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Square Enix's Project Hikari makes a good case for VR comics
Comics are big business in Japan, but here in the West, Japanese and American titles alike tend to get overshadowed by movies, television and video games. In fact, many of those programs might even be adaptations of popular comic titles. For its first big VR project, Square Enix's Advanced Technology Division is putting the spotlight back on manga. But it isn't just about taking these stories and pasting them into a headset. Due for release in 2018 on all major VR platforms, Project Hikari aims to capture the look and feel of reading a manga while taking advantage of the immersive nature of VR to let the viewer delve deeper into these worlds.
Try the gorgeous RPG 'Project Octopath Traveler' tonight on Switch
Project Octopath Traveler is stunning -- and tonight, Switch owners can try it out for themselves with a new demo. The game comes from Square Enix and the team behind lauded RPG series Bravely Default. Project Octopath Traveler is also an RPG filled with epic monsters and treacherous adventures, all in a hand-drawn, CGI, pixelated, shadow-filled world that developers have dubbed "HD-2D." Whatever it's called, the overall effect is fantastic.
Setting fire to teenage souls in 'Life Is Strange: Before the Storm'
There are plenty of reasons to be wary of Life Is Strange: Before the Storm -- it's the prequel to a highly successful, influential series, but it isn't being handled by the same development team. This time around, Deck Nine is in charge of a three-episode arc featuring two of the most mysterious characters from the full series. Even the voice actor for Chloe, the game's main foil, has been swapped out for someone new. The circumstances are ripe for Before the Storm to become a flimsy parody of Life Is Strange, full of shallow awkwardness and referential quasi-humor. Luckily, that's not what happened. Before the Storm slides into the Life Is Strange library like butter, opening up storylines that were only hinted at in the full game. Part of this insight surely comes from Chloe's original voice actor, (the Emmy-winning) Ashly Burch, who stayed on as a writing consultant for the prequel. But just because Before the Storm isn't an embarrassment to the Life Is Strange brand doesn't mean it's perfect. Engadget associate writer Timothy J. Seppala and senior reporter Jessica Conditt found different delights and drags in the first episode of Before the Storm, largely influenced by their own experiences as teenagers. Spoilers for the entire Life is Strange series, including Before the Storm, reside below; you've been warned.
'Secret of Mana' remake gameplay video delivers throwback fun
Less than two weeks since it was announced, Square Enix is offering the first look at gameplay from the Secret of Mana remake. The clip is from the demo unveiled as part of the developer's Pax West showcase, which was captured in a Twitch livestream. It boasts almost ten minutes of in-game footage from the highly anticipated remaster of the classic RPG.
'Assassin's Creed' is crossing over with 'Final Fantasy'
So this is weird: Square Enix and Ubisoft have announced that this month will mark the beginning of crossovers between Assassin's Creed and Final Fantasy. Yup, really. "This collaboration is the result of being huge fans," Ubisoft Montreal game driector Ashraf Ismail says on the UbiBlog. "There's a lot of respect between the two teams and we couldn't be more thrilled with the opportunity to pay homage to each other's work."
'Final Fantasy XV' comes to your phone this fall
Square Enix is bent on bringing Final Fantasy XV to every platform imaginable, and that includes the phone in your pocket. It just unveiled a Pocket Edition of the road trip role-playing game that will hit Android, iOS and Windows 10 (yes, despite its dwindling influence) this fall. Its first episode will be free to play, while you'll have to fork out an unspecified amount to continue the tale of Noctis and crew. The title includes the "main story" and characters, but don't expect a carbon copy of the game you can buy on your console.
'Final Fantasy XV' coming to PC early next year
Square Enix has milked Final Fantasy XV, offering not only PS4 and Xbox One console versions, but also a (bad) free mobile game, branded Sony Walkman and even a cookbook. What it doesn't have yet, surprisingly, is a Windows version of the game, but that's going to change soon. Final Fantasy XV Windows Edition is coming in early 2018, NVIDIA announced during its Gamescom press conference, and is of course loaded with NVIDIA tweaks and features.
The next 'Final Fantasy' brawler 'Dissidia NT' heads to PS4 in January
We knew that the next entry in Final Fantasy's all-star brawler Dissidia series would be coming to PS4, and a possible Amazon mishap clued us in to an end-of-2017 release. Square Enix has announced that Dissidia Final Fantasy NT will arrive a little later on January 30th, 2018 -- and there are a couple collector's editions to choose from, if that's your thing.
Square Enix and AMD are giving away indie games with new GPUs
AMD wants to ensure you always have something unique to play with new graphics card. The new AMD4U program is a partnership with publisher Square Enix exclusively featuring games from the publisher's "Collective" initiative for indie developers. Folks who buy and register their GPU are eligible for up to three free games (PDF) including Tokyo Dark (above) and Black the Fall. The benefits here are twofold: you get free, unique games with your graphics card and smaller developers get their wares in front of a new audience.
The 'Final Fantasy XV' bromobile invades 'Forza Horizon 3' next week
Final Fantasy XV's Regalia hot rod is coming to Forza Horizon 3 next week. So yup, you can continue that game's epic road trip across Horizon's digital Australia come August 1st. Assuming you've played either game on Xbox, next week you'll get an Xbox Live message containing a download code.
