Welcome to Digitally Downloaded’s weekly catch-up news feature, the catch-up coffee. With each issue I will bring you the best news that you may have missed. Grab the biggest mug you’ve got, fill it with your favourite brew, and catch up with us (and our favourite news anchor, Dee Dee)!
Mia and the Dragon Princess launches this April
I’m super into most things that come from publisher Wales Interactive, so I was happy when Mia and the Dragon Princess was announced in mid-2022 for a Q4 2022 launch. Well, that didn’t quite happen, but since time is flying by faster than usual it seems like it has been two minutes since the announcement. Last week, it was announced that the FMV game/interactive film will be released in April 2023. Let’s celebrate that announcement with a new trailer!
Mia and the Dragon Princess follows a plucky barmaid as her life is thrown into chaos. Mia wants more than what life has given her, but feels a responsibility to keep working at the bar because her workmates have become her surrogate family. A mysterious woman turns up, scares, and Mia decides to help her. A group of thugs then turn up at the bar and the workers and customers are taken hostage; they soon end up on the run and battling for their lives. The game stars Paul McGann, Brian McCardie, MyAnna Buring , Dita Tantang, and Noa Bleeker.
Developed by Wales Interactive, Good Gate Media, and Dead Pixel Productions, Mia and the Dragon Princess will be released for iOS/Android, PC via Steam, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series, and Xbox One on April 21.
Restore the Sega world to its “true form”
This is a little bit of a strange one, but I’d expect nothing less from Yoko Taro (NieR). The game is 404 Game Re:Set, and here’s its description:
Video games turned everything upside down.
This is a world by SEGA, for SEGA.
From infrastructure to entertainment, SEGA reigns supreme in all areas. The player, who lives in this world, one day encounters a mysterious being called “X.”
“The world you live in is not as it should be.”
The player, who learned that this world has been warped by SEGA, must throw themselves into a battle with SEGA in order restore the world to its true form.
The game features a cast of beauties themed after legendary Sega games: Out Run (1986) (voiced by Ai Kakuma), After Burder (1987) (voiced by Akari Kitou), Virtua Fighter (1993) (voiced by Fairouz Ai), and Virtua Cop (1994) (voiced by Aoi Yuuki). Yoko Taro rebrands these stories, along with Yuugen’s beautiful character designs.
404 Game Re:Set will be released for iOS/Android in Japan sometime this year. Registration is open now (click the platform of your choice to get there).
Monster Menu: The Scavenger’s Cookbook coming to western consoles in May
Last September, NIS America showed off a look at what was coming west in early 2023. A few games stood out for me, including Monster Menu: The Scavenger’s Cookbook. The publisher announced the game’s release dates in week; expect to see the strategy RPG launch this May. It will feature English and Japanese audio, but only English text. Take a look at the latest “systems” trailer:
The most interesting part of the game is the way cooking is used to spice up (ha) the traditional strategy RPG formula. Create detailed characters, gather resources/ingredients/items, and fight monsters in this dungeon-crawling survival adventure. Then use what you’ve collected to cook meals that can give you a leg up in the next round of dungeon delving.
Developed by Nippon Ichi Software and published by NIS America, Monster Menu: The Scavenger’s Cookbook will be released for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch on May 23 in North America and May 26 in Europe.
Here’s a new trailer for Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse
Horror? Check. Camera? Check. Creepy island? Check. What more could a game need?! Until now, Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse (also known as Project Zero: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse) has only been released in Japan (for Wii in 2008) so this remake is definitely one to look out for. A new trailer was released last week; it gives players a look at the storyline and some game mechanics (including one I’d consider important, Photo Mode). The trailer also shows off some alternate costumes available for the characters. Players who pre-order before March 22 will receive a Ruka exclusive Marie Rose outfit from the Dead or Alive series (DDNet editor-in-chief Matt is obsessed with her, so this news should make him happy). Anyone who pre-orders before the release date will receive a variety of costumes, including the Ruka limited edition costume “Fox Mask” (white / red), the Misaki limited edition costume “Fox Mask” (black / scarlet), the Choshiro limited edition costume “Fox Mask” (black / blue), and the Ruka Misaki, and Choshiro limited edition costume “Spirit Stone Flashlight Hat.”
The game is set on a Rogetsu Island in Southern Japan, ten years after five young girls disappeared during a moonlight festival. Two of the girls were found dead. The remaining three (Ruka, Misaki, and Madoka), as teens, return to the island to solve two mysteries: that of their friends’ deaths and that of their own hazy memories. Equipped with the Camera Obscura, players will be able to repel terrifying spirits and seal away their power. Later in the game players can use the Spirit Torch, a device that uses stories moonlight to subdue spirits.
Developed by Grasshoper Manufacture and published by Koei Tecmo, Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse will be released for PC via Steam, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series, and Xbox One on March 9.
