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Game News, Manga Anime

Bananya Turns 10 With New Mobile Game and Anime Special

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Crunchyroll and TMS Entertainment are marking Bananya’s 10th anniversary this July with two brand-new releases: Bananya Buddies, the first original game on Crunchyroll Game Vault, and a 10th anniversary anime special that premieres at Anime Expo on 4 July before streaming worldwide on Crunchyroll from 9 July. Pre-registration for Bananya Buddies on Google Play is live right now — here’s everything Singapore fans need to know.

Bananya Buddies — Collect Cats, Decorate Your Hangout Pad

Developed by Crunchyroll Games, TMS Entertainment, and independent studio The MIX, Bananya Buddies is a cozy mobile cat-collecting game launching exclusively on Crunchyroll Game Vault this summer. The premise is simple and delightful: welcome Bananya visitors to your pad, play mini-games to earn coins, and leave out toys and treats to rack up Buddy Points with each little banana-dwelling cat.

The more Buddy Points a Bananya accumulates, the longer it sticks around — and the better the gifts it leaves behind. Reach Best Buddies status and you unlock a sleepover; hit Best Buddies Forever and something even more special awaits (you’ll have to play to find out). It’s the kind of low-key, pick-up-and-put-down mobile experience that cozy game fans have been waiting for from an anime IP this charming.

  • Platform: Crunchyroll Game Vault (exclusive) — available on Crunchyroll Mega Fan and Ultimate Fan tiers
  • Launch window: Summer 2026
  • Pre-registration: Google Play now open; App Store coming soon
  • Languages: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish (Latin America and Spain)

Bananya Buddies joins nearly 100 titles already in the Game Vault, and as the first original game produced for the platform it marks a meaningful step forward for Crunchyroll’s gaming ambitions.

Bananya 10th Anniversary Special | Official Teaser | Crunchyroll — via Crunchyroll on YouTube

The Bananya 10th Anniversary Anime Special

Bananya 10th Anniversary ensemble key art featuring the full cast of Bananya characters on a sparkly fantasy background
Image courtesy of Crunchyroll / TMS Entertainment

The first Bananya episode aired on 4 July 2016. Exactly ten years later — on 4 July 2026 at 10AM — the Bananya 10th Anniversary anime special will world-premiere at Anime Expo before landing on Crunchyroll on 9 July.

The official synopsis drops the Bananyas into an adventure: the player character wakes to find they’ve somehow become a Bananya themselves, then sets off through forest, mountain, and open land in search of missing treasures. It’s a fresh story that expands the lore while keeping the dreamy, low-stakes tone that made the original shorts such a cult favourite.

The special features an all-star Japanese voice cast:

  • Stray Bananya — Atsumi Tanezaki (Anya Forger in SPY x FAMILY)
  • Little Bananya — Yuina Ito (Zundamon)
  • Tall Bananya — Toshiyuki Morikawa (Minato Namikaze in NARUTO)

The commemorative theme song is “nyanderful nyanderland” performed by TAMAchan, with Bananya’s character voice by Yuki Kaji.

Official Japanese promotional poster for the Bananya 10th Anniversary special, showing the cast in portrait format
Image courtesy of TMS Entertainment / Bananya Lovers — official Japanese promotional poster for the 10th Anniversary
Still from the Bananya 10th Anniversary Special teaser — a giant Bananya rises from the ocean beside a pirate ship
Still from Crunchyroll’s official teaser for the Bananya 10th Anniversary Special

How Singapore Fans Can Watch and Play

Crunchyroll is available in Singapore, and existing subscribers can catch all three current Bananya series — Bananya, Bananya and the Curious Bunch, and Bananya Around the World — right now while waiting for the anniversary special to drop on 9 July.

Bananya Buddies requires a Crunchyroll Mega Fan or Ultimate Fan membership to access via Game Vault. If you’re already on either tier, the game drops into your library at no extra cost when it launches this summer. Not yet subscribed? You can sign up or upgrade on Crunchyroll’s website.

Further 10th anniversary announcements — including merchandise, events, and other celebratory projects — will roll out through the rest of the year via the official TMS Entertainment and Bananya channels on X, Facebook, and Instagram.

