Announced today during Sony's State of Play, Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade is coming to PlayStation 5. This upgraded version of the PlayStation 4's Final Fantasy VII Remake features a bundle of new updates exclusive to the PS5 edition, which includes two new visual modes to switch between ( "Graphics Mode", which prioritizes 4k high-resolution graphics and "Performance Mode", which prioritizes 60-frames per second). New "Classic Mode" difficulty settings were added as well alongside a fully customizable Photo Mode. Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade will release physically and digitally worldwide on June 10, 2021. The Physical version will be limited to the Standard Edition, which is currently priced at $69.99 USD on the PlayStation Network. The Delux Edition will be digital only ($89.99 USD), and comes bundled with a digital mini-soundtrack and artbook. Those who preorder either version of FFVIIR:Intergrade will receive a bonus "Cacstar" weapon to use in the new content update. (See below) Players who already own the original Final Fantasy VII Remake on PlayStation 4 will be offered a free upgrade to FFVIIR:Intergrade that will also carry over any saved data. Owners of the disc version of Final Fantasy VII Remake will require a PS5 console with a disc

In tonight's Announcement Showcase, Final Fantasy XIV's fourth expansion Endwalker was revealed. It continues after the events of the Shadowbringers expansion, and will feature two new jobs -- one of which being a new healer: Sage. Massive new areas will be added, including what appear to be the ruins of Garlemald and the island of Thavnair which seats the city of Radz-at-Han. Additionally, a PlayStation 5 version will commence beta testing on April 13th, and there will be no additional charge to upgrade to the PlayStation 4 version other than buying a PlayStation 5. Let's break down the major details in the following summary! 'ENDWALKER' TRAILER https://youtu.be/7-bkJ2ZoW6k THE STORY OF ENDWALKER Up until this point, each expansion including the base game A Realm Reborn, represented a different time of day. Yoshida described the "sunrise over A Realm Reborn," a "cold blue sky" of Heavensward, a "crimson twilight" of Stormblood, and the "black of night" in Shadowbringers. Endwalker will represent "a new dawn." While the Shadowbringers scenario concluded in Patch 5.3, beyond the base expansion, Endwalker's scenario will conclude in Patch 6.0. That's not to say that the story won't continue, but that it will depart from the scenario established in the base expansion. The story will investigate the

Final Fantasy XIV’s fourth major patch update for Shadowbringers is underway. 5.4, titled "Futures Rewritten," brings with it no shortage of content to delve into, with the Main Scenario Questline beginning to sow the seeds of drama leading up to the next expansion, the Eden’s Promise raid series reaching its conclusion, and The Sorrow of Werlyt picking up speed toward it’s grand finale. Not to mention the final installment for the Ishgard Restoration Project has at last begun, with the continuation for the Save the Queen storyline right on it's heels. While there are plenty of things to tie us over until patch 5.5, I wanted to take a moment to focus a little on the writing this patch, namely on the three major story continuations: The MSQ, Eden and Werlyt. In this, I will be delving a bit into each, sharing my thoughts on these three stories and how they all combine together to create a fun little "filler episode" that the overall story really needed in order to prepare for what's to come. Heavy spoiler warning for Patch 5.4 of course, so if you are not caught up, you may not want to read beyond this point. The Main Scenario Questline The

This year's been real one. I spent a lot of time playing games this year to take my mind off real events, not that they weren't important to grapple with, but to give brain a breather. Moments to pause, wipe the slate clean, and regroup. A lavish splash of comfort in what's otherwise been a very hostile landscape to navigate through -- and for that I feel lucky and privileged to enjoy that comfort when I can. Of course, it was a big year for Square Enix. Big hitters like Final Fantasy VII Remake and Marvel's Avengers, as well as plenty of other mid-range titles were peppered throughout the year. It felt important to recap and collect some of my thoughts about the games Square Enix released or announced amidst the everything of everything... Before we move on to what 2021 may bring. So without further ado, here's my look back at 2020... The Final Fantasy VII Remake Becomes Real The run-up to Final Fantasy VII Remake's launch felt like a march through a minefield, due in part to datamined assets from the game's demo that revealed key scenes, including the game's entire script, making the internet a dangerous place for anyone wanting to

2020 has been a rough year but it's also been a year that's been mostly marked with replays of some of my most beloved games. From crowd pleasers like Pokémon Platinum to more niche entries like Mistwalker's The Last Story, I've replayed a lot in an eager attempt to fill in the gaps in my nonexistent backlog. In a year where most publishers released remasters and remakes, it only felt appropriate to look back on some of the series that defined my taste. And what better way to start than one of my personal favorites of all time, Cavia's 2003 cult classic Drakengard. My relationship with the Drakengard (or Drag-on Dragoon as it's known in Asian territories) series is a long one and I'm no stranger to replaying these games in general. Yet this year's replay felt different, somehow more engaging probably due to my knowledge of how far the series has gone since then. While its spin-off series, Nier has found much love in the west with the release of 2017's Nier Automata opening up the rest of the series to the public eye, Drakengard's success was mostly domestic while remaining in cult classic obscurity internationally. An unfortunate fate mostly

