2019 is both a big year for RPGs and a slow one. Tons of really anticipated RPGs and long, storied franchises are either finally coming back or dipping their toe into new territory, but oddly enough the majority of these big releases happened early on in the year. Thankfully there are still plenty of (hopefully) amazing titles coming later in the year so let’s check out what the most anticipated RPGs that are coming out later this year!
5. Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth
The latest game in the fan service fueled handheld adaptation of the Persona franchise Persona Q2 is on its way to the 3DS! Adding onto the already jam-packed cast from the first title, Q2 also adds the Phantom thieves from Persona 5, and a few original characters new to the sequel. The gameplay of this sequel has been simplified to appeal to the audience brought in by the popularity of Persona 5, and much of the horror elements have been seemingly toned down. Because of the success of Persona 5 and the changes in this sequel, the general anticipation for this title has grown significantly, and many Persona fans are eagerly awaiting this spin-off coming June 4th, now if they could only port the game to the Switch then this game might have landed higher on this list.
4. Fire Emblem: Three Houses
The first Fire Emblem game on the Nintendo Switch, Fire Emblem: Three houses has fans waiting at the edge of their seats with Switches in hand for it to release. The game is keeping the classic gameplay style that the series has always been known for and adding a more major branching paths system with the player pick one of the, you guessed it, three houses to lead each featuring its own set of characters and personalities. Set in a new land where the church practically IS the state the player will navigate the turn-based RPGs battles to some mysterious end and, knowing Nintendo, probably introduce half of the new characters for the next Smash game. The Classic RPG series is coming to the Switch July 26th and is marking another historic franchise making the “switch” (and yes I hate myself for that joke).
3. Shenmue 3
Ah, Shenmue 3 the old school meme of the third game never being released but the memes will finally be proven wrong when Shenmue 3 is finally released on PC and PS4 August 27th. The single player RPG that had you running around the more rural parts of the Japanese countryside while kicking some serious tail and checking your watch a lot was a groundbreaking Kickstarter campaign back in 2015 raising over $6 million during its fundraiser period. The only reason it isn’t higher on this list is that while the fanbase the game has is extremely dedicated it is also relatively small, this is perfectly shown by the Kickstarter campaign itself. While the game did raise the $6 million, the campaign only has about 60 thousand backers which all in all means that the average backer contributed $90 which is a lot considering the game could have not even come out, but the hype is still there so that’s why it still lands t number 3 on our list.
2. The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
Now the top two spots on this list were a tight race, but I decided to put the remake to the beloved Game Boy classic Link’s Awakening for one reason alone, the communities reaction to the new art style. While the game is still much anticipated when the game was first announced everyone asked the same question “Why does Link look like a toy?” plus it seems like the game will also feature different assets from the Mario franchise like Chain Chomps and Goombas so while this is going to be a remake of what is considered one of the best Legend of Zelda games it is also a big shake-up for the series. We are still waiting for more information on the game to come out so the release date is still TBD but we do know that is coming sometime in 2019.
1. Pokémon Sword and Shield
A controversial choice I know but hear me out before anyone starts angrily typing. Fans of the traditional Pokémon games haven’t been truly satisfied basically since the release of Pokémon X and Y way back in 2013. The past six years of Pokémon games have either been objectively poor or just very nontraditional in their approach to the series, and that has left some players feeling alienated. Luckily for those fans, everything in the new games looks like everything that any fan could hope for with the return of Gyms, the classic style of wild encounters and enhanced graphics taking full advantage of its new platform. That is another critical factor in the hype around this game too; it is the first “main series” game from Pokémon on the Switch, or even on a home console, something that fans have been asking for since the games were only in black and white. What is even better is that the game is still coming out this year! Though the release date is still vague, we do know that it’s coming Fall 2019 and I like many fans out there will be eagerly waiting to get my hands on the latest in this incredible franchise. What RPGs are you guys looking forward to in 2019? Do you think we overlooked the game you’re looking forward to? Let us know in the comments. We always love to hear what you have to say!
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