Otaku Gamers UK top 2016 titles

As we welcome in 2016 at our comfy new home here and start to pick up speed with our news reporting, good honest reviews, informative Otaku Reviews and look into providing all our readers new and old with new quality content I have asked our team to give us their personal most wanted list of 2016!.

 

Keep an eye out on some new names as these are our new 2016 team!.

 

Andi @namelessandi 

2016 looks to be massive for video games and especially us over here on the niche side of things, circumstances known as grown up life really has taken it’s toll on me in regards to what I can play and how much I can so much like Des I have taken to slimming down my purchases and finishing off the backlog (starting with The Witcher 3 my personal GOTY). My main focus for the year is to help this site further grow, we have collaborations with other sties and YouTube channels once again like Ebeza and the ever rising SteelBallJack, I won’t be putting as many reviews out for a few reasons but as always I’ll be in the background helping this site grow for us who love to write and follow the DIY ethos the site was built on and for you readers so you know you can come here for 100% legit content.

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Final Fantasy 15 – I have been saying for sometime now that I wasn’t looking forward to this title and that I was done as far as Final Fantasy was concerned after not really loving any of the releases. The other week when I started to sit down and evaluate what to do with my free gaming time I realized that yes I miss the feel of getting the latest mainline Final Fantasy title and getting lost in the hype & grandeur that IMO you only get from these releases. It’s been far too long, come on Square Enix make me feel again!.

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Zelda U – As above mentioned there is just something special about Zelda releases (sans Tri Force Heroes sorry that just flopped) this one is another that has been built up over time and I know most WiiU owners are holding on for this title. Giant sprawling world and a gorgeous art style guarantees I am all over this, permitting they don’t announce Majora’s Mask 2 then i’d be very easily swayed.

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Yakuza 6/0/Kiwami  –  I had to re-write this spot a fair few times between Yakuza 6, Attack on Titan & Shin Megami Tensei x Fire Emblem. For the sake of this article I stopped on what title I think will make my personal GOTY & as usual it’s the series most people who know me will associate me with Ryu Ga Gotoku/Yakuza. Now people who have been coming to the site for some time will know I ran a large campaign alongside other passionate fans to get 5 localized, I’v also interviewed passionate members of the fan base and have Tojo HQ as one of our proud affiliates. I LOVE YAKUZA. Naturally with the release of Zero coming to the US & hopefully Europe if either Sega or ATLUS can find Europe on the map! We also have the latest title in 6 featuring Beat Takeshi and the remake of 1 in Kiwami, it’s a good year to be a fan!.

Des 

As I sat and welcomed 2016 in I realised something – I was finding it difficult to work out how many games I had actually completed in 2015. The issue was not that I couldn’t remember, no, it was that I have not completed many games at all. I have played a lot but I have very little completed. With this in mind I thought I’d have a look at my back log and would you talk about first world problems. Let’s say the back log is rather big.  As gamers we all have this running joke of having nothing to play but in all honestly we are just lying to ourselves.

So how do I solve this? Easy – one step at a time.  I found a great new sub-reddit called 12in12. As you may guess from the title it involves completing at least 12 games in 12 months. You submit your list and set some rules.  My list sits at 15 games (which is a tiny chunk of my back log tbh) but nevertheless I will aim to finish it.

“Why am I telling you this?”, you may ask. Ah, the answer is simple loyal readers; our glorious leader asked has asked us all to list our most anticipated games of 2016 and with my trying to sort my backlog out it causes a few issues.  The big one is that I am trying not to buy any games this year so I have not really looked into any games coming out this year.

With that said, here are my games that I am looking forward too in 2016;

Quantum-Break

Quantum Break – I have seen only a few videos of this but it has really impressed me. Being developed by Remedy I honestly believe that this could be the Xbox’s killer game.

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Uncharted 4 – like Remedy, Naughty Dog cannot do any wrong in my books and I’m looking forward to the conclusion to Drake’s story.  So far it looks great and from what I experienced in the Beta, it plays really well too.

