Romancing SaGa Re;univerSe is the latest entry in the storied SaGa series dating back to the GameBoy in 1990. Some will likely remember the first title as The Final Fantasy Legend, but it's spanned several generations of console and handheld devices before arriving on smartphones as a free-to-play game. Based on the Romancing SaGa series that released on the Super Famicom in the '90s (which were recently remade and localized on many platforms) Re;universe makes it's international debut after an initial release in Japan back in 2018. SaGa series producer Masanori Ichikawa was kind enough to take our questions below: We've seen several SaGa series games release overseas recently including Romancing SaGa Re;univerSe. What factors led to this? Thank you for interviewing me, Nova Crystallis. This is Masanori Ichikawa, the producer of the SaGa series. Three titles—Romancing SaGa 2, Romancing SaGa 3, and SaGa SCARLET GRACE: AMBITIONS—were recently released overseas were met with very enthusiastic responses from hardcore fans. In Japan, we are celebrating the Saga series’ 30th anniversary this year. I believe the SaGa brand awareness is still low outside of Japan, so we’ve decided to release this title with the hope that more people will play SaGa games.  What challenges were there in adapting SaGa

Kingdom Hearts Dark Road is out now for iOS, Android, and Amazon-powered devices. Available from the updated title screen of Kingdom Hearts Union χ app, Dark Road follows a young Xehanort along a path that will see him become the "Dark Seeker". The game is free-to-play but includes optional in-app purchases with real money. Dark Road begins by introducing us to Xehanort entering a portal of darkness created by a mysterious robed figure. On the other side, he finds himself in Scala ad Caelum, a world where keyblade wielders train to become keyblade masters. They do so to fight Heartless that threaten the many worlds outside its borders. Xehanort's classmates: Eraqus, Hermod, Bragi, Urd, and Vor are tasked with a special mission when seven upperclassmen suddenly vanish during their Mark of Mastery exam. They are to venture out into the various worlds to find them and bring them home. You'll make a party of three, two of which will be Xehanort and Eraqus, while the third slot can be rotated between the four remaining students. In combat, five cards from a deck are drawn belonging to three different colors. Flicking or tapping three of them will trigger an action like attacking or

Originally released in 1995 for the Super Famicom, Seiken Densetsu 3 never made it overseas like it's predecessors Final Fantasy Adventure and Secret of Mana. In the 25 years that have elapsed, the most likely way you had played the game was a fan-translated ROM. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Seiken Densetsu 3 was re-revealed as Trials of Mana, part of Collection of Mana, ports which released last year on the Nintendo Switch. Newly localized, the game would also see a 3D remake for PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Steam. We checked out the PlayStation 4 version. Developed by Square Enix and Xeen, the Trials of Mana remake is a cut above past remakes in the series. While preserving the combat of the original, adaptations are made where necessary to keep the experience smooth. A lock-on the right analog stick centers the camera on an enemy, and class strikes (special moves based on your class) can be bound comfortably to a bumper and face button. You can choose three of six characters to play: one acts as the protagonist while the other two join your party eventually. There's a mix of melee and magic users, and my play-through starred the thief Hawkeye, the

Caution: The following contains spoilers for Final Fantasy VII Remake. Once you complete Final Fantasy VII Remake, you get the option to skip around the game using a Chapter Select feature. You also unlock a new difficulty, "Hard," which prohibits the use of items in battle, and MP can only be restored by smashing crates, slowly regenerating it in battle by forgoing spells, or clearing the chapter you're on. Bosses also hit harder and more frequently, but the overall strategy isn't too dissimilar to Normal mode. However, you'll find yourself needing to prepare for various fights a bit more carefully. Luckily, if you've been using Assess in your first playthrough, it'll help you build a strategy ahead of time by carefully selecting your materia and equipment loadout. For bosses who have a vulnerability to one specific element, you can socket that corresponding materia while beefing up your party with HP Up, Parry, Steadfast Block, and so on. Also, having foreknowledge of how particular boss phases proceed helps too. Given that MP doesn't recover fully in any given chapter, you'll find yourself having to carefully consider when and where you use spells. Suddenly, busting out a Firaga spell against an enemy weak to fire magic seems

Caution: The following contains spoilers for Final Fantasy VII and Remake. Scroll below Aerith to continue reading! Nanaki speeds down an arid canyon followed closely by his pups. Ascending its walls, he effortlessly leaps from precipice to precipice as his children vault smaller gaps, perhaps dreaming of the day they could jump just as high. They emerge upon an incredible landscape: the ruins of a towering city, subsumed by nature. Roiling reactors, draining the Planet of the force necessary to sustain life, are now embalmed in roots and leaves. Nanaki reveals his 500 years in the tufts of grey that poke out of his fur. He knows the truth of this place, but only he can teach. All of his comrades have rejoined the ever-coursing Lifestream long ago. A flock bound for the metal peaks beyond cries out. This is our last glimpse at the world of Final Fantasy VII in the original PlayStation title released in 1997. It’s an incredible scene, one of my favorites in fiction. It provides as many questions as it does answers: did human society survive the after-effects of Meteorfall’s devastation? Was Midgar abandoned for elsewhere, where humanity could thrive without harming the flow of life and

