Tag: Square Enix - Page 16
News Final Fantasy 16's PS Store Page Gets Updated Ahead of State of Play Show
Here we go again
Here's the biggest story being shared around the web ahead of Sony's State of Play tonight: the PlayStation Store page for Final Fantasy XVI has just been updated. Gasp! The suggestion, of course, being that we're getting a much needed update on the RPG during the broadcast. It's already got some people convinced that it's...
News Final Fantasy Brand Manager Retires After 27 Years with Square Enix
Please be excited...?
Shinji Hashimoto has been with Square Enix for around 27 years — and today he's announced his retirement. the 64-year-old has been the brand manager for Final Fantasy for over a decade, having previously worked as a producer on all kinds of games, from the original Front Mission to Final Fantasy IX, Kingdom Hearts II, and...
News Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song Remasters the PS2 Remake on PS5, PS4 This Winter
The SaGa must go on
Square Enix's seemingly endless quest to revive the SaGa series continues, this time with Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song Remastered. As the name suggests, this is a remaster of Minstrel Song, which was a PS2 remake of the original Romancing SaGa, complete with a lovely 3D art style and somewhat creepy, puppet-like character...
News Star Ocean: The Divine Force Not Part of State of Play
More info in late June instead
JRPG Star Ocean: The Divine Force will not be part of this week's State of Play livestream, Square Enix has essentially confirmed. In a post from the series' official Twitter account, it's announced the next reveal will take place in late June. "We are working diligently to meet your expectations. I would appreciate...
News Forspoken Gets an 18 Rating in Europe, Suggests Release Date Will Stick
Magic touch
Forspoken just got an age rating here in Europe from PEGI (that's the region's ratings board, for those who might not know). It's an 18, which is equivalent to 'Mature' in the US. PEGI's description highlights mature themes such as suicide, consumption of alcohol, and strong language. It's not a huge surprise to see Forspoken slapped...
News Babylon's Fall Still Going Ahead with Second Season of Content
80+ quests, new story, more weapon types
The Babylon's Fall player count may still be struggling to reach double digits, but that's not stopping its second season of content from releasing. Starting on 31st May 2022 and lasting all the way until the end of November (seasons have now doubled in length), The Light of Aaru adds a Kuftaali VIP to your...
News Final Fantasy 7 News Planned for Game's 25th Anniversary Next Month
Maybe Remake 2, maybe not
How's about a bit of juicy speculation to get your Wednesday afternoon started? During the latest Square Enix Japan livestream for mobile title Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier, series veteran Tetsuya Nomura teased that news regarding Final Fantasy VII's 25th anniversary would be dropping next month. It's obviously an...
News Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin's New Patch Improves Visuals and Performance
Chaos control
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin has a new patch on PS5 and PS4, which promises improvements to both the game's visuals and its technical performance. It also makes various gameplay adjustments, and even adds a battle simulator where you can try out different jobs and weapon types. The latter sounds especially useful...
News Final Fantasy XV Hits 10 Million Units Sold Worldwide
"Thank you for your support!"
Final Fantasy XV has now sold over 10 million copies worldwide, Square Enix confirmed this morning. The PlayStation 4 JRPG first released in November 2016 before being repacked in a Royal Edition roughly 18 months later, with the latest sales milestone likely split across the two versions. The PS Plus Collection also...
News Big Final Fantasy News Coming This Month or Next as Series Celebrates 35th Anniversary
Final Fantasy 16, please
This year marks Final Fantasy's 35th anniversary, and it sounds like Square Enix wants to make it a memorable celebration. As part of its most recent financial report, the company says that it expects to share its plans either this month or next (as per analyst David Gibson). This probably means that we're getting more...
News Final Fantasy 14 Is the Saviour of Square Enix's Latest Financial Report
Endwalkin'
Square Enix has published its financial report for fiscal year 2021, and although the publisher is still reasonably healthy overall, its net sales were down almost ten percent on fiscal year 2020 — and it could have been worse if not for the continued success of Final Fantasy XIV. The MMORPG really is the company's biggest money maker...
News Final Fantasy 14, 16 Producer Doesn't Sound Very Interested in the 'Metaverse'
Not enough Fantasy
Square Enix recently raised a lot of eyebrows when it sold off most of its Western studios and properties to Embracer Group — a move that would, apparently, allow the company to invest in "blockchain, AI, and the cloud". Not necessarily the kind of thing that fans of Square Enix's games want to hear, is it? Not when the...
News 'Multiple Sources' Said Sony Is Buying Square Enix, Allegedly
But who knows, huh?
