PixlBit

Happy New Year!  Around this time of year, I like to make a list of games that are releasing in the coming year that I’m looking forward to.  Of course, this isn’t a full complete list, as there will assuredly be titles announced throughout the year that I may get as well. But anyway, here’s what I know now, for the most part, so let’s take a look at what games I’m looking forward to in 2024!

Pac-Man Mega Tunnel Battle: Chomp Champs

That’s a pretty long title!  So does anyone remember the Google Stadia?  No?  Not surprised, as it was a game console that bombed hard.  But one of the exclusive games on it was Pac-Man Maze Tunnel Battle.  I like Pac-Man a lot, but I’m still not going to buy a new console just for that.  But I kind of had a feeling that the Stadia would bomb and Namco would eventually put that game on other consoles, and I was right.  It’s a battle royale game, but instead of how Pac-Man 99 did it with one classic maze, in this one each player gets their own maze, and you can enter others via the warp tunnels.  You can also customize your Pac-Man with hats, and I freeze framed on one of the ads and found that some you can get are from other Namco games like Klonoa, Katamari, and Dig Dug!  I hope I can unlock those!

Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution

I always thought that the lost GBA Shantae game was eventually turned into the one that was on DSiWare initially.  But I guess I was wrong!  WayForward is going to release the long lost GBA Shantae game on modern systems.  Shantae games are always good and I’ve played all of them.  I’m usually pretty good about getting to review WayForward’s games, so I hope I can review this one, too!

Hebereke 2

So the next two games on my list haven’t been officially announced for a US release date yet, but I have a feeling that at least ONE of them will.  This one’s the least likely, but Hebereke was originally a NES Metroidvania game where you played as a penguin, a dragon, a ghost, or a girl dressed as a fox.  They looked like warped Hello Kitty characters and were kind of Sunsoft’s mascots for a while, starring in later puzzle games and such.  It was originally going to be released in the US under the name Uforia, and it did come out on WiiWare many years later.  I’m not sure if Hebereke 2 is a sequel or remake, but either way I hope it comes out over here.  Or maybe I’ll import it if it’s not too expensive.

Ys X: Nordics

NIS America is usually pretty good about bringing over the Ys games to the US, so I have better hopes for this one.  I haven’t done much research on this one yet, but I’ve liked the past three mainline Ys games I’ve played, so I think I’d probably like this one too.  It may not release in the US this year, but I have a feeling NIS America might announce they’re bringing it over and it may just take some time to translate it.

Visions of Mana

I don’t watch the VGA awards, but I do get press releases with announcements from it, and this was one of them.  It’s a brand new game in the Mana series, and looks like a pretty fun action RPG.  I really liked Secret of Mana on SNES and Final Fantasy Adventure on Game Boy, but I never got into the other Mana games as much.  But I’ll definitely look into this one.

SEGA VGA Announcements

The other announcement in the VGA show that interested me was that SEGA is planning on making new games based on classic franchises like Jet Set Radio, Streets of Rage, Golden Axe, Shinobi, and Crazy Taxi.  Not sure how they’ll top Streets of Rage 4, but I’ll certainly keep an eye on what they’re doing with those franchises!

Big Walk

Not sure what type of game this is, but it’s done by the same folks who made Untitled Goose Game, so I’ll definitely keep an eye on it.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong

This is a port/remake of the GBA game, and it’s also a sequel to Donkey Kong that came out on the Game Boy in 1994.  I wish we would get a port of that DK 94 game instead, that’s one of the best GB games and one of the best arcade updates, even to this day.  But the sequel was still pretty good.  I’m not sure if I’ll get this game right away or wait and ask for it as a birthday or Christmas present.  Haven’t decided yet, guess it depends on how bored I get in February.  I hope Nintendo doesn’t charge full price for this one since it’s just an enhanced port of a GBA game that came out nearly 20 years ago.

Princess Peach Showtime

It’s a new game starring Princess Peach!  You play out 3D action stages on a stage play and can change costumes to get new abilities.  Looks like a lot of fun and I’m sure I’ll write a Princess Peach related blog close to the game’s release.

Luigi’s Mansion 2

An HD re-release of the Luigi’s Mansion sequel on the 3DS.  Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon is the worst one in the trilogy, but it’s still fun.  Even so, I wish they would’ve put a HD re-release of the first game on here too and made it a collection.  Then you could play all the Luigi’s Mansion games on Switch!  Well, except for the arcade version, but that just uses HD assets from Dark Moon, so they could easily put that on here, too!  Wishful thinking, I know.

Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door

In my opinion, Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door is the best Mario RPG and the best RPG on the GameCube (sorry Tales of Symphonia fans).  So I’m really excited for this remake.  The battle system was so fun with the audience, and this game has one of the best text scripts of any video game.  Seriously, the writing in it is so clever.  Hopefully Nintendo will go back to this style of gameplay in future Paper Mario titles, because when they try and fix what wasn’t broken, it didn’t work as well.

And that’s all I’ve got for now.  Unless this is the year that Nintendo says anything more about Metroid Prime 4.  Or the next Switch?  I know it seems like this is the year for them to do that, but I’m happy with the consoles I have now so as long as they make fun games for those, I don’t mind if the next Switch doesn’t come right away.  So in the comments section, let me know what you think of my picks and let me know if there’s any I missed that you think I’d like, and tell me what games YOU are looking forward to playing in 2024!  Later!  --Cary