This may be one of the most colorful lineups for RPGs Coming This Week in a long time, even if you aren’t comparing to last week’s spreading darkness. I suppose this brings things back in balance. Whether you’re looking for Compile Heart antics, classic pixel art adventures, a surprise sequel, or a long-awaited (!?) re-release of a game from 2024, let’s get into this week’s lineup!
Intro by Mike Salbato
Calamity Angels: Special Delivery – February 17th (PS4, PS5, Switch, Windows)
I know I said we have a colorful lineup this week, and Compile Heart’s Calamity Angels: Special Delivery may be the most brightly colored of them all. Playing as a Cupid Angel, you strap on your delivery bag, and try not to live up to the reputation that your team tends to be known as in the world, the Calamity Angels. Sounds like being a delivery person in this world is fraught with danger, played out through turn-based battles and wacky humor. We’ll see what kind of rating this delivery team earns when Calamity Angels releases later this week!
As long as they don’t take the wrong roads or give my order away to someone else for some unknown reason, they’re okay in my book. And no I’m not salty about any recent food deliveries of my own, what are you talking about?
by Mike Salbato
Under the Island – February 17th (PS4, PS5, Switch, XB1, XBX, Windows)
If you love The Legend of Zelda and are hankering for a smaller-scale, more contained experience similar to Link’s Awakening, then Under the Island is for you. Eschewing the fantasy setting for a modern vibe (main character Nia wields a hockey stick instead of a sword, for example), Under the Island promises a bright, vibrant world to explore that’s packed with secrets to uncover and puzzles to solve. There is a free demo available on Steam, so give it a try before the full game releases on February 17th for all major platforms.
by Ben Love
WiZmans World Re;Try – February 19th (PS4, PS5, Switch, Windows)
Now this one is a pleasant surprise! WiZmans World was a turn-based RPG released by Jaleco for the Nintendo DS in 2010 that never made its way West. Publisher City Connection (named after one of Jaleco’s classic titles) took over the rights to most of Jaleco’s back catalogue in the intervening years, and is finally releasing this overlooked DS gem worldwide as WiZmans World Re;Try, fully localized in English.
WiZmans World Re;Try features a completely redone UI for single-screen devices, and remastered pixel graphics for high-resolution displays. The turn-based combat revolves around the wizard main character and his three homunculi partners, who can absorb the souls of defeated monsters to change their forms and attributes. I never thought we’d see this dungeon crawler receive an official release, and it looks quite promising if you are into obscure handheld RPGs from the 2000s.
by Ben Love
Paranormasight: The Mermaid’s Curse – February 19th (Switch, Windows, iOS, Android)
Paranormasight: The Mermaid’s Curse may have only been announced on February 5th, but it’s already coming out this week! While technically a followup to 2023’s Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo, this new game is a standalone story set on a summer island in Showa-era Japan. The story plays out through a new cast across multiple perspectives, all centered around a mermaid that can apparently grant immortality. And if the many fantasy and sci-fi stories I’ve read, seen, and played over the years have taught me anything, such a feat, if possible in the first place, often comes with a terrible price tag.
Then again, maybe it’s the whole “Mermaid’s Curse” that feeds into that. In any case, if you’re curious about this one, look forward to our review coming soon!
by Mike Salbato
Ys X: Proud Nordics – February 20th (PS5, Switch 2, Windows)
Ys X: Proud Nordics is an expanded port of 2024’s Ys X: Nordics, continuing the travels of the red-haired swordsman Adol Christin alongside his traveling buddy Dogi. It isn’t long after leaving the mystical land of Ys that the duo get foisted into yet another adventure when Adol’s fate becomes magically connected with the Norman pirate princess Karja. Can Adol and Karja stand triumphant against an enigmatic, undying legion of foes?
Ys X: Proud Nordics features a world map of islands you traverse by boat, with naval exploration and combat playing key components. When Adol and Karja make landfall, frenetic action RPG combat awaits the pair as they utilize their growing array of combat skills and magical abilities to traverse the terrain and make quick work of enemies. Proud Nordics features an all-new side story and island to explore while also offering polished gameplay features.
Adol’s adventures are always entertaining, though it is a bit odd how quickly this definitive version of the tenth Ys game came about. I’m definitely excited for it, but only because I wasn’t able to play the original version of Ys X. Still, if you happen to be in the same boat as me, diving into Proud Nordics might be the right call as this is being toted as the “complete” version of the game. Action RPG fans will want to keep an eye on Ys X: Proud Nordics when it releases later this week!
by Audra Bowling