Starting Yx IX: Monstrum Nox

 

After finishing my journey through Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana, I immediately continued with its successor, Ys IX: Monstrum Nox. After spending several hours with the game, I have reached a point where I can begin forming some initial impressions.

Considering that Ys VIII elevated the series to a new level for Falcom, my expectations for Monstrum Nox were deliberately modest. So far, those expectations have largely been met. The game's overarching narrative feels noticeably weaker, and the transition from the vibrant tropical landscapes of Seiren Island to the gray prison city of Balduq inevitably feels like a downgrade in terms of atmosphere. Visually, the city's gothic aesthetic sometimes comes across as an unconvincing blend of Persona 5's urban style and Bloodborne's dark fantasy, without quite matching the identity of either.

That said, Falcom has earned its reputation as one of the JRPG industry's most dependable developers, so I remain optimistic that Monstrum Nox will have something meaningful to offer as the story unfolds. The game clearly shows signs of being developed under tighter production constraints than its predecessor, yet I suspect there is more beneath the surface for longtime Ys fans.

One aspect I continue to find interesting is how several of Monstrum Nox's gameplay ideas appear to have anticipated mechanics that later became prominent in Genshin Impact, particularly its emphasis on vertical exploration and character mobility. If a developer like Mihoyo found ideas worth building upon from this title, then Monstrum Nox likely succeeded in doing something right, even if it may not initially leave as strong an impression as Ys VIII.

Hardcore Mecha

It took me longer than expected to write this article, but as always, better late than never. This time, I would like to dedicate a full article to Hardcore Mecha, a noteworthy mecha game that I played earlier this year.

Developed by RocketPunch Studio, Hardcore Mecha serves as an early showcase that Chinese developers were capable of creating a console-quality game aimed at a global audience, particularly within the niche mecha genre. It was an ambitious project that sought to elevate the modern mecha action game, only to fade into relative obscurity shortly after release due to circumstances that ultimately stretched beyond the studio's capabilities.

Within the capacity of Realm of Darkness, this article serves as a small effort to preserve and document Hardcore Mecha for what it is worth.

Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana Playthrough Complete!

For almost the entire span of June, I spent a significant amount of time playing Ys VIII. As expected from a Ys title that has gained strong global mainstream recognition, this entry truly lives up to its reputation. It delivers what feels like a AAA experience for a long-running JRPG series, both in production value and narrative ambition. Without a doubt, it is easily one of the best JRPGs of the 2010s.

Lacrimosa of Dana truly sets a new pinnacle for the Ys series, establishing itself as one of the overall “best” entries to date. Falcom clearly went all in on this project, pushing the production value to a level they can probably only achieve once in a decade.

Starting YS VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana

After taking an extended detour to wrap up my loose ends across earlier Ys titles, I’ve finally started Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana. Within the first ten hours alone, the game has already exceeded my expectations. Having played Ys: Memories of Celceta on PS Vita about a decade ago, which is the previous entry before Falcom made Ys VIII. Lacrimosa of Dana feels like a significant leap forward in almost every respect.

While Lacrimosa doesn’t fully align with my ideal “pure” Ys experience, leaning more heavily toward systems reminiscent of Monster Hunter and even elements of Trails, Ys VIII nonetheless delivers a production quality and narrative scope that feels distinctly AAA within the series. Falcom clearly pushed far beyond its usual weight class with this entry, and it stands as a culmination of the design direction established since Ys Seven. It’s easy to see why this game became a mainstream breakthrough and a favorite entry point for many newcomers to the series.

For my part, I’m most looking forward to exploring the macro-level worldbuilding and historical layers that Ys VIII had to offer into the broader Ys narrative. That long-form lore and continuity remains one of my main motivations for staying invested in Ys series.

We Love Katamari + Royal Reverie

It’s been more than a decade since I first played We Love Katamari using a PS2 emulator. Recently, I revisited the series on Nintendo Switch with We Love Katamari Reroll + Royal Reverie. This version is not just a simple port, Bandai Namco added new content that makes it feel fresh even for returning players. 

Geppy-X HD Remaster

A rather surprising piece of news for mecha gaming fans but a welcome one nonetheless. A 70s mecha-themed PSX game, Geppy X, is getting a remastered version. Scheduled for a global release in July 2026, it will be available on all modern consoles, a rare and unusual treatment for a classic, non-mainstream PSX title.

Back when it first came out, Geppy X caught my attention as I explored the PSX’s mecha game library as much as I could. Considering I wasn’t really into the Super Robot genre back then, this one had mostly eluded me, but now it seems I have a good reason to revisit it.

In terms of gameplay, Geppy X appears to be your typical horizontal shmup, with a Getter Robo-style mecha as the playable character. What sets it apart, though, is the surprisingly high number of animated cutscenes unusual for a shmup, yet a clear sign of the developers’ passion for the project.

