Square Enix dropped Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail, the fifth expansion, at the start of July 2024. We’ve had the chance to dive into this expansion and max out our classes and jobs to level 100. As such, it is finally time to reveal what the best class is in FFXIV Dawntrail. Note that we decided these on a number of factors, such as the best overall job class out of every single one in the expansion. In addition, some of us picked based on the two new jobs, Viper and Pictomancer.

Regardless, if you are looking to pick up a job that has turned out quite well in Dawntrail, these are the ones that will treat you nicely in the current fifth expansion meta. Let us know what your favorite job classes are in this expansion!

Siliconera Speaks Up: Our Picks for the Best Classes in Dawntrail

I've played Final Fantasy XIV for a long time. And I mean, a long, long time. I have over three thousand days subscribed to the game and have tried out a lot of the job classes --- Melee and Ranged DPS, Healers, Tanks. You name it, I've probably given it a shot. And while I was initially anxious to committed to the Tank role, I dove right in to Gunbreaker when a series of Final Fantasy XII Judge-inspired armor sets released through the Bozja side content. I got my Gunbreaker to max and decided to bring it into Shadowbringers, and then Endwalker as Tanking was a lot easier than I initially thought. Gunbreaker is my favorite job class because it's decently active, while not requiring me to do too much in normal content. White Mage used to be my favorite, but sometimes I'm just tired and wanna turn my brain off, and Gunbreaker lets me do just that. -- Kazuma

Are we are talking about the two new jobs, specifically? If so, FFXIV Dawntrail’s best new job class for me has to be Pictomancer. Viper is great on its own, too. However, Pictomancer offers this fascinating middle ground of being a powerful magical DPS class like Black Mage. Yet at the same time, Pictomancer also offers fantastic buffs for the party. It is also quite fun to use. In terms of existing jobs, I am having a blast playing Sage again. Overall, it hasn’t changed much. That said, the new AOE damage-over-time action with Eukrasian Dyskrasia and other new skills fix the very few problems I had with Sage. -- Cody

Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail is available right now for PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

The post Which Class Do You Like Best in FFXIV Dawntrail? appeared first on Siliconera.

All great things must come to an end. After 10 long years of consistent publication, the manga My Hero Academia finally finished. In fact, by the time you are reading this, the final chapter of the manga might be out in your region! Looking at the current state of the anime, it won’t be long until its conclusion too. But when all is said and done, My Hero Academia does not need a sequel after it ends.

One of the first thoughts fans and perhaps even creators alike think when a popular property like My Hero Academia ends is, “What’s next?” Oftentimes, this leads to speculation and the eventual announcement of a spin-off or sequel. But this series doesn’t need any of that. I believe it is fine to leave it as it is.

While the temptation may be there for Shueisha and even series creator Kohei Horikoshi, My Hero Academia would be better off not going down the Naruto and Boruto route. This is largely due to the fact that this series ends on a pretty conclusive note. I won’t delve into spoilers here, but we get the satisfying finish and end to the battles that have been brewing since the series’ inception.

In addition, I adore the full-circle nature of Deku’s particular character arc. The series remembers how it started, and Horikoshi honors that with how it ends. For me, at least, it is a fully satisfying conclusion unlike some other manga and anime series in recent memory. Continuing it with a sequel or “new generation” of heroes almost feels like a disgrace to that.

Even beyond that, My Hero Academia already feels like a sequel in a way. Deku’s journey to fulfill his promise of becoming the world’s number one hero is actually vastly different from other shonen characters like Naruto Uzumaki. In Naruto’s case, there are legacies and histories from before him, but he is pretty much a standalone hero from zero. We see Naruto rise alongside the other members of Team 7, go through trials and tribulations, and cement themselves in history as world changers. It is then after that that we see his son Boruto take the reins and follow in his footsteps, “finishing the fight” against the Otsutsuki, so to speak.

In a way, My Hero Academia feels more like the story told in Boruto than the one in Naruto. In this manga and anime world, All Might is Naruto. The entire series is reminding Deku and everyone of All Might’s greatness. How he changed everything about superheroes and even defeated the mighty All for One. In this way, Deku — and pretty much everyone else — goes throughout the series in the shadow of All Might. This is quite similar to how Boruto relates to his father.

This goes pretty deep, too. After all, there is Shigaraki, too. While Shigaraki as the “big bad” of the series, he shares this role with All for One, who isn’t new. This is the same villain All Might previously took down. So, you have the themes of a returning threat from the past alongside the “next generation” trying to finish the fight. My Hero Academia is already like a sequel in everything but name alone. So, having a sequel or “next generation” of superheroes after Deku and the others almost feels redundant and unnecessary.

Any potential sequel to My Hero Academia would also have to create a new threat that arises after the original series ends. More likely than not, this new threat or conflict would almost assuredly feel less impactful, derivative, or forced. If anything, perhaps the best route to continue this franchise would be to finally tell All Might’s entire story as a prequel. But a direct My Hero Academia sequel with returning characters or their descendants would only be a disservice to what Horikoshi accomplished with this series.

The My Hero Academia manga is available to read on Viz Media and Manga Plus. The anime adaptation is available on Crunchyroll.

The post My Hero Academia Doesn’t Need a Sequel After It Ends appeared first on Siliconera.

I often skip strategic-RPGs, as I find they rarely grasp my attention for longer than a couple of hours. This usually includes even NIS America’s renowned Disgaea series. My issue with these games largely comes from how often grid-based combat bores me, but such wasn’t the case during my recent opportunity to test Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero at Anime Expo 2024.

