Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- Clair Obscur Completes the Sweep by Winning “Best Game” at 2025-2026 BAFTA Games Awards
- Boss Fight Books Gets 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
- Silent Hill, Dragon Quest, Skyrim, and More Announced as Finalists for the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026
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
Square Enix is “making preparations” for Secret of Mana’s 25th anniversary
The Secret of Mana series has received short shrift from Square Enix over the years. While dozens of Final Fantasy games have been released (or re-released) in the last decade, the Mana series has only received a pair of mobile games since 2007. And even then, both games are only available in Japan.
But the Mana series might be making a comeback very soon.
Speaking to 4Gamer (and translated by Siliconera), Rise of Mana Producer Masaru Oyamada has revealed that the publisher is “making preparations” for the franchise’s upcoming 25th anniversary:
“With 2016 being Mana‘s 25th, anniversary, I believe it will be a year of making all kinds of preparations for it,” said Oyamada when asked to comment about 2015. “We’re working our best so we can offer something to everyone that has been waiting in anticipation.”
Obviously, no one yet knows what Square Enix is preparing. But maybe the publisher will finally release the Super NES title Seiken Densetsu 3 (also known as Secret of Mana 2) in North America for the first time. I can dream, can’t I?
Posted in News
Tagged Secret of Mana
Nintendo Download: Pokemon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire, Bionic Commando: Elite Forces
Nintendo takes no holiday off! While much of the world is resting after a night of New Year’s Eve festivities, Nintendo has updated their eShop storefront like they do every Thursday. Though it should be noted that only a pair of new titles are available today… and both are Virtual Console re-releases. But first, if you haven’t purchased Shovel Knight yet, now’s the time. The game, which is available for both the Wii U and 3DS, is on sale for $9.99 (a 33% discount off the regular price).
Now, about those new releases. Available on the Wii U eShop, Pokemon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire was originally released for the Game Boy Advance in 2003 and I think the title says it all… it’s a pinball game with a Pokemon twist. Over on the 3DS eShop, Capcom has released Bionic Commando: Elite Forces, the Game Boy Color sequel to the classic NES side-scroller. More information about both titles can be found right here:
Wii U eShop Games
Pokemon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire – Much more than a regular pinball game, Pokemon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire combines fast flipper action with a unique way to catch your favorite Pokemon. Control the flippers to shoot the Poke Ball at targets on one of two PlayFields. Play on either the Ruby or Sapphire Field to rack up as many points as possible. The game lets players catch more than 200 Pokemon and features characters from the Pokemon Ruby and Pokemon Sapphire games.
3DS eShop Games
Bionic Commando: Elite Forces – You are the perfect combination of man and machine – a Bionic Commando equipped with a Bionic Claw that will be extremely handy when infiltrating the danger zone. Blast through enemy lines as you grapple, swing and scale more than 20 levels of forests, deserts, mountains and futuristic cities. You are the last hope in saving your homeland from utter destruction. Suit up, soldier!
Inafune confirms that development on Mighty No. 9 is almost done in this New Year’s video
Keiji Inafune has posted a short “New Year’s” video to update fans of Mighty No. 9 on the game’s progress. According to the Mega Man creator, full development on Mighty No. 9 is almost complete and the only step left is porting the game to all the platforms it’ll be available on this Spring. But that’s a pretty important step as Inafune and his team at Comcept (and co-developer Inti Creates) plan to bring Mighty No. 9 to a boatload of platforms including the PC, PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One, 3DS, and Vita.
Hats off to the latest kombatant added to Mortal Kombat X… Kung Lao
GamesMaster, one of the United Kingdom’s most popular gaming magazines, had promised to reveal a brand new Mortal Kombat X character on or around the first of the year. But it’s very possible that Pelaaja, a Finnish gaming magazine, has scooped them by a single day.
According to Pelaaja (as translated by Test Your Might), the man with the razor-rimmed hat, Kung Lao, will take part in Mortal Kombat X’s far-future fight for the fate of the realm. Owing to the game’s time skip, this Kung Lao will be considerably older than the one that gamers are used to. Though how NetherRealm will explain away Kung Lao’s death during the events of 2011’s Mortal Kombat remains to be seen. But that didn’t stop Perlaaja from discussing Kung Lao’s three variations:
The differences between Kung Lao’s “Tempest,” “Buzz Saw” and “Hat Trick” variations happen to be the biggest ones yet. With “Tempest” Kung Lao uses more spinning attacks and has the ability to set his hat to spin around him as a shield of sorts. In his “Buzz Saw” variation his hat is sharpened with razor blade edges and allows the player to control his hat throws more. “Hat Trick” is the most experimental of the three, because you can throw and call back your hat at any point you want. This keeps the opponent on their toes, because the hat can extend combos.
