Editor’s Note: There will be no See You There, Beyond the Ocean spoilers below.

See You There, Beyond the Ocean begins with a grown Hsiao-jung visiting her mother’s home to get things ahead of her impending marriage. As she does, she comes across comics she drew as a child. However, among them is Voice of the Ocean, which is a bound and more detailed art book of sorts. We then learn that, growing up in Tauchung City, Taiwan, she was bullied and mocked for a number of reasons. The only thing that saved her ended up being chance encounters with her classmate Ko-wei after starting third grade. The two ended up connecting and developing this strong relationship and bond. 

Part of what makes See You There, Beyond the Ocean so emotional and touching is the series lures a reader in with sweet, lovey moments. There’s Hsiao-jung being unable to resist touching Ko-wei’s ponytail in class. Ko-wei convincing Hsiao-jung to watch a magical girl cartoon series so she can talk about it with her. Ko-wei, when she sees Hsiao-jung retreating, being silly with her and talk about what she “can’t talk about” in cat speak, resulting in the two just being together, supportive and meowing. The two taking part in their “comics class” together. And, most importantly, Ko-wei starting to create Voice of the Ocean and telling Hsiao-jung she can see it when it is finished.

From there, we get to see the more dark and unsettling moments that can define a relationship. One is jealousy. When the two were in the same class at their school, they could spend all their time together. There was constant reassurance of their bond, which was defined as “best friends” at that point. But when they’re placed into separate classes, there’ a divide. Hsiao-jung sees her with others and even purposely ignores her to try and make Ko-wei hurt and feel the way she does.

All this means when we do get the more tragic and heart-wrenching moments, it hits harder. Hsiao-jung’s reactions feel more meaningful since we experience how she’s affected by certain events. While we never see her outward anger, it comes through in her art. When she considers what she wants to do in the future, her relationship with Ko-wei leads to her deciding to go overseas for school. I don’t want to get into too many spoilers, but we see how Ko-wei changed her life. 

See You There, Beyond the Ocean is a perfect example of cause and effect, with the highs and lows of a relationship shaping a life. We watch how the two first connect. We see moments that build that bond up both in the main story and a critical bonus side story at the end. Then we see how that carried over to affect Hsiao-jung for the rest of her life. It’s very comprehensive.

See You There, Beyond the Ocean is available in English via Yen Press. 

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Things begin in and Roger with some odd “are you human” sorts of tests before a young girl named Sofia wakes up in her bed. She seems to have not slept well and realizes she might have even overslept. Trying to perform ordinary tasks to prepare for the day are a trial. When she finally heads into the living room to find her father and get ready for school, a strange, unknown individual is there. She doesn’t know him. When he steps away, she tries to reach the phone to call 911, but he stops her. He forces her to eat. Then he tells her it is bedtime and sends her back to her room. 

You can’t say too much about what’s going on in and Roger, but TearyHand Studio does an exceptional job of cultivating an atmosphere of unease and perhaps even fear. The girl seems like an ordinary grade schooler. Something doesn’t feel right, but why? Is the mysterious person tied to it? What do you do? It’s all well-executed and an adventure I think would be beneficial to experience to gain a greater understand of life and things that could happen to anyone. 

To compound that, and Roger adds to the atmosphere and uncertainty with controls that involve pressing random buttons on screen to achieve tasks. They’re unlabeled! Who knows what does what until you try? It’s here that I think the best part of the Switch 2 port of and Roger comes to the forefront. There is Joy-Con 2 mouse support. It really helps with some of the button pressing challenges. Especially in instances where the buttons may start moving or more might pop up and shift position. It makes it more comfortable to play. 

That said, there are some things to take into account when playing and Roger. It is a fascinating game with an incredible message. Know going in that this is a kinetic story and there aren’t multiple endings. Some trigger warnings would have been appreciated too, given some of the revelations that come up as it goes on. It is also a very short experience, but the pricing is right considering. I even wouldn’t be surprised if, after playing it once, you might find or know someone who would also benefit from the experience and message and share it.

and Roger is a poignant and meaningful adventure, and the Switch 2 version feels like the strongest console release. This is primarily because it’s so well suited for a mouse-based control scheme, which this offers. It’s a touching tales that leaves an impact on those who play it.

and Roger is available for the Switch, Switch 2, PC, and mobile devices.

Editor’s Note: There are no spoilers for the Sailor Zombie manga below.