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Persona 5 – this has a 2016 date and I think it will see the light this year.  I may not play it this year but I am looking forward to seeing more details about the upcoming sequel to the excellent Persona 4.

That is all for now from me – back to the Commonwealth to knock the first game of my 12in12 list. ?

Vincent

As 2016 rolled in I found myself struck by the realisation that although 2015 was one of the strongest years for gaming in a long time. It was actually hugely disappointing too, games with a lot of hype and many peoples anticipation that just didn’t deliver.

Imagine if you will how strong a year 2015 could have been if titles such as The Order 1886, Star Wars: Battlefront, Halo 5 Guardians, Evolve, Battlefield Hardline and other similar AAA titles had delivered all of their lofty promises. But as they didn’t it is that time as with everything to look forward and hope that in 2016 these promises are kept.

Below are the titles I am personally most looking forward to during 2016,

1. Zelda U (WiiU)

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Now I am a sucker for all things Zelda, so any new release into the main franchise will always pique my interest. The mix of semi open worlds, adventuring and funny little characters is what sucked me into the franchise in the first place and I have been an avid fan ever since. Details are still fairly thin on the ground and there isn’t even a solid release date, but if it does arrive this year then I will be one very excited WiiU owner.

2. Mirrors Edge Catalyst (PC, PS4, XB1)

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If you had asked me in 2007 what I thought about the idea of a game almost entirely about freerunning, I would have scoffed about what a ludicrous idea it was. But in 2008 the original Mirrors Edge came out and blew people away with its almost perfect movement system, exhilarating gameplay, clean beautiful graphics and a fairly interesting story. Even the lack of actual combat didn’t seem to put many people off.

It was hardly without its flaws, but overall DICE managed to do exactly what they set out to and now in 2016 they plan to repeat and improve the formulae. From the small amount shown in a gameplay video released back in August the combat has been integrated very well with the free running making for a lot of very smooth, fun transitions. Everything just looks bigger and more interesting, which for a game all about running and climbing is a very good thing.

3. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (PC, PS4, XB1)

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Many of my friends will see this and think I have lost my mind, but Deus Ex was one of the first games I played on PC when I was younger and I totally fell in love with it, the atmosphere, characters, setting, everything. Deus Ex: Invisible War was a little lacking compared to the original but it still stole many hours from my life.

Then came Deus Ex: Human Revolution, a title I was so excited for it was unreal. Until I actually played it, my beloved memories had been twisted into some weird cover shooter with the illusion of choice and a main character so annoyingly moody he became a widespread internet meme. But even after all of this, I still desperately want the series to grab me and make me fall in love with it again. It has so much potential and if it looks back at its older brothers then maybe they will see what made the original the classic it is. Please don’t hurt me again Deus Ex 🙂

 

Geoff

Let’s just begin by saying that I’m glad 2015 is over. There’s been a few low points in the second half of the year that really tested my commitment to this quaint corner of the net here & my enjoyment of gaming. If one was to ask about my GOTY for 2015, my mind would go blank. I finished the year playing almost nothing but Fallout: New Vegas on PC (hitting up the Atomic wrangler for a night with Beatrix Russel before shuffling to the strip made the days more tolerable) Luckily a much needed break over Xmas & new year has instilled a little extra vigour and I’m actually looking forward to some games, especially with me hopefully securing a new Ps4 within the next week . The few games I’m gonna pick are pretty much all set to release in the next few months as 2016 is looking way too packed to sit here contemplating games released throughout the year, so here’s my 3:

Senran Kagura: Estival Versus:

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I’m sure most that know me were expecting this. After sampling Senran on the big screen with Shinovi Versus & Bon Appetit via the Playstation TV, I’ve been looking forward to a console release for the series. The promise of larger scale battles with graphical & performance improvements for Ps4 is just too much for someone that has enjoyed what the series has to offer since Burst hit the scene. I doubt it’s going to be perfect, but fun doesn’t have to be.

