Yesterday, we reported on some great news that the action comedy anime Gintama will finally be getting a "Serious Quality" action game that featured "Super Beautiful Modeling". Less than a day later (which is today), we get a little bit of a tease of game animation in a video featuring Gintama protagonist Gintoki and main villain Takasugi dueling it out for the Gintama game dubbed Project "Last Game". Namco Bandai is doing this one, which is a good sign since their anime action games are at least decent most of the time.

There isn't much in the video below, with the Gintama anime cast doing the "talking over static imagery that saves a lot of money" bit they do a lot on the show to kill time. My Japanese is very limited but I gather that they are talking about the upcoming live action movie and game. Y'all can skip to the 3:30 mark to check out the actual teaser footage of the game. The models don't look bad but I just hope this first attempt at a Gintama action game turns out well since the few action bits in the anime are pretty rad and would be great to play in a game.

The concept of shops and restaurants based on existing properties is something I'm always down with. You get to see a neat take on your favorite fictional titles, and it gives you the chance to interact with people who share your interests. While we're on the topic of businesses with themes, an anime glasses store called Animegane is opening in Akihabara on July 15.

Aside from the shop's brilliant decision to combine the words "anime" and "megane," I'm digging the idea of them selling eyewear based on Japan's animated shows. Since they're carrying stuff from titles like Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works, Touhou, Steins;Gate, Boruto, and the Metal Gear series, they seem to have some great options for their future customers.

If they have a nonprescription lens option, I wouldn't mind getting the Saber or Archer glasses from the Fate anime series and visual novel games. Thanks to Animegane's stylish inventory, I have a new place to check out when I visit Japan one day.

Animegane: World's first anime eyewear store opens in Akihabara [SoraNews24]

It's getting to be Friday night around here. Soon enough, that'll mean the rapid consumption of alcohol, a few rounds of Battlegrounds with my dudes, a lil EVO, and the horrible realization that I should've left 20 minutes ago to beat the crowd at my favorite spot. Those tallboys won't order themselves.

Before all that gets underway, though, let's slip into this groove.

Assuming Sonic Mania is in any way on your radar, you'll have heard this track from Studiopolis Act 1, or at least snippets of it. This video from Sega is the "first in a series of OST releases" for the throwback game and I for one am happy to hear it once more (and give you the same chance).

Sega says it knows the song has been out there but that we should "look forward to what's coming up." I can't vouch for all of Sonic Mania, but everything I've played and heard has left me buzzing.

Even with the advent of Twitch, broadcasting mobile gameplay footage has been finicky for awhile. Samsung wants to make it easier with its new Game Live app for recent Samsung Galaxy handsets, as spotted by SamMobile. So long as your device is running Android 6.0 or newer, pushing your gameplay to Facebook, Twitch and YouTube shouldn't be too much leg work. You can even use your mic to chat with friends if you want, and save up to 4GB or 200 minutes of gameplay -- whichever comes first -- in a throwback to Game Recorder+. Compared to its music app and email attempt, on the surface at least, this seems like a piece of Samsung software you'd actually want to use.

Via: AndroidPolice

Source: SamMobile

Back when XSEED Games announced Trails of Cold Steel I and II for PC, I was hoping for them to could give Falcom's other Sony console-exclusive titles the same treatment. At the end of their Zwei: The Ilvard Insurrection stream, my wish came true as they revealed their plans to release Ys Seven on PC.

Unlike your usual announcement, they used a pink Keromin, a musical frog puppet, to sing one of the game's tracks before the big news. Best of all, this port won't be based on Joyoland's Chinese PC release, and it will run at 60 frames-per-second.

With Ys Seven launching this summer, XSEED has a wonderful offering of Falcom goodies for PC owners. Since this is the first title to use the party system, we'll get the chance to team up with Dogi, along with Geis from Ys VI.

As a person who missed out on Ys Seven's original PSP release, I'm looking forward to slashing my way through the Adol's latest quest in the series' timeline. One thing for sure, 2017 will continue to be a great year for video games.

XSEED Games [Twitch]

If you like to use your Nintendo Switch as a local-multiplayer party machine, there's more good news where The Jackbox Party Pack 3 came from: the prior two games are also coming to the system.

The Jackbox Party Pack 1 & 2 are coming to the Nintendo Switch! Sign up for our email list to get early updates: https://t.co/MarbRcEXU4 http://pic.twitter.com/IMxGEU3LLP

— Jackbox Games (@jackboxgames) July 14, 2017

Jackbox Games didn't mention any other specifics, but I'd imagine that ports like these can't be too terribly far off now that the word is out there. It's great to see them go back for 1 and 2 so soon.

