Tag: Square Enix - Page 3
News No Snowboarding in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, But Expect Revamped CPR Minigame on PS5
Gnarly dude
Currently shaping up to be the RPG to beat this year, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is out just over five weeks from now on PS5, and we are counting down the days to the anticipated sequel. Director Naoki Hamaguchi is helping keep our expectations in check in the meantime, confirming the tonal whiplash of the 1997 original's legendary...
News Visions of Mana Narrows Down New Gameplay, Summer 2024 Release Window on PS5, PS4
Clearer visions
Visions of Mana, the brand new Mana title that was announced at The Game Awards last year, is targeting a summer release on PS5 and PS4. Previously, the action RPG had a very vague '2024' window, so this at least narrows things down somewhat. We're yet to see a whole lot of the project, but you can find glimpses of gameplay in a new...
News Final Fantasy 7 Fans' Overt Sexualisation Can 'Ruin Great Story Development', Says Cloud Actor
The Remake, Rebirth star has read your fanfic
The voice of Final Fantasy VII Remake and Rebirth protagonist Cloud Strife, Cody Christian, thinks that overly zealous fans could tone it down a bit. Players have had strong opinions on the Cloud and Aerith/Tifa love triangle ever since the release of the 1997 original. But with the prospect of another...
News Square Enix Confirms AI Art Use in PS5, PS4 Exclusive Foamstars
Bound to bubble up eventually
Squeaky-clean PlayStation exclusive Foamstars arrives on PlayStation February 6th as a PS Plus Essential offering, and making good on its earlier threats, publisher Square Enix confirmed the game will feature AI-generated art. This is in keeping with the
News Foamstars Releases 6th February as a PS Plus Essential Game
Costs $29.99 on its own
Square Enix has today revealed its online foam battling game Foamstars will launch for PS5, PS4 on 6th February 2024, and it'll be available on PS Plus Essential from day one. The game will release straight into Sony's base subscription tier, and will cost $29.99 once it's rotated out for another title in early March. Check...
News New Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Trailer Is a One-Minute Thrill Ride
The hype is real
How's your hype holding up for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, then? Easily one of the most anticipated games of 2024, the RPG revival is roughly six weeks away at the time or writing, and to keep the excitement going, Square Enix has released a fresh trailer. It's only one minute long, but it's a really neat teaser of what's to come,...
News Naoki Yoshida Thinks New Blood Is Needed to Direct Final Fantasy 17
“Instead of having the same old guys handle the next one”
Naoki Yoshida thinks the next mainline game in Square Enix's long-running series, presumably called Final Fantasy XVII, needs to be directed by someone new and younger; the series needs fresh blood to keep it relevant long into the future. Interviewed by Sony's own Shuhei Yoshida on the...
News Rapid Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Fast Travel Wows PS5 Fans
Cross the map in seconds
Anticipation levels for Final Fantasy VII Rebirth have reached a point where even a simple 32-second video showing off fast travel can get fans talking. After Marvel's Spider-Man 2 transported you across its New York map in seconds, the upcoming PS5 exclusive looks set to do similar with load times no longer than roughly...
News Dawntrail Adding Artistic Pictomancer Job Class to Final Fantasy 14 on PS5, PS4
Relm reborn
Juggernaut MMO Final Fantasy XIV's upcoming Dawntrail expansion introduces the Pictomancer Job class, inspired by the artistic magic of Relm Arrowny of Final Fantasy VI fame. The Pictomancer is a ranged DPS class that uses a magical paintbrush and pallet to bring their artistic creations to bear on the battlefield, with colourful and...
News Expect More Sephiroth While Exploring Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
Watch your back
Final Fantasy VII Remake zoomed in on the 1997 classic JRPG, making a complete game from the opening hours alone. The upcoming Rebirth will continue the trend, further fleshing out the latter's expansive middle section and giving characters like Sephiroth an appropriately upsized role. Speaking to Game Informer, producer Yoshinori...
News Square Enix President Resolves to Implement 'Aggressive' AI Strategy
Happy New Year
In unsurprising news, publisher Square Enix has announced a bold new vision for the company in 2024, again promising to chase whatever the hottest speculative technology on the market happens to be. President Takashi Kiryu rang in the new year with a bold directive, confirming the firm will be "aggressive in applying AI and other...
News Dragon's Dogma 2, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Kickstart 2024 with Awesome New Art
The New Year begins
Dragon's Dogma 2 and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth are easily two of the most anticipated titles of 2024 — and they'll be here before you know it. Expectations are sky high for both action RPGs given previous efforts, and so to get the hype machine well and truly rolling, Capcom and Square Enix have posted brand new artworks (in...
