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

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,

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

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

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

Following its initial launch back in 2019, Kingdom Hearts III returns with a post-release DLC that is packed with visual updates, difficult boss battles and a bunch of new and altered cutscenes that adds roughly five hours or more of additional content to the original game. While I had enjoyed Kingdom Hearts III and what it had offered in terms of gameplay, I felt that the story had fallen just short of expectations. However, Kingdom Hearts III: ReMind had just been announced by the time I had done my review, and I had hopes that the DLC would address some of the issues that I had with the original release. Now with ReMind finally in the hands of us PlayStation 4 players, it was finally time to see if those hopes for the story would be met. As a disclaimer, this review will be incredibly spoiler heavy for the ReMind DLC and Kingdom Hearts III. The Kingdom Hearts series is in a unique position in terms of in-game lore. Having introduced the concept of time travel in earlier titles, it not only opened the door to extremely complicated storytelling, but also left some wiggle room to have an in-lore story reset if needed.

If you had asked me a handful of years ago which Squaresoft titles would get a remaster or a remake, Romancing SaGa 3 wouldn't probably be high on the list. Originally released in 1995 for the Super Famicom, an English version was never announced, leaving a much younger me to poke around with a fan-translated ROM. Since the poorly-received Unlimited SaGa on PlayStation 2, the series has been dormant - at least to non-Japanese readers. So it seemed unlikely that an ancient game that had no previous localization would get a shot, right? Glad to be wrong. In recent years, we've seen a rebirth of Square Enix's most overlooked RPG series. Romancing SaGa 2 and 3 are now fully translated and on new platforms with a fresh coat of paint, and SaGa Scarlet Grace: Ambitions is no longer held captive on PlayStation Vita. (More on that game soon.) What a time, folks! Alright, on to the game itself. Odds are, you may be a Final Fantasy fan that hasn't dabbled much in the SaGa series, but have admired it from a distance thinking: "a nice classic turn-based RPG with a look similar to FF V and VI - I might try that

Released initially as simply Star Ocean for the Super Famicom back in July of 1996, and released again as an enhanced remake on PlayStation Portable in 2008; Star Ocean First Departure R is a grand adventure of galactic proportions that is filled with drama, mystery, action, comedy and romance. Following the story of a townsguard named Roddick; he and his close friends are faced with an epidemic that is turning everyone they know and love to stone. Determined to stop it and save his people from this terrible plague, Roddick joins the space-faring Earth Federation and begins his grand quest for a cure that will lead him on an adventure unlike anything he’s ever seen. I had never managed to play any of the Star Ocean titles over the years, but being a fan of space-adventure stories, the series would repeatedly catch my attention when a trailer would pop up or a new game would release. So when I finally sat myself down and played First Departure R, I had no idea what was waiting for me beyond just a simple JRPG in space. Star Ocean First Departure R captured my full attention almost immediately after starting the game. The

With the recent release of much-anticipated Action RPG Oninaki, Tokyo RPG Factory - the leading minds behind 2016 release I Am Setsuna--tuck another game under their belt. However, unlike breakout hit Setsuna, Oninaki leaves much to be desired. The story starts out strongly, player taking on the role of a Watcher named Kagachi as he ferries souls from the lands of both living and dead, gameplay switching from one world to the other with an initial ease I found captivating. There is a marked focus on the concept of reincarnation and how it relates to both characters and the in-game culture as a whole, taking on a darker nature throughout the game that’s never properly explored. While the concept is an extremely fascinating one, as the story progresses, there begin to be cracks in its telling, Oninaki falling into the trap of being vague and telling rather than showing. The Watcher goes from being a figure confronted with there being shades of grey in his black and white view of morality to an unrealistic character, simply nodding and accepting nonspecific explanations when they’re offered to him by a supporting cast I really felt no connection for. Quests go from having