Megadimension Neptunia VII:

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I got to sample this game last year when the demo hit the Japanese PSN store. My rusty Japanese meant the story segments passed me by a little, but it still left me eager for a western release. Everything seemed a little more refined over previous releases on Ps3, with a nice enough boost in visual quality to tie it all together. No doubt some folk are wondering why I haven’t picked one of the big Jrpg release, and it’s simply because they don’t have the charm of the smaller ones – Plus they aint got no Nep-Nep.

Ratchet & Clank:

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The Ratchet & Clank series is one that I’ve always enjoyed playing, even the disappointing Into The Nexus had its moments. A reimagining of the original Ps2 classic to coincide with the launch of a movie means there’ll be much R&C content for me to enjoy come launch day, and enjoy it I shall.

 

Aaron

Hello, fellow otakus. My name is Aaron and I am an anime nut. I am 18 and currently live in the West Midlands with my mother, sister and 5 cats. Yes, 5! My favourite anime include Toradora, Katekyo Hitman Reborn and Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. As for games, I adore VNs and hope to spread that love to the viewers of this site. Anyway, there are a lot of games that I am looking forward to this year. Narrowing it down to 3 wasn’t that hard though, honestly. My 3 most anticipated games for 2016 are:

1.       Bravely Second: End layer

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because I absolutely adored Bravely Default and have been looking forward to this game for quite a while. I’m not sure whether I will be getting the limited edition game that comes with a lot of goodies, but I hopefully will as it all looks so good.

2.       Princess Evangile – W Happiness

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because this VN was fun to play/watch and had a lot of characters that deserved routes. Although it is not confirmed for this year the translation for this fan disc has started and, as long as no complications occur, should be released before 2017.

3.       Star Ocean 5

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because Star Ocean is one of my favourite game franchises of all time and I have been waiting for another instalment in the franchise for 5 years. Although I do not own a PS4, I will definitely be purchasing one for the release of this game.

Thanks for reading and I look forward to working with the Otaku Gamers staff and spreading the VN bug to all of the viewers. \(^-^)/

Jay

 

So a few days ago our resident PR guru Andi came to us with a humble request to compile a list of our 3 most anticipated title of 2016 and why, a simple task or so i thought until i sat down to produce my list at this moment the titles of the many games from E3 and TGS as well as those we have been waiting on hit me at once and as the cold sweet washed over me i begin to remember the remakes and locations also hitting this year with such well known names as final fantasy, persona and dark souls on the way not to mention localisations of legend of heroes, bravely second and god eater all looming over us where do i even begin?

Digimon Cyber Sleuth 

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The answer came in the form of a little yellow dinosaur by the name of Augumon as a long running member of the digimon fan club Digimon story cyber sleuth had to come out in the top 3 with the games previously interesting story’s and cute digital monsters a digimon game about investigating hackers that use digimon to commit crimes was instantly appealing.

Horizon

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Up next i chose Horizon zero dawn a title i knew from the moment of seeing it i wanted and seeing the game play footage only cemented that further, the beautifully stunning world in which you take the roll of an almost primitive human women to bring down machines resonated with the monster hunter fan boy inside of me making this possibly the most anticipated of my titles this year.

Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization

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And finally I have to go with Sword art online; hollow realization though we have no date in Europe yet it has been slated for a 2016 release in japan while there’s not a lot to go of at the moment as a fan of both the anime and owner of each instillation of the series to date there is little doubt in my mind that i will enjoy this and even less that i will be pre ordering well in advance.

Andy C

1) Final Fantasy XV

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Of course this will make the list. It should make any Square fans list. In development since before the days of Pong and Breakout, it’s rumoured we’ll see the finished game this year. I’ll be signing up for the Ltd edition version.

2) World of Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy Explorers

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WoFF: Chibi Yuna. and probably a chibi Tifa. They alone justify the purchase. PS4 and Vita with cross-save. In for day one. FFE: We don’t know much other than there’s a job system and that it’s basically a Final Fantasy Monster Hunter. What’s not to love eh? Other than you ‘can’t’ ride Chocobos. Grrrr!

