XSEED came out in force this year at E3 2019 with 6 games on display! The team was kind enough to give me access to there entire show floor catalog and they might have showed my favorite game of E3 2019.
Heroland
Enter Heroland a theme park designed to give tourists the dungeon exploring adventure they always wanted! Everyone can join in on quests to earn knick knacks and live the part of the hero, well except for your character cuz you are tour guide for the park. As a tour guide it is your job to give the tourists the dungeon raid of their dreams. While you may not fight directly you can offer advice to your guests to help them achieve victory, and clams! Heroland was a fun take on the traditional turn-based RPG and I can’t wait to see more when it launches the fall on PS4 and Switch!
Rune Factory 4 Special
Rune Factory 4 first released on the 3DS back in 2012 and is now returning with a new HD port on Nintendo Switch. Rune Factory is unique as it combines the aspects of a farming and relationship game with a dungeon crawler. The new Switch version looks to incorporate new cutscenes and a veteran mode for returning players. A “Newlywed Mode” has also been added to give more relationship options to players for after their in game characters wed. Gameplay felt great on the Switch’s portable screen and visuals are a definite step up over the 3DS original. XSEED plans to release Rune Factory 4 Special later this year exclusively for Nintendo Switch.
BurgerTime Party!
The newest entry in the long running BurgerTime franchise is here with BurgerTime Party! This entry takes the classic arcade gameplay of the original combines it with great artwork and adds in multiplayer for up to four players. Game modes include single player, co-op multiplayer (all players play as chefs) or vs multiplayer (players play as both chefs and food). BurgetTime Party! was a blast to play and at one point we had an intense match of vs going that I sadly ended up losing. If you love arcade classics keep an eye out for when BurgerTime Party! releases later this year exclusively on Nintendo Switch!
AKIBA’S TRIP: Hellbound & Debriefed
“First off none of this is normal.” You have just been turned into a vampire like creature and have been recruited by a government agency to destroy others like you. This remaster of the original PSP game Akiba’s Trip, which never saw release outside of Japan, is set to finally let western players experience the series roots. Taking place in a 2012ish era Akihabara, players will battle against or for the Shadow Souls. These powerful creatures only have one weakness however, expose them to sunlight. Learn to strip an enemy of their clothing and claim victory. Outside of battles a full dialog choice system is also in place that will change the way things play out so choose wisely. During my demo time I couldn’t help but smile at all the out there experiences the game brought! Seriously I was beating up a character dressed as a bear at one point to steal the outfit! There are also tons of great iconic scenery and hilarious innuendo throughout. AKIBA’S TRIP: Hellbound & Debriefed is slated for a winter release on PS4 and PC!
Granblue Fantasy: Versus
Building off the world of the popular mobile game Granblue Fantasy comes Granblue Fantasy: Versus. Developed by Arc System Work, who most recently released Dragon Ball FighterZ, Granblue Fantasy: Versus is a stunning looking fighter! You can watch my hands on demo in the video above but my key takeaways were how great everything looked in motion and how approachable of a game it is. Fighters of all skill levels will love the unique mix of traditional fighting combos and Smash Bros. style specials. Specials each have a cool down timer however so don’t expect to spam them. Granblue Fantasy: Versus doesn’t yet have a release date but I can’t wait to see more!
Sakuna of Rice and Ruin
Where do I even start with Sakuna of Rice and Ruin! It is an awesome sidescroller that has a fun combo based combat system. It also features some top notch platforming that I had a blast experiencing! Sakuna has a variety of abilities including light and heavy attacks and a magical scarf she can use for traversal or to get behind enemies. Sakuna of Rice and Ruin is also set to include a farming mode where our outcast harvest goddess can further prove her worth of her title. You can check out my demo footage above which focused on the games combat and platforming segments! With tight controls and great combat and platforming Sakuna was a surprising joy and one I didn’t expect from the title! Seriously, Sakuna is my game of the show! Sakuna of Rice and Ruin is launching this winter for PC, PS4 and Switch and I can’t freaking wait!
