The Famicom Detective Club duology of remakes on Nintendo Switch instantly gripped me, as a fan of visual novels and mystery titles. When Nintendo revealed a third, original title in the series for the Switch, I couldn’t be more elated. It turns out Emio - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club is narrowly my favorite in the series and possibly the darkest game Nintendo has ever made.

Emio - The Smiling Man involves an immediately compelling mystery about a student who is found dead with a paper bag over his head. On the front, a smiley face is drawn on it. This initial mystery only gets deeper, as it connects to an urban legend and previous murder case. Emio, the titular creepy paper bag-wearing killer, is horrifying in all the right ways from the start.

The infrequent horror scenes focusing on Emio put this title more in line tonally with The Girl Who Stands Behind. However, Emio - The Smiling Man stands on its own as one of the most unique games in Nintendo’s history. Its general gameplay will be familiar to existing fans of Famicom Detective Club or point-and-click adventures. Fortunately for newcomers, I did find the puzzle mechanics more straightforward, yet engaging, than ones in the past two titles.

Every scene in Emio - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club boils down to a few key interactions. You think, talk, engage, and examine your way to the next part of the story. Most of the game involves using these key features to learn new details about the case as you question various witnesses and notable figures. Those characters look better than ever, expanding upon the beautifully detailed designs from the remakes with even sharper visuals and some of the most active animations I’ve seen from a visual novel or adventure game.

While the investigations may sound boring or a bit too simple from a glance, they work like a puzzle. In one instance, you may need to ask about the same topic a few times before you unlock a new question. You might have to examine the environment to learn about a new subject to talk about. Eventually, these portions lead to crucial review sequences near the end of each chapter. They act like tests of your knowledge about certain events.

The gameplay might be linear, but Emio - The Smiling Man makes up for that with a new addition. Ayumi, the main character’s sidekick and friend from past games, takes the role of the secondary playable protagonist for a portion of the experience. This perspective shift changes up the usual formula from the past two games in a significant way. You still play as the main character who you can name, but Ayumi has a slightly different investigative style. After all, she is able to question and interact with characters the protagonist is unable to meet. In addition, she has a much more gentle and calm approach. This idea leads to some of the game’s more heartwarming and ground-breaking scenes.

Those few lighter moments are a welcome respite, given the heavy content in Emio - The Smiling Man. On its own, it already sounds like a pretty disturbing murder mystery. This is especially apparent when you take into account the original three murders of girls 18 years prior to the start of the game. However, it doesn’t stop there.

Without giving too much away, some of the story elements and scenes the plot delved into shocked me. Emio - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club is far and away the darkest game I’ve ever played from Nintendo. It deals with some plot points that even the past two games didn’t come close to addressing. There are some story beats, particularly towards the end, that I found difficult to experience.

I appreciate the developer going as far as it did with the Emio - The Smiling Man plot. It can be quite twisted at times, but it is all the more compelling because of this realism. That said, there are some occasional problems with pacing. For one, it overall feels just a tad bit shorter than I would have liked. In addition, it wraps up in a fascinatingly unique way that I can’t get into here, but I imagine will be received in a mixed manner. The chapters also feel quite short, especially early on. This leads to a couple of twists, key characters, and plot devices feeling like they needed a bit more time to cook.

Even with the pacing problems, Emio - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club is the best entry in the series yet. The puzzle-like investigative gameplay is straightforward, doing just enough to challenge the player without overwhelming or being too obscure. It all complements well with the excellent but a bit unique storytelling. This tale is not for every Switch player, being a bit too dark at times, but it is highly rewarding for those it appeals to.

Emio - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club releases for the Nintendo Switch on August 29, 2024.

The post Review: Emio – The Smiling Man Is Nintendo’s Darkest Story appeared first on Siliconera.

World of Warcraft has been going strong for 20 years now. With the beloved Classic version and new The War Within, there is a lot of reason to play a new class. The Siliconera staff has come together to give our picks for our favorite WoW classes to date.

Some of these classes are based on how we think they play into the meta. Others, though, are picks based on how unique they are or how fun they are to play. Regardless, these are some of the Siliconera staff members’ picks for the best World of Warcraft classes worth checking out these days.

Siliconera Speaks Up: Our Picks for the Best WoW Class

Obviously "the best" will depend on the criteria, but I'd like to go to bat for the good old Warrior. In a world of dragon people, demon summoners, and guys who can pull your literal bones out of your body with their mind, it takes a something special to survivejust by swinging a big hunk of metal real good. It hasn't always been balanced the best, and I still mourn the brief life and sudden death of Gladiator spec, but some of the updated animations are still really satisfying. --Elliot

The best World of Warcraft class for me depends on what role I’m looking to play. As a Classic fan, it has to be either Priest or Death Knight. On the Priest side, I enjoy healing as a Holy Priest, which is the most fun and versatile for me for that role. But if I want to deal damage, I would go with the Unholy Death Knight. I am a sucker for having undead minions in games so this type of crowd control is right up my alley when I want to play DPS. -- Cody

World of Warcraft: The War Within releases worldwide for PC on August 26, 2024. The early access phase is already available.

The post What’s the Best World of Warcraft Class? appeared first on Siliconera.

