Digitally Downloaded – Page 356 – Your specialist source of news and reviews for games, anime, manga, film and literature

Bravely Default 2: Why I love this retro-themed JRPG

February 9, 2021

Bravely Default/Bravely Default 2/JRPG/Nintendo/Preview/Previews/Square Enix/Video/Video review

Video by Matt S. I never thought we’d get a new Bravely Default game. I had just assumed that Square Enix was done with the mini-series after the 3DS titles, when those games were very much built as 3DS titles. And yet, here we are, playing a new Bravely Default…

On Final Fantasy X and its relationship to classical Gothic literature

February 9, 2021

Final Fantasy/Final Fantasy X/Game Theory/Opinion

Game Theory by Matt S. Final Fantasy X turns 20 years old this year (yes, I do feel old now). Over that time it has been frequently re-released – originally exclusive to the PlayStation 2, you can now play it on your PlayStation 3, 4, Vita, Nintendo Switch, PC, and…

Introducing the start of what will be Dee Dee 2.0

February 9, 2021

Dee Dee/My Time With Dee Dee/News/visual novel

News by Matt S. We’re four full games in now, and the vision around the Dee Dee visual novels is starting to crystalise further. With each VN tackling a different theme and narrative angle, like performances of a play, we’ve been able to explore all kinds of interesting and different…

Review: The Nioh Collection (Sony PlayStation 5)

February 8, 2021

JRPG/Koei Tecmo/Nioh/Nioh 2/PlayStation 5/PS5 Review/Reviews/Sony

Review by Matt S. One of the defining themes of the PlayStation 4 era was the remaster, with developers taking a PlayStation 3 (or even 2) title, massively overhauling the visual engine, and giving players a reason to play a favourite all over again. If the Nioh Collection is anything…

Nioh: On Yokai and Hyakki Yagyo and why Japanese games are better

February 8, 2021

Koei Tecmo/Nioh/Nioh 2/Opinion/Video/Video review

With Nioh and its sequel getting new-gen re-releases on PlayStation 5 this past week, I have been once again musing on the differences between Japanese and western games and, specifically, the way that yokai and the concept of Huakki Yagyo applies to the way that JRPGs are designed. In short,…

Interesting games on itch.io: February 8

February 8, 2021

Art Game/Indie/itch/itch.io/list/Top 10/top 5

List by Matt S. I’m a big fan of itch.io for the freedom and open platform that it allows for developers to be creative, experimental, and directly canvas the audience for feedback for games that are not yet ready for primetime on Steam and its ilk. In addition, itch.io allows…

The catch-up coffee: Monday, February 8, 2021

February 7, 2021

catch-up coffee/News

News by Lindsay M.Welcome to Digitally Downloaded’s regular catch-up news feature. With each issue we 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)! FFXIV’s…

The next Neo Geo Pocket Color fighting game has been announced

February 5, 2021

Fighting game/fighting games/Neo Geo/News/release date/Release Dates

News by Matt S. SNK has announced the sixth in its ongoing effort to bring its Neo Geo Pocket Color classics to Nintendo Switch. The new one will be SNK vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millennium, and this one is apparently very, very good. Related reading: Our review of…

Retro emulation consoles are an awesome hobby

February 5, 2021

emulation/Gadget/Gadget Review/Hardware/Hardware Review/Retro

Retro by Matt S. It started early in the pandemic. Lockdowns left me stuck at home, and the fact I couldn’t go out meant that I had a bit of extra cash to splash around. On a complete whim, I bought my first emulation handheld console, amazingly enough, because I…

Persona 5, heroism, and Edogawa Ranpo – it’s all topsy-turvy

February 5, 2021

Atlus/Edogawa Ranpo/Game Theory/JRPG/Opinion/Persona/Persona 5/Sega

Game Theory by Matt S. With Persona 5 Strikers just around the corner (and review embargo lifting in a few days), I figured I’d publish this piece that explains some of the underlying thinking that has gone into the Persona 5 mini-series. Let me know your thoughts! Persona 5 is…

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