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Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth adds an addictive card game and some familiar social mechanics
FF7 Rebirth includes an addictive card game, new party dynamics, and space to roam. But what is the fate of characters doomed to die?
‘Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion’ tries to scale up a PSP game to the PS5
As Square Enix tees up part 2 of its big-budget Remake project, 'Crisis Core Reunion' gives newer players the chance to fill in the storyline blanks on Zack. But at its core, it's still a PSP game from 2017.
Final Fantasy VII Remake’s second chapter is called 'Rebirth'
Final Fantasy VII Remake's second installment will be called Rebirth, and seems to focus on some of the major plotlines of the original, all while throwing a wrench into our expectations.
The PS Plus version of 'FF7 Remake' can be upgraded to 'Intergrade' after all
The upgrade process has been as convoluted as many Final Fantasy games.
‘Final Fantasy’ meets ‘Fortnite’ is more fun than it should be
Fortnite and Final Fantasy. A doomed pairing of the most lucrative recent gaming phenomenon with one of the most storied video-game franchises spanning over 30 years? With so many great games on my to-do list, why am I still glued to a free-to-play mobile game?
Final 'FF7 Remake Intergrade' trailer offers a peek at the DLC chapter
There's also a look at a new minigame.
'Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children' will be re-released in 4K HDR on June 8th
Don't expect to fully understand the plot if you've only played 'FF7: Remake.'
‘Final Fantasy VII Remake’ will be a PS Plus freebie with a catch
There are five games in next month's lineup, including PS4, PS5 and PS VR titles.
So far, 'Final Fantasy VII Remake' is not a disaster
This Final Fantasy VII remake could have gone really wrong. There is my weight of expectation (I adored the original) and the awkward between-console-generation launch timing. Square Enix has also changed the core fight mechanics to (mostly) real-time combat, not the menu-centric, take-your-turn battling found in the original. It's probably the biggest of countless changes made to a game that first came out in 1997. With little over a month to go, Square Enix offered me access to several chapters of this remake. I played through the first two, coming straight off the back of the intro movie, controlling protagonist Cloud and, later, Barret. (Watch my entire Chapter 1 playthrough below.) The preview demo then skipped ahead to a later chapter, with brawler Tifa added to the party. I could also access a bunch of new skills, weapons and spells. To cap it off and presumably offer some fan service to Aerith die-hards, I also fought one more boss battle in the sewers, with a party of Cloud, Tifa and Aerith. These were all signature points in the early part of the original game, and they gave Square Enix a good chance to show how FF7R changes things up. In case you haven't played the original, this preview aims to be spoiler-free. You can ask me questions on Twitter, though and I'll answer what I can there.
Watch the opening to 'Final Fantasy VII Remake' right here
Arguably Square Enix's biggest project ever creeps towards it (delayed) launch date, and to keep everyone interested, we get to see what is apparently the entirety of the opening movie for Final Fantasy VII Remake.
'Final Fantasy 7 Remake' will be a PlayStation exclusive until 2021
There was little doubt that Final Fantasy VII Remake would be a premier PlayStation title, but it's now clear just how long everyone else will have to wait to play it. Deal-finder Wario64 has discovered box art showing that the reborn RPG will be a PlayStation exclusive until March 3rd, 2021 -- a year after its planned release date. Xbox and PC fans will just have to settle for older (or really, newer) Final Fantasy titles until that point, although the timing suggests VII Remake for other platforms is more a matter of "when" rather than "if."
How many times do I have to buy 'Final Fantasy VII'?
Ahead of whatever Square Enix shows at E3 this year, lots of questions remain regarding its remake of Final Fantasy VII. Since being announced at E3 2015, details and updates have been scant. For a while, it was all a little worrying -- until Square Enix snuck out a slightly longer trailer last month. It was proof of the game's continued existence and came with the promise of more details in June. Hopefully, it meant today. It's already taken four years to get this far, and the original game launched on the first PlayStation 18 years before that.
Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster officially confirmed for PS4
Update: Square Enix confirms stateside prices for its two JRPG PS4 ports: Final Fantasy VII gets a tag of $16, while X/X-2 HD Remaster is priced at $50. Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster blitzballs onto PlayStation 4 next spring, after Square Enix confirmed the news following this week's leak. The publisher said this morning it's porting the re-release, already out on PS3 and Vita, to Sony's latest console with "system-exclusive features." By the way, that note about system-exclusive features goes for Final Fantasy VII too. As for what those features are, we'll have to wait and see. We're also waiting for word from Square Enix America, but the company's European branch revealed regional prices for the two ports. The remaster of the two Xs comes in at £40/50 euros, and it's on its way to store shelves as well as PSN. Final Fantasy VII, meanwhile, is downloadable-only (not cloud-based but Cloud-based), and its Euro-price is £13/16 euros. [Image: Square Enix]
Final Fantasy 7 coming to the PS4, not a full remake
An upscaled version of Final Fantasy 7 is coming to the PlayStation 4 in spring of 2015, Square Enix announced as part of the PlayStation Experience keynote. While this is good news for Final Fantasy and PlayStation fans, it's not the oft-rumored, infamous full remake of FF7 that many have clamored for. Instead, it is the currently-available PC version, ported to the PS4. [Image: Square Enix]
LittleBigPlanet 2 fan meticulously recreates Final Fantasy 7
If Square Enix won't give fans a proper Final Fantasy 7 remake, the fans will just do it for themselves, as evidenced by this massive recreation of the seminal roleplaying game within Sony's LittleBigPlanet 2. Hopefully you've got no plans for the rest of the day, as the video below the break is only the first in a series of 107 clips spanning the entirety of Final Fantasy 7's lengthy story. Granted, some of the camera angles are off and the characters don't move exactly as you remember, but once you get beyond the quirks of the LittleBigPlanet 2 engine, it's apparent that this project is as thoughtfully designed as it is massive. Creator Jamie Colliver makes no mention of how much time went into his creation, but he's currently building a new website dedicated to this remake which will hopefully shed light on his creative process. [Image: Square Enix]
Final Fantasy rides a G-Bike onto Japan's iOS, Android stores
Final Fantasy 7 G-Bike, the mobile adaptation of Final Fantasy 7's motorcycle combat mini-game, has arrived for Japanese iOS and Android devices, according to Famitsu (as translated by Siliconera). Announced back in June, G-Bike buckles players into the role of FF7 hero Cloud Strife as he heroically destroys taxpayer-funded highways monsters and other bad guys with his trademark Buster Sword. Those in the West looking to swing bladed objects while riding questionably-safe vehicles at dangerously high speeds will have to wait a bit longer for G-Bike to become available for their devices. Unfortunately, we're not sure how long, as Square Enix has not revealed a stateside or European launch date. Hmmm, maybe if we collect enough materia ... [Image: Square Enix]
Play Final Fantasy 13, Murdered on mobile in Japan
Square Enix is launching a service in Japan through the app Dive In that enables games such as Final Fantasy 13 and Murdered: Soul Suspect to run on iOS and Android mobile devices. The streaming service launches on October 9, and it will initially support Final Fantasy 13, Final Fantasy 7 International and Season of Mystery: The Cherry Blossom Murders. Players are able to purchase playtime plans with prices that vary depending on the game. Final Fantasy 13 starts at three days for 250 yen, and goes to one year for 1,800 yen (prices don't include tax). See the pricing breakdown, translated by Gematsu, below. Final Fantasy 8 and The Last Remnant launch on the service in November, Final Fantasy 13-2 and Murdered: Soul Suspect launch in December, and Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy 13 is in 2015. [Image: Square Enix]
Final Fantasy 7 mini-game riding to iOS, Android
It's been a long time coming, but Square Enix finally unveiled a renewed version of Final Fantasy 7 ... 's motorcycle mini-game from the RPG's Gold Saucer levels. Final Fantasy 7 G-Bike is a free, mobile "action chaser" inspired by the chase scene from the 1997 PSOne game, in which the hero Cloud Strife slashes at enemies with his enormous sword while ripping down a highway on his motorcycle. The obstacle-avoiding, sort-of-endless-runner will include undisclosed in-app purchases, though it does feature classic monsters, familiar techniques from Cloud's arsenal, boss battles and a weapon customization system. Those hoping for a full mobile version of the cherished RPG, outside of its availability as a PSOne Classic on Vita, may recall producer Takashi Tokita's assertion in October that the game is years away. Final Fantasy 7 was re-released for PC in August 2012, followed by Steam in July 2013. Final Fantasy 7 G-Bike is in development for iOS and Android. [Image: Square Enix]
