After getting a chance to watch an NIS America staff member play through the upcoming JRPG Reynatis, I was struck by the various forces at play in the game. In many ways, it seems like a player might need to balance certain elements, such as which mode to use in battle and their stress levels. While there’s still more to see and confirm, it seems like the sort of game where a player may need to pay attention.

During my hands-off preview session, I was able to watch an NIS America employee sample two sections. The first featured Magic Enforcement Administration (MEA) agent Sari Nishijima work alongside her team members Kiichiro Ukai and Masayoshi Dogo on a search for Wizarts, markings in the city enabling certain magical abilities and skills, around Shibuya. In the other portion, there was a briefer look at wizards Marin Kirizumi and Nika Meguro as the two happen upon each other in Shibuya and attempt to live freely as wizards. From there, brief glimpses of exploration and battle helped set the stage for the title.

One of the ways the balancing act in Reynatis came up in gameplay during the preview session involved actions wizards take. We quickly learned that Stress is a key factor. It’s caused by interactions with people in the city and around you, and reduced if you grab a drink. Petting cats around town was also mentioned as a way to calm someone down. 

It’s a critical element, since someone being stressed means they won’t be able to hide that they are a wizard. This will make them visible in the city, resulting in undue attention from people and the MEA and the inability to take on certain quests. Those additional enemy encounters can be dangerous, as if you’re stressed going into a fight, you will only be able to take advantage of Liberation Mode. This lets you use your magical abilities to slow down time, quickly attack, and deal major supernatural damage. However, you won’t be able to dodge like you do in Suppression Mode and enemies move faster. If your Stress is low, then you can switch between the two modes in a fight to more tactfully take advantage of each one to build up magical power and evade attacks before striking back hard.

There’s also the idea of some humans towing the fine line between safety and danger. This is due to the use of an illegal drug on the streets called Rubrum that allows someone without magical talent to see and use wizarts. During the Sari portion of the story on display in the hands-off preview, part of the mission involved her team of three investigating Wizarts and happening upon a human who had been regularly taking this drug. As a result, he’d hit his limit and, during the encounter, transformed into a monster because of that use.  

Part of that balance seems to be between real-world and fantasy elements too, from what I saw. The MEA building in one part of the preview seemed ordinary enough as Sari explored it, but there were also these magical Wizart and wizard elements. Their uniforms also stood out in a way normal governmental employees’ would. This doesn’t even get into the eventual NEO The World Ends with Youelements that NIS promised. But once someone heads out into the city, Shibuya looks as it would in the real world. While I watched the NIS America employee play and visit a store, familiar products showed up. There was C.C. Lemon, my favorite lemon-flavored soda and Yakuza series staple. BOSS coffee showed up as well. 

All of this makes me curious how difficult it will be to maintain these types of balances when I’m playing Reynatis firsthand. It seems like there’s a lot to manage here. Especially considering the penalties wizards can face if they get careless. 

Reynatis will come to the PS4, PS5, Switch, and PC in North America and Europe on September 27, 2024, and then in Australia on October 4, 2024. 

The post Preview: Reynatis Might Just Be a Balancing Act 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.

Every time a new Pokemon game comes out, the fandom seems to split into two: those who enjoy it and those who claim that GameFreak has reached another layer of rock bottom. When Pokemon Scarlet first came out, my opinion was close to the second camp due to the numerous bugs and the lack of interesting new Pokemon in the early game. But then, I finally decided to get the DLCs and actually clear Scarlet, and you know what I realized? I was wrong. Pokemon didn’t get bad or go downhill or anything like that at all. It still gives the exact same feeling as it did when I first booted up the game as a kid.

Pokemon is one of those franchises that suffers from having a huge fanbase. With most popular series, people know what they want and what they’re getting into. It’s not like Person A can play, say, Final Fantasy XVI in a way so different from the way Person B does that they come out of it with an entirely separate experience. But Pokemon is like The Sims. There are so many people with so many different expectations or wants that it’s virtually impossible for GameFreak to please everyone. Players who only care about the story, characters, or Mon collection aspects probably don’t care as much about the meta or the difficulty. Hence, their opinions on various aspects of the game will greatly differ from those who play Pokemon mostly for the PvP elements. It’s a precarious balancing act with no right answer outside of simply making separate games for separate demographics.

I’m a player who cares about clearing the story, taking pictures with my favorite NPCs, putting together cute outfits, and completing the PokeDex. My friends are the kinds who make OCs. It’s pretty similar to how I play, except there’s an additional layer of imagination involved. Our conversations are different than the ones I have with my friend who plays more competitively. Reading and listening to people compare the stats or movesets of Pokemon A and B in order to decide who they want on their team is like watching my favorite show in an unfamiliar language. And I doubt they can relate to my having Froslass on a team for no reason other than “It’s Ice/Ghost and pretty.”