Remember when there was big chatter about a Sony acquisition, specifically from industry veterans Jeff Grubb and Greg Miller? Both were talking about Square Enix. “When I talked about the three rumours I’d heard, and one was an acquisition, this is the one I’d heard,” Miller finally revealed on an episode of his
Poll When Do You Think Final Fantasy 16 Will Release?
But a Fantasy
It's been a pretty slow week for news, so let's enter the weekend with a potentially interesting poll: when do you think Final Fantasy XVI will release? The PS5 action RPG was first revealed during Sony's next-gen showcase in 2020. Since then, we've seen almost nothing of the game, barring a few screenshots and concept art. It feels...
News Outriders Has so Far Failed to Turn a Profit for Square Enix
Riding on the edge
Square Enix hasn't had a great time with its Western arm, has it? Following years of the publisher stating that its Western-developed titles, like Tomb Raider and Deus Ex, had underperformed commercially, it only went and sold off a bunch of studios and corresponding properties to Embracer Group earlier this week, for a relatively...
News Final Fantasy 16 Trailer Coming Soon, Game's Basically Complete
The Final Fantasy countdown
It sounds like it's actually happening, folks: it apparently won't be long until we're finally reunited with Final Fantasy XVI. During a recent Square Enix livestream for mobile title NieR Recarnation, Final Fantasy XVI producer Naoki Yoshida gave an update on the anticipated PS5 RPG (as reported by Audrey and...
News Sony Buying Square Enix Was the Big Acquisition Rumour, Apparently
Here we are again
Remember back in March when PlayStation was rumoured to have a huge week of news? And then nothing much happened, aside from the official reveal of the new PS Plus tiers? Well, one of the most prominent rumours was that Sony was preparing an industry-shaking b
News Big AAA Games Coming from Bought Square Enix Studios, Says Embracer
Give me Deus Ex
Crystal Dynamics, Eidos Montreal, and Square Enix Montreal will continue to make "very sizable AAA experiences" after the Embracer Group bought the three developers and a long list of gaming IPs from Square Enix for $300 million. A new Tomb Raider title is already confirmed to be in production, and other large games based on "beloved...
News Square Enix Retains Just Cause, Life Is Strange, Outriders IPs
Embracer Group scoops up the rest
Western production of Square Enix games isn't closing up shop entirely despite the publisher selling the vast majority of its studios outside of Japan to the Embracer Group this morning. It has been confirmed the Japanese firm will retain the rights to the Just Cause, Life Is Strange, and Outr
News Embracer Group to Buy Multiple Square Enix Studios and IPs in Huge Acquisition
Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Legacy of Kain, much more
Embracer Group, the enormous company that's always scooping up studios and franchises, is set to close its latest big deal, and it's a doozy. The conglomerate is about to acquire several developers and IPs from Square Enix. The acquisition will include studios Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montréal, and...
News Rejoice! Final Fantasy 16 in 'Final Stretch' of Development, Says Producer
Release date coming soon?
We haven't seen the bloody thing in what feels like an eternity, but fear not: Final Fantasy XVI is, apparently, in "the final stretch" of its development. That's according to producer Naoki Yoshida, quoted in Japanese clothing company Uniqlo's free in-store magazine for Final Fantasy's 35th anniversary. Not necessarily a...
News Outriders Worldslayer Expands the Looter Shooter in June, Paid Upgrade on PS5, PS4
New campaign, gear, and endgame
Square Enix's looter shooter Outriders is being treated to a huge expansion named Worldslayer that introduces a new campaign, tons of new gear, a level cap increase, and more endgame content on 30th June 2022. This content will be delivered as a paid upgrade for current PlayStation 5, PS4 owners, while new players can...
News Jane Foster Is the Next Playable Superhero in Marvel's Avengers
Brings some love and thunder
Jane Foster has been revealed as the next playable superhero for Marvel's Avengers. She'll be part of update 2.5, which is planned for launch at an unconfirmed date past May 2022. Of course, the superhero closed yesterday's reveal trailer for Thor: Love and Thunder, so there's some marketing synergy going on here...
News Kingdom Hearts 4 Graphics Better at Release, Using Unreal Engine 5
Lighting and detail quality much better
Kingdom Hearts IV will reportedly feature much better visuals, including improved lighting and general detail, whenever it actually comes out. Reported by Japanese outlet Famitsu (via VGC), the game's announcement tr
News The Final Fantasy 9 Remake Rumours Return Following Kingdom Hearts 4 Confirmation
Tantalusing
Right, we need to talk about Final Fantasy IX Remake again, because the rumours have well and truly returned. This supposed remake first popped up in the now infamous Nvidia leak, which outed loads of potential video game projects. Just after the leak happened in September of last year, Nvidia came out and confirme
News Kingdom Hearts 4 Revealed, No Date or Platforms Given
Magic in the making
Kingdom Hearts 4 has been announced as part of the series' 20th-anniversary celebration. No platforms are confirmed and neither is a possible release date. The trailer ends with the phrase "magic in the making", suggesting the title is still quite a ways off. The announcement comes at the end of the trailer embedded above, which...
