Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- BAFTA Games Awards: All the Winners from 2003 to Today
- Clair Obscur Completes the Sweep by Winning “Best Game” at 2025-2026 BAFTA Games Awards
- Boss Fight Books to Get a New Look for Richard Moss’s “Age of Empires”
- GDC Awards: All the Winners from 1996 to Today
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Wins “Game of the Year” at 2025-2026 GDC 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
Dragon Quest VII and Dragon Quest VIII will be released for the 3DS in 2016
Dragon Quest fans can finally celebrate… Nintendo has announced that 3DS remakes of Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past and Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King will be released in North America in 2016.
Originally released on the PSone (as Dragon Warrior VII) in 2001, Dragon Quest VII was remade for the 3DS in 2013 for a Japanese audience and is finally making its way to North America after three long years of non-committal responses from Square Enix. Dragon Quest VIII won’t be taking such a circuitous route as it was originally released for the PS2 in 2005 and made its 3DS debut in Japan last year.
Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past is expected to be released in North America next Summer. Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King will follow not too far behind, but it currently has a “TBA 2016” launch date.
Final Fantasy VII’s Cloud will join Super Smash Bros. For 3DS/Wii U as a playable character
Nintendo’s inclusion of Pac-Man, Sonic, Mega Man, and Ryu in Super Smash Bros. For 3DS/Wii U has already made the fighting game THE destination for players looking to settle their “my favorite character can beat up your favorite character” arguments. But today’s announcement is probably going to shatter the Internet’s collective mind…
Final Fantasy VII‘s Cloud Strife will soon be added to the game as a playable character.
Cloud’s addition to Super Smash Bros. For 3DS/Wii U was announced today as part of Nintendo’s most recent Nintendo Direct presentation. It’s currently unknown when Cloud will approach the battlefield, but Nintendo will upload a special “Smash Broadcast” sometime in December with more details on the character and his Midgar Stage. Hopefully, Nintendo will announce a release date then. For now, you can get a sneak peak at the swashbuckling Cloud in the Nintendo Direct video embedded above.
And don’t forget, Nintendo previously committed to producing Amiibo figures for every Smash Bros. character, including those available exclusively as downloadable content. So an Amiibo figure of Cloud is likely in the works and will presumably be revealed soon.
Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U
Tagged Super Smash Bros. For 3DS, Super Smash Bros. For Wii U
Star Fox Zero will launch on April 22, 2016
Fans were definitely disappointed when Nintendo announced that Star Fox Zero would not be released in 2015 as originally planned. But the publisher seems to be using the extra time wisely and announced today that the game will launch exclusively for the Wii U on April 22, 2016.
The good news was revealed as part of today’s Nintendo Direct presentation, which also included a nice new trailer. It’s been embedded above so you can reintroduce yourselves to Star Fox, Falco Lombardi, Peppy Hare, and Slippy Toad.
Posted in News, Wii U
Tagged Star Fox Zero
Nintendo Download: Nintendo Badge Arcade, Contra Advance, Stella Glow, more
Nintendo hosted a pretty packed Nintendo Direct presentation earlier tonight after updating the Nintendo eShop with a batch of new games. What did they add? Well…
- Nintendo Badge Arcade (3DS) is a “fun-filled crane-machine game” that lets players create their own custom Home Menu Themes.
- Stella Glow (3DS) is a new RPG from Atlus that asks five witches to save the world with their “Song Magic.”
- Contra Advance: The Alien Wars EX (Wii U) is a Virtual Console re-release of the Game Boy Advance remake of the great Super NES side-scrolling shooter.
More details about all of these games (and a few other new releases) can be found after the break. (more…)
Life Is Strange will be released in a retail Limited Edition in January 2016
Square Enix and Dontnod Entertainment have announced that Life Is Strange will get a retail release early next year. The Life Is Strange Limited Edition will be more than just a compilation of the game’s five episodes, it’ll also come packed with a 32-page artbook, a two-disc soundtrack, and a Director’s Commentary. In addition to the full score, the soundtrack will also feature 14 licensed tracks from bands like Alt-J, Amanda Palmer, Bright Eyes, and more.
Luc Baghadoust, a Producer on Life is Strange, is very excited for the Limited Edition: “The response to Life is Strange really has blown us away! To be able to share that experience with our fans in a traditional boxed format is something we’re really excited about and the decision to include the extra items for the Limited Edition is a direct response to fan requests.”
The Life Is Strange Limited Edition will be released for the PS4 and Xbox One on January 19, 2016. You can find a full tracklist for the soundtrack after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Life Is Strange
Black Friday 2015 Video Game Deals: Best Buy
Black Friday is coming, is your wish list (and your wallet) ready? Here’s what you can expect to find at one retailer on November 27th…
The blue shirts of Best Buy have published their annual Black Friday circular, giving us a look at some of this holiday season’s best gaming deals. Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate, Forza Motorsport 6, and Need For Speed have popped up in multiple ads and their $34.99 price at Best Buy is a decent discount.
However, the retailer’s absolute best deals are a pair of Xbox One system bundles. An Xbox One 500 GB packed with The Lego Movie Videogame and a Samsung 40″ LED TV will be available for $499.98 as a Friday morning “Doorbuster.” But if you miss out on that, Best Buy is also offering an Xbox One 1 TB with Rise of the Tomb Raider, Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition, and two Wireless Controllers for $349.99. Both of these bundles are fantastic deals.
Best Buy will open their doors for Black Friday shopping on Thanksgiving Day, November 26, at 5:00 PM. You can view their full ad at BestBuy.com or check out all the game deals after the break. (more…)
Xbox Store Today: Rise of the Tomb Raider, Fallout 4, more
2013’s Tomb Raider was a huge undertaking for Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics, but the reboot breathed new life into the franchise, making a sequel practically mandatory. Rather than break the bank a second time, Square Enix partnered with Microsoft to help produce the game, making Rise of the Tomb Raider temporarily exclusive on the Xbox One and Xbox 360. In Lara Croft’s latest adventure, which is available to download through the Xbox Games Store for both platforms beginning today, the first lady of archaeology explores ancient tombs in search of the secret to immortality. I don’t know if she’s successful or not, but Lara will always live forever in my eyes.
Also available this week for the Xbox One is Fallout 4… just a little game from Bethesda… you may have heard of it. Taking place in and around Boston, Fallout 4 follows the sole survivor of Vault 111 as he (or, for the first time, she) attempts to survive in the post-apocalyptic Wasteland.
More details about both of these games, along with the free-to-play “Puzzle RPG” Gems of War and the Jackbox Party Pack party game compilation, can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Fallout 4, Rise of the Tomb Raider
EA will release EA Sports UFC 2 for PS4, Xbox One in Spring 2016
Electronic Arts is stepping back into the Octagon next Spring with the release of EA Sports UFC 2 for the PS4 and Xbox One. The publisher’s second attempt at a mixed martial arts simulation will be revealed in full on Friday, but a newly released “Vision Trailer” hints at their expectations for the game.
Narrated by Creative Director Brian Hayes, the video says that EA “made it a priority to sharpen our fundamentals” before work began on UFC 2. The development has employed this back to basics approach in the hopes of creating “the smoothest, most responsive set of movements in an MMA game” with “thousands of new animations.”
EA Sports UFC 2 will also include “a host of new online and offline experiences,” which we’ll likely learn about on Friday.
Posted in News, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged EA Sports UFC 2