Nonetheless, I’m hoping for the best with the Geppy X remaster. Revivals like this are very rare in the mecha genre, and it’s exciting to see a classic like this getting a modern second life.

Castlevania Belmont's Curse

With Igarashi’s departure from Konami back then, I thought the Castlevania series would fade into obscurity for good but Konami has surprised fans with a revival, even if it was unexpected. For over a decade, Konami earned criticism for letting its popular video game IPs languish, including Castlevania.

Despite the company’s outright hubris, recent years suggest that Konami now appear to has the talent competent enough to organize revival for some of its iconic series; Silent Hill, Suikoden, Metal Gear, and more. As part of its 40th anniversary celebrations, it’s now Castlevania’s turn to return with a new title: Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse!

This new entry is a collaboration between Konami and Motion Twin, the studio behind Dead Cells, a popular Metroidvania roguelite that previously featured a Castlevania DLC. Details remain scarce, but the game will feature a protagonist descended from Trevor Belmont, sporting a ponytail reminiscent of Sonia Belmont from the non-canon Castlevania Legends. The art style looks modern and promising, suggesting a revival worthy of the franchise.

It seems likely that the Dead Cells Castlevania DLC was a way for Motion Twin to demonstrate their capability to handle a larger project. Their experience with the genre along with apparent subject matter knowledge on the series makes it plausible that they can create a respectful and compelling new Castlevania title.

While I haven’t forgotten Konami’s past negligence toward Castlevania and other beloved IPs, I’m willing to give this revival a chance. Perhaps one day, if they create a proper adaptation for Demon Castle Wars, I might even forgive them but only time will tell. This development also signals a trend: major developers like Capcom and Square Enix may increasingly explore outsourcing models for reviving their own classic franchises.

Hardcore Mecha

It took me seven years, but I finally settled my debt with a mecha game called Hardcore Mecha, developed by the Chinese studio Rocketpunch Games. Overall, the game has its share of optimization issues, but it’s still a well-made mecha title from a Chinese developer, one I’m glad I owned a physical copy of.

I first encountered Hardcore Mecha in the mid-2010s when it was still a Kickstarter project called Code Hardcore. I remember it took a long time before the game finally released. In hindsight, Hardcore Mecha feels like a modern rendition of 2D mecha shooters and serves as a spiritual successor to games like Assault Suit Valken and Leynos, which had their heyday during the 16-bit era.

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow

I’ve been an avid Igavania fan ever since I discovered Aria of Sorrow in my teenage years. That experience led me to play nearly every Castlevania entry in the series directed by Igarashi. It’s hard to overstate how influential Igavania has been on my gaming life as it formed my core foundation for the metroidvania genre as a whole.

Fast forward to 2026, and I finally had the chance to revisit one of the DS Igavania trilogy titles, Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, thanks to the Castlevania Dominus Collection. I was glad to complete my run, even though it took me around three months due to real-life circumstances.

Castlevania Dominus Collection Collector's Edition Review

Doing something different for this time's review! The Castlevania series — particularly the Igavania entries — left a lasting impression on me, filling my memories as a gamer during my teenage years. Because of that, I decided to pick up the Dominus Collector’s Edition, which is still reasonably priced when available.

While it's not as luxurious as Limited Run Games' Ultimate Edition, this version is more than enough to satiate the nostalgia. The name Dominus, meaning "master" in Latin, certainly fits the title of this collection — it’s truly the crown jewel of the Castlevania series under Koji Igarashi.

Megaman Starforce Legacy Collection

 
 With Megaman Battle Network had its legacy collection, it is bound to happen that Megaman Starforce will follow suit. Just like previous Megaman collections, this one will be a complete collection for Starforce series as well! While not as much titles compared to  MMBN Legacy collection, Megaman Starforce boast 7 Titles across 3 Iterations of the series. Scheduled for 2026 release likely with Physical release, this one will be available in Modern consoles including Nintendo Switch.

Back in my High school days, I did play Megaman Starforce as natural transition of MMBN. I did play Dragon and Saurian edition as my choice for Starforce 1 and 2 copy which I only made it halfway on the 2nd. Overall I did like Starforce despite MMBN is my preferred choice because the main cast got some really good character development which I regretted not able to witness it to the fullest. Therefore I will really look forward to Starforce Legacy Collection release to seek closure on what I was unable to 15 years ago. The only thing left for Megaman collection is Legends which could be included with Tron Bonne. Lets see how Capcom deal with this one.

Once Upon A Katamari

 
 It is almost 15 years since we get a new Katamari games where Bandai only bother to release port titles over past few years. For some reason, Bandai decided that they would be ending the drought for this family classic series by releasing a new title called Once upon Katamari! This is a big deal for Katamari fans like myself who got into the series through Me and My Katamari on PSP since the last original Katamari released, Touch my Katamari is a very lackluster game. Scheduled for October 2025 release, Once upon Katamari will be released on all modern console including Nintendo Switch which I will look forward to.

