If you’ve tried to pay for something on Steam via PayPal over the past month and a bit, only to be told you can’t, Valve have now offered an explanation as to why, pointing to a bank that previously handled PayPal transactions in certain currencies as having suddenly terminated its support.
Folks in affected countries first noticed notifications informing them PayPal was “currently unavailable” in their part of the world around a month ago. There’s been a steadystream of Redditposts from folks who’ve gotten to checkout and been told this since then.
Japan’s Mega Brave and Mega Symphonia Pokémon TCG sets have quickly established themselves as powerhouse expansions in both collector and competitive circles. Released with a focus on iconic Mega Evolutions and beloved Supporter reprints, these sets offer everything from energy-accelerating Psychic titans to nostalgic Trainer cards with new full art treatments.
Japan’s Mega Brave and Mega Symphonia – Best Chase Cards
These cards are commanding such strong values because they combine competitive play power, iconic Pokémon status, and premium rarity tiers like Special Art Rare and Mega Ultra Rare. The artwork across both sets is a major draw, with illustrators leaning into dramatic poses, thematic backgrounds, and rich color palettes that any Pokémon trainer or collector will love.
For collectors, the top cards here represent long term anchor pieces that are likely to remain in demand. For players, many of these cards offer unique abilities or powerful damage scaling that makes them staples in certain deck.
10. Lillie’s Determination – 086/063 ($46.99)
In competitive play, this version of Lillie’s Determination functions as an early game draw engine. By shuffling your hand into your deck and drawing 6 cards, or 8 if you still have all 6 Prize cards, it can refresh slow starts and keep your options open. It fits best in slower control and setup decks that benefit from a full hand, giving it a niche but dependable role.
From a collector’s perspective, this Super Rare captures Lillie’s focused expression in an art style faithful to her Sun and Moon era origins. At under $50, it is one of the most accessible Lillie cards for fans, making it a strong value entry point into her broader and often pricey card history.
9. Mega Kangaskhan ex – 089/063 ($57)
Mega Kangaskhan ex offers both utility and unpredictability. Its Run Errand ability lets you draw two cards when it is in the Active Spot, and Rapid Fire Combo can snowball into serious damage with a streak of heads flips. While it may not dominate the meta, it gives casual decks a fun high ceiling in battle.
Collectors value this Special Art Rare for its dynamic double character composition, showing both Kangaskhan and its baby in an active, playful scene. At $57, it offers unique artwork of a long-standing fan favorite without reaching the price heights of more competitively dominant cards.
8. Mega Venusaur ex – 087/063 ($81.96)
Mega Venusaur ex is a durable Grass type wall with strong energy control thanks to its Solar Transfer ability, which lets you move Grass Energy freely between your Pokémon. Its Jungle Dump attack deals 240 damage while healing itself, making it a reliable choice for tank-oriented strategies.
This Special Art Rare features a towering Venusaur in a vibrant jungle scene, perfectly fitting its type identity. For just over $80, it offers high HP, competitive potential, and lush, display-worthy artwork, giving it excellent all-around value.
7. Mega Latias ex – 088/063 ($83.95)
With Strafe, Mega Latias ex can deal early damage and switch to safety, while Illusory Impulse delivers a massive 300 damage for a potential knockout, albeit at the cost of all its Energy. This gives it flexibility as both a tactical hit-and-run attacker and a late-game closer.
Collectors are drawn to its flowing, elegant Special Art Rare illustration, which captures the aerodynamic grace of this Legendary Mega Evolution. At under $85, it is an affordable way to own a premium Latias card with strong visual appeal.
6. Acerola’s Mischief – 090/063 ($100.98)
Acerola’s Mischief is a defensive powerhouse in late game situations, preventing all damage and effects from opponent’s Pokémon ex to one of your chosen Pokémon. In control or stall decks, it can shut down an opponent’s final push toward victory.
The card’s Special Art Rare features Acerola in a lively, mischievous pose with vibrant colors and a playful backdrop. Its current price reflects both the enduring popularity of Acerola among collectors and the scarcity of full art Trainer cards featuring her.
5. Mega Lucario ex – 088/063 ($112)
Mega Lucario ex is a high-impact Fighting type attacker with Aura Jab, which accelerates up to three Basic Fighting Energy from your discard to your Benched Pokémon. Its Mega Brave attack hits for 270 damage, putting it in knockout range against most cards in the format.
As a Special Art Rare, this card shows Lucario in a fierce, battle-ready stance, highlighting its martial arts inspiration. At $112, it offers both competitive strength and one of the most striking Lucario artworks released in recent years.