Everyone’s way of playing Pokemon is valid. It’s not like we live in the Pokemon world where Paul’s method of picking and choosing Pokemon based on their stats is regarded as villain behavior. Since I’m not a competitive player, I don’t quite understand the beef that people had with mechanics like Dynamaxing or Terastalizing. I don't engage with them beyond story battles, so they’re about the same as Mega Evolution, which the PvP people apparently loved. Not to sound like the most stereotypical female gamer ever, but the only things that can truly bother me about Pokemon now are a lack of interesting characters and avatar customization. Surprise! I care more about hanging out and looking cute than I do about battle mechanics. For those thinking, “God, I bet her favorite Eevee evolution is Sylveon (derogatory),” yeah, you’re right...it is...

But does that make me less valid a player? It really shouldn’t. That would be like saying kids who only care about collecting a team of legendaries are playing the game wrong. Heck, you can argue that they’re the actual target audience for GameFreak. That’s something we should all keep in mind. These games are E for Everyone and yes, that includes the little kid who doesn’t bother looking at whether a move is a Physical or Special one when letting their Pokemon learn it.

A common complaint people have about Pokemon these days is that they’re too easy. Mechanics like camping and Amie make raising Friendship a breeze. Even if it’s up to chance, Friendship in NPC battles can feel overpowered. NPC trainers challenge you with only one or two weaklings in their team. The universal Experience Share severely reduces the time and effort it takes to level up a weaker Pokemon. Honestly, I feel like the old method of starting with a weak Pokemon you want to train and then swapping them out with something stronger was annoying as heck. It wasn’t fun and it didn’t make the game harder. Tedium doesn't equate difficulty, and difficulty doesn't equate fun. I’m on Team Universal Experience Share. But yes, it sucks we can't turn it off.

What got me thinking about how Pokemon’s quality is just as good, if not better, than the previous games is the feeling of excitement. Isn't that what the games are all about? Exploring Paldea reminded me of when I first set off from Twinleaf Town, and the newer Pokemon games giving gym leaders and rivals more depth beyond one or two traits makes the game actually feel like an RPG.

I know people hated Sword and Shield, but I personally really enjoyed it for the character writing and camping. Bede, Marnie, and Hop all had such satisfying character arcs throughout the story, and the gym leaders felt more fleshed out than ones in the past games. I’m glad that GameFreak continued this with the rivals in Scarlet/Violet, as they were really the best parts of the game. Yes, I’m aware that characters like Lillie and N existed, but I felt like their games only had one or two really interesting characters compared to the Switch generations.

Okay, Scarlet has a lot of issues. There’s a reason I dropped the game for as long as I did. The open world is really buggy. There are also way too many old Pokemon. This is its own problem with very little resolution outside of something similar to Black/White where older Pokemon are only available after the story. Some people really like using or catching Pokemon that debuted in past entries. Others prefer new ones. The camping mechanic was terrible compared to Sword/Shield’s. My biggest beef is with the marketing. While it’s not impossible to complete any plotline or challenge any gym leader/Team Star boss/Titan in the order you want, the lack of level scaling can make it either much too hard or much too easy for your team.

I appreciate GameFreak’s half-successful attempt at doing something new and ambitious. It didn’t always work and games are too expensive now for the “Well, you tried!” participation trophy. But if a major complaint from fans is that the games are stagnant and never change up the formula, then being mad that GameFreak did change up the formula feels silly. Also, this is yet another problem with the huge fanbase. Not everyone dislikes the fact they follow a formula! I didn't care, but I still liked the way Scarlet went about fusing multiple storylines together. If the new direction of Pokemon was to focus on the story and characters at the expense of PvP, I’m perfectly fine with that. Granted, from what I hear, the current meta is genuinely enjoyable so now I’m not quite sure why people talked about Scarlet and Violet like it’s irredeemable trash.

Honestly, every time “New Pokemon games SUCK!” discourse comes across on my timeline and I read through it, I never see an actual concrete complaint. It kind of feels like people like Pokemon the franchise, but they haven’t quite accepted that the Pokemon games were never so difficult that they’d present a challenge to someone with a general understanding of game mechanics. GameFreak always designed them with children in mind. With GameFreak remaining mum on what’s in store in Pokemon Legends: Z-A, as well as the future of the mainline games, it’s hard to tell what we’ll see next year. Here’s hoping the fan reception will be better than past games.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are readily available on the Nintenedo Switch.

The post Pokemon Is Honestly Still a Good Series; People Are Just Old appeared first on Siliconera.

Even though Oshi no Ko is about the twins Aqua and Ruby, a lot of the early volumes of the manga focus on him instead of her. It’s understandable, since he’s penned as the primary protagonist for a while early on. However, with volume 7 of Oshi no Ko we get to see this shift as certain developments give some of Aqua’s story a sense of resolution and Ruby an opportunity to step into the spotlight again.

Editor’s Note: There will be spoilers for volume 7 of the Oshi no Ko manga below. 