Despite feeling like it just started yesterday, the Jujutsu Kaisen is nearing its end. In fact, the manga might already be over by the time you read this if you wait until September 2024. Without a doubt, it is one of the most extraordinary shonen manga series in a long time. But I still feel the best part and arc of Jujutsu Kaisen is the beginning, consisting of arcs like Cursed Child, Fearsome Womb, and Vs. Mahito, that kicks things off..

In hindsight, the beginning of Jujutsu Kaisen feels so different from the rest of the series. It initially kicks off in an almost horrific way. The weakness of Yuji Itadori against the curses he suddenly discovers is so fascinating. In addition, the gore felt so surprising and in stark contrast to the other, similar shonen series running at the time.

While elements of this introduction carried on throughout the rest of the series, such as the gory action, things eventually change. Gege Akutami pursues such a different vibe from the Kyoto Arc forward in Jujutsu Kaisen. Perhaps the greatest example of this is the more personal and focused nature of the early arcs of the series. It isn’t all about citywide destruction and unlocking new powers.

Instead, the beginning of Jujutsu Kaisen that starts with the Cursed Child arc is simply about surviving excruciating missions against curses. The main characters, especially Yuji, have genuine character development due to their new circumstances. My personal favorite part of the entire series happens during the Vs. Mahito Arc. It's when the villain really appears for the first time. The initial impression is incredible, and only builds from there.

Mahito’s unhinged, terrifying nature is on full display here in a way that stings even more than his appearances later in the series. He feels like one of the most horrifying anime villains in a long time. We witness a man that is willing to massacre anyone and anything in his path. Worse still, he feels unstoppable at this point.

To make it even better, my favorite character in the series, Junpei, gets his moment here. Junpei is by far one of the most complex characters in Jujutsu Kaisen. His relationship with Yuji still feels like the most emotional for the protagonist, even as we near the end. It is here that Yuji is pushed to his limits and grows as a character in a much more natural way.

This isn’t to say there is no development for Yuji later on. In fact, it’s quite the contrary. My only issue with Jujutsu Kaisen is sometimes the character development and deaths Akutami used feel too forced or there just for shock value. Don’t get me wrong, I adore the onslaught of twists and turns.

But I also prefer the centralized nature of these early arcs. The twists in the beginning of Jujutsu Kaisen are fewer and far between. This allows them breathing room to have enough attention and development. As such, they are still the most effective surprises and tragic character deaths, in my opinion.

This idea extends to Jujutsu Kaisen 0 as well. Yuta and Rika’s tale is a heartbreaking one that has the same level of focus and emotional resonance as the early parts of the main series. It isn’t to say that I don’t love Jujutsu Kaisen. In fact, it is quite the opposite. It took time but I adore this series.

Jujutsu Kaisen is by far the best in its category of new gen shonen series by a long shot. It just took time for me to realize that the crux of the series is over-the-top bombastic fights and shock after shock. Once I accepted this, I found this series has the best action out of any other similar series.

In fact, Jujutsu Kaisen is one of the only series of the more mature, gory side of shonen manga to not lose itself in the latter half. I find this to be a huge issue with other similar series like Attack on Titan and Chainsaw Man that almost lost me entirely.

Honestly, I don’t look forward to the end of Jujutsu Kaisen because I’ve enjoyed it so much as a whole. I just still prefer the earlier parts of the manga. This is where Yuji Itadori captivated me as the most compelling shonen protagonist in a long time. He isn’t the typical savior of the world or guy rising from nothing.

Instead, almost everyone hates him and wants him dead. This only made me root for him more in these earlier story arcs. As we near the end of the Jujutsu Kaisen manga, I can’t help but reminiscence fondly about this time. After all, it still feels like the best part of the series for me.

The Jujutsu Kaisen manga is available to read on Viz Media and Manga Plus. The anime adaptation is streaming on Crunchyroll.

The post Jujutsu Kaisen’s Best Part Is Still Its Earliest Arcs appeared first on Siliconera.

Emio - The Smiling Man is a continuation of the underrated Famicom Detective Club series, and I never expected this release to happen. Ahead of the latest game in this surprisingly well-crafted mystery adventure visual novel series’ release, I had the chance to preview the first couple of chapters. It seems off to a strong start.

This particular preview is based on the same demo build players can enjoy that includes the prologue and first couple of chapters of the full title, plus a save transfer option for the real deal. Immediately, this game kicks off with certainly the most compelling premise thus far. It feels much more similar to The Girl Who Stands Behind, but even eerier. This isn’t a problem for me, since I preferred the prequel of the two original remakes.

The general idea is the returning main characters of the Utsugi Detective Agency start a new investigation after a student is found strangled. To make matters more disturbing, the killer put a paper bag with an unsettling smiley face on his head. This potentially ties back to similar murders 18 years prior.

Everything about this premise centers around the disturbing urban legend of Emio. While we don’t find out too much in the first two chapters, the teases about the character are unnerving in all the right ways. The smiley paper bag-wearing killer is by far the creepiest antagonist in the series yet. I would say so far, based on my initial experience, the character is honestly the most memorable as well.