The reason for my early appreciation for the Phantom Brave sequel stems from the fact it eschews the usual tactical RPG grids for a more free-form battle system. This allows for plenty of freedom in how to approach each fight. I felt like I could tackle combat during my demo in whatever way I wanted, with whatever units I’d like.

The star of Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero is Marona, a girl with a collection of Phantom friends. She summons these allies to help her out in combat, as they otherwise might not be so visible. Players can pick where to summon Phantoms, and I was able to bring out as many as possible on the field during my session. There is just one caveat. This can only be done so long as they have an item, such as a tree or bush, to inhabit.

Even in the singular battle I completed during my short demo of this upcoming RPG, there were so many gimmicks to appreciate. For instance, Marona herself can fuse together with her Phantoms. This gives her a unique transformation, depending on the pal, and makes her even more powerful. While transformed, each kill she gets on an enemy grants her an extra attack phase during the same turn. This allowed me to chain up kills one after another for four kills on the same turn, which wiped out a significant number of the enemy forces.

After that, I was able to take control of a different Phantom. This character had the power to control gadgets. This included a barrel mech she could pilot. It added so much depth to how to tackle each fight. How I approached the battle might be completely different than how someone else dealt with it.

This idea also shows up in its heavy emphasis on a risk and reward system. Going back to Marona’s transformation ability, there is a catch that keeps it in check. The Phantom you fuse with leaves the field after the transformation concludes. From what I gather, this transformation only lasts for a few turns. After that, the Phantom retires from that particular fight. So, it left me with the challenging decision to know when to fuse at the right moment so as to not make the battle tougher in the long run. I appreciated the sheer amount of depth I saw in this rather early fight.

While I never played the original Phantom Brave, The Lost Lord grabbed my attention more than most NIS America strategy RPGs from my initial preview. I like the lack of grids on the battlefield, which provides a more open movement system. Everything feels much smoother and swifter than similar games. Unfortunately, this preview didn’t show off the story. That said, these cutesy and colorful characters might be worth a look when this comes out in 2025. Especially with how fun the lengthy battles seem to be.

Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero will release for Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, and PC in 2025.

The post Preview: Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero Provides Immense Freedom appeared first on Siliconera.

Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail continues the age-old tradition of introducing multiple new jobs (usually two per expansion with the exception of Heavensward) for players to check out. In the case of the fifth expansion, the new FFXIV jobs are Pictomancer and Viper. While certainly different from one another, if I had to pick one as the better job, I would go with Pictomancer every time.

To be clear, both jobs are actually quite good and fill some necessary niches in FFXIV. But I understand that not every player is going to want to take the time to level up both jobs over 20 levels each (40 in total) to max them out. Plus, that doesn’t take into account the time it takes to master each job, which is a tall order since they start at level 80. With that in mind, if I had to pick one of these new FFXIV jobs to recommend to most players, I would go with Pictomancer. I believe it is the slightly better and stronger job.

To be clear, I started out as an Arcanist and eventually Summoner/Scholar main in this game when it first came out, but my secondary job for the longest time was Ninja. As such, there are some fascinating parallels between Pictomancer and Viper for me. The former is the latest ranged magical DPS job. Meanwhile, Viper is the long-awaited armor companion to Ninja and a fellow dual wielder. Both jobs also have some similarities to existing ones, so they are pretty even in that regard.

As such, Pictomancer narrowly beats Viper due to how much more it stands out. I would describe Pictomancer as a fascinating mix of Black Mage and Ninja in some regards, under an artistic perspective. It has the usual elemental magic Black Mage owns and some similar spells, but it also has its canvas to paint on. This reminds me of Ninja in a way. You can queue up spells and unleash them in certain orders. These will result in different moves in the process.

On the other hand, Viper is also similar to Ninja. It is a dual wielder and it focuses a lot on combos as well. The difference is it relies too much on combos. It is actually unbelievable how many different combo options exist with Viper. There are different branching options depending on the scenario and skills are constantly turning into other ones.

If you don’t like combos, Viper is certainly not the FFXIV job for you. In addition, it can be a bit overwhelming to jump into at first. But the main issue with Viper comes from once you actually learn it. I find that Viper ends up a little boring and almost too repetitive once you get the hang of the role. Meanwhile, the Pictomancer never stops being fun with instantly drawing outside of battle and buffing the party.

Overall, I would almost say Viper is a bit one-note. However, to its credit, the diversity in combos leads to some of the best visual effects for a job. I would even say it is possibly the flashiest job in the game currently. But it doesn’t stand out as much as it could, nor is it as necessary in the meta as Pictomancer.

If you are a skilled Pictomancer, you can almost deal too much damage in FFXIV these days. There are times I have full-on pulled and seen others pull aggro from a skilled, not amateur tank, especially in lower-level content. Any other job and that wouldn’t have happened. Beyond the damage, Pictomancer also has some excellent buffs late-game with Starry Muse and Tempera Grassa. It isn’t quite the true support job hybrid I was hoping for, but it comes close enough.

In the end, both Viper and Pictomancer are excellent job additions in FFXIV Dawntrail. That said, if I have to recommend one as the “better” job, I would go with Pictomancer. It isn’t quite as one-note as Viper can be, while also almost filling a neat niche for the meta. I expect Pictomancer to only gain in popularity and success as time goes on, barring any nerfs, so if you’re looking for a new one to spend your time with, this is what I recommend.

Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail is available right now for the PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

The post FFXIV Dawntrail’s Pictomancer Stands Out More Than Viper appeared first on Siliconera.

Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail is the fifth expansion in the long-running MMO’s history, and it represents such a fascinating point in its life. This expansion has the unenviable task of following up after two excellent additions. In the end, I found FFXIV Dawntrail shows us the best and worst moments of the MMO so far.

With the lead-up to Dawntrail, I often kept asking myself what the whole point of it was. Endwalker put a nice little cap on the MMORPG, feeling like the right place to end FFXIV. In fact, it was supposed to be the original ending. But here Square Enix is, continuing the story past Hydaelyn and Zodiark because there is a massive, active player base.

My main concern about Dawntrail reared its head in the first half of the FFXIV expansion. The initial part of the story acts as a wacky summer vacation filler arc, for better and mostly worse. The Warrior of Light and some of the Scions take a trip to the new continent of Tural to help Wuk Lamat fight for her claim to the throne against other contestants. In theory, the premise sounds pretty neat! This is especially true when some of the other Scions are on opposing sides, offering some fun internal conflict within the group. However, the execution feels about as underwhelming as Stormblood, the weakest FFXIV expansion by far. This largely stems from the rather uninteresting cast of characters accompanying you.

Wuk Lamat is one of the most forgettable heroes in FFXIV, despite essentially being this expansion’s main character. Her voice acting is solid, but everything else about her isn't up to par. She is by far one of the most one-note characters in the game. She's always so happy-go-lucky, to an almost nauseating degree. Even her latter character development feels forced. She's not as natural or complex as some other characters, like Lyse or Ryne.

To make matters worse, the first half of the expansion also features the most unlikeable members of the Scions journeying alongside the Warrior of Light and Wuk Lamat. It would be one thing if I could catch up with my guy G’raha Tia swooning over me once again or Y’shtola’s witty remarks, but that doesn't happen here. This is Wuk Lamat’s story through and through. It is almost to the point where the Warrior of Light and the other Scions seem pretty much done story-wise, with the exception of characters like Krile. I almost questioned why some characters were even there, as the expansion would’ve been almost exactly the same with or without Alphinaud and Alisaie. During the first half, I often looked at some of the other contestants and wished I was partnered with them instead.

The one silver lining in this portion of the expansion is the actual content itself. The new locations, such as Kozama’uka, are absolutely stunning. The mix of jungles, deserts, and other wild biomes look so incredible. The detail and vast nature of each locale pops so well in the accompanying graphical update. These new locations are some of the best in the MMO’s history, with fantastic diversity throughout. There are even surprises and visual changes within some individual zones. While I didn’t enjoy the story, I at least appreciated the views along the way.

Plus, it helps that the dungeons, trials, and even instances excelled in these places. There are so many new mechanics and challenging moments that surprised me and tested my skill. For one, the Trust System is back and better than ever before. I wanted NPC trials since Trust’s introduction in Shadowbringers and it finally comes to fruition for more than one instance here.

The two new jobs, Pictomancer and Viper, both fill welcome niches in the meta. Pictomancer feels like a true support DPS, capable of buffing the party and dealing outrageous damage. The ability to queue up drawings before a big fight never got old. Then there is Viper, with its plethora of combos and flashy mechanics. It isn’t too overwhelming, but has just enough variety that will likely appeal to Ninja fans like myself.

If only for the content alone you experience, it is well worth getting through the succession storyline. That at least kept me going until the second half, which is when everything changes for the better. The second half of Dawntrail proved to me there is still some juice left in FFXIV’s tank. If you’ve been disappointed with everything since the final fight of Endwalker, this is the part for you.

While I certainly won’t go into details here, all you have to do is take a look at the second city of Solution Nine to see the surprising tonal shift. The story gets exponentially better in this second half. The introduction of the best new characters this expansion happens then, plus several shocking story sequences. There are even optional side quests in one particular late-game area I recommend everyone does for ensuing tearjerker moments. In fact, there are even some spectacular fan service moments that came out of nowhere and felt surprisingly earned. These epic sequences, some playable and others cutscenes, felt created just to convince me FFXIV is headed in the right direction.

This second half of Dawntrail stands up there with some of the best parts of the MMO, whereas the first half like it barely surpassed the heavily disappointing FFXIV Stormblood. I would rank it significantly higher than Heavensward at this point. It doesn’t quite reach the peak of the MMORPG’s history but there are several shining moments reminiscent of elements I loved about Shadowbringers and Endwalker. It is just unfortunate that these highest of highs also come along with the lowest of lows.

Fortunately, in the end, Dawntrail balances out for a solid, but not necessarily ground-breaking FFXIV expansion. Though it starts rough, Square Enix brings it all together quite well by the second half for a satisfying conclusion. The consistency of the actual gameplay content throughout at least ensures it is enjoyable to play from start to finish. In the end, FFXIV Dawntrail is a shaky, but ultimately positive step in a new direction for the best MMO of all time.

Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail is available right now for PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

The post Review: FFXIV Dawntrail Shows the MMO’s Best and Worst appeared first on Siliconera.

The Isekai genre of anime is one of the most popular and it shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon. As always, the Summer 2024 anime season includes an overwhelming number of Isekai anime to check out, but only a handful can claim to be the best. These are the fantasy and otherworldly series you should check out this season.

