settle for her humble day-to-day life? The ending of this tale is yours to write…

Players will be guided to one of 10 possible endings based on their choices and actions in the game. Multiple aspects of Elise’s life in the village of Kieferberg will matter in this story.

The Steam page for Little Goody Two Shoes boasts of the following key features:

• Kieferberg is a small and devout village, which means Elise will need to carefully navigate her relationships with the villagers to avoid arousing suspicion of witchcraft and be left to die in the Woods as punishment.
• At night, Elise can roam around the Woodlands, a mystical and phantasmagorical realm where enigmas and deadly enemies await as she tries to uncover its secrets.
• Through a limited day and night cycle, Elise will need to carefully manage her needs if she wants to stay alive to finish her tale.
• Get struck by Cupid’s arrow and fall in love with the charming bachelorettes of Kieferberg. In this all-female cast of romanceable characters, unlock dreamy date scenes and storylines for each of them.

Little Goody Two Shoes will be available in the Nintendo eShop on October 31, 2023, for $19.99.

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Although Romancing SaGa 2 and 3 have been available for Switch for quite some time, this is my first experience with the series. It’s actually the best place to start. Although it looks more modern than 2 and 3 on the Switch, Minstrel Song is a remaster of a remake of the first Romancing SaGa game.

The remaster gives players more than just a visual upgrade, but a lot of the enhancements will be lost on gamers who haven’t played Minstrel Song in a previous incarnation. A sorceress named Aldora now gets her own events, but I wouldn’t have known she didn’t have those before. I wouldn’t have known Schele, Monica, and others couldn’t be recruited. And the new inclusion of mini-maps and a high-speed mode just feel like things that most games have now.

Still, they’re a welcome attempt to help modern players feel comfortable with a game originally released in 1992 when RPGs were a very different thing. Minstrel Song makes this known right away, asking gamers to select from one of eight characters to begin the journey. You’ll eventually play as all eight, but their skills and approaches are so different that not picking wisely could turn you off from attempting with anyone else. I originally picked a pirate because I thought he looked the coolest, and was immediately thrust into a world that didn’t make much sense to me. Battles were confusing. Exploration was aimless. Nothing grabbed me or provided incentive to move forward.

So, I started over as Albert, a more standard warrior with a more standard character arc. I guess I found that comforting as I wrestled with Romancing SaGa’s approach to…well, everything. But even after using Albert to grow accustomed to gameplay, I was still sometimes confused and frustrated when switching over to another character. I can handle mastering different skills and strategies. I’m not as good with wildly unbalanced abilities. You may often find yourself wondering, “Who let this person go out on an adventure?”

Also, some of the character arcs just aren’t all that compelling. They happen simultaneously within the timeline and often intersect. Minstrel Song is much like Octopath Traveller in that regard, but the latter never left me feeling like I was learning a whole new game. A light story about evil deities, sacrifice, Fatestones, and the dreaded 1,000th anniversary of some big thing tie the characters together, and it’s up to the gamer to position them properly for their part in the play.

The difference with this setup is that the game doesn’t drive in one obvious direction. You’re meant to explore. This is fine, except that you may end up being punished if you don’t explore properly. Character upgrades are handled by acquiring classes that open up weapon and skill proficiencies, but you have to be trained in these classes, and it’s possible to completely miss the training.

I would need three paragraphs to properly explain it all, so I’ll instead just point out it’s possible to miss the side stories that help you master these classes. And considering the classes provide basic features such as the ability to jump high enough to access otherwise closed-off areas, you’re just going to have to come to terms with missing a lot of stuff.

As such, I wrestled with using a walkthrough for Minstrel Song. I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss anything important, but getting a guide through this game is counter to its entire point. Explore, dammit! Make do with what you find and push ahead. Remember what you accidentally closed off and tackle it in the New Game+. You’re not supposed to hit 100% completion in your first playthrough. Not even close. Playing through each character doesn’t take that long when compared to today’s JRPGs, so expect to do so multiple times if you really want to experience the game to its fullest.