The few scenes that tease his ominous presence generally evoke some horrific imagery. While I wouldn’t call this straight-up horror just yet, it leans further into the genre than even the two previous titles. This is helped by a plethora of new side characters, all of which I am heavily suspicious about at this point.

From police detectives to teachers, each of the new characters intrigue, even with their short screen times in the prologue and first two chapters. They have great visual designs, which is helped by the upgraded graphics. This title takes the already fantastic art foundation from the previous remakes and upgrades it further.

Characters move and shift around, having natural movements and expression changes. This is the most dynamic visual novel I’ve played outside of the Ace Attorney series so far. I may even recommend this to those who don’t normally like this genre because of how stunning the environments are and how active everything feels, though I'll wait for a final say on that until the game releases.

It also helps that the pacing is extremely brisk in the Emio - The Smiling Man demo that offers a preview of early chapters. The prologue and first two chapters go by far too quickly, just barely teasing this story. I hope the story slows down a bit more!

The benefit of this is how easy the puzzles seem so far. The gameplay from the past games returns, and it consists primarily of talking and investigating. Most of the time, players engage and ask questions after meeting various characters. This is to find out more information to then ask more questions and so on. Every once in a while, there is the requirement to actually examine the environment or dead body.

Thus far in these first couple of chapters, the questioning and progression of the story is pretty straightforward. This makes it a solid starting point for newcomers from what I’ve played so far. And for those of us like me who loved the first two games, Emio - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club seems to be setting up the most compelling and thrilling mystery yet.

Emio - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club arrives on the Nintendo Switch on August 29, 2024. A demo is now available.

The post Preview: Emio – The Smiling Man Sets Up an Unnerving Mystery appeared first on Siliconera.

There is always an intriguing risk when it comes to adapting an existing movie or TV show into video game. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle takes an even greater risk with developer MachineGames introducing its own standalone story in the Lucasfilm saga. It certainly captures the cinematic feel of the movies, but it still has question marks regarding gameplay.

My recent Indiana Jones and the Great Circle preview for Gamescom 2024 was notably strictly hands-off. I had the chance to check out 30 minutes of particularly edited gameplay footage across different areas with narration. Since this was totally hands-off, it is hard to say exactly how this first-person action adventure game will play.

That said, I walked away from the hands-off preview impressed by the visuals and spectacular presentation of the Great Circle, but uncertain about its gameplay. If there is one element I am certain about this game, it is the sheer scale and diversity of the various missions players will experience. In the short time, I saw clips of adventures in Vatican City, the Himalayan’s, and Egypt. Every location looks stunning in-engine and grandiose.

If these sections are anything to go by, these iconic and beautiful locales will also have the adventurous nature of the movies as well. Indiana Jones, played by Troy Baker, encountered plenty of traps and thrilling scripted sequences. These were extremely fun to watch, especially from the fascinating first-person perspective.

However, when it comes to the actual gameplay, especially in movement and combat, I am less thrilled. The movement, at times, seemed clunky and a bit too slow. This could be due to the slower nature of the edited footage, emphasizing the detail of the environments. However, I’m not confident in this, mainly because of the combat.

Fights seem to generally happen in a one-on-one nature, at least from what I saw. There are ranged weaponry and fighting, but I mostly saw up close and personal gameplay. Jones would swap blows with enemies but the animations seemed a bit too slow. I wasn’t particularly excited by the slow pace of the fights. There is a chance the actual end result will be smoother or be faster, but I’m not impressed with that part yet.

Even still, I admire the exploration aspect of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. This is where the first-person perspective really shines from my short hands-off demo. MachineGames put a lot of thought into recreating these 1930s settings and, fortunately, it shows. Missions often have large open areas to explore, with merchants and even optional side missions to complete. Seeing the hustle, bustle, and many NPCs roaming around a market had me interested in spending time there. In some ways, these locations remind me of the historical adherence and detail of an Assassin’s Creed title.

This extends the player’s time with the gameplay beyond the typical scripted dungeon delving and crypt exploring main missions. Everything about these massive scripted sequences evoke feelings of watching the movies. I especially enjoyed the pit Jones fell into towards the end of the demo. This led to a creepier moment with scorpions and other creatures in the dark, which teased some thrilling sequences in the title. While I do have some concerns about linearity and lack of player input in these moments, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle feels incredibly cinematic.

This movie-like quality and feel comes down to the story and characters. I only have bits and pieces of the story so far, but Troy Baker nails the voice of Indiana Jones as best as one can without getting Harrison Ford himself. In the end, this makes Indiana Jones and the Great Circle seem like a faithful cinematic game adaptation of the beloved movies. While it remains to be seen if it plays as well as it looks, there is some hope for Indiana Jones fans.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle will release for Xbox Series X/S and PC on December 9, 2024 and in Spring 2025 for PS5.

The post Preview: Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Feels Rightfully Cinematic appeared first on Siliconera.

Sports games are massively popular and beloved by millions. It is impressive how dedicated sports game fans are to checking out the latest iteration of rosters, modes, and gameplay mechanics every single year. When it comes to Madden NFL games, this long-running franchise has adhered to giving players the best look at American football in an interactive form. But what is the best Madden NFL game of all time?