Volume 7 of Oshi no Ko begins with the Tokyo Blade stage play we’ve seen coming together over the course of multiple chapters finally running. This is a huge pay-off in many ways. For one, we’re finally seeing the culmination of the rivalry between Akane and Kana. It’s also giving a troubled production a chance to come together, and seeing things actually turn out better than expected is a relief. 

But more importantly, this is a big deal for Aqua and his character arc in Oshi no Ko. We’d already seen leading up to this point that a part of him just won’t let this quest to avenge Ai die. It’s negatively affecting his daily life, with an inner voice that seems like it could also be his past identity chastising him for even considering moving on. So at the climax of this novel, we’re seeing him do what he fears most. He actually acts again. He uses emotional acting after such a long time of running, and in so doing he makes a major breakthrough about himself. 

The way this is handled in the Oshi no Ko manga is stunning, with Aka Akasaka and Mengo Yokoyari shifting between the personal revelation and Aqua’s performance. We can see how his tapping into those memories influences his behavior on-stage. Likewise, the insights he’s gaining as he does so offers this reveal into what he’s dealing with and allows him to perhaps address the issue in a way that could make his life different going forward. 

This, followed by a meaningful conversation with Toshiro Kindaichi and Taiki Himekawa, really makes Oshi no Ko volume 7 feel like it’s constantly giving the reader valuable insights into the characters. We’re finally learning more about Aqua. We’re seeing him grow. We watch as he learns more about his past. 

At the same time, Akasaka and Yokoyari do a great job of pivoting to the next part of the Oshi no Ko plot at the end of volume 7. Following the performance of Tokyo Blade, we see that Ruby was in the audience the whole time. She noticed how far everyone, Aqua and Kana included, have come as she watched the show. With that seed planted, the end of the volume takes the opportunity to shift the focus back to her and new B-Komachi. Seeing the group start to make some decisions, as well as a choice to return to her former roots, paves the way for growth on her part as well. 

Oshi no Ko volume 7 really feels like one of the more important volumes of the manga, in part because of the development it offers for Aqua. We see him embrace his pain and deal with the trauma he’s experienced for years. We watch the stage play finally come together. We see people like Kana and Akane stand out. Most importantly, we also witness a fantastic transition that shifts the story back to Ruby. It’s all handled incredibly well.

Oshi no Ko volume 7 will be available on August 27, 2024, and Yen Press will release volume 8 of the manga on November 19, 2024. The anime is streaming on HIDIVE. 

The post We Get to See Aqua Grow in Oshi no Ko Manga Volume 7  appeared first on Siliconera.

I ate at McDonald’s for lunch or dinner every day since August 20, 2024. Why? That’s the day the Yu-Gi-Oh Sanrio Happy Meal, which involves nine plush of characters in special “outfits,” kicked off in the US. I’m on a quest to get Silfer the Sky Dragon Kuromi and Exodia Pompompurin. But in the meantime, I have picked up a few of the other characters, and what is here makes me want more than just a one-off crossover with all the quality a fast food joint can afford.

So to refresh, in case you missed it, in the UK a Mc Donald’s Happy Meal promotion featuring ten Sanrio characters dressed as Yu-Gi-Oh characters launched in May 2024. Depending on when you would go, you’d get one of the mascots with your meal. This promotion didn’t cost any more than usual, like the recent collector’s cup affair. Now in August 2024, that same crossover event ended up repeated in the US. 

Well, almost identical. Our run doesn’t include the full “set.” Badtz-Maru as Red-Eyes Black Dragon ended up being left out. I don’t know why. Yes, I’m sad about it too.

Anyways. My quest resulted in the acquisition of four of the Yu-Gi-Oh Sanrio Happy Meal plush toys so far. They’re pretty great in some ways! I ended up with Dark Magician Hello Kitty (#1), Blue-Eyes White Dragon Cinnamoroll (#2), Kuriboh Keroppi (#4), and Obelisk the Tormentor Tuxedosam. These stuffed animals aren’t as traditionally soft as others or fluffy. Rather, McDonald’s went with printed fabric that focuses on accurately displaying the characters in their costumes. The attention to detail means that both the front and back of each mascot has a printed design. So say if you flip over Tuxedosam, you’ll see his lil’ penguin tail and the Obelisk the Tormentor wings. It’s cute! They also seem surprisingly durable. At least, the quality appears better than some Happy Meal toys.

But also, honestly, it’s a tad disappointing too. The string loop attached at the top of each plush is incredibly small! It made me feel like the best option for displaying it, once you get one, is to perhaps get a cork board with push pins and hang them or arrange some series of hooks somewhere. Using some sort of elastic would have offered more versatility with display options. Or, even better, a plastic hook. Perhaps it wouldn’t be secure enough to use it as a big keychain, but it’d provide more options. 