Jed shared his impressions of Party Pack 3 on Switch a few months back. He called the port "no-frills" and said it'd be a tight squeeze for a full group of players to crowd around the screen in portable mode, but still found it to be "the easiest way to play some of the Jackbox Games on the go aside from dragging a laptop or small TV with an Amazon Fire TV attached along with you."

(Also, yes, that subheading is a Simpsons nod. If there's ever a doubt, assume it is.)

In an attempt to beat out its competition, we've seen a number of discounts to the Oculus Rift, but Oculus announced in a blog post today that they would be permanently bundling the Rift and its Touch controllers together for $499.  

Not only does this make the Rift significantly cheaper than the HTC Vive, which is priced at $800. It also now matches the price of the full PlayStation VR bundle. Right now it's even cheaper, as you can grab the Rift bundle for only $399 during the Summer of Rift sale.

Capcom, who cancelled their EVO panel in favour of shotgunning out announcements across the weekend, have shown more DLC items coming to Street Fighter V.

Guile will receive a new costume in the "Champion's Choice" category, selected by last year's Pro-Tour winner "NuckleDu." This costume joins Ryu and Ken's previously disclosed CPT 2017 outfits. Ken's going for "Suave dinner tuxedo" but I'm thinking "Circus Ringmaster." Alongside these costumes comes a new Pro-Tour stage, a sumo palace owned by the Kanzuki clan.

All the above is available as part of the previously released $25 Capcom Pro Tour Premier Pass, which also includes one alternate colour for every character on the roster. This pass, note, isn't the same as the Season 2 Pass. The Season 2 pass will not include the above items.

I know, I know...

In other news, rumour machine "Flowtron" could be proven correct once again, as Capcom France tweeted out an image of a new stage, which is identical to the "Bay Area" stage of Final Fight, home to boss character and predicted SFV roster addition, Abigail.

Could it be the Andore head-swap will be joining the battle very soon? Watch out for further developments as EVO continues.

Sam Barlow is no slouch when it comes to telling stories through interactive fiction. His last game, Her Story, was a winding thriller that blended short, live-action film clips with keyword-based investigations. Barlow's efforts earned praise from players and critics alike, selling more than 100,000 copies since releasing in 2015.

Barlow recently announced a "spiritual follow-up" to Her Story called Telling Lies. This time around, he's working with Annapurna Interactive.

Has it been five weeks already? I guess it's time again for me to host everyone's favorite part of Destructoid - Comments of the Week! I'll try to make it as non-awkward as possible.

FakePlasticTree handled E3 week like a boss, and TheLimoMaker dealt with the post-E3 hype as only an Englishman can. Now I get to handle an even more exciting week with the SNES Classic Edition announcement!

Let's go!

To celebrate the launch of Sundered in a few weeks, developer Thunder Lotus Games (bad ass name!) is giving away their first title, Jotun: Valhalla Edition, on GOG.com. The title will be up for grabs until Monday, July 17 at 12 PM EDT (4 PM UTC/9 AM PDT/6 PM CEST).  The game was lauded in our review for combining beautiful animation with some exquisite action, so its definitely worth getting at the low price of free.

GOG also doesn't demand you utilize an extra client, so you'll be getting a DRM free copy on the house. That is super sweet, though I can't say I have a big problem with running Steam. Either way, free is free and I'll certainly be checking this out.

We are one week away from the release of the highly anticipated Splatoon 2 which has got many fans, including young Japanese aquarium-goers, very excited. Unfortunately, if you're in Japan and don't already own the console, now is not the best time to go shopping for one as resell prices are higher than ever.

While the retail price is 32,378 yen, the actual going price is around 49,500 yen at even the largest distributors, Rakuten and Amazon Japan. That is more than a 50% increase, and we're not even talking scalpers.

Friday night. Finally. The weekend is here and it’s time to party. Only, you don’t have any plans. Or maybe you’ve got a headache. Or your friends have a headache and have bailed on you. Or must just feel like staying in. What to do? A movie is always a fine suggestion, right? Yes, Netflix exists and it can get the job done in a pinch, but what about the time-honored tradition of visiting a video store and browsing the aisles for something suitable? For most of us, this is no longer an option as video stores have followed the dodo, mammoth, and dinosaurs into extinction (or near enough).

