Atelier Ryza 2: Koei Tecmo Publish Official Character Design Details For Cosplay And Fanart

Atelier Ryza 2 Cosplay Fanart Referenc sheets feature

Koei Tecmo and Gust published some really neat artwork and 3d models references for Atelier Ryza 2, which will help those into cosplay and artists making fanart. The company is currently organizing a Cosplay and Fanart contest for Atelier Ryza 2. The works submitted should be themed around the theme "Ryza's summer vacation". You're not limited to Ryza though and can do something with any of the Atelier Ryza 2 characters.

The producers and character designer Toridamono will pick the winners, who'll get special goods like bags, t-shirts and posters, signed by Toridamono.

To enter the contest, you can either send your work by mail at promotion07@koeitecmo.co.jp with "Ryza2Contest" as the subject, or follow the official @GustAtelierPR Twitter and tweet your work with either the hashtags "＃ライザ２" or "#アトリ絵" or "Ryza2Contest".

Anyone in the world can participate. Many works sent in, regardless if they'll win the contest or not, will also be published on the game's official site, and retweeted by the official @GustAtelierPR Twitter.

There are specific rules such as specific format (A4 size, not above 1200px) and file type (jpg only) so if you're interested, be sure to properly check the rules on the official site. I'm not paid enough to fully translate the rules, but luckily Koei Tecmo did post them in English as well, so be sure to read them.

The campaign lasts from September 7 to October 31, 2020. And as such, with the launch of the campaign, reference sheets for the characters appearing in Atelier Ryza 2 were published. These meticulously details the characters' costumes and designs, the front and back, so it's perfect for cosplayers. The characters include Ryza, and all the ones who were revealed so far: Fi, Klaudia, Tao, Patricia, Clifford, and Serri.

All the references are included in the gallery below. You can read more on Atelier Ryza 2 with our past coverage: the first trailer. Story bits and details on the Japanese limited edition. How Ryza was always supposed to be the protagonist for two games. The improvements over the first game. Preorder bonuses in Japan and some of the new characters. More new characters and their profiles.

It isn't that rare for companies to publish reference sheets like this, but still cool enough to be noted. Cosplayers won't be facing the hell of having no idea how a costume looks from behind without its upper vest until an artbook is released. This is similar to that time we got the draft chara designs for Atelier Ryza 1 before the game released.

This also shows Koei Tecmo really understood the Ryza zettai ryouiki wave and does everything to keep it going. Needless to say, however, it's not the sole reason why Ryza works so well, something you already know if you've been actually reading our articles past the titles. While the Atelier Series has always used sexual fanservice, at the end of the day it's thanks to its nice story, characters and gameplay systems that it kept going this far.

Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy will be launching worldwide in Winter 2021 on PS4, Switch, and PC via Steam. Ryza 2 will be out on PS4 and Switch in Japan on December 3, 2020. The Japanese Steam version is scheduled for January 2021, and it's all but confirmed this will be when the western version launches. You can preorder Atelier Ryza 2 on Amazon to support us.

Atelier Ryza 2 3D models reference for Fanart and Cosplay:

Atelier Ryza 2 cosplay fanart reference sheet Ryza 3D model Atelier Ryza 2 cosplay fanart reference sheet Patricia 3D model Atelier Ryza 2 cosplay fanart reference sheet Serri 3D model

Atelier Ryza 2 2D Character Design reference for Fanart and Cosplay:

Atelier Ryza 2 2D Character Design Toridamono reference Fanart Cosplay Ryza Atelier Ryza 2 2D Character Design Toridamono reference Fanart Cosplay Patricia Atelier Ryza 2 2D Character Design Toridamono reference Fanart Cosplay Serri

The post Atelier Ryza 2: Koei Tecmo Publish Official Character Design Details For Cosplay And Fanart by Iyane Agossah appeared first on DualShockers.

Sonic the Hedgehog Will Receive "New Games" in 2021 to Celebrate 30th Anniversary

Sonic the Hedgehog

Outside of his feature film debut earlier this year, 2020 has been a relatively quiet period of time for Sonic the Hedgehog. Fortunately, for those who are big fans of The Blue Blur, 2021 sounds like it's going to be quite a big year for the iconic franchise.

Coming from a relatively odd source, a new European product guide that is crafted for retailers has contained an advert for Sonic 2021 will be a year full of "new games, digital content, events, major announcements and a tailored licensing programme." The key word here seems to be "games" as it indicates that Sonic will be starring in multiple different projects that are slated to arrive within the period. Sega isn't a stranger to releasing multiple Sonic titles in the same year, either, as the publisher let loose both Sonic Mania and Sonic Forces in 2017.