The Siliconera staff has gotten together to focus less on the overall best mechanically impressive game in the series, but the ones that stuck out the most to us. Perhaps because of certain modes, how the gameplay works, or just pure nostalgia, but these are the best Madden NFL games in our opinions.

Siliconera Speaks Up: Best Madden NFL Game

Honestly, I haven't played many Madden games. However, as a kid I ended up playing a shocking amount of John Madden Football on the Genesis! Some real formative memories with friends and cousins are tied to it. So even though it doesn't have the management elements I love in more modern sports games, I really liked getting to play with family and fight over who got to be the Bears. -- Jenni

I haven’t played a Madden NFL game in a very long time (I was always more a basketball or soccer game fan), but I have fond memories of checking them out as a kid. Basically anything from around the PS2 and Xbox generation somewhat into the Xbox 360 generation is iconic. The one that sticks out to me the most is Madden NFL 08. It was sooo good and smooth to play on the 360. It struck the right balance between realism and the more arcadey nature I like. Plus, the PC version had a phenomenal modding community. It is still worth playing even now. -- Cody

The post What’s the Best Madden NFL Game of All Time? appeared first on Siliconera.

All good things must come to an end at some point, and so is the case with My Hero Academia. The beloved manga series has gone on for 10 years and is now completely over by the time you’re reading this. I actually really love how My Hero Academia ends, especially in the case of Deku and his romance status.

I should warn you ahead of time this will contain full spoilers for the conclusion of My Hero Academia. If you are reading this soon after publishing, the anime has not even come close to catching up to the manga’s ending yet. As such, if you are watching only the anime or are not caught up on the manga, now is the time to turn around.

Still here? Great! I am proud of the series’ creator Kohei Horikoshi. Horikoshi avoided the pitfalls and awkwardness of other similar shonen series in terms of romance. Not only is Deku’s quirk state a phenomenal full circle closure for the hero, but he sticks to himself in the end relationship-wise.

Despite the confession from Ochaco in chapter 429, Deku doesn’t appear to end up with her after the eight-year time skip in the final chapter. In fact, it implies he doesn’t have much to do with any of his Class 1-A classmates in the future. I honestly prefer it this way, as Deku and Ochaco didn’t seem like a compelling couple.

This is a general problem with a lot of similar shonen manga and anime series. Series like Demon Slayer, Naruto, Bleach, Dragon Ball, Inuyasha, and others feel the need to end with the main character falling in love with someone. Some of these series work well, but others feel forced and out of left field. My Hero Academia would certainly fall into the latter category if Deku fell for Ochaco.

Sure, I admire Ochaco’s clear feelings for Deku throughout the series. However, there is almost no indication from Deku’s side to hint at any reciprocating feelings. In all honesty, Deku’s relationship with Ochaco almost feels no different than what he has with the lovable but villainous Himiko Toga. Overall, it makes more sense for there not to be a clear winner in this love triangle.

Deku has such a huge focus on saving the world that romance is seemingly the last thing on his mind. Even after the time skip, he focuses more on raising up the next generation of heroes. His character is the lone wolf in a way, keeping his friends close but at a reasonable distance.

Almost none of the characters make that much sense to end up with him from what we see in the series, so I’m grateful Horikoshi stuck to this conclusion. Beyond Ochaco, as much as I love Toga, she does some horrifying acts. So partnering her with Deku wouldn’t make much sense, either.

Mei Hatsume somewhat matches better with Deku personality-wise than either of the other two girls, but she is in the background a little bit too much. As such, I feel like none of the options work that well for this series. In the end, I appreciate Deku’s seemingly single relationship status.

This result shows that a fantastic manga and anime series like this one doesn’t have to conclude with romance. This shows the series is about saving the world, not who ends up with who. I hope that more shonen action series take from My Hero Academia’s spin on romance. In a way, it’s like having your cake and eating it, too. Fans can still ship characters for fun without the actual series taking away from what really matters. And, honestly, I think I prefer it this way.

The My Hero Academia manga is available to read from start to finish on Viz Media and Manga Plus. The anime adaptation is available on Crunchyroll.

The post My Hero Academia Handles Deku’s Romance Better Than Other Manga appeared first on Siliconera.

Though I love for Capcom’s Resident Evil series, I never took the plunge into its other zombie-filled franchise: Dead Rising. With the arrival of Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster, I trekked into the Willamette Parkview Mall for a peek into this intriguing zombie adventure. I walked away a fan of what I experienced.

Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster involves a The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask-like 72-hour timer. Journalist Frank West arrives in this small Colorado town amidst a secret zombie outbreak. Your job is to investigate the several cases and figure out the truth behind the event, while protecting and saving survivors, before the three days are up.

For the purposes of this preview, I only had the chance to check out the first of the three days. This included an introduction to Frank, the other characters who find themselves in the mall, and a couple of boss battles. You can pretty much use your time however you like when it comes to engaging in its activities, finding collectibles, and completing side quests.

I enjoyed the freeform nature of this game, especially when it came to the semi-open world location of the Parkview Mall. I felt like, even in my short time spent with it, that it could be one of the most compelling and memorable locales in gaming. Every inch of the mall is fully realized and feels smartly connected to one another. This includes the various stores, the ridiculous food court, and the gorgeous park in the middle of the complex.

