Is that a leak in the water dam? You know, the one holding back the flood of releases that come in October? Well, I’m sure I’m just imagining it. I’m just glad something notable comes out this week after the month long drought we’ve been in.

Remember. Release dates are quite literally made at the whims of the publisher.  The following are subject to change without any warning.

 

Releases To Watch For This Week

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance (3DS)

Tuesday July 31, 2011

Still waiting for Kingdom Hearts 3? Well, keep waiting. Or you could sate your KH thirst with yet another spin-off.

Did you know that you could be certified as a Keyblade Master in the KH universe? All you have to do is save a parallel universe version of the various worlds you’ve been to, and presto! You’ve earned the Mark of Mastery making you a Keyblade Master. Series veterans, Sora and Riku have embarked on their quest for this mark to prepare themselves for the coming darkness (read Kingdom Hearts 3) as foreshadowed in Kingdom Hearts Re:coded.

The Command Deck was introduced back in Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, and Dream Drop Distance brings it back over the standard. The Command Deck, for those who has never played Birth by Sleep, involves you customizing what commands you have available at any time. Do you want to leave some room for curative spells in your command deck, or do you want to go all out offensive and put in another special attack because you’re just that good?

Sora’s longtime partners, Donald and Goofy, can’t help him out this time. Instead, Sora and Riku will be able to recruit Dream Eaters, which coincidentally are also the enemies you’ll be fighting instead of the standard Heartless. Each of the 50 available Dream Eater comes with their own unique special ability that can be activated once their special meter fills up.

In keeping with the hook of mashing two things that you never thought was even remotely mashable, Sora and Riku will visit a couple of new worlds such as La Cité des Cloches from Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Tron Legacy’s version of the Tron world, which I’m guessing means it’ll just be Tron with Daft Punk playing in background. In what could be Square Enix’s most evil way to remind people what sequels they can’t have, Sora and Riku will also run into characters from The World Ends with You despite the fact that they’re from neither Disney nor Final Fantasy.

I’ve given up on trying to decipher the overarching story of Kingdom Hearts, and if you value your sanity, you will too. But for some reason or another, I still have a soft spot for the series, and I’m certain that I’m not the only one. Moreover, Birt by Sleep managed to be fun despite the fact that it managed to make the KH backstory that much more convoluted, so I’m looking forward to the adoption of the Command Deck into Dream Drop Distance. The series has had a spotty record when it comes to its handheld outing, but this one, along with Birth by Sleep, could buck that trend.

 

 

Coming This Week

Tuesday July 31, 2012

Risen 2: Dark Waters (Xbox 360, PS3)

Pirates make everything better! (Or was that boobs?) What would normally involve a western style Role Playing Game with a lone warrior with kick-ass swords/magic/bows set in a medieval world with elves, dwarves, dragons, lichs, zombies, dire wolves, and various other medival tropes, the Risen series takes all of that and translates it into a pirates world starring a pirate with kick-ass cutlass/voodoo/gun. Western RPGs! Now with a gajilion percent more drunken sailors.

Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time (PSP)

They still make games for the PSP? So long as it’s a port (albeit an improved one) of a PS2 game from 2003, yes. The PSP still has games being made for it. This fourth iteration in the Growlanser series, which sort of plays like a Strategy RPG except without the grid and turns, probably won’t rekindle the PSP’s popularity in anybody’s book, but for Growlanser fans out there who missed out on the fourth iteration…

 

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