Once again, Goichi Suda introduced us to a Nintendo Direct-like stream focused entirely on upcoming titles from Japanese publishers. And once again, he did so in front of chroma key footage of an upcoming Grasshopper Manufacture release.
This year’s NGPX was much earlier, but it was very similar in terms of the announcements. From NIS America to a surprising lineup from Natsume, here are the highlights.
NISA Leads the Charge
Nippon Ichi Software’s offerings for NGPX2 were probably, in terms of volume, the most newsy of news. Things started off with a release date for Disgaea 6, which is set to land on the Nintendo Switch on June 29, 2021.
And with Suda’s appearance, that included a date for “The Silver Case 2425,” a compilation of both Silver Case titles coming to the Switch on July 6.
More surprisingly, it seems like a new compilation of classic titles is coming. NIS Classics Volume 1 was revealed, which includes a remaster of Phantom Brave and the first reappearance of Soul Nomad since the PlayStation 2.
That’s also hitting this coming summer, and will see a whole limited edition treatment. Presumably more of these will happen, which will be great for younger NIS fans and real bad for retro game sellers.
Natsume Outta Nowhere
These days Natsume is best known for continuing the Harvest Moon IP after the creators left to partner with Xseed/Marvelous for the Story of Seasons series. But the longtime publisher had some surprises today. The biggest was Pocky and Rocky Reshined, a re-release of a hard to find SNES classic in similar fashion to Wild Guns Reloaded.
Natsume is also publishing ConnecTank, which can only be described as a mixture between Overcooked and Rocket Slime. Working together to maintain the innards of a tank, players work together to win ridiculous-looking mecha battles.
Idea Factory Maintains its Momentum
Idea Factory is back with all its Compile Heartiness, with three upcoming games. Neptunia Re;Verse brings a remake of the first Hyperdimension Neptunia to PS5, on June 8. Mary Skelter Finale, the third and ostensibly final game in the macabre dungeon-crawler is a Fall 2021 release, and horror/shuffleboard JRPG Death end re:Quest is coming to Switch with a physical release from Limited Run Games.
Those stood out to be as the three biggest presences during New Game Plus Expo 2021. That said, there were plenty of other interesting games, including some pretty out there announcements from Aksys Games and Gunvolt 3 from Inti Creates.
Check out the whole stream on the official NGPX YouTube (or embedded above) and check out the channel for more trailers that weren’t in the show.
What do our readers think about the newest gaming announcements out of Japan? Are you excited for anything in particular? Let us know over at the Prima Games Twitter and Facebook channels!