Katamari series has been always an awesome abstract adventure game where you control the Prince of Cosmos and roll a ball objects called Katamari and absorb anything along the way where the game usually climax with you rolling the world or universe. The premise may seem absurd at first, but Katamari series has always been a fun stress relieving game which you certainly need when you reach adulthood. 

After more than a decade long break, Once upon Katamari try to offer something different compared to its predecessor where it provides more variety of era settings that Prince of Cosmos could time travel to and roll his Katamari to oblivion! This might be a fresh of new air since the past Katamari series mostly focus on modern settings and never really explore pre-modern eras with some few outliers. The main source of Katamari fun is the opportunity to roll into hundreds of variety of objects and the new direction that Once upon Katamari is certainly something that can be looked forward to. 

I will definitely look for Physical copy on this one just like what I did with We Love Katamari. 

Wizardry: The Five Ordeals

 Ever since I took my departure from Wizardry Daphne as I believe Drecom no longer fit to be the one in charge of Wizardry series Legacy, I have been searching many substitute Wizardry clones DRPG candidates. This is not exactly difficult thing given the immense influence of Wizardry series in Japanese game industries and Nintendo Switch is blessed with tons of DRPG titles both new and remaster. One of the game that I come across obviously a Wizardry series called Five Ordeals which have been getting remaster few years ago only to make it as Switch Port around 2024 with translation came up couple months ago.

Wizardry Five Ordeals is one of the two available Wizardry series apart from Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord and available in Physical Copy with English Language option. For 40 USD SRP which is equivalent to Wizardry Daphne Gacha currency for a single 10-Pulls, you got yourself a Wizardry game that have 5 main Scenario modules to play with and 2 additional Scenario based on Wizardry Gaiden as DLC option. Apparently Wizardry Five Ordeals was available in PS2 before it gets remastered so we can expect somewhat decent production value that didn't aged too badly but still expect brutal Dungeon Crawling difficulty which is well known selling point of Wizardry Series. 

Each of the Wizardry Five Ordeals Scenarios could last up to 10-20 hours so expect overall more reliable mileage out of the money spent compared to spending it on a Gacha version of this series. In near future perhaps I could discuss DRPG series in regular basis considering I do have deep fascination for this genre probably due to being a Millenial.

Gradius Origin

  Seems like Konami has someone really competent at handling their Game portfolio as we are kept getting remastered collections of Konami’s game library in their golden age. Not as mainstream as Suikoden or Castlevania, but we are getting a Gradius series collection dubbed Gradius Origins within this year!

Scheduled for August 2025 release, Gradius Origins will feature 7 of Konami’s Shmup Title. Unlike the PSP Gradius Collection this collection is not 100% series so we will get combinations of Horizontal and Vertical Shmup title. Gradius Origins will feature Gradius 1-3. Salamander 1-3 and Life Force with several versions available for each title. For some reason, Konami decide to omit Gradius IV from this collection which makes it less perfect successor of its PSP counterpart. While I am not exactly a big fan of Gradius, I do use Vic Viper as my mainstay unit back in Parodius series which is another Konami’s established Shmup series. This remaster announcement will make me hopeful that Parodius collection will be possible in the near future and I will keep a close tab on it.

Capcom Fighting Collection 2

 
 Another upcoming Capcom Arcade game collections that caught my interest after Marvel vs Capcom and this one looks promising. Dubbed simply as Capcom Fighting Collection 2 and consisted of 8 Capcom Arcade Games from 1998 to 2004, this is likely the first Capcom Compilation that include SNK Collab with Capcom stuff back in the period. Capcom Fighting Collection 2 will be scheduled for May 2025 Release.

Compared to Marvel vs Capcom fighting collection, I only played 3 out of 8 Games from this collection which are Power Stone 1&2 and SF Alpha 3 which were available on PSP. Rival Schools and Star Gladiator also got included in the collection with their western versions. Capcom Fighting Evolution which is Capcom Exclusive all stars crossover fighting game also included which never caught my attention until now. The Star of the Collection is obviously SNK Vs Capcom 1&2 which I never played either since I directly jumped into SVC vs Chaos.

Even with the second Iteration, I don't think we have seen the last of Capcom Fighting collection yet since they still have several Titles in their Disposals if they want to come up with another one like Mech Romancer, Rival Schools 2 and SVC Chaos if Capcom can get the technicality issues stemming from the game being developed by SNK cleared. One even could hope that we can get Tatsunoko vs Capcom someday in the Capcom Fighting Collection since that game deserves to spread its wing beyond Wii Platform. The only obstacle is Tatsunoko who are quite notorious when it comes to screwing other People's IP.