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A reminder of what to look forward to from Platinum Games

Raph64

Member
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If there’s one studio in the whole gaming industry that keeps surprising and loves to offer a refreshing twist on the gameplay, it surely must be Platinum Games. Over the year, the Osaka-based studio, founded by veteran Capcom/Clover figures such as Hideki Kamiya, director of Resident Evil 2, Devil May Cry, Okami, Viewtiful Joe among others, has build himself a solid reputation over gamers alike thanks to the flashy tone and fast-paced gameplay offered by its games. Although most of the developer’s games have never been breakthrough commercial successes, that still hasn’t stopped games like Vanquish, The Wonderful 101, and Bayonetta to reach a cult following among their fan bases. Although they have over the years gone through some rough times especially after the Scalebound fiasco, it was after the release of popular franchise NieR’s newest entry Automata, developed in partnership with series creator Yoko Taro that Platinum Games has finally witnessed critical AND commercial fame with this title. To the point that Hideki Kamiya himself acknowledged Yoko Taro as the person who “ saved “ Platinum Games according to him.

Thanks to NieR : Automata, Platinum Games is back on track, and more than that, they’ve been going on a roll lately as they have confirmed working on three new games at the same time. And if we rely on the words of the studio’s lead produced Atsushi Inaba, we should expect Platinum Games to have a pretty intense year with some surprise announcements over this year. In the meantime, here’s a recap of all the ongoing projects happening at Platinum Games.

Babylon’s Fall

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Highlighted reveal of the cumbersome Square Enix E3 2018 livestream, Babylon’s Fall marks Platinum Games’ second collaboration after the successful NieR : Automata. So far, very little information, apart from the E3 reveal trailer, has surfaced regarding the project. But based on the trailer, we should expect a game full of lore set in an a dark fantasy world where, according to the main artwork above, the player will control a class between many, such as a mage, a warrior, etc... Thankfully, we do know when the game will release, but for now we’ll have to take a vague 2019 release window... until more information gets eventually released at next E3 ?




Bayonetta 3


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After the commercial failure of the original Bayonetta game, the series was initially planned to be cancelled by Sega. Fortunately, Nintendo came in just on time to save the series by accepting to finance in partnership with Sega the idea of a second instalment, resulting in the release of Bayonetta 2 as a Wii U exclusive. However, given the fact that the game was released on an ill-fated system with a very limited park of copies sold compared to the Wii, the game, albeit outshining Bayonetta 1 in every aspect, underperformed even harder than the first game. That didn’t stop Platinum Games and Nintendo to announce a third instalment of the series at the 2017 Game Awards, in addition of the Switch ports of Bayonetta 1/2. This time, Nintendo will entirely fund the development of the game, letting Platinum Games even more liberty other the development process. But what about the game itself ? The reveal trailer showcased Bayonetta into serious trouble as she is seen fighting against a mysterious and unknown new enemy. And that’s about it. To this day, there aren’t any concrete information on how the gameplay and the story will evolve, as Platinum Games remains very secretive on the game. As to wherever gameplay will revealed, 2019 may be a bit too soon still to expect to see how the game plays but we should hopefully expect to see a new trailer at E3.




Astral Chain


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Arguably the most interesting, and hypest project out of all the upcoming games from Platinum Games. Revealed out of nowhere in the recent Nintendo Direct, Astral Chain is the second exclusive after Bayonetta 3 set to release on Nintendo Switch. Directed by Takahisa Taura, senior game designer on NieR : Automata and supervised by none other than Hideki Kamiya himself. Unlike games previously mentioned, Astral Chain has been given during the Direct a solid gameplay reveal and even a release date that is closer than you think ( 30 August 2019 ) ... and so, how does the game play you may ask ?