I think McDonald’s should have leaned into the Yu-Gi-Oh Sanrio Happy Meal crossover a bit further too. Right now, it is 100% to the benefit of Sanrio fans who want a cute mascot to display or use as a decoration. However… why aren’t there actual cards? We’ve seen Pokemon Trading Card game Happy Meal promotions before. What I’m saying is, I wanted a Blue-Eyes White Dragon card that would be completely identical to the ones found in the actual Yu-Gi-Oh card game, just with the art of the dragon replaced with the picture of Cinnamoroll dressed as that monster. 

Also, while I am very happy about these plush and plan to further ruin my health by continuing to eat Happy Meals until I get Slifer the Sky Dragon Kuromi, Exodia the Forbidden One Pompompurin, and The Winged Dragon of Ra Chococat, the items we got make me want even more merchandise based on this crossover. I’d love a cute bag or storage box with the characters on them. A more durable acrylic or rubber keychain would be fun. Maybe a small, plastic figure that’s one or two inches tall. 

Essentially, I’m saying the Yu-Gi-Oh Sanrio crossover concept is too good to just be limited to these McDonald's Happy Meal plush toys. I do love them, mind you. But it is because I love them that I think Konami and Sanrio should do even more with the idea. Also... I'm starting to get really tired of McDonald's nuggets...

The Yu-Gi-Oh Sanrio Happy Meal plush toys are now at McDonald’s stores in the United States while supplies last. 

The post I Want More From the Yu-Gi-Oh Sanrio McDonald’s Happy Meal Crossover  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.

HoYoVerse announced the Nintendo Switch version of Genshin Impact in January 2020. Yes, that’s over four years ago. That version hasn’t come up again since, even as PS5 and Xbox Series X versions showed up. We’ve all basically accepted that it isn’t happening, at least for this version of the console, so why won’t HoYoVerse just admit it is canceled or delayed?

I feel like HoYoVerse has had multiple opportunities to come out and say, “Hey, the Switch version of Genshin Impact isn’t going as planned.” It could have brought it up when the OLED model launched in October 2021. There could have been a boilerplate statement. The company could have cited a desire to ensure quality and performance. It could have noted that it would be waiting until the next generation Nintendo console to bring Genshin Impact, and perhaps even other games, to the system. I feel it would have been a great opportunity, since we would all know that’s the most powerful standard Switch on the market. 

Though also, going ahead and admitting the Switch port of Genshin Impact is delayed around the PS5 launch would have been smart too. It’s a similar time period. HoYoVerse could also included something about targeting higher system requirements going forward. Especially since we also know the PS4 version won’t look as good after the 5.0 update. Again, admitting it’s about quality and performance would be wise. 

Doing so after that official website issue in March 2024 might have been a good call too! As a reminder, it ended up being temporarily offline earlier this year. HoYoVerse could have admitted it was due to changing it to note Genshin Impact is coming to a future Nintendo platform other than the Switch! Nintendo’s even acknowledged at this point that it’s been working on a new system. Just go ahead and be honest with us, even though it might be a bit weird.

Instead, we’re in the uncomfortable place of celebrating the Xbox Series X version of Genshin Impact when one announced ahead of the game’s September 2020 debut isn’t here. Now that we’re in 2024 and approaching the final years of the Switch, it seems pointless to hide it anymore. Just confirm what everyone suspects. Genshin Impact isn’t coming to the Switch as planned, but maybe we’ll see it on another Nintendo system somewhere down the line. Delays happen all the time, after all. And in the case of an ongoing game that will eventually get various updates, you have to expect system demands will increase over time.

Genshin Impact is available on the PS4, PS5, PC, and mobile devices, and the Xbox Series X version arrives on November 10, 2024. 

The post HoYoVerse Should Admit the Genshin Impact Switch Port Isn’t Happening appeared first on Siliconera.

Sparkle is a five-star Quantum Harmony character in Honkai: Star Rail who has a re-run every once in a while, and she’s a pretty worthy unit to invest in depending on your favored teams. As a classic support who boosts DMG and Crit DMG, as well as offer more SP, Sparkle is fantastic for certain characters, but not as much for others.

To start with, let’s run down Sparkle’s kit. Her Skill can increase a target ally’s Crit DMG by a percentage of hers, as well as Advances Forward the ally’s action. Meanwhile, her passive Talent gives a total of 7 SP to use. Every time a character uses up a Skill Point, everyone’s DMG increases by a percentage that increases based on her Trace level. Finally, her Ultimate recovers 4 Skill Points and temporarily boosts the DMG boost from her Talent. If you read all that and thought, “Wow, she sounds like she’s good for characters like Dan Heng Imbibitor Lunae,” you’re absolutely correct! While you don’t need Sparkle in order to use him, she certainly helps with his horrible metabolism when it comes to his SP-hungry Enhanced Basic.

Something else astute players may notice is that Sparkle’s kit is a little similar to Bronya’s. Like Bronya, Sparkle can Advance Forward ally actions and increase their Crit DMG. Sparkle has the advantage of being able to increase the maximum number of SP, as well as restoring it with her Ultimate. That gives her the upper hand over Bronya’s ability to Advance Forward an action by 100%, which almost always means the character she uses her Skill on gets a turn right after her. There are some differences between their scaling depending on things like Trace level and Crit DMG. But I’m willing to bet most players don’t care about the various mathematical differences.

