The Video Game Librarian Pick of the Week is The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II, a turn-based RPG for the PS3 and Vita.
Published by XSEED and developed by Falcom, Trails of Cold Steel II is a tactical turn-based title where the fate of the kingdom is at stake and only a plucky band of outsiders can save the day. Players interested in obscure Japanese RPGs will definitely be interested in this one.
Also of note this week is Just Sing, Ubisoft’s singing spinoff of the Just Dance franchise. Available for the PS4 and Xbox One, players will be able to sing (or lip sync) along with songs from Britney Spears, Sia, Justin Bieber, and others. Best of all, Just Sing can easily be used during an open gaming program because it doesn’t require a microphone peripheral. Ubisoft has released a companion app that’ll turn any smartphone into a microphone.
All Links in “This Week’s New Releases + Game News” are Provided by Warp Zoned.
New Release Round-Up
- Retail Releases: The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II, Touhou Genso Rondo: Bullet Ballet, Just Sing, more
- Nintendo Download: Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice, Jotun, Super Castlevania IV, more
- PlayStation Store: The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II, Just Sing, Star Trek Online, more
- Xbox Games Store (Wednesday): Awesomenauts Assemble, Star Trek Online, Oceanhorn: Monster of Uncharted Seas, more
- Xbox Games Store (Friday): Jotun, Pure Chess, Emily Wants To Play, more
Warp Zoned’s Weekly Warp-Up
Nintendo hit the ground running this week with the announcement that Super Mario Run will be available iOS devices this December. The endless runner will also make its way to Android devices in 2017. Not to be outdone, Sony officially announced the PS4 Slim, which will be released next week, and the PS4 Pro, which will be available in November.
Nintendo will no doubt take over the conversation once again when they reveal more about the NX, which is good news for our September 2016 Update to The Big List of Nintendo NX Games. To add to the list, Tank It!, an “anti-war” game from Bplus, was announced for the NX this week.
Elsewhere on Warp Zoned this week, the staff got together to discuss What We Played in August 2016 and The Games of September 2016. A review of Batman: The Telltale Series – Episode 1: Realm of Shadows is also available for your perusal.
New Game Announcements
- Lego Harry Potter Collection will be released on October 18 exclusively for the PS4.
- Mario Sports Superstars will combine baseball, golf, tennis, horse racing, and soccer on the 3DS in Spring 2017.
- The side-scrolling Pikmin For Nintendo 3DS will be released in 2017.
- Yoshi’s Woolly World will be released for the 3DS as Poochy & Yoshi’s Woolly World in February 2017.
Pre-Launch Updates and Release Date Announcements
- Koji Igarashi delayed Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night’s launch to the First Half of 2018.
- Berzerk Studio has tentatively scheduled Just Shapes & Beats for a January 2017 release.
- The release dates of Animal Crossing Mobile and Fire Emblem Mobile have been pushed back to Early 2017.
- Batman: Return to Arkham will be released on October 18.
- Mortal Kombat XL will be available for the PC on October 4.
- Run the Jewels debuted the first song from their next album, “Panther Like A Panther,” in Gears of War 4’s Horde 3.0 trailer.
- A nearly complete game list for the Retro-Bit Generations microconsole was announced.
Other Game News
- Pokemon Go reached 500 million downloads this week, as Niantic also confirmed the Plus accessory is coming next week and Apple Watch support later in 2016.
- Telltale will release Minecraft: Story Mode – Episode 8, the last in the series, on September 13.
New Videos
- Street Fighter V – “Urien”
- ReCore – “Launch Trailer”
Etcetera
- Lindsay Lohan’s attempt to sue Rockstar Games over using her likeness in in Grand Theft Auto V was dismissed by the New York Supreme Court.