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Hey Final Fantasy, Why So Serious?
Remember back when the Final Fantasy franchise had room for silly jokes and random frivolity? Commenter Balmung certainly does, and he wonders we’ll ever go back there in today’s Speak Up on Kotaku. So I was just wondering about this. When did the Final Fantasy games get so serious? Back through Final Fantasies III-VII the…
By Mike Fahey Published February 7, 2012 -
We Can All Be Team-Up Kings in Army Corps of Hell’s Multiplayer
Square Enix’s upcoming Vita game puts players in command of a dethroned King of Hell who’s commanding a 100-goblin attack squad to get his crown back. This latest video from the strategy game shows that you needn’t go it alone. ACoH will support up to four ad-hoc players and you can see what it looks…
By Evan Narcisse Published February 6, 2012 -
You Might Catch Some Secrets in This Final Fantasy XIII-2 Monster Video
Join me as I take a trip through my favorite new feature of Final Fantasy XIII-2, monster recruitment, snag a couple of rare creatures, and witness the beginning of a legend that will never die. Well, probably never die. Since finishing the main story of Final Fantasy XIII-2 last weekend I’ve spent the majority of…
By Mike Fahey Published February 3, 2012 -
At Least One Person Believes Final Fantasy V is the Best Game in the Series
With this week’s release of Final Fantasy XIII-2 reopening the franchise discussion floodgates, commenter deuxhero makes an empassioned plea for the Final Fantasy game he believes is the best, even if nobody else does. Let’s Speak Up on Kotaku. Finally Fantasy V is the best Final Fantasy of the main series, and here’s why. The…
By Mike Fahey Published February 1, 2012 -
Vanquish Figures Unloaded for Your Viewing Pleasure
Fast-pace shooter Vanquish is being immortalized in resin with two upcoming figures. The game’s developer, Platinum Games, is showing off the figures. Have a look. They’re unpainted prototypes, and according to Platinum, there are still minor tweaks being made. Square Enix Play Arts Kai line is creating the figures, which were last shown off last…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 1, 2012 -
Just Why, Exactly, Did Final Fantasy XIII Suck so Badly?
Boring. Bland. Linear. Those are three of the kinder things that can be said of Final Fantasy XIII, a game so poor it needed a direct sequel just to salvage some brand integrity. They’re also disarmingly simple, and don’t really get to the heart of just why the game was so disappointing to so many.…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 31, 2012 -
The Story and Creature Collecting Goodness Continue in Final Fantasy XIII-2 DLC
Along with the announcement that Final Fantasy XIII-2 is now available for purchase and play, Square Enix laid out plans to supplement the game with downloadable episodes and coliseum battles that could bring classic Final Fantasy foes into your party. You should all be pretty much done with Final Fantasy XIII-2 by February 7, right?…
By Mike Fahey Published January 31, 2012 -
Game Critics Turn Back the Score Clock on Final Fantasy XIII-2
Tomorrow marks the second time in Final Fantasy history that Square Enix releases a direct console sequel to one of the numbered entries in the fabled series. Considering the first time around we got a trio of pop divas playing dress-up, this one has to be better, right game reviewers? We’ve seen how I feel…
By Mike Fahey Published January 30, 2012 -
ReviewsFinal Fantasy XIII-2: The Kotaku Review
In an epic tale of time-traveling heroism, Square Enix travels two years into the future to rectify the mistakes it made with Final Fantasy XIII. Have they found redemption with Final Fantasy XIII-2, or is history doomed to repeat itself? What ever happened to Lightning? Something horrible has happened to the main character of 2010’s…
By Mike Fahey Published January 30, 2012 -
Everybody Was Final Fantasy XIII-2 Fighting, Even Chase the Chocobo
Yesterday Square Enix released a video demonstrating all of the nifty things you can do instead of fighting in Final Fantasy XIII-2. Today? Today is all about the battles, which are arguably as entertaining. My favorite aspect of Final Fantasy XIII-2‘s battle system is definitely the ability to recruit monsters to your party. Every time…
