Characters from Big Hero 6 with franchise hero Sora (right) in a scene from Kingdom Hearts III. — AFP Relaxnews
The Japanese game industry's list of anticipated upcoming hits ranges from Disney Pixar video game crossover Kingdom Hearts III to the first Call Of Duty without a traditional solo campaign.
Eleven upcoming titles were highlighted at the Japan Game Awards' Future Division ceremony ahead of release over the coming year.
The return of dramatic airborne dogfighting franchise Ace Combat is anticipated through a seventh numbered entry across PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows PC in early 2019, and despite (or because of) a 12-year absence, it is among a dozen titles hotly anticipated by the JGA.
Likewise, Kingdom Hearts III arrives over a decade after Kingdom Hearts II, a successful and accessible blend of Disney characters with elements of the Final Fantasy video game franchise.
Kingdom Hearts III was revealed as far back as 2013 and has already been delayed from 2018 to January 2019; together with classic Disney characters Donald Duck and Goofy, players will make their way through worlds modeled on the Toy Story, Big Hero 6, Monsters, Inc, Tangled and Pirates Of The Caribbean movies among others.
And Call Of Duty: Black Ops 4 stood out on the JGA's list of Future Prize winners, being the only title developed outside of Japan.
Set for an Oct 12 launch across PS4, XBO and PC, it's jettisoning traditional single-player story for co-op modes and a versus multiplayer called Blackout, the franchise's take on massively popular battle royale games like PUBG and Fortnite.
Also included in the Future Prize listing were action games Mega Man 11 (early October), God Eater 3 (December in Japan), Devil May Cry 5 and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (both March 2019), cartoon fighting game Jump Force (February 2019), gangland detective mystery Judge Eyes (December 2019), survival horror remake Resident Evil 2 (January 2019) and Minecraft challenger Dragon Quest Builders 2 (December, Japan).
The Japan Game Awards are organised by Japan's Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association as well as the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
Announced at a September 20th Games of the Year ceremony for titles released between April 2017 and March 2018, was Grand Award winner Monster Hunter: World, previously named among the Future Division of 2017. – AFP Relaxnews
