Tokyo Game Show 2020 announcements: Hyrule Warriors, NieR, and more

Tokyo Game Show, Japan’s annual display of upcoming video games, technology, and culture just wrapped up its four-day online event over the weekend, revealing the latest updates and big announcements from Japan’s leading game developers.

Headlining Tokyo Game Show’s opening day last Thursday was the Xbox Tokyo Game Show Showcase 2020, along with presentations from Square Enix and Lightning Games. The following days saw lineups of things to look forward to, coming from  Capcom, Konami, KOEI Tecmo Games, to name a few.

Here are the best parts and the hype-worthy announcements from the showcase of anticipated Japan-made video games.

Hyrule Warriors: Age Of Calamity reveals first gameplay footage, trailer

The next hack and slash title in The Legend of Zelda series debuted its first gameplay footage along with a trailer titled “Champions Unite” featuring the four legendary Champions against the forces of Calamity Ganon, 100 years before the events of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

Playable characters for the upcoming Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity are Link and the Champions. The trailer also features young Impa, who is the future elder of Kakariko Village, and Goron champion Darkel, wielder of the Boulder Breaker weapon, as additional playable characters.

As another treat for Breath of the Wild players, those who still have their save data intact will receive a special in-game item in playing the new Hyrule Warriors game.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity will be released for the Nintendo Switch on Nov. 20, 2020. 

NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139… to launch in April 2021

NieR Replicant’s decade-long anticipated remaster is finally coming next April for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.

A ‘White Snow Edition’ including a Grimoire Pin Set, a set of seven books containing the spoken script of the game, a two-disc Special Soundtrack set, SteelBook Case, and Lunar Tear Collector’s Box, will also be released.

Square Enix is now accepting pre-orders online for both the standard and White Snow PS4 editions in North America and Japan. Box art is also varied from Japanese to the North American and European covers.

NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139… is the updated version of the Japan-exclusive NieR Replicant from 2010. It is the prequel of NieR:Automata.

To add fuel to the fire, NieR Replicant’s updated version also let out a new trailer, gameplay footage, and a developer message.

Monster Hunter Rise shows new gameplay demo

Monster Hunter Rise takes another step towards the Nintendo Switch with new extended gameplay footage from Capcom, showing off new abilities, ways of combat, and even a new dog companion.

The 20-minute demo highlighted the fight against new creatures such as the platypus-like Tetranadon beast, and an Arzuros who unexpectedly appears at the scene to disrupt the Tetranadon and interrupt the player’s quest.

Another new feature that was demonstrated in the gameplay video was the use of the new Wirebug ability as some sort of grappling hook used to climb mountains and swing mid-air.

To make adventuring more fun, the video also showed the Palamute. Players can mount the dog companion to travel with ease. The Palamute can also be asked to sit or shake hands!

Monster Hunter Rise will be arriving on March 26, 2021 on Nintendo Switch.

Next-gen Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires announced, launches in 2021

Omega Force and KOEI Tecmo are back in tandem just in time for the 20th anniversary of the Dynasty Warriors series with the announcement of their first next-generation release.

Conquer ancient China with both sword and strategy with Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires, featuring new gameplay details that will amp up the player’s role as a commander in this ‘Three Kingdoms’ experience.

One of the main features introduced for the latest Empires title is "Siege Battles," where players can fight for the castle or capture the castle using various means. The next one is "Diplomacy," which includes different Ways of Life experience and relationship building by interacting with various officers.

Staying true to its predecessors, players can create their original officer with the "Edit Function." But as opposed to that, Dynasty Warriors series producer Akihiro Suzuki further announced that the new Empires will not inherit the open-world system of Dynasty Warriors 9, to stay true to in-game territory expansion.

Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires is slated to launch in early 2021. Watch the teaser here

Resident Evil Village to offer more ‘exploration and freedom’ than RE7

Resident Evil Village, the upcoming installment in the RE series, will give a lot more freedom when it comes to exploration and experimentation according to Capcom.