The mall may not be huge, but it has an intricate and thoughtful design that helps it to stand out. There is also something beautifully simplistic about the gameplay and progression of Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster, from what I saw. In general, you can pick up various items you find, such as a propane tank or lead pipe, and use it to fight with a single button. You can throw some items, but there isn’t too much to combat outside of dodging, throwing, and attacking.

I appreciate this clarity, especially when it comes to the sheer swarms of zombies in the mall. Hacking and slashing through them felt fresh early on, especially due to the relative breezy difficulty of this game in the early hours. You can level up as you take photos, save survivors, and complete cases, to build up Frank as a fighter. Zombies went down in one or two hits during my initial voyage into the mall, and I found it rather easy to run away from them as well.

In this way, Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster may offer the right balance of feeling fun to explore and like the challenge doesn't gets in the way of the experience. The new control scheme, which allows the player to more fully move around, use the camera, and attack all at the same time, added to the newly modern feel.

It also seemed obvious right away that the graphical overhaul makes the game look better than the original. The added textures, hair details, and lighting changes seem evident, both in the mall environments and the characters. Though I could start to see some of the age in cutscene closeups with NPCs, in Frank's first hours I noticed a solid level of polish that never made me feel like I was playing an experience from several console generations ago. The smooth performance, even playing on Steam Deck, helped in this regard. It felt surprisingly modern to me.

Even as someone who never played the original, I enjoyed my first few hours with Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster. The sometimes goofy nature of the story, characters, and costumes makes for a refreshing zombie romp. It is actually a shame I only got to experience Frank's first hours in the mall, and I look forward to solving the mystery of this zombie outbreak in the full release.

Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster releases for PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC on September 19, 2024.

The post Preview: Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster Feels Like a Modern Experience appeared first on Siliconera.

Many anime rise and fall based on their villains. The team here at Siliconera picked our favorite villains in anime history. Be it memorable, charming villains or downright horrifying characters, these are the best anime villains of all time.

Siliconera Speaks Up: Best Anime Villain Ever

As much as I'd like to name Oikawa for the meme, I have to say that I really liked Kira/Light of Death Note for the exact same reasons I liked Walter from Breaking Bad. He was not as charismatic or clever as he thought he was, nor as moral as he made himself to be. Everything he did in order to make something "better" for himself only ended up making things worse for the people around him, but at least Walter owned up to it. I do love how, just like with Walter, there are people who genuinely don't seem to realize that you're not supposed to be rooting for Light. The only thing I wish for with Death Note is that Madhouse gave him the same death he had in the anime: crying and squirming around in his own blood like the worm that he is. -- Stephanie

"It was me, Dio!" Like clearly, I have to go with Dio Brando. LOOK at how much trouble he's caused for the Joestar family and the world! Even when he isn't Dio Brando and is instead, like, Diego Brando, he's still unbeatable! He has this overwhelming charisma and energy, plus he's just so easy to hate. I love him as a villain so much! -- Jenni

Johan Liebert from Monster is truly the most haunting anime villain I’ve ever seen in a series. How this series starts and the moral questions Johan’s existence brings from the beginning are tragic and unmatched. This guy is unlike any other anime villain, being such an emotionless and disturbing genius from start to finish. Don’t miss this unforgettable villain, even if the animation is starting to show its age a little. As a slight aside for second place, I’d have to give it to Makoto in School Days. This guy manages to consistently outdo himself every episode as the most unlikeable anime protagonist/villain of all time. -- Cody

The post Who’s the Best Anime Villain of All Time? appeared first on Siliconera.

Zenless Zone Zero is one of the most impressive free-to-play gacha games to release this year so far in 2024. HoYoVerse is back at it again with yet another blockbuster third-person gacha adventure. The action is fantastic and the visual aesthetic is so appealing. This applies to the characters as well. Given how excellent HoYoVerse is at crafting brilliant characters, here are our picks for the best Zenless Zone Zero character based on their gameplay and just general design.

Siliconera Speaks Up: Our Picks for the Best Zenless Zone Zero Characters

I'm a huge fan of Rina in Zenless Zone Zero, and she's probably my best character so far due to her versatility. Yes, she's best with fellow electric and Victoria Housekeeping characters. However, per PEN buff really helps with taking down enemies early on, regardless of her party, and I love how ranged characters work in this game. -- Jenni

Are we talking best in terms of gameplay or looks? Because I usually pick my team based on how they look. Like Jenni, I like Rina a lot. But if I had to pick my favorite, I think Soldier 11 has an excellent design and solid utility as well. Fire is an element I often like in games and I appreciate Soldier 11’s somewhat unique fire-themed attack combo. She is pretty fun to play once you get into the swing of activating her Fire Suppression Core passive. -- Cody

Zenless Zone Zero is available right now for free for Android, iOS, PS5, and PC.

The post Who’s the Best Zenless Zone Zero Character? appeared first on Siliconera.