Because Sparkle’s kit is so SP-oriented, she is a lot more SP friendly than Bronya is. Technically speaking, under the most ideal circumstances, Bronya wants to use her Skill every time she gets a turn. That’s just not ideal though, depending on who you run with her. Sparkle can’t exactly use her Skill every turn either, but her passive Talent to increase DMG when someone else uses a Skill can help to boost the party in other ways. In other words, if you want to use someone like Bronya but don’t want to worry about SP as much, Sparkle is a fantastic character to pull for.

On the flipside, because Sparkle is so similar to Bronya, players who are F2P or want to save for another character might want to consider skipping. Sparkle is a must-pull if you’re using characters like Dan Heng Imbibitor Lunae or Qingque. As I mentioned in the past, Crit DMG is no longer the end all and be all. Superbreak is a very easy mechanic that can rack up a lot of damage in a short period of time. DoT is also one where Crit stats don’t matter. This means an entire half of Sparkle's kit has lost its universality. The remaining half, which focuses on SP, is undeniably good. But some teams (such as a classic Firefly Superbreak team) don't even require that much SP.

In my opinion, as someone who constantly uses Dan Heng Imbibitor Lunae, Sparkle is very useful. She’s an excellent support for my personal needs. However, when it comes to other attackers, she might be passed over in favor of characters like Ruan Mei. It’s not to say that she’s bad, of course. She has a lot of things going on for her that make her a better support than Bronya. Like Huohuo's auto-cleanse and Energy Regeneration, Sparkle’s ability to instantly generate 4 SP can be super useful in time-limited modes. But outside of this unique niche, Sparkle feels like a slightly more premium version of Bronya. Consider how high SP is in your list of priorities when you decide on whether to pull for Sparkle or not in Honkai: Star Rail.

Honkai: Star Rail is readily available on the PS5, Windows PC, and mobile devices. You can pull for Sparkle in Honkai: Star Rail only when the Sparkling Splendor banner is active.

The post Sparkle in Honkai: Star Rail Is Great, But Not for Everyone 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.

With World of Warcraft's The War Within expansion set to release on August 26, 2024 (August 22 for Early Access), it makes a lot of sense that Diablo IV would have some kind of crossover. Blizzard Entertainment IPs aren't a stranger to these kinds of collaborations. If you purchased Diablo IV's priciest edition then you would get an exclusive mount in World of Warcraft. So seeing the Celestial Steed appear in Diablo IV isn't the craziest thing I've seen.

It's just incredible that it's shown up in yet another Blizzard game. While grinding through dungeons in World of Warcraft I was chatting with a friend who had played the MMORPG since it's inception. They told me about the controversy surrounding this specific horse (dubbed the Sparklepony by the community at large), and that it was one of Blizzard's first MTX (microtransactions) in the game. They had a good laugh when I mentioned how much it costed in Diablo IV, which is a whopping $25. Originally the mount cost somewhere around $15 in World of Warcraft, and has now appeared at the T&W Trading post.

If you're unfamiliar with the history of this horse, well, a lot of consumers believe that it killed StarCraft. There have been some suggestions that this mount outsold StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty, which is incredible to consider, but also deeply depressing.

But The Celestial Steed isn't the only thing that's made it over into Diablo IV. Outfits inspired by Kael'Thas, Varian Wrynn, Sylvanas Windrunner, and The War Within's antagonist Xal'atath have made it into the shop as well. Seeing any kind of Blood Elf related cosmetic has me frothing at the mouth (I have come to understand what kind of World of Warcraft player I am, and that's one that has unintentionally exclusively only played some flavor of Elf), so I used what free currency I had accumulated and purchased the Kael'Thas cosmetic for the Sorcerer. I liked the glowing eyes and strange headpiece that came with it, and have decided this is my look for Season 5. Having just enough currency left over from that purchase, I dipped into my reserves and purchased the Xal'atath cosmetic for the Necromancer. I don't know, I guess I'm just a sucker for floating orbs.

Weirdly enough, this is the kind of crossover I want to see in Blizzard games. Mostly because, with the exception of Overwatch (StarCraft doesn't count, it's dead in the ground at this point) all of Blizzard's games kind of adhere to the same design philosophy of massive shoulder armor and the developer's established portfolio of creating on a rule of cool that should have gone out of style in the mid-00's, but hasn't. And I appreciate Blizzard's dedication to sticking to what makes a lot of their designs unique in a cool, but corny, way.

I will be clear and say that I wasn't always partial to Blizzard's designs. I loved Warcraft III, but not for it's visuals. And I was turned off to World of Warcraft for the longest time because of it's overexaggerated designs. But now I see the appeal. Concerning the Diablo series, I loved how toned down it was, even if a lot of designs were ramped up significantly by Diablo III. (Which is a guilty pleasure of mine.)