“We thought a lot about how to create a game that you can make your own approach to, where you could figure out your own solutions to problems that you face,” says Resident Evil Village director Morimasa Sato in the stream.  “This is something we decided to do a lot more with this game. So you have a lot more freedom than in RE7. We want players to experiment, to figure out things that work for them. We want everyone to think of Resident Evil Village as a horror movie that you can play.”

In line with the enhanced open-world announcement, Capcom also released a developer diary titled “The Making of Resident Evil: Winter Comes for Ethan” featuring returning characters Ethan Winters and Chris Redfield.

Capcom also confirmed that they are considering to port Resident Evil Village on PS4 and Xbox One. 

Resident Evil Village comes to PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC via Steam in 2021.

Microsoft Flight Simulator: Japan World Update free to download on Sept. 29

The first of many planned "World Updates" of Microsoft Flight Simulator is finally launching for free this Sept. 29, starting with the Japan World Update.

The Japan World Update will utilize a new “digital elevation map” to deliver a higher-definition rendition of the entire country in-game. Being included in this massive overhaul are specific locations around Japan, especially the Sendai, Takamatsu, Tokushima, Tokyo, Utsunomiya, and Yokohama – cities that will receive a full 3D photogrammetry upgrade. New landing challenges will also be added.

Microsoft Flight Simulator is now playable for PC and Xbox One. Check out the Japan World Trailer here

New DLC characters for Tekken 7, Jump Force, Street Fighter V: Champion Edition announced

Bandai Namco confirmed the arrival of new downloadable content (DLC) characters for Tekken 7 and Jump Force, while Capcom released a new trailer for the latest DLC character to join the Street Fighter V: Champion Edition roster.

Appearing as the first DLC character for Tekken 7 Season 4 is Kunimitsu, a returning fighter from Tekken 2,  launching this 2020 alongside the new “Vermillion Gates” stage.

Jump Force will have Hiei from Yu Yu Hakusho. He will be the third DLC character following My Hero Academia’s Shoto Todoroki, and Hunter x Hunter’s Meruem. Hiei will arrive this 2020 to the PS4, Xbox One, and the PC version, and 2021 to Switch.

Concluding Street Fighter V: Champion Edition’s fifth and final season is the debut of Dan Hibiki, also known as the training partner of Ryu and Ken. Dan is scheduled to launch in Fall 2021 for PS4 and PC.

Vergil confirmed as next playable character in Devil May Cry 5 via DLC

Capcom announced the arrival of Dante’s brother as a playable character in Devil May Cry 5 for PS4 and Xbox One via paid premium DLC pack.

“People have been asking to play as Vergil since DMC5 came out, so I’m happy we can finally answer those requests,” according to Devil May Cry 5 producer Matt Walker.

A 10-second trailer teases Vergil’s gameplay, featuring a flurry of sword combos, aerial attacks, and special moves. His official moveset is yet to be confirmed.

Meanwhile, Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition will be out on both PS5 and Xbox Series X on Nov. 10 and Nov. 12, 2020.

Collection of SaGa: Final Fantasy Legend comes out in December

To commemorate the 30th anniversary of the SaGa series, the classic JRPG trilogy of Final Fantasy Legend will be making its way to the Nintendo Switch in one collection, titled Collection of SaGa: Final Fantasy Legend.

The collection includes Final Fantasy Legend, released from 1989 and is the memorable first installment of the series. Followed by Final Fantasy Legend II, which received praise due to its refined gameplay system from 1990. And finally, Final Fantasy Legend III from 1991 featuring a new and innovative character leveling system from back then.

The Final Fantasy Legend collection will deploy features unique to the Nintendo Switch. New enhancements such as "high-speed mode," and the option to play the game vertically for a retro Game Boy experience, are also available.

Collection of SaGa: Final Fantasy Legend will launch on Dec. 15, 2020 via the Nintendo eShop on Switch.

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