2021 happens to be another big year for Sonic as well in one key way: it marks the franchise's 30th anniversary. As such, it sounds as though Sega is looking to go above and beyond what it would normally do with its company mascot in the year. Sega has been pretty vocal about this in the past, too, so the fact that they continue to hype it up seems as though we should have high expectations.

Sonic the Hedgehog as a property is likely in its best spot that it has been in since the 90s, so hopefully, Sega can follow through on these boisterous claims for next year. And if they somehow don't deliver, well, there's always the Sonic the Hedgehog movie sequel that's coming in 2022.

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PS5 Price and Pre-Order Availability Rumored to be Announced Tomorrow

ps5 fake 40 60fps 60 fps dusk golem launch games release date rumor leak

Let me preface this up front: don't get too excited just yet. Are your reservations in check? Okay, cool.

According to GAME, a retail storefront located in the UK, Sony is set to have a new announcement of some sort ready to go tomorrow which could be related to pre-orders for the PS5. In a tweet that has since been deleted, GAME stated that PlayStation has "scheduled an announcement" for tomorrow on September 9. Considering this is a retailer talking about Sony having some sort of revelation related to PS5, you would imagine that whatever this potential reveal (if it's real) would then be tied to the price of the console, in addition to potential pre-order options.

You can see an image of the tweet in question that was captured by @PS5Only right here:

Obviously, though, there's a lot of different scenarios at play here. For starters, GAME could very well have tweeted out a false statement which is why the message was wiped shortly after going up. That said, they could have also deleted the tweet because the information was correct and they were not supposed to share it ahead of time.

There's also the fact that tomorrow does contain a sort of significance for Sony, especially for those in North America. September 9 actually marks the 25th anniversary of the release of the PS1 for those in the region. As such, it would make sense on paper for Sony to perhaps do something to celebrate the occasion. What better way is there to celebrate the past than by also looking to the future? This idea is understandable in my head, at least, even though Sony has already said it's focusing on all things PSVR this week.

It's also worth mentioning that in recent weeks, Sony has been getting its ducks in a row when it comes to pre-orders for the PS5. Not too long ago, a registration page for the next-gen console went up on the PlayStation website. Those who registered via this avenue were then said to have first dibs on pre-orders whenever Sony decides to move forward with them.

In the grand scheme of things, you should surely take this tweet from GAME with a massive grain of salt. Then again, considering that the PS5 will be out at some point in the next two or three months, Sony has to begin making announcements regarding price, release date, and pre-orders at some point soon. At least, that's what any reasonable person would think, right?

In other next-gen news, the Xbox Series S was formally revealed by Microsoft today and it's only going to cost $299. Neat.

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Summon Night Writer Miyakozuki Kei Hasn't Heard of New Plans For the Series

Summon Night Aty no summon nigt 7 feature

Miyakozuki Kei, the writer of the Summon Night series, said on Twitter he hasn't been contacted regarding a new sequel in the series. He plans to end the series as a whole with a final novel.

As you already know, Felistella together with D3 Publisher announced it's working on a brand new action RPG titled Maglam Lord. We detailed everything revealed on Maglam Lord so far in a separate article. When Felistella and D3 Publisher teased the game before its reveal, some fans expected something related to Summon Night. Miyakozuki Kei addressed those fans on Twitter on September 8, after the Maglam Lord reveal. Here's the tweet and our translation:

Miyakozuki Kei: "I'll use this opportunity to properly tell everyone. I know many are eagerly waiting for a sequel. It's painful to say but at the moment I haven't heard of any new plans".

Miyakozuki Kei didn't explicitly say the name, but he's definitely speaking of Summon Night. He added in another tweet:

Miyakozuki Kei: "Just like when I decided when I started the novel series, the final volume of U:X will be the end of story of Lyndbum for me. I'm sorry I'm taking so long to finish it."

"U:X" refers to the Summon Night U:X novel series, explaining the events between Summon Night 4 and 5, and featuring characters from all first four games. The series is illustrated by Iizuka Takeshi (Kuroboshi Kouhaku) and Watanuki Nao. U:X  is supposed to be three volumes. The first one, A Foreigner From The Boundary, released on May 21, 2013. The second one, The Visitors Of Twilight, released on December 19, 2013. However, the third novel hasn't been released yet.