In Astral Chain, you seem to be playing as a member of a special police task force who seeks to protect the Ark, a multi-cultural city in the near future, from a alien invasion. To do this, you will engage battle with those obscure invaders with the help of a special weapon called Legion whose purpose is kind of similar to the Blades from Xenoblade Chronicles 2, except that the concept seems to have been way more fleshed out as the Legion will act as your ideal comparing for all kind of operations. Judging by the reveal trailer, there seems to be going on A LOT in it, it would be rather interesting to see how the gameplay turn out to work and given the fact that the game releases sooner than expected, we should definitely expect a more detailed presentation at this year’s E3.

Here’s a overall description of the game via Nintendo.com

As part of a police special task force, it’s up to you to fight against mysterious, alien-like creatures who have invaded the world.

In the Ark, a multi-cultural city in the near future, disaster strikes when gates to another dimension suddenly appear! Dangerous creatures begin to emerge, attacking the people and polluting the land, and normal police forces are unable to compete with them. To stand up against these threats, a brand new, special police unit known as Neuron is formed.

Choose between two playable characters – one male, one female – on your adventure. The character you don’t choose also appears as your younger twin, and a fellow member of Neuron.

In order to resist the creatures, humanity developed a special weapon: the Legion. The Legion acts as your partner, and helps with your investigations. However, it’s in battle where the Legion shows its real ability...

Work together with the Legion and use all sorts of combat styles to fight your enemies. You could both attack the same enemy simultaneously, target different opponents, or send your Legion on the offensive while you support it with items. Use this synergetic action system to battle and explore together!





(Speculation) The Wonderful 101 Switch


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The Wonderful 101 remains to this day Platinum Games and the Wii U’s most criminally underrated game. No wonder why a lot of the fans of the game who turned out to have brought it have been begging for a port on Switch in order to give the game a second life.
In fact, Hideki Kamiya and Platinum Games have been teasing several times in the past a port of The Wonderful 101 was indeed coming to the Switch, but they also mentioned in past interviews that they really wanted to port the game. So wherever the game is indeed planned for Switch or still at the stage of consideration is a mystery. However, chances of having The Wonderful 101 on Switch is almost certain given the fact that Bayonetta 1 and 2 already sold better on Switch than on Wii U and that it would be a non-brainer for Nintendo to this time better promote the game and convince new gamers to try this underrated gem.

(Speculation) Mysterious unannounced game

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And last but not least, Platinum Games has also confirmed that they had a top-secret project in the works that, according to Kamiya and Inaba’s sayings, is set to “ turn the action genre on its head “. This tease regarding the mysterious game in question was first mentioned during an interview at Bitsummit last year in May. Since then, no news or update regarding the unknown project has been said. It is unknown if the game in question turned out to be Astral Chain or if it turns out to be something else.

According to the Wikipedia page of Platinum Games, there are 209 persons working on at least four different games ( five if we eventually count the hypothetical Wonderful 101 port ), therefore there are more than 40 persons estimated per game.

Anyway, there is no denying that it will be seriously exciting to look forward at what Platinum Games is cooking up. Apart from the “anime-licensed” games, they have yet to deliver a bad game. And there could end up being even more announcements from Platinum Games this year as previously mentioned. E3 will surely be their next bus-stop on their way to the hype train, so we can definitely look forward to a gold year with Platinum !
 
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Mr Hyde

Member
Since Nier Automata, all eyes are on Platinum, at least if you are a fan of japanese action-games. Platinum had a solid track record before Nier but it was that game that took the studio and positioned itself front and center among the general gaming crowd. I just hope they don´t jump in head over heels with too many projects, sacrificing quality for content like they did with their licensed output.

Platinum is well known in the industry for their "guns for hire"-approach they often take in collaborating with so many different studios, resulting in mixed opinions and dwindling sales as a result, but after Automata it seems they have found a clear cut recipe for success, and enough confidence to pull it through. Just remove Kamiya from Twitter, that platform seems to suck way too much energy from him that he could spend on making brilliant games.

Anyway, I´m excited for the games listed in the OP. Everyone looks to bring that special P-flavour so many of us love. Glory to mankind.
 