The SaGa series is a special one. It's sometimes inscrutable gameplay mechanics may put off RPG players more used to the comforts that Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest provide, but stalwarts stand by it, beckoning the curious over to give it a taste. At first, there are the bitter notes: character stories that are largely independent of one another, with little that congeals by its final hours. Battle ranks that seem to punish players for grinding to usurp tough encounters. When pared the sweet: the variety of stories that are told that don't always need world-ending stakes, the satisfaction of taking a more active role in how your party's composition fares against different kinds of encounters. It take some getting used to, but if last year's SaGa Scarlet Ambitions was any indication, the SaGa style can prevail and deliver. Final Fantasy II, the precursor to the SaGa series, is often unfairly derided as "the worst one," and while there a few bumps when it comes to difficulty scaling and encounter designs, I feel the game serves as a stronger launch point for the series. Character work, light as it may be, and themes of empire, occupation, and loyalty are strung along in

The first major update following Marvel's Avengers release back in September dropped this week. It adds Kate Bishop as a new playable Hero as well as a new scenario "Taking AIM" that follows the conclusion of the Reassembled campaign the game launched with. This update comes at no additional cost to the base game. The Avengers, in their efforts to combat AIM, reunite with Kate (voiced by Ashly Burch) and join her search for her missing partner Clint Barton. Mysterious tachyon rifts that affect spacetime have been appearing all over the globe (and in missions that started appearing last month) and the Avengers believe AIM is responsible. It's a two-part story with Clint's chapter dropping next month, as part of Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics' ongoing content roll-out. Kate Bishop uses a bow and sword in combat, and as you might expect, has a lot of moves that take advantage of a close or distant range. She also has a heroic ability to warp to an enemy's location and close a wide gap while dealing a lot of damage. Her abilities feel fun to play with, and in spite of the inability to fly, feels more apt to attack from a distance. While

Last year Nintendo Switch fans got to experience the likes of Dragon Quest XI when the definitive edition hit their platform of choice. The original PS4 and PC title (of which we reviewed back when it released here) had been spruced up with a number of features and new content, helping to sell the critically acclaimed RPG to a new audience. Now here we are, a year after that with the game circling back around for its second definitive release on PS4, PC and Xbox One. Similar to said Switch release, this Definitive Edition (aptly titled Dragon Quest XI S Definitive Edition), comes packed with a laundry list of features not found in the original 2018 (2017 in Japan) release. Now that the game’s been ported back around to its original source, how does it stack up? Having tested the game running on PlayStation 5, the base game starts out innocently enough. If you’ve played the original Dragon Quest XI you’ll largely know what to expect. For those who haven’t, well… a titanic beast of a game awaits you. The briefest rundown for newcomers, the game tasks you as the silent protagonist of your story – the Luminary as it were. Or rather,

In the 61st Letter from the Producer Live broadcast, Final Fantasy XIV director/producer Naoki Yoshida and global community manager Toshio Murouchi continued previewing Patch 5.4 content, which will arrive December 8, 2020. Titled "Futures Rewritten," the main scenario will continue, along with updates to the Eden raid series, the Sorrow of Werlyt scenario, and more. We've summarized the major information below -- check it out! Patch 5.4 Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybuvKVzVBT4 Patch 5.4 Content & Features Patch 5.4 arrives on Tuesday, December 8, 2020.New main scenario quests will be added.A new Level 80 instanced dungeon called Matoya's Relict will be added. It will be compatible with the Trust system.The Sorrows of Werlyt scenario will continue with a trial versus the Emerald Weapon in Castrum Marinum. An Extreme-difficulty version will also be added.The Eden raid series will continue with Eden's Promise. It requires completion of the main scenario quest through Patch 5.3. A Savage-difficulty version will also be added.Patch 5.45: The Save the Queen scenario will continue with the instanced duty Delburum Reginae.Various job adjustments will be implemented.Patch 5.45: Blue Mage will be updated with a new level cap of 70, new spells, exclusive gear, and new duties in the Blue Mage log. The Duty Finder will be

Square Enix is no stranger to rhythm games. Over the years they’ve come out with the Theatrhythm series which carried on its back the likes of both Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. These unusual entries in their storied franchises were met with a chorus of resounding success and so fans began to wonder: would Kingdom Hearts or other games get the same treatment? Fast forward to the present and the answer is clear, though it’s arriving in a far expanded package. While the Theatrhythm games were created for the Nintendo 3DS’s mobile experience, Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory graces the current generation of home consoles on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and for the first time on Nintendo Switch. Despite this evolution, the game is absolutely a rhythm game to its core. But how does it all work? And how does it fit into the rest of the often complex and increasingly convoluted Kingdom Hearts series. Right from the jump, Melody of Memory opens with visual recap of the series along with a number of tutorials that help you ease into the game. Don’t be fooled: if you’re not used to rhythm games things can be deceptively difficult – the 3D presentation can be