>>14229
It really is, the last time I tried using Yuzu was a little less than a year ago and nothing worked then.

>In your opinion, is the dialogue simply too bland?
Yeah, I can't quite put my finger on it but it's really bland and felt off. I understand that dialogue in the SoS series have never really been exceptional but I really don't know if it's down to poor localization or simply bad writing. This also applies to the design in general, it lacks the cozy and unique charm that older SoS games exhibits that we've talked about before. To be honest if I didn't know better I would've thought it was a western game or even a HM entry. Don't know if these are exclusive to PoOT or are the previous SoS games also the same, design-wise? I might wait for the latest update to become available before trying it again and speaking of which it seems like there was an announcement about a new DLC. One other thing that really bugs me is the lack of character portraits. The camera doesn't really change or focus onto the characters you are speaking to either, this makes it difficult to recognize the characters in my opinion.

Personally I would like to see more "Japanese" video games being developed like Sakuna. In my opinion Japanese video game industry have always been influenced by the west more so than it hasn't. A lot of "Japanese" genres are basically Japanese reinterpretation of western games anyway, for example early JRPGs like DQ and FF are influenced by games like Wizardry and Ultima. Outside of genres, even design choices have a higher tendency to reflect the west such as the prevalence of western fantasy. Then there are obviously games like Resident Evil and you could argue even games like SoS are fundamentally "western" in its setting.

>>14230
>I really don't know if it's down to poor localization or simply bad writing.
Localization probably didn't help, but considering the feedback from the Japanese audience, it's probably more of the latter, maybe.

>This also applies to the design in general, it lacks the cozy and unique charm that older SoS games exhibits that we've talked about before.
From the screenshots and videos I've seen, the game appears to be "slicker" and more "futuristic", for the lack of better words. So at least graphics-wise, this could have an affect on one's perception. Further, possibly because there's no character portraits, there's a less personable and immersive feeling present.

>Don't know if these are exclusive to PoOT or are the previous SoS games also the same, design-wise?
I've only played Trio of Towns, and while it looked like ass color-wise, I believe it still had that cozy atmosphere. So this is a little disturbing to learn.

>One other thing that really bugs me is the lack of character portraits. The camera doesn't really change or focus onto the characters you are speaking to either, this makes it difficult to recognize the characters in my opinion.
It's funny you mentioned that issue because, and I could be mistaken, the 3D models' expressions were a reason for not including portraits. Even assuming this gets fixed, the absence of portraits will still be felt since they will almost certainly better convey a character's emotions.

>Personally I would like to see more "Japanese" video games being developed like Sakuna.
I was strictly speaking in the realm of genres, but more games that are influenced by aspects of Japanese culture would be appreciated.

https://www.gematsu.com/2021/05/3d-action-rpg-made-in-abyss-binary-star-falling-into-darkness-announced-for-ps4-switch-and-pc

I wonder how much of the gore and dark elements will they be able to maintain. At least it's Spike Chunsoft and officially supervised by Akihito, I've always thought that the series might make for an interesting game although I have no idea how it should play out. Playing as a new and unnamed character will be interesting.

Post edited on 4th May 2021, 6:57pm

>>14253
>I have no idea how it should play out
Dungeon crawler seems like a natural pick.

Still waiting for the supposedly substantive 1.0.5 patch, but in the meantime, here's a video showing off some of new content that is to be included in said patch: https://twitter.com/bokumono_PR/status/1394850299261505541 . More than anything, I realize that you could have the MC ignore farming in favor of stalking the town's residents with one's camera.

>>14261
Do you own a Switch? Are you planning on getting it? A while back I read a news about a new mobile spin-off of the series. Seems like the Chinese conglomerate Tencent are the ones responsible for it and part of the reason they invested in Marvelous, I only hope that it doesn't affect Marvelous Inc and any of their future developments.

>>14262
>Do you own a Switch? Are you planning on getting it?
Yes and yes. After May's patch is released, I'll probably buy it. Can't say I'm too excited after reading more into the game. For example, outside of the bugs and glitches, the fact that villagers still have a static schedule is ridiculous. It's been more than a decade since Rune Factory 3; Why can't Marvelous give SoS' characters the gift of randomized schedules? It's little things like this that are vital to the life simulation side of things. Besides that, quite worried about how Westernized this title will be compared to previous releases. (See >>14230.) Regardless, I'll probably start a new thread to post about my experience with the game instead of flooding other threads. Hopefully others will join in it.