I'm hoping that Nintendo and Platinum continue to have a profitable relationship. I feel as though Platinum jives well with a publisher that is willing to let them build their own vision instead of slavishly following a dictated vision. Their licensed titles are their weakest games for this very same reason.

Astral Chain is evidence of what happens when Platinum gets to make what they want. No one is doing "cyberpunk future cop" right now. It's a wholly unique setting, to say nothing of the cool combat system and Guyver-esque enemy aesthetic. W101, Vanquish, and Bayonetta are further examples of the games Platinum can deliver when they're allowed to create their own vision.

I am gleefully hoping for a W101 port with better performance (mostly in terms of IQ/aliasing) plus extra content. It would be too insane to hope for a Wonderful 102...

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they haven't made a good game since MGR
Hiss boo.

W101, Nier Automata, and Bayo 2 are all quite good.
 
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Fbh

Member
Good OP.
I'm always down for more Platinum. They continue to be one of the few studios focusing on these over the top action based japanese games and I love it. Besides Sekiro both Astral Chain and Bayonetta 3 are some of my most hyped games right now .

Might want to add Granblue Fantasy Relink too. Platinum is no longer working on it but they put several years into it so I'd be surprised if their influence isn't strongly felt in the final release.

Also they NEED to continue working with Yoko Taro, they are match made in heaven. As Nier Automata shows, Yoko Taro has his crazy stories and ideas and Platinum has the skill to pull them off and make them play well
 
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sublimit

Banned
As a big fan of fantasy action games (that also have great in-depth combat systems like Souls/Dragon's Dogma) i'm very excited to see and learn more about Babylon's Fall! Hopefully we will

And of course i'm also interested in Bayonetta 3 and Astral Chain.But i need to know a bit more about the gameplay of the later.
 

nightmare-slain

Gold Member
all i want is a PC version of Nier Automata that ain't trash. hopefully the new version releasing this month will actually have fixes. i got the game on console but the performance is awful. i want to see that 2booty at 4k 60fps dammit.
 
Platinum is one of the rare publisher you could call "AA". Publishers from Capcom to Activision and Nintendo trust them because of their particular game design and gameplay craft that has been lost this past decade in the ocean of cheap indie crap, mobile game, F2P online clones etc...

What they have is valuable. Also all their games, I think without exception, are great and enjoyable. You want "gameplay before graphics", well here it is.
 

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
I personally love most of their games, from their combat to their fantastic art direction. Astral Chain looking sooo god damn good and it’s long wait for release. Hoping see even more info on E3.
STRAIGHT TO DAMNATION

Is Astral Chain co-op so far only implied, not confirmed?
I think they mostly talking about Legion you control while fighting.
 
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Although it got kicked to the curb, I liked Transformers Devastation and wanted another. Course I viewed it as a full-on budget game despite it only being $10 lower than a standard release.
 

Ulysses 31

Member
Platinum never loses its luster :messenger_grinning_smiling:

Seeing their logo ident play during a game's startup sequence has always been a mark of quality in my book.
Even Legend of Kora or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan? :lollipop_grinning:
 
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Since Nier Automata, all eyes are on Platinum, at least if you are a fan of japanese action-games. Platinum had a solid track record before Nier but it was that game that took the studio and positioned itself front and center among the general gaming crowd. I just hope they don´t jump in head over heels with too many projects, sacrificing quality for content like they did with their licensed output.

Platinum is well known in the industry for their "guns for hire"-approach they often take in collaborating with so many different studios, resulting in mixed opinions and dwindling sales as a result, but after Automata it seems they have found a clear cut recipe for success, and enough confidence to pull it through. Just remove Kamiya from Twitter, that platform seems to suck way too much energy from him that he could spend on making brilliant games.

Anyway, I´m excited for the games listed in the OP. Everyone looks to bring that special P-flavour so many of us love. Glory to mankind.

NeiR Automata did incredible in Sales considering that Square Enix are notorious for giving Yoko Taro a barebones budget.