Even if you don’t, Minstrel Song can still be rewarding. Because you’re constantly able to recruit new characters, the battles tend to feel fresh throughout, even while grinding.

Perhaps more important, the frustration you’ll feel at being trapped with no clear progression leads to a greater sense of relief when you finally unlock the next area. Unlike some of the more recent JRPGs I’ve played, the battles and exploration are the point of Minstrel Song, not just something to break up the elaborate cinematic cutscenes.

Speaking of cinematics, I feel like I also need to talk about the visuals, which are…weird. The remastered graphics provide sharp details and colors on the characters, but they look odd against the smudged backgrounds. The characters also have a chibi-style appearance that makes them look like dolls, in a way; the kind that would scare you if you could see them sitting on the shelf at night. Still, I appreciate any deviation from the overused retro 16-bit and over-hyped HD-2D visual styles, so I had no problem here.

I knew as I was playing through Romancing SaGa -Minstrel Song- Remastered that it was going to be a difficult game to rate. It’s not really fair for me to punish a game for being different from what I want and expect a JRPG to be. Square Enix updated it enough to make players like me more comfortable with its general approach, but it’s still a game that demands you take it for what it is. It’ll stump you. It’ll leave you wandering. It’ll make you regret earlier decisions. Then, just when you’re wondering what’s the point, it’ll unveil something new to invite you forward. I just wish those invitations were more compelling.

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Understand I don’t have much experience with games that rely heavily on a farming mechanic. Sakura: Of Rice and Ruin is probably the one to which I devoted a decent amount of time, mainly because I liked how the farming—despite being a major part of the gameplay—directly served the action. It’s the same with Harvestella.

You start as a character of your name and design (male, female, or non-binary) dropped in a small town with a plot of land that happens to need tending. The bigger story involves giant crystal structures called Seaslight that dominate their nearby villages. The townsfolk are used to them, but they’ve been acting a bit wonky as of late.

There’s also the Quietus, a natural phenomenon that covers the land with deadly dust every 30 days. The Quietus kills all plants (bad for the people, but good for gameplay) and infects anyone who happens to be outside before it somehow completely disappears within 24 hours. Anyone except you, of course. Then, there’s the girl from the future. And the farming fairies. And that talking unicorn. And all the mechs called Omens. It honestly seems like a bonkers combination of elements that couldn’t possibly work, but it does. Quite well, in fact.

I attribute that success to three things, beginning with the farming component. You have to acquire seeds through various methods, then till your small plot of land to get them planted. Keep them watered, and you’ll be able to harvest them within a day or seven.

These elements are then used for cooking items that can restore your health and enhance your skills in battle, be traded for rewards, or sold for profit. Plants require specific growing conditions, such as a certain season or biome. It was quite thrilling, for example, when I finally unlocked the water biome and was able to plant all of those seeds I’d been accumulating.

Reaching predefined goals also opens new tools that allow you to process food and materials to unlock new recipes and abilities. It’s very much like a simplified Atelier game in that regard, so I highly recommend Harvestella to those biding their time until Atelier Ryza 3 arrives in February. Gathering the right elements to finally make a dish you’ve been after for quite some time is very rewarding, helping the farming/crafting/cooking element to be quite engaging while not terribly difficult.

Component two is exploration/combat. Harvestella offers a rather small but very diverse world that grows nicely as you progress. You can see the entire map at the start, but most locations are closed off by invisible walls and time. There’s a day cycle to honor, so you only have from sunrise until the “early hours” to get things done before returning home for sleep.

Time passes quickly as you move from location to location, but that is eventually mitigated as you acquire faster forms of transportation. Time within the towns and dungeons moves slower (or not at all when the story requires), but that’s much more to do there: fight enemies, take on sidequests, shop, etc.

