Japanese fans of video games are nothing if not pretty clear on what they do and do not like. Which is why, as we see every week on the Famitsu Most Wanted charts, the same franchises appear to be the one that chart the highest on their most anticipated games lists. In this case, those franchises are Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, Monster Hunter, and Mario.
All four of those actually form the top four of the Famitsu Most Wanted list for the week- Final Fantasy 7 Remake is at #1, Monster Hunter World is at #2, Kingdom Hearts 3 is at #3, and Super Mario Odyssey is #4. Pokemon UltraSun/UltraMoon take up the fifth spot, rounding out the top five. Meanwhile, Metroid: Samus Returns, which had crept into the top 10 last week, is now back out, in eleventh place. Sad.
Of these games, Mario, Pokemon, and Monster Hunter are due to launch within the next few months, meaning they should ensure that the Japanese market remains lively and stimulated- hopefully, Square can get its development act together to push out Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts sooner rather than later, too.
1. [PS4] Final Fantasy VII Remake – 716 votes
2. [PS4] Monster Hunter World – 559 votes
3. [PS4] Kingdom Hearts III – 479 votes
4. [NSW] Super Mario Odyssey – 435 votes
5. [3DS] Pokemon Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon – 336 votes
6. [PS4] The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III – 332 votes
7. [NSW] Xenoblade Chronicles 2 – 265 votes
8. [3DS] Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux – 262 votes
9. [PS4] City Shrouded in Shadow – 248 votes
10. [PS4] Dynasty Warriors 9 – 246 votes
[Thanks Nintendo Everything]