Tag: Square Enix
News Square Enix President Orders Development Review to Improve Quality of Future Games
A job for the Investigation Sector of the General Affairs Department
Square Enix has ordered a complete review of its developmental pipeline to increase the quality of future games and streamline, optimise, and synergise its way into increased profit margins. That's under the direction of Square Enix Holdings president Takashi Kiryu, responsible for...
News Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's Huge PS5 Demo Out Now, Junon Update Coming Before Full Release
Cloudy weather
Leaked several days ago and now confirmed as part of Sony's latest State of Play broadcast, the playable demo for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is available to download from the PS Store. It weighs in at a whopping 48.6GB, which is huge for a pre-release peek. The demo itself will take you through Rebirth's prologue, as Cloud joins...
Preview Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Feels Like a Strong Step Forward from Remake
Kalming influence
"How did it feel being back up there? I don't know... nostalgic, I guess?" Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth summarised our feelings with one simple question. We love the original game but when Final Fantasy 7 Remake opened the door to some dramatic changes, nothing was guaranteed moving forward. Thankfully, Rebirth feels like a natural...
Live Watch Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's State of Play Livestream Right Here (6th February, 2024)
Cloud atlas
Looking to watch Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s State of Play livestream today? Last week we were treated to an excellent State of Play broadcast, showcasing the breadth of PS5's upcoming catalogue. But now it's time for another instalment, this time focusing specifically on Square Enix's remake sequel. We already know a demo will follow...
Poll Will You Be Watching the Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth State of Play?
Or have you already seen too much?
Just in case you don't know, there's another State of Play broadcast tonight, featuring Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. It's probably going to be the game's last big blowout before it releases on the 29th February — which is just over three weeks away! — but will you actually be watching the show? The real reason we...
News Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's PS5 Demo Accidentally Outed by Sony
"Uncover the opening chapter of the story"
Sony has prematurely revealed a demo for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, as part of a trailer uploaded early to the PS Store. The video – presumably intended to debut as part of an upcoming State of Play livestream – promises to let you “step into the shoes of either Cloud or Sephiroth during the Nibelheim...
News Foamstars Is Another PS5 Game Not Bothering with a Platinum Trophy
Just 12 Trophies to unlock
Foamstars will be available for all PS Plus Essential members later today, but the online foam game won't be rewarding you with a Platinum Trophy once you've earned 100 per cent completion. Just like the upcoming Tomb Raider I-III PS5, PS4 remasters, Foamstars has chosen not to bother with the top gong in Sony's Trophy...
News Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's Long Trophy List Revealed, 61 to Unlock
Hard difficulty playthrough required
Square Enix is predicting a 100-hour playthrough if you want to finish off everything Final Fantasy VII Rebirth offers, and its Trophy list now backs that up. You will need to unlock 60 Trophies to have the Platinum next to its name on your PS5 Profile, which is roughly about 10 more than a standard title of this...
News Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Demands Nearly 150GB of PS5 Storage Space
And we'll gladly give it up
It's February now, and we are officially in sight of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, the jaw-dropping sequel to Square Enix's 2020 Remake, out on the auspicious date of 29th February. The wait has been a long one, but if the 145GB of PS5 real estate director Tetsuya Nomura is demanding of players is anything to go by, Cloud...
News Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth PS5 Demo All But Confirmed for Next Week
Save data may carry over
It's looking incredibly likely that Square Enix will drop a demo for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth next week. There are multiple factors to this educated guesswork at the time of writing: Square Enix loves releasing demos even for its biggest games, Rebirth is getting its own State of Play on the 6th February, and now, the...
News Foamstars PS5, PS4 First Season Detailed Ahead of Next Week's Launch
Better get some bubbly ready
Suddsy shooter Foamstars got a moment in the spotlight at Sony's State of Play showcase, showing off a new trailer previewing the game's first season, called Starry Pop. Skins, characters, maps, and more are coming to the competitive service game later in the month, and the base game launches imminently on PS5 and PS4 on...
News Square Enix to Absorb Subsidiary Tokyo RPG Factory and All Its Assets
Closing the production line
Tokyo RPG Factory was established by Square Enix approximately a decade ago in order to recapture the magic of the “golden age” of role-playing releases. However, following the launch of three titles – I Am Setsuna, Lost Sphear, and Oninaki – the subsidiary has been absorbed into its parent company, and will...
News Square Enix Talks Reimagining Aerith and Sephiroth for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth on PS5
More room for nuance
Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth is arguably the biggest game of the first quarter, or at the least the one we're seeing the most hype for; considering it won Most Anticipated Game at The Game Awards, this should come as little surprise. This second part of a trilogy will give us a lot more one-on-one time with specific characters and...
News A Final Fantasy 6 Remake Would Take 20 Years to Make, Says Square Enix Producer
Twice as long as FF7
Final Fantasy 7 Remake was a game long thought to be a pipe dream, but Square Enix eventually made it happen. It's being released in three parts, each big enough to be a full game in its own right, but it's happening, and fans are currently bouncing off the walls in excitement for part two, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. While this...
News Final Fantasy 7 Remake Story Recap the Focus of New Trailer
Get caught up in three minutes
Square Enix has published a new trailer designed to give you a quick story recap of Final Fantasy VII Remake ahead of its PS5 sequel Rebirth releasing on 29th February 2024. Clocking in at just over three minutes long, it is obviously not going to provide an exhaustive explanation of every story beat in the RPG, but as...
News Final Fantasy 7: Advent Children Screening in Select U.S. Theatres Ahead of Rebirth on PS5
The Planet is crying out in pain
For the longest time, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children was the coolest thing Final Fantasy fans had ever seen. One of the ways Square Enix is promoting the impending PS5 exclusive Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is almost equally cool. In partnership with Fathom Events and Sony Pictures, the company is screening the...
News Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Now Has Its Own Official Sony TV
The definitive TV for Cloud and co
In one of the more bizarre marketing agreements, it's been revealed Final Fantasy VII Rebirth has its own official TV: the Sony Bravia XR. A press release from Sony Electronics suggests the television "is the official gaming TV for this release, offering the ultimate gaming experience to guide users who take on the...
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...