The dungeons are unique in that you have to battle your way through them to reach the subsequent town. You can choose to bypass them after initial completion, returning only to farm for elements or complete quests. The larger town dungeons are where you’ll spend most of your time. Again, they’re not terribly large, but they’re expertly laid out to require multiple runs to complete. It’ll take the better half of a day to clear out a section, but you can repair a bridge or ladder that makes it easier to get through faster on your second run. Of course, there are also save/teleport locations that allow you to completely skip dungeon sections and, more importantly, warp home at the end of a long day.

Like crafting, battles are somewhat basic. Although there are a dozen jobs you can acquire, each with unique strengths and skills to utilize, combat is more about preparation than party optimization. You can take two party members into battles with you and cycle through three of your available jobs. Monsters are weak to certain types of attack, so things move along quicker if you’re smart with your setup. That said, with no real way to defend yourself, you’re going to take damage. This is mitigated by the items you’ve farmed, as you’re meant to drink juice or eat meals during combat to restore lost health and remove debuffs.

As such, farming and combat/exploration combine to create a fun gameplay loop. Tend to your farm in the morning, head off to advance the story or complete some sidequests during the day, then retreat to the farm in the evening to make sure the crops are planted/watered, items are stored/sold, food is cooked, and equipment is developed. Start again the next day to push further ahead. The further along you get in the game, the more you’re able to automate your farm so you can spend more time advancing the story.

That, by the way, is the third component, and the one that fully won me over. I won’t go into detail for fear of spoiling anything, but I can say it definitely goes in directions you won’t expect. It also makes some complex and intelligent observations on religion and government along the way.

More importantly, each and every party member gets a series of engaging sidequests. These not only provide insight into who they are, but reward you with items and experience. There’s little in the way of romance, for those seeking that, but you’ll get some solid friendships. And if you pay attention to your avatar’s selectable response options you may even learn a bit about how to better interact with those around you. What a good listener this traveler is!

Visually, Harvestella pleases with its bright, vivid colors and striking world design that takes full advantage of the 3D visuals that are somewhat unique to the genre. It’s like a smaller, more stylized Xenoblade Chronicles, right down to the anime-style character design. The combat animations aren’t much to look at, but only the boss battles last long enough for you to get bored by them.

The whole package combines to create an entertaining game that should appeal to fans of JRPGs and farming sims. Both elements are likely too simple to engage hardcore fans of either, but the benefit there is that neither gets in the way of the other. The balance between and the story that glues them together are enough to make Harvestella a game worth tending to.

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This is normally where I’d like to offer some kind of personal insight, but there’s no time for that nonsense. Here’s a synopsis of what Nintendo Switch gamers have to look forward to. Links will take you to YouTube for game trailers.

The launch date for Crisis CORE –FINAL FANTASY VII– Reunion was confirmed in today’s Nintendo Direct presentation. Crisis Core –Final Fantasy VII– Reunion, which features a complete HD graphics overhaul, newly arranged soundtrack, and an updated combat system, begins seven years before the events of FINAL FANTASY VII and follows Zack Fair, a young Shinra SOLDIER operative. As his adventure unfolds, he discovers the dark secrets of Shinra’s experiments and the monsters they create. Crisis CORE –FINAL FANTASY VII– Reunionlaunches on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation®5 (PS5) console, PlayStation®4 (PS4) console, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One consoles, and PC via Steam on December 13, 2022.

OCTOPATH TRAVELER II, the next entry in the critically acclaimed OCTOPATH TRAVELER RPG series, will release on February 24, 2023 on Nintendo Switch, PS5, PS4 and PC via STEAM. The game is available for physical and digital pre-order across select platforms now.

Following the release of the first installment in the OCTOPATH TRAVELER series in 2018, which sold over three million copies worldwide*, OCTOPATH TRAVELER II is a brand-new entry in this series that takes the series’ HD-2D graphics, a fusion of retro pixel art and 3DCG, to even greater heights. In OCTOPATH TRAVELER II, players will venture into the world of Solistia and experience the adventures of eight brand-new travelers in an exciting new era.