Best Isekai Summer 2024 Anime: Dahlia in Bloom

This particular new Isekai anime series feels so relaxing and refreshing in its tone and style. Unlike many of the other action-packed ones, this one takes a step back and focuses on a girl who reincarnates in a fantasy world after overworking herself to death. She embarks on a new journey to craft magical tools, leading to a fun and lighthearted series.

Suicide Squad Isekai

Yes, that name isn’t just for show. This is indeed a Suicide Squad anime series with the likes of DC Comics’ Harley Quinn and Peacemaker in a fantasy world. And, yes, Suicide Squad Isekai is as bizarre and wacky as that sounds. But the series manages to be quite novel and full of some of the best action this season from renowned anime studio Wit.

A Journey Through Another World: Raising Kids While Adventuring

If you are like me and enjoy Isekai fantasy series but also love adorable family shows like Sweetness & Lightning or Spy x Family, this is the one for you. A Journey Through Another World centers on Takumi, who, of course, dies and resurrects in a fantasy world. Early in his adventure he finds orphaned twins and takes them in as their new guardian.

This series then follows Takumi as he goes on guild jobs to raise money to take care of his newfound fantasy family. It is so cute, with some great interactions between the main characters. But it also contains the signature fantasy action and adventures this genre is known for.

The post Best Isekai Summer 2024 Anime Series appeared first on Siliconera.

If you are looking for a more chill, romantic, or even sometimes comedic anime series, shojo anime might be for you. The best shojo Summer 2024 anime series are the ones to make you laugh one second, cry the next, and get your heart pounding with intensity after that. If you like shojo-style anime, these are the three you shouldn’t miss this season.

Best Shojo Summer 2024 Anime Series: Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian

This particular shojo series is the quintessential mix of comedy, romance, and high school drama. The story follows the half-Russian, half-Japanese idol of the school, Alya, who is pretty unapproachable to everyone but the unremarkably average boy Masachika.

Their interactions with one another are simultaneously adorable and hilarious, especially with how, as the name states, Alya often makes witty remarks to herself in Russian. Unbeknownst to Alya, though, Masachika secretly understands every often surprising Russian statement she makes.

Narenare Cheer for You!

If you’re looking for less romance and a bit more of a sports vibe, Narenare might be the anime for you this season. It follows a group of six girls who form a cheerleading group to compete in. Not only is the cheerleading sport a refreshing angle for a series like this, but the friendship between the main girls is the real hook.

Senpai is an Otokonoko

By far this is my personal favorite and likely to be my overall pick for the best shojo anime series of the Summer 2024 season. As the title of this series subtly implies, there is more to the main character Makoto than meets the eye.

This is by far the most progressive anime series I have ever seen and its handling of queer characters within the lens of Japanese culture is absolutely exceptional and often heartbreakingly relatable. There really is no love triangle or shojo anime series like this one, so I recommend it to everyone.

The post Best Shojo Summer 2024 Anime Series to Watch appeared first on Siliconera.

Shonen is one of the most popular anime genres for a reason. The frequent battles and tons of action usually result in some of the most thrilling series around. When it comes to the most recent Summer 2024 anime season, these are the best shonen and shonen-like action series we highly suggest you check out right now.

Best Shonen Summer 2024 Anime Series: Shy Season 2

This underrated superhero action series is back for a second season. Those looking for a series somewhat different in style from My Hero Academia should check this one out. The main character has such a compelling personality, being shy as the name states. Her growth throughout the series is a neat bonus alongside the excellent action. You can check out the second season on Crunchyroll.

Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest

Fairy Tail is one of the most popular shonen anime series of all time and it is finally back with a direct sequel. Those who appreciated the earlier parts of the original anime and the laidback vibes will likely enjoy this return to form. It focuses on its core characters and their seemingly impossible guild quest, along with some intriguing new characters and villains.

I Parry Everything

So far, I have recommended a couple of returning shows. For those of you looking for the best brand new shonen anime series in the Summer 2024 season, this is the one for you. I Parry Everything isn’t an Isekai, simply taking place in a fantasy world. It follows Noor, a guy who has a tragic backstory and wishes to become an adventurer, except he has no affinity for any skills whatsoever.

Well, except parrying, of course. If you are a FromSoftware fan, you might enjoy this hilarious but action-packed series with solid animation. The world-building and characters are quite nice, plus it strikes the right balance between lighthearted moments and more tearjerker sequences. I expect this one to become one of the most popular new series from this season.

The post Best Shonen Summer 2024 Anime Series for Everyone appeared first on Siliconera.

Re:Zero Season 3 had its world premiere at Anime Expo 2024. The first episode of the upcoming third season debuted at the convention with a feature-length first episode. Given how impressive the initial episode of the series felt and how solid The Frozen Bond movie was, I looked forward to this lengthier episode. However, it fell flat for the most part.

The Re:Zero Season 3 premiere is the anime equivalent of “this could’ve been an email.” Without diving too much into spoilers, it starts off with a quick catchup with the main characters. We see a little bit of the aftermath of Season 2 and the return of some fan-favorite characters. For the most part, it feels like light recap material, though.

The real problem with this episode comes from how it feels like filler. The characters gather together and then go on a trip to a faraway city they’ve never been to. So much of the story focuses on the city itself and how interesting it seems, giving off these serious filler vibes.

There are the occasional worthy moments throughout the episode, especially when it comes to the return of Wilhelm to the plot. That said, they are super few and far between. Outside of a couple of scenes with Wilhelm and the actual very end of the episode, nothing feels too necessary to the plot.

For this reason, I was left wondering why this episode was essentially the length of a movie. It very well could have been a typical 23-minute anime episode and landed much better overall. The pacing, more emotional moments, and new character introductions would’ve felt more interesting this way.