News Two of PS5's Biggest 2024 Titles Will Have Massive Musical Components
Sounds good
Expect some pretty impressive musical performances to emerge from two of PS5’s biggest games in 2024, as both The Last of Us: Part 2 Remastered and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth will allow players to unleash their creativity. The anticipated titles – scheduled to release as PS5 exclusives – both feature musical minigames, and they sound...
News Nomura Promises Death Won't be Cheated in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
Fate demands a sacrifice
Famously, without getting bogged down in decades-old spoilers, in the 1997 classic Final Fantasy VII, a key party member dies halfway through the game in a violent, shocking turn. It's a stretch of the game that will be reborn in the ambitious Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, due out on PS5 in February. But if predecessor Remake...
News Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Is Huge, May Take 100 Hours to Do Everything
New details emerge from preview
Game Informer recently revealed that Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth would be gracing its cover, and that means a flood of new info is heading our way. In fact, a huge preview of the anticipated sequel is now live on the publication's website, and it's stuffed with new info. The main takeaway is that this game will be...
News PS5's Ultra Anticipated Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Graces Game Informer
Ahead of the game's release early next year
It’s hard to believe we’re just a few months away from the release of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, but that’s the situation as we write this article today. Square Enix doesn’t need to drum up much hype for the anticipated PS5 console exclusive – but it’s going to make a bit of noise in the lead...
News Final Fantasy 16 Dev Team Disbands, Making Sequels or Spin-Offs Unlikely
On to the next Fantasy
Final Fantasy XVI is an epic adventure in its own right, but fans hungry for more Clive and company might be disappointed to learn the development team has already disbanded. Aside from a small team working on the upcoming DLC The Rising Tide, the evocatively named Square Enix Creative Business Unit III, helmed by Naoki...
News Visions of Mana Isn't Open World, But It Does Have 'Vast' Semi-Open Areas
Plus other early details
Square Enix has spilled a few more beans on Visions of Mana, the freshly announced, brand new instalment in the storied Mana series. For starters, this won't be an open world adventure. Questions were raised regarding the game's scope when its debut trailer showed off some huge environments, but no, it's not quite that big...
Mini Review Final Fantasy XVI: Echoes of the Fallen (PS5) - A Short But Explosive Dungeon Run
Tower power
We're weren't totally convinced that Final Fantasy 16 needed story-based DLC, but now that we've played through Echoes of the Fallen — the first of two promised expansions — we're actually glad it's happening. If nothing else, this additional slice of adventure is a welcome reminder of how flashy and downright fun 16's combat can be...
News Final Fantasy 16's First Expansion Out Now on PS5, Second Arrives in Spring 2024
Look a-Clive
Both of Final Fantasy 16's expansions have been officially announced in one trailer. The first, titled Echoes of the Fallen, is out right now on PS5 — which is one hell of a shadow drop. The second, titled The Rising Tide, arrives in spring 2024. As if next year's first few months weren't already busy enough! You can buy an...
News The Legendary Mana Series Returns with Visions of Mana on PS5, PS4 in 2024
15 years later
Square Enix is reviving its classic Mana series with a brand new instalment — 15 whole years after its last mainline entry. Titled Visions of Mana, it's coming to PS5 and PS4 at some point in 2024. As you'd expect of the franchise, this is an action RPG with multiple playable characters, and based on the trailer, it basically looks...
News Dragon Quest 3 Remake Development Is Still Ticking Along as Word of Playtesting Spreads
Give us the goods, Square
It feels like Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake was announced an eternity ago, doesn't it? The reworked classic was first announced in 2021, and we've seen nothing of the promising project since. Thankfully, Square Enix has been providing development updates here and there, reassuring fans that it's still happening. And now...
News Final Fantasy 16's First Expansion Should Be Revealed This Month
A lock for The Game Awards?
Back in September, Square Enix confirmed that two paid DLC expansions for Final Fantasy 16 were in development — but we're still waiting on any concrete details. However, producer Naoki Yoshida did state that more information would be heading our way before the end of the year — and we're obviously now in December...
News Another Final Fantasy 16 Update Is on the Way, But Don't Get Your Hopes Up
It's just a new leaderboard
A new Final Fantasy XVI patch will be deployed at the end of next week, but you shouldn't be hoping it includes anything even remotely substantial: it's just going to make an adjustment to the way scores are calculated in Arcade Mode. The PS5 update will be available for download on 8th December 2023, adding a new...
News Hopes for Final Fantasy Tactics Remaster Mercilessly Crushed by Series Creator
What about a remake, then?
Final Fantasy Tactics remains, essentially, the benchmark for the tactical genre it popularised back in 1997 when it was first released on PS1. We did get War of the Lions on PSP back in 2007, but even that is well long in the tooth at this point. Players have been wishing, sometimes begging, for a properly modern remaster...
