Classic Series to Usher in the New Year

Author

Stephanie Liu
January 03, 2025

Welcome to “Siliconera Speaks Up,” our newsletter for the site! This’ll be a summary of the past week’s anime or gaming news, a little reminder of things to come, and our insight on what games you should pick up next. Without further ado, let’s get into it!

Speak Up Sesh

As a reminder, we have a giveaway for a Nintendo Switch OLED! Signing up for the newsletter automatically places your name into the giveaway and if you’re receiving this, then, congratulations! This giveaway is open to all subscribers in all regions. However, something you might not have known is that you can also receive three extra entries if you refer your friends to this newsletter. Here’s how to participate:

  1. Head to the giveaway page.

  2. Finish your registration if you haven’t already. You might need to pop in your e-mail again.

  3. Click on “Refer Friends For Extra Entries.” There’s a little heart icon next to it if you’re having trouble finding the box.

  4. A drop-down will appear with a link unique to you.

  5. Copy it and share with friends or other social media communities.

For every person who clicks your link and enters the giveaway, you’ll receive three extra entries. So if you refer it to, say, 5 people, that’s 15 extra entries. 100 people is 300 entries. This giveaway will end on January 31, 2025.

It’s the beginning of the new year! I hope you all had a great vacation (if you had those last few days of 2024 off), as well as a good start to 2025. This month, some major releases to look forward to are Tales of Graces f Remastered, Dynasty Warriors Origins, and Freedom Wars Remastered. Freedom Wars, in particular, must be exciting for those who played it a decade ago on the Vita, or wanted to play it and never got the chance to. There are so many games, like how Freedom Wars was, stuck on older consoles that make finding them impossible. If you don’t have the console, or can’t get your hands on one, you’re out of luck, too. Game and media preservation is something that a lot of companies should concern themselves with, but that’s a topic to delve into elsewhere.

One game in particular that’s been gaining a lot of traction is Dynasty Warriors Origins! For good reason, too. Have you played the demo? It’s pretty sick. I’ll be honest and admit that after playing Sengoku Basara, Koei Tecmo’s Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors series weren’t really my cup of tea. The combination of the sound design and the enemies’ physics isn’t as satisfying as Capcom’s take on the genre. But Dynasty Warriors Origins felt like the revival that the series needed, and I can’t wait until the actual game comes out later this month. There are a lot of missing characters from the roster, but maybe that’s for the best? I admit that I fell off pretty early in the series, so I’m not too familiar with how unique they all were. But the later entries featured so many playable characters they surely couldn’t all have a different fighting style.

A game I personally recommend is Tales of Graces f Remastered. Now, obviously, I didn’t play the new version of the port, but I did play the original and f when it came out on the PS3. Though there are stronger stories and casts in the Tales series, Graces really shone with its battle system. It’s fast, fun, and addictive. I also have a soft spot for its watercolor-inspired visuals, especially since it was such a sharp contrast to the classic anime style of Vesperia. It’s a little funny that the top two games we’re looking forward to in the new year are from series that have been around since the 1990s. Gaming trends are as cyclical as fashion, I suppose.

It’s tough to get back into the normal rhythm after so many days of feasting and relaxing. So take some time this weekend to just relax with a nice cozy game or two before it’s back to the grind!

Top 10 Stories From the Past Week

  1. Koei Tecmo Teases Many New Game Reveals in 2025 - Dynasty Warriors Origins, Atelier Yumia, and Venus Vacation Prism - Dead or Alive Xtreme are only the beginning for Koei Tecmo!

  2. One Piece Proplica Roronoa Zoro Sword Arrive in July - For the ultimate Zoro fan or cosplayer.

  3. Square Enix Needs Kingdom Hearts 4 and a FFXIII Remaster in 2025 - For various reasons, FFXIII got vindicated over time as people softened on it. People can still not like it, but it’s certainly gotten more supporters compared to when it first came out.

  4. Demon Slayer Infinity Castle Movie Trilogy Should Be a TV Series - After watching the Haikyuu movie, I’m convinced that manga story arcs aren’t for the big screen unless it’s a compilation of a season.

  5. Undone Hololive Watches Match Fuwamoco, Calliope Mori, IRyS, and ERB - These watches are crazy popular!

  6. Persona 5 Royal, The Phantom X Collaboration Cafe Announced - Perfect World, please, we yearn for this game and its interesting characters.

  7. See the Honkai: Star Rail Robin and Sunday Nendoroids - They’re really cute…and the Sunday & Robin pajamas HoYoVerse announced the same day were super adorable, too.

  8. Dragon Ball Super Ultra-Long Shenron Plush Is Over 2 Feet Long - He looks so silly compared to how divine he looks in the original series.

  9. These Monster Hunter Chibi Plushies Can Carry Eco Bags - Cute and practical? Say less.

  10. Square Enix Final Fantasy Games Survey Asks About Favorites - The survey ends on January 9, so you still have time to fill it out.

Upcoming Releases

  • Ys Memoire (PS4, PS5, Switch) - January 7

  • Freedom Wars Remastered (PS4, PS5, Switch, PC) - January 10

  • Donkey Kong Country Returns HD (Switch) - January 16

  • Dynasty Warriors Origins (PS5, Xbox Series X, PC) - January 17

  • Tales of Graces f Remastered (PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, Switch, PC) - January 17