Coming This Week, 9/2/19
Time for some Time Kompression!
Welcome, dear readers, to the latest installment of Coming This Week! It's the first week of September, which means it's time to start putting away the swimsuits and digging out the sweaters. Pumpkin spice lattes are for sale, Halloween decorations are somewhat in vogue, and of course, there are new video games to play. Let's talk about a few of those now, starting with...
At long last, the entire PlayStation 1 family of Final Fantasy games has a home on modern consoles. (Specifically the mainline titles — we still want Final Fantasy Tactics, Square!) Final Fantasy VIII remains a somewhat divisive title in the storied franchise. Some people love it while others despise it, but one way or another, it's a very interesting game. Final Fantasy VIII Remastered comes packed with enhancements and quality of life improvements, including a nifty graphical facelift not seen in other Square Enix HD remasters. I, for one, can't wait to visit Balamb Garden once again.
Developer Dead Mage's excellent-looking action RPG Children of Morta will be headed to consoles at a later date, but hits Windows PCs on September 3rd. The game features some incredible-looking pixel art and some pretty heavy themes on the subject of family. Definitely worth a look if you're jonesing for some top-down adventuring!
Catherine is back, bringing the puzzling nightmares of deadbeat slacker Vincent to the PlayStation 4. Full Body continues Atlus' tradition of adding a whole bunch of new content to an existing game: this time, a new facet is added to Vincent's lovelorn woes in the form of Rin, a pink-haired beauty with mysterious origins. (Seriously, Atlus, what is with you guys always defaulting to the "mysterious new girl" trope?) If you missed Catherine the first time around or are a fan of the original, Full Body has a lot to offer you. Look for our review tomorrow!
It's time to hack, slash, and loot once again in the colorful world of Torchlight II. The popular loothack offers a compelling follow-up to Runic Games' original back in 2012, and is finally making its way to consoles this Tuesday. Depending on which version you have pre-ordered, you can get an exclusive minion, too, which is a nice little bonus!
A couple of years ago, Kadokawa Games' visual novel Root Letter came out on PS4, Vita, and Windows. Now, an enhanced edition is on its way to the handheld de jour Switch, as well as Windows and PS4. This new version includes live-action cutscenes that offer a whole new perspective on the game's mysterious goings-on.
The Switch is quickly becoming a haven for visual novels and adventure games, much in the same way the PlayStation Vita was. The latest contender is If My Heart Had Wings, which came out on PC back in 2013 and will be coming to the Switch this Thursday. If you'd like to know more about the game, RPGFan alumnus Andrew Barker has you covered with his review.
Monster Hunter: World brought new life to the hunting subgenre last year, with refined gameplay mechanics and a gorgeous world to explore and... well, hunt monsters in. Now, the game is getting its first expansion in the form of Iceborne, which adds a new region, new vicious critters, and new weapons and armor sets to collect. Go forth from the New World and discover the mysteries that await in Hoarfrost Reach this Friday.
...and that's a wrap for this week, folks! You can tell that the summer drought is coming to an end. Stay classy, and we'll see you next time.
