https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3JStwa6JDY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kotm5pBNsFc

Beyond words. Honestly feel that the first Drakengard has some music in it that's just as good as NieR's but doesn't get recognised and it's a shame. The soundtrack was done by other Namco composers Nobuyoshi Sano and Takayuki Aihara (Tekken composers) and I feel that it's their best work just like Okabe's best work is on the NieR series. This soundtrack is so weird and the way in which Sano uses reverb to make music from what sounds like a broken music CD really lifts the game as a whole for me whereas Aihara seems to remix classical pieces, Sano provides original music remixed all chopped up and fed into a mixer. The result is one of the most demented soundtracks ever.

You are now in hell: the music
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gO_UWn9GUU

Holy friggin' lord.
I'm a huge, huge, HUGE fan of Nobuyoshi Sano's soundtrack to the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex PS2 game. I've probably mentioned that before. Well, after discovering that amazing nugget of OST goodness, I tried looking into more of Sano's works, hoping to find a similar feel, a similar vibe, all that... but came up a little empty. None of it was bad, obviously, but likewise none of it had quite the same "glitched" style as the SAC soundtrack, making me think it was the only example of his work that sounded that way. Everything else I could find by him had a slightly more "standard" (if that even makes sense) Tekken/Ridge Racer-esque electronic sound to it.
But by goddamn golly, that piece you posted of his (the second video) actually does have the same style to it, though with an appropriate orchestral backing. Felt damn nice hearing something "new" from him with that same charm I was looking for before.
I played a few hours into Drakengard a number of years ago, but never finished, and I've all but forgotten everything about it by now. Just that track alone has made me want to go tackle it again sometime soon. I know there's not a ton like it in the soundtrack (looked up the rest, and the one you picked seems the closest) but it's still nice just to hear a little more. I'd thank your post ten times if I could.

Haha, no worries. That's my favourite of Sano's styles too (I really like his work on Tekken and Ridge Racer too but still, this is better). I love the Stand Alone Complex soundtrack as well. Speaking of Cavia games he composed for, I'd also advise checking out the Resident Evil: Dead Aim (Gun Survivor 4) soundtrack as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PO28Ff-1CLs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbHQRoXA-FY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2-lyzLKaK8

I think Sano's work meshes so well with Cavia's games since some of their games are so batshit insane and weird. His music really makes the games something more. I think his work at Cavia is some of the most underrated in the game industry. I wouldn't love half of the Cavia back catalogue if it wasn't for his work on them.

Never played it before, so why not. Loved Koudelka and enjoying the original game so far (these alternative history games always fascinate me).

Persona awakenings sure are disturbing this time around and look really painful.

Love the presentation all around, the mysterious feel does remind me of Persona 2 the most. This game is going into some dark places, which I was not expecting (I mean, I was expecting some level of intensity, don't get me wrong, but some of this is definitely reflective of the real world in some stark ways). Atmosphere/style so far is actually approaching mainline SMT for me. Humour is on point too. The game is a visual treat with those cel shaded character models, Kazuma Kaneko Demons in HD (finally!), the stunning anime sequences, beautiful UI designs/menus and Soejima character portraits. Even the start menu was stunning and reminded me of Jet Set Radio. I love that each Persona is so interesting this time around too Fucking Goemon , Captain Kidd and Zorro ? Does it get more bad ass then that, seriously?

Looks like the game is a great success for Atlus:

Persona 5 ships over 1.5 million worldwide just days after P5 released in the West.

http://gematsu.com/2017/04/persona-5-worldwide-shipments-top-1-5-million

Persona 5 is by far the biggest launch for the series in the UK - #1

Launched on Tuesday on PS4 and PS3 and receiving glowing reviews, ‘Persona 5’ from Atlus/Deep Silver debuts at No1. It is the first J-RPG (Japanese RPG) to debut at the top of the All Formats Chart since ‘Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch’ back in W5 2013 (‘Final Fantasy XV’ launched at No2, but it had to contend with ‘FIFA 17’). It is by far the biggest launch for a ‘Persona’ title and the first ever All Formats No1 for developer and publisher Atlus.

Japan is back, baby.