Many fans are expecting the next Summon Night game to adapt these novels, but it looks like it's not happening. For now, the franchise as a whole will end once the final SN U:X volume is released. Miyakozuki Kei specified that "it'll be the end for me" so perhaps future games can happen one day, but will be written by someone else.

Summon Night 6: Lost Borders first released on March 10, 2016 in Japan. It's available on PlayStation Vita and PS4. We reviewed the game back when it released.

This week's Famitsu magazine will have additional details on Maglam Lord we'll be covering as soon as we can.

The post Summon Night Writer Miyakozuki Kei Hasn't Heard of New Plans For the Series by Iyane Agossah appeared first on DualShockers.

Heroes of the Storm Kicks Off Hero-Mashing Craft Wars Event

Heroes of the Storm, Blizzard

Heroes of the Storm may have a reduced staff, but that doesn't mean they can't deliver great events, it just means there are less of them. The latest even is called Craft Wars and it mashes together some of Activision-Blizzard's hottest properties. Unfortunately, the event is mostly just new skins, but those skins are pretty great. You'd love to see a new map or even a new hero; however, getting Gazlowe as an SCV pilot is almost as good, right? Give the event trailer a watch below.

Heroes of the Storm: Craft Wars is, basically, a collection of new skins that feature your favorite heroes mashed up with other properties in the Blizzard line. So, Mei fans can unlock a skin that has her cosplaying as a World of Warcraft Death Night. And Anduin Wrynn can go full pretty boy as he mashes with Starcraft's Valerian Mengsk. It's a fun idea that has some good skins out of the gate with potential for even better ones in the future.

Of course, new skins aren't exactly game-changing. I mean sure, they look neat, but it's too bad the even isn't more substantial. Outside of the skins, players get a new Nexus Anomaly, a new ARAM mode, and changes to ranked seasons. Plus, D.Va and Gazlowe have received full reworks. So, it's not just new skins, but it does feel lacking when compared to something like the Toys event.

Heroes of the Storm is available now on PC. The Craft Wars event kicks off today.

The post Heroes of the Storm Kicks Off Hero-Mashing Craft Wars Event by Ricky Frech appeared first on DualShockers.

Lords of the Fallen 2 Finds New Home at Hexworks, A New Studio Opened by CI Games

Lords of the Fallen 2 has been in development hell for a hot minute. All the way back in 2017, the sequel was said to have been stuck in its concept stage before then seeing its vision tightened and the budget for the game shrunk. Then, just last year, CI Games opted to pull Defiant Studios off of the game, who was working on it at the time. Fortunately, for those still looking forward to the title, it's still in the pipeline, with a new internal studio now working on the project.

CI Games announced today that it has opened a new studio that is known as Hexworks. The team at Hexworks will work out of two offices in Barcelona and Bucharest, with both having opened their doors earlier in 2020. Hexworks will primarily work on action-APG titles, with the studio's first venture being that of Lords of the Fallen 2.

"It's been a long time since we started talking about Lords of the Fallen 2 and trying different ideas," explained CI Games CEO Marek Tyminski in an accompanying statement today. "I am very excited for us to be able to announce the new studio that has been already at work for the last half of the year and made significant progress."

Tyminski went on to say that CI Games has remained relatively silent about this development over the past year because they didn't want to get fans excited once again while the studio was getting off of the ground. With the vision for Lords of the Fallen 2 now said to be finalized, Tyminski said that the game and Hexworks as a whole is "here to stay."

In total, around 25 developers are said to be working on Lords of the Fallen 2 at Hexworks right now. Despite being comprised of a team that has shipped AAA titles in the past, CI Games says Hexworks is working with an indie mentality on the title. As for news on the game itself, Hexworks wants Lords of the Fallen 2 to continue to be challenging and will continue to iterate on ideas found in the "Soulsborne" subgenre.

Lords of the Fallen 2 doesn't have a release window just yet and it likely won't for quite some time. However, Hexworks says it will officially be the first game that the studio ships and it's slated to come to PC and next-gen consoles.

The post Lords of the Fallen 2 Finds New Home at Hexworks, A New Studio Opened by CI Games by Logan Moore appeared first on DualShockers.