Instead, my mind started to wander quite a bit throughout the movie. This especially happened when it came to the new songstress character in the city and her particular storyline. Subaru and the others stumble upon her in the midst of her singing in the streets. It all feels so non-canon anime movie style and it drags on much longer than necessary.

This plethora of comedic moments overwhelm and overshadow the more heartfelt and darker scenes in the film. Overall, I’d say there is a huge disconnect in the tone of the first episode of Season 3. This problem largely comes from the drawn out length of everything.

It might be fine if this was the first time checking out this series but this is the third season and we mostly know where Subaru’s battle against the Witch’s Cult is going. So, when it finally gets to that point, it almost feels like an afterthought instead of the main event it should be.

Fortunately, the ending is as abrupt and horrifying as you might come to expect from the series. It holds nothing back and once again provides some neat gruesome action for shock value. From here, it looks like Season 3 might get pretty interesting, but it shouldn’t have taken that long to arrive at that destination. Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait until the Fall 2024 anime season to see the series continue on Crunchyroll.

Re:Zero - Starting Life in Another World Season 3 will air on Crunchyroll in October 2024.

The post Re:Zero Season 3 Movie-Length Premiere Feels Like Mostly Filler appeared first on Siliconera.

During Anime Expo 2024, I had the chance to attend the Oshi no Ko Season 2 premiere and check out the first two episodes of it. Since the first season is up there with one of my favorite shows of all time, I certainly was looking forward to this new story arc. Unfortunately, it disappointed due to its awkward pacing, even though the animation was flashy.

Oshi no Ko Season 2 picks up after the end of the first season. Aqua Hoshino is looking to join a theatre troupe to find out more about Ai. The first episode starts off strong, showing off a glimpse of the stage play the troupe is putting on. The gorgeous introductions to each of the characters in the production really impressed me, thanks to the excellent animation and effects.

This beautiful introduction feels as if you are actually watching the real stage play in action. The whole sequence works so well because of that. But the strong start eventually makes way for a step back in time to examine Aqua, Akane, and the other stars in the lead-up to the big day. This transition felt like it worked, and I enjoyed meeting all of the new characters in the troupe.

As you might expect, there is plenty of drama between the leads, the director, and even the writers. The mix of drama and brilliant voice acting from the Japanese cast kept me engaged throughout the entire first episode. While this story arc certainly feels like a slight diversion from the core plot of the riveting series, it starts out as an entertaining one nonetheless.

Overall, I would say I enjoyed the first episode, even though it lacked the shock value and star power of the original Season 1 feature-length premiere. The real problem I have with Oshi no Ko Season 2 wasn’t present at this point. The issues I had popped up when the second episode began at the event. Instead of continuing on from the light twist at the end of the first episode, episode two went unnecessarily further back in time.

The second episode spends way too much time focusing on Aqua and the others first joining the theatre troupe. Considering I already saw them rehearsing and spending time together in the first episode, this felt somewhat unnecessary. In fact, I would argue it almost feels like the second episode should’ve been the first one because of this timeline shift.

Watching these two episodes back-to-back completely killed the goodwill the first episode of this stage play arc introduced. I had no interest in going back in time and seeing the mostly unnecessary exposition leading up to the production. The only slight saving grace of the second episode comes from the focus on the lead writer of the stage play. His moments were surprisingly emotional and evoked some sympathy.

However, I didn’t need an entire flashback episode to provide those scenes. They could certainly work without going back in time. Overall, I feel like the first and second episodes would better swapped. Perhaps if you don’t binge these episodes it will be a bit better to watch. For now, though, I look forward to the third episode and, hopefully, better pacing that sticks to moving the story forward rather than backward.

Oshi no Ko Season 2 is streaming right now via HIDIVE. Yen Press handles the manga outside of Japan.

The post Oshi no Ko Season 2 Starts Out Flashy and Awkward appeared first on Siliconera.

Sword Art Online video games are pretty hit-or-miss. You have the not-so-bad ones like Alicization Lycoris and then surprisingly good ones like Fatal Bullet. Sword Art Online Fractured Daydream doesn’t appear to be the greatest game in the series so far but it does offer the most variety out of any game yet from my recent preview at Anime Expo 2024.

I had a short 10-minute preview of the upcoming game where I was able to explore a vast desert region and complete a mission. Right off the bat, Fractured Daydream makes it clear how vast the roster of characters is. I started out as Llenn, the star of Gun Gale Online. But then I soon gained access to three other characters, including Kirito.

These characters don’t normally interact with each other across their respective series. As such, this game feels like a Super Smash Bros. Ultimate-style collection with everyone being here. Perhaps the most fascinating part is how each character feels wildly different from one another.

Llenn plays like a light version of the gameplay from Fatal Bullet, where the player fires away with their guns from afar. The targeting system is messier than the previous shooter-style game in the series, which was annoying, but it got the job done. Then there is Kirito who plays much faster than Llenn with his impressive and powerful sword skills.

The unique gameplay styles didn’t stop there, either, as Leafa was also part of our squad. She played much more like her floaty and flight-based Alfheim Online variant. All three of them felt like they came from different games. This variety does mean some characters will probably be more valuable than others in combat, but I still appreciate the diversity.

Everyone has their basic attacks, plus a ton of skills to use. Some of these might involve dashing forward to attack foes or leaping into the air for a jump attack. Each one is quite flashy and fun to pull off. The main problem I had with the combat in this Sword Art Online Fractured Daydream preview was targeting.