(Yakuza 0 is the best selling Yakuza in the West since the PS2 era, Nier: Automata sold over a million copies worldwide and is considered by Square as a great success, same goes for Nioh for Tecmo-Koei who seemed really chuffed reaching over a million sales worldwide too)

I just hope that Atlus take a leaf out of From Software's book and stay the same as they are, since they were attempting to chase after certain audiences a little while ago, so hopefully they keep releasing quality games. Happy for them though, they were niche, now they've pretty much reached From Software's level of popularity, I think.

I love shorter JRPGs like Parasite Eve, Vagrant Story (this one will be obtuse and hard to get into though, I think), Crimson Shroud, Digital Devil Saga 1 and 2, Persona 2, Lost Dimension - games like that.

It's really a more diverse genre than people think. On the surface you have your Final Fantasy games and Dragon Quest games but underneath you have your cult classics that are unlike anything else you'll play again. I'm going to disagree with Orange here since I feel like Persona 3 has some barriers that you have to get past to fully enjoy (Tartarus being what it is - a pretty hardcore dungeon crawler). I'd say if you want to go with one Persona game as an entry point, Persona 4 is better. It's more accessible and focuses more on the "adventure" part of the game than the other Persona games. Plus the game has some difficulty spikes (mainly bosses) but nothing that bad. The game is pretty damn long though, I clocked in my completion where I got all of the endings at around 85 hours, don't know how you feel about that? The game never felt like it dragged for me anyway. I'd love to recommend Persona 2: Innocent Sin since it's my favourite game quite handily from a story standpoint (and quite frankly, the music is too) but the game part is definitely the weakest of them all, even if it is a bit underrated by the fanbase.

I definitely echo the sentiment from Orange though, a lot of these older JRPGs I have only played for the first time in the past few years and the PS1 catalogue on PSN is amazing. None of that is just "nostalgia" to me, they're just genuinely fantastic games even all of these years later. If you ever fancy giving Strategy RPGs a go, try out Front Mission 3, for sure (then follow it up with the original Final Fantasy Tactics).

Anyway, I voted Persona 5 since it looks like potentially the surprise GOTY and one of the best games Atlus will ever put out.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DADt0UlUQAAFtEL.jpg:large

CEO of Just Add Water.

I don't know what that is or who he is.

They were responsible for the Oddworld series in HD (Stranger's Wrath HD, Munch's Odyssey HD etc). Probably one of the companies working on Shenmue HD (normally these kind of HD projects get worked over by more than one company, some work contracted out). Either that, or he just knows that Bluepoint are doing it or somebody else is. Either way, this is happening.

Twin Peaks Season 3: Episode 1 and 2 - 80% of it was more like a new Lynch movie, 20% Twin Peaks (those cameos were so good!)

Log Lady scenes were so sad. :(
Hawk continues being a bad ass.
The Red Room scenes were intense.
Madeline Zima is one banging hot lady. Mmmhmm. Shame what happened to her.
What's in the box? Hoooooly shit . What in the fuck was that...thing? Was like a Roswell meets Lovecraftian nightmare come to life. Sent chills down my spine.
The evolution of the arm into that giant tree sure is weird. Also, wow at the evil doppelgänger, felt straight from Eraserhead.
That creepy black oil guy in the prison. What in the...?
Phillip Jeffries (David Bowie) reference was a real "wow" moment. The fact that they are recounting such obscure parts of FWWM is so cool. I wonder if they will reference the other FBI Agents as well?
Matthew Lillard probably giving the best performance in his career, was really impressed. Lynch is so good that his direction seems to give actors inspiration to do things they wouldn't otherwise.
That decapitated head with the other man's body...work of BOB or some other evil from the Black Lodge? Either way, that was creepy as heck.
Evil Cooper is both hard to watch since we like Cooper so much already but to see his evil side since his doppelgänger or Bob (or both?) have taken over him making Coop do some really terrible stuff. He reminded me a bit of Dennis Hopper in Blue Velvet with how intimidating he is. He's one cold mother, right now.
That ending, so melancholic and tongue in cheek.

I liked the humour in it as well, Lynch has definitely still got it. Thankful that it wasn't just like Inland Empire, which was expermental as heck but rather felt like equal parts Mulholland Drive, Twin Peaks Season 1, FWWM/Season 2 Finale, Eraserhead, Inland Empire, Blue Velvet and Lost Highway. One of the best opening episodes I've ever seen for a TV show.

No wonder it's being reviewed so highly.

