I’m mostly content with what the latest Nintendo Direct announced, and i found some announcements i cared about still even in terms of this year’s TGS, which ended 1 day earlier because of a typhoon alert.
Honestly surprised and pleased to see Nintendo is focusing on Metroid more than expected, with Metroid Ravenous, i really should actually get around to play Dread (yeah, eggs on his face, etc.).
I was watching the Nintendo Direct (a bit less how the Age Of Calamity remaster port offers a measly discount and no real upgrade path, not feeling like shelling 60 bucks again for a game i actually 100% completed, especially as of now), then saw the Level 5 announcements, and damn, Level 5, why couldn’t you have croaked a few years ago?
Sometimes dead is better, indeed.
I’ll give them this: at least, unlike everyone else, they’re open about embracing GenAI crap to make their games, almost entirely relying on it because damn those trailer were so full of it nothing would remain by removing the IA generated assets and everything, heck, even that presentation with Level 5 CEO GenAI avatar dancing and talking was frankly embarassing to witness, to say nothing of the Holy Horror Mansion trailer, just pure slop, or how they put out another teaser for the Yokai Watch 2 remake… in which the protag has a different face than the one shown in earlier material.
Also, just to make obvious how the “genAI helps speed up the process” is also bullcrap, they delayed Decapolice even futher, to a generic 2027.
Even the Layton remake has many details giving away they also used GenAI here a lot, because of course it did.
They faced backlash (even from the Japanese side of SNS, which is telling) and apologized… after, explained that most of the important vital work is done by humans, but frankly, i do not believe it, not just because of how these excuses mean nothing, because they clearly are engorging themselves and using so abudantly on everything, their words are hollow and ultimately they are just imploding on themselves, speedrunning their own death.
Plus, it’s Hino, it’s obviously not an “apology” (as it ignores how concept art shapes the final product, because it does), its a reply for calling them out on them being shit, he has been adamantly pro-GenAI, of course he does, its new and shiny, it’s gotta be good.
Once upon a time, Level 5 worked with Ghibli, remember that?
Personally, i’m done giving them any more money, or even caring about anything they do with the old franchises, i’m just tired, and i would like to refund my wish of a new Layton collection, even if i just missed the crossover game with Phoenix Wright.
Yes, a new Layton game is also coming out… but again, it’s from modern Level 5.
I don’t want anything from Level 5 as they are today, and i’d frankly wish they did actually “die” if this is what passes as “survival”. Especially when they also did kinda deserve the falling off, they really dropped the ball on how they handled the Yokai Watch franchise westward after the second one, they really strangled themselves by overflodding their own market with too much too fast.
Also, Hino, maybe don’t try having 12 different projects in development, in the awful reality of the modern videogame business, how about that?
Might help actually shipping one or two of these, i can give you this nugget of wisdom for free.
I also weep for Inazuma Eleven fans, i didn’t play those but it must suck to see that series back… and full of GenAI slop.
Speaking of monkey paws wishes, we got an official announcement of that Lollipop Chainsaw sequel Dragami Games did say they were planning, Lollipop Chainsaw 2: Back2Back, now planned just for a PS5 release.
As a fan of the original game who is currently playing the RePOP remaster-port, i was cautiously optimistic to hear actually some news and info about it, heck we even got gameplay footage…. and maybe this wasn’t meant to happen.
We knew both James Gunna and Suda were not gonna be involved at all, we knew that, but frankly it doesn’t help that the gameplay footage shown looks like something at the proof of concept state, too fuckin early, and it just looks like LC but looking way more dull, and when i mean it looks like the original, i mean like almost all the moves Juliet does are taken wholesale or barely modified from how they were in the original game…. and frankly it all looks too similar, the biggest addition being rollerskates, but even so, it feels like they even barely changed anything (aside from sucking out any gusto from the art direction), like this could have been a DLC expansion to the old game.
Again, the question rises, why even show the game if still so “raw” that it’s almost unfit for showing?
That is, if this is a proof of concept stage build, given that this sequel will be low budget, especially since there’s no funding from Kadokawa this time… but then again, this sequel has a 2027 release date, as of now, so we might be looking at a more finished version than we’d prefer tom thank, and Dragami also announced a live action film adaptation is in the works, as they really wanna make Lollipop Chainsaw a franchise.
To be honest, i’m wary at the very best, as the developer, Jp Universe, didn’t make any game before this, as far as i know, despite being founded by Hajime Tabata, director of FF XV…which is why i’m not surprised their company site is mostly a lot of fluff that’s basically crypto and AI based (i assume GenAi due to wording on the site) stuff.
Again, no surprise given he worked in modern Squeenix.
Sigh.
