Square Enix might have accidentally broken the internet when they released a now-deleted trailer for Kingdom Hearts 3 ReMind. The trailer announced a January PS4 release, February Xbox One release, and featured a few more details than viewers anticipated. The teaser was removed from the company’s official YouTube channel, but not before a handful of juicy content was leaked and spread throughout social media like wildfire.
Confirmed to return to the franchise are some favorite Final Fantasy characters. To top it off, the trailer also confirmed that there would be new playable heroes for fans to enjoy. The trailer itself is said to have spoiled a lot of the major story beats for the DLC, which may have been an even bigger reveal than the release dates themselves.
As of this posting, the video has been re-uploaded on multiple channels, but we’ll keep this post relatively spoiler-free. Instead, here is the original announcement trailer for your enjoyment.
If you’re anything like me, you love a good challenge. When something says “you can’t do this”, I like to roll my sleeves and prove that I can. So when I got into Slime-san Superslime Edition for the first time, I was itching to see what kind of hurdle was ahead of me. Released just last week, Slime-san Superslime Edition brings back last years addition to the indie platform genre, albeit with some neat new challenges. Before you call it another Super Meat Boy, I should tell you that Slime-san is in a whole different ballpark. While both share similar foundations, Slime-san Superslime Edition adds features to help ease certain growing pains for players who aren’t pixel-perfect jumpers. With that in mind, this charming little orb of goo brought all the joys and expected frustration that make for a solid title.
Starting from the Bottom
What do you do when a giant worm swallows you whole and stomach acid swells up behind you? You run like hell! After finding himself in a city built in the lower bowels of his predator, Slime-san wastes no time leaving. You’ll find yourself learning the ropes as you hop, skip, jump and inevitably perish through each group of levels. Sprinkled into every death maze is one apple that can be used to unlock items, but getting to them can be a challenge. Some apples are in hard to reach areas and often leaves you with mere milliseconds to get back on course. Plus, each level has a time limit. If you take too long, a wall of acid will begin to wash over the screen. The acid is a great feature though. It slides into view and creates some nail-biting moments. I found myself shouting at the screen to urge Slime-san to move faster and celebrated every split second finish. Of course, there was even more shouting when I didn’t make it.
I really welcomed the idea of the acid. Instead of plotting out my approach to each level, I had to improvise my moves because I honestly didn’t have time to think. Sometimes the method I originally started with took more time than the method I ended up finishing the level with. And that is one of the shining traits of Slime-san. It wasn’t so much about perfecting one single approach. It was about finding your own way to get the job done and maybe fit an apple or two in there. Every level was fair and winnable, but figuring out how to beat it was the key to it all. Plus, the addition of apples gives the game a nice bump in difficulty should players choose to go for them. As for Slime-san, he has a bag of tricks that made for some interesting solutions to each obstacle.
Acid Relfexes
If Super Mario could do what Slime-san does on a daily basis, I would have crushed that game instead of my controller. There’s been this trope in platformers that says these types of games have to be hard and unforgiving. If you don’t have the dexterity to play them, you’ll need to either play for dozens of hours or just quit. Not with Slime-san. This little guy has an edge over his opponent with a few abilities that saved me from a serious headache. Slime-san can double jump, dash to cover more ground, stick to walls, and phase through green objects. Dashing momentarily speeds up the movement of obstacles in the level while phasing slows them down for however long you hold the button. Time ticks at the same rate though, so the acid isn’t going to wait for you to return back to normal speed. The levels will also try to kill you with multiple red items, such as blocks or enemies. Try not to touch them. In Slime-san, red means dead.
Let’s go back to the phasing ability. It’s a clever design that lets a player navigate an otherwise difficult area with ease while sacrificing precious seconds. It’s perfect. I can’t imagine how many times slowing things down saved my goopy behind. From epic falls into last second air hops to missing deadly razor blades by a hair, this ability prevented me from losing my mind. I absolutely loved its presence. If it wasn’t there I most likely would have cowered in a corner while the game uninstalled in the background. It was that important to me and I feel like others could agree. It’s a nice way to give newer platform gamers a fighting chance. If a level gets too hard, slow it down and see how things play out. You can up the ante by only phasing when necessary but good luck completing some of these maps without it. I definitely wouldn’t want to try it. Call it a crutch if you want but I still got my apples without dying.