Keep up with all the latest anime news right here on GameTrader.SG.

Game News

Suikoden’s First Mobile RPG Opens Pre-Registration — Star Leap Announced by KONAMI

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Suikoden — KONAMI’s beloved RPG series built on assembling an enormous cast of recruitable characters — is making its first-ever leap onto smartphones. 幻想水滸伝 STAR LEAP (Genso Suikoden: Star Leap) opened pre-registration today, 1 July 2026, on the iOS App Store and Google Play, with a Steam PC version also listed as planned. The news broke via 4Gamer (Japanese) and Famitsu (Japanese) ahead of any English-language coverage.

Suikoden Star Leap — the 108 Stars of Destiny gather under cherry blossom trees in classic pixel-art RPG style
Image courtesy of KONAMI

What Is Suikoden Star Leap?

Set in the same universe as the mainline Suikoden entries, in year 453 of the solar calendar, Star Leap is a free-to-play RPG described by KONAMI as a journey of bonds and encounters (絆と出会う旅). Players guide a new protagonist through a story woven around the franchise’s signature themes of loyalty, sacrifice, and political intrigue. The visual style blends high-resolution 2D character art — illustrated in the moe-realism style that has become familiar in contemporary mobile JRPGs — with the series’ classic pixel-art RPG engine for the gameplay itself. The result looks like a love letter to the original SNES and PlayStation-era entries rather than a full 3D reimagining.

The 108 Stars of Destiny — and Alliance Combat

Suikoden Star Leap — a silver-haired ally character joins the party in a pixel-art encounter scene at night
Image courtesy of KONAMI

The franchise’s defining mechanic — assembling 108 recruitable characters, each aligned with one of the 108 Stars of Destiny from Chinese mythology — returns in Star Leap. KONAMI’s official livestream Suikoden Live vol.6, which aired on 1 July at 8 p.m. JST on the KONAMI official YouTube channel, introduced three characters from the game’s Ran-Rin-Ten (乱凛天) martial arts faction, with voice actresses Miki Sasaki, Aimi and Ayasa Ito appearing as guests to discuss their roles.

The combat system retains the turn-based RPG structure of the originals while adding mobile-friendly convenience options including speed controls (×1.5, ×2.0) and an Auto mode for grinding. Characters can unleash 奥義 (Ougi) — signature ultimate skills tied to each Star’s archetype, shown in the trailers as dramatic full-screen anime-style cutaway attacks.

Watch the Official Battle Trailer

幻想水滸伝 STAR LEAP — Battle Trailer (Japanese) — via KONAMI official YouTube
Suikoden Star Leap — a blue-haired character unleashes a water-element Ougi ultimate skill in battle
Image courtesy of KONAMI

The Battle Trailer shows the combat flow: pixel-art party members face off against enemies on a detailed 2D stage while the portrait of the active attacker dominates the left side of the screen. Ougi animations burst into full-bleed kanji-overlaid splash art — exactly the dramatic manga-panel-esque combat flair long-time Suikoden fans will recognise from the console entries.

Pre-Registration and What SG Fans Should Know

Pre-registration is live now on the Japanese App Store and Google Play, with a Steam version also confirmed to be in development. The game is free-to-play with in-app purchases. No release date has been announced as of today.

For Singapore and Southeast Asian players: no English localisation or non-Japanese regional release has been confirmed yet. Whether KONAMI plans a wider Asian rollout — with English, Traditional Chinese, or Simplified Chinese support — is unknown. Some KONAMI mobile titles launch globally from day one; others are Japan-exclusive for extended periods. Until KONAMI announces otherwise, treat this as a Japan-only pre-registration for now. Japanese-reading fans can search for 幻想水滸伝 STAR LEAP on their local App Store or Google Play to pre-register directly. We will update as an English release is confirmed. Follow our Japanese-source game news for updates as they come in.

Game News

NIKKE x Persona 3, 4 and 5 Crossover Confirmed for Summer 2026

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Singapore commanders, clear your schedule — Goddess of Victory: NIKKE has just confirmed a crossover with Atlus’ Persona series, and it’s covering not one but three games: Persona 3, Persona 4, and Persona 5. The reveal dropped during the official NIKKE Summer Special Livestream on 27 June 2026, and it sent the game’s community into overdrive.

