Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- Silent Hill, Dragon Quest, Skyrim, and More Announced as Finalists for the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Has Another Big Night and Wins “Game of the Year” at the 2025-2026 DICE Awards
- 2025 GOTY Scoreboard: In Progress
- The Game Awards: All the Winners from 2003 to Today
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Racks Up Nine Wins, Including “Game of the Year”, at the 2025 Game Awards
Warp Zoned Presents
- Video Game Research Library
- We Pitched a Museum a 1993 Game Hint Line (And They Actually Said Yes) – Yarn Spinner (2026)
- The History Of The Word “Metroidvania” And How It Spread – A Critical Hit (2025)
- Creator of Hit Game Shovel Knight Is at a ‘Make or Break’ Moment – Bloomberg (2025)
- Shadow of the Colossus: An oral history – Design Room (2025)
- In 2005, games started rewiring our brains – The AV Club (2025)
Author: John Scalzo
Nintendo officially announces The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 at E3 2019
All the way back in 2000, you might recall that Nintendo followed up the groundbreaking The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time with The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask. It was the quickest turnaround time between major entries in the Zelda series, and it allowed Nintendo 64 owners to go on two adventures with The Hero of Time.
Why all this preamble? Because the consolemaker is going to do it again with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2, which is now in development for the Nintendo Switch.
A trailer for the direct sequel was unveiled at the end of Nintendo’s E3 presentation, and it depicts Link and Zelda discovering Ganon’s desiccated corpse in a dungeon deep beneath the castle. Unfortunately, some kind of malevolent energy has attached itself to Ganon and its about to make things unpleasant (once again) for the people of Hyrule.
Nintendo wasn’t ready to announce a release date for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2, but let’s hope like Majora’s Mask, it’s sooner rather than later.
Posted in News, Switch
Tagged E3 2019, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2
Konami surprise-launches Contra Anniversary Collection at E3 2019
In addition to unveiling Contra: Rogue Corps during today’s Nintendo Direct presentation, Konami has surprise-launched the Contra Anniversary Collection for the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
Like Konami’s previous 50th Anniversary Collections, the Contra Anniversary Collection will include a digital book detailing the history of the series, as well as seven games (Contra [Arcade], Contra [NES], Super Contra, Super C, Contra III: The Alien Wars, Contra: Hard Corps, and Operation C). Three regional variants (Contra [Japan], Probotector [Europe], and Super Probotector [Europe]) will also be included.
A post-launch update to the compilation will add six more Japanese variants at a later date.
But for now, be sure to relive some of the greatest action games of the 80s and 90s with Contra Anniversary Collection’s Launch Trailer, which has been embedded above.
Konami brings the Contra franchise back this September with Contra: Rogue Corps
Start flexing those “Up, Up, Down, Down” muscles, because Konami has announced that Contra: Rogue Corps will be available this Fall.
Eschewing the franchise’s traditional side-scrolling view, Contra: Rogue Corps is an overhead twin-stick shooter that takes place in Damned City, a place that was decimated by the alien invasion from the previous games and is now full of monsters and mutants:
Two years after the Alien Wars had ended, a mysterious area called the Damned City arose from the grounds where the final battles took place. Ruthless Fiends roamed the area, bringing a world full of madness. In the midst of chaos, five scoundrels emerge… they are the Rogue Corps.
They do not look anything like heroes of justice, but have they come to save humanity, or maybe they are looking to hit the jackpot by searching the Damned City for treasures… either way, the fate of the world is in their hands.
While the view might be a bit different from what fans are used to, the people behind the project will be the same, as Konami has tapped Nobuya Nakazato (the Director of Contra III: The Alien Wars, Contra: Hard Corps, and Contra: Shattered Soldier) to lead the development team. Rogue Corps will also feature multiple playable characters who can be customized with improved organs and cybernetics in the Operation Room, local and online cooperative multiplayer, and an “irreverent” tone (which is pretty obvious from the first trailer).
Contra: Rogue Corps is currently in development for the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One, and it’ll be released on September 24.
Spyro Reignited Trilogy comes to Switch and PC on September 3
As expected, Activision has announced that the Spyro Reignited Trilogy will be released for the PC and Switch later this year. Like the earlier PS4 and Xbox One launch, the compilation will include expanded and enhanced versions of Spyro the Dragon, Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage, and Spyro: Year of the Dragon, the first three games in the franchise:
Immaculately remade from the ground up, Spyro Reignited Trilogy features the exciting and nostalgic gameplay that fans enjoyed years ago with over 100 levels, enhanced reward sequences, as well as the beautiful redesigns of Spyro’s hoard of zany dragons and other goofballs (including Sparx the Dragonfly, Hunter, Sheila, Agent 9, and Sgt. Byrd) and many more.
The trilogy also includes enhanced environments, a remastered soundtrack, updated controls, brand-new lighting and recreated cinematics for added pizzazz in this beloved adventure. Lead developer Toys For Bob is back at it again to bring the Spyro Reignited Trilogy to Nintendo Switch, while the PC version will have the talented developers at Iron Galaxy leading the charge.
The Spyro Reignited Trilogy will be available for the PC and Switch on September 3. The E3 Trailer has been embedded above for your viewing pleasure.