Extra Slime, Please
Speaking of apples, you can cash your fruit in at the hub for cosmetic changes like hats and screen backgrounds. At the beginning of your journey you’ll start in a hub with a variety of interesting worm dwellers. These folks will offer you all kinds of services before you embark on your adventure. You can return whenever you want to purchase new cosmetics or change out Slime-san for a different slime. New slimes have different traits like higher jumps or longer dashes. These upgrades are traded for caveats like the inability to stand still or do other important slime related movements. Choose wisely, as some levels will certainly become harder to handle. I stuck with the traditional Slime-san because life was hard enough for me. Of course, I needed some sweet panel art to adorn my screen’s flanks.
If you manage to smash through all 100 levels, demolishing evil organs and hitting new hubs on the way, congratulations! You saved the day and freed yourself from the innards of a reckless rope monster. What should you do now? Of course, you can return to gather every apple you missed, unlock a multitude of characters and items, and collect every piece of game art there is. Or you could try one of the other three campaigns that come with the Superslime Edition. Packed with tons of new challenges and more fruit to obtain, players can look forward to even more pixel jumping action with nearly endless replayability. Still not hard enough? Give New Game+, Speedrun, and Boss Rush modes a try. There’s sure to be a massive amount of Slime-san waiting for you to conquer.
A Victory for the Genre
I really think Slime-san Superslime Edition is the perfect game to get your feet wet in this genre. It slowly eases you into harder and harder levels without ever making it feel like you just can’t do it. There was always a strong feeling like every challenge was achievable if you just tried to innovate with your movements. My only gripe was that the color palette was a bit hard to get into at first but that is purely personal preference. The color scheme has a certain charm to it that serves a purpose, and although I wasn’t feeling it, it helped me identify what was OK to touch and what was a no fly zone. Once I unlocked a new background and added some flavor to my screen, I felt a little more at home with my slime and things went smoothly from there.
I had my doubts, but Slime-san quickly changed my mind. There’s nothing like it. I laughed, I screamed and I danced in the belly of the worm as I completed level after level. It was quite an experience, and perhaps others will feel the same triumph I felt when I finally reached my goals. This was one hell of a title, and I look forward to more Slime-san in the future.
Have you ever played dodgeball to the heavy kick of loud electronic music? A simple child’s game suddenly becomes a battlefield as natural selection separates the warriors from the weak. Add in neon rooms and robots, and you have Disco Dodgeball Remix. It’s a first-person shooter that lets you relive your glory days without the bruises! This family friendly title has a lot to offer for such a deceivingly small package. Easy to learn but hard to master today’s game has enough depth to keep players entertained for quite some time.
Futuristic Fun
Operating the robot avatar takes a little more finesse than it seems, so I started out with Training. Disco Dodgeball Remix doesn’t feature human characters but the robots are able to do some pretty amazing things. You roll around a Tron-like arena picking up glowing disco balls and hurling them towards anyone unlucky enough to be in your sights. As you navigate the ramps and gaps, you’ll have access to boosting, jumping and a handful of game changing power ups. Meanwhile upbeat dance music bumps in your ears, bringing the energy of sci-fi entertainment to life.
Disco Dodgeball Remix features single player and multiplayer options, allowing you to assert your robot dominance online with friends or on the couch with the kids. Single player has several modes to choose from, like challenges or Arcade mode. Challenges allow you to try game types with specific rules set in place to make the matches more interesting. One mode has you ricochet shots for points. Another gives you a jetpack and homing balls to strike fear from above. Arcade mode, easily my favorite, acts as a mock campaign. You begin with 6 lives and must survive rounds of increasingly difficult enemies. Completing a map nets you cash to buy power ups or more lives. It’s a true test of skill as you master this oddly addicting mode. If classic dodgeball is calling your name, try doing a bot match with the Elimination setting. One life per round means the last team standing wins.
