Captain Hector Barbossa is a fictional character of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, depicted by Geoffrey Rush and appearing in all five films in the series. Barbossa first debuted in The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) as the captain of the Black Pearl and a cursed undead skeleton, where he dies at the end of the film. However, the character is revealed to have been resurrected and brought back from the dead by Tia Dalma by the end of Dead Man's Chest, and has since appeared in an anti-heroic role. Captain Hector Barbossa was one of the nine Pirate Lords in At World's End (2007), a privateer in service to King George II and the British Navy while also seeking revenge against Blackbeard in On Stranger Tides (2011), as well as a rich rogue and influential leader of a prosperous pirate empire and fleet in Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017). Throughout the series, Barbossa has been conceptualized as a "dark trickster" and the evil counterpart of Captain Jack Sparrow.
Phantom Brave is a tactical role-playing game for the PlayStation 2 video game console, developed and published by Nippon Ichi Software. It was released on January 22, 2004 in Japan, on August 31, 2004 in North America and on February 4, 2005 in Europe. The North American release was the first game published by NIS America. The game shipped in two "editions", Normal and Special. The Special edition came with a free soundtrack and shortened instruction manual.
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is a 2007 action-adventure game developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the Wii. The seventh main game in the Metroid series, it was released in North America and Europe in 2007 and in Japan in 2008.
WayForward Technologies, Inc. is an American independent video game developer and publisher based in Valencia, California. Founded in March 1990 by technology entrepreneur Voldi Way, WayForward started by developing games for consoles such as the Super NES and Sega Genesis, as well as TV games and PC educational software. In 1997, they relaunched their video games arm, placing the company as a contractor for publishers and working on a variety of licensed assets.
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is a 2007 action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld game console. It is the fourteenth installment in The Legend of Zelda series and the direct sequel to the 2002 GameCube title The Wind Waker. Phantom Hourglass was released worldwide in 2007, with the exception of South Korea in April 2008. The game was re-released for the Wii U via the Virtual Console service in the PAL region in November 2015, in North America in May 2016, and in Japan in August.
Crystar is an action role-playing game developed by Gemdrops and published by FuRyu. The game was released for PlayStation 4 in October 2018 in Japan, and internationally by Spike Chunsoft in August 2019 with an additional Windows version. A port for the Nintendo Switch was released in Japan in February 2022, and worldwide by NIS America later that year. A version for PlayStation 5 is scheduled to release in February 2025.
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is a 2010 puzzle adventure video game developed and published by Capcom. The story follows Sissel, an amnesiac ghost with supernatural powers, and his journey to rediscover his identity. Players solve environmental puzzles, interact with eccentric characters, and uncover the truth of Sissel's death over the course of one night. Gameplay is split into two sections: gathering information by navigating through the city, and saving lives by traveling back in time.
Shantae is a series of platform video games developed by WayForward. The eponymous heroine of the series, a half-genie, was created by Erin Bozon, while the games for this character were created by her husband Matt Bozon. The series consists of five games: Shantae (2002), Shantae: Risky's Revenge (2010), Shantae and the Pirate's Curse (2014), Shantae: Half-Genie Hero (2016) and Shantae and the Seven Sirens (2019). A sixth title, Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution, is in development and scheduled for release in 2025.
Octopath Traveler is a role-playing video game developed by Square Enix, in collaboration with Acquire. The game was released for the Nintendo Switch in July 2018, for Windows in June 2019, for Stadia in April 2020, for Xbox One in March 2021, and for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 in June 2024. It received generally favorable reviews, with praise for its presentation, music, and battle system, while its story received more mixed responses. The game had sold over 3 million copies worldwide by September 2022.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III is a 2017 role-playing video game developed by Nihon Falcom. The game is a part of the Trails series, itself a part of the larger The Legend of Heroes series, and serves as a direct sequel to The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II.
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is an upcoming action-adventure game developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It was announced at E3 2017, and was reportedly initially developed by Bandai Namco Studios. In January 2019, Nintendo announced that development had restarted under Retro Studios, the developer of the previous Metroid Prime games. Kensuke Tanabe, who worked on all of the previous Prime games, returned as a producer. The game is scheduled for release in 2025.
Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road is an upcoming sports role-playing video game by Level-5, planned for release for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Windows, Nintendo Switch, Android, and iOS in June 2025.
In the video game industry, 2021 saw the release of many new titles. The numerous delays in software and hardware releases due to the continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic heavily impacted development schedules, leading to several games being delayed into 2022 or even postponed indefinitely. Additionally, computer and console hardware were impacted by the combined effects of a semiconductor shortage and a rising growth of bitcoin mining that strained the supply of critical components.
Bravely Default II is a role-playing video game developed by Claytechworks and published by Square Enix. It was released worldwide for the Nintendo Switch on February 26, 2021, with Nintendo publishing the game on the platform outside of Japan, and was released for Windows on September 2, 2021. It is the third main installment in the Bravely series, following the original Bravely Default and its direct sequel Bravely Second: End Layer. It features a separate story, setting, and cast of characters.
In the video game industry, 2025 is expected to see the release of many new video games.
Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution is an upcoming platform video game developed and published by WayForward. It is the sixth game in the Shantae series, chronologically taking place between the original Shantae (2002) and Shantae: Risky's Revenge (2010). The game follows the half-genie Shantae as she explores the world of Sequin Land and attempts to prevent her nemesis Risky Boots from using a subterranean device to terraform the world.
