Keiji Fujiwara, a talented actor well known for lending his voice to many beloved characters such as Axel from the Kingdom Hearts series and Reno from Final Fantasy VII, passed away on April 12, 2020 after a long battle with cancer. He was 55. Fujiwara’s extensive and impressive work can be heard in anime and video games to popular films and dramas. Alongside his work on Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy VII, he also voiced Ardyn Izunia from Final Fantasy XV, Izana Kunagiri from Final Fantasy Type-0, Garland from Mobius Final Fantasy, Maes Hughes from FullMetal Alchemist, Hiroshi Nohara from Crayon Shin-chan and he provided the voice dub for Robert Downey Jr. films and roles, such as Sherlock Holmes and Tony Stark/Iron Man from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Rest in peace. Source: Oricon News

Jason Schreier, a news editor for gaming website Kotaku, spoke with Final Fantasy VII Remake’s director Yoshinori Kitase, who revealed in an interview that, while Final Fantasy VII Remake is already impressively large, he and his development team are uncertain how many games will span the entire project. “Unfortunately we can’t say anything more about the future games, because we don’t know ourselves.” Kitase had then added that the development team is currently in the process of planning out the scope of the second game, all the while working on wrapping up development on first game. Furthermore, Game Informer has reported that, upon being asked if development on the future installments for FFVIIR would be quicker than the first, Kitase admitted that he did not think development on future entries would be that much shorter than the first. He explained that even though characters and such are done--which will make things easier to some degree--new environments will still likely take some time. “I do not expect it to be dramatically shorter,” he said. Afterward, Square Enix PR sent Game Informer a follow-up email, which sought to clarify Kitase’s earlier statement: "While the development team finishes the first game of the project, they are also planning the

Final Fantasy VII Remake will still release in multiple parts, via Square Enix's official press release following Thursday's new teaser trailer. When the project was first revealed back in 2015, it was also shared that the game would be told in parts. Tellingly, the scenes we've seen thusfar only reflect the early hours of the original title. Despite being multiple parts, Square Enix wants you to think of it differently than a game like Life is Strange, which unfolds episodically. Later in 2015, producer Yoshinori Kitase stated that "each entry will have the volume of content equal to a full-sized game." You can imagine then, the opportunity for the team to expand on different aspects. We go a bit deeper into the scenes in yesterday's teaser trailer in our teaser analysis here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Df0YG3qfZ8E Final Fantasy VII is currently announced for PlayStation 4.

For the first time ever, Square Enix will be holding an official concert dedicated to Final Fantasy VII, the company announced. The event will take place on June 9 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. "Final Fantasy VII – A Symphonic Reunion" will feature a symphonic orchestra and choir of over 100 musicians with a giant HD video projection. The video program will be specially made for the concert to showcase the best moments of Final Fantasy VII's story. Pre-sales tickets will cost $77.77 and will be available for purchase starting April 20 at 12:00 PM PT. Check here to visit the concert's official website. Considering how close the concert's date and location is to E3 2019 (June 11 to 13), there is a decent possibility that Square Enix might use the event as a platform to reveal brand new information on the upcoming Final Fantasy VII Remake. In 2017 and days before its E3 event, Director Tetsuya Nomura took center stage at the Kingdom Hearts Orchestra -World Tour- event to reveal a new trailer for Kingdom Hearts III.

Square Enix today published a video "Inside FINAL FANTASY VII" in which various developers from the PlayStation 1 classic such as Yusuke Naora (Art Director), Yoshinori Kitase (Writer/Director) and Shinji Hashimoto (Publicity Producer) talk about the history of Final Fantasy VII and their experiences developing the game. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQfY3G35y0 Final Fantasy VII is available now on App Store®, Google Play™, STEAM®, Playstation®4 computer entertainment system, the Nintendo Switch™ system, the Xbox One family of devices, and Windows 10.

Square Enix has revealed Final Fantasy IX for Nintendo Switch and Xbox One will become available later today via the Nintendo eShop and Xbox Store respectively. The company has also announced Final Fantasy VII will make its way to those same platforms later on March 26. View the launch trailer for Final Fantasy IX below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9GMKshn0Ck

Thanks to the fine folks at Third Editions, we're giving away TWO hardcover copies of "The Legend of Final Fantasy VII", which explores the genesis of the beloved title including its early stages of development, through to the creation itself. Currently up on Kickstarter, Third Editions' efforts extends throughout Final Fantasy VII's mythology (such as the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII) and looks at that content with a fine lens of original analysis. Their signature work also covers other notable fan-favorite titles, and if they hit their €100,000 stretch goal, Third Editions will be able to start developing on a new book covering Yoko Taro's work on the NieR and Drakengard series. Head here to see Third Editions' latest Kickstarter. Sweepstakes Details: How to Enter: Follow us on Twitter or Like our Facebook page Post what Final Fantasy VII means to you in the comments section below this article. Prize: Two (2) copies of The Legend of Final Fantasy VII provided by Third Editions. Eligibility: Any fan worldwide can enter the sweepstakes. Giveaway Deadline: Friday, April 6 2018 6:00 AM PST

Final Fantasy VII: On the Way to a Smile is coming to the West with an official publication thanks to the efforts by the people at Yen Press. FFVII: On the Way to a Smile is a collection of short stories written by Kazushige Nomura that bridges the gap between Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. The series had began with a short episodic story, titled "Case of Denzel", being released on the official Japanese website for Advent Children, which inspired an OVA anime of a similar title: "On the Way to a Smile: Episode Denzel." Following the OVA's release, "Case of Tifa" was released in an issue of V-Jump. These short stories had really only been available in Japan officially, with America and Europe receiving the short story "Case of Barret" with the release of the limited edition box set of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. However, with the announcement made at Anime NYC by Yen Press, fans in the West will soon have the entire collection together in one book. Final Fantasy VII: On the Way to a Smile will feature all the previously mentioned stories as well as the additions of "Case of Yuffie," "Case of Shinra,"

Nintendo is set to release a pair of amiibo figures featuring Final Fantasy VII's very own Cloud Strife on July 21, the company announced today during their dedicated "Nintendo Direct" stream. As shown in the gallery above, one figure features the young SOLDIER in his 1st Class garment and equipped with the iconic Buster Sword, while the other features him in his Advent Children attire and equipped with the Fusion Sword. Cloud is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo Wii U and 3DS.

Square Enix Japan just wrapped up a special 30th Anniversary Final Fantasy event. FF doesn't turn 30 until December, but the company picked today, FFVII's 20th anniversary, to set out some of their plans for this, a banner birthday year for FF. We've covered some of the announcements elsewhere, but it only seemed right to round up the general announcements from the event under one banner. So - here's what you need to know: FFXV, FFVII Remake and FFXII HD News Final Fantasy XV DLC rages on with new announcements and dates for anticipated content. There'll be superhero-themed costume DLC for the four main heroes as part of a 'booster pack' DLC on February 21st. Episode Gladio will release on March 28th. He's joined by Cor Leonis in the DLC. Episode Prompto will release in June. Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age is finally coming - and it's not far off. Fans will finally be able to play FFXII International Zodiac Job System, and in HD, on July 11th. Japan and Asia will get it a