[As an aside, I'd prefer some characters to be strictly gay than every bachelor(ette) be bisexual. Feels lazy.]

>A while back I read a news about a new mobile spin-off of the series.
This spin-off is indeed a thing, and it's being developed as I type this post. It looks to be a Chinese-exclusive, but it has a good chance coming West-side, unfortunately.

>Seems like the Chinese conglomerate Tencent are the ones responsible for it and part of the reason they invested in Marvelous, I only hope that it doesn't affect Marvelous Inc and any of their future developments.
I have the same worries, but if it makes you feel any better, the mobile game at least is being developed by a different company. So Tencent is only using Marvelous' IP.

Post edited on 25th May 2021, 11:30pm

>>14263
I don't hold any opinion about randomized schedule, do you have examples of games that implements it? Personally I would say that having more events late game are a higher priority. Common criticisms I've seen about the SoS series is that late game feels boring and lacks challenge but I don't personally play the series for a challenge. I have yet to delve too much into PooT but unless I'm mistaken I've read a review that lauds its implementation of features that are in SV, including having enemies in mines. If it's true then I have to say that I'm not too fond of it nor the idea of having hundreds of levels in the mine. Maybe I simply derive a different enjoyment out of video games from the general target audience but I don't enjoy things like these as well as the idea of post game dungeons in RPGs. One feature I liked from MM was the possibility of buying new plot of lands in the village, maybe they could expand upon the idea and allow you to build new facilities beyond simple farming/ranching. I'm not really bothered about the sexuality, are you saying its lazy because it would've been better implemented as part of the character's personality?

Not sure if there is anyone else interested in the series besides the two of us but I'll be looking forward to hearing about your playthrough of the series. Maybe you could even do a private youtube stream.

>>14264
>I don't hold any opinion about randomized schedule, do you have examples of games that implements it?
As I implied in my post, Rune Factory 3 has randomized schedules where outside of one's core routine (e.g.a shopkeeper at work), characters will wander about doing various activities (e.g. shopping; fishing; eating; bathing; etc). It gives the world some dynamism. Rune Factory 4 also has this feature.

>Personally I would say that having more events late game are a higher priority. Common criticisms I've seen about the SoS series is that late game feels boring and lacks challenge but I don't personally play the series for a challenge
In terms of priority, I agree. Expanding the game's content such that a player feels incentivized to play longer than a year and a half is challenging, and previous games made attempts to solve this; however, such solutions usually meant tedious and arbitrary item hoarding. More events would certainly be welcome, though.

>I have yet to delve too much into PooT but unless I'm mistaken I've read a review that lauds its implementation of features that are in SV, including having enemies in mines. If it's true then I have to say that I'm not too fond of it nor the idea of having hundreds of levels in the mine.
In general, and as we've discussed before, Marvelous is looking towards SV for ideas, and they're being influenced by the wrong ones to appease a different but seemingly larger audience. It's a damn shame. With that said, Harvest Moon DS's mines did have (avian) enemies, and the number floors could be expressed as 2^16. So there's a sort of precedence here.

>Maybe I simply derive a different enjoyment out of video games from the general target audience but I don't enjoy things like these as well as the idea of post game dungeons in RPGs.
Having a lot of mine floors isn't much of a problem for me as long most them are optional, but having hostile mobs inhabit the mine is ridiculous. The Rune Factory series is great, but I'd rather such things be kept separate from SoS.

>One feature I liked from MM was the possibility of buying new plot of lands in the village, maybe they could expand upon the idea and allow you to build new facilities beyond simple farming/ranching.
Yes! Property management, however basic, was a good idea in MM, and its return would be welcome. With regards to more activities, moving up the supply chain would be a natural expansion. Makers are an implementation of this, but dedicated buildings would be more interesting. And considering that PoOT seems to be in a more futuristic setting than previous titles, it would also be fitting. In addition, being able to operate a store to directly sell to customers (In addition to the original method of throwing your crap into a shipping bin.) could be another avenue to explore.

