I’ve always been a big fan of full-motion video (FMV) and visual novel-type games. I love being able to influence a story based on the kind of choices I’m allowed to make in the game, and watching the story unfold based on those decisions. For some games these decisions lead to massive divergences in the plot, but in others it is just an illusion of choice. It doesn’t matter how much control I have over the narrative—what is most important to me is feeling like I am experiencing the story alongside the characters present in the game. The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story absolutely made me feel like I was right there in the story, solving a grand mystery spanning 100 years.  Originally published on Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4, Playstation 5, and Steam back in 2022 by Square Enix, The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story is now available on iOS and Android devices, allowing more people the chance to experience the twist and turns of its mystery plot presented through a well-shot, well-acted live-action FMV.  The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story has players follow the story of Haruka Kagami, a popular mystery novelist, as she’s invited to the Shijima family compound by

There is a slight blurriness to the Nintendo Switch debut version of last year's Live A Live remake. The image quality just isn't the greatest, but it's hardly a dealbreaker. At the time, my thought was that while the game's gorgeous utilization of Square Enix's HD-2D engine would flourish on stronger hardware, it was hardly enough of an issue to tell folks to wait on potential ports. Oops, right? Here we are, less than a year later, and you can now check out this bold and unexpected remake of a previously Japan-only JRPG on not just Switch, but PC and PlayStation consoles as well. What we have been given with these ports is the best-looking and smoothest-running version(s). I booted up Live A Live on my Switch on one of my two TVs, and my PS5 on the other, and the difference was bigger than I would have expected. I'm not talking in technical terms here - I'm no Digital Foundry! - but from a purely amateur perspective, I can safely say Live A Live on PlayStation 5 is crisp enough by comparison that you'll likely be impressed, too. But then I got to thinking, well, Live A Live may look

When I played through Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin on console last year, all I could keep thinking was that the script felt like someone found my seventh-grade fan fiction, tidied up the grammar, and embarrassed me personally by sending it out into the modern world.  The gameplay, while fun, struck me as overly repetitive. The dated visuals didn’t help matters. I’m not saying I disliked my time with the game, because all things considered, I was glad to have played it, but I would not go so far as to say I was thrilled. As the DLCs dropped, and discourse slowly but surely shifted from focusing on Jack’s cheesy lines to the game as a whole, I started to feel like maybe I had missed the forest for the trees. Perhaps there’s more to like about Stranger of Paradise than I had realized. It warranted a second chance. Naturally, I jumped at the chance to give it another test drive on Steam. This time, it clicked, but my newfound appreciation has nothing to do with the reason I presume you’re reading this, which is to ascertain the technical state of the port. Not helpful, I know, but hear me out -

In the most recent string of Square Enix’s already-packed release lineup, PARANORMASIGHT: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo is an exciting project to release in the current era. Visual novels are far from the once-popular medium they were years ago but as a huge fan of visual novels in general and given Square Enix’s history with the medium I was intrigued nonetheless. Excitingly enough, I was given early access to Paranormasight and after finishing the main story as well as its side content, I’m glad to say not only is it among the best of Square Enix’s recent releases but also a fresh and satisfying visual novel experience that both fans and newcomers to the genre can enjoy. Paranormasight is helmed by veteran director-writer Takanari Ishiyama, whose work on smaller projects such as Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings overshadows his long history of developing and writing a multitude of visual novels for the mobile medium. Needless to say, even if that has a negative connotation for you given the reputation of mobile entertainment in the modern era, fear not. What’s presented here is an incredibly tightly written visual novel paced excellently even with all its supernatural mystery trappings.  The story follows an ensemble

The original Theatrhythm Final Fantasy is a game that’s always been near and dear to my heart. Upon release I was captivated by the charming character design and the breadth of songs available that spanned the length of the Final Fantasy series available at the time. Then came Curtain Call and I got to experience the whimsical formula all over again, albeit with even more tracks to choose from including Final Fantasy XIV, which was just finding its feet at the time. Then came Theatrhythm Dragon Quest and even an arcade version of the Final Fantasy one. It seemed like Square Enix was keen on carving out their own little niche in this genre - even if those titles never left Japan. The latter came out in 2016 and after that? Well, there really was nothing. The Kingdom Hearts-themed Melody of Memory doesn’t really count as it’s a different format for the most part. The question then remained – was there till a place for the Theatrhythm series? Nearly a decade after the release of Curtain Call, the last proper “Theatrhythm Final Fantasy” title, we finally have our answer. Square Enix returned to the stage with an announcement last year heralding the