The fan-favorite rhythm action series returns with THEATRHYTHM FINAL BAR LINE when it launches digitally and physically on February 16, 2023 on Nintendo Switch and PS4. Digital pre-orders are now available in Nintendo eShop and in the My Nintendo Store on Nintendo.com.

Featuring 385 FINAL FANTASY tracks in the base game, the Digital Deluxe and Premium Digital Deluxe Editions include music from various SQUARE ENIX series, such as NieR, SaGa, LIVE A LIVE, OCTOPATH TRAVELER and more. With three game modes to enjoy and over 100 FINAL FANTASY characters, players can form their dream music battle party, and by using both local and online multiplayer play modes, with additional DLC content to explore following the game’s launch, players have plenty look forward to as they embark on a colorful and musical journey this winter.

Life is Strange Arcadia Bay Collection on Nintendo Switch, will launch on September 27, 2022, marking very first time the beloved narrative experiences will be available on the portable platform. Physical pre-orders are open now.

Experience two award-winning Life is Strange games on Nintendo Switch for the very first time!
Meet an unforgettable cast of characters across two gripping stories – with remastered visuals and upgraded animations now optimized for Nintendo Switch.

Harness the power of Max’s supernatural rewind ability or Chloe’s quick-witted attitude to change the course of shocking events in Arcadia Bay.

The Life is Strange Arcadia Bay Collection includes ‘Life is Strange Remastered’ and ‘Life is Strange: Before the Storm Remastered’.

SQUARE ENIX® today announced that the development team behind award winning OCTOPATH TRAVELER, BRAVELY DEFAULT and TRIANGLE STRATEGY, will be launching VARIOUS DAYLIFE for the first time on the Nintendo Switch system. The game will launch on console at 11pm PDT on September 15, 2022. Players who purchase VARIOUS DAYLIFE on Nintendo Switch and Steam before October 17, 2022, will receive a digital artbook as an early purchase reward.

It was revealed during the livestream that Romancing SaGa -Minstrel Song- Remastered is coming to the Nintendo Switch system on December 1, 2022. The fourth entry in the beloved SaGa series, “Romancing SaGa” was originally released in Japan in 1992, and again as a remake in 2005 across North America and Japan.  Players across North America, Japan and Europe can now experience additional new features and QOL updates with a new HD graphical re-master in Romancing SaGa -Minstrel Song- Remastered.

A free downloadable demo for HARVESTELLA, a brand-new life simulation RPG, is now available on Nintendo Switch. In HARVESTELLA, players will experience a beautiful world that changes with the flow of the seasons and enjoy a variety of gameplay including tending to crops, befriending townspeople and adventuring into challenging dungeons. With this demo, players can begin their adventure in a vibrant and colorful world marred by the “Quietus,” or season of death, and carry over their save data to the full game when it releases on November 4, 2022.

HARVESTELLA is available for digital pre-order on Nintendo Switch. A physical Nintendo Switch edition is also available for pre-order through select retailers.

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We’ll start with the former. Available now for digital and physical pre-order, the post-apocalyptic action RPG NieR:Automata: The End of YoRHa Edition will launch October 6, 2022.

The physical edition will feature symbolic artwork by Character Designer Akihiko Yoshida on the front cover and will include new reversible box art featuring A2, designed by Concept Artist Koda Kazuma.