>I'm not really bothered about the sexuality, are you saying its lazy because it would've been better implemented as part of the character's personality?
In a way, yes. It isn't all that important, and I'm just nitpicking.

>Not sure if there is anyone else interested in the series besides the two of us but I'll be looking forward to hearing about your playthrough of the series. Maybe you could even do a private youtube stream.
If anything, maybe it'll interest some other people. It'll at least make TC look more active! With regards to the stream idea, it's not something that I'd be interested in doing, for a few reasons including technical ones. Also, if you ever get the chance, you should post about your experiences with any of the SoS (or RF) games should you ever feel the want to do so.

https://www.gematsu.com/2021/05/dragon-quest-xii-the-flames-of-fate-announced
https://www.gematsu.com/2021/05/dragon-quest-treasures-announced
https://www.gematsu.com/2021/05/dragon-quest-iii-hd-2d-remake-announced-for-consoles
https://www.gematsu.com/2021/05/dragon-quest-x-offline-announced
https://www.gematsu.com/2021/05/infinity-strash-dragon-quest-the-adventure-of-dai-screenshots-producer-message

Yuji Horii have been busy.

Post edited on 27th May 2021, 2:47am

>>14265
I see what you mean now, that would certainly be nice to have. I've never played HM64 but I've heard that it, alongside the earlier SoS games were a little darker and there are events involving couples divorcing and characters dying of old age. I'm partial towards the more SoL and lighthearted end of the series but it would be interesting to have events that reflects the passage of time without being necessarily morbid. SoL genres tend to have a timeless quality to them that might make it difficult to disrupt its "tranquility", this reminds me of the conversation in the NNB thread. I agree, having battle mechanics in SoS breaks the suspension of disbelief for me and is better kept separate in Rune Factory. I can appreciate them constantly innovating with the series but I don't really buy into the more plot driven and "mature" entries like Save the Homeland and a Wonderful Life. My ideal would probably play out like MM with social interactions in the level of the Mineral Town games. The doraemon spinoff actually feels pretty good with a number of innovations like beekeeping and catching insects. In essence late game SoS generally plays out like an open world game not unlike minecraft(?) where the players simply expand their farm further, this is something that I never understood and caught on. In my opinions, they should expand the property management in MM into something akin to a village management/community building sim but tie it in more naturally into the villagers. Another interesting system in MM was that depending on the items you ship, certain villagers would come in and start new business or leave the village. This, coupled with the fact that there has been many characters throughout the series that are unemployed, could make it so you could work with them to open a new store as you've mentioned. Are you familiar with the game Azure Dreams? There are elements in that game that is similar to what I've said and might work well with SoS. Frankly, I would try my hands in making my own game but unfortunately I'm illiterate when it comes to programming.

Speaking of which, did you use to post in Samachan? The SoS series aren't often talked about in imageboards, let alone smaller ones and the last time I remember it being talked about was in Samachan.

Post edited on 27th May 2021, 5:55am

>>14267
>but it would be interesting to have events that reflects the passage of time without being necessarily morbid. SoL genres tend to have a timeless quality to them that might make it difficult to disrupt its "tranquility", this reminds me of the conversation in the NNB thread.
Well stated. To add to this, there's some anime and visual novels that have an air of yearning, wistfulness, and an undercurrent of gentle melancholy. So while it's mostly pleasant, these attributes add depth to the world and attachment to the characters in it.

>The doraemon spinoff actually feels pretty good with a number of innovations like beekeeping and catching insects.
Still need to play that. Nonetheless, the former activity has been in the series since at least A New Beginning, and the latter made its debut in Grand Bazaar or earlier.

>In my opinions, they should expand the property management in MM into something akin to a village management/community building sim but tie it in more naturally into the villagers.
That's a natural path to take, and indeed, there was some implementation of it in A New Beginning where one would acquire blueprints and materials to build up the initially dilapidated town; one could freely arrange the town's buildings and decorations. Something more in-depth would be neat, however.

>Another interesting system in MM was that depending on the items you ship, certain villagers would come in and start new business or leave the village.
That's really cool! Such dynamism makes the player feel their presence in the world has an effect, and similar features would be very welcome.

