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I appreciate the Square Enix Final Fantasy Ultimania entries and supplemental books, but I’m never actually reading them in a straightforward manner. I approach them like I would something like an encyclopedia, checking out a specific entry, element, or character. You know, picking at it. LOGOS: The World of Final Fantasy XVI, the latest book covering FFXVI, is different due to the execution. It’s a lore book and essentially an encyclopedia filled with details about this Final Fantasy entry, but

There’s an endeavor as of late to pair unsettling themes suited to horror games with cozy kinds of gameplay. It happened with the fishing game Dredge and NIS America is getting in on the idea with the farming horror game Village in the Shade. Easy Delivery Co offers that same sort of experience exactly, as the actual purpose and concept is a cozy kind of delivery game with cute animal characters, but in an unsettling, PS1-style world reminiscent of Twin Peaks or Silent Hill. Scary? Not really. R

On and Off Work-Life Imbalance has, so far, been a heartening manga about people getting a chance to be true to themselves and end up accepted by others. The first few volumes handled this in certain ways that highlighted a pair of coworkers, Hanku and Amata, whose off-duty selves Aki and Kanade become friends even though they seem to appreciate different aesthetics. The second volume, however, ended with a cliffhanger that involved a reveal of their on and off work identities. Fortunately, the

There are some games where, after I play them, I find I remember more about the ambiance and aesthetic than the actual gameplay. This isn’t to say the there’s no challenge to it or it isn’t fun. Just that everything else about the experience is what made it more memorable. That’s how I feel about Bubblegum Galaxy, a puzzle game about rebuilding planets that celebrates the same sort of mindset as Keita Takahashi games like Katamari Damacy. Sure, I had fun matching tiles, it was even better talkin

Hanayama announced two new The Legend of Zelda Huzzle metal puzzles, and they feature the Hylian Shield and Addison holding up the Hudson Construction sign. Both of them will launch in Japan on April 25, 2026, and they cost ¥3,630 like the past three puzzles in the series. While they aren’t showing up on the US or European pages yet, all three past Hyrule Crest, Master Sword, and Triforce appeared worldwide for about $25 each.  Each of the Huzzle The Legend of Zelda puzzles is made of a zinc

Square Enix and Taito announced that the Dragon Quest Bubble Slime computer mouse will come back again in Japan, and this time it will be joined by a Bubble Slime variant. There’s no exact release date for it yet, but both will be available as arcade prizes starting in early April 2026. While Square Enix has sold official Metal Slime merchandise on storefronts like Amazon in the past, we haven’t seen this product appear officially from it or Taito worldwide yet. However, other retailers like Ait

Square Enix announced the full stage and stream schedule for the US installment of the FFXIV Fan Festival 2026, and as usual it involves a keynote with Director and Producer Naoki Yoshida and concerts with people like Sound Director Masayoshi Soken’s The Primals. Everything starts at 10am PT on April 24, 2026 at the Anaheim Convention Center in California. It will be streamed on Twitch and YouTube, with the YouTube placeholders for Day 1 and Day 2 already live. First, here’s the list of every

Back in February 2026, Ufotable teased an announcement related to the Tales of series and its 30th anniversary, however it turns out it is working with Production IG on 188 character illustrations rather than a new anime. The promised April 3, 2026 reveal involved a YouTube trailer confirming the new art and that the first series that will be depicted will be Tales of Phantasia and Tales of Xillia. It didn’t note when those images will start to appear, and comments are turned off on the video. A

While there’s still some time before the Monster Hunter Stories 3 free update with post-game Royal Monsters, Capcom already explained how to unlock them in-game. These will be true endgame encounters, as we will need to beat the game once to gain access to the new fights. However, there are still no details about how they’ll work mechanically or if it will involve different visual changes to the characters.  Capcom first brought up the free Monster Hunter Stories 3 update at the end of March

Ingrid will join Street Fighter 6 as the last piece of Year 3 DLC in Spring 2026, after not showing up since Street Fighter Alpha 3 Max, and a new trailer shows what to expect. She will still remain an enigmatic, otherworldly type of figure when she debuts in Spring 2026. She’ll also appear alongside something called a Monoid. However, while the video highlights her new appearance, it doesn’t show any of her new moveset. While the Street Fighter 6 trailer doesn’t bring up her past as a Code H