Nier: Automata - Game follows through on being a game that does its own thing whilst also paying homage in some subtle ways to the original (which is one of my favourite games of all time). The music, combat, boss battles, characters and end game were all fantastic. Can't really talk about this game much since it's better off going into it fresh. Overall though, not on the same level as the original for me but an excellent game regardless.

Yakuza 0 - This is now not only my favourite Yakuza, but my favourite game this generation. I cannot understate just how brilliant this game is. The music, story, characters, last stretch and boss battles are all the best in the series yet. I can't really find any fault with the game and it's honestly crept into my Top 10 games of all time. I will look back on this game extremely well over the years. It's a classic. The ending is the best in the series too, everything is so succinct and so well nuanced. I simply cannot believe this is from the same director as Dead Souls/Of The End (AKA the weakest Yakuza game).

The side missions are the best in the series yet too. I wanted to do them all. The writing is incredibly funny and hats off to the localization team (Atlus USA) for doing such a stellar job. It's the first Yakuza in a long time that I played all the way through non-stop without getting burned out. The story is never not engaging or impactful. Every scene matters.

The Lieutenants are the most bad ass villains in the series since, well, ever (and yes, I am including Yakuza 2's Ryuji Goda). Their musical themes are the thing of legends. I have been a fan of the series since the original on the PS2 back in the day and this is my new favourite, even the sheer nostalgia of Yakuza 2 couldn't stave this game off. If anybody on here is sleeping on this game, don't. Play it. NOW. Best game of the generation and one of the best prequels ever made right next to Metal Gear Solid 3.

Looking at this poll result sure is interesting now. So much optimism crushed.



Ah well.

Updated the original post and topic to reflect the new relevant info to save disappointment from happening.

If Donald Trump fired off Yu Suzuki and instead directed the game. "This is the greatest game ever made" said an orange fat turd.

Finally, after well over a decade and a half of waiting...this game is mine .

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/64/PanzerDragoonSagaBox.jpg/250px-PanzerDragoonSagaBox.jpg

Yes, it's complete, yes it works, yes I love this series dearly (number 2 favourite SEGA series behind Shenmue and just in front of Shinobi which I also love - Sonic probably being my fourth or fifth next to Streets of Rage), yes I have a Saturn to play it on (which I have been all weekend), yes it was a lot of money but far less than what it normally goes for, yes I really have waited a decade and a half to purchase this game like a sad bastard and yes it is fucking awesome .

I'm so sorry to hear your story (I read every last word). I can't give a long speech that will inspire you, depression is no joke, especially not coupled with anxiety and being unemployed only makes your predicament harder on top, I know since I've been there myself (and working soul sucking jobs with no positive future in sight). I won't say the usual spiel of "things will get better right away" and that others have been in similar circumstances or some such, since some times we need a reality check. I went through a very bad spot myself for a few years of having no friends, no relationship/lonely, crappy jobs with terrible pay, no purpose, no life. Basically at an all time low, cynical and hated everything. The sense of alienation was overwhelming, eventually developing into complete social anxiety and being a shut in. This only came to pass once I changed careers and took some chances that thankfully paid off for me (admittedly through sheer luck) and taking the initiative and making new friends (which was basically joining clubs, going to music events, rejoining Facebook (and reconnecting with old friends on there) and inviting online friends that I had met on forums out). Sometimes making changes in your life pays dividends, but it wasn't like I didn't get some setbacks when I tried those things I just mentioned and didn't work out which got me down even more but I felt the need to keep trying until I got somewhere to improve my social life. It was a long journey though and I think you can do it, believe in yourself again. You can do it. Get that job, make those changes in your life that you want. Even if you think you can't, just do it anyway. You've been trying to for this long, there's nothing to lose. Your mother clearly cares for you and loves you a lot.

I've lost too many friends to suicide, illness, incidents and freak accidents these past few years. Far too many. It's really up to the rest of us to say that you matter, since you do. Be strong as you have been these past four and half years, I know we've never met in person yet and don't know each other that well but you are considered a friend of mine that I would be sad to lose. I'll reinstate it: you can do it. You're a strong person and will always be a strong person, you're not weak. Stay safe, Sonikku and all the best to you. :nice!:

I'm also of the opinion that P2 is really special, as is Soul Hackers. I'd even go as far as to call Soul Hackers my favourite 3DS game, honestly. Persona 2 (both Innocent Sin & Eternal Punishment) have probably my favourite RPG soundtrack next to Digital Devil Saga 1&2, Final Fantasy Tactics and Vagrant Story.