The ideal crossover draws fans from opposite ends of a two-game aisle toward a single experience that honors each individual title whilst serving as a free sample for the one folks aren't familiar with. I've got a friend, she knows who she is, who is obsessed with PowerWash Simulator. Lives and breathes it. Not so much Final Fantasy. Meanwhile, I'm the opposite. Naturally, this makes the free Midgar Special Pack DLC perfect for us both; my friend gets her first taste of FF7 Remake, and I get to clean a bar. When I put it that way, I can't help but feel like my friend has the better part of this deal. Honestly, though? I get it. There's a certain zen-like experience to be found in PowerWash Simulator. I can't speak to the core game, as I'm only giving this all a shake via the DLC, but I can see through this Midgar-centric perspective why millions of people enjoy cleaning up filthy environments at their leisure with a washing apparatus that can blast watery payloads into grime-caked surfaces with ample might. The gameplay loop is rhythmic. It's nice to see a pretty thing slowly emerge from its cocoon of filth. It's nifty

Originally revealed as Project Athia during the PlayStation 5 Showcase in June 2020, Forspoken was touted by Square Enix as a new blockbuster IP featuring A-list Hollywood writing and casting combined with the latest, greatest technologies in the industry. Despite the high expectations for this game, the marketing for Forspoken was fraught with numerous missteps that put off many potential players ahead of its release. Despite the game being developed by Square Enix’s Luminous Productions, the Japanese studio best known for developing the highly successful Final Fantasy XV, there was more focus on the Hollywood talent attached to the game which felt like a desperate attempt to assign some sort of unearned prestige. Even though Forspoken was making strides within the video game industry by featuring a female person of color as the lead protagonist of their new IP, Square Enix would lean into tired, overused stereotypes by calling Frey’s walk “hip-hoppy”.  Footage of the game looked repetitive at times and barely featured any story content, and the demo released actively turned off a lot of players because of the poorly explained controls and bland map.  When I finally got my hands on Forspoken, I genuinely expected the worst, but was pleasantly surprised to

There is no limit to the cuteness that can be distilled from Dragon Quest. It's there at every turn, with the happy slimes and the clever puns at every corner. It's the perfect playground for a kid-friendly, low-stakes affair, and as you're probably aware, that's precisely what Dragon Quest Treasures has been pitched to be. Developer Tose, the prolific studio behind the Dragon Quest Monsters series and — as it happens — Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion, is the perfect pick to deliver a simple tale about siblings Erik and Mia. All the better, then, that the bulk of the game's events occur within another dimension; there's no risk of stepping all over established worldbuilding in the relatively more serious (albeit still whimsical) world of Dragon Quest XI. This newfound dimension in question is called Draconia, and it will, if you'll allow its goofiness to get the better of you, charm the heck out of you at every turn. It's stuffed with references to past Dragon Quest games, from smart little nods for the in-the-know to straight-up character cameos. The result is a veritable feast for any longtime fan, even if some fans will find Treasures' gameplay more of a middling

If Final Fantasy is like visiting a five star restaurant (bear with me here), replete with expertly and luxuriously prepared courses, the SaGa series, specifically Romancing SaGa Minstrel Song is like a trip to a fast food restaurant. But, on the way to that restaurant your car breaks down. A call for a tow is answered by a friendly lizard man named Guella Ha. At their shop, you manage to prize two sodas from the vending machine for the price of one, but you wander back through the wrong door and tumble into the Netherworld, where Death itself resides. After some tense conversation, Death grants your passage home in exchange for a mote of your life essence. Finally, you instead find yourself at the fast food restaurant, enjoying a delicious cheeseburger.  Still with me? Ok, sorry… All this is to say that Romancing SaGa Minstrel Song Remastered is an RPG that strives not to wow you with cutting edge graphics and woo you with an emotional, character-driven drama. Here it’s all about the journey, and the story you’ll have to tell. It’s about the setbacks and the mistakes, but it’s also about the discoveries and epiphanies. The game’s trailer proudly declares: “the

The original Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII is a game I remember most fondly. Not only because of my love for Final Fantasy VII and its world as a whole, but because it represented a turning point of sorts in the way that I consumed games. Crisis Core was one of the first I was able to import from Japan thanks in part to the delay between the Western release, and the emergence of easier ways to obtain said titles overseas. Of course, times have changed since then and the era of simultaneous worldwide releases is forever upon us, but that wasn’t always the case. So armed with my copy of Crisis Core in Japanese, my PSP would become its exclusive home for a long time as I played and played and played through it some more. By the time the English version did roll around, I’d completed Crisis Core several times over and there really wasn’t any specific need for me to dive back in again. There wasn’t anything specifically different about the game that warranted a sixth or seventh go at it. Until now. Fast forward 15 years (yes, that’s fifteen whole years) since the original PSP release and Square