Operation Backlog Completion 2026

Let’s Talk About the Newly-Announced Action RPG Dawngazer

 Video Games  1 Response »  Tagged with: ,
Sep 282026
 

Near the end of last week, Good Smile Company (yes, the Nendoroid company) and Monochrome Corporation announced two things.

First, a new fantasy IP called Ignisphere, which will include a variety of media. The creator of Ignisphere is Takafumi Noma, who was the director of Unicorn Overlord.

I never played Unicorn Overlord, but it’s one of those games that I want to try eventually.

Second, they also announced the first game set in the Ignisphere universe, an action RPG called Dawngazer. No further details have been given yet.

According to Gematsu, figurines and light novels are also planned for the series.

Now, there’s also a short teaser trailer, although I’m not sure if it’s meant to be specifically for Dawngazer or for the Ignisphere universe as a whole. Either way, it gives an idea of the atmosphere to expect. Although it doesn’t show a lot, I love the music.

There’s still a lot we don’t know about Dawngazer, but I’m intrigued!

What are your thoughts so far?

Armed Fantasia Cancelled (At Least by the Publisher)

 Video Games  2 Responses »  Tagged with: , , ,
Sep 252026
 

I’ve had both good and bad experiences with games backed on Kickstarter (as well as a backlog of backed games I still need to play), but this one might be the most painful.

Back in 2022, we discussed the double Kickstarter for Armed Fantasia and Penny Blood, spiritual successors to Wild Arms and Shadow Hearts respectively.

Although I found the dual Kickstarter format to be somewhat confusing, I backed the campaign in eager anticipation of both games.

I was a little worried because of how ambitious the projects were, but I still had optimism. Well, the years since then brought a sequence of disappointments on the Penny Blood side. After a while, the Penny Blood updates didn’t say anything about game development at all and only expressed their inability to pick up a publisher, and then the developer filed a lawsuit against Dangen Entertainment over unpaid costs. At this point, I’ve resigned myself to the possibility that the roguelike spin-off Penny Blood: Hellbound and novels set in the Penny Blood universe might be all we ever see.

But I still held out hope for Armed Fantasia, because even though updates were short and infrequent, at least they were still about the game.

Well… maybe that was too optimistic after all. Digital Bros, the parent company of 505 Games, announced the discontinuation of development on two games, one of which is Armed Fantasia.

(Did we know 505 Games had picked up Armed Fantasia? I feel like I’m going crazy, because I can’t find anything about the publisher being announced, yet I could have sworn we knew something. Maybe it’s just that we knew the game had a publisher, unlike Penny Blood.)

No update has been sent to Kickstarter backers yet, which is a little disappointing. After news like this, I’d like to hear what’s going on from the team. Maybe there’s still hope that they could find a different publisher; I haven’t completely given up on it yet.

But right now, it looks like Armed Fantasia might remain just a dream.

Lufia I & II Remaster Collection Announced

 Video Games  No Responses »  Tagged with: ,
Sep 232026
 

It’s been a great time lately for old JRPGs coming back!

TAITO and Clear River Games have announced Lufia I & II: The Sinistrals Saga, a collection of the first two Lufia games, to be released in 2027 for Switch, Switch 2, PS5, and PC.

The first game, Lufia & the Fortress of Doom, seems like it’s viewed somewhat fondly by fans but much less so than its sequel. Meanwhile, I’ve seen a lot of people describe Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals as one of the all-time hidden gems.

Both were originally released on the SNES, so I never had a chance to play them. Although there was a DS re-imagining of Lufia II, it sounds so different from the original that it would be like playing a completely different game. So I’m excited for this new collection!

While the initial announcement didn’t reveal too much, the Steam page includes messages from the developers that shed a little more light on it.

First, it will keep the original pixel art but have enhanced gameplay. Second, the original writer and director Masahide Miyata is back, and he is rewriting the script (because he’s no longer bound by SNES hardware limitations, so the changes probably won’t be too drastic).

It’s a shame that the third game isn’t included, but I’m pretty excited for this collection. Are you interested in Lufia I & II: The Sinistrals Saga?

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