Square-Enix must be adding a little extra something to their coffee supply – the prolific publisher is back this week with Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, their fourth significant release so far this year. Or perhaps it has more to do with the end of the financial year looming.
Stranger of Paradise, developed by Koei Tecmo’s Team Ninja, takes place in the same setting as the first Final Fantasy, with three characters – Jack, Ash and Jed – following in the footsteps of the legendary Warriors of Light. It’s a hack and slash affair that plays quite similarly to Final Fantasy VII Remake, although the cut-scenes and quality of dialogue have already become a source of ridicule. It’s hard to tell if it’s meant to be unintentionally amusing, with Jack interrupting monologues and characters having the most peculiar introductions imaginable.
Incidentally, and while we’re on the subject of RPGs, it seems that RPG Time on Xbox One – one of the headliners of last week’s new release round-up – is US only at present, with the publisher being very quiet on social media when pressed about a European release. Bah!
WayForward’s big monster brawler Dawn of the Monsters was pencilled in for last week but never materialised either. It should finally be out this week. Don’t blame us – blame the official Xbox blog.
Getting back on topic, ANNO: Mutationem looks like one to watch – it’s a slick cyberpunk action RPG with 3D environments and 2D pixel art characters. The recent Steam demo went down well.
GTA V & Grand Theft Auto Online also comes to next-gen, arriving at knockdown launch prices and promising 4K/60fps performance (1080p on Series S), raytracing, haptic feedback on PS5, and a new front-end that allows players to jump straight into heists and races.
A few other belated conversions are upon us – twisted murder mystery Paradise Killer makes the jump from Switch and PC to PS4 and Xbox One, while Atlus revitalises their 2013 beat’em up Persona 4 Arena Ultimax. The Switch then receives the cheeky on-rails shooter Gal*Gun Double Peace, first released on PS4 in 2016.
Kowloon High-School Chronicle heads to PS4, meanwhile, being a remaster of a 2004 PS2 dungeon crawler. Last year’s Switch version garnered a 72% Metacritic.
The Xbox gains two exclusives this week – the snowboarding sim Shredders (not to be mistaken for store brand cereal) and the anticipated foxy adventure Tunic, which is gaining comparisons with Death’s Door. Tunic has been a very long time coming – it was first revealed at E3 2018.
Also look out for Wales Interactive’s FMV murder mystery Who Pressed Mute on Uncle Marcus?, the turn-based narrative roguelike Curious Expedition 2, annual sporting update Monster Energy Supercross – The Official Videogame 5, and Phantom Breaker: Omnia – an updated version of anime brawler first released in 2011. Plenty of blasts from the past this week, eh?
New release trailers
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin
Monster Energy Supercross: The Official Videogame 5
GTA V & Grand Theft Auto Online
ANNO: Mutationem
Paradise Killer
Tunic
Who Pressed Mute on Uncle Marcus?
Gal*Gun Double Peace
Dawn of the Monsters
Shredders
Persona 4 Arena Ultimax
Phantom Breaker: Omnia
New multiformat releases
- GTA V & Grand Theft Auto Online
- Dawn of the Monsters
- Phantom Breaker: Omnia
- Who Pressed Mute on Uncle Marcus?
- Monster Energy Supercross – The Official Videogame 5
- The Wanderer: Frankenstein’s Creature
- Paradise Killer
- Royal Frontier
- Curious Expedition 2
New on PSN
- ANNO: Mutationem
- Arcade Archives: Rolling Thunder
- Startenders
- Persona 4 Arena Ultimax
- Auto World Tycoon
- Wife Quest
- Hundred Days – Winemaking Simulator
- Kowloon High-School Chronicle
New on Xbox Store
- Tunic
- Shredders
- The Mooseman – Xbox Series
New Switch retail releases
eShop round-up coming Thursday
- Disco Elysium – The Final Cut
- Gal*Gun: Double Peace
- Reknum Origins Collection
- WRC 10
Next week: GhostWire: Tokyo, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Relayer, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, Thunder Kid: Hunt for the Robot Emperor, Andro Dunos II, Lumote: The Mastermote Chronicles, A Memoir Blue, A Place for the Unwilling, Rune Factory 5, BouncyBoi in Puzzle Land, Aery – Calm Mind 2, Ai Kiss 3: Cute, and The Ascent (PS4/PS5.)