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Video Game Canon- Angry Birds, Dragon Quest, FIFA Soccer, and Silent Hill are the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026
- 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
Warp Zoned Presents
- Video Game Research Library
- Spore: An oral history – Design Room (2026)
- 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)
Most Recent: News
Game Freak is hiring for a console-bound Pokemon game
Pokemon’s upcoming debut on the Nintendo Switch is a constantly evolving story, but another missing piece fell into place today, and it’s looking more and more likely that a “main series” game will be released for the console.
Back in September, The Pokemon Company confirmed that a new game in the franchise was in development for the Switch. However, there was no indication of who was making it, and all signs pointed to yet another spinoff. However, late in the year, a rumor cropped up that said Game Freak was developing an enhanced remake of Pokemon Sun and Moon for the Switch. This game was believed to be in development under the working title of “Pokemon Stars.”
Fast forward to today, and the news that Game Freak is currently hiring at least one developer to work on a console-bound entry in a “long-running” and “globally popular RPG series” starring “people and monsters.”
We could pretend to treat this as another rumor, but where’s the fun in that? Game Freak is clearly hiring developers to work on a new Pokemon game for the Nintendo Switch. The only questions left are… Is it Pokemon Stars? Or is it a brand new game in the franchise (that could still turn out to be a spinoff)?
The 2017 E3 Expo is just a few months away, so we’ll probably learn more about Game Freak’s next Pokemon game sooner rather than later.
Posted in News, Switch
Tagged Pokemon Switch
Square Enix offers Spring 2017 Surprise Box featuring five PC games
Is your Steam library looking a little thin? Do you need some new PC games to play that might be worth playing? Good news… Square Enix wants to help.
Today, the publisher announced they have begun taking pre-orders for the “Spring 2017” edition of the Square Enix Surprise Box. The Spring 2017 Surprise Box retails for $9.99, but will include “over $80 worth” of content, and players who purchase the bundle will receive five PC games through Steam, five Square Enix Rewards Points, plus some form of exclusive promotional deal that is “too good to miss out on.”
As for which games players will receive, well, that remains a mystery. However, Square Enix claims they’ll be “exciting” titles. If you’d prefer to hold out on making your purchase until Square Enix announces the contents of the Spring 2017 Surprise Box, I’m sad to inform you that won’t be possible. Square Enix will officially announce the Spring 2017 Surprise Box contents on March 30, at 7:00 AM (Eastern Time), however, they’re closing pre-orders on March 29, at 7:00 AM (Eastern Time). So if you want to take the gamble, be sure to do so before it’s too late.
As with any blind purchase, there’s a chance that you’ll receive something that you don’t actually want. But for $9.99, there’s not much risk involved. So if you’re looking to replace your scheduled Spring cleaning with some Spring gaming, this might be a surprise worth getting excited for.
Square Enix Japan showed a video of Secret of Mana 2 being played on a Switch
#聖剣伝説 pic.twitter.com/uXD0hey02H
— 聖剣伝説 -公式- (@Seiken_PR) March 20, 2017
Originally released in 1995, Secret of Mana 2 (also known as Seiken Densetsu 3) is one of the only games in the series to never receive a North American localization. However, it looks like Square Enix is planning to bring the critically-acclaimed action RPG to the Nintendo Switch sometime soon… though possibly only in Japan.
Earlier today, Square Enix posted a short video of two developers playing Secret of Mana 2/Seiken Densetsu 3 on a Switch to the official Twitter account for the franchise. The only other information in the tweet was a Japanese hashtag for #Mana, so it’s unknown if this is some kind of a prank, or possibly a sly tease for a future Virtual Console re-release.
However, Square Enix is also in the middle of celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Mana series, so now would definitely be a fine time to re-release the game for modern audiences. The Mana series began in 1991 with the release of Final Fantasy Adventure, and I’m sure fans of old school action RPGs would be thrilled to finally receive a fully-sanctioned English translation of the third entry.
But until Square Enix makes an official announcement, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
Posted in News, Switch
Tagged Secret of Mana
NetherRealm releases a Gameplay Trailer for Cheetah in Injustice 2
NetherRealm Studios first revealed Cheetah’s inclusion in Injustice 2 as part of the “Here Come the Girls” trailer released on February 14. Today, the developer unleashed a full Gameplay Trailer for the Wonder Woman villain.
As you’d expect, Cheetah has lightning-fast reflexes and makes ample use of her enhanced agility to quickly dash across the screen. Also, Batman definitely needs to do something about that malfunctioning Batplane… someone could get hurt.
Injustice 2 will be released for the PS4 and Xbox One on May 16, and according to the game’s official website, NetherRealm will announce another playable character on March 23.