There is a lock-on feature but it doesn’t work too well, especially with lots of enemies onscreen. I felt like the camera didn’t quite keep up with my character. I would be trying to launch a skill on the enemy I’m locked onto and the character would miss completely. This happened even when I started out the skill right in front of the enemy.

The preview culminated in a massive boss fight. It felt pretty easy in terms of difficulty, as I just mashed away with Kirito’s dual swords. Some characters, oddly enough, fared better than others. The scorpion boss resisted Llenn’s gun attacks, for instance. As such, I had to switch to others like Leafa, who had its weakness. While the fight itself was easy, again, the biggest challenge came from the awkward camera and targeting controls.

For the most part, this Sword Art Online Fractured Daydream preview focused on singleplayer. That said, the main purpose of this game is to bring together 21 playable characters for online multiplayer. Up to 20 players will be able to take on actual MMO-like raid battles for the first time.

Unfortunately, this preview didn’t offer any glimpse of that. Considering how singleplayer-focused this demo section was, I’m curious to see if there is a dedicated story mode for solo players. For now, though, we will have to wait and see. While I’m not sold on this being the best SAO video game yet, I at least appreciate its diversity in its roster and gameplay.

Sword Art Online Fractured Daydream will release for Nintendo Switch, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on October 4, 2024.

The post Preview: Sword Art Online Fractured Daydream Brings Everyone Together appeared first on Siliconera.

Long gone are the days of the top-down, RPG Maker-style Corpse Party horror games. While the series has flirted with 3D in the past, it stuck with its the traditional viewpoint and gameplay style. This is all changing with Corpse Party 2: Darkness Distortion, a bold new take for the series based on my recent hands-on experience.

It is uncertain if Corpse Party 2: Darkness Distortion is related to Dead Patient, but it does also take place in a haunted hospital. During the 15-minute play session I experienced at Anime Expo 2024, I played as Haruka. Haruka and her two classmates, Nemu and Maria, are looking for a way out of the hospital and to safety.

Right out of the gate, I noticed two intriguing parts about this game. The first is the third-person point of view. Instead of a top-down perspective, this game takes place behind the shoulders of Haruka. This gives a it a more Silent Hill-like approach. I felt this throughout the game, and the gameplay supported it as well.

You wander the floors of the hospital with a few movement options at your disposal, such as a dash and interact button. The third-person perspective gives this game a different vibe compared to past games, making it feel even scarier in my initial session. It didn’t help that the game had a tiny draw distance, at least on Switch, so I barely saw a few feet in front of me.

Corpse Party 2: Darkness Distortion also has a much more mature art style to it. This especially came through in actual 3D character models and environments, from what I saw. The removal of the more chibi-like aspects of past games made this instantly much more terrifying. It almost felt like it is in the vein of other Japanese horror titles like Fatal Frame.

The other key change I immediately noticed in Corpse Party 2 involved the character designs. Within the more visual novel-like cutscenes, the 2D character portraits look plucked from an anime. The characters pop much more with color, especially in the case of Nemu. This helps the characters to stand out a bit more, making them more memorable.

While I adore the visual style of Corpse Party 2: Darkness Distortion, I’m not quite sure about the gameplay yet. Sure, it has some similarities to Silent Hill and other likeminded horror games. However, this particular title is quite confusing, especially when it comes to exploring the hospital.

The hallways and rooms are quite empty most of the time and look exactly the same no matter the location. It became hard to tell the difference from one gray concrete hallway to the next. I got lost pretty early in the demo and this continued all the way through. It doesn’t help that the interact button was pretty unresponsive. I had to perfectly stand in front of an object, such as a door, and aim at it just right for the game to register my input.

This became pretty annoying quite fast, especially since it took up precious time in the preview. Since I wandered around the hospital quite a lot, I didn’t get to experience much of the story or action. The bulk of the plot I experienced had to do with a mysterious phone call. On a side note, the audio design in this game is quite impressive at least. Though I had no idea of my location, the smart use of the phone ringing and its audio guided me to its location with ease.

Answering the phone revealed a tease of a certain character’s possible fate in the near future. This added some ominous possibilities for what will happen in the main story. In addition, I saw one gruesome part regarding maggots but the game refrained from showing too much there.

Unfortunately, I missed out on running into any monsters or ghosts. This meant I missed out on seeing how running away, hiding, and surviving works in this new gameplay style.

That said, there is a lot of potential for exploration and puzzles from what I saw. I still have a lot of questions about this game but I appreciate what I previewed. The cast looks to have some solid characters I want to know more about. In addition, Corpse Party 2: Darkness Distortion’s new 3D style already feels much scarier than any past game. I just hope the full experience isn’t as confusing to navigate as this short demo.

Corpse Party 2: Darkness Distortion will release for Nintendo Switch, PS4, and PC in Fall 2024.

The post Preview: Corpse Party 2: Darkness Distortion Terrifies and Confuses appeared first on Siliconera.

At Anime Expo 2024, I had the chance to preview about 20 minutes with Atlus’ next major JRPG, Metaphor: ReFantazio. I came away the most impressed I have been in quite some time for a demo build of a game. This title feels like the next evolution of the Atlus JRPG formula and so much more than just a medieval spin Persona 5.

The start of the demo allowed me to pick between three difficulty settings, which I don’t normally see for previews. I opted for the standard difficulty and the gameplay felt breezy enough but with just enough depth and challenge to tease what’s to come. From the one dungeon I played, it seems like the gameplay will be somewhere around the challenge of Persona 5 but not quite on the level of the Shin Megami Tensei series.

