Square Enix

Final Fantasy III Designer Wasn’t Particularly Into Moogles, Actually

In honor of Final Fantasy III’s 30th anniversary, Square Enix recently published an extensive interview with Hiromichi Tanaka, who worked as a designer on the 1990 Famicom game. While lighthearted, they do touch on some interesting subjects, including the debut of Moogles, how they created a cool attack effect for the Odin summon, and the…

Trials Of Mana Demo Disappears From Steam After Exploit Unlocked Full Game [CORRECTED]

Square Enix recently announced the temporary removal of its Trials of Mana demo from Steam due to “unforeseen circumstances.” The company provided no further details, but this news comes hot on the heels of players finding a way to access the full game through the demo without having to pay for it. Hmm. Square Enix…

Square Enix is adding flying to Final Fantasy XIV’s A Realm Reborn maps. The long requested feature will come alongside a streamlining of the Realm Reborn main quests which will be a boon to anyone who’s ever picked this game up and then dropped it five hours in.

The Trials Of Mana Remake Proves Square Enix Can Faithfully Redo A Classic ’90s RPG

The second high-definition remake of a 90s-era Square Enix role-playing game coming out this month is much more faithful to the original than Final Fantasy VII. Beneath Trials of Mana’s cartoonish 3D makeover and questionable voice acting, it’s the same simple, satisfying action RPG it’s always been. This piece was first published on April 22,…

Trials Of Mana‘s Healer Talks Like A Baby And Pwease, No

There are six playable characters in the Trials of Mana HD remake that comes out this week. The only dedicated healer among them is Charlotte, the diminutive granddaughter of the Priest of Light. I’d rather my party die a thousand deaths than be subjected to her insipidly cutesy baby-talk. It’s a widdle too uwu. When…

I Need Much More Of Final Fantasy VII Remake‘s Dancing Mini-Game

Don’t leave a rhythm game fan hanging here, Square Enix. The Final Fantasy VII Remake dancing mini-game is too good to be limited to a practice round and one spectacular sequence. Cloud needs to move his body right. As I played through Final Fantasy VII Remake, former (sniff) co-worker Jason Schreier kept asking me where…

Man Recreates Cloud Strife’s Buster Sword In Cardboard

Previously, we saw the iconic Final Fantasy VII blade carved in pencil graphite. Now, let’s see it recreated in cardboard. YouTuber Crafty Transformer uploaded the clip below showing how he brought the Buster Sword to life in cardboard. In the walkthrough, Crafty Transformer shows each step along the way (unfortunately the closed-caption subtitles are only…

It’s Not Gonna Happen But I Still Want A Physical Copy Of Final Fantasy VII Remake [Update]

I made the mistake of trying to get a physical copy of Final Fantasy VII Remake, the game I’ve been waiting over a decade to play, ever since the idea of it first started knocking around my early-20s brain. It never came, and now I’m staring at page after page of scalper prices on Ebay.…

Final Fantasy VII Remake Has Very Realistic Air-Conditioning Units

Final Fantasy VII Remake might be set in a fantasy world Gaia and have stupid doors, but that doesn’t make the game lacks realistic air conditioning units. Players have noticed all the A/C units throughout the capital city Midgar. Similar units are seen throughout modern-day Japan, where central air is uncommon for apartments and houses,…

The Definitely True Backstories Of Final Fantasy VII Remake‘s Background Characters

Final Fantasy VII Remake is one of the most luxurious video games I’ve ever played. Nearly 20 hours in, Cloud’s character model still causes me to audibly gasp every time I see him from a new angle. The friggin’ pipes in this game tell a story, with grimy textures that make me feel like I…

Final Fantasy VII Devs Wanted Sephiroth To Feel Like Jaws

Like many things in Final Fantasy VII, the main antagonist Sephiroth is an iconic part of gaming history. He’s a striking, menacing presence throughout the classic roleplaying game. Much of Sephiroth’s reputation has to do with the way the developers took cues from an entirely different piece of media: Steven Spielberg’s 1975 thriller, Jaws During…

Final Fantasy VII Remake Gives Cloud’s Honeybee Inn Makeover The Update It Needed

It’s 1997, and I’m sitting in my dorm room at the University of Wisconsin playing the newly-released Final Fantasy VII on my recently purchased PlayStation. Tifa is in the clutches of some slumlord jerk named Corneo and it’s my job, as Cloud, to save her. How do I do it? Putting on a dress. Putting…

Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy Voice Actor Keiji Fujiwara Has Died

Keiji Fujiwara was a veteran voice actor with an impressive resume in anime and Japanese games. Today, it was announced that he has passed away at the age of 55. His talent agency announced that Fujiwara died from cancer. As Oricon reports, Fujiwara had taken a break from voice acting from August 2016 to June…

Cloud Can’t Close Doors

Final Fantasy VII Remake looks so damn good, and it’s full of tiny graphical flourishes. You can even see which color materia Cloud has equipped in his sword. That might be why it’s so much more noticeable to me that Cloud can’t close doors. I’m only eight hours into playing the game, so maybe Cloud…

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…