Colin Kaepernick is Back in Madden 21, His First Inclusion Since 2016

Madden 21, EA Sports

Madden 21 players and football fans everywhere will know Colin Kaepernick's name. The former NFL starter was, essentially, blacklisted from the league after the 2016 season because he decided to protest police brutality by kneeling during the national anthem. In that year's edition of Madden, EA Sports did not include him as a free agent, like most unsigned players. Then, in Madden 19, the company scrubbed his name from a YG song they used on the soundtrack. They did correct that mistake in time, but it was still an incredibly odd thing to do in the first place.

With Madden 21, the team has finally decided to put Kaepernick back in the game as a free agent. That means anyone can sign him and try to put his career back on track in the virtual world. Interestingly, Kaep is rated as an 81-overall quarterback. That puts him among the league's elite even though he hasn't played a competitive down since 2016.

That's not to say the rating isn't without warrant. Fans will likely remember Kaep's stunning run through the 2013 playoffs en route to a Super Bowl appearance. He followed that up with a monster contract and a decent season behind a leaky offensive line. From there, the team was a rotating door of head coaches until his release. So, while his last two years weren't up to his previous standard, the talent was there to meet the rating.

It's great to see the NFL and EA Sports finally embracing Kaep after so much time. Commissioner Roger Goodell has owned up to "not listening" to his players. Though, in his June statement, he never mentioned Kaepernick by name. That said, it's better late than never.

Madden 21 is available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. The game is a mess this year, but at least they finally did one thing right.

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Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S — A Brief Comparison of the Consoles

Xbox Series X Xbox Series S

With Xbox's upcoming next-generation consoles, it might seem a bit overwhelming considering the manufacturer has now announced two versions of their next-generation console; the Xbox Series X and the Xbox Series S. So what's the difference between the two and which would be a better console for you?

Here's a bit of history for both systems. Project Scarlett was initially revealed back in 2019 by Microsoft during E3. It was understood that there were two versions of the next-gen Xbox console that were codenamed Anaconda and Lockhart. Anaconda turned out to be Project Scarlett and was revealed during The Game Awards in 2019 to be officially known as the Xbox Series X. Lockhart, however, has been understood to be the budget version of the X and was officially confirmed on September 8, 2020 as the Xbox Series S.

So with all that said, here's what we know about the two Xbox consoles going by official announcements, with a handful of information from leaks for specific technical phrases.

Xbox Series X

The Xbox Series X is the more powerful console of the two and Microsoft originally revealed the specifications back in February of this year. More specifics were later revealed in March 2020 with Digital Foundry going deep into it. It's a rather large and blocky console and comes with a 4K UHD Blu-Ray Drive. It also has a large vent at the top of the console that is reportedly as quiet as the Xbox One X.

The Series X comes with a 8x Cores @ 3.8 GHz (3.66 GHz w/ SMT) Custom Zen 2 CPU, and a 12 Teraflops, 52 CUs @ 1.825 GHz Custom RDNA 2 GPU. Its memory sits at 16 GB GDDR6 w/ 320mb bus with 10GB @ 560 GB/s, 6GB @ 336 GB/s memory bandwidth.

For storage, it has a 1 TB Custom NVME SSD with expandable storage for a 1 TB Expansion Card as well as support for USB 3.2 External HDD.

The target performance for the console is to play video games at 4K resolution at 60 frames per second with the capability to go up to 120 frames per second. It'll be capable of supporting Hardware Accelerated DirectX Ray Tracing and will have a Quick Resume function to allow players to jump in and out of multiple games easily.

The Xbox Series X is rumored to cost $499 according to Windows Central with information from sources — it should also be available on the Xbox All Access financial plan for $35 per month.

Xbox Series S

The Xbox Series S is the budget version of the X and is notably far smaller and thinner with a large vent on its side. It's also the smallest console from the Xbox family of consoles, coming in nearly 60% smaller than the Series X. It does not have a disc drive, so it's suited more to those of the digital-only age.

It comes with the same CPU as the X, 8x Cores @ 3.8 GHz (3.66 GHz w/ SMT) Custom Zen 2 CPU, but takes a hit in the GPU department. This console comes with 4 Teraflops, 20 CUs @ 1.55 GHz Custom RDNA 2 GPU. It also comes with a memory of 10 GB GDDR6.

The S will have a 512GB SSD for internal storage, and support for a USB 3.2 External HDD. While there's been no confirmation of a slot for a 1 TB Expansion Card, it wouldn't make sense to not include one, so I'm going on the logic that it's there.

The target performance for the S is understandably less, although aims to support 1440p gaming at 120 frames per second. It will also include Hardware Accelerated DirectX Ray Tracing and the ability to play videos in 4K as well as 4K upscaling in games. It also supports the Quick Resume feature.