This early dungeon featured three party members, including the protagonist and two additional characters; Strohl and Hulkenberg. We were on a mission to track down a necromancer a gorgeous dungeon and defeat them. Without a doubt, the basis of Persona 5’s systems and stylization is present here, but Metaphor: ReFantazio iterates on almost every single one of those aspects.

For one, the dungeon felt absolutely massive and layered with so many different floors. The neat verticality mixed well with the occasional large-scale chambers to explore. This dungeon format felt less linear than some of the offerings for past Atlus titles, which made it more intriguing to explore. It helped, too, that there was a fair bit to see and do in the location.

Besides running around and battling monsters, there were even two side quests and objectives I ran across in the midst of the dungeon. These optional quests broke up the usual progression and provided solid reasons to explore every inch. The first came right at the start, as a side character tasked me with finding someone for her.

Then partway through the dungeon, I came across a group of people kidnapped by the villainous necromancer and locked in a room. I could find the key and free them if I wanted, which is what I did. This resulted in some optional fights and a surprising payoff to freeing the people. Without spoiling too much, it turned out the locked up people had to do with the other side quest I had to find the girl.

This intertwining nature of the side quests only made them more worth completion. Better yet, I appreciated the reward I got for these quests, which felt far more impactful than money or XP. While I won’t give away everything, this reward included an entirely new bond with a side character.

Unfortunately because I spent so much time on the side content, I didn’t have enough time to finish the dungeon. That said, I still had the chance to really dive into the fascinating hybrid-style combat. It reminds me of the recent The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak. You have the usual turn-based Atlus style plus some action combat as well.

With weaker foes, you can slice and dice them to death with the X button (PS5) without ever transitioning screens. However, with stronger enemies, you can hack-and-slash them to weaken or stun them. From there, you can transition to the usual Press Turn battles but with less work to do. Here, it works like you expect from Atlus in taking advantage of elemental weaknesses to earn more turns. There are some fun changes like team skills and the Archetype system.

Instead of collecting Personas, players switch between JRPG jobs known as Archetypes. These include stuff like Warrior, Brawler, Knight, and more. They each come with their own elemental skills. In this way, Metaphor: ReFantazio feels like a solid mix of traditional Final Fantasy-style JRPGs and Atlus games.

But Metaphor: ReFantazio stands out even among its inspirations due to its stunning visual style. It continues the Persona 5 way of heavily stylizing every aspect. This includes everything from the characters to special effects to even the UI. However, I will go ahead and say it right now: this title already looks somehow significantly better than even Persona 5 Royal did. The smooth transitions in battles to the unique fonts to the richly detailed character art in the menus is extraordinary.

From my time with the sadly brief Metaphor: ReFantazio preview at Anime Expo 2024, this game simultaneously feels familiar but distinct. It carries its Persona 5 inspiration well while also carving out its own path. The hybrid combat, worthy side content, and unmatched art style makes it so much more than medieval Persona. Metaphor: ReFantazio excites me with what seems to be the next evolution of the Atlus JRPG formula.

Metaphor: ReFantazio will release for PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on October 11, 2024.

The post Preview: Metaphor: ReFantazio Evolves the Atlus JRPG Formula appeared first on Siliconera.

SunnySide falls into the age-old trap of being a game that isn’t quite ready for most players to jump into at this point. This ambitious farming sim and RPG contains an unbelievable amount of depth and systems, but every aspect of from the UI to how it plays undermines its promise.

If you’ve played games like Stardew Valley or Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town, you’ll recognize the impetus for the plot. You move from the big city in Japan to a small town in the countryside to start over. Your highly customizable player character inherits an extremely empty piece of land to farm and build up to your liking.

To SunnySide’s credit, this game is about as freeing as it gets when it comes to the genre. You can truly make your character look like you or whoever you want due to so many aspects to tweak, from weight to facial features to hair to even gender identity. However, the 3D graphics look a bit bland, especially when it comes to character models. This is a shame, since the actual 2D character portraits look fantastic. That said, the welcome depth of customization helps to somewhat offset that. After all, your farm is a blank canvas to call your own. You can build every inch of your farm and house from a lowly tent to a burgeoning mansion. In this way, the game feels like a survival crafting experience, but this is only a sliver of the experiences SunnySide has to offer.

There is also the entire farming aspect, where players plant seeds, water them, and sell them to make cash to unlock more materials, buildings, gifts, and upgrades. If that isn’t enough, there is even simplistic turn-based RPG combat. However, it feels like even more of an afterthought than similar battle systems in other games like Stardew Valley. You can go dozens of hours without really diving into the linear dungeons and straightforward fights. There is little depth to this outside of a few commands and the deck-like system of collecting different Ofuda for effects. Collecting Ofuda starts out fun, but the relatively breezy difficulty ensures it doesn’t feel as necessary as it could. I wish the turn-based combat had more of a prominence in the overall progression of the game.

All of these different aspects are wrapped up in a smartphone-based interface, which feels intuitive. However, it is SunnySide’s ambition that is also its downfall. While I am grateful to have so many different activities, none of them feel complete or worth diving into. A huge part of this comes from how poorly everything runs. This game is sometimes a challenge to play due to how it barely chugs along, especially in the outdoor, open-world areas. Yet it even takes its time loading and running at a snail’s pace at times indoors as well. This could be because I spent most of my time on Steam Deck, where the frame rate is all over the place. To make matters worse, the frequent pop-ins and sluggish loading hurts it even more.

