TGO Daily | Tuesday July 27, 2021 | The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles
In the news: A review roundup for the latest Ace Attorney and for Neo: The World Ends with You. Also, Death Stranding and Mortal Kombat slaying in units sold.
TGO Daily | Tuesday July 27, 2021
✏️ From the Author
An odd thing about me is I that I enjoy fighter games, but don’t particularly enjoy playing them online. Even though online-play is certainly the place where fighter games live and breathe.
I’ve played plenty of games that made me want to master a character and demolish people online with them, yet I’ve never made that connection in a fighting game. For example, I played Mortal Kombat X and enjoyed the campaign, but never once played online nor intended to. I’m not sure what the disconnect is for me, but it’s just never interested me.
Am I weird? Actually, nevermind, let’s not answer that.
Until next time,
Brandon
Review Roundup | The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles
The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles officially releases today for the PS4, Xbox One, and PC. We already have an abundance of reviews, so let’s check out the consensus on the latest in the Ace Attorney series.
The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles is a collection containing two games, The Great Ace Attorney: Adventures and The Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve. The two games originally were in Japanese, only just now coming to the West with localization. The games cover 10 cases in total, spanning from Japan over to the United Kingdom where our protagonist meets none other than the famous Herlock Sholmes (you read that right).
The game is currently sitting at an 85/100, with 88% of critics recommending it on OpenCritic. Let’s go over the pros and cons that critics noted.
Pros:
Many critics agreed the game felt pretty true-to-form for an Ace Attorney game. This meaning that the cases come with twists, turns, and endearing characters sprinkled throughout. If you’re a fan of the series, it’s an easy recommendation.
While some new elements were added that were met with some lukewarm reception, most critics enjoyed the addition of Sholmes’ Dance of Deduction - a section where you correct Herlock’s sweeping deductions with evidence to help lead him to the right deduction.
Cons:
A common complaint in the series as a whole remains still among some critics - the inability to have a more wholesome freedom in solving your case. Generally the complaint revolves around it being more a light-novel based narrative than detective-focused.
Some critics also found issue with the the cases/story feeling too lengthy in sections. The game reportedly has over sixty hours of playtime.
Malindy Hetfeld gives a nice summary of the strengths and weaknesses of the game:
“The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles is a lovely bundle which, like many a spinoff, suffers from not being quite as great as the original you immediately compare it to. Regardless, there is so much to love here: it tries some new things setting- and gameplay-wise, it makes enjoyable references and I just consistently enjoy Shu Takumi's writing no matter what he puts out. The historical setting could prove to be a bit of niche interest to many, but rather than contort myself and tell you that this is just like the Ace Attorney you know and love, or call it a prequel, or a great way to start with the series, which it isn't, I'd rather give it to you straight and say - do you love a good period drama? Have at it.”
Review Roundup | NEO: The World Ends with You
NEO: The World Ends with You releases today for the PS4, Switch, and PC. The long awaited sequel to The World Ends with You has been 14 years in waiting, so let’s not waste any more time.
The sequel picks up with a different cast of characters from its predecessor, but still covers the ‘Reapers Games’ inside the Shibuya district of Tokyo, Japan. The plot features nods to the original game, and while most critics said you didn’t have to play the previous game (or watch the anime), it certainly helps provide context better if you have.
The game is currently sitting at an 83/100, with 82% of critics recommending it on OpenCritic. Let’s go over the pros and cons that critics observed.
Pros:
A lot of critics gave praise for the animation and overall beauty of the game’s look and style. Whether it was Shibuya itself, the combat, or the characters, the art was applauded for its magnificence.
Critics also praised the combat of the game. Citing it was fluid, with unique combinations being possible thanks to the ‘pin’ system allowing for many different variations.
Though this usually isn’t a sale-point to most people, so many critics praised the music in the game that I just had to put this bullet point in. The music was composed by Takeharu Ishimoto, who also has composer credits for Kingdom Hearts III and Final Fantasy Type-0.
Cons:
Critics experienced issues with the camera movements in certain battles, making it harder to see the action when not on a free-camera swivel.
There were some critics, that didn’t experience the first game or anime, that felt like they were missing information sometimes that the sequel couldn’t fully communicate.
CJ Andriessen gives a concise summary of the game:
“NEO: The World Ends with You is a sequel worth waiting for. It brings together many of the best concepts from the DS original but in a more approachable and accessible experience. It may lack the lightning-in-a-bottle genius of its predecessor, but the 40+ hours I spent exploring Shibuya showed me this world doesn’t have to be complicated to be worthwhile.”
Death Stranding and Mortal Kombat Hit Peaks in Sales
Both games have scaled their own respective mountains in units sold that is impressive in their own rights.
Death Stranding is now at 5 million copies sold and, with the Director’s Cut coming out in September, will very likely only get higher. This is notable, as this is Kojima’s first title under his new studio, Kojima Productions. For comparison, Kojima’s last game while working for Konami, Metal Gear Solid 5, sold over 6 million games.
Mortal Kombat 11 has sold over 12 million copies, with the franchise as a whole sitting at a total of 73 millions units sold - making it the number one franchise on units sold for a fighting game. Check out the tweet below for some comparisons to other popular fighter titles.
Brandon’s Thoughts: It’s great to see Kojima succeeding so soundly in his very first release with his studio. It means he can keep doing what he’s best at without worry - making games that confound, confuse, and rapture us. Also, I was impressed by Mortal Kombat’s sales of course, but can we talk about Smash Bros?! Mortal Kombat has more games, an older franchise, and the benefit of selling on multiple platforms, yet Smash Bros is right on its heels for sales. It really shows the selling power Nintendo has with its IPs.
💡 Read More
Netflix is reportedly developing a Pokémon live-action series. The show is still in early stages, so little is known for now what to expect.
Final Fantasy 16 will record English voice over first, Japanese later. Very rare to have English recorded first for the series, but Yoshida says it’s because of motion capture.
Gears of War studio shows off Unreal Engine 5 demo and character creation test.
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