Hello, it's your resident Drakenier enthusiast, mits! Having just finished NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139…, I’ve been more than happy that it’s served as a great reminder of one of my favorite experiences of all time! Now I don’t know about you but after having finished the original all those years ago, I craved to know more about its world so I thought it’d be fun to take a look at some of the supplementary material that followed after its release!  Square Enix has a long history of releasing a multitude of tie-ins that range from light novels, guidebooks, to even more obscure mediums like audio dramas that never saw their way outside Japan. Despite a handful of external materials being present for the original NieR Replicant/Gestalt I decided I’d focus on two of the most popular pieces - the contents of which most are largely unfamiliar with. Due to the spoilery nature of these materials I’ll attempt to refrain from mentioning specific plot points, but those who have had experience with the original should be able to pick up on what I'm alluding to. Without further ado, let’s begin our deep dive into the world of NieR Replicant! The first of these companion

What games can do for stories is something that simply doesn’t exist in other creative mediums - the opportunity for players to actively participate in the narrative progression and, when done right, feel the weight of their actions during pivotal moments. Some games do this better than others, and one of them just happens to be a Yoko Taro game. Having first played NieR Automata in 2017, I was floored not only by its stylish combat and pulse-pounding battle encounters that encapsulate PlatinumGames, but also by its unique narrative structure. The way it subtly and significantly layers its overall story with every completion of the game was something I have never really experienced before. Bundled with well-written characters and an emotional, intriguing plot line, Automata ended up being something special. So, when I first heard Square Enix was remastering the original 2010 title, the precursor to Automata, I knew right then that I had to get my hands on it. Alongside significant visual and gameplay updates, NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139… has been packaged with new story and gameplay content not available in any other version of the original game. There’s plenty there to incentivize loyal fans to check it out, but it’s also

The world of Dragon Quest has expanded and spread into many facets of media over the years. Be it through games, manga or animation, there's plenty of content to keep fans occupied and interested. This expansion of the series continues today with the re-imagined Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai - a new adaptation of the 1989 manga by the same name. Said manga followed the story of the titular Dai, orphaned at a young age, with dreams of becoming a hero. As he grew older, circumstance conspired to land him that very "chosen one" role. While Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai did have an anime series in the past, it's this second adaptation that promises to bring the full scope of the story to light. As such, Square Enix is keen on creating a media universe of its own and thus games like Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai: A Hero's Bonds were born. Recently, I had a go at the closed beta build of the game. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlcMuPin_eM Created by developer DeNA, A Hero's Bonds isn't quite the typical Dragon Quest outing. Those familiar to the series might have expected a turn-based experience but this is not the case. Instead, the free-to-play

We all have our Square Enix origin stories. Whether it was Final Fantasy VII Remake and Kingdom Hearts III, or Rad Racer and the original Final Fantasy, or perhaps — as I suspect is the case for a great many of us — somewhere in-between, there was a period of Square history that drew us in and never let us out. The game that changed my world was Final Fantasy VII. Glued as I was to that very first Sony PlayStation, I quickly gobbled up every JRPG I could find. SaGa Frontier was one of them. Released alongside a river of noteworthy RPGs and a veritable ocean's worth of exceptional video games, the 1998 cult classic was destined to find only modest success on Western shores. It was a strange game, as all prior SaGas were; those of us who played and enjoyed it had a somewhat difficult time explaining it even to fans of notable odd ducks such as Vagrant Story and Xenogears. It wasn't about destined heroes, but rather, a loosely affiliated ensemble cast each with a story of their own. It wasn't about leveling to 99, but organically mastering one's inner talents. And it wasn't a game about

The older you get, the more frequently your friends will show you pop culture works from decades past and ask you if you "feel old yet." The world is showing those friends of yours grim little reminders that time is the villain who beats us all. Cast photos from cult classic TV shows populated by twenty-somethings, labeled side-by-side with the actors and actresses now in their late fifties. Best-selling rock albums featuring songs from the cringe fringes of our youth, with lyrics our adult selves cannot stand. Huge metal ball necklaces and glow-in-the-dark Tripp pants. None of it ever fazes me. Time, as best we can tell, is a linear thing. "Of course Nathan Fillion is old now," I tell my friends to their astonishment. "But no, I don't feel any differently." Balan Wonderworld fazed me. It wants to be a love letter to the gaming industry of two decades past, back when janky, early-3D platformers were a dime-a-dozen and your console's success was defined in no small part by the popularity of the mascot characters therein. Crash Bandicoot, Banjo-Kazooie, Spyro the Dragon; kids banged on department store glass displays because they wanted to be those characters. That's the nostalgia trip

The latest content update for Marvel's Avengers arrived this week, as announced on the recent Square Enix Presents Spring broadcast. Featuring Clint Barton, or "Hawkeye", the story picks up where the "Taking AIM" update left off. Clint has been rescued by the Avengers, and has a vision of an apocalyptic future where Earth has largely been destroyed by an alien race called the Kree. We play as his future self for a time, searching for Nick Fury in an attempt to make amends for abandoning the Avengers in their hour of need. Meanwhile, present-day Clint and Kate find a way travel to that same future to find a way to prevent it. Future Imperfect is about a two-hour affair that, despite being part of an unfolding story, is breezy and largely self-contained. Clint and Kate take the spotlight while the rest of the Avengers cast tag along in the literal sense. Given the length, it probably doesn't make much sense to have every Avenger have their moment, but it would have been nice if they had additional, observational dialogue. If you're like me, and not well-versed with all things Marvel, some plot beats might move along a bit too quickly to land

I still recall how happy I was the day Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light was announced for the Nintendo DS. As someone who had enjoyed both of the system's classic remakes -- Final Fantasy III and Final Fantasy IV -- I longed to see a fresh spin on an old-school formula. Alas, I wasn't as smitten with The 4 Heroes of Light as I had hoped. Its customary franchise trappings felt forced and I failed to engage with its narrative. Its strongest aspects were its most foreign; chief among them was the "Boost" command, which gave players the choice to pass on a character's turn, coming back stronger with more powerful abilities when next permitted. Above all else, there was a sense in my mind that The 4 Heroes of Light held promising gameplay mechanics let down by tradition. Along came Bravely Default, the next project from the talented group of creative gurus affectionately known in fandom as "Team Asano." Producer Tomoya Asano elected not to serve up a direct sequel to his previous work, requesting instead that Square Enix allow him the liberty of developing something more akin to a spiritual sequel with a name and style all

It's been a long time since Bravely Default first graced Japanese shores and worldwide soon after. Releasing to critical acclaim, Bravely Default not only ushered in new fans craving a more traditional approach to JRPG gameplay but revitalized interest in many long-time fans of the genre. Nearly nine years later, Producer Tomoya Asano and his development team (lovingly dubbed "Team Asano" by fans) have gone on to develop many other titles such as Octopath Traveler and the recently announced Project Triangle Strategy. Needless to say, expectations are high for Bravely Default II, yet I wanted to take a look back on a title that I felt was overshadowed in comparison: Bravely Second End Layer.  Truth is, we've already gotten our sequel to Bravely Default quite a few years back. Originally released in Japan in 2015, Bravely Second: End Layer presented itself as a continuation of Bravely Default's story that would recontextualize and follow up on the legacy of Bravely Default's world. The problem is, many of the criticisms levied against End Layer largely stem from this recontextualization and expectation as a follow up to Bravely Default given the fact End Layer suffers from many of the same issues that sequels in

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