Earlier this year, Konami hosted a livestream to reaffirm its commitment to the Silent Hill franchise, where it announced several new projects, including an avalanche of upcoming games: Silent Hill 2 Remake, Silent Hill Ascension, Silent Hill Townfall, and Silent Hill F. However, a title which was previously rated in Korea, Silent Hill: The Short Message, was not part of the livestream.
That game has since re-emerged in Taiwan, where it’s been cleared for release on PS5. And there’s even a description, as translated by Google: “Anita came to an abandoned apartment in order to meet her friend Maya, and somehow woke up to find herself trapped in it. She must escape her own fears and the monsters lurking in the corridors, discover the truth behind the events she’s trapped in, and try to escape before her own trauma consumes her will to survive.”
There’s no other information, apart from a single piece of artwork and a 31st December release date, although this is almost certainly placeholder. Exactly what is this project, then? Well, your guess is as good as ours – but we’re hopeful all will be revealed in the New Year.
Digital Eclipse teased a brand new update for their outstanding TMNT compilation, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection, yesterday. And today, in a livestream, the developer has shared some of the major details that are part of the game’s first big update — including a new Home icon (thanks, Gematsu!).
The game’s first update is available to download right now on the Switch, and the other big headliner is that online multiplayer has been added to Turtles in Time (SNES). Radical! You can now play one of the best TMNT games of all time online with friends!
For the rest of the patch notes (for all platform releases), check them out below:
Update, 21st Dec 2022
New Additions
Home Menu icon changed to the box art. ( Switch [12,757 articles]”>Switch)
PlayStation 4 arcade controller is now supported. PlayStation 4 joystick support has now been implemented (PlayStation 5).
Xbox arcade stick is now supported. Xbox joystick support has now been implemented (Xbox).
When creating an online lobby, the player can now set the lobby size for the two arcade games. Host can limit it to two, three, or four players.
When creating an online lobby, the player can now set the frame delay to “Automatic.” When this is set, the input lag adjusts according to the number of players.
A new enhancement added to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters. Ultimate-Attacks can now be enabled in Story Mode ON/OFF.
A new enhancement added to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters. “Group Mode” can now be enabled ON / OFF. (Only available in the Japanese version.)
A new enhancement added to the JP/NA arcade version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Number of lives per coin can be adjusted from one to five.
A new enhancement added to NA arcade release of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time. Number of lives per coin can be adjusted from 1-8.
A new enhancement added to JP/NA arcade Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Difficulty can be adjusted.
A new enhancement added to NA arcade Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time. Difficulty can be adjusted.
A new enhancement added to NA arcade Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time. Game Loop can now be turned ON / OFF. While ON, the game will restart from the beginning after the credits.
New button action added to “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (JP/NA Arcade),” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time (NA Arcade).” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time” and “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Hyperstone Heist.” Players can now assign a button to “Special.” This button presses “Attack” and “Jump” together to make it easier to do special attacks.
A new color enhancement added to all Game Boy games. Added Game Boy Color Mode ON / OFF. A new “Color Palette” option added to the Pause Menu for all Game Boy games. In addition to other filters, players can choose between four color palettes:
Black and White
Game Boy Green
Game Boy Pocket Green
Game Boy Light Blue
Audio for various games and the Main Menu adjusted.
Additional pages for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters NES and Genesis added to the Strategy Guide.
Additional page for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Hyperstone Heist for Genesis added to the Strategy Guide.
Visual settings are saved per game.
Issues Fixed
German translation for “Punch Repeatedly” for Strategy Guide page 11 has been fixed.
In the music player, the cassette tape icon for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles show now shows the correct icon.
On page 5 of the Strategy Guide Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time. Turtle Tip 3 screenshot has been replaced.
In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time, Stage Select enhancements now works even after settings are changed in Options.
In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Hyperstone Heist, Stage Select enhancements now works when selecting two players.
Easy Menu Navigation enhancement for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project now work.
Extra Credits enhancements to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters now work.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time manual in the museum now includes missing page 18 to 19.
Digital Eclipse has promised to bring a similar level of polish and quality to its next set of updates, and has already teased one major edition to its collection — online play for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project!
Are you going to be getting the Turtles together for Turtles in Time online? Let us know!