>Are you familiar with the game Azure Dreams? There are elements in that game that is similar to what I've said and might work well with SoS.
Had to look it up, but I recognized its cover's artwork. From what I've read, some SoS games had, more or less, a system like this where the player is involved with the development of the nearby town(s). The previous entry, Trio of Towns, had the player ship their products to the adjacent communities whereby ingratiating oneself with their respective denizens. Throughout this process the player is tasked to provide money, materials, products, and time to improving those places. Azure Dreams seems to be more free-form, however, and I think that's more interesting.

>Frankly, I would try my hands in making my own game but unfortunately I'm illiterate when it comes to programming.
Programming is integral, but the production of good assets (e.g. music, sfx, graphics) would probably be the most challenging. After all, there's a wealth of resources for learning to make games with existing engines.

>Speaking of which, did you use to post in Samachan? The SoS series aren't often talked about in imageboards, let alone smaller ones and the last time I remember it being talked about was in Samachan.
Negative. Occasionally lurked there but never posted.

>>14269
In terms of direction, I think the Doraemon SoS is the one that I really took a liking to since MM although that isn't really saying much since I've practically skipped all the handheld series. It's unfortunate that it comes with two big flaws that comes with it being a tie-in and a spin-off: it is very heavily plot-driven and it's severely lacking in the social aspect; there is no romance option and relationships are generally just triggers to advance plotlines. That makes it an antithesis to the series' charm in my opinion. Besides that, it actually has a very strong iyashikei vibe, the bgm is good and the town layout and map is the best in recent memory. To be honest, I'm not fond of the town in PoOT. Seems like they are adding new communities with the new patches but it only makes it even more disjointed to me.

>That's a natural path to take, and indeed, there was some implementation of it in A New Beginning
Indeed, it would have been better if they were to expand in that direction. A New Beginning sounds interesting but I did read up on it and unfortunately it seems that it's riddled with a lot of issues as well and the aforementioned system aren't very well implemented.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aep2yoBT8rs

It's looking good, wonder if it's possible to ever have a collab between the two series.

https://www.gematsu.com/2021/06/monark-teaser-website-opened-new-school-rpg-from-former-shin-megami-tensei-staff

Seems interesting, the SMT/Persona series are still doing well but perhaps this will hark back to the darker atmosphere of the earlier games. Would be a pleasant surprise if Kouji Okada were somehow involved with the project.

Post edited on 2nd Jun 2021, 11:20am

https://www.gematsu.com/2021/06/shin-megami-tensei-v-website-update-reportedly-leaks-november-11-release-date

The (old) trailer has me excited as the series is finally coming back to console after SMT IV. I understand that Persona have essentially taken over SMT as the "mainline" series and the primary project of Atlus. It's unfortunate but it seems that Kazuma Kaneko won't really have as much contribution as he did in the past, at least not in terms of design. He's among my favorite artists and what really defines the SMT universe. Soejima and Doi are good artists and possibly better than Kaneko in terms of skill but they lack his idiosyncratic approach to design. Their style are more in line with mainstream anime and I would argue to be boring in comparison to their mentor's.

>>14272
I like the few designs they showed and the idea of a system around the deadly sins. No PC version for now though.

Battlefield 2042: Macross Frontier edition https://youtu.be/yY877xAE9Jg?t=177 :cloud_lightning:
KOF Luong time no see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opNubV7j1Tc :stuck_out_tongue:

>>14281
That looks so dumb. I'm disappointed but I don't know why I should expect better. I am surprised by the comments people were making though, there seemed to be a huge backlash against BFV for adding ridiculous things but they all seem to love that man jumping out of an F-35 with a rocket launcher and shooting another jet and then jumping back in his own jet...

Guess I won't buy this one either.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6pCyV7PnqI

Still not too enthusiastic about the collab with George R. R. Martin but at least visually and atmospherically everything is congruent with From Software's past titles albeit there might be a little more fantastical elements than usual.

>>14280
It's ironic how it bears so much resemblance to the Persona series, considering Persona was conceived as a spin-off of Shin Megami Tensei if.. which the big names involved in Monark was the creator of. It has all come full circle. The deadly sins system might be interesting but I'm not as keen on the designs.

Post edited on 10th Jun 2021, 8:34pm

>>14283
At least, GRRM isn't writing a story and he has others to hopefully keep this tardiness in line.

>>14283
It's just Darksouls 4 but with horses.

