oprainfall is proud to present our annual lists of Most Anticipated Games. Just like last year, we will be publishing one per day as we move closer to 2016. Today, we have Reporting Manager Joe Sigadel.
While this year had no shortage of great niche games from Japan, 2016 is shaping up to be even more exciting. We’ve had the pleasure of sharing all kinds of localization announcements, as well as other intriguing titles from across the Pacific. Here’s what I’m most excited about that’s coming out next year:
5. Nights of Azure (Yoru no nai Kuni)
A year ago, Gust and Koei Tecmo took me by surprise with Ar nosurge, which was one of the most strange and wonderful sci-fi RPGs that I’d ever played. I considered it a flawed masterpiece, particularly because the visual novel portions of the game took the story to unexpected places that made the player feel like they were an integral part of the plot. It’s a shame that we never got Ciel nosurge Offline to complete the duology, but we are getting another new IP from them with absolutely beautiful concept art and top notch music. I expect those looking for a new game with strong female protagonists may want to keep their eyes on this one.
4. Megadimension Neptunia VII
I think it’s safe to say that Neptune and her CPU and Maker friends have now cemented themselves into our internet meme culture, thanks in part to the presence of the Re;Birth games on Steam. After playing them all myself in addition to the originals on PS3, I’ve really become a true fan of this series. Idea Factory International is bringing out the next chapter in Nep Nep’s story, featuring new characters, upgraded visuals, and a much better soundtrack. I can’t wait to see where her misadventures take her next on her PlayStation 4 debut.
3. Senran Kagura Estival Versus
A while ago, I never thought that I’d be the one to successfully challenge Twitch’s ruling on their ban for Senran Kagura Estival Versus, with the help of one of our readers and a sympathetic admin. At the time, I wasn’t that into the games, but now that I’ve got some Shinovi Versus experience, I’d like to get my hands on the very thing I’ve spoken for. As a fan of Musou games, Senran Kagura Estival Versus fills my need for high speed hack and slash action with some fanservice on the side, and it looks fantastic on PS4.
2. Dark Souls III
Some of you might not know it, but I’m a pretty big fan of Dark Souls, although I think I might be in the minority because I liked the second game a tad better than the first. That was because there was an increased emphasis on co-op play, and everything was streamlined into something a bit more accessible without being too easy. Dark Souls III is looking like it’ll be including some elements from Bloodborne into it, with faster paced combat and breathtaking gothic/medieval environments filled with danger and secrets.
1. Persona 5
Persona 4 is one of my favorite RPGs of all time. It told a great story about being able to confront the thoughts and feelings you don’t want to share with anyone else, and reminded us that some bad people will go to extraordinary lengths to hide the skeletons in their closet. Persona 5 is taking things in a bit of a different direction, with the theme of breaking free from an oppressive everyday environment. A group of high school kids are moonlighting as phantom thieves, stealing away the evil intent of others to save them from themselves. Sometimes, it’s more fun to be ‘bad’.
You might notice that Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 isn’t on this list — it was really hard to pick just five games, because there really are far more titles than this that I’m eager to play. For what it’s worth, I’ve agreed to review that game on behalf of the site, so I’d like to keep my expectations in check for now. And for those of you worried about it, fret not. I’ll treat it as seriously as I would any other game I’ve done a review for. I’ll focus on what matters most — the gameplay. What does everything else matter if it’s not fun? Anyway, I hope you’ll look forward to that when it comes out. I know I will be.