And I guess I can appreciate them also putting that star-studded steed into Diablo IV as well. There's some kind of bitter irony to it all. I'm curious as to how many people will buy this horse for a second time, and if Blizzard Entertainment is aware of it's infamy.

Diablo IV is available on the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC, and the Vessel of Hatred expansion release date is October 8, 2024.

The post Blizzard Added the Infamous World of Warcraft Horse into Diablo IV (and Some Other Inspired Cosmetics) 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.

One of the few things that the HoYoVerse fandom can agree on is that the music in HoYoVerse games is, for the most part, really good. Some tracks even classify as straight-up bangers. The soundtrack of Honkai: Star Rail in particular stands out to me due to the sheer amount of battle themes that can exist in each world when compared to its contemporaries.

Back when I played the closed beta, something that immediately stuck out to me was how much I liked the default battle theme in Herta Space Station. Okay, look, it’s not fancy or epic or anything. It’s just a vibe and I liked it a lot more than the default Mondstadt battle theme in Genshin Impact (which I was playing literally right before going into the closed beta). I liked it enough that after HoYoVerse shut down the beta servers, the first thing I did was go to YouTube to see if someone uploaded it. So from the beginning, I was quite a fan of Honkai: Star Rail’s musical aesthetic.

As the game continued and the updates came out, I felt surprised in a good way at how HoYoVerse tends to add new battle tracks to the game, even when we aren’t going to a new world. Genshin Impact is the only other HoYoVerse game I play where I pay attention to the music. But in Genshin, there are only about two or three tracks per region and they feel random. I know that certain tracks only play in certain areas, like how the Sumeru desert and rainforest have separate themes. Listening to them, though, they sound very similar due to sharing the same instruments and general style. This is unfortunate since the different regions look so distinct from each other! So I wish they could sound more unique as well.

In comparison, worlds in Honkai: Star Rail have individual battle themes for different locales, even if they share a world. Compare the Scalegorge Waterscape with the Shackling Prison, Fyxestroll Garden, Cloudford, and the Alchemy Commission. Those areas all look and feel vastly different, so it’s great that they all have their own battle themes rather than sharing from a limited bank. In the most recent update, story bosses have regained their unique battle themes in modes like Memory of Chaos and Divergent Universe. This is great, as I’m a big fan of certain ones and it’s nice to not listen to the same four or five Echo of War battle themes every week when I want a change of pace.

On paper, it's not that big of a deal. But music is more important than you might think! Check out this Harry Potter edit that was making rounds on the Internet a while back. That poppy music in the background is doing a lot of heavy lifting when it comes to imparting that spring flick vibe. I've long been of the opinion that the D.Gray-Man anime suffered a little (whether the original or Hallow) from hiring Kaoru Wada as the composer. Wada is great. But his style incorporates a lot of traditional Japanese instruments and sounds that really brought Inuyasha to life, yet feel weird in the gothic European setting of D.Gray-Man. Even if the writing, acting, and cinematography of a scene are perfect, a poor soundtrack can ruin the whole thing.

Would I have noticed anything off with the game if it didn't change the soundtrack based on individual maps rather than worlds? Probably not. Nonetheless, it's a nice touch that I appreciate. The sheer amount of variety in music helps to make the world of Honkai: Star Rail feel larger and grander than it may be, which fits perfectly with the space opera genre. Now if only the designs for the female characters' outfits could take some notes!

Honkai: Star Rail is readily available on the PS5, Windows PC, and mobile devices.

The post The Music in Honkai: Star Rail Makes Space Feel Vibrant appeared first on Siliconera.

Superficially, World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy XIV have a lot in common, gameplay-wise. Both are, after all, hotkey MMO's in (broadly) medieval fantasy settings. But despite running on similar archetypes and party roles, the Classes of WoW and Jobs of FFXIV can feel distinctly different to play, sometimes to an overwhelming degree for an unfamiliar player.

The most immediate difference is simply the amount of options you have to choose from. FFXIV has about 21 Jobs (22 if you include the Blue Mage), but each class generally has only a single way to play them. Each Paladin you meet will have the exact same capabilities as any other.

In contrast, WoW only has 13 base classes but each of those has around 3 specializations that can drastically alter the playstyle or even its role within a party, for a total of 38 different options. Depending on their specialization, a given Paladin could fill the role of damage dealer, healer, or tank, though not every class is quite as flexible. Warlocks and Mages, for example, will always be fulfilling the role of a ranged DPS, but the spells they use and their priorities or cooldowns can be wildly different.

And it goes further because each specialization has a talent tree, which gives players to option to tailor their class further. They obviously aren't quite as impactful as an entirely different specialization but they do mean you will have to choose between picking up certain abilities and bonuses over others, which can lead to builds more focused around single target damage, dealing with various larger groups, or perhaps simply providing more utility options to a raid. It's a lot to get your head around if you're used to a more streamlined system, and it will only get more complex as The War Within expansion adds new Hero Talents on top of everything.