Before this was the case, finding ourselves in one of these minor slumps, or perhaps just actively seeking something to watch, my friends and I would visit Blockbusters to find the best worst movies we could. You know the sort: the so-bad-it’s-good variety. Of these, there are many, and many acknowledged or at least, widely recognized classics. Plan 9 From Outer Space. Killer Klowns from Outer Space. And the rest of the outer space B-movies … Howard the Duck. Piranha. C.H.U.D. And, more recently, Sharknado and its ilk. But before there were tornadoes made of sharks, there was one shark movie so bad it was so good it hurt: so good, it was a masterpiece. Shark Attack 3: Masterpiece! Sorry … Shark Attack 3: Megalodon. I take it very seriously.

I used to joke that the producers of Shark Attack 3 just skipped the first two and went right to the third because it was so good. That was before the producers of Thankskilling, another classic, did just that and skipped Thankskilling 2 in favor of the more more epic Thankskilling 3. Only, Thankskilling 3 was anything but epic, and hardly watchable. Shark Attack 3: Megalodon lives up to its hype and surpasses it. I’ve watched it innumerable times and every single time there’s something new to discover and cherish. I actually considered creating a Shark Attack 3 blog with character bios for everyone in the film—they’re so utterly ridiculous and simultaneously resplendent that you could do it!

Enough preamble. We at Flixist want to take this opportunity to tell you about these bad movies that deserve to be watched, and every week we’re going to bring you a recommendation. This week, we start where it all started for me.

The awkward looking sequel to the indie crowd pleaser, Nidhogg 2, will be getting a release on August 15 for PS4. While this blog only covers the PS4 side of things, the official Steam page for the game lists the same date on PC. The news was confirmed over on the EU PlayStation blog, along with having an interview about the process for making Nidhogg 2 and it's controversial art style.

While I can't say I particularly care for the way this game looks, I'm almost certain it plays fine. The first Nidhogg was a god damned blast with a friend for settling arguments. Having a fight over who gets to take out the trash? Settle it in Nidhogg! The hell with Nintendo's Smash Bros advertising.

Why Messhof built an entirely new art style for PS4’s Nidhogg 2, out 15th August [PlayStation EU]

We like to keep tabs on Remedy's Sam Lake every now and then. Like the time he had a big-ass bottle of champagne. Or the time he performed a mild striptease in Poland.

Now?

Witcher developers CD Projekt RED continue to plug away at upcoming dystopian RPG Cyberpunk 2077. The mammoth undertaking has been rife with issues, but is shaping up to be a very exciting final product.

Cyberpunk 2077's table-top creator Mike Pondsmith gave an interview with GameReactor, in which he touched upon some details pertaining to the much-anticipated adventure. The game will incorporate elements of the original RPG's class system, which featured unusual roles such as Crystal Jock, Rockerboy, and Journalist.

"They’re (the classes) all going to be there, but I can tell you’re going to find some surprises about how we’ve done it and I think you’re really going to like it. There’s a lot of subtlety going on," said Pondsmith, who is excited and confident about the adaptation of his game. "The vision is really pretty close to what I had in my head years ago. When they did the CGI trailer, I looked at it and said, ‘Oh my God, that’s like, perfect.'"

Pondsmith was relatively guarded on further details, joking that there were "Tall Polish people waiting to kill him" should he reveal too much. Jesting aside, it's understandable for the developers to be secretive, considering a recent incident in which games assets were stolen and held for ransom.

Due to the fascinating worlds and characters CDP have created previously in The Witcher series, along with their general commitment to excellence, there is confidence in the air that Cyberpunk 2077 is really going to hit it out of the park. I for one am very excited to see the final product.

Cyberpunk 2077 is loosely scheduled for release in 2019 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC

If you don't have any plans to go outside this weekend, here's something you can do. The EVO 2017 fighting game championships, which feature titles including Street Fighter V and Super Smash Bros., are kicking off today, with the finals set to take place on Sunday, July 16th. You can stream most of the action via Evo's Twitch channels (the main one is embedded below), as well as others like CapcomFighters, Tekken and NetherRealm. And, similar to last year, you'll be able to watch the Street Fighter and Super Smash Bros. finals on TV thanks to ESPN2 and Disney XD, respectively.

Sure, you'd probably rather be in Las Vegas watching the competition live, but at least you'll be more comfortable this way.

Source: Evo

There's still some confusion about what Matterfall is like on account of folks seemingly watching the cinematic trailer, thinking that was cool, and promptly never looking at the game ever again.

For Steven's part, he described a sort of bullet-hell-meets-Mega Man vibe in his E3 impressions piece last month. You can make up your own mind about the Housemarque side-scroller with this eight-minute narrated gameplay video that mirrors what he played at the show, wasp boss and all.

This game isn't speaking to me quite like Nex Machina, but it'll undoubtedly hit the spot for some of you. I'll keep an open mind until I can go hands-on and see the higher difficulties, of course.

