Mana Street Preacher

Here's something that came up recently that was enough to garner my interest: A remake of Seiken Densetsu 3 will be coming to Switch, Steam and PS4 under the name of Trails of Mana. The first three Seiken Densetsu games will also be coming to the Switch under the title of Collection of Mana.

Source

I have no hesitation in declaring Secret of Mana (Seiken Densetsu 2) as one of my favorite games of all time. And I have been interested in checking out the sequel even if such a prospect is easier said than done as it never got an English release. So this should make for some welcome news, right?

If only it were that simple.
For you see, the term remake perturbs me (as always): Secret of Mana got a remake but it got a frosty reception - and I personally thought the visuals looked hideous. To have Trails of Mana (Seiken Densetsu 3) readily available - at long last - may seem appealing but it's not the same game - it's just sporting a new coat of paint. But whether or not that coat is any good is another matter entirely.

So If I want to play Seiken Densetsu 3 it would seem the proposed collection may have appeal. But could this be the trigger that brings me to get a Switch? Only time will tell.....

Seven ate Nine

With E3 comes more and more tidbits about the Final Fantasy 7 remake. But for me, the real surprise is, in amongst such news is the announcement that a remaster of Final Fantasy 8 has been announced.

Source

I personally haven't given much thought towards Final Fantasy 8. For me it was the game faced with the monumentally difficult task of following the mega hit that was FF7. Furthermore, it seems to me that a lot of people hate it and think it the point where Square began to lose their way and make games that tend to do nothing but polarize opinion. It was that understanding that led me to believe that SqueeEnix weren't going to consider it for a remaster.

But appears I was wrong.

I suppose it may be wishful thinking of me to hope that SqueeEnix may take this opportunity to address/fix some of the criticisms of the original game (boring characters, incomprehensible plot, short dungeons) but one can only dream...

Final Genesis

The final lost of games has been released for the Genesis/Megadrive mini. Whilst there are the usual suspects (Sonic, Phantasy Star, Golden Axe, Altered Beast, Streets of Rage, Columns) the real treat lies in the obscure, namely Alisa Dragoon, Tetris (!) and Darius.

I could grumble about some exclusions - no Shining Force 2? Seriously? - but I will give the people behind this endeavor some credit: they are really going all out and putting in the effort in digging some treasures and not going with the same out stuff that Sega has pumped out many times over.

But ultimately, I'm still not sold on Genesis/Megadrive mini - not while my Raspberry Pi continues to exist.

The Gate opens

No way.

Original video located here. Accessed 7th June 2019

No. Frigging. Way.

Just when i thought this franchise has disappeared off the face of the earth it gets resurrected by the capable hands of Larian Studios.
 
Too good to be true? Maybe but who cares?! More DnD-inspiured goodness!!!