Tiny Cartridge 3DS

Yakuza: Like a Dragon’s job system looks exactly perfectly right ⊟

I had to take a quick break from homeschooling to deliver this important news!

I’m delighted to see that Yakuza: Like a Dragon, a game explicitly inspired by Dragon Quest, is adopting one of the best Dragon Quest things -- the job system. And I’m way, way more delighted to see that its job system involves absurd costume changes and silly, job-appropriate moves. Basically it’s why I liked Final Fantasy X-2, but also why I like Yakuza.

This will be out November 13 on Xbox One, PC, and PS4. Xbox Series X version will be out on that console’s release date, and a PS5 version will follow at some point.

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I don’t know how I feel about Arc System Works’ crossover game ⊟

Code Shifter Developed by A.R.C.* is part pixel-style Smash Bros. crossover fighter featuring characters from Blazblue, Guilty Gear, River City Ransom, River City Girls, Birthdays the Beginning, my dude Jake Hunter, and more... but mostly it’s a 2.5D platformer in which you play a programmer who goes into these games’ worlds to debug them, gaining the appearance and abilities of these characters.

While I love seeing Jake Hunter drive a tiny car in a fighting game, this thing came out of nowhere and I haven’t made up my mind about the Kim Possible look mixing with these pixels! I’ll find out later in Q1 of this year, when the game comes out on Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

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*”Developed by A.R.C.” is part of the title. While the name of the actual developer does include the word “Arc,” it’s not an abbreviation for anything. “A.R.C.” is the fictional in-world game company, “Awesome Rainbow Corp.” I had to stare at the logo for a minute to figure out why it had those periods in it, so I’m saving you the work.

A new time-traveling take on Kunio ⊟

I am in total support of Arc System Works’ weird experiments with Kunio/River City Ransom! Here’s Stay Cool, Kobayashi-san! A River City Ransom Story, a sci-fi spinoff in which Kobayashi (Thor of the Zombies in the US River City Ransom) meets a time traveler and gains the ability to relive his past adventures.

Arc System Works will release this on Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and PC November 7.

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Mega Man Zero/ZX Legacy Collection brings more futuristic robots into the present ⊟

Look, here’s a collection of all the Mega Man Zero/ZX games, coming to Switch on January 21. It’s also coming to PC, PS4, and Xbox One the same day. That makes (counts on fingers) a lot of Mega Man games available easily on modern consoles. This one includes optional HD smoothing and a new casual difficulty mode, for me.

If you’d like a Mega Man game to be newly available on a less modern console, I’ll direct you to Retro-Bit’s new printing of Mega Man: The Wily Wars.

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WayForward’s River City Girls is a new angle in the Kunio Renaissance ⊟

Natsume has been publishing Arc System Works’ recent Kunio (River City) brawlers on 3DS, and they’ve been really great! They’ve taken weird risks like a fantasy version, and extended the base gameplay with more special moves and more city to explore. 

Now Arc continues the experimentation with River City Girls, a brawler starring Kunio side characters Misako and Kyoko. WayForward appears to be: on the jazz with this one, between the colors, the sprite work, and the music. I can’t wait to see their take on the series, and I really won’t have to: this will be out September 5 on Switch, PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

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Make a new Actraiser-style game and I am there ⊟

Actraiser came out twenty-nine Earth years ago, and nobody has approached its perfect blend of side-scrolling action and low-intensity city sim, not even its own sequel. ACE Team (Rock of Ages, Zeno Clash) is offering its own take on the formula next month(!?) with SolSeraph, on the PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Switch.

They even got Yuzo Koshiro on board for the soundtrack! I hope they and Sega enjoy these fifteen dollars I’ve just earmarked.

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I can’t frickin’ believe Bloodstained is out ⊟

You can’t swing a Crissaegrim without hitting five indie Metroidvania adventures, but even so the launch of a true “Igavania” game seems worth celebrating. Which is what Koji Igarashi did here by pretending to torture someone while reading a fact sheet.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is available now on Not Switch; the Switch version arrives June 25. I want to play as... Shovel Knight?