Publisher Konami Digital Entertainment [994 articles]” href=”https://www.gematsu.com/companies/konami”>Konami and developer Bloober Team [66 articles]” href=”https://www.gematsu.com/companies/bloober-team”>Bloober Team have announced a remake of Silent Hill 2 (remake) [1 article]” href=”https://www.gematsu.com/games/silent-hill-2-remake”>Silent Hill 2 for PS5 [3,497 articles]” href=”https://www.gematsu.com/platforms/playstation/ps5″>PlayStation 5 and PC [16,040 articles]” href=”https://www.gematsu.com/platforms/pc”>PC (Steam). A release date was not announced.
Here is an overview of the game, via its Steam page:
Having received a letter from his deceased wife, James heads to where they shared so many memories, in the hope of seeing her one more time: Silent Hill. There, by the lake, he finds a woman eerily similar to her…
“My name…is Maria,” the woman smiles. Her face, her voice… She’s just like her.
Experience a master-class in psychological survival horror—lauded as the best in the series—on the latest hardware with chilling visuals and visceral sounds.
And here are some quotes from the staff:
Comment from Producer Motoi Okamoto (Production Manager)
“Silent Hill returns as a high-end game. We are proud to announce the release of Silent Hill 2 for PlayStation [41,153 articles]” href=”https://www.gematsu.com/platforms/playstation”>PlayStation and Steam, the best of the Silent Hill series. Look forward to this high-quality remake brought back to life by a group of Horror [140 articles]” href=”https://www.gematsu.com/genres/horror”>horror game experts.”
Comment from Composer Akira Yamaoka
“Silent Hill is an inspiration to me. I am deeply grateful to be involved in a work that has been loved for such a long time. A new history is about to unfold again. Please look forward to the time when you can immerse yourself in that world again.”
Comment from Concept artist Masahiro Ito
“ Pyramid [32 articles]” href=”https://www.gematsu.com/companies/colopl/pyramid”>Pyramid Head is coming back. A new journey for those who know the original, and his origin story for those who know that character. And… the most memorable journey of the man most closely associated with that monster.”
Comment from Bloober Team CEO Piotr Babieno
“Silent Hill 2 was the game that shaped our collective vision at Bloober Team. It’s the game that started us on our Adventure [506 articles]” href=”https://www.gematsu.com/genres/adventure”>adventure in game development. Now, we face an ultimate challenge. A challenge to translate our youthful memories of the ultimate game into a language that modern players can engage with, whilst at the same time Crafting [1 article]” href=”https://www.gematsu.com/genres/crafting”>crafting an experience true to the original. More than 20 years ago, a team of brilliant minds at Konami developed one of the most remarkable games in the history of electronic entertainment. In partnering together, Konami and Bloober Team will ensure that Silent Hill 2 shines once again to set new standards for the genre and deliver an unforgettable experience for the next generation of fans. With our work, we are determined to showcase that Bloober Team is climbing the heights of what’s possible and aiming for the peak in game development. We can’t wait for the moment when Players will be able to see our work.”
Watch the announcement trailer below. View the first screenshots at the gallery.
Just hours before its official presentation today, details about some Silent Hill projects were possibly leaked by none other than Konami itself. Way to tell on yourself, huh?
In case you didn’t know, Konami will hold a Silent Hill Transmission livestream around 4:50 p.m. ET today on YouTube. The purpose of the broadcast, according to the video’s description, will be to “reveal the latest news for the Silent Hill series.” That’s cool, but this description has seemingly been updated as Twitter user Nibel discovered that a previous version featured details about what might be showcased.
According to the now-deleted information in the livestream’s description, Konami indicated that a Silent Hill 2 will be available on the PlayStation store at some point. While the video’s description might not be much to go off of, a Twitch streamer named SurvivalHorrorNetworkshared an automated Twitch email they got notifying them that a copyright owner—Konami—had monetized a test stream they ran. The copyrighted content named in the alleged email was “Silent Hill 2: Part 1” which may indicate that whatever potential Silent Hill 2 is in the works will be a two-part game.
