Kingdom Hearts’ Opening Is Still Incredible

Image: Square EnixFamitsu has shared the latest look at the Japanese physical gaming charts, and there's another newbie on the podium. Despite not even reaching the podium in the UK, Kingdom Hearts Collection [I~III] nabbed the top spot in Japan, with just 23,411 units to its name. Not all that many sales for a debut, but it was a pretty quiet week out there, with Rhythm Heaven Groove landing in second and last week's champ, Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve flying into third.

Update [Fri 16th Oct 2026, 1:25am]: First 4 Figures has now aired its showcase for this Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom standard edition statue. As described, she's equipped with a torch in her right hand and the Purah Pad in her left. The design on the base of the statue is inspired by the Zonai shrine seal. There are also glow-in-the-dark features on the Purah Pad and base. Here are the dimensions:

Kernal Hearts is a roguelike action-RPG with a message about war and bosses that like to hit you with both melee attacks and bullet patterns. Oh, and it’s a post-apocalyptic world with a Tower of Babel to climb and angels to fight. With young women androids who rely on the recorded memories and personalities of former living weapons. It’s very NieR and NieR: Automata coded for sure. But while there are some interesting elements, I also sometimes feel like things such as the dodging mechanic, camera, and even need to level up at specific shrine spots on a map get in the way of it being great. Instead, it’s something novel, which is fine in its own way. Recommended Videos Kernal Hearts takes place in an alternate timeline where a Russian astronaut’s child after the trip to space developed unknown, inexplicable abilities. Humans, being what they are, decided to turn what would perhaps be considered a “magical girl” into a weapon of war. This meant tons of young women treated as tools, forced to fight, with only some of them being “honored” by having their memories saved as data. Naturally, an apocalypse occurred.

With the devs behind RimWorld gearing up for their next game with a recent engine switch, it'd be entirely fair if you were hankering for something new (if still familiar enough) yourself. Trailblazers: Into The March is one such game, having introduced itself to us earlier this year, a mishmash of the aforementioned colony sim, Nausicaa, Moebius, Andrei Tarkovski, Jeff Vandermeer, and FTL: Faster Than Light by Edwin's measure. And now you don't just have to look at its trailers, because there's a demo for you to have a go at. "In today’s demo, we have packed in so much for you to explore. From overcoming dangerous excursions to battling threatening foes," explain developer Strangers of the demo. "Take on contracts from the fixer and build out your perfect Trailblazing crew! " If you've not actually clocked roguelite colony-sim Trailblazer before today, you are said titular Trailblazer, a captain of a landship which are essentially big, honking, vaguely animal-shaped, Shadow of the Colossus sized crafts you pilot across the ground, taking on similar such opposing vessels.

Burton took a backseat for one of his best films Forget Wildwood, Laika's first stop-motion movie is streaming now on HBO Max

In the mainline The Apothecary Diaries series, the focus is on Maomao and Jinshi. There are a lot of important characters around them. They’re doing things too. But we don’t always see their sides of the stories or influence unless it’s directly tied to what the leads are going through. The Apothecary Diaries: Xiaolan’s Story spin-off manga prioritizes tales tied to the maidservant who showed up around the same time Maomao came to the Rear Palace. While she’s not as brilliant as her friend in some ways, this supplemental series highlights how influential she’s been on major events too. Recommended Videos Editor’s Note: There will be mild spoilers for some situations in volume 1 of The Apothecary Diaries: Xiaolan’s Story manga below. The events of The Apothecary Diaries: Xiaolan’s Story manga essentially run simultaneously alongside that of the main story, with on exception. Things start a few months before with her origin story. We know from Maomao’s kidnapping and the situation of other young women working in the Rear Palace that there are contracts formed where people receive pay and earned wages could be sent back from the girls working there.