Goddess of Victory: Nikke x Persona – Official Collaboration Teaser Trailer — via GameTrailers on YouTube

Three Persona Games at Once — And a Mystery Fourth

NIKKE x Persona official mystery teaser
Image courtesy of Level Infinite

The official teaser trailer, released on the Goddess of Victory: NIKKE YouTube channel, showed emblems from each of the three modern Persona titles — the Phantom Thieves’ burning-hat symbol from Persona 5, alongside imagery from Persona 4 and Persona 3. As Persona Central reported, the trailer ends on a fourth slide with nothing but a question mark — leaving the door open for an additional Atlus IP, whether that means earlier Persona entries, Catherine, or Metaphor: ReFantazio.

The video was briefly published on the official NIKKE channel before being taken down, but the collaboration is confirmed: multiple outlets captured it, and the emblems shown are unmistakably real.

Perfect Timing: Persona Turns 30 This Year

NIKKE Summer Special Livestream 2026 promotional art
Image courtesy of Level Infinite

2026 is Persona’s 30th anniversary year — the original Revelations: Persona launched in Japan in September 1996. Atlus has been marking the milestone all year, and NIKKE is clearly part of that plan. The collab teaser carried the hashtag #NIKKEsummer2026, placing it in the game’s upcoming summer window.

That window kicks off with the “Wave to You” summer update on 2 July 2026 — a major patch bringing new characters Marciana: Marine Study and Cinderella: Crystal Wave, a fully voiced beach-island narrative event, and the Island Breaker mini-game. Whether the Persona collab arrives on launch day or later in the summer has not been confirmed, but the groundwork is clearly laid.

What Singapore Commanders Can Expect

NIKKE Wave to You summer 2026 key art
Image courtesy of Level Infinite

NIKKE has delivered some of the most ambitious collaborations in mobile gaming — past crossovers with NieR: Automata, Evangelion, and Chainsaw Man each brought entirely original playable units, dedicated story events, and limited-time cosmetics. A Persona collab spanning three games simultaneously is likely NIKKE’s biggest to date.

The expected format: limited-time banner pulls for guest characters, a crossover event with original writing, and exclusive costumes. Which specific Persona characters land in NIKKE is still to be confirmed — though Joker from Persona 5 is the obvious headliner — and the “?” slide suggests at least one more surprise. Singapore players get the update at the same time as the rest of the world: NIKKE is published by Level Infinite (operating under Singapore-registered Proxima Beta Pte. Ltd.), so there’s no regional delay to worry about.

NIKKE is free to play on Android, iOS, and PC. Keep an eye on the official NIKKE website for the full reveal, and check our game news section for updates as they drop.

Game News

Pokémon TCG Pocket: Everyday Wonders Launches 30 June — Mega Diancie ex, Cosy Cards, July Events

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The next wave of Pokémon TCG Pocket packs is less than a week away, and it is exactly as cute as it sounds. Everyday Wonders (expansion code B3b) launches on 30 June 2026 at 9am SGT, bringing a fresh roster of cosy, slice-of-life card art alongside three brand-new ex Pokémon — including the format’s first-ever Mega. Singapore players can dive in the moment servers go live, and there are no regional restrictions to worry about.

Pokémon TCG Pocket Everyday Wonders official trailer thumbnail — Pikachu, Piplup and Snorlax
Image courtesy of The Pokémon Company

Watch the Everyday Wonders Official Trailer

Pokémon TCG Pocket: Everyday Wonders | Official Trailer — via The Official Pokémon YouTube channel

What’s in the Everyday Wonders Card Set

Everyday Wonders is the twelfth themed expansion in Pokémon TCG Pocket and leans fully into the cuter, calmer side of Pokémon — cards show pocket monsters dozing off, posing sweetly, or simply having a blast alongside their Trainers. The confirmed card pool includes:

Four-diamond ex cards

  • Mega Diancie ex — the first Mega Pokémon to appear in TCG Pocket, making it an instant collector target
  • Dedenne ex — a Tools-synergy attacker that grows stronger the more Tool cards you have in play
  • Hisuian Zoroark ex — a dark-type fan favourite returning from the Hisui region

Other revealed cards: Pikachu, Piplup, Snorlax, Sylveon, Greedent, Hisuian Lilligant, Hisuian Goodra, Rockruff, Fidough, Yamper, Slowpoke, and Quagsire — spanning the main series and Hisui variants. New Trainer cards include Puppy Loving Girl and the Item card Small Balloon.