By Mike Fahey Published January 27, 2012 -
There’s a Lot More to Do in Final Fantasy XIII-2 Than Save the World
While Final Fantasy XIII was all about getting the job done in a timely fashion, Final Fantasy XIII-2 gives the player plenty of time to relax between tasks. Check out some of the more entertaining diversions tucked away in next week’s sequel. Gambling, trivia contests, side missions, mini-games; these were the things I missed the…
By Mike Fahey Published January 25, 2012 -
In Which the Lord of Hell Accidentally Takes a Bus to Michigan
In the first of a series of live-action videos promoting Square Enix’s PlayStation Vita launch game, Army Corps of Hell, the lord of hell takes a bus to Hell, Michigan. Honest mistake, really. I don’t know, Hell, Michigan seems like a lovely little place to settle down and raise an army of the damned. I…
By Mike Fahey Published January 20, 2012 -
Here’s Hoping They Never Make a Sequel to The World Ends with You
In today’s Speak Up on Kotaku, commenter Zombie711 wants Square Enix’s DS masterpiece The World Ends with You to end with itself. In other words, here’s one of the game’s biggest fans explaining why it should never, ever get a sequel. Aww. I like The World Ends with You. A Lot. But at the same…
By Mike Fahey Published January 20, 2012 -
Kingdom Hearts 3D Gets a Special Hardware. Release Date, Too.
Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance will be out March 29 in Japan. There will be a special Kingdom Hearts 3DS handheld. While I like the monogram, I’m not a fan with the Kingdom Hearts text or the stupid Disney copyright. The Dream Drop Distance 3DS comes bundled with a copy of the game. Pricing…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 19, 2012 -
Whoah, What is This Deus Ex Movie? It Looks Incredible! [Update]
A video turned up on YouTube today saying it was behind-the-scenes footage of a Deus Ex “Live Action Short Film”. And it looks way too slick/expensive to be a fan film. The credits at the end list it as being the work of Enso Productions, a professional “Action Design Team”. Which basically means people who…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 19, 2012 -
The Lovely, Colorful Platformer ScaryGirl Arrives on XBLA
ScaryGirl, a platformer based on Nathan Jurevicius’s graphic novel, has been released on Xbox Live Arcade, with a PSN release scheduled for next week and a “coming soon” release date for PC. As you can see in the trailer and screens above, it’s looking mighty nice! I had been under the impression that this was…
By Kirk Hamilton Published January 18, 2012 -
Time Travel Opens Up Worlds of Possibility in Final Fantasy XIII-2
One of my favorite features of Final Fantasy XIII-2, time travel allows the player and their party to jump back and forth between different eras in the game’s history, small self-contained ‘What If?’ scenarios filled with stories to experience and items to collect. For fans of the Final Fantasy XIII setting, XIII-2‘s different time periods…
By Mike Fahey Published January 18, 2012 -
What’s Going On with Final Fantasy Versus XIII? Well…
This summer, six years will have passed since Final Fantasy Versus XIII was first shown in trailer form. Talk about a long time. As previously mentioned in Aug. 2011, Square Enix actually did not begin work then. By 2009, Square Enix showed gameplay footage, and now in early 2012, the game’s designer, Tetsuya Nomura, is…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 18, 2012 -
Heroes of Ruin’s Going to Make You Fight Off Lots of Angry Shark Men in Lots of places
I’m not going to lie to you: that golden-haired, human-faced, griffin-looking creature early in this video for Square Enix’s action/RPG gives me the creeps. Put an animal head on a human body—as with the numerous shark men seen in this Heroes of Ruin trailer—and I’m fine but something about the opposite screams crime against nature…
By Evan Narcisse Published January 16, 2012 -
Hitman: Absolution Rips Off Red Dead Redemption in the Coolest Way
Last week, my friend and colleague Matt Cabral wrote up an excellent preview of Hitman: Absolution for Kotaku. I was given the same demonstration by IO Interactive and Square Enix this week at CES and couldn’t agree with him more – the game is going to be bloody fantastic. However, one small reason for this…
By Dave Oshry Published January 15, 2012