Posted in News, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Injustice 2
Metalhead Software gives 110% in Super Mega Baseball 2’s “Customization Gameplay” Trailer
Baseball sims have made customizing players and teams a big part of the experience since the days of SNK’s Baseball Stars and Nintendo’s Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball. Metalhead Software plans to continue this tradition in Super Mega Baseball 2, and the developer released a brand new “Customization Gameplay” trailer today highlighting the many ways that players will be able to make the game their own.
Players can start by building their own leagues, specifying the total number of teams and the divisional alignment (though the entire process can also be automated). From there, they’ll be able to rename each team and redesign their logos (using a set of fully editable pre-made templates), as well as sketch out the uniforms.
Every aspect of each individual player can also be customized. Dozens of options are listed in the trailer, and players will be able to customize their physique, personality, gender, and how thick they like their Eye Black.
Super Mega Baseball 2 will be available for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One this Summer.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Super Mega Baseball 2
Battle Princess Madelyn smashes its Kickstarter goal in two days
Casual Bit Games’s latest crowdfunding project, Battle Princess Madelyn, has managed to hit its target of $60,000 CAD on Kickstarter in less than two days. Not only that, but the project has also burned through nine of its stretch goals with more than 24 days remaining on their Kickstarter clock.
And if backers help Casual Bit reach their last goal of $150,000 CAD, they have promised to port the game to the PS Vita. Though it is already heading for the Nintendo Switch, so backers will have at least option for a portable version of the game.
Battle Princess Madelyn takes its licks from Super NES classic Super Ghouls ‘N Ghosts, and the titular trainee knight and her ghost dog Fritzy will embark on a similar journey to save the kingdom from an evil wizard. The spectral canine can be used to solve puzzles and deployed to tackle end level bosses.
The team at Casual Bit Games is now adding more features to the game as a result of the enthusiasm and support shown during the crowdfunding campaign, including an “Insanity’s Blade King Mode,” which ups the difficulty of the classic Arcade Mode. The developer expects to release the game for the PC, PS4, Wii U, Xbox One, and Switch in February 2018.
With fast-paced 2D action, silky smooth animation, and a retro soundtrack set against an epic fantasy story, Battle Princess Madelyn might just be the next Shovel Knight.
Uncharted 4 wins “Video Game of the Year” at the 2017 SXSW Gaming Awards
Naughty Dog’s Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End was named “Video Game of the Year” at the 2017 SXSW Gaming Awards last night, finally putting an end to Overwatch‘s winning streak. Nathan Drake’s final adventure also earned the big prize in the “Excellence in Narrative” and “Excellence in Animation” categories, and the treasure hunter himself won for “Most Memorable Character.”
However, don’t feel too bad for Blizzard, Overwatch took home three SXSW Gamnig Awards including “Esports Game of the Year,” “Most Promising New Intellectual Property,” and “Excellence in Multiplayer.”
The WWE’s Austin “Xavier Woods” Creed hosted the 2017 SXSW Gaming Awards, and he also handed out statuettes to a wide variety of other games including Pokemon Go (“Mobile Game of the Year”), Doom (“Excellence in Gameplay” and “Excellence in Musical Score”), Battlefield 1 (“Excellence in Technical Achievement” and “Excellence in SFX”), and Dishonored 2 (“Excellence in Design”). And this year’s “Tabletop Game of the Year” award was given to Fantasy Flight’s Arkham Horror: The Card Game.
You can find all the winners from last night’s SXSW Gaming Awards show at Video Game Canon.
Posted in Mobile, News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Batman: The Telltale Series, Battlefield 1, Dishonored 2, Doom (2016), Firewatch, Overwatch, Pokemon Go, Tabletop Games, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Weekly Warp-Up: Sonic the Hedgehog Races Into the Spotlight…
No, that’s not a typo. Welcome to the Weekly Warp-Up, your weekly wrap-up of the biggest and the best articles posted at Warp Zoned this week…
It’s a good time to be a Sonic the Hedgehog fan, as Sega delivered updates on both of the Blue Blur’s upcoming games this week. First up, Sega confirmed that Sonic Mania‘s launch date has dashed to Summer 2017, though the publisher also revealed a new trailer for the game’s “Flying Battery Zone.” Later this year, Sega will also release “Project Sonic,” a new 3D entry in the franchise. Developed by Sonic Team, a new trailer revealed that “Project Sonic” will officially be known as Sonic Forces.
Elsewhere on Warp Zoned this week, we reviewed Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment, one of the best games currently available Nintendo Switch. And our examination of the Scientifically Proven Best Video Games of All Time rolled on with #38… Tomb Raider.
More news from the past seven days, including a few more reports from PAX East 2017 and yet another Injustice 2 character announcement, can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News