Pokémon Legends Z-A Coming October 16 and More.

Hey everyone- with one week to the release of the Switch 2 and a whole slew of games launching alongside it; I thought I would give some updates to one in particular I've been looking forward to as well as its banner franchise. Yes folks, much as I guessed; Pokémon Legends Z-A will see release around the world on the Switch family this fall on October 16!

Courtesy: Nintendo/Game Freak/The Pokémon Company

This also coincides with a litany of details, with more to come at a new Pokémon Presents in summer. For now, we have received more and more details on the gameplay and presentation. The traversal bearing similarities to parkour still intrigues me immensely. I am also eager to experience the new active combat mechanics. I don't know about Xenoblade parallels as someone who is not a fan of that franchise; but I can identify parallels to Shin Megami Tensei and Persona in terms of gameplay.

While the Switch 2 version will of course get a higher graphical resolution and framerate; it honestly looks great to me no matter where I try it first. I am also confident the music will be fantastic, especially as Kalos had some of my favorite songs in the franchise upon its debut.

Finally, because it just amuses me so much, the now-iconic EN logo went through many revisions before its designer Chris Maple gave us the one we all know and love. That is just a testament to how the creative process can take interesting twists and turns sometimes. That is all for now, and I will see you all again soon. Seek out all Pokémon.

The Curiously Pleasant Case of Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time (and its success).

So, MI8 was pretty sweet- a more than worthy finale to the cliffhanger from the previous installment and nearly 30 years of storytelling. I also enjoyed the Outlaw festival last night- stumbling back to my ride afterwards; less so.

With that, it's time for another checkin with our old pals at Level-5; with one of their oft-delayed games coming out and actually turning out to be a pleasant surprise. So, let's dig into the curiously pleasant case of Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time.

Coming about a decade after the previous main title; there's been lots of competitors to fill the vacuum in terms of games that combine RPG mechanics with life simulators. Even with the tumult facing Level-5, (especially in having the physical release of the game canceled at the last moment); the game has actually proven to be a pleasant surprise. Early press is also uniformly positive, and it's among the bestsellers on the eShop charts alongside stalwarts such as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Minecraft.

I am of a belief there's room for multiple games in a genre, and even with more competition for life simulators than when the first game released; it's certainly proved to be fairly solid even with a development cycle rivaling Duke Nukem Forever and Beyond Good and Evil 2 in terms of delays. In fact, a free update is currently being sent out for players as you see this. I know I'm among many concerned for the future of the company; but I'm not so numb I'm incapable of mentioning when the company does something good.

Though it remains to be seen how the new Inazuma Eleven will do given a crowded launch month this August (including MGS: Snake Eater Delta, Gears of War Reloaded, Mafia The Old Country, Kirby and the Forgotten Land on Switch 2 among many others), it's nice to share something positive in between rounds of Power Stone via Capcom Fighting Collection 2. That's all for now, take care.

Honest Thoughts- Hino's Take on AI at Level-5 is Disappointing and Disillusioning.

(Sighs) Just when I think I've seen and heard it all; I find something that shows me otherwise and compels me to write about it. In a recent interview with Famitsu, Level-5 president and CEO Akihiro Hino shared thoughts on the use of AI tools in his company's games. It is because of this stance (which has not sat well with the company's fans) that I am writing this piece instead of having this conversation over his social feeds. Here are my honest thoughts on why Hino's take on AI at Level-5 is disappointing and disillusioning.

Image from Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch.

Before I get into the actual words he said, I thought it would be good to establish my point of view on the matter- though there may be a day when AI is not only ubiquitous but indeed capable of the lofty claims of its backers; it still needs a lot of work to get farther than a novelty for me (like those clips of DBZ by Balenciega). At this stage, there's too many ethical landmines for me to engage with it actively. 

However, that line of thinking and nuance is often lost on the executive class; and Hino is no exception despite claims otherwise. Now, let's share his quote from the Famitsu interview.

