Highlights
- November 17 is going to be a busy day for gamers with the release of Super Mario RPG, Persona 5 Tactica, and Naruto x Boruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections, offering a variety of genres and console options.
- Super Mario RPG, being remade alongside Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, is highly anticipated and will give players the chance to experience the influential JRPG on the Nintendo Switch.
- Persona 5 Tactica brings the Persona series to a strategy RPG format, combining the usual Persona fusion with new elements, potentially expanding the franchise into new genres. Naruto x Boruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections offers a massive collection of characters and stories from previous games, making it a must-have for fans of the Shonen Jump franchise.
2023 is drawing to a close, and with it the flood of big-name video games is also subsiding. This year's game releases have been exceptionally strong and varied, pleasing fans of many franchises in almost every genre. Most recently, Alan Wake 2, Marvel's Spider-Man 2, and Super Mario Bros. Wonder all launched in late October, and they weren't even the only noteworthy games released that month. It currently seems like the wave of larger games will keep up until the end of February 2024, but, aside from the expected Call of Duty drop, major releases will slow down in November and December.
That's not to say there aren't plenty more titles coming out throughout those months, of course. November alone includes Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2, Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, and the aforementioned Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. One day is looking to be extra packed, as November 17 will play host to Super Mario RPG's remake, Persona 5 Tactica, and Naruto x Boruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections. That can't top Mario Wonder and Spider-Man 2 releasing on the same day, but it should make a lot of JRPG and Naruto fans very happy.
The Three Biggest Games Releasing November 17, 2023
Title | Super Mario RPG | Persona 5 Tactica | Naruto x Boruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections |
Franchise | Super Mario | Persona | Naruto |
Platform(s) | Switch | PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S | PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S |
Developer(s) | Nintendo | P-Studio | CyberConnect2 |
Publisher(s) | Nintendo | Atlus, Sega | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
Genre(s) | JRPG | Strategy RPG, JRPG | Fighting |
A lot of variety is present in the titles releasing on November 17. Some overlap is present in what consoles they're launching on, and Super Mario RPG and Persona 5 Tactica share RPG roots. However, the context for where each game comes from couldn't be more different.
Super Mario RPG
Of the three games launching November 17, 2023, Super Mario RPG might have the most anticipation behind it. Having originally released for the Super NES, this collaboration with SquareSoft was responsible for kicking off the beloved Mario & Luigi and Paper Mario series'. Despite that, it and its many original characters rarely returned in future Mario games. Now being remade alongside one of its successors, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, many players will be able to experience this influential JRPG for the first time with remade visuals and several other enhancements exclusively on the Nintendo Switch.
Persona 5 Tactica
For JRPG fans with any modern console available to them, Persona 5 Tactica may also be of interest. The latest entry in a series of Persona 5 spin-offs, Tactica returns the Shin Megami Tensei franchise to a strategy RPG format for the first time since the DS and 3DS's Devil Survivor games. Players take control of the Phantom Thieves in a chibified world that resembles the Persona Q spin-offs, and direct teams of three on various grid-based battlefields. With the usual Persona fusion combined with elements new to Persona like skill trees, this could end up easing Persona into other genres it wouldn't normally touch.
Naruto x Boruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections
The last big game out on November 17 is Naruto x Boruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections, and it's going to be massive for fans of the Shonen Jump franchise. Connections collects the characters and cinematic stories of every prior Ultimate Ninja Storm game, while also adding several new fighters and an original story mode. CyberConnect2's signature arena fighter gameplay has received a few small upgrades, but the majority of players will flock to this game more for what it represents than how it plays. For the time being, this will be the ultimate Naruto package, Boruto's biggest game yet, and another fitting title to launch on November 17.
