Latest news with #JRPG
Digital Trends
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Digital Trends
3 new Game Pass games to play this weekend (May 30-June 1)
The month of May isn't ending quietly. Elden Ring: Nightreign is sneaking in right at the buzzer to give souls fans a new way to engage with that hit formula in a co-op setting. Of course, we understand that style of game isn't for everyone and that leaves a bit of an awkward gap before the next upcoming Xbox game. As impressive as the first wave of Game Pass games was, the second is arguably better. Not only are we treated to one of the best games of 2024, but two day one additions. This is the perfect weekend to get a little weird and try out some unique games that might only be possible thanks to Game Pass. Let's kick off the summer on the right foot with my personal recommendations for what you should be playing this weekend. Metaphor: ReFantazio 2024 was an incredibly competitive year for awards. Astro Bot and Balatro took home tons of well-earned trophies, but it would be a crime to ignore just how good Metaphor: Refantazio is. It is clear as day this is coming from the Persona team just based on the core combat system, music, and incredible UI work, but evolves the formula in some meaningful ways. There's a light bit of real-time combat you can use here, but the flexibility in the Archetype system begs you to break the entire thing wide open. If you enjoyed crafting overpowered builds in Clair Obscur, this game will scratch that same itch. Wrap the entire thing up in an incredibly relevant and heartfelt story and this is easily one of the best JRPGs to come out in the last decade. Recommended Videos Metaphor: Refantazio is available now on PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. To a T If you like the oddball style of the Katamari games, To a T is the next project from Keita Takahashi. This time the game is a narrative adventure centering around a young boy who is stuck in a T-pose; a term used in 3D modeling for a character's default stance is standing straight up with both arms outstretched in a T stance. Described as a coming-of-age story, you will go through daily tasks to experience the difficulty of doing simple things like brushing your teeth when locked in that pose. Your dog will be your main companion and help you as you go through life in a small town. It sounds absurd, and likely is to a degree, but it has a lot of heart and a great message about living with a disability. To a T is available now on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. Spray Paint Simulator Look, we get it, it feels like there's a simulation game for everything at this point. We can't say all of them are winners, but Spray Paint Simulator has captured my attention as a great melding of the zen-like qualities of Powerwash Simulator but with more creative freedom. Again, the premise is in the title here; you're entering levels to spray paint them to restore various locations and objects. The range of missions is great, from normal things like homes to giant robots. You will unlock more tools as you go and build up your business, but can also just jump into the Free Spray mode if you just feel like letting your creativity fly without any restraints. Spray Paint Simulator is available now on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, and PC.
Malay Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Malay Mail
New Release of The Persona5 Series, The Phantom X Confirms Southeast Asia Release Date. Pre-registration Is Now Open
The turn-based JRPG launches on mobile and PC on July 3, 2025. 50,000 pre-registrations: Free contract draws ×10 100,000 pre-registrations: Free weapon draws ×5 200,000 pre-registrations: Free Outfit for Protagonist (More milestone rewards to be revealed soon.) TAIPEI, TAIWAN - Media OutReach Newswire - 29 May 2025 - Following successful launches in the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Macau SARs, Taiwan region, and South Korea in April 2024, Persona5: The Phantom X finally announced the Southeast Asia release date. The highly anticipated title will be available on mobile devices and PC on July 3, 2025, bringing more of the series' stylish turn-based combat and an entirely new cast of Phantom through a collaboration between Atlus' P-Studio and Chinese developer Black Wing Games, Persona5: The Phantom X is a mobile-optimised title that transports players back to the world of Persona5, allowing players to control Wonder, a second-year high school student at Kokatsu Academy, whose mundane life takes a dramatic turn after encountering a mysterious owl-like creature named Lufel. As Wonder unravels the truth behind a society losing its desire, players will form a new team of Phantom Thieves and embark on a mission to restore this vital human a live-service title, Persona5: The Phantom X promises an ever-evolving adventure. The game features familiar gameplay pillars from the mainline series—including