Cover announced that, while it will support “individual activities,” it will be pulling back on support of its Holostars male Vtubers. This means it could actually end up stop some support efforts involving projects and merchandise, though it didn’t go into extreme details. It cited “an executive decision aiming to optimize overall business” as the reason for the way it will respond in the coming fiscal year. The announcement specifically referenced the 12 Japanese members of the agency and not

Bandai Spirits has announced that it will release a new DX Chogokin action figure that features a crossover between Macross Frontier and Top Gun: Maverick. This figure will feature a VF-25 Messiah Valkyrie variable fighter with a custom livery intended for Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, and it will be available in September 2026 at ¥26,400 (~$165.40). The Japanese press release also includes descriptions in English. But even though it notes that the information is specific to Japan, the official T

Idea Factory and Otomate are pretty great about releasing different types of otome visual novels that cover various themes, and they’re well known for their historical ones. I mean, they’re responsible for titles like Birushana and Hakuoki. Players who adore otome games with historical elements and combat will find Homura: The Crimson Warriors offers exactly what they’re looking for with Sengoku period romances. Those in search of a more comedic or romantic routes might want to go for something

In honor of the 25th anniversary of the simulation game Tomak: Save the Earth, a Regeneration version launched on Epic Game Store and is temporarily free. This includes an official English translation. People have until April 16, 2026 to grab it at no cost. After that point, it will cost $8.99. Tomak: Save the Earth Regeneration is both a dating sim and a sort of person-raising sim not unlike Princess Maker. The world is about to end. The Goddess of Love Evian tried to stop it, but ended up b

Capcom announced that the PC versions of Resident Evil, Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil 3 Nemesis, and Breath of Fire IV are now all available to buy via Steam, however all four games do feature DRM and require EULA consent. Previously, these games first appeared DRM-free on GOG. The Breath of Fire entry in particular was a GOG Dreamlist title.   Each of the three Resident Evil games and Breath of Fire IV use The Enigma Protector DRM for the Steam versions. All of the titles are the ones relea

Bandai Namco announced a new round of Deltarune Tsumande Tsunagete mascot keychains for Japan, and there are two versions of Ralsei in this set. They will appear in Gashapon capsule machines starting the week of April 5, 2026. It will be 300円 (~$2) per try. There’s no North American release window for this set yet, but since the capsule rubber mascot keychains did appear worldwide, we should eventually see these everywhere. While there are five characters appearing in this Deltarune Tsumande

Square Enix announced an update to the Final Fantasy XIV Online Store, and it allows us to go to certain item product listings and select the “Buy for a Friend” option for gifting things to players in FFXIV. This applies to seven new categories of items going forward. This comes after the company removed the feature back in October 2022.  In the past, gifting items to friends in Final Fantasy XIV via the FFXIV Online Store wasn’t uncommon, but Square Enix removed “Buy for a Friend” as part of

Takara Tomy announced that an array of Licca-chan dolls formerly only available in Japan will be sold worldwide in North America, including ones based on Frieren, Detective Conan (Case Closed), and Sanrio mascots such as Kuromi and My Melody. The rollout started in March 2026, and it will expand to include US stores like Box Lunch, Hot Topic, and Miniso. However, as of time of writing the only online listing at those three storefronts could be found at Hot Topic and featured the Petit Hello Kitt

Capcom and Timi Studio announced a Monster Hunter Outlanders 2nd Closed Beta test and opened sign-ups for people interested in participating. Applications are open on the official site now. Those will run until April 21, 2026. Timi didn’t note when people will be selected and the trial itself will run, however. Timi shared a few details about what to expect from this Monster Hunter Outlanders run. Since this is a beta, your progress won’t be saved. There will be a data wipe that erases all yo

HoYoVerse teased a Petit Planet announcement on April Fools’ Day 2026, and it followed it up with the reveal of a Stardrift Test closed beta. Sign-ups are available on the official site, ahead of the trial starting on April 21, 2026. People will be able to participate if they have Windows PCs or an Android or Apple iOS mobile devices. There’s also a new trailer for this next experience that shows off a character coming to a planet, customizing a character, and meeting both NPCs and new neighbors