If you're looking for something aesthetically similar, there's always Digimon: Cyber Sleuth and if you enjoy Shin Megami Tensei 3 Nocturne and Shin Megami Tensei IV, I'd say that the closest SMT game to Persona is Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse which is a follow up to SMTIV. It has a really fun vibe to it and a fun cast of characters.

EDIT: Also Devil Survivor 2 feels more like Persona whereas Devil Survivor 1 feels more like mainline SMT.

Eric, I believe that your work is among the best voicework in the series. How did you find your voices for Guizhang, Fuku-san and Ren?

Also, you may not be able to discuss whether you are reprising any of these roles due to NDA but are you in the know regarding other actors and if any of the other original cast are returning for 3?

I have noticed from your roles in such games as Firefighter F.D.18 (PS2), Glass Rose (PS2), as Paul Phoenix in the Tekken series, Jacky Bryant in the Virtua Fighter series and for the roles you play in Shenmue that you often get cast frequently as protagonists or reluctant heroes, would you like to play a villain of some sort as a change?

Have you ever met the game's creator, Yu Suzuki?

Do you have any stories regarding fans of Shenmue recognising your voice in everyday life?

Finally, do you have any news regarding a new Virtua Fighter game? (Since he's played Jacky Bryant for a long time now). Okay, now what about a new F-Zero? Please can you just say "FALCON PUUUUUNCH !" (Yes, he is also Captain Falcon in F-Zero).

This is the most 90s music released this decade, rad as hell (think it's a Shinji Hosoe track, those synths sounds like his music for Tetris Grandmaster):



"SAY YEAH!"
"Come on, come on, come on, come on"

Such a shame the Mass Effect series is now dead. Heck, most of my favourite Western IPs are dead or dying this gen - same with Deus Ex. Western RPGs on the whole this gen seem to on the whole be failing to capture the same magic as last gen (you've got your exceptions like Witcher 3 and erm, well...).

Anyway, been playing lots and lots of FFXII HD - still as magical as I remember it, in fact, I think I love it even more now, there isn't any other JRPGs out there like it with such quality VA or restraint with its presentation. The atmosphere and world building is such 10/10 mastery. Just as addictive to play through all of the Hunts as before too.

Also loving that there's new music composed by Hitoshi Sakimoto in there as well, which enhances the Ivalice atmosphere even more. New location themes (Nam Yensa Sandsea actually has its own musical theme now) and new Boss themes which are all wonderful.

Also appreciate the cast even more now, you don't get a cast of badasses like this game - Balthier (so much swagger, so much smirk - Ren might get along with him), Ashe (most badass Princess in fiction?), Basch, Fran, Reddas (rocking those pink trousers like a boss; he's also voiced by Phil La Marr so that automatically makes him cool), Larsa, Vossler (Nolan North!), Dr. Cid (most enjoyable villain in the game for me), Ba'Gamnan (Steve Blum!), The Judges (Ghis and Bergan being my favourites), Vayne, Venat (being all like "fuck the system"). The story is actually making more sense to me this time around, found it mysterious last time I played it and just let it roll, now I can see why the characters react the way they do and think the characters have understated depth to them all. Just seeing snippets of their background or hints of it (Balthier getting awkward whenever he hears about his father's lab, Vaan explaining his reason for continue his journey with Ashe etc) makes it better for me, I personally love how mysterious Yasumi Matsuno characters are. Still my favourite cast of characters in a JRPG outside of Matsuno's other games and Persona 2.

Really glad I left my second playthrough until this came out since there's plenty I've forgotten about since it's been around 6-7 years since I played it last.

I let it sink in a bit and I'm rather happy with what I'm seeing, the environments are stunning and the character models are...okay, Ryo is getting there at least, I think, but they're mostly placeholders or stuff for them to work around with, I mean, this was pretty obvious, it's game development but hey people were going bananas. The game has a long way to go yet and the fact that they're getting more funding now as well will hopefully help development in a big way (Suzuki is even going as far as to say he's got more people in development now in one of the interviews). I can see a lot of positivity out of this update, onwards and upwards. I have trust in the man and his team.

Must admit seeing Ryo doing martial arts against various people was pretty exciting to see. Kinda hitting me that Shenmue 3 is a reality, which in itself, is fucking ridiculous really. I for one am glad it is a reality.

