Square Enix

The Motorcycles Of The Tokyo Game Show

I’ve been coming to the Tokyo Game Show since 2004, but this is the first year I remember seeing bikes of any sort at the booths. While they’re not road-ready, they are prime for picture taking. Makes sense! Both Cyberpunk 2077 and Final Fantasy VII Remake feature motorcycles. Neither of these bikes actually move. They’re props…

Final Fantasy VII Remake Continues To Look Like A Brand New Game

Blink and you’ll miss some of the brand new additions to Final Fantasy VII for the remake, as showcased in this new trailer that Square Enix put out in honor of the Tokyo Game Show this week. Among other things, there’s a new boss fight with Reno, some sort of dart minigame, a brand new…

Returning To Final Fantasy VIII After 20 Years Is Letting Me Resolve Childhood Shame

I vividly remember when Final Fantasy VIII came out in February 1999. I coveted it for months but didn’t get it until October for my 11th birthday. It was my first Japanese role-playing game ever. I struggled desperately just to get through its opening moments of tutorials and text walls and Y2K CD-Rom-ass menus. I…

Square Enix Shows Real-Time Graphics Of The Future

Square Enix studio Luminous Productions has unveiled a new tech demo called “Back Stage” that shows how it uses ray-tracing tech. The demo is rendered in real-time  Luminous Productions was established last year and staffed with former Final Fantasy XV staff. The game’s director Hajime Tabata initially headed up the studio. He has since left Square…

I Keep Quitting Dragon Quest XI Thanks To Its Atrocious Music

Ever since my friend and Kotaku comrade in arms Tim Rogers reviewed Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age last year with glowing praise, I’ve been trying desperately to play it. The combat is snappy, the world is gorgeous, and the prospect of a sweeping story excites me. But every time I play, I…

Dragon Quest Builders director Kazuya Nino has announced he’s leaving Square Enix, where he’s been for the past seven years. According to Nino, his next career move has already been decided and he’ll be discussing that in the near future.

Oninaki: The Kotaku Review

When I first played the demo for Oninaki, an action role-playing game out tomorrow from Lost Sphear and I Am Setsuna creators Tokyo RPG Factory, I was optimistic. The gameplay wasn’t particularly captivating, but the story seemed unique and dark enough for me to push through the repetitive combat. Unfortunately, by the time I finished…

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.

Square Enix Hit With More Death Threats, Cancels Game Tournaments

Starting this weekend, there were supposed to be events for mecha arcade game Starwing Paradox at four cities across Japan. Those events have been canceled due to death threats. According to an official Square Enix statement, there have been several death threats made against Starwing Paradox’s management team. Square Enix has reported the threats and…

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 Star Ocean Mobile Game Is Shutting Down

Barely a year after launching in the West, free-to-play mobile RPG Star Ocean: Anamnesis is shutting down. Players have until November 5 to finish collecting characters before Square Enix pulls the plug. Star Ocean V was not good. Instead of Star Ocean VI, we got Star Ocean: Anamnesis, a mobile gacha game in which players…

Kingdom Hearts III, Six Months Later

Kingdom Hearts III had plenty of drama before launch thanks to a massive leak of physical copies that led director Tetsuya Nomura to ask fans not to share spoilers. Square Enix also delayed the game’s epilogue until after the game’s release. When release day finally came, Sora and his pals mostly ended up okay, save…

Oninaki‘s World Might Be Enough To Get Me Past The Repetitive Gameplay

Oninaki, an action role-playing game from the developers of I Am Setsuna and Lost Sphear, now has a free demo on Nintendo Switch, Steam, and Playstation 4. I entered into the play experience expecting something generic, and while the combat is a bit mindless, Oninaki’s world is a fascinating place. This short tease has left…

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 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.…