“Through this program, I hope many of you will get to soar to the global stage as game developers. While I am also actively working as a developer, I’ve recently found myself thinking that AI technology is encroaching upon the creative world. Currently, around 80~90% of codes are written by AI and then fixed up and finalized by human programmers. In other words, it means that right now, around 80~90% of games are made by AI. And it does not just stop at programming – AI technology is encroaching on art, music and even game design on a large scale. Not to mention that it’s already becoming common sense in the creative world to rely on the power of AI to boost work efficiency. That is why I believe that “aesthetic sense” is a necessary skill for game developers.”

There's a lot to unravel here, but apart from a few defenders; the overall response from longtime fans has not been good. Though he and Level-5 were once seen as the creative antidote to the likes of EA, Ubisoft and Activision; it's become increasingly clear Hino has become the very thing he swore to destroy, to paraphrase Obi-Wan.

First and foremost, the "80-90%" figure has been refuted by a number of developers. In particular, one anonymous developer (who I shall call Billy Cranston for the sake of argument) responded by saying that the claim is "completely untrue, bordering on libelous." As I stated above, the current builds work fine as an assist; but Billy soundly points out that they "are not yet anywhere near capable of producing usable code for games, despite what media hype might have you thinking."

As for how that figure applies to the games themselves; that's another story. We do live in an age where games get accused of/caught using generative AI elements with alarming frequency; but I do have a pretty solid eye for picking out the obvious dregs while looking for deals on PSN and eShop. I don't anticipate we'll be at the "push a button and make it happen" stage for a while; let alone have it produce decent results.

Next, let's break down Hino's comments on AI use in art, music and game design. As previously stated; while it may be funny to have SpongeBob or Hank Hill cover a pop song, using these models on a broader scale also opens it up to a broader level of scrutiny as well. However, Hino's blithe attitudes on the tech did not endear him to longtime fans of the developer's games; many of whom responded by vowing to never buy or play anything from Level-5 again. It also comes at a time where other games are coming under fire for plagiarism (with Bungie's Marathon especially facing backlash for such), so it's not the best idea to come out in favor of tech that relies heavily on data scraped from other sources.

I have never really bought into the "common sense" argument (especially since it's becoming rarer than the Dial of Archimedes), and the efficiency argument has been routinely disproven as people everywhere from Comcast to McDonald's have had to fix problems specifically caused by AI breaking things; let alone missing details humans would not. 

In all seriousness, the claim of "aesthetic skill" in the context of AI to me is analogous to pitching Arby's to a gathering of vegans- you're courting a group of people you're never going to reach. 

With that, I maintain that Hino's take on AI at Level-5 is disappointing and disillusioning. I was hoping that the negative response the fanbase had could at least give him pause to reconsider going all-in on the tech. Sadly, not only has that not happened, the developer has doubled down right as the latest Fantasy Life has debuted to a somewhat muted response. It's not that review codes were withheld, they just plumb are slow at sending them out. I will do my best to keep an open mind about what comes next from the developer; but I'm deliberately keeping expectations low to be safe. That's all for now, my copy of Capcom Fighting Collection 2 is finally coming soon and I got tickets to MI8. Take care.

Bleach: The Thousand-Year Blood War Coming to Toonami this weekend.

So, Oahu was enjoyable as I thought it would be; and my flight back went fine. The ride back from PDX and subsequent cough I got; much less so. As I continue tending to projects I've had going a while, I thought I would share this.

It seems the long-awaited anime adaption of Bleach: The Thousand-Year Blood War (which was the chronological finale to the manga) will bring its English dub to Toonami starting this weekend- Saturday, May 17 at 12:30AM.

Though I openly admit I'm a more casual fan of this and Naruto among this iteration of the Shonen Jump "big 3," I will have no problem adding this to my weekend viewings of One Piece (which remains my favorite of the trio to this day) and Lazarus. 

Seeing as this is functionally the Endgame of the franchise, I am open to talking about this anime more in the near future; and I will bring you more information on this and other topics as it becomes available. Later.

P.S.: Go see Thunderbolts*, it really is that good.