Spaghetti? That you Spence?

Nah bro.

Survey about Ryu Ga Gotoku's Team's upcoming projects asking international audiences how interested they are in each (Kiwami 2, Fist of the North Star and Yakuza Online), show your interest here (it's the quickest survey ever, seriously, took 2 seconds for me to fill it in).

http://yakuza.sega.com/RGGStudioAnnouncementSurvey/

Nice little note afterwards, that sounds a bit positive to me.
Everybody fill it in!

Shenmue series cracks the Top 20 Best Games of all time reader list for Famitsu:

Famitsu just released their 1500 issue, as they've done on previous milestones they asked their readers to pick the best game ever and the results are in:

[1]Persona 5
[2]Dragon Quest III
[3]Splatoon
[4]Nier Automata
[5]The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
[6]Final Fantasy VII
[7]Danganronpa V3
[8]Chrono Trigger
[9]Sakura Wars
[10]Shenmue
[11]Danganronpa 1 2 Reload
[12]Shenmue 2
[13]Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Future Tone
[14]Yakuza 0
[15]Otocadoll
[16]Persona 4: Golden
[17]Okami
[18]Xenoblade: Chronicles
[19]Suiokoden 2
[20]Final Fantasy XII
[21]Super Danganronpa 2
[22]Danganronpa
[23]Earthbound
[24]Dragon Quest V
[25]Zelda: Ocarina of Time
[26]Final Fantasy X

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1427219

Holy shit, now there's a blast from the past.

Guys, guys...You know what I think would be the best promotion for Shenmue 3?

Yeah 0 definitely has my favourite music in the series. Top to bottom it's great all around, think it's Hidenori Shoji's best work next to 3 (joint favourite OST for the series). I enjoy a couple of the tunes from Kenshin as well.

Biggest weakness I've noticed with Kiwami vs. 0 is the side quests - think 0 has the best collection of subquests in the series, whereas Kiwami so far might have the weakest in comparison (since it's including a lot of the ones from OG 1 so it's outdated in comparison). Still enjoying the game greatly. Really need to go back to 5 and finish it before 6 comes out!

So this slipped under the radar yesterday at TGS conference but Square Enix announced a brand new Front Mission game that's basically Metal Gear Solid (stealth action) with mech action (the Armored Core aspect). The game is being Directed by Armored Core series director Toshifumi Nabeshima (formerly of From Software), character designs by Yoji Shinkawa (Metal Gear series artist) and Produced by Shinji Hashimoto at Square-Enix.

http://www.gamekyo.com/Webmasters/Images/13736620170920_182538_10_big.jpg

http://www.gamekyo.com/Webmasters/Images/13736620170920_182537_0_big.jpg

http://www.gamekyo.com/Webmasters/Images/13736620170920_182537_3_big.jpg

http://www.gamekyo.com/Webmasters/Images/13736620170920_182537_2_big.jpg

http://www.gamekyo.com/Webmasters/Images/13736620170920_182537_5_big.jpg

http://www.gamekyo.com/Webmasters/Images/13736620170920_182537_6_big.jpg

http://www.gamekyo.com/Webmasters/Images/13736620170920_182537_7_big.jpg

- The three protagonists are the people featured in the key visual. All three are isolated in the city where the game is set, and each act independently in order to survive.
- Keyword: “The One Day Incident” – The setting is a city in Russia. The game depicts a one day incident that occurs there. A war is happening in the city, and the protagonist will inevitably get caught up in the conflict.
- Wanzer – Since Left Alive is set in the same world as the Front Mission series, the walking-type mobile weapons known as “Wanzers” will appear. Although you will mainly confront Wanzers as enemies, you can also steal a Wanzer away from the enemy.
- Survival Action – The primary objective is survival. The game will have a varied setup, including traps laid out to stir up the battlefield. There is also a crafting element, which allows you to use the materials you obtain to craft items.
- The Route You Take is Up to You – For example, if you head straight to your destination, you may be in danger of having to fight enemies, but you can also take hidden paths and stay out of the enemy’s line of sight, or take a big detour far away from that area. How you progress is up to you.

- Director Toshifumi Nabeshima: “Since I always place emphasis on things that might give me a sense of accomplishment, it probably is not going to be very easy. (Laughs.)”
- On downloadable content: “We have ideas, so maybe we can do it if the main game does well.”