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Puyo Puyo Champions is out today ⊟ 

Nice to find areas of our society where things are getting better! Basically: we’re getting new Tetris and Puyo Puyo games on the reg. And basically nothing else. But celebrate this small victory!

Here are the relevant features:

$9.99 on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Switch!

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Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night trailer has had it with your complaints ⊟

That’s the tone of this great trailer. Here’s what they think about your specific graphical complaints! They think... they’re worth addressing. But also EAT IT. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night will be out on PS4, PC, and Xbox One June 18, and on Switch June 25.

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Now there are two ways to get Castlevania: Bloodlines ⊟

Today in retro news that totally frickin’ owns, Konami announced the full lineup for the Castlevania Anniversary Collection, out May 16 on PS4, Switch, Xbox One, and PC. And... here it is:

The Famicom Castlevania/Mega Man style mashup! But in English! This is very good!

As a reminder, you’ll also be able to get Bloodlines on the Genesis Mini, for which more games were also announced, including Shinobi 3 and Contra Hard Corps!

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Ghosts ‘n Goblins-inspired Battle Princess Madelyn out this week  ⊟

I’ve been casually following this game for a while, and it’s pretty charming! 

It’s hard not to like... every part of that. It even has some kind of dynamic difficulty system so kids can actually play it. And the game looks pretty authentically Ghoulsy-Ghostsy, as well, aside from the aforementioned kid-playability! It’ll be out tomorrow on PC and Xbox One, with Switch and PS4 versions on the 13th.

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CC2  delivering Trilogy of Vengeance next year ⊟ 

CyberConnect2 announced Fuga -- a strategy RPG that continues the Little Tail Bronx world of cute cat and dog people -- and its other Switch titles back in February. They’re part of the company’s initiative to develop and publish original titles, and it recently put out a video providing more info on the Trilogy of Vengeance games due in 2019 (Fuga coming next summer):

You can find more info on the games and the publisher’s “C5″ project (CyberConnect Creative Challenge Competition) on this Next Plan page.

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Speed Brawl is a “2D Combat Racer” and I “want to play it” ⊟ 

Somehow combining Victorian England with momentum-based brawling, Speed Brawl is a really interesting new game coming to PC, PS4, Xbox One and Switch this summer... published by the web game portal Kongregate? All right! (It’s developed by Double Stallion)

The momentum thing seems to lead to just bouncing around from enemy to enemy and I am here for it.

Fuuuulll disclosure: at least one person working on this action platformer is a Club Tiny member!

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Override is everything I want in a robot game ⊟

Except a Switch release, I guess. Otherwise, it’s all here: giant robot fights, rocket punches, total city destruction -- even a multiplayer mode that puts each player in control of part of the robot, Voltron style.

This PS4/PC/Xbox One game from Brazilian dev The Balance Inc. is now suddenly one of my most anticipated games. I want to punch the robots!

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Valkyria Chronicles 4 offers a new take on Switch puppy controllers ⊟ 

The “Ragnarok” controller skin included with the launch edition of the game (on the console of your choice) bears the blessed image of Ragnarok, the valiant rescue dog. That’s in North America -- you get a Ragnarok sticker in Europe.

Or you can buy the Premium Edition and get a tank!

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Indivisible still looking fresh ⊟ 

I’m glad Lab Zero Games released this E3 trailer of Indivisible before the rush of E3 trailers, so y’all can take this one in for a while. What lovely environments and animation. It's scheduled to come out next year to Switch, Windows / Mac / Linux, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4.

If you backed the game, you also have an updated version of the “Backer Preview” to get into. I didn’t do that! Now I wish I had!

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Please look at Monster Boy ⊟ 

I’m so here for this Wonder Boy revival. Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom’s beautiful hand-drawn animation looks different from Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap, and still really nice!

If you’re going to E3 next week, please consider checking this out then telling me about it. Thanks!

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