Pikachu card art from Pokémon TCG Pocket Everyday Wonders expansion
Image courtesy of The Pokémon Company

New Mechanics to Try Out

Everyday Wonders brings a few interesting new interactions to the Pocket metagame. Sylveon can restore 30 HP to one of your Benched Pokémon each turn while it holds a Tool card — a steady healing engine that pairs naturally with bulky, Tool-heavy builds. Dedenne ex scales its attack alongside the number of Tools in play, making the two cards obvious partners.

The new Item card Small Balloon reduces any Basic Pokémon’s retreat cost by one energy, giving faster decks some welcome flexibility. Several Pokémon in the expansion also share a move called Puppy Pile, tying Rockruff, Fidough, Yamper and the Puppy Loving Girl Trainer into a thematically cohesive puppy cluster — arguably the most aggressively adorable corner of the entire set.

Sylveon card art from Pokémon TCG Pocket Everyday Wonders expansion
Image courtesy of The Pokémon Company

July Events to Mark in Your Calendar

The expansion rolls out alongside a month-long schedule of in-game events running through July 2026:

  • Everyday Wonders Emblem Event (early to mid-July): Battle-based missions rewarding shinedust and exclusive emblems for your profile.
  • Community Week (mid-July): Trading and sharing missions that hand out Pack Hourglasses and cosmetic accessories.
  • Hisuian Zorua Drop Event (mid-to-late July): Win special battles to unlock a Hisuian Zorua promo card — a must-grab for Hisui region collectors.
  • Wonder Pick Event (mid-to-late July): A wonder pick pool featuring Growlithe and Emolga cards.

On 1 July, new collection files and display boards depicting all five of the expansion’s flagship Pokémon — Pikachu, Piplup, Sylveon, Greedent and Snorlax — will be added so you can deck out your card collection display in style.

Snorlax card art from Pokémon TCG Pocket Everyday Wonders expansion
Image courtesy of The Pokémon Company

When Singapore Players Can Open Packs

Everyday Wonders goes live at 9am SGT on 30 June 2026 (that is 6pm PDT on 29 June for those tracking the global rollout). Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket is free-to-play on iOS and Android worldwide, and the new expansion is available globally with no region locking — so there is nothing standing between Singapore players and that Mega Diancie ex except Pack Hourglasses and a little luck.

Keep an eye on the Game News section here at GameTrader.SG as the July event schedule firms up and more card reveals land ahead of launch.

Game News

Honkai: Nexus Anima Opens Sign-Ups for Evolution Test — New Creatures, New Characters, 9 July

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HoYoverse has opened recruitment for the next closed beta of Honkai: Nexus Anima — and players on PC, iOS, and Android can throw their names in the hat right now. Sign-ups opened on 22 June, with the Evolution Test itself kicking off on 9 July 2026. Trailers are live in English, Japanese, Korean, and Traditional Chinese, confirming this is a global beta — not a Japan-only affair.

Evolution Test Gameplay Showcase — via Honkai: Nexus Anima on YouTube

What Is Honkai: Nexus Anima?

This is an entirely new HoYoverse franchise — separate from Honkai Impact 3rd and Honkai: Star Rail. The game is built around a lore concept called the Nexus: a primordial force that once balanced opposing aspects of existence — light and dark, love and hate. When the Nexus collapsed, fragments of it became living creatures called Anima.

Players take the role of a Dimensional Traveler who escapes captivity and arrives in Iya, a town in the Reality Plane. The core loop is bonding with Anima — naming them, capturing photos, evolving them, and deploying them in strategic battles. Rare Chromatic Anima variants are especially coveted. If you have ever wished Genshin Impact had a Pokémon-style creature-collecting layer, this is worth watching.