Really liking these Sonic tunes I'm hearing, very reminiscent of Sonic 3 to me. Makes me more excited for the upcoming release for Mania.

Was the best source for game news on the internet so it's a shame it's dead but the admin sounded like a right idiot and always came across that way with how he conducted business.

I was not cool with how they tried to make the controversy of the pedophile/mother beater/thieving mod (Amir0x) go away like they did so quickly. That shit was pretty shocking and disgusting. What the admin did in comparison was fucking nothing.

Since the place is dead may as well just let it be known that I went by the name Sumio Mondo there, by the way. :lol:
Ah well, dunno where I'll get my gaming news from now aside from Gematsu and IGN. I learned about a lot of really obscure games through GAF so it's a shame.

I seriously think Mitts is a friend of a friend (of a friend), going by the description of the game design course he did which was in manny Manchester.

I'll just keep my bit brief: my girlfriend has somehow convinced me to do salsa dancing. I'm such a bad dancer and told her this as a warning but she doesn't seem to care, so will probably end up looking like this on the first session: \:D/ (and then crawl into the hole in the floor out of embarrassment).

#-o

On another note I went to Japan for the first time end of last year which was amazing, just been working and working and working since then for various organisations. Aside from that, just been listening to lots of synthwave (AKA the NEW new-wave/synthpop movement nowadays), darkwave (as in edgy edgelord dark synth music, some retards call some of it "witch house" - some of which sounds fantastic, regardless of the wanky and pretentious sounding name) and watching shitloads of crime/mystery TV shows. Life's just swell.

I finally took the courage to start doing martial arts again (Jiujitsu). I did a lot of Karate and Kickboxing before entering college, but after so many years in the workforce I felt a bit uncoordinated and too old to go for it again. What really got me to do it is the fact that I started to show symptoms of depression over the years and I don't often exercise as much as I used to.
Sure, I hit the gym here and then but it was not enough to instill a sense of discipline and motivation in me.



I used to do Jiujitsu for years as well. It's one of the most "fun" martial arts out there, I think. Did Judo for a very long time as well and took part in competitions which were brutal. Shame that for Judo the sensei passed away and for Jiujitsu the sensei moved away. Just go gym nowadays which is a nice time waster but like you say, it isn't the same as doing martial arts. Good on you taking it up again.

Step forward, step again and then kick. Oooookay?

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ipefhtez2gQ

Jesper Kyd is a legend. Kane & Lynch series, Hitman series, early Assassin's Creed games, Freedom Fighters the list goes on and on.
His soundtracks sometimes sound quite melodic (Assassin's Creed, Freedom Fighters, Battle Chasers: Nightwar) but can also sound so crazy, nihilistic and dark all at the same time (Kane & Lynch, Adventures of Batman & Robin, Hitman). Either way he's a master synth keyboardist. Also loved his work on Darksiders 2 (despite having never played the game, it's just a good sountrack).

This is the best reveal I've seen this year from a dev:

And it's coming out for everything this gen (Switch/PS4/Xbox One/PC). And includes Online for the latest iteration of each.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DQuFErrUEAE-Q5p.jpg

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DQuEodeV4AEB1_q.jpg

https://twitter.com/StreetFighter/status/939989924727595008

I'm getting this day one!

Looking good. Closer to how I imagined the character models to look. Like a real evolution of the Dreamcast aesthetics.

Definitely the best looking model yet. Kickstarter comments don't realise that outsourcing has been a thing in game development for decades and decades. They won't be the only development team Shenmue 3 will be outsourced to. ResetEra forums brought along some of the nuts people from GAF along with it who don't realise the budget isn't astronomical and actually looks good for a mid tier game made on an indie budget (environments are stunning so far).

This is one of the best updates yet for me. Haters gonna hate.

lol.

Next time don't post when you're high. Also, when you come back (7 day timeout) please do something about your awful signatures. Cheers.

Boss fight against Alan Rickman.

And an Alien/Aliens world too? Mariiines!

And an X-Men world?

What about a Simpsons world?

Not anime enough?

Like others are saying, they're really their own beast. I suppose the 2D equivalent for Yakuza is the Kunio Kun series (River City Ransom games being a subseries of its own within it), which seem like one of the main inspirations for Yakuza.