News Chrono Cross Remaster's Shocking Frame Rate Issues Lead to 'Worse Performance Than PS1'
The Digital Foundry analysis is in
We were hoping that Digital Foundry would take a look at Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition, because as we explained in our damning review of the new PlayStation 4 remaster, the performance issues that plague this re-release simply aren't acceptable. In its latest video analysis, Digital Foundry pretty...
News Tactics Ogre: Reborn Trademarked by Square Enix
Let us cling together
Is Square Enix on the cusp of announcing a new Tactics Ogre game? Maybe a remaster or remake? It's possible, going by this newly publicised trademark for 'Tactics Ogre: Reborn' in Japan. Stone cold strategy RPG classic Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together originally released for SNES in 1995. It was later ported to the first...
News No Plans for Chrono Cross Sequel or New Chrono Game, Says Square Enix
Time will tell
Square Enix's unexpected revival of Chrono Cross — through Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition — has had fans of the PlayStation JRPG wondering whether the company is attempting to gauge modern interest in the property. After all, remasters can be an effective way to test the waters — especially since their development is...
News New Tomb Raider Game Confirmed, Uses Unreal Engine 5
That's a Lara polygons
As part of Epic Games' Unreal Engine 5 event, modern Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics has confirmed that a new game is now in development. And, well...that's about it. We don't have a title, any key art, or even a crappy teaser trailer. All we know is that it's being built using Unreal Engine 5, so it should look pretty...
The worst timeline
For some, Chrono Cross is a classic PlayStation-era RPG, and it's nice to see it being revived all these years later. While we wouldn't say that it's remembered anywhere near as fondly as Final Fantasy VII through IX, or its predecessor, the legendary Chrono Trigger, it's still a title steeped in PS1 charm — from its carefully...
News Chrono Cross Remaster Doesn't Have the Original Soundtrack After All
Square Enix corrects itself
Square Enix has issued an update to its original reveal of Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition. Previously, an official article on the soon-to-release remaster stated that players will be able to switch between the original PS1 soundtrack and a rearranged set of music created specifically for the revival...
News Forspoken Impresses in 10 Minutes of PS5 Gameplay
Explore the Sideways City
Forspoken may have been delayed out of its original May 2022 release date and pushed back to October, but that is not stopping Game Informer from sharing a full 10 minutes of never before seen gameplay action. The PlayStation 5 console exclusive from Square Enix makes
News Babylon's Fall Development to Continue As Planned Following Poor Reception
"No plans" to drop development
PlatinumGames isn't going to abandon Babylon's Fall anytime soon. Despite disappointing reviews and seemingly low player counts, the multiplayer action RPG is set to continue its live service ambitions, with multiple seasons of content already in the pipeline. In a lengthy development update, the studio confirms its...
News Marvel's Avengers Will Rework War Table in PS5, PS4 Patch Next Week
Command centre
Marvel’s Avengers is not dead… Well, not yet. Crystal Dynamics has committed a new patch for the PlayStation 5 and PS4 brawler, which is due out on 24th March. This was previously communicated, and will revise the way the War Table works. For those of you unfamiliar with the superhero game, the War Table is what you use to launch...
Poll Did You Buy Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin?
CHAOS is here
Arise, Jack Garland and your weird friends — the time has come to embark on a potentially hilarious adventure named Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin. The action RPG is out now on PlayStation 5 and PS4, but as always, we want to know if you've snagged a copy. Honestly, it's hard to judge just how well Stranger of Paradise...
News Babylon's Fall Survey Asks for Player Feedback to Offer a 'Better Game Experience'
Focuses on graphics and presentation
Babylon's Fall has sadly gotten off to a very rocky start. It's been critically panned, and judging by Steam player numbers, it's not holding the attention of its audience, either. No one ever wants a game to fail, of course, and there have been some miraculous revivals through the years. It seems Square Enix...
Review Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin (PS5) - Utterly Ridiculous Final Fantasy Spin-Off
Elixer? I hardly knew her!
The first four minutes of the ludicrously titled Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin set the scene perfectly. There’s a cutscene of a dark knight annihilating a platoon of soldiers while he carries an unconscious princess on his shoulder. Then you’re in a boss battle against a multi-headed creature without...
News Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin PS5, PS4 Trophies Ask That You Defeat Chaos
Fire up those crystals
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin is just a few days out from release, and so it's almost time to kill Chaos for ourselves. This action RPG from Team Ninja looks like a daft spinoff, but we're absolutely here for its ridiculous edgy energy. Whether we unlock the Platinum Trophy is another thing entirely, after taking...
Review Babylon's Fall (PS5) - This Limp, Confusing Service Game Has Nothing Going for It
Babylon's Fail
Let’s begin the review with a stark personal story. We promise this is 100 per cent true: we fell asleep playing Babylon’s Fall. Multiple times. Sat there in an office chair, DualSense in hand, fast asleep. That could almost be the end of the review, surely? A new game from Platinum of all people, patron saints of hardcore gaming...
News Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin Demo Out Now on PS5, PS4 for a Limited Time
Experience chaos for yourself
Update: The rumoured demo for Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin is real, and it's available to download right now from the PlayStation Store. What's more, any progress that you make in the demo can be carried over to the main game when it releases in a couple of weeks — but only on the same platform (PS5 or...
News Valkyrie Elysium Revives the RPG Series on PS5, PS4 in 2022
Take flight
Hey, it actually happened! For quite a while now, there have been rumours going around about Square Enix working on a new instalment in its oft forgotten Valkyrie Profile series — and here we are...kind of. Valkyrie Elysium was announced during Sony's latest State of Play — it ended the show, in fact — and it's coming to...
News From Triangle Strategy to The DioField Chronicle, Square Enix Never Changes
Strategy RPG coming to PS5, PS4
If you’re Square Enix, how do you follow the release of Triangle Strategy? Well, you announce another bafflingly named strategy RPG for PlayStation consoles, of course. The DioField Chronicles is SQUARE ENIX with caps-lock on: it’s got the confusing user interface, dreadful English dub, and cliché fantasy plot...
News PS5's Forspoken May Be Delayed, But It's Not Forgotten
Contractual obligations will do that
State of Play seems to exist primarily for PlayStation to fulfil contractual obligations, so there’s absolutely no way the format holder would forgo an opportunity to flog Forspoken. That’s right, the game may have been delayed this week, but here’s an unnecessary – albeit appealing – clip showing...
News Square Enix Opens Massive YouTube Music Channel for Final Fantasy, NieR, and Much More
RPG soundtrack heaven
Square Enix has opened an absolutely huge YouTube channel called Square Enix Music overnight. It features a massive amount of music from all kinds of games, with many tracks conveniently sorted into game-by-game playlists. You've got Final Fantasy, NieR, Mana — even Chrono Trigger. Given how many utterly superb soundtracks...
News Forspoken Delayed from May to October 2022 on PS5
Dev wants to "get it right"
Forspoken, the Square Enix RPG from studio Luminous Productions, has been delayed. The studio made the announcement on social media earlier today, confirming the release date has been changed. Initially planned for launch on 24th May, the game will now release on 11th October 2022 — a delay of nearly five months. As...
News PS5, PS4 Live Service Game Babylon's Fall Doesn't Look Good
What went wrong?
PlatinumGames wants to make more live service software – doesn’t everyone right now? – but it’s going to have to do better than Babylon’s Fall, which is off to a pathetic start. We’re still putting together our review – look out for that soon – but early indications are awful for the Square Enix published...
Mini Review Voice of Cards: The Forsaken Maiden (PS4) - Reshuffled RPG Is Largely the Same
Another round?
Voice of Cards: The Forsaken Maiden is a bit like playing a tabletop game with a slightly altered deck; there are some noticeable differences, but you're ultimately still playing the same thing. This follow-up to The Isle Dragon Roars is extremely similar for the most part — including its faults — but small gameplay changes and a...
News The Batman's Robert Pattinson Really Loves PS1 Classic Final Fantasy VII
"This is how every guy figures out what love is"
Robert Pattinson may be poised to play the darkest, grittiest Batman yet – but he’s also just like us. As part of a French interview, the British actor digs deep into his love of Final Fantasy VII, explaining the plot to an increasingly bemused Zoë Kravitz. The Cedric Diggory star outlined the...
News In Traditional Square Enix Style, Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Underperformed
But it's back on track
It’s a shock that Square Enix greenlights any games anymore, as it almost always announces its projects have underperformed afterwards. This is perhaps best evidenced by its Tomb Raider reboot, which sold millions of copies at launch, and was still dubbed a failure by upper-management. Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy has...