Then there's the Global Cooldown difference, which may be less obvious until you get to higher levels of play but nonetheless underpins a lot of the immediate game-feel differences. The Global Cooldown or GCD is essentially the short delay between activating an ability and being able to activate another, though there are abilities that are aren't affected by it. In FFXIV the GCD is around 2.5 seconds long before any reductions from stats, which at lower levels can feel sluggish and unreactive. However, at later levels this develops into a deliberate, rythmic dance as you weave in abilities from off the GCD in between your main rotation.

WoW, on the other hand, has a base GCD of 1.5 seconds going down to 1 second for certain classes. It's much faster, and will only decrease as you amass certain stats, though the difference is less than you would imagine once you factor in the more consistent usage of off-GCD abilities in certain FFXIV Jobs. The Summoner, for example, will often be using off-GCD skills regularly to command their minions, sometimes two within the same GCD period. No, the real difference is felt when you combine this with the way rotations work.

A rotation is basically just what order you need to press your buttons in to put out the most damage (or healing, or damage mitigation...) possible for your class. Performing well at higher levels in MMO's like FFXIV is all about executing your rotation optimally while also dodging hazards and performing whatever mechanical tasks the encounter asks of you. In WoW, it's much the same, except its classes tend not to use fixed rotations.

While both games use basic builder-spender frameworks for most of their classes (you build up a resource, then spend it for damage/healing, etc.), WoW's class design has slowly moved over the years to focus more on Procs. Short for Special Procedures (Or Programmed Random Ocurrence, there is a little bit of disagreement on the origin), a Proc in this context refers to an effect that has a certain chance to activate, usually on using an ability but sometimes things like taking damage too. A critical hit is technically a kind of Proc, but the effect could also be applying a buff, refreshing a cooldown, or enabling or upgrading a certain ability. Certain Jobs in FFXIV also use them, such as with the Archer's Straight Shot skill, but they aren't nearly as common as in WoW.

Because this random element throws a wrench into fixed rotation sequences, WoW Classes tend to use a system of button prioritization. A basic priority may include a fixed opening rotation that sets up your buffs and DOT effects, but once you get into the meat of the fight you'll need to maintain a degree of flexibility. Your biggest damage ability might suddenly come off cooldown, or you may find a string of lucky procs inundates you with your class resource and you'll need to spend it before doing anything that might generate more. It's a more reactive system to be sure, and getting to smash the big glow-y button that just activated sates the lizard-like part of the brain like nothing else. But it can also be trickier to learn a priority than a simple rotation sequence, and if you're accustomed to FFXIV's steady dance then WoW's combat can feel frantic or button-mashy.

This is the part where I have to disclaim that it's not about one game being flatly "better" than the other, but I'm going to skip past it because this should be common sense to most good faith actors. WoW is a more *complex* game to be sure, at least in terms of density of mechanics, but complexity does not always equate to depth, nor does relative simplicity imply a lack of it.

Instead I want to encourage a look at the effects these small differences in design have on two games that occupy very similar spaces. How something as small as the wait time between casts can change the tempo of combat so much, and how a different mechanical focus can change the way players think about their inputs so drastically. And most of all, I'd like to encourage players of both WoW and FFXIV to give the other game a try, if only because a look at another system may refresh your perspective on the one you're more used to. They both have free trials, after all, you have nothing to lose but time.

World of Warcraft is immediately available for PC and Mac, with The War Within expansion launching on August 26, 2024. Final Fantasy XIV and its latest expansion Dawntrail are available on PC, PS4, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.

The post WoW Classes Can Be Overwhelming Compared to FFXIV Jobs appeared first on Siliconera.

Mobile Suit Gundam Seed and its sequel Seed Destiny are some of the most influential and popular Gundam works in their native Japan. But I find them absolutely unbearable to watch, and can’t begin to fathom how there are people who legitimately enjoy these two. Between its slow pacing, irritating characters, and sheer number of mobile suits, it is one of the weaker Gundam entries that doesn’t even have the ridiculous campiness of Code Geass to make it entertaining.

Before we start, I’d like to acknowledge that Destiny in particular had a very troubled production. Chiaki Morosawa, the head writer and creator of the Cosmic Era, became very sick in 2002 after the production for Gundam Seed. Due to treatment often taking her away from her duties and leading to delays, a lot of Sunrise staff members had to fill in for her, thus explaining the large number of flashback and compilation episodes in Destiny. Morosawa was the wife of Mitsuo Fukuda, the director for Seed and Destiny. I wouldn’t be surprised if Fukuda was also absent from the studio or if he was not able to work at his best performance considering his wife's illness.

It is admirable how the core staff managed to even get over fifty episodes of the show out considering the circumstances. But while I can acknowledge and sympathize with the difficulties behind the scenes, most of my core issues have nothing to do with flashbacks. Even if Sunrise had a smooth time with Destiny, I doubt that it would have been any better when Seed was already like that.