The critically acclaimed NieR:Automata, directed by YOKO TARO and developed by PlatinumGames Inc. in partnership with SQUARE ENIX, delivers a masterful mix of action and RPG gameplay through a gripping, thought-provoking storyline. Players battle as androids 2B, 9S and A2 in order to reclaim the world from the machine lifeforms and uncover long-forgotten truths about humanity. NieR:Automata The End of YoRHa Edition features the award-winning base game and the 3C3C1D119440927 DLC, which includes three challenging colosseums and additional costumes. Players can also download the free 6C2P4A118680823 DLC when the game arrives to the Nintendo Switch. This Nintendo Switch exclusive DLC features six new costumes and four new accessories that can change appearances of your playable characters. It also includes two pod skins based on characters from the popular mobile title NieR Re[in]carnation.

More information is available at nierautomata.square-enix-games.com.

Following a month after the release of NieR:Automata, Harvestella will arrive for Switch on November 4, 2022. In this new life simulation RPG, players will experience a beautiful world that changes with the flow of the seasons as they tend to crops, befriend townspeople and explore challenging dungeons.

The game will feature concept art by Isamu Kamikokuryo (FINAL FANTASY® XII) and music by Go Shiina (Tales series). In HARVESTELLA,

HARVESTELLA is set in a vibrant and colourful world where four giant crystals called “Seaslight” create a stable change between the four seasons. The adventure begins as abnormalities in the Seaslight begin to appear, creating the “Quietus,” a season of death that takes place between the naturally occurring four seasons. During the Quietus the crops wither and people cannot venture outside, and troublingly, these seasons are mysteriously growing longer with each year.

In this life simulation RPG, players will grow and tend to crops, use ingredients to cook and craft items, and venture into the overworld, which vibrantly changes based on the season, to visit different towns, interact with townsfolk, go fishing and more. Players can select from various Jobs, such as Fighter, Shadow Walker, and Mage, and venture into dungeons with their party to discover the origins of the world as well as the truth behind the calamity along the way.

Harvestella will be available in digital and physical editions, with pre-orders opening at “a later time.” For more information, visit www.harvestella.com.

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Triangle Strategy, you see, is all about that story arc. It presents us with a wonderful tale of political intrigue punctuated by numerous characters who either push it along or are pushed by it.

At the heart of the narrative is a precarious truce between the Norzelian nations of Aesfrost, Glenbrook, and Hyzante. Part of this truce is a joint mining expedition meant to ease the nations’ demand for salt. Before the project can be completed, however, Aesfrost invades Glenbrook and kills their king. Their nefarious motivations are clear (to the player, anyway), but that doesn’t mean you’ve got a clear path forward. The central character, Serenoa (Lord of House Wolfort, which is part of Glenbrook) must decide how to progress based on what’s best for your House, and that’s not always easy to discern.

It’s also not entirely about Serenoa. Seven of the numerous other characters remain central to the story, and they serve as your strategists. Triangle Strategy pushes you down a definite path, but there are many times when that path splits into multiple options. Sometimes, the decision will be easy for you to make. Other times, the right choice is not nearly as clear…especially when a favorite character feels differently from you.

Your party approaches each vote at the Scales of Conviction with their decisions made, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be swayed. If there’s a specific route you want to take, it’s up to you to uncover details that can be used to sway those who aren’t leaning your way. This information is obtained by scouting locations for documents and speaking with your army and the local citizens. You often can only tip the scales your way if you’ve found the right info, so you’re rewarded for full exploration.

Kind of. Because if you don’t find the information you need, the game still goes on. No matter which route you take, the paths always convene, so it’s just another way to get from point A to point B. This is both good and bad. It’s good in that it takes some of the weight off your shoulders, so Triangle Strategy never really becomes a stressful affair. It’s bad in that you’ll spend a lot of time reading and exploring when you really don’t have to. The game could just push you down the default paths and you’d be just fine.

For some, that may be the way to go. There is a lot of exposition in this game. There’s even more if you want to explore the lore delivered through various documents you can require. Pacing can and will become an issue by that alone, but the narrative is also slowed down by what are essentially practice missions.

