Welcome my friend, to this weeks Handheld Gaming News. It’s been an interesting week in gaming because of the E3 that took place in Los Angeles. Interesting that it made me realise the event isn’t just to showcase good upcoming games, it’s also a very traditional event. It’s not aimed at the casual gamer, nor the mobile gamer. No, all presentations, even that of Nintendo, was about action, platform games, shooters and fighting.
It’s difficult to find announcements in last weeks E3 of good RPG’s, simulation games or puzzle games that hadn’t already been in the news before. And looking at handheld games for the 3DS, Vita or mobile, the announcements were few and far in between! I will keep that in mind, so that I don’t get too hyped for next years event!
Almost at the halfway point of the year, we are gearing up for the holiday season here. I know American kids already have summer holiday, over here in the Netherlands we still have some weeks to go. Still, the weather is good and nature is in Summer mode. This morning we took an early walk in the fields and look at what we saw? A Stork! A good thing it had no baby to deliver, lol.
Demo for Ever Oasis in eShop
A week to go before we will finally see the release of 3DS RPG Ever Oasis on June 23. I want to remind you that there’s a demo available in the eShop, so you can take a look at the new characters and gameplay. I’ve played the demo for a bit, and it looks good. Somehow I had expected this to be a turn-based game, but it isn’t. The fighting, and the overall feel of the game, reminds me of Fantasy Life, which is a good thing!
You play as a plant-like Seedling tasked to make a new oasis in the desert. It will be a place of safety and respite in a world threatened by the spread of the life-stealing Chaos. By helping visitors who arrive at the oasis, you can encourage them to take up residence and set up their own shops known as Bloom Booths. The Bloom Boots will generate income and, over time, transform the oasis into a thriving hub of activity.
Heroes must also venture out into the desert, to gather valuable resources and uncover the secrets that lie in the many puzzle-filled dungeons throughout the world. New allies may join the adventuring party too, and they’ll be needed, as the taint of Chaos is everywhere, and a host of enemies stand ready to attack our hero in exciting real-time combat.
Atelier series 20 years
The Atelier series has it’s 20-anniversary this year, and as you know it’s one of my favourite series. Lots of familiar faces in this celebration clip!
Demo MiiTopia in American eShop on 3DS
We still have some weeks to wait for MiiTopia, Nintendo’s quirky title which releases on July 28. But in the American eShop, you can now download the demo and get a taste for this Mii based RPG. I haven’t seen it in the European eShop yet, but I will add the info here if it’s available there too. 
Nintendo will continue to support the 3DS
If you play your games on the 3DS only, all the gaming news about Switch games might start to really annoy you. Heck, even though I own a Switch it still annoys me. But there’s good news: in an interview with IGN Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime told them Nintendo will continue to support the 3DS beyond 2018. He remarked: “We’re going to continue to bring new content, and that’s what’s going to keep this device vibrant and keep it going well into 2018 and beyond.”
Of course they talked about the Switch, and how this home console can serve as a handheld device perfectly well. But he concluded with: “And we’re greedy and we want Nintendo 3DS right alongside it.”
RE: LEGEND in development for PC by Square Enix
I recently came across some news that had escaped my attention earlier. Square Enix pledged their support of the Switch in April, and announced a new game that interests me. RE:LEGEND is a video game about farming, exploring, village management and just so much more. See why I think that sounds just like Animal Crossing marrying Harvest Moon?
For now, the game is in development for the PC, but if you couple it with SE’s support of the Switch, connections are formed in my mind…could this be the simulation game for the Switch I’m waiting for? Anyway, see what you think, here’s a trailer of the gameplay.
Fantasy Life mobile delayed
A game that’s been on my radar for some time now is the mobile version of Fantasy Life. According to Level-5’s Twitter account the game needs a bit more improvements. While it was originally slated for April, no date is given now…A pity, because it might just be a fun game to play on my phone.
That’s it for this week. I’ll be playing Zelda Breath of the Wild this weekend again. I haven’t gotten far yet, I’m in the middle of the quest to Zora’s domain. But Im having such fun exploring that I don’t care how many hours I sink in. What’s your favourite gaming for this weekend?
Thanks once again for reading and I hope to see you again next week!
I don’t mind another Harvest Moon franchise. But no matter what it ends up as people will compare it to HM/ SOS and we can only hope this new entry tries to do something different enough.
True! I’ll be glad with any sim game on the Switch though
For sure!!! ^^
I’m very excited about Ever Oasis! I didn’t know about the demo. Thanks for sharing. I wasn’t that crazy about E3 this year. I would have been more excited if Nintendo had shown at least some concept art for the new Pokemon game they teased about. I might consider getting a PS4 later in the year to play Monster Hunter World! Re: Legend looks so cute! I hope it does release on the Switch. I laughed when I saw the girl riding the hamster!
Yeah, to give only a little snippet of news about a Pokémon game could mean anything. Maybe they literally just thought of the idea and had nothing to show. Still, it would have made it better!
The demo for Ever Oasis is short, but I think it gives a good impression of the gameplay!
“If you play your games on the 3DS only, all the gaming news about Switch games might start to really annoy you”: What annoys me even more are the disparaging comments from Switch aficionados often posted under the rare remaining 3DS news on big gaming news websites… You know, stuff like “Stop supporting that dated system” or “Enough with the 3DS, now focus on the Switch”. I really don’t think such harsh reactions are fair, especially since the few games involved are the work of third-party developers that probably started developing those games before the Switch specs were even known and that may not have had the funds to develop a full-blown Switch game anyway. And I mean, it’s not like Nintendo is unable to support two systems at once, given that they’ve basically been at it since the early 90… 🙂
Very true. Even now that I have my Switch I’m very annoyed at the way the major sites cannot stop about Arms, Splatoon and on and on. They gloss over the fact that we should get more variety on the Switch. Where’s the good simulation game, or the great JRPG? I’m sure they will ultimately arrive, but it seems like Nintendo can’t look further than Mario titles and the brawlers!