It's that time of year again, you CeXy people. No, it's not time for E3. Nope, I'm not talking about Gamescom either. I am of course talking about the Tokyo Game Show. Though there certainly weren't any giant reveals or announcements like we got in previous years in the form of the Playstation 4 and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, this years TGS was pretty awesome nonetheless. So, like we always do, to help you get right to what was worth looking into at TGS 2015, here's a little rundown of the best games on show.
Summer Lesson
Playstation VR is certainly shaping up as a viable platform for some pretty astounding experiences. For anyone who has tried VR in the past regardless it if was the Oculus Rift, the HTC Vive or Playstation VR, chances are you see how important and industry changing this little thing called VR will be. At its worst VR will be a cool new way of playing with games. At its best VR will not just change gaming, but also how we view entertainment.
Though Playstation VR (previously known as Morpheus) is currently on the bottom of my VR device list, it's looking like a great piece of kit in its own right. The big VR "game" they showed off was Summer Lesson. Effectively Summer Lesson simply has you interacting with a girl, albeit very basically. And that's it. Literally. Though some writers out there are complaining that it felt "creepy" , I believe that could be the point in many ways. I've tried VR demos in the past that have given me the feeling of a character invading my personal space. It's something that feels strange, amazing and, well, creepy, but in a "Holy shit, this feels real!" kind of way. Though it appears to be something perfect for the body pillow inclined gentleman, Summer Lesson just might be Sony's way of letting their VR characters reach across that void from their world and into ours.
Dragon Quest Builders
I can't say I'm a huge fan of the Dragon Quest franchise, but simply because I just haven't played many of them. Whether it's Dragon Quest or another franchise that is primarily focused on a certain type of genre, I do love it when developers try something completely new. Who knows if it will work out in the end, but here comes Dragon Quest's take Minecraft, you know, the mash-up no one asked for! Hell yeah, bring it!
Though my initial reaction was one of trepidation, I gotta say, Dragon Quest Builders looks fun, cute and, despite its complete ripping off of all things Minecraft, rather uniquely cosy. Serving as a kind of sequel to the original Dragon Quest game from 1986, Dragon Quest Builders essentially plays like a simplified version of Minecraft. You kill bad things, mine, build stuff, etc. It's all very straight forward, but with its Dragon Quest setting, cute visuals and casual approach, it doesn't look as bad as most people might assume.
Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness
Again, this is another series I never really got into, which is surprising considering Star Ocean: Till the End of Time is literally one of my favourite RPGs of all time. I'll always remember playing through Till the End of Time during the winter of 2004. Incredible game, stunning story, good times. The latest Star Ocean caught my eye though as they're clearly trying to replicate the look and success of Till the End of Time, most notably by paying homage to its logo.
This latest entry in the franchise is the fifth one of the main series, and its already looking pretty special. Blending stunningly colourful visuals with quite an impressive game world, and a combat system that thankfully takes a major influence from Till the End of Time, Integrity and Faithlessness just might be my next Star Ocean adventure.
Persona 5
I'm a pretty avid Persona fan. Though I admittedly started the series late with Persona 4, since playing it I've gone back and played my way through the entire main series, as well as its spin-offs. Blending everything from horror, comedy, adventure to science fiction, and all wrapped up in a nice little JRPG bundle makes the franchise insanely playable and highly addictive. Though some details on Persona 5 are pretty unclear at this point, we got another glimpse of it at TGS 2015.
Though all we can see with this TGS trailer are some slotted together Persona 5 anime scenes, I'm still rather hopeful that it'll ultimately come together to make something that will rival Persona 4 in terms of atmosphere, story and originality. I guess time will tell, but for now all we have are a few screenshots, a few pieces of information and an anime trailer. Great things come to those who wait, right?... Right?
Final Fantasy XV
At this point I feel like I've waited half of my life for Final Fantasy XV. However, though it's pretty much been in development for a decade at this point, 2016 will finally see the release of Square Enix's step into the realm of the open-world RPG. Though we've seen plenty of gameplay before, been treated to an awesome demo of the game itself and have been inundated with all kinds of nonsensical trailers, this new little snippet of gameplay from TGS 2015 is pretty great.
In the latest piece of footage we're shown the protagonist going on a bit of a fishing trip. That's it. It's simple, yes, but this latest look into the game gives us a great insight into the atmosphere of the world of Final Fantasy XV, especially in terms of those extra side missions outside of saving the world. From the rain drenched grounds, the howl the Chocobo lets out when it jumps, the fun looking fishing mini-game to the fact that you can then cook and eat what you catch... count me in man, just count me in. This game looks f*cking brilliant.