3) Every other Moe/Ecchi game released in the West.

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Senran Kagura vs. Estival, Criminal Girls 2, Dead or Alive Volleyball Xtreme 3 and possibly a few that I missed last year that were Japanese only just to complete the list. With the Social Justice Warriors moving from Mumsnet and Tumblr into the real world, apply such pressure that even the mighty Tecmo bow to their pressure, how long before Moe games become a thing of the past? With that in mind it’s prudent to get them in now before they become collectors only games and the eBay scalpers buy the few remaining copies and sell them for twenty times their worth.

I know technically that’s more than three but I couldn’t make the list three and be true to myself. Like if someone said to me “What’s your favourite game/film/book/album?” For someone with Asperger it’s a loaded gun. I’d be like in “What genre” and “CD or Vinyl?”, “VHS or Blu-Ray?” I can normally get down to around five or six top anythings but to put them in order is just too hard for me. The only thing I can ever be certain of in Gaming is that IX is the best Final Fantasy.

 

Ben

My name is Ben Radford and I have been a passionate gamer all my life from playing N64 and sega with my dad to now playing Japanese and English games on every console available! I work full time and have other hobbies but gaming has always been and always will be my one true passion I feel getting lost in a immersive game gives you a feeling like no other.

Legend Of Heroes: Cold Steel

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I have been looking forward to this title for quite some time, I love the look of the combat system and the weapon augmentation. The vast cast of the title is another aspect that has interested me and has shot this title up my list of must plays.

Final Fantasy XV

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I am looking forward to final fantasy 15 as I have played the demo for hours and I can’t wait to see how Square Enix blow our minds with the title. I am also intrigued by the combat system and can’t wait to delve in to the leveling up system and upgrades and hopefully crafting.

Persona 5 

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And finally I am looking forward to persona 5 as I have played every persona/shin megami tensei game and I love them to bits I think the are comical, interesting and genuinely fantastic games and I can’t wait to see the return of all my favourite personas on the next gen console.
Thanks for reading.

Liam

 

Yakuza Zero/Kiwami

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I’ve recently really gotten into the Yakuza series, I remember getting Yakuza 3 just over 5 years ago, and I loved every second I played of it, but due to a broken PS3 I never managed to finish it until a few months ago where I pretty much got through it in a few days, it’s one of the best games I played in 2015 (alongside my beloved BlazBlue!), I’m playing through 4 right now and it just doesn’t have the same feel, but considering Kiwami is a remake of the first one without the dub and Zero gives you the backstory, I’m pretty excited to see them and play through them, just because it’s a current hype train.

BlazBlue: Central Fiction

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Come on, it’s me. The BlazBlue encyclopedia. BlazBlue is one of my favourite franchises, I prefer the mechanics of Under Night in Birth, but BlazBlue has a decent story alongside it, which I haven’t managed to find in other fighting games. After the events of Chrono Phantasma, I just want to see where they’re going with the Ragna/Rachel storyline, the fact that Nine is playable this time around is just a massive bonus.

Shin Megami Tensei 4: Final

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The only main series SMT game I’ve really liked from the start is 3 (Nocturne/Lucifer’s Call), 4 at a first glance looked rushed, but once I settled into it, it was an amazing game. The series has a feel like no other, the closest comparison is Pokemon, and even then they’re nothing alike (besides the whole creating your own team from a bunch of demons/animals). I really can’t wait to see where they’re going with this story though, because Atlus have said it follows a neutral path, but it will still have multiple endings, which I’m intrigued to see how that plays out.

So there we have it, the collective thoughts of Otaku Gamers UK in regards to our most anticipated titles, some titles cross over lists and some interesting titles here but we can all agree that 2016 is gonna be a stellar year for gamers and personally speaking for the site our biggest yet!. As you may of noticed our new members hopefully over the coming months you’ll see more output from them as they slowly become full time writers for us.

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