Further hints emerge from the livestreams’s metadata, which has been posted to the gaming forum ResetEra for thorough inspection. The code namedrops Silent Hill 2, the upcoming movie Return to Silent Hill, and something called “Silent Hill: Ascension.” It seems the livestream will also include interviews and a teaser trailer, as well as possible mentions of PlayStation and Steam. That PlayStation was referenced in the metadata is a big deal to some Era users, as many noted that a Silent Hill 2 remake has long been rumored to be a timed exclusive for Sony’s consoles.
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Kotaku has reached out to Konami for comment.
Finally, a site called WhatIfGaming claims to have heard Silent Hill 2 remake details from an anonymous source, including that it will have an over-the-shoulder camera, “amazing” graphics, and the return of series art director Masahiro Ito and beloved composer Akira Yamaoka. The source purports that Bloober Team is developing the new Silent Hill 2, a rumor that has been circulating since at least May 2022 when alleged leaked screenshots began making the rounds. In June 2022, Bloober Team revealed its current project, a Layers of Fear reboot of sorts, that will build upon that franchise’s foundations with “a surprising new story and gameplay direction.”
Well, we’ll see in a few hours just what Konami has in store for Silent Hill fans. But it seems like we might already have a pretty good idea about at least one of its largest “surprises.”
It’s finally happening. A decade on from the last full Silent Hill game, the survival horror franchise is making a long-awaited comback.
The future of the Silent Hill series will be unveiled this week – on Wednesday at 10pm here in the UK.
“In your restless dreams, do you see that town?” the official Silent Hill Twitter account teased this evening. “The latest updates for the Silent series, will be revealed during the #SilentHill Transmission on Wednesday, 19th October at 2pm PDT.”
Eurogamer Newscast: Will Microsoft’s $68bn Activision Blizzard buyout be blocked?
The announcement was retweeted by Masahiro Ito, who has worked on numerous entries in the Silent Hill series as a monster designer and art director.
So, what do we expect? Well, the past few years have seen various whispers of Silent Hill projects in development – though nothing more concrete than last month’s recent appearance of something called “Silent Hill: The Short Message” popping up on the Korean video games rating board.
Separately, persistent rumours have swirled of a Silent Hill 2 remake, which several reports have claimed is being developed by Layers of Fear studio Bloober Team. Apparent concept art and screenshots of this project have also been spilled online.
In your restless dreams, do you see that town?
The latest updates for the SILENT HILL series, will be revealed during the #SILENTHILL Transmission on Wednesday, October 19th, at 2:00 PM. PDThttps://t.co/8Knoq9xYsa
— Silent Hill Official (@SilentHill) October 16, 2022
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Our clearest confirmation of multiple Silent Hill projects being in development came earlier this month, when Silent Hill movie director Christophe Gans blabbed about “several teams” working on “several games”. Back in 2020, the chatty director suggested it was time “to make a new [Silent Hill movie]”. Perhaps we’ll hear about that on Wednesday too?
For now, Konami has a very basic Silent Hill teaser site to gaze at – which you can see below. Tune in on Wednesday at 10pm UK time for more.
The search has ended: After a year-long process, Konami announced the grand prize winner of an open call for indie developers to revive older series from the company’s back catalog. At Tokyo Game Show, we learned first place will go to Takumi Naramura, director of La Mulana and La Mulana 2, as he plans to remake Konami’s The Maze of Galious.
Originally released as a sequel to Knightmare for the MSX computer platform in Japan in 1987, Konami brought The Maze of Galious to the Famicom later that same year. The side-scrolling platform RPG featured two heroes with their own unique skills, Popolon and Aphrodite, trying to fight their way out of a castle filled with monsters.
The Maze of Galious could be described in modern terms as a Metroidvania, since the player explores a series of interconnected rooms, gains experience points for defeating enemies, and searches for power-ups and keys. The MSX version made it to Europe, but the Famicom version was never localized for the NES.
In a press release announcing the winners, representatives from the panel of contest judges wrote that they “could feel tremendous passion for The Maze of Galious” in Naramura’s initial proposal, as he outlined the original game’s strengths and the challenges involved in bringing it to modern audiences. The release also had a comment from Naramura wherein he stated that if he hadn’t won the contest, “I’d probably just stay quiet and make the game anyway.” Years before this contest ever took place, Naramura was open about his fandom for The Maze of Galious, citing it as a primary influence for La Mulana.