turn-based combat, dungeon crawling, time management, and social bonding—while introducing new systems unique to this entry. Players can take on part-time jobs, join after-school clubs, strengthen their Personas, and develop social stats, all within a vibrant, original narrative. Notably, fan-favourite Persona characters, such as Joker, Ann Takamaki, and Ryuji Sakamoto, will make special appearances via exclusive in-game contracts. New additions to the series include the Velvet Trials, a PvE-focused challenge mode, an expanded Mementos to explore, mini-games, and the ability to form or join Guilds, offering players new avenues for cooperative and competitive its regional debut, Persona5: The Phantom X has received acclaim for its engaging story and dynamic new cast, qualities fans have praised as being remarkably in line with the high standards of the original Persona5. This strong reception is no surprise, as the development team includes veteran creators such as the General Producer Kazuhisa Wada, Composer Ryota Kozuka and Character Design Shigenori is now open via the iOS App Store and Google Play, with exclusive milestone-based rewards to be distributed at launch through in-game mail. Current reward tiers include:The official website of Persona5: The Phantom X has also launched, offering more information and resources for eager fans. The game launches in Southeast Asia on July 3, 2025 for mobile and PC. For more updates and community engagement, follow our official #P5X #P5 #persona5x The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
Zawya
3 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
New Release of The Persona5 Series, The Phantom X Confirms Southeast Asia Release Date. Pre-registration Is Now Open
The turn-based JRPG launches on mobile and PC on July 3, 2025. TAIPEI, TAIWAN - Media OutReach Newswire - 29 May 2025 - Following successful launches in the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Macau SARs, Taiwan region, and South Korea in April 2024, Persona5: The Phantom X finally announced the Southeast Asia release date. The highly anticipated title will be available on mobile devices and PC on July 3, 2025, bringing more of the series' stylish turn-based combat and an entirely new cast of Phantom Thieves. Developed through a collaboration between Atlus' P-Studio and Chinese developer Black Wing Games, Persona5: The Phantom X is a mobile-optimised title that transports players back to the world of Persona5, allowing players to control Wonder, a second-year high school student at Kokatsu Academy, whose mundane life takes a dramatic turn after encountering a mysterious owl-like creature named Lufel. As Wonder unravels the truth behind a society losing its desire, players will form a new team of Phantom Thieves and embark on a mission to restore this vital human essence. Promotional Video: As a live-service title, Persona5: The Phantom X promises an ever-evolving adventure. The game features familiar gameplay pillars from the mainline series—including turn-based combat, dungeon crawling, time management, and social bonding—while introducing new systems unique to this entry. Players can take on part-time jobs, join after-school clubs, strengthen their Personas, and develop social stats, all within a vibrant, original narrative. Notably, fan-favourite Persona characters, such as Joker, Ann Takamaki, and Ryuji Sakamoto, will make special appearances via exclusive in-game contracts. New additions to the series include the Velvet Trials, a PvE-focused challenge mode, an expanded Mementos to explore, mini-games, and the ability to form or join Guilds, offering players new avenues for cooperative and competitive play. Since its regional debut, Persona5: The Phantom X has received acclaim for its engaging story and dynamic new cast, qualities fans have praised as being remarkably in line with the high standards of the original Persona5. This strong reception is no surprise, as the development team includes veteran creators such as the General Producer Kazuhisa Wada, Composer Ryota Kozuka and Character Design Shigenori Soejima. Pre-registration is now open via the iOS App Store and Google Play, with exclusive milestone-based rewards to be distributed at launch through in-game mail. Current reward tiers include: 50,000 pre-registrations: Free contract draws ×10 100,000 pre-registrations: Free weapon draws ×5 200,000 pre-registrations: Free Outfit for Protagonist (More milestone rewards to be revealed soon.) The official website of Persona5: The Phantom X has also launched, offering more information and resources for eager fans. The game launches in Southeast Asia on July 3, 2025 for mobile and PC. For more updates and community engagement, follow our official channels. Hashtag: #P5X #P5 #persona5x The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. IWPLAY
Japan Times
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Japan Times
Uh-oh, is the rest of the world making JRPGs better than Japan?