Play It On A Mac: Final Fantasy VII
In this weekly series I'll show you how to get your favorite Windows-exclusive PC games running on OS X using a variety of options. For more information on the programs used, check out the Play It On A Mac explainer. For suggestions and/or questions about any game, feel free to contact me on Twitter at @MikeWehner. Unlike every Final Fantasy game that came before it, fan-favorite Final Fantasy VII has never made its way to an Apple platform. You can play Final Fantasy I through VI on iOS, but that's where Square's retro RPG love ends for Apple diehards. This cannot stand! Thanks to the Windows-exclusive Steam re-release of FFVII last year, complete with 1080p support, Mac users finally have a chance to play the game via several avenues. Let's get to it! CrossOver Unlike last week's Goat Simulator, CrossOver 13 users will find FFVII is supported, albeit unofficially. It currently holds an unofficial "Gold" rating, and plays faithfully. Testing revealed the game's framerate -- which, it's important to note, is locked to 30fps during exploring and 15fps during combat -- is solid in 1080p with no visible drawbacks. This one gets a big CrossOver thumbs up! Parallels A predictably quick download, quick installation, and quick boot-up provides a perfectly playable Final Fantasy VII experience via Parallels. The game is not particularly demanding in terms of graphics, thanks in large part to its locked frame rate and admittedly chunky character designs -- remember, this is a game born in 1997. Thanks to the start-stop-start nature of the gameplay, it's a great game to leave running in the background for whenever you have a few minutes to kill. The minimum settings our test machine required to run the game at its pre-determined frame rate with no issues are as follows. Parallels 9 settings: CPUs: 4 (out of 8) Memory: 4GB (out of 16GB) Video memory: 512kb Performance: Faster Mac Power: Better Performance This should allow you to run your (wink wink) "work" programs on your Mac along with Parallels and FFVII without issue. If you find any frame rate issues pop up, boost your available video memory a bit and they should smooth out. Additionally, turn of Linear Filtering in the FFVII settings menu. Boot Camp As you might imagine, a game that runs perfectly in both CrossOver and Parallels runs equally perfectly on Boot Camp. Zero issues on the graphics front and aside from the default keyboard controls, which are horrible and should be immediately changed as soon as you start the game, everyone's favorite Final Fantasy runs silky smooth. Well, at least as smoothly as a locked 15fps frame rate can look. Verdict Regardless of which method you choose, bit it CrossOver, Parallels, or Boot Camp, you'll find Final Fantasy VII to be just as you remember it on the original PlayStation, only this time in crisp HD resolution. Game on!
Square Enix producer Kitase on Lightning Returns reviews, HD remasters, and that FF7 tech demo
Lightning Returns brought an end to what's been - relative to the series' high standards and typically universal acclaim - a divisive trilogy of games. While we enjoyed the final fantasy in Lightning's saga, other reviewers were happy enough to say so long to the rosy-haired heroine. When I spoke with series producer Yoshinori Kitase days after the game launched, I asked if he'd had a chance to read the reviews, and what he thought of them. "Yes I have scanned through more or less all the reviews, as well as user feedback available on the Internet," Kitase said, through a translator "I wasn't really shocked. There are negative reviews and positive reviews, it's a real mixture. When I started making this game I took on very new challenges, so in a way I had anticipated that there would be mixed opinions, so this is more or less what we had anticipated." Kitase, a Square Enix veteran of some 24 years, also argued the game might leave some with a negative impression at first, but as you play it the whole way through, your mind might change. For a second I wondered if we'd gone back in time to 2010, and Kitase was talking about the ever-so-slow introduction that put some players off Final Fantasy 13. "In a normal process where we make numbered Final Fantasy games, it takes at least two or three years, [and it's] quite a long turnaround," Kitase pointed out, referring to the much shorter cycle that saw three FF13 games released in just under four years. "In the space of three years, lots of things can [change] quite dramatically," he added. "The market situation, user trends, users' preferences, everything can change. So we've always taken feedback both from media and users on board, and when we want to reflect those views on the next project, in the space of three years, the situation might be completely different. The changes we've affected or implemented as a result of this feedback may not mean very much in three years' time, because of the long cycle."