>>14290
>>14291
I hope so. I could be wrong but I seem to remember it being mentioned when it was first announced that the game will be different from the Souls series in that there will be predetermined player character/s, which would make it more similar to Sekiro and possibly more plot driven than the Souls series. Never read GRRM's works but it seems very much like tolkienesque high fantasy, not my cup of tea. There are certainly influences of it in Elden Ring but fortunately it still looks very much like a Souls game. Off the top of my head, DS2 is probably the closest to Elden Ring in terms of aesthetic.

>>14292
That's annoying, I like being able to pick my own character.

It's not high fantasy, it's more mid to low. GRR is not a very good writer and I don't think he has the ability to actually create a Darksouls type world and story, it's far too subtle and nuanced for him, so he may not contribute much if anything to the project anyway(and it would be for the best).

>>14293
https://www.gematsu.com/2019/06/elden-ring-is-an-evolution-of-dark-souls-says-director-hidetaka-miyazaki

Never mind, seems like I was very much off the mark and as another poster said, he's only really involved in the world building and mythos of the game.

>I don't think he has the ability to actually create a Darksouls type world and story, it's far too subtle and nuanced for him
I agree, I would say that the subtle approach that the Souls series adopt is its main charm and an aspect I find is unique and ingrained to the Japanese design philosophy.

>>14294
>ingrained to the Japanese design philosophy

You just made me remember how much I hate people that calls Dark Souls a western RPG.

>>14295
Why people are saying that? I don't want to look this shit up. If having a medieval europe setting or having characters wearing western school uniforms or western white collar suits make Japanese games Western games then holy shit, I'm afraid Japanese games don't exist.

>>14296
It's a medieval Europe setting AND the characters don't look like they're from an anime.

>>14294
Dark Souls is about as subtle as a jackhammer.

>>14296
Because what you said and because they hate JRPG's but like Dark Souls, therefore Dark Souls has to be a WRPG.

>>14298
If he's talking about the visuals yes, but I think he means the inconspicuous way the story is told by being silently dropped here and there through item description and small, loose conversations that you have to piece together instead of railroading and hitting you with a loud cutscene loaded with exposition, which is something I also like it a lot. Given how on the nose GoT is with its flamboyant and sometimes obnoxiously loud characters, I understand the concern of connecting GRRM to this project, though It's probably unfair to say that writing something with more restraint is beyond him. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

If that's the case, I do think calling that Japanese design philosophy is rather odd though. That approach to storytelling is pretty much how locked-room mystery fiction works, which is not something Japanese originally. Gamewise, many D&D stories work the same way (grimdark, unobtrusive characters and plot, finding pieces of information you have to put together like a puzzle), and some of those supplements came out in the 70s. Well, I don't expect anyone to be as sick and addicted to consuming massive amounts fiction as I am to even know that stuff exists anymore, but still.

That said, I still agree with that anon in the sense that the way the Japanese understand dark fantasy and grimdark, at least in the soul games, is very attractive. It has a very special type of silence and the whole thing has this self-effacing approach to it that is hard to explain. I know it might not look like if you're just paying attention to some of the more gaudy weapons and armor designs you find in the series but it's there, and it's certainly very different of how GRRM usually understands it, or approaches it at least. I feel the same way with how some Japanese developers understand post-apoc and distopias, I'm thinking about games such as Panzer Dragoon Saga. I would probably have to write an essay to explain exactly what I mean but I'm sure most of you already know what I'm talking about.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PgRBcRi5NY

For some reason the protag's design looks like a sentai character and feels a little out of place for me. The color scheme feels off as well. Still excited nonetheless. Also looking forward to the new Super Robot Wars and Fatal Frame.

The English trailer for Rune Factory 5 was recently released. It's pretty sad to see that the style of the graphics looks poorer than Frontier, but perhaps that's just me. Thankfully, visuals aren't high on my list outside of the character portraits, but I will miss the 2D artwork of the previous games; they were quite pleasing. Also, since the Rune Factory 4 Special included Japanese voices, while the original English release of RF4 didn't, I remain hopeful 5 will also have them.

>>14270
>there is no romance option and relationships are generally just triggers to advance plotlines.
This is why it's low on my backlog, but then again, I'd probably would have already finished it if I played games more often.