Personally I liked the game but it did feel like a lot of corners were cut to make the overworld much smaller than what it was with only 40 side quests to do.

I am incredibly excited for Bayonetta 3 (I actually wasn't into the first game but the 2nd one sold me on the franchise).

Astral Chain reminds me of Sin and Punishment only you use a partner for slashing attacks but my thought originally wss it was a Policenauts Action Sequel.

Looking forward to their games in 2019!

I also want to see Granblue Fantasy Re:Link release over here too!
 

kunonabi

Member
Only really looking forward to Astral since their non-Nintendo output has been super hit or miss and I honestly didnt like Bayonetta 2 all that much. Shame too because they used to be super consistent.
 

Shifty1897

Member
I'm a huge fan of Platinum, and Nier Automata is completely mind blowing, especially after watching several deep-dives and treatises on how the story is actually an examination and critique on the works of many philosophers throughout the ages. I realize they had less to deal with the actual story, but the game would mean nothing without compelling gameplay to support the narrative.
 

tassletine

Member
NeiR Automata did incredible in Sales considering that Square Enix are notorious for giving Yoko Taro a barebones budget.

Personally I liked the game but it did feel like a lot of corners were cut to make the overworld much smaller than what it was with only 40 side quests to do.

I am incredibly excited for Bayonetta 3 (I actually wasn't into the first game but the 2nd one sold me on the franchise).

Astral Chain reminds me of Sin and Punishment only you use a partner for slashing attacks but my thought originally wss it was a Policenauts Action Sequel.

Looking forward to their games in 2019!

I also want to see Granblue Fantasy Re:Link release over here too!

Oh God! Sin and Punishment.
I think about that game a lot. I desperately want a switch port of 2.
Such an under rated gem of a game. t's pretty much flawless.
 

Zaffo

Member
Seeing how Bayonetta 2 runs on a switch, it's a damn shame that two or those game are going to be exclusives,
Jaggies, frame rate drops and low resolution really hurt the character action genre, going back to mobile performance after playing lots of 144hz/1440p DMC5 it's going to hurt.
 

stranno

Member
they haven't made a good game since MGR
Transformers is a great game (the best Transformers game ever released after the Melbourne House game), and they even ported it to 360/PS3 when both were pretty much dead.

I also liked TMNT..
 
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Silent Duck

Member
Vanquish was fantastic. Give us Vanquish 2 or GTFO.
Actually, I think Sega owns the publishing rights to that one so... Sega, get Platinum Games to make Vanquish 2.
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v1gif.gif
 

ROMhack

Member
Yeah I want them to do another shooty game, Vanquish was great.

I'm sure Bayo will be good too but Astral Chain... ehhhh, it looks too shonen anime for my blood.
 
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Hinedorf

Banned
YESSSSSSSSSS wonderful 101 is one of the few games that really intrigued me on Wii U which is the only Nintendo console I've avoided.
 

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
Yeah I want them to do another shooty game, Vanquish was great.

I'm sure Bayo will be good too but Astral Chain... ehhhh, it looks too shonen anime for my blood.
I would say Astral Chain gives 90s cop anime vibe similar Mobile Police Patlabor, You're Under Arrest and Appleseed which I why I personally why I'm so excited for this.
 
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ROMhack

Member
I would say Astral Chain gives 90s cop anime vibe similar Mobile Police Patlabor and Appleseed which I why I personally why I'm so excited for this.

I'm actually a bit more excited now you've made the comparison.
 
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Astral chain looks amazing so far. I'm loving everything about it so far.

Wow they are busy though. They should really get that Wonderful 101 port out though, I haven't played it, it looks interesting

Seconded this. My Wii U Gamepad doesn't hold charge for long (just around 10 minutes these days :/ ) and as a result I put my Wii U away...so I'd highly appreciate a port of The Wonderful 101, if just for being able to play the game more conveniently.
 

Majukun

Member
not really hyped by anything they have in the oven thus far, but i'ma platinum fan so i'm ready to be pleasently surprised
 
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