Square Enix

Final Fantasy XV’s Episode Ardyn DLC Made Me A Fan Of The Villain

Final Fantasy XV’s final installment of downloadable content and its animated prologue have changed the way I feel about the game’s roguish antagonist. Not only is Ardyn Izunia a much more sympathetic figure now, he’s also a complete warp-striking, demon-converting bad-ass. Don’t expect Final Fantasy XV: Episode Ardyn, available today for $10 on PlayStation 4,…

Final Fantasy XIV’s Newest Races Are Gender-Locked, And Players Are Not Happy

When a new rabbit-eared race called Viera was revealed for Final Fantasy XIV’s upcoming Shadowbringers expansion during last month’s Paris Fanfest, only female versions were shown, but players were hopeful that the male version of the Viera would be announced at the Tokyo Fanfest this past weekend. Instead, Square Enix added a whole new race,…

Japanese TV drama Final Fantasy XIV: Dad of Light is getting a feature film adaptation. It will star Kentaro Sakaguchi as the son and Kotaro Yoshida. In the original TV show, Yudai Chiba played the son and Ren Osugi, who passed away last year, was the father.

The Second Cutest Final Fantasy Spinoff Is Back, And It’s Brought Friends

Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo’s Dungeon passed the “cutest Final Fantasy game” crown to World of Final Fantasy and its hordes of adorable critters in 2016, but that’s okay. The 2007 Wii game, remastered today for the Switch and PlayStation 4 and renamed Chocobo’s Mystery Dungeon Every Buddy, is still one of the sweetest and purest…

A Beautiful Musical Celebration Of 20 Years Of Chrono Cross

One of the greatest things about the 1999 PlayStation role-playing game Chrono Cross is its soundtrack. Composer Yasunori Mitsuda, who created the music for Chrono Trigger on the Super Nintendo four years earlier, took the “Chrono sound” to dizzying new heights for the sequel. Now 29 artist have come together to pay tribute with Chronopolis:…

Final Fantasy Gunblades, Ranked

Seriously. Final Fantasy VII was the first game in the series to have guns. They added to the game’s modern and mature mystique at the time. Prior to that, the series’ weaponry was purely medieval, primarily focused around swords. But what if you could have a sword that was also a gun? Final Fantasy VIII…

Left Alive Isn’t Fun But Its Depiction Of Mechs Is Great

Left Alive is not a very fun game to play. Its mashup of stealth gameplay and mech combat is clunky and frustrating. But these gameplay shifts do create spectacular contrasts that capture one of the most important features of the giant robot genre: the human costs of mech combat. In Left Alive, the outbreak of…

Octopath Traveler is getting a prequel for smartphones called Octopath Traveler: Tairiku no Haisha (Conquerors of the Continent). Announced for Japan, the free-to-play RPG features and all-new story set a few years before the first game.

Just Cause 4 Hits Xbox Game Pass Only Three Months After Release

Despite all of the explosions in Avalanche Studios’ open-world chaos simulator, Just Cause 4 did not set the world on fire when it launched last year on December 4. Now, less than 100 days later, it’s free for Game Pass subscribers to download and play on Xbox One. Microsoft announced the game would be the…

Left Alive Is A Fascinating Concept, But A Crappy Game

Left Alive, the new game by Square Enix, sounds amazing. It mixes intense sneaking and massive robot battles, and if that doesn’t sound familiar enough, it even has art from Metal Gear’s Yoji Shinkawa to drive the point home. But the reality is less impressive than the concept. Left Alive is a clunky disaster whose…

Kingdom Hearts III‘s Best Moment Is Everything Good (And Bad) About Kingdom Hearts

I was on vacation last week. In addition to wandering New York and enjoying some of the finest pizza on the planet, I finally finished Kingdom Hearts III. In the process, I found a moment near the end of the game that perfectly captures the series’ magic and excitement. It also highlights one of Kingdom…

A free version of Dissidia Final Fantasy NT is coming to PlayStation 4 and PC on March 12. Players of the free version will access a rotating weekly roster of heroes and villains, with the option to purchase characters and weapons ala carte. Existing players will enjoy a flood of easy new opponents. Everybody wins!

Tetsuya Nomura Talks Kingdom Hearts III DLC 

Kingdom Hearts III has enough game to keep folks busy for a while. But in a recent Dengeki Online interview, creator Tetsuya Nomura was asked about what comes next. Warning: This article has spoilers. Dengeki Online pointed out that Kingdom Hearts III doesn’t have the Critical Mode difficulty that the Final Mix versions of Kingdom…

Kingdom Hearts III Players Are Seeing Lucky Emblems Everywhere

Kingdom Hearts III is littered with lucky emblems, special Mickey Mouse shaped indentations and arrangements that are key to unlocking the game’s secret ending. While there are only 90 in the game, dedicated players have been finding a whole lot more outside of the game. They’re in food. They’re on buildings. They are everywhere. “Look…

Even More Final Fantasy XV Content Is Coming…In Book Form

Last fall, it was announced that 75 percent of Final Fantasy XV’s DLC was getting scrapped. The “Episode Ardyn” DLC will be out on March 26, but there’s content coming, including a book. Yes, a book! The canned The Dawn of the Future DLC was to be four-episodes that told what came next for the…

Every Fake Game In Kingdom Hearts 3, Reviewed

Inside the Toy Story world in Kingdom Hearts 3, players can find a video game store. This store is filled with games that presumably exist in the Toy Story universe. These games also need to be reviewed. I watched my girlfriend play Kingdom Hearts 3 and she found this game store. We both had a…

The Sophia Portrait From Xenogears Replicated For Only $360

While the portrait of Sophia looked impressive in Xenogears, it might look even better on your wall. According to Hachima, Square Enix is selling a high-quality replica version of the painting in a fancy frame based on the original game data. Priced at 39,800 yen ($361), the portrait is to celebrate the game’s 20th anniversary…

Breaking Down The Meta As Hell Opening To Kingdom Hearts III‘s Toy Story World

Kingdom Hearts III is an overwhelming melting pot of Disney cheer and anime excess. The franchise has previously included Square-Enix characters, and while they don’t make an appearance here, the game does include an extended gag trailer that pokes fun at the series’ direction and potentially teases what’s to come. Kingdom Hearts III shows a…

How Fans’ Lives Changed During The Long Wait For Kingdom Hearts III

Some got married. Some came out. Some simply got older and began looking differently at the world and the game series they loved. Devoted Kingdom Hearts fans waited 13 years for the big sequel to 2006’s Kingdom Hearts II, and in that time, their lives took some dramatic turns. Jaime bonded over the original 2002…

The download sales and shipped copies of Kingdom Hearts III have crossed the five million number since its release late last month. According to Square Enix, the game has set a new sales record for the series, with KHIII being the fastest-selling entry in the series.