Final Fantasy

Final Fantasy VIII‘s Triple Triad Is Why I Love Card Games

Final Fantasy VIII Remastered is finally here, which means I can continue my long and storied history of never actually finishing Final Fantasy VIII because I am too busy playing Triple Triad. It’s a whole thing: I get a copy of Final Fantasy VIII, immediately start playing the in-game card game more than anything else,…

Final Fantasy XIV‘s Depiction Of The World Ending Is A Bit Too Real

To quote my 100% non-fictional friend Barret Wallace: “Planet’s dyin’, Cloud.” As our society feels closer and closer to an irrevocable change, as the Amazon rainforest burns and the ice caps continue to melt, I find the fragility of our world reflected in the narratives of my favorite games. Final Fantasy XIV’s latest expansion, Shadowbringers,…

Finding An Old Game Boy Advance Feels Like Slipping Into A Storybook

Not too long ago, I got a box from my folks with a bunch of stuff I had been keeping in their attic. I live in New York, where boxes are generally bad news: They’re full of stuff, and when you take stuff out of a box, you have to find a place to put…

I Get More Excited About Old Games On Switch Than New Ones

I’ve spent much of the last week staring at the Switch eShop page for the Grandia HD Collection willing myself not to buy it. For me, it is probably the most alluring recent release on the system, a collection of two classic RPGs I’ve never played, available on the most pleasant and convenient console. That’s…

Final Fantasy XIV Bard Reimagines Performances As A Rhythm Game

Bards gained the ability to play actual music in Final Fantasy XIV near the end of 2017 and have been annoying bar-goers with their covers of “All Star” and “One Winged Angel” ever since (or just beeping loudly like fire alarms). One talented bard had reimagined Final Fantasy XIV as a rhythm game, and I…

Final Fantasy VIII’s remastered version now has a concrete release date. It’s coming to PS4, Switch, Xbox One, and PC on September 3. Bid a fond farewell to that classic Squall meme while you can.

I Helped Some Gaggling Final Fantasy XIV Newbies Best One Of the Trickiest Bosses

There are moments in online games when leadership and authority are thrust upon us. In group-based content, like the various boss fights in Final Fantasy XIV, knowledge is power. If you’re in a group full of helpless newbies and you know the fight’s mechanics, you’re suddenly in charge. Earlier this week, I suddenly became the…

Final Fantasy VIII Remaster Addresses A Classic Meme

Later this year, Square Enix will put out a graphical remaster of Final Fantasy VIII for modern consoles. You may be pleased to learn that, thanks to its new high-def character models, this remaster will ruin a classic Final Fantasy meme. It’s hard to tell who came up with this one, but it’s at least…

The Strange Guilt Of Changing Jobs In An MMO

As I continue to lose myself in the world of Final Fantasy XIV’s latest expansion, writing guides on how new folks can get started and fighting terrifying raid bosses, I’ve also taken the time to experiment with new jobs. I followed my co-worker Mike Fahey’s lead and started the new Dancer job. And oh my…

Final Fantasy XIV’s New Raid Bosses Bring The Pain

It’s been two weeks since Final Fantasy XIV’s Shadowbringers expansion launched. That’s been enough time to explore and complete the exciting story, and players have been eager for more. The latest raid content, Eden’s Gate, released today, offering a handful of difficult boss fights and an intriguing mystery storyline to follow. These are some of…

Final Fantasy XIV Shadowbringers Log Four: Everything And Everyone Else

There are many ways to play through Final Fantasy XIV’s Shadowbringers expansion. I am playing as a goggle-wearing Viera Dancer, dancing and damaging my way toward the finish line. I can’t cover all of the job class changes, role-based questlines, and side content before my review drops. But other FFXIV players can certainly tell me…

Final Fantasy IX Retrospective: The Final Fantasy‘s Final Fantasy

You know when you’re playing around with a new recipe and you fall in love with one particular spice? Call it cumin. You find every recipe that makes sense with cumin, and eventually, you grow so obsessed with it that you just keep adding it to all of your dinners for a month straight, until…

Previously Japan-Only Iwata Asks Series Is Being Translated Into English

While Nintendo has an archive section where fans can revisit old installments of the popular Iwata Asks series, not every Q&A the former Nintendo president ever sat down for is there, because not all of them were translated into English by the company. One such example of that is an interview about Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles:…

How To Get Into Final Fantasy XIV In 2019

As Final Fantasy XIV’s new expansion “Shadowbringers” hits, I’ve seen a lot of curiosity from co-workers and friends about how to get started with the game. With hours and hours of content, tons of jobs to choose from, and multiple places to hop in, it can seem daunting, but it’s still well worth the time.…

I Can’t Deal With People Getting Ahead Of Me In MMOs

Earlier today, my Kotaku coworker Heather Alexandra posted what I am sure was an amazing and insightful look at the end of Final Fantasy XIV’s Shadowbringers expansion. An ending that I’m still a level and a half and a whole bunch of quests away from experiencing. I am so damn jealous. It’s not just Heather.…

The End of Final Fantasy XIV‘s ‘Shadowbringers’ Expansion Is The Emotional Spectacle I’ve Been Waiting For

It’s hard for any story to end well, and even harder when it’s set in the constantly changing world of an MMORPG. Lengthy questlines that require years’ worth of player investment are hard to sell. Final Fantasy XIV’s latest expansion, ‘Shadowbringers,’ makes it work with an emotionally charged climax that helps create one of the…

Final Fantasy XIV Shadowbringers Log Three: All Pros, No Cons

It’s ridiculous. Every time I log in to work my way through Final Fantasy XIV’s latest expansion, I find more things to gush over. Rather than spam my Twitter followers with GIFs and references to Shadowbringers, I’m using the third leg of my journey towards a full review to get all the goodness thus far…

Final Fantasy XIV Lets You Run Dungeons With NPC Heroes Now, And It’s So Much Better Than Real People

Running through a brand-new dungeon in an online game with random strangers is nerve-wracking. I worry I will screw up and get us all killed. I fret about doing enough damage. I get grouped with jerks who know the run by heart and expect everyone else to as well. Final Fantasy XIV’s Shadowbringers expansion Iets…

I Love When Video Game Music Is So Good I Forget To Actually Play The Game

One of my favorite games of the last several years is Facepalm Games’ The Swapper.I like it for a lot of reasons: it’s got this beautiful stop-motion clay art style, an immediately compelling hook in the titular Swapper, a gun that lets you clone yourself and zap your consciousness between those clones, and a disconcerting…

Final Fantasy XIV Shadowbringers Log Two: Great Dancing, Bad Rabbits

When the early access period for Final Fantasy XIV’s Shadowbringers expansion went live on Friday, I did two things. I unlocked the new Dancer job and switched my character to Viera, the game’s new rabbit-eared race. I regret one of those choices. After three days of play, I’m finally venturing into Shadowbringers’ colorful new zones,…