Earning experience in any mode will level up your account, unlocking a ton of customization options to ensure you’re looking your deadliest. From funny hats to mustaches, this remix lets players dress up their robot in all manners of fashion so they can command the court in style.
Glimmering Globes
If you like explosions and flashy games, Disco Dodgeball Remix should be up your alley. The visuals seemed silly to me at first. It’s just goofy robots scooting around for little disco balls in a bright room. But that first hit was just so satisfying to watch. I picked up a ball and charged it with destructive power. It shimmered with light like a super saiyan. In an instant it rocketed across the room, into its intended target, and sent fire and embers everywhere. Time slowed down to highlight the kill, allowing me to revel in my euphoria for a split second. When the music swelled again, I was back in real time, seeking out another orb to relive that first moment of victory.
The beat of the music mixed with the pulse of the lights made this cute looking game come to life. I never expected to be so invested in a competition of what is essentially Lego people throwing balls at each other. It felt like a solid little game. At first I was a bit frustrated at how the controls worked. I missed a lot of easy shots and blew up a number of times. But after increasing my sensitivity and playing a variety of modes, I started to understand what worked for me and what didn’t. And what worked for me was the options that Disco Dodgeball Remix offers mid-game.
If you explore the map a bit, or stumble into one while avoiding impending disco doom, you’ll find power ups littered all over. These babies give you some serious advantages over your foes, so grab them before they do. My personal favorite is the boomerang ball, which returns to you if you miss your shot. My first two matches I was fumbling around like a newborn, tossing up lobs like a certified wimp. That all changed when I fell into the boomerang. I was virtually untouchable. Features like this are nice for two reasons. In practiced hands, like those of an adult, they can turn the tides of a losing fight in mere seconds. But in the hands of a child, they can level the playing field or ease the learning curve. Because this game is surprisingly difficult to master.
It’s Sparkly…. Too Sparkly.
With a game that is so heavily doused with contrast, it obviously has some pitfalls. The most glaring problem with is accessibility. In general, games warn players of flashing lights and health hazards. This game is very high on the list of those which may cause eye strain or other serious health issues. Just for kicks I tried to turn off all the glittery bits in hopes of making it easier to look at. While all of the environmental lights can be reduced to a simple black and gray room, the balls still retained their retina burning glow. In all honesty, the one match I played with these settings put more strain on my eyes than those with all environmental lights on. This game seems to be geared towards a younger audience, so this might concern some parents.
The controls take some getting used to and there doesn’t seem to be a built in aim-assist, so lining up shots takes a bit of precision and luck. As for gameplay, some of the challenges are fun to try, while others are just too hard to complete without hours of practice. Oddly, the AI is fairly balanced until they grab a ball right near you. It almost always ends with them snapping directly to you and insta-killing you before you can react. I’ve seen more Quick Draw kills from the bots than I care to remember. If not for power ups like the homing ball or the boomerang, I would have given up on trying to fight back early on.
Final Round
With everything said, Disco Dodgeball Remix remains a fun game at its core. While it does have some pretty strong problems to own up to, it has the potential to be a fun game for killing time. The music and chaos that ensues can get your blood pumping, but the bots may get that same blood boiling. And though it may be hard to find a true multiplayer match online, it can be a very fun experience as a couch multiplayer game or as an arcade crucible to attempt. It was nice to relive my favorite childhood pastime in a futuristic setting, and I still enjoy the thrill of a good dodgeball throwdown. If you feel like giving it a try, I’m sure you would enjoy it. Just be warned: it’s pretty shiny.
There’s a certain allure to the detective power fantasy. The idea of living out the exciting, yet dangerous life of a sharp and cunning lawman has an appeal unlike any other. Bringing evildoers to justice by sheer force of will and wit is a reward all on its own. But when a good mystery must contend with the medium that presents it, all interest goes out the window. The Raven Remastered Remastered is a prime example of a good old fashion mystery that got lost within the mechanics of gaming.