Maiko was living an ordinary life, preparing to put on an idol performance with her two best friends for a school festival, when the zombie pandemic hit. It took one of them, B-ko, first. She managed to escape, and she’s living on the run when some undead chase her past Fujimi All Girls’ High School. She sees the lights and runs towards it, and “students/residents” there named Mutsumi and Yuri see and save her. They bring her in to become part of the community, which includes teachers, original students from that school, and other survivors who’d come by. Some are friendly and welcoming, like Arisa! Others seem stand-off-ish and like potential bullies, such as Momoka. However, while this place seems like a peaceful haven, there’s no true respite in a world dealing with such a crisis. And Maiko innocently releasing a male teacher accused of murder and locked up for his crimes, claiming Mutsumi is a problem and nobody in the school is sane, kicks off a series of problems that begins with her, Mutsumi, and Yuri being “exiled” unless they find and bring him back. 

One thing that’s fantastic about the Sailor Zombie manga is the way in which Maiko starts out seeming like a normal high school girl. While she carries a bow and arrow, she’s absolutely terrified of zombies. Mutsumi and Yuri are better equipped for the situation, but only because we see they’re established “defenders” at the school. (Not to mention Mutsumi’s personality is a bit warped in some ways.) It’s only as the story goes on that she starts to adapt for various reasons.

The Isshin Inudo story is also great in how it gradually foreshadows connections between situations and characters. So much so that in the first volume, you get an idea there’s some sort of tie to what’s going on and Maiko. But it’s only later that we start to see how her own relationships meant she had her own unique connection to everything that happened. Likewise, her love for her first crush Takurou and admiration for the music from Aruru he shared with her keeps pulling things together and advancing the story for not only her, but others.

Another great element of it is that we see clearly how things cascade. Again, Isshin Inudo doesn’t tell us how societies and social constructs collapse. We see in real time and watch with actual examples how things start to go awry, snowball, and then turn into absolute nightmares. It feels quite realistic, given the nature of things. Like even though there are very supernatural elements at play, it’s easy to understand how these sorts of abuses of power and darker sides of human nature could become the undoing of a potential safe haven.

Most importantly, Isshin Inudo designed it as such that you would never know this is tied to AKB48 unless you looked it up or perhaps recognized the performers in the live-action series. The only hint that it might be associated with it is the fact that there are a lot of references to music, especially its influence on zombies. It’s handled so well, and I feel like it increases its reach.

Sailor Zombie is a fascinating take on the zombie apocalypse sort of story, and the manga omnibus is still a great read after 12 years. Especially since, while tied to AKB48, you don’t need any experience or knowledge of the group to appreciate it. It’s just a story about hope, the downfall of society, and zombies.

The Sailor Zombie: Complete Omnibus of all four volumes is available now through Yen Press. A live-action drama appeared in Japan and an anime adaptation is in development.

The title of the new career scenario can translate to, “Welcome to Tracen Ramen! ～ Repaying Gratitude ～” In the trailer, we see some scenes that may appear in the career scenario, as well as flashes of the scenario-specific concert. The key visual of the new Umamusume: Pretty Derby career scenario features Fine Motion, Narita Top Road, Meisho Doto, Calstone Light O, and Nice Nature. Of the non-playable characters, we see Tazuna and Light Hello.

You can watch the trailer for the new career scenario here:

The Japanese server has recently added Curren Bouquetd’or as a playable Umamusume trainee. She had previously appeared as an NPC, and she is friends with the newer in-game generation, which includes girls like Chrono Genesis, Almond Eye, and Loves Only You. While the global server will not be getting her or the new ramen career scenario for a long time, it added Air Shakur earlier this month.

Umamusume: Pretty Derby is readily available on mobile devices and Windows PC. The ramen career scenario will only be on the Japanese server of Umamusume: Pretty Derby for now, and it’ll come out on June 29, 2026.

As a quick refresher, Wanderstop follows a warrior named Alta who runs into a mystical forest in order to train under a former legend named Master Winters that retired there. She used to be the best there is, but a horrible losing streak left her pushing herself harder than ever and searching for answers. The problem is as she runs, she suddenly becomes unable to lift her sword and passes out. She wakes on a bench outside a teahouse named Wanderstop run by a man named Boro who found her and her weapon, then brought her there. Since any attempt to return to the woods to run and find Winters results in another collapse (and perhaps harsh truths), she’s essentially forced to finally slow down, grow ingredients for tea, brew drinks for others who find themselves suddenly in the forest and at the shop, and come to terms with what’s really going on.

While this is more of a narrative affair than a hard-pressed, fit everything into a schedule to maximize output and success game, Wanderstop doesn’t function exactly like other similar sorts of adventure games and simulations. A few customers will pop by each season. Based on contextual clues or flat out requests, you can use what you know about different varieties of tea and ingredients to brew what they need. Once all requests for a season are done, Alta gets to move forward and we learn a bit more about what’s going on with her.

