Shonasof, Author At Otaku No Culture

Ranma ½ Splashes Back Onto Screens This Fall!

This year is looking fabulous with the return of many beloved Japanese animation classics from the 90s and Ranma ½ is perhaps the most iconic!

Ranma ½, the beloved manga and anime series from the 80s and 90s is being resurrected for 2024!

Thanks to Nippon TV and Netflix, animation studio MAPPA is producing a new Ranma ½ anime premiering in the fall which will reintroduce the wacky world of Ranma Saotome and Akane Tendo to the world with a modern level of animation quality backing it up.

Ranma Saotome (Kappei Yamaguchi/Megumi Hayashibara), a sixteen-year-old martial artist who has been learning martial arts while travelling with his father most of his life, has his life turned upside down when his father takes him to China. While sparring at what is supposed to be a training ground in the mountains, Ranma cursed when he falls into a magical spring and finds that he’s been transformed into a girl! being splashed with hot water reverses the curse, but only until the next time he’s touched with cold water, which reactivates the curse. His life is further complicated when his father, Genma, tells him that he’s to be married to Akane Tendo, the daughter of Genma’s best friend.

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Salt and Sacrifice – A Dark Fantasy Journey with Some Rough Edges

The potential for expanded world-building remains untapped, leaving players of Salt and Sacrifice yearning for a more intricate narrative.

Ska Studio‘s latest instalment, Salt and Sacrifice, follows in the footsteps of its predecessor, Salt and Sanctuary. The game plunges players into a dark fantasy world, with gameplay clearly inspired by the challenging Dark Souls series. While it delivers on atmosphere and gameplay, it comes with its share of drawbacks. This game is a 2D side scrolling dark fantasy that plays out in the style of the Dark Souls series. This means pattern memorization, dodge rolls, punishing difficulty, and many MANY deaths as the adventure progresses.

From the outset, players create their character, a convicted criminal who has been condemned to hunt rogue Mages. There are several job classes available, so players can choose skills based on what kind of play style they want to tackle the game with. After immediately being thrown into an unwinnable battle, the condemned is resurrected and tasked with continuing the mage hunts as a half-alive inquisitor, unable to escape their duty even through death. These corrupted magic-users have taken monstrous forms based on whatever form of magic they had practiced as humans, and the player will need to prepare appropriately to survive these battles.

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30XX, A Modern Take on a Classic Formula

One of 30XX’s standout features is its snappy and responsive controls. Dashing, jumping, and wall-climbing are intuitive, with a helpful tutorial zone for newcomers.

Batterystaple Games
Available now on Steam and Nintendo Switch

30XX, developed and published by Batterystaple Games, is an indie action platformer that pays homage to the iconic Mega Man X series from the 90s. Serving as a sequel to 20XX, this roguelite game offers a unique experience with procedurally generated levels, two distinct characters, and a mix of classic gameplay elements with modern twists.

Gameplay:

30XX invites players to choose between two characters: Nina and Ace. Nina wields a versatile blaster and can augment her arsenal with the powers of defeated enemies, while Ace relies on his laser sword, boasting wide swings and efficient energy regeneration. The story is simple yet effective: Nina and Ace must protect Earth from rampaging robots.

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Decarnation and Dealing with Gloria’s Inner Demons Coming to Life…

The colourful visuals, juxtaposed with Decarnation’s unsettling themes, create a pervasive sense of unease and dread.

Now available on Steam and Nintendo Switch.

Decarnation, developed by Atelier QDB and published by Shiro Unlimited, takes players to the vibrant setting of Paris in 1990. The game follows Gloria, a cabaret dancer who finds herself at a turning point in her life, grappling with deteriorating relationships, a struggling career, and dwindling self-esteem. However, her fortunes change when she receives an intriguing offer from a mysterious benefactor. Is this proposal her long-awaited lucky break, or something far more sinister?

This game invites players to explore both real and mental environments as you uncover details that shed light on the intricate web of Gloria’s life. The game weaves some heavy themes such as depression, aging, and self-worth into the narrative to create a compelling mosaic of how complex life can be when faced with significant changes.

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In Search for That Lost Epic on Nintendo’s Switch

Overall, Lost Epic is a fun and engaging game with unique visual style, deep combat mechanics, and an intriguing storyline.

Lost Epic Key Art Picture Still OneOrEight
Disclaimer: A review copy was supplied.

In the world of Lost Epic, the world is ruled by the powerful New Gods and their followers, the Holy Ones. They compete to control the land and destroy the remnants of humanity and other intelligent beings who live there. People who have been rejected or been cast aside by these deities are known as The Perishing, left with little more in life than waiting for death to one day claim them.

As a chosen knight, the player has the power to stand up to the New Gods and serve as a beacon of hope for the people of the world.

Lost Epic is a side-scrolling platformer that can fit right in next to other action fantasy games like Bloodstained or the legendary Castlevania series. In this style of game, known as a Metroidvania, you explore a two-dimensional world, jumping and climbing through a variety of environments and searching for the tools you need to unlock new and more challenging areas.

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Just How Intense is It? Climbing Tokoyo: The Tower of Perpetuity

After a few hours of play, I’ve made it as far as the third boss fight, but who really knows how much further I’ll have to go to reach the top of The Tower of Perpetuity.

Now Available on Steam
Disclaimer: A review copy was supplied.

“Just one more run”

Surprisingly addictive, Tokoyo: The Tower of Perpetuity is a new action platformer from Playism, the publishers of Tasomachi: behind the Twilight (which I’ve reviewed previously), the La-Mulana series, and the recent Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth.

A simple-looking pixel-art platforming game, Tokoyo has you frantically collecting upgrades and managing your skills to climb floor-by-floor up a mysterious tower. The story is simple and doesn’t get in the way of the action. Each of the playable characters has a different reason for being trapped in a mysterious tower full of traps and monsters, but the only way to get out is to reach the top.

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