Naramura was on hand at Tokyo Game Show when the announcement was made, and he visited the IGN livestream to speak to us and show us a glimpse of what his version of The Maze of Galious might look like. “I was watching last year’s TGS when this contest was announced,” Naramura said, “and I thought ‘there’s no way The Maze of Galious will be on the list.’ But there it was! I hurriedly contacted my teammates to find out what we should do.” Naramura acknowledged that his interest in this particular title was a bit outside the norm. “I think most people saw that list and said ‘Gradius, that’s cool, Goemon, I like that,’ so they might be disappointed that Galious was selected.”
While Naramura’s entry won the top spot, four more developers were also awarded prizes for their ideas. The runners-up included new versions of Star Soldier, Parodius, Twinbee, and Pooyan. Elsewhere, we learned that Konami RPGs Suikoden 1 and 2 are returning with new HD remasters.
The long-term silence on the Suikoden games has mystified us, you, everyone, for over a decade. But Konami moves in mysterious ways, and last night at the Tokyo Game Show, the company knocked everyone off their chairs by surprise-announcing remasters of the first two games, due next year.
It’s been ten years since there was last a Suikoden game, and that was Gensō Suikoden: Tsumugareshi Hyakunen no Toki, on the PSP, released in Japanese only. A fan-made English translation appeared last year, but understandably people assumed the series had been abandoned.
Screenshot: Konami
This was made further the case by the crowd-funded success of Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, a spiritual successor to the Suikoden series, created by the original developers. It had raised an eye-watering $4.5 million by June last year, and is already looking very impressive.
This surely had to be a motivating factor for Konami, who perhaps finally realized they were sitting on an abandoned gold mine. Still, though, they kept schtum and ignored the endless wails. Until now.
Konami
While these remakes are obviously not being worked on by the likes of designer and writer Yoshitaka Murayama, who is working on Eiyuden Chronicle, they have brought back in original character artist Junko Kawano. Which is interesting, as he is listed as working on Eiyuden Chronicle too.
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IGN got hold of some in-game footage from the remakes, where you can see the improved sprites, new sound, updated UI, and even rewritten English translation—something sorely lacking in the original ‘90s releases. This is a big deal, Suikoden fans!
IGN
Oh boy, the sprite art in the battle sequence is just so good!
At least one former Konami employee has been reacting with shock at this announcement. Yuichi tweeted saying, “While I still worked for Konami at E3 2015, I was told to my face that there will never been another Suikoden game because it just doesn’t sell in the States and Europe.”
He added, “For those who don’t know there are 27 True Runes in the lore for Suikoden and only 18 have been revealed.” He says he tried to keep the series alive for eight years at Konami, with no success, but believes that if these remasters prove successful, there’s hope a sixth game will be made.
This means that, major slips aside, 2023 should see the release of both Suikoden1 and 2, along with Eiyuden Chronicle. Like buses they are.
Breaking – Konami has announced it will pull the plug on the battle royale game Super Bomberman R Online. This free-to-play title was originally released on the Nintendo Switch on 27th May 2021 and will be shut down on 1st December this year.
Konami made this announcement via official game website, but didn’t really provide a reason as to why it’s being terminated so soon. It’s all due to “various circumstances”, so that’s that… Here is the message in full:
Jun.01.2022【Important】Service Termination AnnouncementThank you for playing SUPER BOMBERMAN R ONLINE.
This service has continued to operate with the support of many users since its launch in May 2021, but due to various circumstances, we have decided to terminate the service on all platforms on December 1, 2022 at 01:00:00 (UTC).
The sale of Bomber Coins and Premium Packs will end at 01:00:00 UTC on June 1, 2022. We ask that all unused Bomber Coins be used before the end of the service. We hope that you will enjoy the game until the end of the service.
The “Bomberman” series is moving forward with new projects. We hope to be able to inform you of this project soon. Thank you for your continued support of the “Bomberman” series.
As noted, all paid transactions will end later today. As for the Bomberman series – Konami will move forward with new projects, with plans to share more detail about one in particular in the near future.
Although this online game will be terminated, there’ll still be the original Super Bomberman R to fall back on. It was originally released on the Nintendo Switch in 2017 and also features online multiplayer support.