What’s New in the Evolution Test

The Evolution Test is a major content jump over earlier testing phases. Three new characters debut in Iya: Nanafey, Bai Mei, and Olympia. Voice actor Akira Ishida (known for roles in Evangelion, Jujutsu Kaisen, and Honkai Impact 3rd) is confirmed as the voice of a character named Otto.

Expanded areas open up in the test, including a New Quarter district of Iya, the Bond Hall, and the Nexus Group building. This is a non-paying, data-wiping closed beta — any progress made will not carry to the final release — so it is purely a chance to get hands-on with HoYoverse’s next big title before everyone else.

Honkai: Nexus Anima Evolution Teaser — Until We Meet
Image courtesy of HoYoverse

How to Apply — Open Right Now

Head to hna.hoyoverse.com and complete the recruitment survey. Final testers are selected by lottery from everyone who pre-registers and submits the survey. You must be 18 or older to apply. The window is open from 22 June, so the sooner you get your entry in, the better your odds ahead of the 9 July start.

The beta runs on PC, Android, and iOS. No SGD pricing has been announced for the final game yet — this remains a test with no confirmed global launch window.

Last words

HoYoverse’s track record in Singapore is hard to argue with — Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail, and Zenless Zone Zero have all charted on the local App Store and Google Play at launch. Honkai: Nexus Anima is gunning for a similar audience: free-to-play, cross-platform, and now layering in creature-collecting mechanics that overlap nicely with the Pokémon GO and Palworld crowd. If you have a HoYoLAB account, applying for the Evolution Test takes two minutes. Check back with GameTrader’s Game News for coverage when the beta goes live on 9 July.

Game News, Manga Anime

Cardcaptor Sakura: Key of Memories Lands on Mobile 25 June

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Cardcaptor Sakura fans, this one is for you. KaraQ’s new mobile game Cardcaptor Sakura: Key of Memories (カードキャプターさくら 思い出の鍵, Omoide no Kagi) launches on iOS and Android in Japan on 25 June 2026 — just five days away — and the nostalgia is already hitting hard.

What Is Cardcaptor Sakura: Key of Memories?

Developed by KaraQ, Key of Memories is a decorative diorama collection game centred on Sakura Kinomoto, CLAMP’s beloved card-capturing heroine. The core loop has you collecting miniature figures of Sakura in over 100 different outfits — ranked from N to SR rarity — and arranging them inside fully customisable room dioramas. Think less dungeon-crawler, more cosy collector: it is the kind of game that rewards careful arrangement and an unapologetic love of costume variety.

The roster goes beyond Sakura herself. Kero-chan, Tomoyo Daidouji, Syaoran Li, and Toya Kinomoto are all confirmed to appear, so the full Tomoeda gang is along for the diorama ride.

Cardcaptor Sakura Key of Memories diorama customisation
Image courtesy of KaraQ

Pre-Registrations Already Past 90,000

As of 18 June, more than 90,000 players had pre-registered — a clear signal of how much appetite there still is for Cardcaptor Sakura content more than two decades after the original series. Pre-registration is open now on the Google Play Store and the JP Apple App Store, with in-game milestone rewards for early sign-ups.

The game is free to download with optional in-app purchases. In-game currency includes S-Outing Tickets, Friendship Coins, Sakura Miniature Shards, and Star Coins — expect the usual cosy mobile model rather than anything heavily pay-to-win.

Cardcaptor Sakura Key of Memories outfit collection gameplay
Image courtesy of KaraQ

How Singapore Fans Can Play on Day One

The 25 June launch is Japan-only — no global release date has been confirmed as of writing. Singapore fans who want in on launch day have two practical options: create a Japanese Apple ID to download from the JP App Store, or use QooApp on Android, which makes Japan-region mobile games accessible to SEA players without a VPN. We will update this post the moment a Southeast Asia or global rollout is announced.

Last words

Cardcaptor Sakura has always had a strong following in Singapore — it was a fixture on local TV for a generation of fans here, and CLAMP’s art style holds up as beautifully as ever. A cosy mobile game where you can dress Sakura in 100+ costumes and arrange your own diorama room is a low-pressure, high-nostalgia release that fits perfectly into a commute or a lunch break. Key of Memories is not trying to be a blockbuster action title — it is a love letter to the franchise, wrapped in ribbons and star wands. For more anime and manga news, keep it with GameTrader.