Posted in News, PC, Switch
Tagged E3 2019, Spyro the Dragon
Square Enix will remake third Secret of Mana game as Trials of Mana
After more than 20 years, Square Enix is finally bringing a localized version of the third game in the Secret of Mana franchise to North America as part of the Collection of Mana. But the publisher also used this year’s E3 Expo to announce that a full remake of Seiken Densetsu 3 is also in the works.
Now known as Trials of Mana, Square Enix will rebuild the game with “revamped action-RPG battle, leveling, and skill systems,” as well as “modern 3D graphics”:
Trials of Mana is a full high definition remake of the third entry in the Mana series, previously exclusively released in Japan in 1995 as Seiken Densetsu 3. Trials of Mana tells the story of six heroes as they battle against the monsters of destruction that threaten a world where Mana has been weakened. Players can customize their own party of three, selected from six unique characters, to experience different stories.
The first trailer for Trials of Mana has been embedded above, and the remake will be released for the PC, PS4, and Switch in Early 2020.
Square Enix finally brings Collection of Mana to US and it’s available to download on Switch eShop today
One of the first games that Square Enix released for the Switch back in 2017 was Collection of Mana, a compilation that brought together the first three games in the franchise… but you might not know that as Collection of Mana never made its way out of Japan. But that all changed today as Square Enix finally added Collection of Mana to the Switch eShop immediately following the completion of Nintendo’s E3 2019 Nintendo Direct presentation.
Priced at $39.99, Collection of Mana includes two games that should be familiar to North American fans: Final Fantasy Adventure (which was originally released for the Game Boy in 1991) and Secret of Mana (which was originally released for the Super NES in 1993). But the compilation also includes the first English localization of Seiken Densetsu 3, which was originally released for the Super NES in 1995. Often referred to as “Secret of Mana 2” by game publications before the publisher decided to limit its availability to just Japan, it’ll officially be known as Trials of Mana to North American audiences.
If you’d prefer to add a Collection of Mana cartridge to your Switch library, Square Enix also said they plan to release a Retail Edition of the game through “participating retailers” and the Square Enix Store on August 27.
A Launch Trailer for Collection of Mana has been embedded above.
Posted in News, Switch
Tagged E3 2019, Secret of Mana
Final Fantasy VIII Remastered will land on PC and consoles later this year
Aside from making Final Fantasy VIII available to download for the PS3 through Sony’s PSone Classics banner in 2009, Square Enix has basically kept the RPG under lock and key since its launch more than 20 years ago. But it looks like they’re finally pulling it out of the vault later this year for a new re-release known as Final Fantasy VIII Remastered.
Featuring “newly rendered” visuals, Final Fantasy VIII Remastered will be your first real chance to play the game on modern platforms:
In Final Fantasy VIII, the military nation of Galbadia has declared war on the Dukedom of Dollet, who must hire the mercenary force, SeeD. Squall Leonhart, a new member of SeeD, together with his friends and Rinoa Heartilly, a member of a resistance group, get pulled into the war, unaware of their fated task to save the world.
The E3 Trailer for Final Fantasy VIII Remastered has been embedded above, and you’ll be able to purchase it later this year for the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
The Avengers disassemble in first trailer for Square Enix’s Avengers Project
After two and a half long years, Square Enix has finally pulled the curtain back on Marvel’s Avengers, their massive new game project starring Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Combining “cinematic storytelling” with single-player and cooperative gameplay for up to four players, Marvel’s Avengers is in development at Crystal Dynamics with assistance from Eidos Montreal, Crystal Northwest, and Nixxes Software.
While the first trailer for the game has a celebratory mood to start, things quickly take a dark turn…
Marvel’s Avengers begins at A-Day, where Captain America, Iron Man, the Hulk, Black Widow, and Thor are unveiling a hi-tech Avengers Headquarters in San Francisco — including the reveal of their own helicarrier powered by an experimental energy source. The celebration turns deadly when a catastrophic accident results in massive devastation. Blamed for the tragedy, the Avengers disband. Five years later, with all Super Heroes outlawed and the world in peril, the only hope is to reassemble Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.
Marvel’s Avengers will tell an original story set within the Marvel Universe that’ll also be updated at regular intervals after release through a series of free narrative expansions. PS4 owners can also expect to receive some type of exclusive content that will announced at a later date.
“We’ve assembled world-class developers from across the industry to bring players on an unforgettable journey,” said Ron Rosenberg, a Studio Head at Crystal Dynamics. “To ensure a truly heroic experience for all players, we’re announcing that our narrative will be delivered over multiple years, with no random loot boxes or pay-to-win scenarios. Every new superhero and region will be delivered to players at no additional cost if you own the core game. This is just the beginning of what we’ve got in store for our fans.”
“As superfans, working with Marvel and these characters is a dream come true and we are excited to finally reveal Marvel’s Avengers to the world,” said Scot Amos, a Studio Head at Crystal Dynamics. “This is our original take on these iconic superheroes. Leveraging our companies’ combined experience in epic action-adventure storytelling, we’re building a universe that fans will immerse themselves in for years to come.”
Marvel’s Avengers will be released for the PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Google Stadia on May 15, 2020.