What do you think about this announcement? Leave a comment down below.
PlayStation’s rumored new acquisition is apparently a big one. Between reliable sources like Jeff Grubb and Greg Miller, we’ve been hearing for a few weeks that Sony is getting ready to announce a new acquisition. This week, the speculation turned towards Kojima Productions for reasons that are neither here nor there after Hideo Kojima himself confirmed Kojima Productions is independent and staying independent. According to the aforementioned Grubb, the acquisition is “bigger” than Kojima Productions, which is a tasty tease for PlayStation fans, as this likely indicates it’s a publisher, as there aren’t many independent developers bigger and more notable than Kojima Productions.
“If you’ve heard the rumors about a big acquisition from Sony, it was never Kojima Productions, at least as far as I am aware,” said Grubb. “The people who were hearing this stuff, including me, that was never a name that was thrown around. It was bigger than Kojima Productions.
It’s worth noting that Grubb has been off the mark in the past, but he’s proven reliable more than unreliable. Further, he isn’t the only one beating this drum. Typically, where there’s this much smoke, there’s fire.
Jeff Grubb says the rumored big Sony PlayStation Acquisition is bigger than Kojima Productions #PS5 pic.twitter.com/VsA1VsWGjq
— THE RED DRAGON 🔺 (@TWTHEREDDRAGON) April 14, 2022
So, who’s on the menu? Well, it doesn’t appear to be a developer as there isn’t really a single studio available that’s “bigger” than Kojima Productions. Remedy Entertainment is tied up in a million different contacts. FromSoftware has a parent company that probably isn’t interested in selling. With these two seemingly off the board, there aren’t many options left.
This tease implies it’s a publisher. If it is, Ubisoft seems a likely candidate given their recent struggles and PlayStation’s increasing emphasis in Europe. Square Enix, Capcom, Sega, Bandai Namco, and Konami are all difficult due to Japanese law. Take-Two Interactive and EA are likely out of the price range of Sony, so that doesn’t leave much else beyond Ubisoft. The only other option that seems realistic is CD Projekt Red, the makers of The Witcher and Cyberpunk 2077.
For now, take everything here — the report and the speculation it has created — with a grain of salt. So far, nothing has come of these PlayStation rumors, and the longer this stays true, the more dubious the claims look. Typically, acquisitions don’t leak, so the fact that this one did either means something amiss or it’s the exception. Neither plays in the favor of the odds.
Cowabunga, dude! Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo’s classic games are returning in one big collection for the Nintendo Switch and multiple other platforms.
Developed by Digital Eclipse, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection will contain 13 “radical classics” from Konami’s entire archive of retro TMNT games – across the 8-bit, 16-bit and arcade generations. There’ll also be Japanese versions included and online support in select titles.
Here’s the full line-up of games included:
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Arcade) • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time (Arcade) • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES) • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game (NES) • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project (NES) • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters (NES) • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time (Super Nintendo) • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters (Super Nintendo) • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist (Sega Genesis) • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters (Sega Genesis) • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall of The Foot Clan (Game Boy) • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Back From The Sewers (Game Boy) • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Radical Rescue (Game Boy)
*11 Japanese regional versions total -No Japanese versions released for TMNT (Arcade) and TMNT: Tournament Fighters (NES) **Titles with online functionality -TMNT (Arcade), TMNT: Turtles in Time (Arcade), TMNT: The Hyperstone Heist, TMNT Tournament Fighters (Super Nintendo)
This collection will be available in both physical and digital form this year for $39.99 USD or your regional equivalent. It also contains quality-of-life features which allow players to save, rewind, button mapping, and local couch play support. There’ll be a digital game guide for each title as well to assist players.
Here’s a bit more about TMNT and what else you can expect from the Cowabunga Collection:
“The games are based on the characters and themes of the 80’s children’s cartoon and comic book series, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles often taking place in a fictionalized New York City, around the sewers, inside futuristic enemy bases and even across time itself! In collaboration with Nickelodeon, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection will also include loads of extras using imagery from the original cartoons, comics and other historic TMNT media content in a compiled Museum connecting the franchise across the various mediums. Additionally, never-before-seen development art, sketches and game design material will also be included.”