There is always a positive in a situation, and despite my general dislike of the Cosmic Era, I have things I like about it! The music is great, the cast all gave amazing performances, and Athrun is so funny. I bring up Athrun apropos of nothing in conversations about Gundam because he’s one of my favorite butt monkeys in the franchise. He’s kind of ridiculous between his indecisive nature and meme-able lines, as well as his tendency to self-destruct his expensive and advanced mobile suits. Shinn Asuka is my best boy in the Cosmic Era though, and I love the Super Robot Wars series for redeeming him. My stanning of Shinn Asuka is a hint as to why Destiny in particular riles me up way more than Seed does.

The thing about Seed and Destiny is that both shows are very melodramatic. Most Gundam shows can be serious bummers considering they focus on the horrors of war, but Seed and Destiny in particular seem to dial it up to eleven. That’s saying a lot considering they came after Wing, which was also ridiculously dramatic in its own right. The drama of Wing comes from the situations that the characters are in though, whereas so much drama in Seed and Destiny revolved around relationships. The Kira-Flay-Lacus love triangle (?) situation took up so much time, as did the Athrun-Cagalli enemies-to-lovers dynamic. I’m neutral on the ship, but Athrun and Cagalli at least had that very interesting background.

Kira and Lacus are so boring. I really don’t care about what happens there, except apparently the Freedom movie is all about that. They don't have any real wants or fears or motivations for anything. Once Kira and Lacus became a set, they were like a pair of anglerfish who'd fused together during mating. What makes Kira a lame protagonist and a pretty cool antagonist (but NOTa final one!) is that the world seems to bend around him. He's always right and he'll let you know it with his laser beams of death. Why does he do the things that he does? Oh, for peace, he says. How does that translate into peace? Shut up, Kira's got gaudy Gundams to dismember.

My biggest beef is with Destiny. Between his past, grudge against the Freedom, and personality, I found Shinn to be a far more interesting protagonist than Kira was. Athrun being a terrible superior to him was kind of the icing on the cake. Seed’s popularity and influence meant Sunrise could’ve never portrayed Kira and Athrun in a really bad light, even if they wanted to. But I loved how Shinn’s perspective highlighted a lot of their hypocrisy and self-contradictions. It helped make them more dynamic by extension, since these flaws make them feel more rounded as characters.

And then Shinn started appearing less and less after Athrun defected from ZAFT. Once Kira fully returned to the spotlight, it was all over. I still remember the shock of seeing Shinn’s name third in the credits as opposed to when he was always top billing. Kira and Athrun had overtaken him. Even the Freedom movie—the Kira and Lacus movie—is coming out on Shinn’s birthday. He just cannot win.

As a kid, I heard rumors that people hated Shinn so much in Japan at the time of Destiny's airing, they'd straight up boo Kenichi Suzumura on the streets. That sounds a bit too ridiculous to be true and I sure hope it isn't. But honestly, Shinn's not that bad. I don't get why people think he's annoying. Sure, he could be prickly, but his idealistic attempts to do good, even if that meant going against orders, made him so much more endearing than Kira and Athrun ever were. Sometimes it felt like people only disliked him because he was antagonistic towards those two and honestly, who wouldn't be? Athrun was a terrible boss to him.

If Kira was just kind of boring in Seed, he was full on annoying in Destiny. Let's skip past Seed for a second to take about Gundam 00. I bring up Gundam 00 because soon after Celestial Being appeared on the scene, we see civilians and military personnel react with derision and disbelief at Celestial Being’s methods. Peace through violence, and by inserting yourself into fights that don’t concern you? Ridiculous. But that’s exactly what Kira kept doing for the first half of Destiny.

Kira blowing up the Destroy Gundam even though Shinn talked Stellar down is understandable. It’s not like he knew that Shinn succeeded and in Destroy’s case, Stellar had been rampaging through Berlin and was a real, genuine threat to thousands of people. But in all the incidents prior to the Destroy, Kira’s attempts at stopping people from fighting consisted of indiscriminately destroying machines. Like Athrun said, Heine died as a direct result of Kira’s interference, even if Stellar had been the one to actually kill him. He could barely verbalize his motivations when Athrun was yelling at him, making Kira come across less a force of justice and more like an irrational tyrant.

Some franchises are popular because they happened to be at the right time in the right place. Genshin Impact breaking into the normie market is due to it coming out right during COVID-19 quarantine, for example. Perhaps the way that Gundam fans seem to place Seed and Destiny on a pedestal is due to them having fond memories of watching the show. Nothing beats nostalgia, after all. In any case, I’m very excited for Freedom to be on streaming platforms. I have a bottle of soju in my fridge with that movie’s name on it.

Gundam Seed and Seed Destiny are available to watch via services like Crunchyroll. The Gundam Seed Freedom movie will appear on Netflix from September 1, 2024.

The post Do People Genuinely Like Gundam Seed and Destiny? appeared first on Siliconera.