Functionally, Wanderstop works well on the Switch 2! There are a few issues I had in the PS5 version, which I mentioned earlier, that don’t seem to be present here. One of the biggest is that Alta actually brews tea properly and doesn’t hop on the ladder when I try to toss ingredients into the pot. When she serves people tea, she actually faces them and doesn’t suddenly turn around to look the other direction in the story segment that would follow. Basically, every bug that bothered me in that initial release doesn’t seem to be here, and that’s such a welcome change. It makes it so much easier when arranging, getting items for birds, and trying to fulfill orders. Alta’s pockets are still too small, but as long as she’s actually selecting the correct items and chucking them in the brewing contraption when I need her to, I’m fine with that!

There is a compromise to it, however, Wanderstop looked far sharper on the PS5 than it does on the Switch 2. Character and environmental models might not look as sharp and crisp. Shadows don’t seem as well-defined either, which can make the lighting seem odd. The colors still pop and the cartoonish approach are maintained, which helps lesson the blow from it not being as well-defined and clear as on the other console. But the visual compromise is very visible. 

Yes, Wanderstop took its time getting to the Switch 2, but it’s a situation where it feels like that makes a big difference in a positive way. Bugs that could be a bother on the PS5 seem to be all gone. It runs well. It doesn’t look as great here as it did on other platforms, but it isn’t bad and the design direction helps mitigate that.

Wanderstop is on the Switch, Switch 2, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC.  

As is standard for Nendoroids, we’ll get three face plates for the character. One has him looking stern and serious. Another features a slight smile and more neutral expression. The third has him smiling wide with his eyes closed. He can be equipped with the Scion’s Arc Rod rod. There’s also a reference to the FFXIV Dawntrail expansion with this figure, as he comes with a taco he can hold. 

Here are all the first photos of him that Good Smile Company shared with us.

The first FFXIV Nendoroid ended up being a figure of Y’shtola. She’s going to show up in Japan in November 2026. The worldwide release may be a bit later, so folks might not see her until Q2 2027. We also know that Estinian will follow G’raha Tia, as a painted prototype of him already appeared. Both heroes and villains will be a part of this collection, as Good Smile Company also teased releases of Emet-Selch, Haurchefant Greystone, and Yotsuyu Brutus.

The G’raha Tia Final Fantasy XIV Nendoroid will come to Japan in March 2027, and we’ll see the FFXIV figure worldwide by Q3 2027. Pre-orders close on August 5, 2026. The MMORPG is on the PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC, with a Switch 2 version launching in August 2026. 

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In the series, Akane Osaki grew up loving the rakugo style of storytelling and entertaining after watching her father pursue his dream of becoming a performer. After he was not granted a promotion to a higher rank and expelled from the profession, she became determined to join the Arakawa School he was part of and become a shin’uchi. She succeeds in being accepted as an apprentice there and gets the chance to pursue her dream shortly after the series begins under the name Akane Arakawa. 

Bandai Namco shared a first photo of the Akane-banashi figure of Akane Osaki, which you can see below.

This figure isn’t the only news tied to the series. A second season of the anime is in the works. There’s even a first trailer for it. That will air in January 2027.

The Akane Osaki Akane-banashi figure will be in Japanese arcades starting on June 27, 2026. The manga is handled by Viz Media outside Japan, and the anime adaptation is streaming on Netflix.

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Tidus will be an Agile character in Dissidia Duellum Final Fantasy and the FFX character will still be voiced by Masakazu Morita. His Star Player of the Zanarkand Abes passive means the cooldown period for his equipped melee Abilities will be shorter, allowing him to attack more often. He also performs a dash attack called Quick Hit if you perform a hold attack. His unique Abilities are R Spiral Cut, SR Slice and Dice, UR Jecht Shot, and UR Blitz Ace.

We can see the first Tidus trailer below, which involves Rikku realizing the group is in Zanarkand and not Ginza. 

As for the new Abilities heading to Dissidia Duellum Final Fantasy, those will all be FFX ones too. One is a limited-time Memoria called A Dream Fulfilled that features art of Tidus and Yuna. That will be a Support skill and will be available as a Season Reward and from Season Reward Sealed Ability Crystals for a limited time. The extra UR abilities are based on Yuna/Holy, which breaks enemy shields and deals damage, and Wakka/Auroch Reels, which deals AOE damage in a cone in front of a player.