4. Mega Gardevoir ex – 087/063 ($179)
Mega Gardevoir ex excels in Psychic acceleration through Overflowing Wishes, attaching a Basic Psychic Energy to each of your Benched Pokémon. This setup enables a devastating Mega Symphonia attack that scales damage with the total Psychic Energy in play.
Its Special Art Rare illustration uses soft colors and glowing effects to give Gardevoir an ethereal presence. At $179, it delivers on both competitive utility and collector desirability, particularly for those building Psychic type display collections.
3. Lillie’s Determination – 091/063 ($300)
This Special Art Rare shares the same in-game effect as the Super Rare version but elevates it with a far more detailed and premium visual presentation. In the right decks, it remains a dependable draw Supporter with the potential for a big early game hand advantage.
Collectors prize this version for its painterly rendering of Lillie, which captures her as both determined and elegant. At $300, it stands as one of the most desirable modern Lillie cards available and a core piece for character-focused collections.
2. Mega Lucario ex – 092/063 ($444.44)
This Mega Ultra Rare version of Lucario retains the same high damage attacks and energy acceleration as its SAR counterpart, making it equally formidable in competitive play. Aura Jab and Mega Brave combine for aggressive, consistent pressure across multiple turns.
Visually, the Mega Ultra Rare finish adds depth and shine to Lucario’s dynamic pose, giving it an even more premium appearance. At $444.44, it is a top-tier Lucario card for both serious collectors and competitive players who want the most exclusive version.
1. Mega Gardevoir ex – 092/063 ($664.01)
Mega Gardevoir ex is a competitive giant, with Overflowing Wishes enabling one of the fastest and widest Psychic Energy spreads in years. Its Mega Symphonia attack scales damage based on total Psychic Energy in play, allowing for one-hit knockouts in the mid to late game.
As a Mega Ultra Rare, it features breathtaking detail and luminous effects that elevate it above most chase cards in recent memory. Its $664.01 price reflects the perfect combination of meta relevance, scarcity, and visual excellence, making it the definitive prize of Mega Brave and Mega Symphonia.
Where to Buy Japan’s Mega Brave and Symphonia Sealed Boosters
Fancy ripping packs and pulling some of these cards yourself? TCGPlayer is the best place to pick up a booster box or pack.
There’s the Premium Trainer Box to kick off the Mega era of Pokémon TCG which is a good deal if you want a mix of both Mega Brave and Mega Symphonia, but I prefer a booster box.
Thanks to Japanese gambling laws, each box is guaranteed one secret art rare, ultra rare (gold card) or secret rare and four to five art rare cards. This is also why Japanese single cards are usually cheaper than English Pokémon cards across the board.
Honorable Mentions
These cards may not crack the top 10 in price, but they pack strong value for what you are paying when considering competitive utility, iconic Pokémon appeal, or just awesome artwork. Several cards from Mega Brave and Mega Symphonia offer outstanding value for their price, making them smart pickups for collectors and players who want quality without paying premium chase card prices.
Riolu 068/063 is a lively partner piece to higher end Lucario cards at $8.20, and Helioptile 070/063 rounds out the list with bright, cheerful Electric type artwork for only $3.92. These cards may not top the market in price, but they deliver strong aesthetic, nostalgic, and gameplay value for their cost.
Christian Wait is a contributing freelancer for IGN covering everything collectable and deals. Christian has over 7 years of experience in the Gaming and Tech industry with bylines at Mashable and Pocket-Tactics. Christian also makes hand-painted collectibles for Saber Miniatures. Christian is also the author of “Pokemon Ultimate Unofficial Gaming Guide by GamesWarrior”. Find Christian on X @ChrisReggieWait.
Capcom is “aware” of crashing issues introduced to Monster Hunter Wilds via today’s crucial 1.021 update, and stressed it is now “working on the issue.”
It’s dreadful timing for Capcom, which has been struggling to keep the beleaguered RPG on track so much that yesterday, August 12, the team released early patch notes alongside a message to the community apologizing for the state of the game. However, it now appears that the new patch has introduced a fresh bug that sees your game “crash” should you “faint and return to camp during Fast Travel or a quest under certain conditions.” It doesn’t seem to matter what platform you’re playing on, either.
“We are aware of the following issue being reported in Monster Hunter Wilds on all platforms and are currently working on a fix. Once the fix is complete, we plan to release a patch Ver.1.021.01.00,” Capcom explained on social media.
“We have confirmed that the game may crash when you faint and return to camp during Fast Travel or a quest under certain conditions. Once the update is available, online sessions will be discontinued, and you will need to update to the latest version to continue playing online.”