I'd also say Way of the Samurai series as well, which are at least similar to the samurai styled Yakuza games but are also their own things. But they have their own day/night system, side quests, multiple endings, fun combat systems, wacky characters, set in various parts of Ancient Japan between each game.

Japanese adventure games in general are a good bet if you enjoy methodical, slow paced gaming:

Glass Rose (PS2) - notebook system, Shenmue voice cast, point and click interface, developed by Capcom, Cavia (NieR devs) and Cing (Hotel Dusk devs).

Shadow of Memories/Shadow of Destiny - time system that plays a very important role in the plot, launch era PS2 game so has that old CG look to it, multiple endings, third person camera, dense areas to explore, unique NPCs to talk to to advance the plot. Developed by Konami during their peak as a developer.

Resurrection: Panzer Dragoon Saga 20th Anniversary Arrangement (Only available Digital now, CD & Vinyl sold out):

http://store.bravewave.net/album/resurrection-panzer-dragoon-saga-20th-anniversary-arrangement-2

Music is just as wonderful as it was back in the 90s, the remixes and rearrangements are great (from the same composers)!

I was at Monaco, pretty sure I caught Biscay saying to wait for further game events this year such as Gamescom, E3 and others to see the game again. Anybody else that was there please feel free to correct me on that.

Everything in that trailer is old hat, so the "issues" with character models (placeholder), QTEs (placeholders), QTE Fight animations being off (placeholder) and other such stuff is no concern for me. It was just great immersing myself in that Shenmue atmosphere with that music and the look/aesthetic of Shenmue 3. Those screenshots capture the Dreamcast aesthetic very well for me. That's what I wanted exactly. It's made me excited.

UPDATE: confirmed to be port of the PSP version of the first game to iOS/Android. Spring 2018

https://www.resetera.com/threads/valkyr ... 018.26801/

http://www.valkyrieprofile.com/LENNETH/index.html

THIS IS THE BEST NEWS OF THE YEAR! OH YES!

https://twitter.com/steelballrunner/status/974995137817321472

https://78.media.tumblr.com/ea7af785af74e6b9c209da0c723b1a01/tumblr_npjtnwgdHi1rr5qhqo1_540.gif

https://lparchive.org/Flower-Sun-and-Rain/Update%2020/8-27yyjw0.gif

https://mynintendonews.com/2018/03/17/apparently-killer7-and-flower-sun-and-rain-remasters-were-announced-at-hoppers/

\:D/

Junya Nakano. 1993. Konami.

Before he would compose for Threads of Fate & FFX, he composed crazy hardcore 90s electronic beats for Konami arcade games. Very reminiscent of the legendary Namco Sound Team.

Yes, Tak Hirai who was lead programmer on Shenmue, so is the original game's co-director Keiji Okayasu, the original writer (Script writer) Masahiro Yoshimoto, Hiroaki Takeuchi (Animation Producer), the environmental artist designer (whose name eludes me right now), the concept artist/character artist (whose name eludes me right now also), the original composer of both Shenmue 1 and 2 Ryuji Iuchi and I'm pretty sure Tak Hirai's team is made up of former AM2 developers too (some developers joined YSNet too but are kept secret, probably due to contracting reasons). There's plenty of AM2 talent working on this.

Sooo good.

Anime tie-ins and arcade games that never leave Japan.

This. Their games are stuck in Japan. Border Break looks like a cool mecha action game and Soul Reverse (a fantasy action game) is releasing across arcades in Japan which also looks pretty cool. Hopefully we get them released over here.

And who knows? Virtua Fighter placed in the top 5 for Japan's most wanted SEGA game revivals.

Between the ones who left to join the likes of YsNet and Neilo or join other divisions (Nagoshi and pretty sure AM2 and AM3 [nowadays known as the Yakuza Team/Ryu Ga Gotoku Team] staff members were pretty much rotating between both divisions), SEGA Japan are wanting to explore their back catalogue more, hence why the likes of Sakura Taisen is getting a revival (yay for SRPGs with 90s anime art styles), Daytona and House of the Dead are both getting new entries in arcades (yay!) and seeing some of those extremely exciting IPs place so high up the list from fans in Japan like Skies of Arcadia, Jet Set Radio and Panzer Dragoon, we may see more revivals yet. Hopefully. The new CEO said he's wanting to see more IP revivals. Exciting times for SEGA fans, for sure.

I'm hoping this optimism ekes over to AM2 and we get a new Virtua Fighter!