Square Enix dropped Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail, the fifth expansion, at the start of July 2024. We’ve had the chance to dive into this expansion and max out our classes and jobs to level 100. As such, it is finally time to reveal what the best class is in FFXIV Dawntrail. Note that we decided these on a number of factors, such as the best overall job class out of every single one in the expansion. In addition, some of us picked based on the two new jobs, Viper and Pictomancer.

Regardless, if you are looking to pick up a job that has turned out quite well in Dawntrail, these are the ones that will treat you nicely in the current fifth expansion meta. Let us know what your favorite job classes are in this expansion!

Siliconera Speaks Up: Our Picks for the Best Classes in Dawntrail

I've played Final Fantasy XIV for a long time. And I mean, a long, long time. I have over three thousand days subscribed to the game and have tried out a lot of the job classes --- Melee and Ranged DPS, Healers, Tanks. You name it, I've probably given it a shot. And while I was initially anxious to committed to the Tank role, I dove right in to Gunbreaker when a series of Final Fantasy XII Judge-inspired armor sets released through the Bozja side content. I got my Gunbreaker to max and decided to bring it into Shadowbringers, and then Endwalker as Tanking was a lot easier than I initially thought. Gunbreaker is my favorite job class because it's decently active, while not requiring me to do too much in normal content. White Mage used to be my favorite, but sometimes I'm just tired and wanna turn my brain off, and Gunbreaker lets me do just that. -- Kazuma

Are we are talking about the two new jobs, specifically? If so, FFXIV Dawntrail’s best new job class for me has to be Pictomancer. Viper is great on its own, too. However, Pictomancer offers this fascinating middle ground of being a powerful magical DPS class like Black Mage. Yet at the same time, Pictomancer also offers fantastic buffs for the party. It is also quite fun to use. In terms of existing jobs, I am having a blast playing Sage again. Overall, it hasn’t changed much. That said, the new AOE damage-over-time action with Eukrasian Dyskrasia and other new skills fix the very few problems I had with Sage. -- Cody

Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail is available right now for PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

The post Which Class Do You Like Best in FFXIV Dawntrail? appeared first on Siliconera.

All great things must come to an end. After 10 long years of consistent publication, the manga My Hero Academia finally finished. In fact, by the time you are reading this, the final chapter of the manga might be out in your region! Looking at the current state of the anime, it won’t be long until its conclusion too. But when all is said and done, My Hero Academia does not need a sequel after it ends.

One of the first thoughts fans and perhaps even creators alike think when a popular property like My Hero Academia ends is, “What’s next?” Oftentimes, this leads to speculation and the eventual announcement of a spin-off or sequel. But this series doesn’t need any of that. I believe it is fine to leave it as it is.

While the temptation may be there for Shueisha and even series creator Kohei Horikoshi, My Hero Academia would be better off not going down the Naruto and Boruto route. This is largely due to the fact that this series ends on a pretty conclusive note. I won’t delve into spoilers here, but we get the satisfying finish and end to the battles that have been brewing since the series’ inception.

In addition, I adore the full-circle nature of Deku’s particular character arc. The series remembers how it started, and Horikoshi honors that with how it ends. For me, at least, it is a fully satisfying conclusion unlike some other manga and anime series in recent memory. Continuing it with a sequel or “new generation” of heroes almost feels like a disgrace to that.

Even beyond that, My Hero Academia already feels like a sequel in a way. Deku’s journey to fulfill his promise of becoming the world’s number one hero is actually vastly different from other shonen characters like Naruto Uzumaki. In Naruto’s case, there are legacies and histories from before him, but he is pretty much a standalone hero from zero. We see Naruto rise alongside the other members of Team 7, go through trials and tribulations, and cement themselves in history as world changers. It is then after that that we see his son Boruto take the reins and follow in his footsteps, “finishing the fight” against the Otsutsuki, so to speak.

In a way, My Hero Academia feels more like the story told in Boruto than the one in Naruto. In this manga and anime world, All Might is Naruto. The entire series is reminding Deku and everyone of All Might’s greatness. How he changed everything about superheroes and even defeated the mighty All for One. In this way, Deku — and pretty much everyone else — goes throughout the series in the shadow of All Might. This is quite similar to how Boruto relates to his father.

This goes pretty deep, too. After all, there is Shigaraki, too. While Shigaraki as the “big bad” of the series, he shares this role with All for One, who isn’t new. This is the same villain All Might previously took down. So, you have the themes of a returning threat from the past alongside the “next generation” trying to finish the fight. My Hero Academia is already like a sequel in everything but name alone. So, having a sequel or “next generation” of superheroes after Deku and the others almost feels redundant and unnecessary.

Any potential sequel to My Hero Academia would also have to create a new threat that arises after the original series ends. More likely than not, this new threat or conflict would almost assuredly feel less impactful, derivative, or forced. If anything, perhaps the best route to continue this franchise would be to finally tell All Might’s entire story as a prequel. But a direct My Hero Academia sequel with returning characters or their descendants would only be a disservice to what Horikoshi accomplished with this series.

The My Hero Academia manga is available to read on Viz Media and Manga Plus. The anime adaptation is available on Crunchyroll.

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I often skip strategic-RPGs, as I find they rarely grasp my attention for longer than a couple of hours. This usually includes even NIS America’s renowned Disgaea series. My issue with these games largely comes from how often grid-based combat bores me, but such wasn’t the case during my recent opportunity to test Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero at Anime Expo 2024.