The Constable
Rare jewels, a luxurious cast and an extremely elusive thief sounds like a steamy start to a successful Hollywood noire film. Fans of the genre would be eager to take control of the aging protagonist, Constable Zellner, simply to live the life of an elite detective. In the beginning our hero is charged with aiding the famous Inspector Legrand to protect the Eye of the Sphinx. The Eye is one of two valuable stones to be showcased in Cairo for a special exhibit. Its counterpart, however, was recently stolen by a thief posing as a deceased burglar called “The Raven”. Players will have to use their observation skills to gather information about people, places and things to protect the jewel and apprehend this impostor before both are gone forever.
The constable is an enthusiastic old man, very much into mystery books and casual interrogation. His character shines through his voice acting, which really fleshes him out to be an observant and courteous Swiss gentleman. Throughout the game Zellner will need to inspect points of interest to collect items and improvise ways to overcome a variety of obstacles. Along his journey to Cairo, he will meet several very important characters that heavily influence the main plot, being directly or indirectly involved with the exhibition of the jewels. The game is fully voiced over, so expect a lot of dialogue to cover the majority of the game’s content.
The story itself has all sorts of highs and lows, with much of the high octane action taking place in cutscenes and leaving the exciting grunt work of gathering information through conversation all to the pleasure of the player. Much of my time was spent pacing the same small play areas, squeezing out every line of dialogue from each of the zone’s inhabitants. It felt a lot like playing a Telltale Games title, but only the walking and talking parts. For some, this may be a great relief from the typical twitch shooters. For others, it will be the greatest test of endurance.
Cat and Mouse
The Raven Remastered starts out fairly well. Heavy importance is placed on these rare stones, the antagonist has a sense of intrigue that makes you root for him or her, and the hero is a rather relatable person. It all begins with enough energy to get players interested in the plot. But all the momentum of the great chase grinds to a halt when the real gameplay arrives. At its core, The Raven Remastered is a linear point-and-click narrative that doesn’t have much else going for it. The only challenge the game poses boils down to two questions: did you gather everything, and did you use them in every possible combination? That’s all there is to do. If you’ve gathered every piece of dialogue and every item, the only way to progress the story is to use the proper items in the correct situations. This method left me frustrated most of the time, as some of the puzzles required less deductive reasoning and more trial and error.
When compared to modern mystery games like L.A. Noire, with its emphasis on player choice and consequence, its hard to imagine why The Raven was remastered at all. As I begrudgingly slugged through the first half of the game I found it increasingly difficult to continue playing. There was just no joy in being led by a string through each scenario. Being a detective means using my head to navigate difficult puzzles, and having the occasional misstep. Instead, The Raven Remastered had me simply follow a recipe for success that I didn’t know, with only one possible solution for said success. I was hoping for the typical Tom and Jerry chase that made me feel like I was close to nabbing my prey. All I got was a bland prop hunt and a growing list of things I’d rather do than play The Raven Remastered. Which brings me back to my initial question: why remaster this?
Caught Red Handed
Perhaps it was revolutionary in its scavenger hunt style of entertainment. The Raven Remastered might have rocked the world with a new way to experience the classic tale of cops and robbers. These days it’s common to see a groundbreaking title get remastered. Many times, it’s for the best reasons. Old gamers rave about their heydays playing true masterpieces, and get pleasantly surprised when a remaster is announced. New gamers get to experience these masterpieces, polished up for the current generation, and gain a certain appreciation for what these games did for the industry.
I didn’t see that in The Raven Remastered. In fact I saw all the problems of past generations. I could overlook the entire graphical experience. Some games stay stuck in time. What I can’t overlook was the glitchy cutscenes, the poor explanation of controls, the lack of a button mapping in the options, nor the incredibly dense amount of loading that happened when you switched areas. It was all too much at once. Some cutscenes had flash frames or continuity issues that would pop in and out of view. At one point during a scene, a character model jumped from a seated position to a standing position twice. It was all too buggy to justify re-releasing a title with very little to bring back to the table.
