Industry giant Sony generated many of the gaming world’s headlines late last week with its State of Play showcase, but it was not the only show(case) in town.
Last week, Marvelous USA and XSEED Games shared a localized version of their parent company’s second annual Marvelous Game Showcase (below), which featured previews of the new title Farmagia and the next entries in the Story of Seasons and Rune Factory series. All three received at least some spotlight during the 30+ minute show, albeit with a somewhat mixed reception.
Some onlookers were frustrated that these games received more or less the same treatment last year, as well as the fact that some of the footage was the same.
A more positive spin would be: news around the gaming world moves so fast that it can be a challenge to keep even one-year-old information in the front of your mind. Plus, this being only their second annual show, a chunk of the audience may have missed last year’s presentation. Couple these with the fact that fans were told new details are coming, and I suppose it would be most fair to simply render the grade as “incomplete” for the moment.
Farmagia (Formerly Project Magia)
Kicking off the showcase with a bang was Farmagia, whose opening animation showcased some action-packed scenes of key characters wielding cool powers. Product Manager Takehiro Ishida offered some introductory details regarding the characters, most of which fall into your typical JRPG tropes for now.
To paraphrase Ishida: Ten is the lead character who often acts before thinking, Arche is the childhood friend who is equal parts kind and competitive, Chica is the quiet one, and Lookie-Loo is the defacto sidekick and mascot.
Farmagia is set for a global debut later in 2024.
Story of Seasons (2024)
After Farmagia came a four-minute segment on the latest entry in the Story of Seasons franchise, which celebrates its 28th anniversary this year.
Series manager Hikaru Nakano debuted a fresh look for the upcoming yet-to-be-titled entry. The spotlight was on enhanced immersion through updated effects like festival fireworks and natural lighting, as well as—of course—cute animal designs.
No release date was given for the project, but Nakano did try to leave fans happy with the confirmation that certain fan-favorite pets would return, plus a new gameplay feature: a player-controlled glider.
RPGFan is currently optimistic about a 2024 release, but until then, enjoy the cute pictures below.
Rune Factory: Project Dragon
The Rune Factory series occupied the bulk of the last eight minutes. The segment started by reflecting briefly on the previous nine titles released over the past 18 years, then moved to series director Shiro Maekawa, who revealed a new video and details for Rune Factory: Project Dragon, including a look at the two protagonists.
Players will be able to choose from either Subaru or Kaguya, and this time will use the power of dance, rather than farming, to interact with the world around them. Introduced along with this new approach were new weapon types like bows and talismans, as well as new dance-inspired non-combat tools such as parasols and drums.
No release date or details were announced, although Maekawa did convey that they were close to releasing some.
While fans wait for more details regarding the newest entries of games for some of these long-running series, select titles in the Story of Seasons and Rune Factory series will be on sale for up to 60% off on the Nintendo Switch eShop through June 7th.
Speaking of June 7th, be sure to check the RPGFan main page regularly this week as we get all hands on deck to cover the biggest and best Summer Game Fest news for all things RPG!
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.