Finally, Rikku will get a new costume. That will be called Alchemist from Another World. There are no exact dates for its debut yet, but we’ll see it toward the second half of July 2026.

Dissidia Duellum Final Fantasy is available for mobile devices and Tidus from FFX will be available to acquire in-game alongside limited Abilities between June 30, 2026 and July 27, 2026. In July 2026, a “long haired” FFVI character will appear.

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The Tameless Game trailer sets up Valko as a rival and possible enemy to the player in Love and Deepspace. We first see a cinematic with him attacking some opponents and saying, “Trespassing on someone else’s hunting ground? That’s not very nice.” During these scenes, he’s in his werewolf form, so we can see his ears and tail. As he takes a call during it saying he’ll be skipping a family event, he sees the player character attacking the same group he is. It seems like this triggers a “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” sort of situation. We then see a cinematic with the player fighting Valko. 

After that, there’s footage of the two working together. This involves an opportunity to also see the official art for the five-star Valko: Nightprowl Wolflord and four-star Valko: Shadeblade. This is followed by an opportunity to see Valko in a different way. We watch him at work at EonCore. It also means “visiting” him in his office and coming to an arrangement with our avatar.

You can watch the full “The Tameless Game” Valko Love and Deepspace trailer below.

As for the 6.0 Love and Deepspace  Moonhowl Party Special Program teaser, you can see that below.

In the meantime, a rerun Memory event starts today. If people missed it, they get until July 2, 2026 to try to pick up Rafayel: Private Trip. 

Love and Deepspace is available on Android and iOS mobile devices and the 6.0 Special Program airs on June 28, 2026. 

There’s a trailer highlighting how the Mio Fatal Frame 2 costume DLC for Hinako looks in action in the other horror game. The Silent Hill f clip allows us to see it during combat, when exploring the town, and during event scenes. This means we also get to see what it looks like when Hinako takes damage and the outfit gets torn up. 

Here’s that full video. It also notes someone needs patch 1.20 to use it.

We already saw the corresponding crossover appear in Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly Remake. That let Mio dress up as Hinako. She got her school uniform and a replica of the fox mask from the Konami game.

Silent Hill f is available for the PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC and the Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly Remake costume DLC is live now.

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First, here’s a look at Togo Shiba. He’s a former friend of Kunishige Rokuhira, Chihiro’s father, and is now helping the son with his quest for revenge and to reclaim the Enchanted Blades. He’s voiced by Katsuyuki Konishi, who also played characters like Kenshiro in Fist of the North Star, Tengen Uzui in Demon Slayer, Xander in Fire Emblem Fates, and Boothill in Honkai: Star Rail.

This is what Shiba will look like in the anime.

We can see a number of characters in the new teaser trailer.

While the show won’t start until April 2027, we’ll get to see part of the first episode of the Kagurabachi anime worldwide ahead of the Crunchyroll debut. It’ll be shown at a number of conventions in 2026. However, new manga chapters will be on hold, as the series is going on hiatus.

Viz Media handles the Kagurabachi manga series outside Japan and Crunchyroll will be the anime streaming home in April 2027. 

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Baskin-Robbins has shared a sneak peek of how its island will look like in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. It will feature decorations with the chain’s iconic “BR” logo, which is also better seen with its “31” center highlight in Japan. The chain also teased a couple of cap designs that feature the full logo on one of them and the “31” emblem on the other.

The full image is available to view via the tweet from the Japanese official Baskin-Robbins account:

As a reminder, Baskin-Robbins had earlier announced its plan to launch an Animal Crossing collaboration in its real outlets across Japan throughout July 2026. It will produce a new flavor themed after the New Horizons island, along with exclusive packaging that features Animal Crossing characters.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is readily available worldwide on Nintendo Switch and Switch 2. Baskin-Robbins will share its island code for the game on July 1, 2026.

As this Ichiban Kuji is to celebrate 25 years of Kingdom Hearts, you can get prizes featuring characters, motifs, and worlds from lots of different games on decorations like figures, keychains, towels, and decorative dishes. Here is the full list of the prizes. Note that there’s only one A Prize and one Last One reward.

• A Prize: Sora figure
• B Prize: Blanket
• C Prize: Desktop figures (King Mickey, Donald, Goofy; no choosing)
• D Prize: Art dish (can use as decoration or as an actual dish to eat off)
• E Prize: Hand towel selection (11 options; can choose)
• F Prize: World logo rubber charm keychains (7 options; can choose)
• G Prize: Keyblade charm collection keychains (8 options; no choosing)
• Last One Prize: Riku figure

The Sora and Riku statues have them posing in front of the stained glass floors that appear in the Dive to the Heart. Each statue stands at around 15 cm tall. Both are the Chain of Memories versions. They look like they do in that game and are holding the cards. The stained glass they’re posing in front of also feature the respective characters that were key players for their individual routes there. The Last One campaign for this lottery will run until the end of November 2026.