Should I cover this before I get to combat? I guess I will, if only to make a point about how combat really doesn’t take center stage in Triangle Strategy. Between the main chapter levels, you’re given the option to hone your skills in numerous and diverse practice sessions. Characters gain experience via direct use, so this is a great way to level them up. You’ll also get various materials for upgrading specific skills, so these missions are quite important. In fact, they’re often too important, requiring you to play them more than once. This brings the story to a crawl, killing your incentive to push forward. Staring at the screen before each mission, wondering if I’ve leveled up enough to take it on, isn’t fun.

Thankfully, Square Enix does something really cool here by allowing you to keep the experience you’ve acquired in a level even if you have to retreat. You’ll lose any items you pick up, but that experience gain may be all you need to advance when you start over.

If you’re still reading this review and wondering about combat, then maybe you’re patient enough to wait for it in the game, too. Fights are handled on an isometric grid with the usual bonuses. Height is important. So is attacking your enemy from behind. Because each character has his/her own strengths and weaknesses, going in with the right team is important. Have one character cast an ice spell to damage one or more enemies, then another can follow it up with a fire spell to melt the ice into water. Now, cast a thunder spell for extra damage to everyone standing in a puddle of water. Enemies and allies alike will act in turn, so you’ll need to pay attention to make sure you can time this accordingly.

Character abilities go well beyond your standard spells, too. Sure, you’ve got one who excels at buffs, one at healing, and so on, but you’ve also got one who can build ladders for quicker access to hard-to-reach areas. One can cast a decoy of herself to draw enemy fire. One is able to toss healing items to people out of reach. These special abilities have cool down times so you can’t use them on every turn, so utilization and positioning are very important. Everyone is useful in a way, and deciding who to take into a fight is often a very difficult decision. You’ll surely have your favorites, but they’re not always the best to take along. Also, materials for leveling up their abilities are simultaneously rare and expensive, so you can’t keep everyone at the top of their game. You can either spread the resources out for everyone, or focus on a few to have tanks on the battlefield.

There’s plenty more to consider as you play, and turn-based strategy fans will love to master the intricacies of combat. To move things along, however, I want to the game’s visuals. I’m not as attached to the 2D-HD look as are some. The whole thing looks clunky to me, just with nicer lighting. Also, the characters never really feel like they’re a part of the environment; it’s more like they’re just bouncing on top of it. I’m not necessarily opposed to the whole retro visual approach (it’s not likely to go away any time soon), it’s just that I’ve seen it look better…or at least more cohesive. Others will disagree, and I’ll let them have that.

Besides, it doesn’t take away from what is a very enjoyable game, provided you’re not just in it for the combat. There’s a lot to take in, and the developers didn’t rush any of it. To their credit, they even made plenty of it optional. On the overhead map, selecting red exclamation marks advances the story. Green ones are there only if you want to take the time to see what’s going on behind the scenes. I can’t imagine there’s anyone out there who’d skip them, but you’re free to do so.

And honestly, I’d rather have too much narrative tying things together than to be adventuring for no real reason. The story is complex, the characters are likable, and there’s plenty of variety in the combat missions and in the soldiers you’ll use to complete them. Triangle Strategy will keep you occupied for a long time if you let it. Just be prepared to walk away to prevent repeated training missions from getting on your nerves.

Maybe you can walk right back to Octopath Traveler.

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Chocobo GP has you racing across a number of locations found in the Final Fantasy universe, while also driving as random characters from said franchise. As you might guess, one of the first few characters you can choose is a Chocobo. However the characters range from the normal stars of Final Fantasy to random animals found within the universe. That said, when you start the game you’re only allowed to play as four specific characters. All other characters must be either unlocked through the campaign or purchased.