The Xbox Series S will cost $299 / £249.99 — it should also be available on the Xbox All Access financial plan for $25 per month.

The two consoles are certainly catered to different types of players. The Series X is powerful, running games at 4K with the speed behind it. Additionally. it does look like a console that would take up your shelf space, but it does come with a disc-drive so you don't have to lose out on playing your physical copies of games.

The Series S seems to be more focused on offering a speedy gaming experience without the focus on power. The SSD being less in storage space is also a concern, considering that big games are often exceeding 100GB download sizes these days. In saying that, it also takes up less shelf space but at the cost of losing the ability to use physical discs.

If you're planning on picking up one of the two, which console seems more enticing to you, and why? Let us know in the comments, it's something we're all waffling about in the staff room right now.

The post Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S — A Brief Comparison of the Consoles by Ben Bayliss appeared first on DualShockers.

Deltarune Chapter 2 Development Update Teased by Famitsu

Deltarune Chapter 2 Famitsu Magazine teaser feature

September 15, 2020 will mark the 5th anniversary of Undertale, and many fans are eagerly waiting news regarding Toby Fox's new work, Deltarune. Famitsu announced last week that its magazine releasing on September 10 (officially titled Weekly Famitsu Magazine September 24, 2020 Issue) will include a feature for the 5th anniversary of Undertale. Now, on September 8, Famitsu revealed that the Toby Fox interview in the feature includes a comment on Deltarune, giving us a development update on the upcoming Chapter 2. The Famitsu feature will even include "some" screenshot(s) of Deltarune Chapter 2.

The cover of this week's Famitsu magazine was drawn by Temmie Chang:

The usual leaks from Famitsu magazine will be up on Wednesday in the middle of the night for our American readers, and early morning for a French person like myself. Meaning we should know then a bit of what Toby Fox said on Deltarune. However, we actually buy Famitsu magazine on DualShockers, so we'll try as soon as possible to bring you the full details once we hit Thursday midnight JST, when the magazine releases digitally. We'll be translating the Deltarune development update and sharing the screenshot(s) from Famitsu magazine as well, so stay tuned.

Undertale is an indie RPG first launched on September 15, 2015. The game is available on PC, Mac, Linux, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, and Nintendo Switch. Perhaps next gen versions on PS5 and Xbox Series X could be announced for the game's 5th anniversary soon.

Undertale was very inspired from Japanese games such as Moon and the Touhou series by ZUN, and Deltarune and its Chapter 2 will definitely keep those influences.

As a side note, Toby Fox already said there will be no specific announcement on the actual anniversary date on September 15th. There will be a little something for fans though. He also announced a free Undertale concert stream.

You can grab a physical copy of Undertale on Switch from Amazon to support us.

The post Deltarune Chapter 2 Development Update Teased by Famitsu by Iyane Agossah appeared first on DualShockers.

RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Complete Edition Comes to PC and Switch September 24

RollerCoaster Tycoon 3, Frontier Developments

RollerCoaster Tycoon fans have been on quite the roller coaster themselves over the last few years. After the franchise's third game released in 2004, publisher Atari and developer Frontier Developments have had quite a rocky relationship. Since they split, Atari tried to make a fourth game in the franchise, but it was widely panned. Frontier, meanwhile, developed the much-more successful Planet Coaster. And, while all of this was happening, Frontier was suing Atari for unpaid royalties on RollerCoaster Tycoon 3.  Then, in 2018, the game was pulled from Steam and GOG because of "expiring licensing rights."

That is, quite the saga for one of the better tycoon games ever. Fortunately, it appears that Frontier will soon pull RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 out of the mud, giving new gamers a chance to try out the magic. The devs announced today that they're bringing the game to Nintendo Switch and PC later this month.

The Complete Edition comes with, as you might expect, all of the original content. That means you're getting the base game and the Soaked! and Wild! expansions. The graphics have been updated, but they still look pretty chunky. Though really, that's part of the charm.

If you've yet to experience the joy of creating your own amusement park, 16-year-old me would very much like to recommend you check out RollerCoaster Tycoon 3. I played too much of this game as a young adult and can't wait to get back in there.

RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Complete Edition launches on Nintendo Switch and PC on September 24. If you just can't wait, feel free to check out Planet Coaster on PC. It's a solid spiritual successor.

The post RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Complete Edition Comes to PC and Switch September 24 by Ricky Frech appeared first on DualShockers.