Square Enix

Images Of Apparent Life Is Strange Prequel Pop Up 

We’re just over a week away from E3, and video game companies everywhere are leaking like ships in a hurricane. Today’s rumor is an apparent prequel to Life is Strange, made by a new developer and scheduled to be revealed within the next couple of weeks. Our story starts with this press release, which revealed…

Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood‘s New Zones Are So Pretty

Final Fantasy XIV is one of the prettiest massively multiplayer online role-playing games going, and with next month’s Stormblood expansion it’s only getting prettier. Here’s a video tour of some of the new lands (and waters) players will be able to explore come June 20. There are plenty of fresh sights in the Eastern lands of…

‘Life Is Unfair’: A Q&A With Nier: Automata‘s Director

Nier: Automata is both a wild action game and an introspective look at the things that make us human. We corresponded with director Yoko Taro via e-mail to talk about the game’s themes, what goes into writing memorable characters, and what he’d like video game players to stop doing. Here, in full, is our Q&A:…

Square Enix Announces New JRPG Lost Sphear For PS4, Switch, And Steam

The followup to I Am Setsuna is Lost Sphear, the latest release from Square Enix’s Tokyo RPG Factory. Here’s how Square Enix describes the game: The adventure of LOST SPHEAR begins in a remote town where a young boy, Kanata, awakens from a devastating dream to find his hometown disappearing. To stop the world from…

The Plot Twist In Star Ocean: Till The End Of Time Is A Lot More Believable Today 

Most video games are content just to string the player along through dungeons, towns, or corridors full of machine gun cover while dishing out character arcs and weapon upgrades. Only a few try to reflect on the nature of reality and human existence. Star Ocean: Till the End of Time tried to do both. The…

Square Enix Moves Final Fantasy VII Remake Development In-House

Previously, Square Enix was working with external studio CyberConnect2 to develop Final Fantasy VII Remake. But now, Square Enix will be making the game in-house. Third party studio CyberConnect2 is perhaps best known for its Naruto and .hack games. Back in 2015, it was revealed that Square Enix was working with the studio on the…

The PS4 and Switch versions of Dragon Quest X have release dates for Japan: DQX for PS4 will be out August 17, while DQX for Switch will be out September 21. No word yet about outside Japan. 

Star Ocean: Til the End of Time arrives on North American PS4 on May 23. It’s the same game as the 2004 original, only the jaggies have been cleaned up through the PS4’s HD emulator and it’s got trophy support. It’ll be available to download via the PlayStation Store for $20.99.

It’s Ridiculous That Nier: Automata Still Hasn’t Been Patched On PC

Nier: Automata came out two months ago on PC. It’s a really good game, and a clear standout during an unusually strong spring. So why the heck is the PC version still loaded with basic bugs and other problems that haven’t been patched? I spent last weekend blasting through Nier: Automata on PC. I got…

Japanese Game Companies That Won’t Allow YouTube Comments 

Nintendo America, for example, allows comments on its YouTube videos. The company’s Japanese headquarters does not, and some people online in Japan don’t sound too happy. This has been going on for a while now, but a recent 2ch thread shined a light on the discrepancy. It’s kind of strange that Nintendo doesn’t allow comments…

The Hitman Series Has A Long History Of Excellence

Yesterday, Square-Enix announced that it was parting ways with Hitman developers IO Interactive. So why don’t we take some time to appreciate one of the best crafted stealth series around? Hitman is an action-stealth series that forged a unique identity in the early days of the genre. While games like Metal Gear Solid (1998) focused…

Square Enix Had “Record-High” Sales Last Year 

Even though things might sound grim with the IO Interactive split, Square Enix proper is doing well. Really well, it seems. “For this fiscal year,” Square Enix stated in an official release, “the Company reported record-high net sales, operating income, ordinary income and profit attributable to owners of parent, respectively.” Year on year, Square Enix…

Square Enix Splits With Hitman Creators IO Interactive

In 2009, Square Enix took control of Hitman developers IO Interactive. Today, the two companies part ways. Square initially assumed ownership of IO when it bought Eidos Interactive, IO’s parent company. But in a statement released today, the Japanese publisher says “to maximize player satisfaction as well as market potential going forward”, they have “regrettably…

Square Enix’s Message After Nier: Automata Ending A Is Just Confusing

For the past couple of weeks I have been gradually playing through Nier: Automata, a video game about robot depression, and just a few nights ago I reached ending A. If I didn’t know any better—and if I took Square Enix’s message literally—I might just call it quits. See, Nier: Automata has 26 endings—one for…

My Final Fantasy Keyboard Has Quina Instead Of A Q

Along with giving folks a comfortable means of typing for hours on end, a decorated mechanical keyboard can also reflect the passions of the user. Since no existing keysets adequately reflected my love of Final Fantasy, I made my own. A nice set of keycaps can completely change the look and feel of a mechanical…

Nier: Automata DLC Drops Today, Hope You Kept That Save File

There’s more Nier to play today, as Square Enix releases the game’s “3C3C1D119440927” DLC. New sidequests and odd coliseum battles reward players with music, costumes and other cosmetic items, as long as you’ve got that game’s Chapter Select feature unlocked. Nier: Automata’s DLC allows players to battle powerful machine enemies like Square Enix exec Yosuke…

Tokyo Tower Turned Into A Final Fantasy Dungeon

Last Friday, Tokyo Tower was turned into level 50 dungeonCrystal Tower. Typically, it appears an orange-red when lit up, but on April 28, it also illuminated blue to mark Final Fantasy’s 30th anniversary.  Below are images of Tokyo’s one-night only Crystal Tower: A special Final Fantasy 30th Premium Store also opened at the foot of…

Kingdom Hearts Speedrun Ruined Eight Hours In Thanks To Saving Glitch

No one likes having their game crash on them, but it’s gotta be especially painful when you’re in the middle of marathon speedrunning session That’s what happened to Bl00dyBizkitz in the middle of a platinum trophy attempt in Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix on PS4 (available as part of the 2.5 Remix compilation). Over eight…

Sony Is Not Messing Around With This Dragon Quest XI PS4

New Dragon Quest games are always big deals in Japan. And big deals need special edition hardware like this. Sony is calling it the “PlayStation 4 Dragon Quest Edition.” The console, which comes with a 1TB HDD, and its controller are covered in DQ As 4Gamer reports, it even comes in a special box! Oh,…

The First Special Edition Nintendo 2DS XL Is Beautiful 

The 2DS XL was just revealed. But that isn’t stopping Nintendo from announcing the new iteration’s first special edition: a Dragon Quest Metallic Slime 2DS. Just look at it! So lovely. Priced at 22,480 yen (US$201), the handheld comes bundled with Dragon Quest XI and will be released on July 29 in Japan. No word…