News Life is Strange Crosses Hella Impressive 20 Million Player Mark
"When a door closes, a window opens... Or something like that"
Developer DON'T NOD (formerly known as DONTNOD Entertainment) rose to prominence with 2015's angsty tale of teenage time travel, Life is Strange. Announced today, the title that would go on to spawn multiple sequels has crossed the hella good 20 million player mark. There's an important...
News Emotionally Prepare for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth with Red XIII-Narrated Story So Far Trailer
Is history truly doomed to repeat?
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth represents the second chapter in a trilogy, retelling the legendary story of Final Fantasy VII for a new generation. Square Enix has already proven very willing to play with players' expectations, with veterans and new fans alike in the dark on this one. We got a new trailer today,...
News Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Reveals New Dynamic Difficulty Setting Where Enemy Levels Scale
Offers a "constant challenge"
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth will ship with three difficulty options when it launches next year, on the 29th February. The first two, easy and normal, are exactly what you'd expect — but an all-new third setting, named 'Dynamic', sounds especially interesting. When selected, enemies will actually scale to your level. The...
News Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Is Pulling Inspiration from PS5, PS4 Greats
Final Fantasy 15 also massively beneficial to team
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth has looked to two of PS5 and PS4’s greatest ever open world RPGs to help shape its sandbox: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and the Horizon franchise – comprising, of course, of Horizon Zero Dawn and its sequel Horizon Forbidden West. Co-director Naoki Hamaguchi confirmed the...
News Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth ESRB Rating Teases Swearing, Alcohol, Impalement
"The words sh*t, a*shole, and pr*ck appear in the game"
As we inch ever closer to Final Fantasy VII Rebirth's inevitable 29th February release on PS5, a clearer picture of what kind of game it will be begins to emerge. According to the title's newly published ESRB summary, a character will utter the line: "Just admit it. You're obviously captivated...
Poll What Review Score Would You Give Star Ocean The Second Story R?
Star crossed
Considered by many to be one of, if not the best game in the series, PS1 and PSP classic Star Ocean The Second Story was revived last week in a very well received fashion. Star Ocean The Second Story R is a remake of the beloved RPG, bringing modern sensibilities to an old school adventure. We awarded it a 'great' 8/10 in our rather...
News Star Ocean The Second Story R Sells Reasonably Well at Japanese Retail
R-tfully done
Recently released remake Star Ocean The Second Story R is enjoying a decent physical debut in Japan, the latest Famitsu sales charts reveal. It's not remotely surprising, but the classic RPG revival sold best on Nintendo Switch, followed by PS5 and then PS4. In total, the title moved just over 50,000 copies — which obviously isn't...
News Decades Later, Tetsuya Nomura Still Wonders Why You Lot Find Sephiroth So Attractive
"What I want, Cloud, is to sail the cosmos with this planet as my vessel"
Sephiroth is an iconic villain, first debuting in Final Fantasy VII as its antagonist, but found a cult following and enduring fame amongst fans. Could it be the impeccable hair, the impossibly long Masamune katana he wields, those gorgeous Mako-tinged eyes, or all of the...
News Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Writer Warns Against Weird Fan Requests to 'Kill' Certain Characters
"Every character is written with love"
Remaking a truly beloved Final Fantasy game can't be easy to begin with, so the last thing the Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth development team needs is borderline harassment from obsessive fans. Veteran series writer Kazushige Nojima, who's a scenario writer on Rebirth, has taken to Twitter in order to highlight the...
Review Star Ocean The Second Story R (PS5) - A Near Perfect Example of a Remake Done Right
Integrity and faithfulness
Many would argue that Star Ocean: The Second Story — originally released for the PS1 all the way back in 1998 — is the pinnacle of the long-running RPG series, and we'd be tempted to agree. In some ways it does feel like it nails the core themes of the franchise, as sci-fi technology clashes with medieval fantasy —...
News This Mobile Game Will Probably Be Required for Kingdom Hearts 4 on PS5
Missing link
Kingdom Hearts is no stranger to shoving essential snippets of lore into spin-off mobile and browser games, and we doubt the upcoming Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link will be any different when it comes to the implications for Kingdom Hearts 4. In fact, just look at that name – it practically confirms it’s going to contain key plot...
News Star Ocean The Second Story R Really Is an Impressive Looking Remake
R you ready?
If you're a fan of the original Star Ocean: The Second Story, or its expanded PSP remaster, then you're probably keeping a very close eye on Star Ocean The Second Story R — a full remake of the classic RPG. Based on everything that we've seen of the PS5 and PS4 title so far, it's a faithful recreation of the original adventure, but...