The article also contains the first details about the game’s online faction system and the return of the Challenge Tower. Players will choose a faction when they first launch the game (Lin Kuei, White Lotus, Brotherhood of Shadows, Special Forces, or Black Dragon) and the system will control how the menus look based on the number Battle Points earned by players. How you earn Battle Points, and if they’ll have any impact on the game beyond the menus, is unknown. And as for the Challenge Tower, Pelaaja reports that “the towers and their challenges change constantly, even by the hour.”
Mortal Kombat X will be released for the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One on April 14.
Insert Quarter: A History of Fan-Made Mario Games
Insert Quarter is our showcase for some of the best and most interesting writing about video games on the Internet.
There’s no reason to hide it, Mario Maker is one of my most anticipated games for 2015. The ability to create my own Mario courses (and play courses created by others) has got me giddy with excitement. Writing for Joystiq, Lawrence Bonk has revealed that he’s just as giddy as I am. He is so giddy that he dove into the shadowy world of unauthorized ROM hacks of Super Mario Bros. and other games in the series. These fan-made creations are sometimes scary, but they’re always interesting:
Of course, long before there were dedicated toolsets, there was the humble game ROM. In addition to allowing people to finally brag about beating Ghosts N’ Goblins, NES game ROMs had/have the added bonus of being fairly easy to manipulate. What better title to screw around with than the original Super Mario Bros.? It didn’t have too many sprites and, oh yeah, there’s that whole “pretty much defined video games for an entire generation” thing.
The full article is available for your perusal at Joystiq.
Posted in Insert Quarter, Retro, Wii U
Tagged Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Maker
Insert Quarter: Publishers Need to be More Upfront About DLC
Insert Quarter is our showcase for some of the best and most interesting writing about video games on the Internet.
Downloadable Content. If you didn’t consider it the scourge of the gaming industry before, you probably do now. With games like Assassin’s Creed: Unity and DriveClub shipping to stores in a less-than-playable state, the downloadable content that publishers have planned begins to lose its luster. But that hasn’t stopped these publishers from asking for your money in the form of season passes. Sometimes, like in the case of 2K’s Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, without detailing exactly what content these passes will include.
Game Informer’s Mike Futter believes that it is time for publishers to be more upfront with their DLC plans in an effort to rebuild a level of trust with the gamers of the world. Even though DLC has become a very important part of the business side of the industry:
I am guilty. I have pre-ordered games. I have purchased season passes without full details of the contents. I have done these things based on my enthusiasm for the medium and faith in the publishers. That time has passed.
The full article is available for your perusal at Game Informer.
Posted in Insert Quarter, PC, PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel
Check out this six-minute trailer for Disgaea 5 (but be warned, it’s in Japanese)
NIS America recently confirmed that Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance will be released for the PS4 in Fall 2015. And now the company’s Japanese parent, Nippon Ichi Software, has released this absolutely insane six-minute trailer for the game. I have no idea what’s going on, but I’m sure that Disgaea fans will love it.
Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance will be available in Japan on March 26.
Posted in News, PS4
Tagged Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance
Halo 5: Guardians special editions announced as beta begins
The Halo 5: Guardians beta test begins today, but Microsoft also wants you to know that the game is now available for pre-order through your favorite (and not so favorite) retailers. To that end, the consolemaker has also announced (via Xbox Wire) that the game will be available in three different pacakges:
Standard Edition ($59.99) – A copy of Halo 5: Guardians plus an exclusive poster, only available to those who pre-order.
Limited Edition ($99.99) – Everything in the Standard Edition plus new digital content to enhance Spartan combat and exclusive items wrapped in a uniquely designed steel book.
Limited Collector’s Edition ($249.99) – Everything in the Limited Edition as well as additional content such as a commemorative numbered statue designed by 343 Industries. More details on the design to be shared at a later date.
Halo 5: Guardians will be released exclusively for the Xbox One this Fall (a final release date has yet to be announced), but you can join the multiplayer beta now through January 18 (as long as you own a copy of Halo: The Master Chief Collection).
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged Halo 5: Guardians