Square Enix

Cloud Strife’s Buster Sword Carved In Pencil Lead

Twitter user Shiroi does amazing carvings out of pencil graphite. With Final Fantasy VII Remake out, what better time to recreate Cloud’s iconic Buster Sword? Check this out: If you aren’t familiar with Shiroi’s work, here are more of his amazing pencil lead sculptures: Follow Shiroi on Twitter for more, and if you haven’t read…

Final Fantasy VII Remake Needs A Photo Mode

Final Fantasy VII Remake is a gorgeous game with some wonderful looking character models and highly detailed worlds. Yet, it launched without a photo mode. Over this current generation of consoles, photo modes have become more and more common. And now we’ve reached a point where they almost feel like features all games should include…

Let’s Talk About Final Fantasy VII Remake‘s Mind-Boggling Ending

Now that Final Fantasy VII Remake is out—and given that many of you have been playing it for days thanks to coronavirus-triggered early releases—it’s time we talk about how it ends. Here is your warning: even if you have played the original Final Fantasy VII, you should not read further until you’ve finished Final Fantasy…

Covid-19 Concerns Delay Final Fantasy XIV‘s Next Big Update

Originally scheduled for release in mid-June, Final Fantasy XIV Shadowbringers’ update 5.3 is being pushed back several weeks due to issues stemming from the covid-19 crisis. In a letter to the community, game director Naoki Yoshida detailed the difficulties involved with managing MMO development during a global pandemic. Update 5.25, which introduced new relic hunts…

The Difference Between Final Fantasy VII’s Easy And Normal Modes Is Too Drastic

Combat in Final Fantasy VII Remake, especially when facing powerful boss battles, involves juggling normal and special attacks, destructive and healing magics, and strategically exploiting enemy weaknesses. Unless you’re playing in easy mode. Then it’s just button-mashing bullshit. I spent 40 hours playing through Final Fantasy VII Remake, mostly on normal mode, the highest difficulty…

Tips For Playing Final Fantasy VII Remake

Final Fantasy VII Remake is not a difficult game, but there are still things you should know before you play it—ways to be more efficient, to get more treasures, and to avoid those pesky game overs. Here are some basic tips for Cloud’s adventures through Midgar 2.0: Regular attacks don’t do much The first thing…

Final Fantasy XIV‘s Latest Relic Hunt Is A Compelling Story Quest

If there’s one thing a good MMO needs, it’s fancy loot. That can mean World of Warcraft’s various class artifacts or Final Fantasy XIV’s relics, some of the best weapons in the game. The latter come with each new expansion, and it’s finally Shadowbringers’ turn. There’s a twist: What used to be a painful and…

The Moment I Fell In Love With Aerith In The Final Fantasy VII Remake

In the original Final Fantasy VII, Aerith and Cloud’s escape from Shinra across the rooftops of the Sector 5 slums is a minute-long sequence with a few lines of dialogue and a bit of hopping. The Final Fantasy VII Remake turns that fleeting moment into so much more. As Jason Schreier says in his excellent…

Final Fantasy VII Remake: The Kotaku Review

A remake is, by nature, an egotistical exercise. Choosing to revise and re-release an old work of art is looking back at it and saying, “You know what? I could do this better.” Sometimes that turns out to be true. Sometimes it turns out to be horribly false. And sometimes, a release comes out that…

People Are Already Playing Final Fantasy VII Remake In Australia

When Square Enix announced physical copies of Final Fantasy VII Remake would ship to Europe and Australia earlier than its April 10 release date due to the covid-19 pandemic, we didn’t think they meant this early. The eagerly anticipated game is already in the hands of many Australians, as evidenced by a growing number of…

Square Enix has announced that Final Fantasy VII Remake will be shipped early to Europe and Australia due to covid-19. An official statement reads: “Our highest priority is that all of you, including those who live in countries facing the biggest disruption, can play the game at launch, so we made the decision to ship…

Nier Replicant Is Being “Upgraded” For PS4, Xbox One And PC

Square Enix announced earlier today that an upgraded version of Nier Replicant is heading to Xbox One, PS4, and PC. This year marks the 10 year anniversary of the action RPG and during a live stream celebrating this milestone,it was announced that developer Toylogic will help bring the game to modern systems and PC. Platinum…

Sony And Microsoft Put Out Vague Statements About How Covid-19 Will Affect Their Games

In a press release on its website, Sony announced that it doesn’t expect the game and network services part of its business to be impacted during the current fiscal year, which ends March 31. At the same time, the company didn’t rule out that things could change in the future. Sony and Microsoft both put…

There’s A New Final Fantasy Tactics Game Out Today, Sort Of

War of the Visions: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius, Square Enix’s new tactics RPG, is now available on iOS and Android. It combines the beloved turn-based battles of Final Fantasy Tactics with a whole bunch of free-to-play, collectible character RPG nonsense. Though positioned as an offshoot of Final Fantasy Brave Exvius, the mobile RPG where players…

Nier Creator’s Mobile RPG SINoALICE Goes Global July 1

SINoALICE is a role-playing game for iOS and Android which stars twisted versions of fairytale characters like Pinocchio, Cinderella, and Little Red Riding Hood. It’s directed by Yoko Taro, who directed Nier, with music by Nier composer Keiichi Okabe. It’s been out in Japan since 2017. Everyone else can play it on July 1. The…

Speedrunners Can’t Stop Playing The Final Fantasy VII Remake Demo

The Final Fantasy VII Remake demo has only been out for a week, but already speedrunners have played through it dozens of times trying to master it as if it were a standalone game. The demo, which went live last Monday, runs barely an hour, only showing off the first mission of what promises to…

Microsoft, Nintendo, Ubisoft Respond To The News Of E3’s Cancellation

Earlier today, the Entertainment Software Association said it will cancel the video game trade show E3 this year amid growing concerns over the spread of COVID-19, aka coronavirus. Since the announcement, major game publishers have said they still plan to share news about upcoming games, but in a different format. Despite Sony pulling out of…

What’s Going On With GeForce Now

Ever since it officially launched last month, game publishers have been abandoning Nvidia’s GeForce Now streaming platform in droves. Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, meanwhile, has defended the service, arguing it’s the most developer-friendly option out there right now. “Epic is wholeheartedly supporting NVIDIA’s GeForce NOW service with Fortnite and with Epic Games Store titles…

Cloud And Sephiroth Face Off Again In The Final Fantasy VII Remake Card Game Set

With only the first installment of the Final Fantasy VII Remake coming in April, who knows when the video game will get to the final confrontation between Cloud and Sephiroth. The Final Fantasy Trading Card Game wastes no time getting to the good bits, with a special two-player starter set that allows players to relive…

Outriders Is Like Destiny Mixed With Heart Of Darkness

Outriders’ art makes it seem like a grittier rip-off of Destiny, but having played the game for a couple hours, it feels more like Gears of War mixed with Mass Effect. It occasionally reminded me of a James Cameron sizzle reel: the bucolic paradise of Avatar giving way to the bloody horror of Aliens occasionally…