Case Closed
Full disclosure: I did not complete The Raven Remastered. I understand that there might be a community of gamers who absolutely adore the game, and that is great. I believe there is a video game for just about everyone. Perhaps I am missing out on the bigger picture, or I did not fully grasp the nuances of its hidden mastery, and for that I am sorry. However, this particular game is a hard pill to swallow.
The pacing of the story, the stale supporting characters I had to talk to, and the lack of simple satisfaction really put me off. To say that The Raven Remastered isn’t for me would be a bit of an understatement. It lacks the fundamental element of games that make people want to play them, and that element is “fun”. A game that does not provide an adequate amount of fun is just a chore. That is what this felt like. A great big chore.
If you fancy a good mystery, maybe The Raven Remastered is the right game for you. But if it’s a saucy story you’re looking for, look elsewhere. Although it sounds like a pretty tasty tale to dig into, The Raven Remastered will leave you with more questions than answers.
Let us know how you like The Raven Remastered. Is it worth the work in the end, or were you scratching your head in confusion like us?
Alchemy with a hint of slice-of-life anime. Pastel colors and cheery characters with high hopes. I never thought I’d say this, but I genuinely enjoyed Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings. Celebrating 20 years of Gust and Koei Tecmo’s magical franchise, Atelier Lydie & Suelle is the kind of game that sneaks its way into your heart. It’s ripe with camaraderie and aspirations to be the best in the world. With a fresh take on the JRPG genre, this release turned my expectations upside down.
TWIN ALCHEMISTS
Lydie and Suelle are introduced as twin sisters living with their father in an atelier (an artist’s workshop) just outside of a grand castle. The two struggle to survive the harsh realities of life by crafting low-end items for the handful of customers they have. When they aren’t crafting, they take up odd jobs to make ends meet. Upon discovering magical paintings, the girls realize they can use the otherworldly materials to make amazing things and their journey to be the best atelier takes off.
Atelier Lydie & Suelle mixes things up in several ways that make the game feel different from most JRPGs. For one, providing two protagonists gives the player some diversity in how they play and what they can craft. Lydie and Suelle have a lot of differences that fit into what they can and can’t do. Switching between the two and understanding the subtleties of their characters is important to finding the right solution for many situations.
As the game progresses, the girls will be able to freely travel across three unique maps that allow players to explore the world and gather any materials they need. Materials are key because alchemy is the most important aspect of the game. Being great alchemists is the end goal, so practicing and leveling up each sister in their profession is one of the driving forces of the game’s narrative. By crafting better items, the girls advance through an atelier ranking system, which in turn grants them access to more paintings.
Unlike most games, the major conflict in Atelier Lydie & Suelle is contained in the quest for self-improvement. There is no direct antagonist to block the twins path. However, our heroines will encounter all manners of people along the way, from singing blacksmiths to mask wearing weirdos. The colorful characters Lydie and Suelle meet add a lot of life to a game that balances the hardships of being a starving artist, and the dreams that come with young adolescence.
THE SECRET RECIPE
Part of what makes Atelier Lydie & Suelle so great is how everything intertwines with one another. To reach more paintings, the girls must rise through a royal ranking system by gathering or crafting specific items. They also have to grow as a business, so the twins regularly set small goals in order to expand their influence with the people of their town. Goals might include fighting monsters to stir up buzz, or simply trading with merchants to gain their trust. Likewise, Lydie and Suelle can look for jobs on a bulletin board to make some money on the side
Everything can be done at once, but jobs will have time limits to them. Yet, even with so many things to do, it never feels overwhelming. All the objectives play into each other to help the duo grow stronger as individuals. Better still, it felt like I could go off and enjoy the little slice of life moments before going back to focusing on improving my alchemy.