Ultimately, the look and feel of Chocobo GP is really good. The controls are tight and responsive, a common issue that other kart-racing games usually fail to get right. There’s your standard items that can be used in a match, boosts to help you gain speed during a race, and your normal zaniness found in any Mario Kart game. Even the design of the courses is quite nice. While some locations shine more than others, the game has a very nice sharp look and courses really stand out. Besides giving you a limited amount of characters to use at first, the only real issue I had is its “simple” and “advanced” courses. Each course is designed with 2 versions of the track, a simple, easy-to-learn version of the course and another version that is more complex. The advanced versions are always more interesting and way more fun to play. They’re typically longer in length, have more to see and do, and ultimately provide surprises in how the courses play out. The simple courses were literally a circle. Yes, it gives you an easy version to learn on but very quickly these easier tracks became quite boring. 

The biggest issue with Chocobo GP has to be its desperate ploy to get you to spend money via microtransactions. There’s really no other way to describe it. The game is constantly trying to get you to spend more money. Want that new character? Spend money. What about getting to enjoy those other tracks? You could unlock them via normal racing or spend more money. The worst part isn’t even the fact that they offer microtransactions. It’s that the game so desperately wants you to spend money to progress.  In-game progression, which unlocks new characters, courses and so much more, is literally locked behind a progression system that never rewards you for playing. 

I played for hours and didn’t progress very far at all. Yet the game constantly kept asking me if I wanted to spend money to unlock the new content or keep playing. I could sort of understand this aggressive microtransaction system if I was playing the free version of Chocobo GP. However I was provided with the full retail copy for this review and even that version constantly wanted me to spend more money to unlock content.

Does this aggressive microtransaction system ruin Chocobo GP? Sort of. The game itself is actually a really good, well-designed kart racer. It might not be to the level of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, but Chocobo GP would definitely earn its spot as a must-play on the platform IF the microtransaction system was removed. Square Enix has come out and said they are listening to fan feedback and will try to tone the system down. However at the time of this review, Square Enix has not pushed through that update. This makes it tricky to recommend Chocobo GP at this exact moment. There’s a lot of fun to be had and I genuinely would continue playing this game. Yet I would strongly caution those interested in the title to hold out until the microtransaction system is fixed. By then progression will be as it should be and actually reward you for playing. Until then, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe just got new content…

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SQUARE ENIX has been keeping Switch gamers busier than usual as of late, and it looks like that’s not ending any time soon. The company announced yesterday that The DioField Chronicle—”an all-new strategy-RPG that immerses players in an epic tale of war and honor”—will be killing the dragon on the Nintendo Switch later this year.

The new franchise is developed in conjunction with Lancarse Ltd, and includes plenty of A-list names on the project: character designs by Taiki (Lord of Vermilion III, IV), concept art by Isamu Kamikokuryo (FINAL FANTASY XII, FINAL FANTASY XIII) and orchestrations by Ramin Djawadi and Brandon Campbell (best known for their work on Game of Thrones).

The DioField Chronicle is set in a beautiful and unique world blending fantasy, medieval and modern-day influences. Under the steady hand of the Shaytham dynasty, the Kingdom of Alletain on DioField Island has known peace for 200 years, but suddenly find themselves cast into an age of uncertainty due to the rise of warlike powers and modern magic.

The Kingdom of Alletain is rich in the mineral Jade, prized for its use as a base ingredient in magic and sorcery, and the attention of both the Empire and the Alliance inevitably turns towards the island. Players will take control of a band of elite mercenaries calling themselves “Blue Fox”, but will the name “Blue Fox” come to signify hope or darkest tragedy?

But the DioField Chronicle is new in more than just name and setting, as evidenced by the above trailer which provides a first look at the deeply strategic real-time battle system called “Real-Time Tactical Battle”(RTTB). In the “diorama”-style combat settings, players will assess front line conditions in real-time, issue decisive orders, and use a variety of skills, classes, and equipment to gain the upper hand over their foes.

More information on the game’s setting, characters and gameplay can be found at www.diofieldchronicle.com and in this blog entry from Duncan Heaney. We’ll keep you posted on further details and a firm release date as they’re announced.