The latest mainline series in the franchise, Kingdom Hearts 4, is in development. We last saw a trailer of it during the Nintendo Direct, so it will appear on the Switch 2 when it comes out. The first three compilations of the Kingdom Hearts games will also come out on the Switch 2 on October 8, 2026. The Kingdom Hearts 25th anniversary Ichiban Kuji merchandise lottery starts on August 15, 2026.

Since the campaign is one of the elements unchanged here, Dead or Alive 6 Last Round’s story goes about the same as before. Helena’s DOATEC and Kasumi are protecting Honoka ahead of the next DOA tournament and working alongside other familiar faces to figure out more about Victor Donovan and MIST. It’s… not great. Especially coming back to it years later and seeing how other story modes in other series like Street Fighter progressed. The missions and way in which things are executed is broken up in an unfortunate way, and we don’t get closure and answers in the same way we did in past titles like DOA 4.

The mechanics in Dead or Alive 6 Last Round remain the same. This is a 3D fighter with holds, punch and kick strikes, and throws, and each character tends to be strong or weak in certain areas. So it isn’t just about wearing down and beating up someone as in any fighting game, but also knowing that a hold will beat one of the types of strikes, the strikes will counter a throw, and a throw will keep your opponent from getting a hold on you. In addition to the campaign taking you through the story and DOA Quest missions, there are training options, Arcade, Ranked Match, Survival, Time Attack, and Versus modes. What’s here is solid, though I think the solo Arcade, Survival, and Time Attack options can feel better than the campaign elements sometimes. While the KOF XIV crossover characters Mai Shiranui and Kula Diamond are still paid DLC, the former add-ons characters Momiji, Nyotengu, Phase 4, Rachel, and Tamaki are included alongside some cosmetics and bonus BGM. (Note that you do need to unlock the costumes, however!) 

Aside from the included add-ons, probably the biggest “addition” here at launch is the Photo Mode. This lets you set a scene by choosing who is there and where they are, then deciding on the animation that plays. You then pause everything, so you can rearrange the camera, zoom, depth of field, and tilt. This feature also lets you move and rotate a selected character too, in order to better arrange the moment, then also determine their gaze and expression. It’s handled pretty well, and with the actual character models you can typically see the Oboro lighting system differences compared to the original game. 

The thing is that there are a lot of ways in which Dead or Alive 6 Last Round, while still looking good and feeling fun to play, doesn’t feel like it keeps up in this new port. At launch, we don’t see many stages that have Oboro lighting system support. Lost Paradise is essentially the example. There’s no cross-platform support, something relatively common now, and that’s a big issue since online multiplayer was always the draw in the original. Rollback netcode is absent as well. 

Dead or Alive 6 Last Round feels more like a reminder and accessibility update, rather than a more meaningful addition that gets it on par with current fighting games. Especially since more character and costume DLC additions are on the way. A lot of the important DLC is here, such as the five DOA series characters that were paid updates in the past. The Photo Mode feels like a thing longtime fans of certain characters might want too. But it feels like the absence of things now considered obvious quality of life inclusions, like rollback netcode and cross-play, hold it back. If you still have access to the previous version of the game, you’re fine, but people who never played would benefit from this instead.

Dead or Alive 6 Last Round is available for the PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC. 

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While the Gobbie Mystery Box element is a more recent addition, the rest of the Celestial Nights event goes as usual in FFXI. NPCs will reenact the ate between Prince Yahiko and Princess Amdina, and it is up to a player to follow a long and use emotes to ensure the date goes perfectly to get items like swimsuits for your avatar. You start it by talking to a Moogle at Bastok Mines (G-8), the North Side of Windurst Waters (F-5), or Northern San d’Oria (D-8). You then watch for the date between the NPCs to happen. The prince might be distracted by another woman, which will require you to either /slap him or /wave her away. Meanwhile, you’ll be able to see what the princess is thinking and will need to use /yes or /no to encourage or discourage certain lines of conversation. 

While the official site only shared a screenshot of the two reward swimsuits below, there will be other seasonal items to get. Some will be things sold at the Moogles’ seasonal stalls. However, if this is like past events, then there should also be sprigs of different color bamboo grass furnishings as rewards in each city.

Final Fantasy XI is available for PCs and this year’s Celestial Nights FFXI event runs July 1-15, 2026.