To give it a fair shake, I booted SunnySide up on a beefier gaming PC. Unfortunately, it didn’t fare much better there than on Steam Deck. It ran a little smoother in some areas, but still had major visual and performance hiccups. Without a doubt, this game has some of the most atrocious optimization I’ve seen in a while.

Sadly, the problems don’t stop there. While the game has controller support, it doesn’t work all that well. The general movement controls are fine and using tools feels acceptable, but the interface is a mess to deal with. Most of the menus use a cursor to deal with the menu, inventory, and even phone. It is pretty slow and imprecise, leading to me wasting more time in the menus than necessary. This is even worse when you consider how almost everything is in the phone menu, such as messages and even the world map.

However, there is one element that may never get a fix, and that is the romance system. Having 25 romanceable characters sounds impressive, but this hides some serious issues with dating in the game. Every character has a dating preference on the gender expression scale. This scale is what players use during character creation to determine their identity. Basically, you have a 10-point scale for masculinity, 10-point scale for femininity, and non-binary right in the middle. You can pick your gender identity anywhere along the spectrum, which is quite neat. However, there are some issues with this system, and that's mostly in it's execution.

Fall in love with Hanako, for example, but aren’t feminine? So sorry, but you’re out of luck. I think the idea of centering around this isn’t inherently bad; after all, other farming sim series locked romances behind gender in the past. The problem is you have to research each character ahead of time to know their preferences, and there is no way to change your gender identity at this time once you've left the character creator. This actually feels ironically backwards in a way, since gender identity can be fluid and offering a way to change your gender identity within the game would let players experiment.

It is a shame, too, since the most joy I had with this game was speaking and hanging out with the characters. You can tell SunnySide’s developer took notes from the Persona series. Each character has different levels to their friendship where you get to learn more about them. Some of the stories are pretty emotional, genuinely funny, and quite diverse.

The writing, in general, is actually quite brilliant. It just sucks that there is so much frustration with the controls, performance, and UI the vast majority of the time to get to that slim payoff. In the end, this makes SunnySide the epitome of “wait and see” early access title. It simply does too much from its survival mechanics to building to RPG combat to farming and relationships.

While there is so much to see here, rarely does anything work properly to make the experience feel worthwhile. I do believe there is a solid farming sim RPG in the making with SunnySide, but it could take a long time and plenty of updates to reach that potential. For now, I don’t recommend giving it a look unless you’re okay with quite a lot of grievances.

SunnySide is available right now on PCs via Steam.

The post Review: SunnySide Is Ambitious, But Underwhelming appeared first on Siliconera.

If there is one element Atlus is becoming really good at lately, it is respecting and preserving older titles in its gigantic library. Most of the modern Persona games and mainline Shin Megami Tensei titles exist on current systems. However, there are two noticeable exceptions that could be used as a solution, such as an SMTIV and Apocalypse remaster collection.

If you want to, it is technically possible to play every single mainline Shin Megami Tensei game right now on a modern system. After all, there is a brilliant remaster of Nocturne on all current systems and PCs. Plus, there is the recent release of SMTV: Vengeance, which makes it available to everyone.

In fact, you can even play the older SMT titles, such as the first game, second game, and even if on Nintendo Switch. That is, if you have a Japanese account. However, it is possible, at least, which can’t be said for two particular games that are left out: Shin Megami Tensei IV and Apocalypse. As of right now, there are the only mainline games not available on current hardware.

They were also only ever released on the Nintendo 3DS and nowhere else. So, unless you use unsavory means, it isn’t possible to play them if you don’t have a 3DS handheld. This is why it is so crucial a remaster collection happens. I could see a situation where the two connected games come together into a remastered collection on Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

It wouldn’t be too difficult to modernize them, either. Though these games had a second screen, removing it isn’t too big of an issue. The bottom screen with your demons would just need to move to the top screen in some way. The 3D visuals still look solid on 3DS, so you only need some light brushing up there. Of course, some quality-of-life features might be welcome, but that’s pretty much it.

For me, personally, SMTIV: Apocalypse is my favorite game in the series. It perfectly balances story, characters, and a twisted world to explore so excellently. SMTIV is also fantastic, though the two are quite similar in some regards. With how solid these games are — even better than the recent SMTV, in my opinion — it is a shame they are stuck elsewhere. In fact, Atlus now has a pretty open slate for the Shin Megami Tensei series. With the release of Vengeance, no other games are coming for the franchise.

An SMTIV and Apocalypse remaster collection could be the perfect next title to satiate fans. They would be fairly easy to put out and a simple success for the company. Better yet, an SMTIV and Apocalypse remaster collection could tie fans over until Shin Megami Tensei VI, Persona 6, or whatever is next from Atlus. It is possible those games are a couple of years away still, so this would be a great way to keep players occupied.

I would be happy if they included Strange Journey as well. It also falls into the unfortunate portable-exclusive dilemma. It might be too soon after Vengeance for an SMTIV and Apocalypse remaster collection, but it needs to happen eventually. A release of these two brilliant 3DS JRPGs for modern consoles and PC would be a welcome release in 2025 or 2026. Regardless, I hope Atlus doesn’t let these games remain exclusive to the 3DS.

Shin Megami Tensei IV and Apocalypse are only available right now for Nintendo 3DS.

The post Atlus Needs to Remaster SMT IV and Apocalypse appeared first on Siliconera.