The world of 'Toy Story' is coming to 'Kingdom Hearts 3'
Kingdom Hearts 3 has been slow in coming, but you'll at least get a reward for your patience. Square Enix took to Disney's D23 stage to announce that the action role-playing game will have our heroes visit the world of Pixar's Toy Story -- yes, you'll be helping Buzz Lightyear and Woody clear the neighborhood of villainous toys. There's even a bit of Titanfall-style action as you jump into plastic robots to do battle. Oh, and did we mention that KH3's release has finally been narrowed down, to 2018? That could still put a release well into the future, but it's a relatively short wait given that fans of the Disney/Square crossover series have already gone more than a decade without a sequel.
The 'Final Fantasy XV' mobile game is a mess, but at least it's free
Mobile games can make a ton of money, with titles like Clash of Clans making billions of dollars for their respective developers. Square Enix has been active in mobile gaming with titles based on its own popular role-playing games, with original free-to-play titles like Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius and premium ports of older titles like Final Fantasy IX. Now, the veteran publisher has just released another free-to-play game to Android and iOS, titled Final Fantasy XV: A New Empire. Square Enix may hope to bring new fans to the series it's based on while also encouraging fans of the console game to give it a go. It's just too bad the game is (so far) kind of an inscrutable mess.
Dabble in the murderous world of 'Hitman' for free
Since it was announced that publisher Square Enix was selling off Hitman developer IO Interactive, the studio's fate has been uncertain. With last week's news that IO bought the Hitman license, things have been looking up, though. And now, in an effort to get more people playing (and purchasing) its fantastic back-to-basics reboot of the long-running stealth franchise, the newly independent studio is giving it away. Well, a portion of the murderous puzzle game, at least. Specifically, Hitman's the ICA Facility section of the first episode is available for free on Steam, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
'Life is Strange: Before the Storm' arrives August 31st
Life is Strange was an episodic hit across multiple platforms, and today during Microsoft's E3 2017 press conference we got a first look at its follow-up: Life is Strange: Before the Storm. This prequel is set three years before the original game and deals with the period when Max left Chloe and, (spoiler alert?) Rachel is there. The first of three episodes will debut August 31st, and since it wasn't announced as a console exclusive, we're guessing it will be available on more than just Xbox. Also, this game is not the sequel currently under development by Dontnod (along with Vampyr, and it's not here at E3), and is being handled by another team, Deck Nine.
'Kingdom Hearts 3' trailer shows combat, but no release date
Our long wait for Kingdom Hearts 3... is probably not close to ending. Still, fans can enjoy a new trailer that Square Enix premiered tonight at the LA performance of the Kingdom Hearts World Tour. There's plenty of gameplay and combat, as Sora, Donald & Goofy team up with Hercules in a Mt. Olympus level, as enemy bosses Maleficent, Pete and Hades discuss a mysterious box that could be linked to last year's Kingdom Hearts 2.8. Four years after our first glimpse of the game we still don't have a release date, but this ends with a tag promising another trailer and a new world at the D23 Expo on July 15th. Last month Square Enix informed investors that KH3 (and the Final Fantasy 7 remake) are part of its release plans for fiscal year 2018 and beyond, so keep those PS4s and Xbox Ones on ice, for now. Oh, and dedicated fans can expect patches tomorrow that will fix some issues on the PS4 Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX edition.
'Dissidia NT' brings ridiculous 'Final Fantasy' brawls to PS4
After making its transition from Sony's PSP to arcades, Square Enix's Dissidia series is coming back to PlayStation. While it's on the PS4 and not handheld this time around, it should ensure that that the battlers will look their best. Dissidia pits over 30 years of Final Fantasy heroes and villains against each other in a something more resembling a fighting title than an RPG. That said, you'll see all your damage shown in numbers, there are spells, summons, equipment, items and the rest. It's all still very Final Fantasy-esque.
'Dragon Quest XI' spawns the best and worst special edition consoles
Square Enix is on a bit of a merchandising mission in the lead up to the July release of Dragon Quest XI in Japan. For its latest trick, it's partnered with Nintendo and Sony to today announce two new Dragon Quest consoles.
Fans resurrect 'Tomb Raider' in your web browser
If you need a reminder of how far video games have come since the mid-90s, look no further than OpenTomb. Over the past four years, a handful of devoted developers have been rebuilding the original five Tomb Raider games from scratch, and the City of Vilcabamba level is available in your browser right now (heads up, game audio auto-plays from that link).
'Sleeping Dogs' movie will star Donnie Yen
You can make a list of good video game movies on the back of a thumbtack, but that doesn't stop Hollywood from producing them. The latest title to be fed into the sausage machine is Square Enix's popular 2012 title Sleeping Dogs. Deadline Hollywood is reporting that Donnie Yen, star of Ip Man and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story has been signed to play the lead.
How 'NieR' was brought back from the dead
Taro Yoko, director of NieR: Automata, leans forward in his chair. "The stories I write really aren't very good at all," he says, through a translator. "They're a big pile of shit. So I wouldn't have great expectations for the game if I were you." He's joking, I think.