Matterfall is out August 15 for PlayStation 4. That'll be here in no time.

This year's Evolution Champion Series is well underway, and I'm sure you've settled on which tournaments you want to keep tabs on. One of the ones I'll be watching closely is Super Smash Bros. for Wii U because it's got much more of a variety in character selection than competitive Melee. And this year, the finals are just a bit more awesome.

Just as how Street Fighter V's Sunday finals will be featured on ESPN2, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U's finals will air on Disney XD (Disney's more extreme channel) Sunday, July 16 at 3PM PT/6PM EST. It's part of Disney XD's more videogame oriented programming effort, so who knows what'll come of that. 

I'm pretty hyped for this fighting game weekend overall, and the more attention the better!

[Twitter]  

EVO returns to Las Vegas this weekend. Once again the best in the world will gather to do battle in gaming's popular punch-ups. This year's competition could be a defining moment for Capcom's Street Fighter V, a game that is most assuredly not dead, but is certainly unwell.

The launch of SFV last year went badly. For a game that Capcom planned to make a platform for many years, they turned off a huge chunk of their audience in month one with the decision to bang the game out in time for Capcom Pro Tour and EVO qualification, and then to add features to it afterward. They were open about this plan, but they should've known better than to expect that openness to placate consumers.

I thought Ray was pretty spot-on with his review of The Surge.

For those who aren't aware, this is the latest action RPG from the developer of Lords of the Fallen, but with a tint toward augmentation, robotics, and other facets of modern technology. To say it riffs Souls entirely is unfair as it does try to forge its own identity, bu tit does owe a whole lot to From Software. If you're curious, you can check it out for yourself on PC, PS4, and Xbox One in demo form, which has a classic release date of "soon."

My main issue is that in addition to feeling very linear (it even has "levels" that feel disjointed), it didn't have much to say in regards to its setting or theme. While Souls games often put the journey first it's an intriguing series lore-wise, even if much of it is subtext to be decoded by ardent fans.

The Surge [Facebook]

Announced by Capcom today as the Evolution Fighting Championships (EVO) starts its three day fist-fest, the long-awaited "Nostalgia" costumes are coming to Street Fighter V.

The DLC pack, which will be released on July 25, features classic costumes for lunkhead Alex, the lovely Juri (who appears to have sewn on some weird sleeves) and Ibuki, who finally, finally gets her classic ninja garb back. Also revealed was a new "classic" stage, which will return us to Suzaku Castle, Ryu's beatdown location of choice, from Street Fighter II.

In related news, Capcom cancelled their planned panel this weekend, but insist that announcements would be made over EVO's duration. It's a fair assumption to expect news forthcoming about Street Fighter V and the upcoming Marvel vs Capcom: Infinite, which is also being showcased this weekend.

The costumes will be available on PS4 and Steam priced at $3.99

There's something about games like Harvest Moon that really grabs me. Do a little farming, hang out with my neighbors; it's a relaxing escape.

Just last year I lost a good six-month span of being productive to a little game called Stardew Valley. My next obsession might be another of these small-town role-playing games called My Time At Portia. If you want to see for yourself, you can download the alpha on Steam. 

Game Freak has yet another online promotion running for Pokemon Sun & Moon -- one that does not extend to previous generations for obvious reasons. The new Pokemon Tapu Koko is up for grabs in shiny form as a mystery gift, and all you need to do is go sign in and take it. It's shiny, if that sways you at all.

It just went live in North America last night, but it's also available in Europe and Australia right now. There's no clear end date in sight, but given the history of these promotions it's likely to expire in several weeks.

Tapu Koko is a formidable 'mon and my personal favorite Alolan addition, so don't sleep on it.

Pokemon Sun & Moon [Serebii.net]

Mondo's skill at curating some of the coolest pop-culture art is unparalleled. Whether it's posters, enamel pins, T-shirts or classic soundtracks on vinyl, even if you don't like one piece, it's hard to deny that it's at least interesting. Well, with San Diego Comic-Con just around the corner, the purveyor has unveiled what'll be on offer at its booth. Headlining this year (so far; more on that in a bit) is a killer limited-edition poster and vinyl soundtrack for Contra.

Source: Mondotees

Just ahead of EVO weekend, Microsoft and Capcom have added Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition to the Xbox One backward compatibility lineup. After seeing vanilla make the list, we needed this.

Better yet, the option to upgrade to Ultra as DLC is present, and it sounds like people are having luck with both the digital and disc-based versions of Ultra on their Xbox Ones, too.