>the bgm is good
Speaking of, it kills me that SoS and Rune Factory games possess such mediocre (or even sub-mediocre) BGM. This is one of the easiest things to fix, and yet it's still a problem. The fact that a spin-off has better music than the mainline games is both good to hear but also kind of saddening.

>Seems like they are adding new communities with the new patches but it only makes it even more disjointed to me.
Tree of Tranquility and Animal Parade had something similar where there were districts scattered across the world: shops, industry, and farmlands. They looked pretty nice, actually, but it also meant the player needed to travel more--kind of a hassle.

>A New Beginning sounds interesting but I did read up on it and unfortunately it seems that it's riddled with a lot of issues as well and the aforementioned system aren't very well implemented.
Biggest problems with the town-building is that it's tedious. If future games improved upon it, I think such a feature would be a great asset to the series. But the worst part of ANB is that the first month was an absolute slog, and it's one of those games that require one to collect and horde items to complete story objectives. As I mentioned in previous posts, I'm pretty sure this is done to artificially inflate playtime. With that said, ANB also had the Witch Princess, and she's best girl even if her evilness was significantly reduced.

>>14304
Yeah, I suppose the bgm for the series were never its strongest suit. That said the mineral town series probably have the most memorable ones in the series in my opinion and the ones made for the sixth generation consoles were decent as well.

https://www.gematsu.com/2021/08/bloomberg-netease-games-in-final-negotiations-to-poach-toshihiro-nagoshi-from-sega

https://twitter.com/NintendoAmerica/status/1437930124490457088


After many many years, Nintendo finally caved and added Bluetooth audio support to all switches via a new update.

>>14338
I hate bluetooth headphones. I assumed this already worked though, strange.

>>14339
I think there were technical limitations because the controllers work off Bluetooth too. So far I've heard using BT audio limits the amount of controllers you can use to 2, and some people can't connect their headsets anyway.

Well, Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town is available on Steam. Still haven't played despite being excited for it, and posting about it in this thread, but it just looks so God damn disappointing and bland.
At least you'll be able to play it now without the overhead of the emulator, only-other-anon-who-plays-hm.

>>14341
I've actually been playing for the past days, been meaning to post about it but I thought it'd be better to wait until I've played it further and post it in another thread. They've certainly fixed a lot of the things we've criticized about in the past. I suppose playing it with very low framerate in an emulator didn't really help my initial experience as well. Overall I think it's a decent game. I still agree to an extent that the design is bland and even now I struggle to remember the name of the villagers. The gameplay is probably the best part about it but I still have some peeves with some of the game design choices. I find that the game progression are less natural as older games are but this is not a problem with SoS alone but rather modern games in general. If you have the chance to pirate it I'd encourage you to give it a try yourself and see if you like it before making a purchase.

>>14342
Certainly curious after reading your post, and I kind of want to play it so at least you're not the only one posting about it in the prospective thread.

I haven't followed Rune Factory 5 all that much, but the Western release will be coming in March. Sadly, it seems the performance is complete garbage, and the game looks worse than the Wii ones. And, supposedly, the reason for the delayed release for the Western world is because the devs were told to implement fagshit since it wasn't in the Japanese version. I wouldn't be upset, really, about such a system being in place, but it's probably going to be implemented poorly since it wasn't in the original scope of the game.
Rune Factory died with 4, arguably 3.

Post edited on 23rd Sep 2021, 6:19pm

>>14344
My opinions in this post were hyperbolic in retrospect. Really, I'm disappointed that the game runs like complete shit (and looks bad too), and that it takes cues from 4 rather than 3.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhMqQBm93MM
Looks like Saber is going to be in the new Melty Blood.

Sora in SMASH

Rest in peace.

Some brief snippets:
-Sakura Taisen is finally going to be featured in a Super Robot Taisen series.
-Following the 20 year rule, the PS2 is finally allowed on GCCX and the first game featured is Earth Defence Force.

https://www.techradar.com/uk/news/playstation-patents-the-worst-idea-of-all-time

The Advance Wars remake's new artwork looks fucking terrible, and the "upgrade" to 3D completes the removal of the originals' charms. Who the hell is the target audience for this cheap crap?

>>14354
Westerners. It's not releasing in Japan which is insanely funny to me.