What’s good guys.

You’re good.  That’s what’s good.

Anyways, Ayron here, back with some more happenings of the anime and gaming worlds. It’s been a pretty interesting time, so without further delay, let’s get into it!

Anime News:

Digimon Adventure Tri 4 Releases, Tri 5 TBD

The fourth out of six movies, Digimon Adventure Tri: Fall, released in Japan on the 25th of February, simultaneously premiering on Crunchyroll with English subs, for those of us in the United States.  Focusing on the token female of the group, Sora, the movie released to rather favorable reviews, garnering a 7.7 on MyAnimeList.com, and an 8.4 on IMDb.com.  This fourth movie marks the 2/3rds mark of the Digimon Adventure Tri series, released starting November 2015 in celebration of the 15th anniversary of the original Digimon anime.

On that note, the 5th movie has been announced to be opening in Japan later this year.  The exact date is unknown, but we have received a title: Digimon Adventure tri. Kousei (Union or Symbiosis).  Personally, based on the length of time between the previous movies, I’m thinking we can expect an August or September release, but I guess we’ll only find that out with time.  Still, I’m looking forward to the continued adventures of the Digi-Destined!

Berserk Season 2 Announced!

Berserk, the enduring dark fantasy anime, has had a release date for its second season confirmed!  On April 7th, at 10:00 P.M. in Japan, the new season will debut, with a new episode every week at 10:30 P.M. until its eventual conclusion.  For those of us in the U.S., that would be 5:00, and 5:30 A.M. starting on April 6th.  The cast for the anime was also announced on the anime’s official website, featuring a mix of returning and new cast members.

The story, following the berserker Guts, centers around his journeys around the land, slaying demons, fighting bandits, and dealing with corruption wherever he goes.  With his sword, Dragonslayer, he survives encounters of ridiculous proportions, often with only his strength, his determination, and rage to fuel him.  It’s a classic anime, brought back in recent years for a reboot, and of course, Guts remains as powerful, intimidating, and badass as ever.  I’m sure we’ll be able to see more of his monster slaying antics, come season 2!

Gaming News:

Microsoft Learns From Mistakes: Halo 6 To Have Split-Screen

 

After a rather sizable amount of backlash towards Halo 5, it appears Microsoft is learning that it can’t slack on the quality of its renowned Halo games.  Among many things, recent games in the series have suffered from criticisms of bad multiplayer in the case of The Master Chief Collection, and bad AI, story, and lack of splitscreen in Halo 5.  They weren’t bad games, by any means- both receiving very positive reviews, but it appears that they weren’t quite up to the standards of their predecessors.  As such, Microsoft announced on the 23rd that it would be keeping split-screen functionality in any FPS game of theirs going forward, as well as some other statements regarding learning from their mistakes.

343 Industries Head, Bonnie Ross, has stated her regret on not including the split-screen functionality, as well as her regret towards aspects of The Master Chief Collection.  Again, both games were good in their own ways, but those few errors, many felt, held the games back from excellence.  Personally, I love to see these kinds of messages from game developers: an honest acknowledgement that those rough patches  are”incredibly painful for the community and for us–and it erodes trust…”  Perhaps Microsoft will keep this mindset for their games, heading to the future?

Nintendo Switch Indie Games!

Finally, and most recently, on February 28th, just yesterday, Nintendo hosted a live stream where they divulged details about their support for Indie developers on the Switch.  According to Nintendo, the Switch is set to receive 64 indie titles over the course of next year, announcing 17 of them specificially.  Some titles, such as The Binding of Issac, and Minecraft, were announced already, but still, this list, including Shovel Knight, Yooka Laylee, and Stardew Valley, has many fans excited.

In recent days, the Switch has received criticism for a lack of confirmed games on the console, and Nintendo as a whole has never been the most friendly to indie game developers.  However, with this move, it looks like Nintendo is becoming a bit more cognitive in regards to how they should treat Indie games.  Perhaps this will work, perhaps not, but regardless, I’m excited to see what this will mean for the Switch.  How will it influence the public’s perception of a company that, for a very long time, has been considered strict and exclusive?  I guess we’ll find out soon- after all, the Switch is dropping March 3rd!