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Why? Well…

• Because your progress will carry over into the new game, we this time start at the beginning of the story. This obviously does a much better job of introducing the narrative, the characters, and—more importantly—the battle system. As such, you’ll get what the game is doing.
• I’m still not fully into the retro-modern HD-2D visual presentation. Certain aspects look great (I love the lighting and bluffing effects), but the jagged characters and background elements are too jagged for my tastes. I’d like to see Square Enix provide just a bit more detail. The graphics are by no means a deal breaker, I just don’t see them as a selling point.
• The story, on the other hand, surely will be a selling point. It begins with an arranged marriage for political purposes, but it’s handled in a practical manner. Both participants understand why it’s important, and they quickly grow to like/respect each other, but they also realize the reason they were chosen may not bode well for them or their countries. That draws them together, for now, but you can easily see how this whole setup can blow up on many levels, and your decisions will likely impact that.
• Those decisions are handled in a clever way. The demo provides only one; after a gathering of the nations’ leaders, you must decide with which leader you’ll return as a special envoy. Your decision will curry favor with the nation you pick, but slight the other. In the path I chose, I ended up getting a new companion from that nation. I’m assuming that would’ve happened if I’d chosen the other path, so I’m curious if that route would’ve given me someone with completely different abilities.
• Anyway, back to the clever mechanic for decisions. Your party gets to make those decisions for you! There’s a scale (physical, not metaphorical), and each party member gets to cast a vote to tip it one way or the other. If you have a particular path you’d like to take, it’s up to you to persuade them to vote your way.

• The ability to do so will depend upon how many dialogue options you’ve unlocked. Talking to NPCs will reveal information that could be important in these decisions, allowing those details to be presented with your arguments. If you’re not sure what to do, pay attention to your party members. In the one decision I faced in the demo, I just went with what my fiancée wanted because it seemed really important to her. Maybe now she’ll agree to let me spend $1,300 to restore my Flash Gordon pinball machine.
• Of course, all of these characters and plot elements mean there’s going to be a lot of story to read. The demo is decided heavily on story. The battles are few and somewhat short. That’ll change, I’m sure, but prepare yourself for a lot of reading and meandering.
• Curiously, it looks like you don’t have to read anything. A world map between fights/story allows you to see where events are. Red events are required to move the story. Green events are optional. In the demo, all green events simply told me what was going on elsewhere in the kingdom with other characters. It all seemed important, however, so I’m not sure why it would’ve been considered optional or if these segments would’ve disappeared if I pushed too far ahead.
• When you do get to combat, it’s quite fun. As you’ve surely seen, it’s turn-based on an isometric grid. Positioning for the high ground or attacking from behind your opponent is very important, but doing so can leave your party members hung out to dry. Getting the high ground for my archer, for example, is great for attacks, but that often left her within range of the enemy.
• You can address items like this with equipment and buffs, but that’s all part of the strategy. Do I want to give my archer better defense so she can withstand an extra attack or two, or do I want to jack up the defense on my tank since that’s how he’ll be used on nearly every turn? You know the routine.

• Environment is important, too, and you can affect that. For example, an enemy may cast an ice spell that freezes the ground beneath your warriors, slowing them down and making them more likely to miss. You can eliminate this condition by casting a fire spell to melt the ice, but that creates a puddle. Now, if your enemy has an electric spell, they’ll do extra damage to all of those standing in the puddle.

The Triangle Strategy demo takes only a few hours to play through, but that’s enough to let you know what to expect from this highly anticipated game. You’ll get deep, strategic battles and an expansive, intricate story. I can see how both gameplay and plot could possibly become burdensome, but we’ll see if Square Enix is able to keep things tightly integrated and well-paced. They didn’t quite do so with the somewhat similar Octopath Traveler, but this second Triangle Strategy demo has me feeling optimistic.

Triangle Strategy will be available for Switch on March 4th. For more information visit the Nintendo eShop.

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