It’s a new year and time for a brand new batch of video games from developers both big and small.
Fighting game fans will have a lot to look forward to in January with the launch of Bandai Namco’s Dragon Ball Fighter Z, Square Enix’s Dissidia Final Fantasy NT, and Capcom’s Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition. And if you enjoy games with a retro aesthetic, you might want to keep an eye out for Cellar Door’s Full Metal Furies, Square Enix’s Lost Sphear, and Nintendo’s 3DS re-release of Pokemon Crystal.
You can find what we’re looking forward to after the break, along with a complete release schedule for all of this month’s new releases.
Full Metal Furies (January 17)
Cellar Door Games is pushing Full Metal Furies as “Not Your Typical Brawler” and they might not be exaggerating. Players will be try to gain a tactical edge when choosing their character and an RPG-like leveling system will allow characters to grow in new ways. They’ve also promised to improve the typically “wonky” combat that plagues a lot of brawlers… and if they pull that off, I’ll be even more excited about the game and it’s incredible retro stylings. – John Scalzo
Lost Sphear (January 23)
January tends to be the month that I try and basically complete every game I left unfinished, and that list currently includes I Am Setsuna from Square Enix. The RPG’s last boss just killed me to the point of frustration, but I loved its old school RPG values, which is why I’ll be downloading Lost Sphear on day one. Lost Sphear looks like more of the same, with beautiful SNES-era graphics and a lovely orchestral score. The one aspect of I Am Setsuna that I was not a fan of was the same snowy environments, but Lost Sphear looks to change that up a little, along with a refined battle engine. It might be revving the nostalgia into overdrive, but I love it. – Andrew Rainnie
Dragon Ball Fighter Z (January 26)
Dragon Ball Fighter Z immediately hit my “day one” list the moment I saw the first trailer, and it’s the game I’m looking forward to this month the most. I’ve played my fair share of DBZ games since joining the fandom more than 15 years ago, but none of them really had the it factor that reflected the amazing battles found in the show. With Marvel Vs Capcom: Infinite falling a bit short with the fighting game community, that top spot is now up for grabs. And on a personal note, Dragon Ball Fighter Z’s launch is perfect for me… I finally got my wife to start watching the show, and she’s hooked. This has, in turn, reignited my passion for the series, and seeing how much fan service is apparent in Fighter Z makes the wait almost unbearable. Plus it has Captain Ginyu as a playable character. That’s worth the price of admission right there. – Mike Ryan
Pokemon Crystal (January 26)
Pokemon Crystal is headed to the 3DS eShop, which is exciting news! SoulSilver was my entry into the series, and it will be super fun to play the relaunched version of Crystal. According to Nintendo, it’ll have new story elements and updated features, and players can use the Pokemon Bank as well, which means I’ll be able to bring even more Pokemon to my Moon game (which I still haven’t finished… oops!). Honestly, I’ve got Pokom-ennui right now, and I think Crystal might be just the game I need to break out of it! – Nicole Kline
Dissidia Final Fantasy NT (January 30)
I’m surprisingly excited about Dissidia Final Fantasy NT. I mean, it’s not surprising that I’m excited about a Final Fantasy game, but I never finished the other two games in the series, so it feels weird to be excited for this one. But the changes they made look really fun… I’m specifically interested in how the three-on-three combat is going to feel. To me it looks more like a Final Fantasy title as a fighting game, and that sounds like a lot of fun! – Nicole Kline
What are you looking forward to this month? More games scheduled to be released in January 2018 can be found right here…
January 11, 2018
- Dusk (PC)
- The Escapists 2 (Switch)
- Super Meat Boy (Switch)
January 16, 2018
- Kerbal Space Program: Enhanced Edition (PC, PS4, Xbox One)
- Rocket League: Collector’s Edition (Switch)
- Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition (PC, PS4)
January 17, 2018
- Full Metal Furies (PC, Xbox One)
January 18, 2018
- Darkest Dungeon (Switch)
- World to the West (Switch)
January 19, 2018
- Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth – Hacker’s Memory (PS4, Vita)
- Kirby: Battle Royale (3DS)
- Mutant Football League (PS4)
January 23, 2018
- The Inpatient (PS4)
- Lost Sphear (PC, PS4, Switch)
- OK K.O.! Let’s Play Heroes (PC, PS4, Xbox One)
January 25, 2018
- Celeste (PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One)
January 26, 2018
- Dragon Ball Fighter Z (PC, PS4, Xbox One)
- Monster Hunter: World (PS4, Xbox One)
- Pokemon Crystal (3DS)
January 30, 2018
- Blade Strangers (Switch)
- Dissidia Final Fantasy NT (PS4)
- Railway Empire (PC, PS4, Xbox One)
- Wulverblade (PC, PS4, Xbox One)