Rumour There's a Chance Dragon Quest X Offline Could Be Coming West
Maybe, just maybe
Ah, Dragon Quest X. Originally an MMO for the Nintendo Wii (eye-opening, in hindsight), the game never made it west despite years and years of rumours and 'insider' whispers. However, in 2021, Square Enix announced Dragon Quest X Offline — a reimagined, entirely offline version of the game, as the name suggests. It released in...
News Final Fantasy Creator Makes Yoshi-P Cry Live on Stage with Heartfelt Praise
Final Fantasy's "even better"
Naoki Yoshida — commonly known by his nickname Yoshi-P — has been a key figure in getting Final Fantasy as a brand back on track over the last decade or so. He heads the team that rebuilt Final Fantasy 14 and eventually turned it into the juggernaut that it is today, and he's the producer on the very well received...
News Smooth Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Development Down to So Many Remake Devs Sticking Around
Better together
Square Enix has long been saddled with a reputation for taking far too long to develop its games — especially when those games are called Final Fantasy — but it does feel like the company's turned a bit of a corner over the last console generation or so. And while the third game in the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy is probably...
News New Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Gameplay Clips Include Chocobo Racing, Motorbike Fights, and More
Golden oldies
New gameplay clips from Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth have emerged online (thanks to P4GTeam on YouTube), and although most of them deal with stuff we've already seen in various previews, we're also given a fresh glimpse of the all-important Gold Saucer minigames. This includes a better look at chocobo racing, which has received an...
News Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail Debuts Zidane-Like Viper Job in New Trailers
Time for some cosplay
Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail is the next expansion for the beloved MMO, and it whisks players away to a brave new world full of adventure, expected to make landfall in Summer 2024. FFXIV London Fan Festival 2023 was held over the weekend, and we got an extended teaser trailer showing off Square Enix's trademark cinematic flair,...
News Final Fantasy 14 Is Getting Final Fantasy 16 Crossover Content, Including a Torgal Mount
And a boss battle against Ifrit
In the ultimate Naoki Yoshida mash-up event, MMO Final Fantasy 14 is getting crossover content from Final Fantasy 16. Announced during the 2023 London Fan Festival, a trailer confirms there’ll be a boss battle against Ifrit, as well as a new Torgal mount and minion. Presumably there’ll also be fresh gear to...
Interview Star Ocean The Second Story R Devs on Remaking an Underrated PS1, PSP RPG
R time has come
We'd argue that the original Star Ocean The Second Story is a bit of a classic — but when people think of iconic PS1 RPGs, it's rarely the first title that springs to mind. Nevertheless, Square Enix is remaking the adventure all these years later as Star Ocean The Second Story R for PS5 and PS4. To get additional insight into the...
News Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's Team Attacks Could Push Combat Above and Beyond
Better together
Not everyone will agree, but we really, really like the combat system in Final Fantasy 7 Remake. A punchy mix of action and menu-based commands, we reckon it's a highlight of the experience — and it's starting to sound like Square Enix has put a lot of effort into making it even better in the sequel. As demonstrated in the first...
News Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's Vincent Valentine Finds His Voice
Matt Mercer lined up to play favourite
Final Fantasy 7 favourite Vincent Valentine will be played by Matt Mercer in the PS5’s upcoming remake sequel, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. The tidbit was announced to rapturous applause during a New York Comic Con panel over the weekend, and the moment was captured on camera below. While we have heard a...
News Square Enix Gets Creepy with PS5 Horror Adventure Little Goody Two Shoes on Halloween
Oh goody
Square Enix Collective, the publisher's indie-focused label, will be dropping Little Goody Two Shoes on PS5 this Halloween. The 'horror narrative adventure' title boasts an eye-catching 90s anime art style, although the game itself is filled with lovingly crafted sprites. Honestly, this one's got potential. "One day, Elise discovers a pair...
Strash and burn
Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai is a game of two halves: a surprisingly simplistic action RPG and an endless barrage of static, visual novel-style cutscenes. It bears the name Dragon Quest and is published by Square Enix, yet it feels entirely barebones; with basic gameplay and a poorly presented story, we're left...
News Square Enix Answers Age-Old Question of How to Say Cait Sith in Final Fantasy 7
It's pronounced Cait Sith
Ever since RPGs began in 1997 with the launch of Final Fantasy VII, players have argued about the correct pronunciation of Cait Sith, the name of a potential party member in a game full of better options. As there was no audio dialogue, only text, players came up with creative fiction and dug their heels in, like our one...
News Clean Up in Foamstars PS5 Open Beta Available Now
Playable for the weekend
As previously announced during Sony's recent State of Play livestream, Square Enix's online battler Foamstars is getting an open beta, and it's available now on PS5. You can play the Happy Bath Survival and Smash the Star modes from now until 11:59pm PDT on Sunday, with eight characters up for selection. Your progress won't...