It’s remarkable that I am still in disbelief about having played through Final Fantasy VII Remake. Not because it took its sweet time being made, but because almost everything I experienced in my 40-hour play-through of the game was surprising, rewarding and breathtaking all at the same time. For what this first entry of a larger saga covers, this is a game that clearly understands the characters, legacy and important moments from the original 1997 title, but it doesn’t end there. The remake uses its opportunity to expand the overall narrative of Final Fantasy VII’s opening hours, opting to flesh out more of what it has to work with than to rush through. With this approach follows some of the best writing in the entire Final Fantasy series. FFVIIR is set within the industrial city of Midgar, owned by a mega corporation known as the Shinra Electric Power Company. The story begins with Cloud Strife, a cool and skilled mercenary hired by the eco-terrorist group Avalanche to infiltrate and destroy one of Shinra’s reactors, which are sapping the planet’s life source to supply the city with electricity. This will sound familiar to anyone that’s played through the original RPG, and that goes

Today, the demo for Bravely Default II is available on the Nintendo Switch eShop, and we gave it a spin. What appears to be the next "numbered" title in the series succeeds 2012's Bravely Default, which saw a direct sequel named Bravely Second. Both titles released on the Nintendo 3DS. Bravely Default II takes place in a new world with a new cast of characters. The 2D background style from the original game remain to an extent, and can be explored in 3D using a fixed perspective. Developed with Claytechworks, the game features a new claymation-style look that brings a lot of of character models. Revo has also returned to compose the soundtrack. You can check out how it turned out in our video below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xoc_ZZPaKYY The new cast includes Seth, a sailor who washes up on the shore of one of five kingdoms in the land of Excillant. He meets Gloria, a princess of a kingdom destroyed for its crystal. Elvis and Adelle carry a mysterious book they intend to decipher and join Seth on his journey. The demo picks up some ways into the game where the four protagonists have crossed a desert to a submerged city of Savalon, and endeavor to find the cause of the

War of the Visions Final Fantasy Brave Exvius is the lastest freemium gacha game from Square Enix and developer gumi, based on the universe of another freemium gacha game: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius. Currently, you can download and play the game on iOS and Android smartphones. However, this game is styled very much in the garb of Final Fantasy Tactics. It features a tile-based maps with a turn-based systems where characters move and attack. The story hints at political intrigue involving warring nations. Even the UI trimmings have noticeable similarities. Far removed from the the Ivalice Alliance's War of the Lions, War of the Visions takes place on the continent of Ardra in the world of Lapis. The kingdom of Leonis braces itself for invasion by neighboring nations seeking to harness their power over controlling Visions, a special power that corporeal thoughts to life. Visions manifest themselves as characters that join you in battle. We take a look at the Android version of the game in the video below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GvPwzACZPE Units have the ability to supplement their main job with sub jobs by unlocking abilities through a skill tree. They can be outfitted with equipment and esper stones that allow you summon entities like Ifrit

Trials of Mana, the upcoming remake of the 1995 Super Famicom title Seiken Densetsu 3, has a free demo out for PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and Steam. You'll be able transfer your save data from the demo into the full version of game. Only the beginning of the story is playable and characters' level is capped at 7. We gave the PlayStation 4 version a spin in the video below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pngh3qEEFQs After the introduction, you'll choose one of six protagonists, then two from those same six as your companions. While you only start out with your protagonist, the other two will eventually join your campaign. Making the jump from 2D to 3D has worked well in Trials of Mana, which is largely due to how the combat has been retooled to work in this new space. You can use R3 to lock on to enemies and maneuver around them, using light and heavy attacks where the timing is appropriate. Aerial attacking and dodging flows well, including an air-to-ground move. You can build up a meter below your health and mana gauges as you attack - this is reserved for Class Strikes, abilities compatible with a character's current class. They can be assigned to the right

With the first installment of Final Fantasy VII Remake only a month away from finally being released into the world, Square Enix surprised fans with a demo release this past Monday that allows players to try the very first chapter of the game. Since the original Final Fantasy VII was the entire reason I got into the Final Fantasy franchise in the first place, I rushed to download the demo as soon as I was able to, as I was far too impatient to wait for the full release. I wanted to relive the iconic opening cutscene in glorious high-definition graphics, and was curious to try out the new battle system and see any new changes that had been brought to the game, no matter how small or brief they might’ve been in the demo. As mentioned above, the demo only covers the very beginning of the game, or the Mako Reactor 1 bombing mission. While I won’t go into the specifics in regards to the story -- as it is only a demo and there isn’t much to discuss here -- I will say that watching the entire first chapter unfold in beautiful detailed graphics and fully voice acted cutscenes