The statement concluded with: “We are currently working on this issue and will provide further updates when we have them. Thank you for your patience!”
Crucially, the update didn’t provide any timeline on when the update may be available, nor was Capcom able to provide any workarounds in the meantime — though we’ll keep you posted as best we can, of course.
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
Subnautica 2 publishers Krafton have issued their response to the lawsuit filed against them by the game’s former lead developers. If you’re wondering whether things have cooled off a bit between the two parties now we’re in Saul Goodmanville, think again, because the second paragraph of the response sees Krafton accuse the leads of having “resorted to litigation to demand a payday they haven’t earned.”
It’s an almost impossible task at this point to sum up the Subnautica 2 saga in less than a War and Peace length novel, but here’s my attempt to give you the abbreviated version. Krafton delay the game from a 2025 early access release to 2026 and fire three leads on it: Charlie Cleveland, Max McGuire, and Ted Gill. The company accuse those leads of abandoning their duties and argue the game wasn’t ready for early access. The leads disagree and file a lawsuit. A big part of what makes the disagreement so noteworthy is a $250 million bonus to be paid to Unknown Worlds staff if the game hit certain targets by the end of 2025, which Krafton have now said they’ll still pay out a fraction of. Annnnddd breathe.
Nintendo Switch Online is a subscription-based online gaming service for the Nintendo Switch gaming platform. Memberships include online functionality, allowing you to compete or cooperate with friends, as well as a collection of classic Nintendo games spanning four decades, including titles from the NES, SNES, Game Boy, Nintendo 64, and, most recently, the new GameCube library. A free seven-day trial is also available.
We thought Chibi-Robo! was great when it released way back in 2006, awarding it an IGN’s Editor’s Choice award and scoring it a healthy 8.2/10, imploring you to: “Give [it] a chance.”
“I expect that too many people will glance at this game and conclude that it’s not for them, simply because it’s either too weird or too cute,” we wrote in IGN’s Chibi-Robo! review. “Truthfully, it’s both, but it’s also a very enjoyable, fun, and rewarding puzzle-platformer.”
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
We’re slowly learning more about the upcoming live-action Legend of Zelda movie, and following the reveal of the first cast members in July, it appears an official social media account has now been opened on the platform X (formerly known as Twitter).
It’s tagged as @The_Zelda_Movie and in the bio mentions how the film is coming “exclusively to theatres in 2027”. This follows the previous confirmation that the film would arrive on 7th May 2027.
Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons is the gift that keeps on giving, with Maximum Entertainment and developer Secret Base today adding two more playable characters to the beat ’em up as a free DLC update.
This time it’s the “Evil Marian” and “Super Anubis”, which follow on from the release of Jeff and Abore earlier this year in April. Here’s the official rundown about each fighter:
Since the arrival of Game-Key Cards on the Switch 2, there has been ongoing discussion about the future of third-party physical releases. Even during the Switch generation, certain hard copy releases didn’t always live up to expectations, opting to include a download code instead of the actual game.
Fortunately, some companies are still making an effort, and with this in mind, there’s news today that Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto: Trilogy is now available as a proper physical release on the original Switch platform after all this time.
We’ve covered a few keyboards recently, and while those are great for work and play, the Logitech G Pro X 60 is all about maximising your efforts in whichever competitive title you’re playing.
I must admit, Magic: The Gathering’s new Edge of Eternities surprised me. I felt it was going to be a relatively soft follow-up to the game’s most popular set ever, Universes Beyond: Final Fantasy, and yet it feels like another home run.
A great new setting, unique designs, and some big chase cards have seen stock selling out fast, particularly when it comes to Collector Boosters. As a result, you can still find them, but you’ll need to brave the secondary market – and pay over the odds, sadly.
Where To Find Magic’s Edge of Eternities Collector Boosters
Because they contain a higher chance of opening chase cards worth hundreds (and maybe even thousands), Collector Boosters cost more than Play Boosters and are also unlikely to be reprinted. Once they’re gone, there’s a good chance they’re gone for good.
Thankfully, Play Boosters are looking much more likely to be found closer to MSRP for months. The set is standard legal for a long time yet, meaning you can reasonably expect Play Boosters (and the set’s pair of Commander Decks) to be reprinted pretty regularly.
Lloyd Coombes is an experienced freelancer in tech, gaming and fitness seen at Polygon, Eurogamer, Macworld, TechRadar and many more. He’s a big fan of Magic: The Gathering and other collectible card games, much to his wife’s dismay.
