Random Topic: My Overall Thoughts/Reactions on PlayStation Experience 2015

Sony just unveiled their 2015 PlayStation Experience conference and there was a lot of good stuff going on in that show. Not only did we get new trailers for big titles like Final Fantasy VII Remake and Nioh, but we also received tons of Vita support (via Crossbuy & alongside PS4) as well as new titles!

For this random topic I'm only going to cover certain parts that I was quite hyped about.

Sony's Biggest PSX Tease: A Crash Bandicoot T-Shirt

But first let's just get this out of the way. Remember last year when Square Enix unveiled Final Fantasy VII and it turned out to be a port of the PC version to PlayStation 4? Well for this year's ridiculous tease Sony's Shawn Layden was wearing a Crash Bandicoot T-Shirt with the old PlayStation logo on the shoulder. Many of us reacted and thought it was a potential sign for the franchise to come back to Sony (as Activision had the rights and pretty much destroyed it) but it turns out it was just a cock-tease. Considering Crash is a huge deal, I would argue this would be better saved for E3 next year given 2016 is the 20th anniversary of Crash Bandicoot. Plus with PS2 classics now added to PlayStation 4 we could see some titles hit the service like Wrath of Cortex if it was ever announced.

And speaking of Crash teases, folks on NeoGAF have pointed out that Sony has pretty much been teasing Crash for quite some time now.

New Final Fantasy VII Remake Trailer

One of the biggest surprises of this year's E3 was the announcement of Final Fantasy VII getting a remake. I haven't played the original so I wouldn't have gotten the hype level that many have but I'm excited to see how the remake would be presented. And at PSX we got our first look at the gameplay! The trailer re-enacts the opening events of the original and instead of the classic turn-based gameplay we now have real-time action style fights similar to Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII and Kingdom Hearts. I'm personally not fussed by this as it adds a bit of fresh air to the remake formula but I know fans of the original are disappointed by this turnout. I would argue the fight with Sephiroth is probably going to be much harder in Action RPG form.

In addition to the new trailer, they also announced that the original Final Fantasy VII is now available to download on PlayStation 4.

Street Fighter V adds new character and reveals post-launch characters

Thanks to Sony support, Street Fighter V is coming and they've just revealed a new character to the roster F.A.N.G. who is apparently the last addition to the main game. In addition (and as promised) Capcom have also revealed the six characters that will be available post-launch by either earning them for free in-game or buying a season pass. This method is good because fans are fed up of paying for the complete content set as DLC so this method allows them to unlock their characters like games have done in the past.

The six characters announced for post-launch are Alex, Guile, Balrog, Ibuki, Juri and Urien.

Yakuza (Ryu ga Gotoku) franchise is saved! 5 coming Dec 8th & 0 heads West on retail & digital!

Last year's PSX was a moment every Ryu ga Gotoku fan can never forget - Gio Corsi of Third Party Productions announced that Yakuza 5 would be heading west, something that we never would have expected to happen after the sales diminished for the other instalments. Now one year later, Gio has announced that Yakuza 5 will be available to download on December 8th and in addition to this (thanks to #Buildingthelist) Yakuza 0 will also be heading west for PlayStation 4. The news gets even better - Yakuza 0 will have a retail release (confirmed by Atlus PR and Sony).

However it seems that SEGA has neglected Europe in this announcement for Yakuza 0 (the PS trailer says otherwise but it's probably an error on PR part). I guess we can assume it's because the US release is being handled by a US publisher (like Atlus for example) rather than just Sony this time around. Still, can't wait to play as Majima in his 80s form.

SNK brings new trailer for The King of Fighters XIV (PS4 & PC) and confirms The Last Blade II for PS4 & Vita

Gio Corsi also announced more details on The King of Fighters XIV on behalf of SNK. The 14th instalment in the fighting franchise brings 50 fighters in addition to tons of modes including online and party. The characters announced so far include Ralf, Billy Kane, Angel, Kula, and King. Like Street Fighter V the game is console exclusive and will also be on PC.

In addition Gio also announced, thanks to the success of Metal Slug 3, that The Last Blade 2 will be coming to PS4 and Vita.

New Nioh Trailer

The long lost Koei Tecmo game that was re-announced back at Tokyo Games Show 2015 is now confirmed to be heading west with a new trailer. The game will be console exclusive which suggests a PC release on the pipeline. The game is being developed by Team Ninja and is still set for 2016.

Bandai Namco brings Ace Combat 7 and Ni no Kuni 2 to PlayStation 4

Near the end of the conference, Sony have announced two new sequels to existing IPs from Bandai Namco. Ace Combat 7, a plane combat series celebrating its 20th anniversary also, will be coming to PlayStation 4 via VR. It's unknown if its optional or not. The other new title, Ni no Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom will be console exclusive to PlayStation 4. Level 5 and Studio Ghibli return to work on the special JRPG Ghibli-style adventure.

New Ratchet & Clank Trailer

Insominac Games have shown off a new trailer/demonstration for Ratchet & Clank coming to PlayStation 4 in April 2016. The game is a re-imagining of the first instalment with current tech and new additions. They also announced that the feature-length animated film will be in cinemas in the same month. I remember playing the PS2 games and they were a lot of fun. I look forward to see how the re-imagining plays out.

Tim Schafer's News on Upcoming Titles - Day of the Tentacle, Full Throttle & Psychonauts VR

The controversial Double Fine developer came to the stage at PSX to announce some new details on his current plans for future titles. Starting with the remaster of Day of the Tentacle with a brand new trailer and release date for March 2016 on PS4 and Vita. He then followed the news with confirmation that a remaster of Full Throttle will be in production for PS4 and Vita.

Last but not least, he reminded folks that Psychonauts 2 will happen via kickstarter but also revealed plans for a separate game for PlayStation VR under the name 'Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin'. Release date is currently unknown at this point. Interesting news on all three, I know Grim Fandango was a big deal when it was announced for a remaster so I look forward to check out all three in the future.

Rez is coming to PS4 as 'Rez Infinite' with Optional VR

And last but not least Rez. This is a Dreamcast/PS2 game I've known about for quite sometime (and it was even released in HD on Xbox 360) but I never bothered to pick it up and play the game. Now the creators are bringing it to the PlayStation 4 with 1080p, 60 frames per second and optional VR. This is cool news as VR would work pretty well with its unique style of gameplay. There's also an 'Area X' which I assume is a brand new level for the upcoming release.

Bonus: PS2 Classics Now on PlayStation 4

As a bonus discussion given this was not at all mentioned at the conference, Sony announced at the day before that select PlayStation 2 games will be available to download on PlayStation 4. The games will be emulated to include 1080p, higher framerate, trophy support and extra gimmicks like sharing. The downside is that the prices are rather high with $14.99/£11.99 for most games and $9.99/£7.99 for some but the games are more than just a port if you think about it.

The titles revealed to be available right now were Dark Cloud, Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, The Mark of Kri, Rogue Legacy, Twisted Metal: Black, and War of the Monsters. Other titles mentioned in the trailer and blog include Arc the Land: Twilight of the Spirits, FantaVision, The King of Fighters 2000, and PaRapper the Rapper 2. Ape Escape 2 was rated at one point so that's another title to add in addition to the three Star Wars games released exclusively to the Darth Vader console; Bounty Hunter, Jedi Starfighter, and Racer Revenge.

That's all I wanted to talk about from PSX. I thought it was a good conference overall and I look forward to what they have to offer next year.