The reason for my early appreciation for the Phantom Brave sequel stems from the fact it eschews the usual tactical RPG grids for a more free-form battle system. This allows for plenty of freedom in how to approach each fight. I felt like I could tackle combat during my demo in whatever way I wanted, with whatever units I’d like.

The star of Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero is Marona, a girl with a collection of Phantom friends. She summons these allies to help her out in combat, as they otherwise might not be so visible. Players can pick where to summon Phantoms, and I was able to bring out as many as possible on the field during my session. There is just one caveat. This can only be done so long as they have an item, such as a tree or bush, to inhabit.

Even in the singular battle I completed during my short demo of this upcoming RPG, there were so many gimmicks to appreciate. For instance, Marona herself can fuse together with her Phantoms. This gives her a unique transformation, depending on the pal, and makes her even more powerful. While transformed, each kill she gets on an enemy grants her an extra attack phase during the same turn. This allowed me to chain up kills one after another for four kills on the same turn, which wiped out a significant number of the enemy forces.

After that, I was able to take control of a different Phantom. This character had the power to control gadgets. This included a barrel mech she could pilot. It added so much depth to how to tackle each fight. How I approached the battle might be completely different than how someone else dealt with it.

This idea also shows up in its heavy emphasis on a risk and reward system. Going back to Marona’s transformation ability, there is a catch that keeps it in check. The Phantom you fuse with leaves the field after the transformation concludes. From what I gather, this transformation only lasts for a few turns. After that, the Phantom retires from that particular fight. So, it left me with the challenging decision to know when to fuse at the right moment so as to not make the battle tougher in the long run. I appreciated the sheer amount of depth I saw in this rather early fight.

While I never played the original Phantom Brave, The Lost Lord grabbed my attention more than most NIS America strategy RPGs from my initial preview. I like the lack of grids on the battlefield, which provides a more open movement system. Everything feels much smoother and swifter than similar games. Unfortunately, this preview didn’t show off the story. That said, these cutesy and colorful characters might be worth a look when this comes out in 2025. Especially with how fun the lengthy battles seem to be.

Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero will release for Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, and PC in 2025.

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Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail continues the age-old tradition of introducing multiple new jobs (usually two per expansion with the exception of Heavensward) for players to check out. In the case of the fifth expansion, the new FFXIV jobs are Pictomancer and Viper. While certainly different from one another, if I had to pick one as the better job, I would go with Pictomancer every time.

To be clear, both jobs are actually quite good and fill some necessary niches in FFXIV. But I understand that not every player is going to want to take the time to level up both jobs over 20 levels each (40 in total) to max them out. Plus, that doesn’t take into account the time it takes to master each job, which is a tall order since they start at level 80. With that in mind, if I had to pick one of these new FFXIV jobs to recommend to most players, I would go with Pictomancer. I believe it is the slightly better and stronger job.

To be clear, I started out as an Arcanist and eventually Summoner/Scholar main in this game when it first came out, but my secondary job for the longest time was Ninja. As such, there are some fascinating parallels between Pictomancer and Viper for me. The former is the latest ranged magical DPS job. Meanwhile, Viper is the long-awaited armor companion to Ninja and a fellow dual wielder. Both jobs also have some similarities to existing ones, so they are pretty even in that regard.

As such, Pictomancer narrowly beats Viper due to how much more it stands out. I would describe Pictomancer as a fascinating mix of Black Mage and Ninja in some regards, under an artistic perspective. It has the usual elemental magic Black Mage owns and some similar spells, but it also has its canvas to paint on. This reminds me of Ninja in a way. You can queue up spells and unleash them in certain orders. These will result in different moves in the process.

On the other hand, Viper is also similar to Ninja. It is a dual wielder and it focuses a lot on combos as well. The difference is it relies too much on combos. It is actually unbelievable how many different combo options exist with Viper. There are different branching options depending on the scenario and skills are constantly turning into other ones.

If you don’t like combos, Viper is certainly not the FFXIV job for you. In addition, it can be a bit overwhelming to jump into at first. But the main issue with Viper comes from once you actually learn it. I find that Viper ends up a little boring and almost too repetitive once you get the hang of the role. Meanwhile, the Pictomancer never stops being fun with instantly drawing outside of battle and buffing the party.

Overall, I would almost say Viper is a bit one-note. However, to its credit, the diversity in combos leads to some of the best visual effects for a job. I would even say it is possibly the flashiest job in the game currently. But it doesn’t stand out as much as it could, nor is it as necessary in the meta as Pictomancer.

If you are a skilled Pictomancer, you can almost deal too much damage in FFXIV these days. There are times I have full-on pulled and seen others pull aggro from a skilled, not amateur tank, especially in lower-level content. Any other job and that wouldn’t have happened. Beyond the damage, Pictomancer also has some excellent buffs late-game with Starry Muse and Tempera Grassa. It isn’t quite the true support job hybrid I was hoping for, but it comes close enough.