Hailed as 2025's first bonafide game-of-the-year candidate, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 released on April 24 from out of absolutely nowhere. More surprisingly, its gameplay and narrative, heavily influenced by Japanese role-playing games (JRPGs), were crafted by a team with little to do with Japan at all. Developed by French studio Sandfall Interactive, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 sets the player in a Belle Epoque-inspired world devastated by an enigmatic apocalypse that annually culls survivors of progressively younger ages. As the game begins, the lone bastion city of Lumiere gathers to bid farewell to all 33-year-old residents as well as Expedition 33, the latest in a long line of doomed task forces charged with traveling to a distant continent where, it's believed, lies a solution to the deepening crisis. You'd be right for thinking none of that sounds particularly Japanese, but make no mistake: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is not only a JRPG, a genre that has outstripped the geographical limitations its name might suggest, but it's quite possibly the best JRPG of the decade to date. So what even is a JRPG? In the 1980s and '90s, a cut-and-dry definition of 'role-playing games made in Japan' sufficed, but the gameplay mechanics established in this era — turn-based combat, an overworld punctuated by smaller dungeons and recruitable party members often differentiated by specializations like physical damage, magic-wielding or healing powers, etc. — came to define the genre as a whole. Aesthetics and narrative style also developed their own JRPG niches. The former increasingly took on anime-influenced character designs and voice acting idiosyncrasies, and the latter came to embrace predefined stories (as opposed to ones that change based on player choice) of ragtag groups of ostensibly ordinary adventurers drawn into world-altering struggles with kings, demons, gods and more. The tricky thing is that none of these elements are unique to JRPGs as a genre, and if one or more of them are missing, that doesn't necessarily disqualify a game from the label. More often than not, what separates a Western-style RPG like Baldur's Gate 3 from a JRPG like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 — both developed by non-Japanese studios — is an 'I know it when I see it' litmus test, as ambiguous in some cases as it is foolproof in others. In Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's case, I see a JRPG when I look at this game, which raises a more pressing question than a debate over what is or isn't a JRPG: Why aren't Japanese developers cranking out the type of games that once made the genre the source of some of gaming's best efforts? While developers outside of Japan are making games like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, some of the pillars of the country's domestic JRPG scene are focused on remakes and remasters. | SANDFALL INTERACTIVE By critical metrics, the last truly great Japanese-developed JRPG was 2016's Persona 5 (with honorable mention to 2019's Kingdom Hearts III). Last year's Metaphor: ReFantazio was an admirable stab at a new story and setting from former Persona devs, but otherwise, the domestic JRPG scene has since become dominated by remasters and remakes. Industry giant Square Enix is preoccupied not only with sticking the landing on the third and final installment of its multipart remake of 1997's Final Fantasy VII, but it's also working on a remake of the original Dragon Quest (1986) and Dragon Quest II (1988) — following up a similar reworking of Dragon Quest III (1988) released earlier this year. This is hardly a problem specific to Square Enix. Over at Nintendo, Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition released in March, remaking the 2015 game of the same name (setting aside the discussion of whether a 10-year-old game needs a remake at all). It's not that these remasters and re-releases make for objectively bad games, but they do little to move JRPGs as a genre forward. The plucky studios of Japan's past have since become or been subsumed into giant corporations, whose inexorable profit motive rewards commoditization of nostalgia over creative and financial risks aimed at the future. Meanwhile, developers outside Japan continue to experiment with the genre. In 2022, German developer Matthias Linda released Chained Echoes to critical acclaim, and in 2023, Sea of Stars, developed by Montreal-based Sabotage Studio, drew similarly high praise. These games were small in graphical scale, but they were original efforts that drew inspiration from JRPGs' earlier eras instead of repurposing and repacking them. Now, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has set a new high-water mark in modern JRPGs. The next mainline Dragon Quest game is still at least a year or two away from launch, and the Final Fantasy franchise has no releases planned for 2025. So if Japan is to answer the call set down by France's triumph, it just might have to be a daring unknown, a tried-and-true genre trope, that puts Japan-made JRPGs back on the map.
Al Bawaba
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Al Bawaba
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 soars in reviews ahead of release
Published April 23rd, 2025 - 09:20 GMT ALBAWABA - Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is nearly within reach, and reviews of one of the most stunning games of 2025 have already started pouring in on social media. First revealed in 2024, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 caught the eyes of many JRPG fans for its fluid turn-based gameplay, which incorporates classic and modern mechanics, and its beautifully crafted setting, located in France and developed using Unreal Engine 5. Several reviewers claim that the game has one of the "most fun" turn-based gameplay, going as far as comparing it to Atlus' Persona 5, a game highly regarded by JRPG fans. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has already received several reviews, most notably from renowned gaming news outlets such as IGN, Gamespot, and many more. It garnered several 9/10 reviews across the board. Clair Obscur Expedition 33 reviews!10 - RPG Site10 - Areajugones10 - Critical Hits10 - DualShockers10 - CGMagazine9.5 - Destructoid9.5 - XboxEra9 - IGN9 - GameSpot9 - Game Informer9 - PSX Brasil9 - Noisy Pixel9 - Push SquareMetacritic - 92 OpenCritic - 92 — Genki✨ (@Genki_JPN) April 23, 2025 YouTuber 'MrMattyPlays' wrote on Musk's X (formerly Twitter), "I can finally say it! Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is one of the best games I've ever played," praising its story, soundtrack, and describing its gameplay as the "best turn-based combat." Another reviewer added, "Expedition 33 is a must play RPG, with one of the most fun turn based mechanics ever. there's systems here i wish Persona would copy" Several expressed their concern for the game's developers since the game might go unnoticed due to the unexpected shadow drop of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion's remake, which took the internet by storm. Expedition 33 is expected to drop Tomorrow, April 24, 2025, on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, including a day one release for Game Pass. It'll be up to you, play what you wantAll I am saying is, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered is available and will always be successful, Bethesda is BIG Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 needs the support more and looks like a great game made by 30 passionate game developers — GamesLover (@lofi_lover0930) April 22, 2025 © 2000 - 2025 Al Bawaba (