Very early into the game it becomes clear that crafting is at the heart of the game. Almost everything you need will come from the hard work these girls put into their cauldron. Most merchants only provide ingredients for the recipes used in the atelier. The blacksmith, Hagel, provides weapons and armor for the girls so long as they provide the supplies. Everything else is up to the twins. That means when a battle is getting down to the wire, you’d better hope you crafted healing items or bombs to get you through. I found this to be a great way to get players comfortable with crafting, and it made alchemy feel less like a chore. Not only are you helping the two improve their skills, you are creating a stockpile of crucial items for adventuring. And let me tell you, adventuring can be rough.
A PINCH OF STRATEGY
There is a limited amount of ingredients you can gather during any excursion before you are prompted to start dropping items. This forces you to return home to add materials to storage or use them in alchemy. Alchemy itself is pretty straightforward; you can choose what to craft, which ingredients to use and whether you want to add a catalyst. Depending on what combination of ingredients and catalysts you pick, the final item can have stronger or weaker effects. I do wish the catalyst system was explained a little better, though. The amount of effects and symbols included into the crafting can be overwhelming for new fans of the franchise, especially since a lot of them do not explicitly state what will change. That said, the rest of the crafting experience was fairly painless to learn.
While gathering materials, Lydie and Suelle will inevitably have to face off against monsters in classic turn-based combat. In the beginning, the two will only have access to one skill each. Lydie can support her team by pushing an enemy’s turn to a later time and Suelle can output more damage. As you move on through the levels, they will obtain more skills for their set roles and eventually a third party member will be added. Spoilers aside, this character has a unique skill that allows the character to step in front of allies and take enemy damage, protecting the intended target from harm. On top of that, only protective characters like Lydie can use items such as Healing Pads, making it important to plan out who attacks and who uses their turn to heal friendlies. After playing so many JRPGs with the same set of rules, Atelier Lydie & Suelle opened my eyes to what modern JRPGs could be if they were more innovative.
THE WRONG INGREDIENT
For having been originally released in December 2017, Atelier Lydie & Suelle doesn’t really harness the power of the PS4. As with most JRPGs, the very large towns and environments feel extremely devoid of life. You can interact with just about every character you come across, but they are so few and far between it’s quite annoying, even sad, to travel to speak with them. The textures and character models are great, but the explorable parts of the map are so narrow and linear it feels like playing something from last decade.
The running animation and the stale camera also feel kind of rigid. Most of the time you’ll be traveling on foot to gather information or materials. During this time Lydie and Suelle feel a bit robotic and lifeless. The game only feels like there are people involved during the cutscenes and other character-to-character interactions. The feeling of vacant space in such a confined and linear game really set me back.
FINAL TOUCHES
Atelier Lydie & Suelle is a heartwarming story of two sisters surviving the world by relying on each other’s strengths and covering their weaknesses. Every step of the way has its fair share of laughable moments and admirable scenes. While it lacks the visual depth of a modern day PS4 game, it definitely fills that void with beautiful art and gameplay that deserves more respect than I had originally given it. It is one of the most charming and easy going JRPG games this console generation has seen, and I will certainly be crafting cute items for days to come.
Sony announced the upcoming PlayStation Plus games for April this morning, and while they’re not quite as enticing as March’s lineup, which featured celebrated titles such as Bloodborne and Ratchet & Clank, there are a few diamonds in the rough that may be worth checking out on PS4, particularly Avalanche Stuidos’ 2015 vehicular brawler, Mad Max.
TrackMania Turbo, Ubisoft’s first entry in the series since 2009, and Q*bert Rebooted, round out the list of PS4 titles, while the PS3 and Vita selections once again show why Sony is moving to phase out these systems starting next year. Check out the full list below:
PS4
Mad Max TrackMania Turbo Q*bert Rebooted
PS3
In Space We Brawl Toy Home
Q*bert Rebooted
Vita
99 Vidas Q*bert Rebooted
This list is set to release April 3. Do any of this month’s games interest you? What are your thoughts on Sony’s recent decision to eliminate PS3 and Vita games? Let us know in the comments!
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