In the end, both Viper and Pictomancer are excellent job additions in FFXIV Dawntrail. That said, if I have to recommend one as the “better” job, I would go with Pictomancer. It isn’t quite as one-note as Viper can be, while also almost filling a neat niche for the meta. I expect Pictomancer to only gain in popularity and success as time goes on, barring any nerfs, so if you’re looking for a new one to spend your time with, this is what I recommend.

Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail is available right now for the PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

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Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail is the fifth expansion in the long-running MMO’s history, and it represents such a fascinating point in its life. This expansion has the unenviable task of following up after two excellent additions. In the end, I found FFXIV Dawntrail shows us the best and worst moments of the MMO so far.

With the lead-up to Dawntrail, I often kept asking myself what the whole point of it was. Endwalker put a nice little cap on the MMORPG, feeling like the right place to end FFXIV. In fact, it was supposed to be the original ending. But here Square Enix is, continuing the story past Hydaelyn and Zodiark because there is a massive, active player base.

My main concern about Dawntrail reared its head in the first half of the FFXIV expansion. The initial part of the story acts as a wacky summer vacation filler arc, for better and mostly worse. The Warrior of Light and some of the Scions take a trip to the new continent of Tural to help Wuk Lamat fight for her claim to the throne against other contestants. In theory, the premise sounds pretty neat! This is especially true when some of the other Scions are on opposing sides, offering some fun internal conflict within the group. However, the execution feels about as underwhelming as Stormblood, the weakest FFXIV expansion by far. This largely stems from the rather uninteresting cast of characters accompanying you.

Wuk Lamat is one of the most forgettable heroes in FFXIV, despite essentially being this expansion’s main character. Her voice acting is solid, but everything else about her isn't up to par. She is by far one of the most one-note characters in the game. She's always so happy-go-lucky, to an almost nauseating degree. Even her latter character development feels forced. She's not as natural or complex as some other characters, like Lyse or Ryne.

To make matters worse, the first half of the expansion also features the most unlikeable members of the Scions journeying alongside the Warrior of Light and Wuk Lamat. It would be one thing if I could catch up with my guy G’raha Tia swooning over me once again or Y’shtola’s witty remarks, but that doesn't happen here. This is Wuk Lamat’s story through and through. It is almost to the point where the Warrior of Light and the other Scions seem pretty much done story-wise, with the exception of characters like Krile. I almost questioned why some characters were even there, as the expansion would’ve been almost exactly the same with or without Alphinaud and Alisaie. During the first half, I often looked at some of the other contestants and wished I was partnered with them instead.

The one silver lining in this portion of the expansion is the actual content itself. The new locations, such as Kozama’uka, are absolutely stunning. The mix of jungles, deserts, and other wild biomes look so incredible. The detail and vast nature of each locale pops so well in the accompanying graphical update. These new locations are some of the best in the MMO’s history, with fantastic diversity throughout. There are even surprises and visual changes within some individual zones. While I didn’t enjoy the story, I at least appreciated the views along the way.

Plus, it helps that the dungeons, trials, and even instances excelled in these places. There are so many new mechanics and challenging moments that surprised me and tested my skill. For one, the Trust System is back and better than ever before. I wanted NPC trials since Trust’s introduction in Shadowbringers and it finally comes to fruition for more than one instance here.

The two new jobs, Pictomancer and Viper, both fill welcome niches in the meta. Pictomancer feels like a true support DPS, capable of buffing the party and dealing outrageous damage. The ability to queue up drawings before a big fight never got old. Then there is Viper, with its plethora of combos and flashy mechanics. It isn’t too overwhelming, but has just enough variety that will likely appeal to Ninja fans like myself.

If only for the content alone you experience, it is well worth getting through the succession storyline. That at least kept me going until the second half, which is when everything changes for the better. The second half of Dawntrail proved to me there is still some juice left in FFXIV’s tank. If you’ve been disappointed with everything since the final fight of Endwalker, this is the part for you.

While I certainly won’t go into details here, all you have to do is take a look at the second city of Solution Nine to see the surprising tonal shift. The story gets exponentially better in this second half. The introduction of the best new characters this expansion happens then, plus several shocking story sequences. There are even optional side quests in one particular late-game area I recommend everyone does for ensuing tearjerker moments. In fact, there are even some spectacular fan service moments that came out of nowhere and felt surprisingly earned. These epic sequences, some playable and others cutscenes, felt created just to convince me FFXIV is headed in the right direction.

This second half of Dawntrail stands up there with some of the best parts of the MMO, whereas the first half like it barely surpassed the heavily disappointing FFXIV Stormblood. I would rank it significantly higher than Heavensward at this point. It doesn’t quite reach the peak of the MMORPG’s history but there are several shining moments reminiscent of elements I loved about Shadowbringers and Endwalker. It is just unfortunate that these highest of highs also come along with the lowest of lows.

Fortunately, in the end, Dawntrail balances out for a solid, but not necessarily ground-breaking FFXIV expansion. Though it starts rough, Square Enix brings it all together quite well by the second half for a satisfying conclusion. The consistency of the actual gameplay content throughout at least ensures it is enjoyable to play from start to finish. In the end, FFXIV Dawntrail is a shaky, but ultimately positive step in a new direction for the best MMO of all time.

Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail is available right now for PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

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