XSEED Announces E3 Lineup
It looks like we’re in for another one of those years where Harvest Moon from Natsume and Story of Seasons from XSEED go head-to-head. For those unaware, Story of Seasons is actually the series that used to be called Harvest Moon in the west. Then a bunch of stuff happened and, long story short, XSEED has the rights to the “Harvest Moon” games, but can’t call them that because Natsume has the rights to the name. Thus, Story of Seasons was born!
This new version is called Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns and won’t release until next year on the 3DS, which might put a little space between it and Natsume’s title, which is supposed to come out this fall. In this new game there will be three distinct locales and farming will again be a core mechanic. Each area will have regional crops, unique characters, festivals, animals, decorations, and more. The game will support local wireless play as well as Wi-Fi to chat, trade, and enhance items.
Corpse Party is hitting the 3DS later this summer and will improve upon its PSP predecessor. It’s remastered with high-resolution sprites, new music tracks, and four new extra chapters. This horror-themed visual novel game should be right at home on the 3DS.
Shantae: Half-Genie Hero is coming to the Wii U this fall. It’s a 2.5D action platformer with a wide variety of locales. It will be releasing on disc for $29.99.
Exile’s End is a Metroidvania style game that focuses on adventure-style puzzles. It draws inspiration from games like Out of this World and Flashback. The game was previously released on PC, and makes its way to Wii U later this summer.
For more details, check out the official press release below:
XSEED Games, the independent-minded console publishing brand of Marvelous USA, Inc., announced its exciting lineup of games that will be shown for the first time at the 2016 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) June 14 – 16 in Los Angeles. Revealed today are Fate/EXTELLA: The Umbral Star for the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system and PlayStation®Vita handheld entertainment system, and STORY OF SEASONS: Trio of Towns for the Nintendo 3DS™ family of systems.
The company will additionally showcase The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and “PSVita” system, Corpse Party for the Nintendo 3DS family of systems, and recently announced indie games; Shantae: Half-Genie Hero for PS4™, Wii U™, and “PSVita”, Touhou: Scarlet Curiosity for PS4™, and Exile’s End for PS4™, Wii U, and “PSVita.”
Also announced today was the addition of AKIBA’S BEAT, also for the PS4™ and “PSVita” to the company’s lineup, which is currently set for a Winter 2016 launch. More information about the game will be made available at E3.
“We’re excited about the expansion of our portfolio with the addition of titles from high profile franchises such as Fate/EXTELLA: The Umbral Star and follow-ups to our acclaimed properties with STORY OF SEASONS and The Legend of Heroes,” said Shinichi Suzuki, President & CEO of Marvelous USA. “Alongside independent labors of love including Shantae: Half-Genie Hero, we are very much looking forward to showing off these games for the first time at E3.”
XSEED Games will be located in the West Hall, Booth #5000. The following titles have not yet been rated by the ESRB unless stated otherwise.
STORY OF SEASONS: Trio of Towns
[Platform: Nintendo 3DS; Release: 2017] – In celebration of the upcoming 20th anniversary of the longest-running farming and life simulation series, the beloved Bokujo Monogatari franchise – now known as STORY OF SEASONS in the West – returns with its biggest adventure yet in STORY OF SEASONS: Trio of Towns. Settled on a homestead in the middle of three distinct and uniquely themed locales, players can explore a diverse landscape as they search for new ways to grow their farms and friendships. Extensive customization and gameplay options are on offer in Trio of Towns, with each village offering its own variety of regional crops, lads and ladies to romance, animals, festivals, furniture, decorations and more. More ways to play sprout up as players connect to one another locally or via the internet to chat, trade, and enhance items on a mysterious multiplayer island.Corpse Party
[Platform: Nintendo 3DS; Release: Summer 2016] – In the critically acclaimed cult hit Corpse Party, players take control of a group of Japanese high school students who inadvertently engage in a pagan ritual and find themselves inexplicably transported into a whole other space: an inescapable echo of a long-since demolished school building where a series of brutal murders once took place. Presented using crisp 2D sprite graphics in a classic 16-bit style, Corpse Party is brought to life with gruesome and horrifyingly detailed portraits and art stills, vividly descriptive text, and binaural 3D audio when played with headphones for a more immersive audioscape. Players’ minds are prone to wander in this horror adventure, providing a uniquely engrossing and terrifying story-driven experience. Remastered from the 2011 PSP game, the Nintendo 3DS rendition of Corpse Party will feature redrawn, high-resolution character sprites, newly arranged music tracks, and 3D art stills, as well as four new Extra Chapters exclusive to this version that provide insight into lesser-shown characters and plot elements previously left unexplained.Shantae: Half-Genie Hero
[Platforms: PS4, PSVita, Wii U; Release: Fall 2016] – After three successful outings, Shantae is ready to embark on her first big-screen adventure in Shantae: Half-Genie Hero. Vibrant, high-definition graphics bring new detail to the series’ charming hand-drawn sprites, which take center stage in this engaging 2.5D entry along with the franchise’s signature action-packed platforming and heavy exploration elements. As Shantae masters her trademark Belly Dance Magic to transform into various creatures, old stages can be explored again to unearth new items and secrets, ensuring there’s plenty of content for casual players and platforming gurus alike. Steamy jungles, ancient ruins, and stormy deserts lie between Shantae and the ultimate showdown against her arch-nemesis: the bodacious buccaneer Risky Boots!Exile’s End
[Platforms: PS4, PSVita, Wii U; Release: Summer 2016] – A dark and futuristic 2D sidescroller offering adventure-style puzzles, exploration-driven platforming, and dangerous extraterrestrials, Exile’s End draws inspiration from classic “cinematic platformers” with its animated cutscenes, multiple endings, an atmospheric soundtrack by Keiji Yamagishi and much more. Players will investigate a massive, interconnected alien world as they solve the mystery of a strange disappearance on a distant mining planet and experience a story of ancient riddles and modern-day hubris. Backed by Japanese publisher Marvelous Inc., Exile’s End is a collaboration between Tokyo-based indie game developer Matt Fielding and many talented local industry veterans, and a partial remake that significantly expands on the ideas behind Fielding’s first game, Inescapable.
Craig has been covering the video game industry since 1995. His work has been published across a wide spectrum of media sites. He’s currently the Editor-In-Chief of Nintendo Times and contributes to Gaming Age.
