Trials of Mana: Finally, This Series Looks Promising Again
The Mana series has been in a rough spot lately, at least in the US. It hasn't gotten a notable new entry since 2007, and last year's Secret of Mana remake is generally regarded as a disappointment. If you're worried about the upcoming remake of its sequel, Trials of Mana, I have some good news for you: Trials looks a lot better. It seems less tethered to the source material, freeing it up to be its own thing -- which could be exactly what it needs.
Mana fans in the West have been waiting a long time to play this game. Originally released on Super Famicom in 1995 under the name Seiken Densetsu 3, Trials of Mana didn't make its way to the US until the just-released Collection of Mana.
The Classic Mini Console War Heats Up With TurboGrafx-16 Mini
TurboGrafx-16 was always a bit of an odd duck. It gained widespread notoriety among the playgrounds and treehouses of the dawn of the 1990s thanks to the TurboExpress, and handheld and fully-powered version of the home console. But few of us who lived through that bygone era knew anyone who owned one. But that's about to change with the TurboGrafx-16 Mini.
The latest classic mini retro console is aimed squarely at people like me, who want to recapture those carefree days but also have the money to spend on the things we never had. Brought to you by Konami, the TurboGrafx-16 Mini follows the playbook first written by Nintendo and improved upon by the Sega Genesis Mini, coming preloaded with console classics.
Why Captain Marvel Almost Didn’t Have a New Look In Endgame
The cinematic debut of Captain Marvel -- out on DVD and Blu-Ray this week -- is a throwback origin to the '90s with star Brie Larson as Carol Danvers before she comes in to help save the day in Avengers: Endgame.
IGN recently sat down to chat with Marvel Studios' EVP of production Victoria Alonso about the film, her journey at the studio, her favorite visual sequence in Captain Marvel, and how Carol’s look almost didn’t dramatically change in Avengers: Endgame.
Making Marvel Movies
Alonso has been a part of Kevin Feige’s main team since 2005, alongside Louis D’Esposito, the trio have been Marvel Studios’ core and when asked what’s changed since work on Iron-Man in 2005 to the culmination of that story in Endgame, Alonso shared, “The difference is, well, the movies feel a little bigger. I don't know that they are. We are the same people, so the same creative team, which is nice to have, you know, we've been together almost 14 years' time. 13 and a half. And it's really cool to have, you know, Lou, Kevin and I together, all those years.” she said.
Shenmue 3 Feels More like a Video Game Than Its Predecessors
I found a cozy little shop at the outskirts of Bailu, the rural Chinese village Shenmue III starts off at. In front of the entrance were two capsule toy machines, and maps that indicate where to find medicinal herbs could be obtained from a small table next to it. As Ryo Hazuki, I pick up one of the maps and then bent down in front of the capsule toy machines, just like I did for the first time nearly 20 years ago.
Ryo puts the toys in his magical pockets that can hold anything from stone mirrors to living ducks, and heads into the store. Before approaching the store clerk, I decide to take my time and first have a look around. Like in the previous entries, Ryo can freely explore these environments, open drawers and pick up random objects that have no importance to the main story. Objects Ryo can interact with are now highlighted with small circles, a convenience that Shenmue purists will probably find unnecessary.
The Surprising Reason Nintendo Chose to Remake Link’s Awakening
The main driving force behind remaking The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening was not so much that it was a beloved entry in the series, but more so because it was a great fit for the Chamber Dungeons, Zelda's first dungeon creator.
Speaking to IGN's Samuel Claiborn, The Legend of Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma further explained why his team decided Link's Awakening was the perfect choice for their next remake.
“We never really start, when we make remakes or imagine a game, by thinking about which title to do," Aonuma said. "It is more…We think about what kind of game experience can we incorporate that’s new and fresh and go from there. The Chamber Dungeons were a perfect fit for Link’s Awakening… We wanted to prioritize putting forward … a new and fresh experience for fans.”
Isabelle Is In Animal Crossing: New Horizons but There’s a Catch
In an interview with IGN at E3 2019, Aya Kyogoku and Hisashi Nogami of the Animal Crossing: New Horizons development team confirmed that Isabelle will be in the upcoming game and her appearance depends on your progression.
“If Tom Nook is a great recruiter, and if he succeeds with the Nook Inc. Deserted Island Getaway Package PR, then she may come back,” Kyogoku said.
In Animal Crossing: New Horizons, players start their adventure on a deserted island with a tent and only two other animals rather than an established town. To progress, players must work toward improving the island.
Isabelle’s appearance “may” also depend on how much debt the players have paid back, Nogami said. While players aren’t required to upgrade their tent, Kyogoku said that Tom Nook may not see certain facilities as a necessary upgrade.
Breath of the Wild Sequel Team Drew Inspiration From Red Dead Redemption 2
The younger members of the team working on the Breath of the Wild sequel have notably been inspired by Red Dead Redemption 2.
Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma revealed this information in an interview with IGN. When asked what games the younger staff on the Zelda team were playing, specifically what inspired them, Aonuma replied “
I did hear that a lot of people were playing was Red Dead Redemption 2."
Zelda Team's Influences
When asked what open worlds inspired the Zelda team as a whole, he said "When I was working on Breath of the Wild, the director
Final Fantasy 7 Remake Hands On: It’s Not a Remake, It’s a Reinvention
Square Enix’s Final Fantasy 7 Remake presentation during its E3 2019 conference was an impressive spectacle, but it’s only when you get your hands on this much-anticipated return to Midgar and Mako that everything slots into place. The development team have seemingly captured the very essence of nostalgia that is powering fans’ hopes and dreams, and injected it into a 21st century action game. It’s a game that plays nothing like the 1997 original, but simultaneously feels just like it.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake is not a remake. Not really. For one, Final Fantasy 7 Remake is so big that the first episode requires two blu-ray discs to fully capture. But it’s a complete reimagining of Square’s most famous JRPG, albeit one that remains slavishly faithful to the tone and world of its source material. The E3 demo - split between an introduction hands-off presentation and a hands-on section - covers the majority of the first Mako Reactor bombing run. Fans will find it instantly recognizable, from the elevated gantry ways over ghostly green vapors to the way the camera pans up to show the Mako Reactor cooling tower as Cloud enters the building, but also discover plenty of new things to see, from redesigned areas to brand new conversations.
Dark Souls and Bloodborne Creator Says Elden Ring Is a Vast Open-World Souls-Like Game
According to director Hidetaka Miyazaki, his newest project Elden Ring is an open-world style game with gameplay mechanics similar to the Dark Souls series.
“Elden Ring is a third-person action RPG with a fantasy setting. Gameplay-wise, it’s heavily based on Dark Souls.” Miyazaki explained to IGN in an exclusive interview, referring to the series he is probably best known for.
“However, that doesn’t mean that it plays out in the same way. With a more open and vast environment, the way combat plays out becomes fundamentally different.”
Miyazaki explains that Elden Ring’s world naturally creates drastically different situations in battle, and creates new opportunities for exploration as well as storytelling.
Borderlands 3: FL4K’s Voice Actor Revealed
Though we know very little about Borderlands 3’s fourth vault hunter FL4K, we now know who is voicing the character.
Revealed during the E3 Coliseum in a segment hosted by IGN’s own Tina Amini, Gearbox announced FL4K is being voiced SungWon Cho, a voice actor and YouTube personality better known as ProZD.
looks like the skag’s out of the bag, I voice FL4K THE BEASTMASTER in BORDERLANDS 3, if you’re still having trouble deciding who to play as, i’d say FL4K is the best choice because like me, they also have pets (but i may be slightly biased) pic.twitter.com/88zTGPbCHQ