Final Fantasy

Square Enix held a special livestream dedicated to Final Fantasy XV, now near its second anniversary. Fans of the game in time zones during slightly less antisocial hours of the day tuned in with fervent attention to see how the promised second season pass and the accompanying four DLC episodes of the game were shaping up. Things were looking good going into the event from the public's perspective. Chief antagonist Ardyn was about to take the spotlight with his own DLC episode, followed by an Aranea side story and two extra episodes dedicated to Lunafreya and Noctis. What could possibly go wrong?

The Nibelheim Incident is a fan-written Final Fantasy VII novella by Scottish author M.J. Gallagher. Accompanied with captivating illustrations by Crimson Sun and a stunning cover by AJ Hateley, the story of arguably the most important scene in the Final Fantasy franchise is creatively retold. The Nibelheim Incident is a behemoth undertaking (comprised of over 200 pages). Presented in conjunction with KupoCon, attendees at ‘Pomathon’ (Birmingham, 8th September 2018) received digital and limited print copies of the book.

Square-Enix want to make it up to Nintendo console fans. For too long they've been starved of Final Fantasy releases and with the exploding popularity of the Nintendo Switch and the very recent success of Octopath Traveler, perhaps now is the time to once again bless Nintendo with a considerable catalogue of ports. These range from core mainline entries to a few lesser known spin-off titles.

Does anyone remember Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles? It was a primarily multiplayer-based spinoff cult classic for the Nintendo Gamecube. Due to technological limitations at the time that required the need for four wired Game Boy Advances to hook to the console for that 4-player experience, the game was lost to time until now. With the era of ubiquitous online multiplayer gaming, Square Enix are bringing this multiplayer spinoff back with a remastered version, for both PS4 and the Nintendo Switch.

The Final Fantasy XV train chugs on unabated. At PAX East, Square Enix have laid out a roadmap, detailing what the four new DLC chapters for the game will entail, along with rough window estimates for when we can expect to see their release. In addition, future content updates will include the ability to transpose your created character in Comrades over to the base game to replace Noctis as the on-screen main protagonist.

The momentum for FFXV continues. Since its release in November 2016 the game has seen three DLC episodes and even an entire paid multiplayer expansion DLC. Now Square Enix are poised to continue support for the game with a fresh slate of DLC episodes in the pipeline and a second season pass. Originally three additional DLC episodes were in the cards, though it would now seem there will be a total of four, with Episode Ardyn due to kick things off.

Interested in attending a Final Fantasy XIV concert? The Eorzean Symphony orchestra shall be heading to Los Angeles, California in June, and to Dortmund, Germany in August 2018!

Expect to experience many of your favourite Eorzean tunes performed by a full orchestra!

Details (copied from Final Fantasy XIV Lodestone):

Los Angeles, California
Location: Dolby Theatre
Schedule:
Friday, June 15, 2018 – Doors Open 7:00 p.m. / Performance 8:00 p.m. (PDT)
Saturday, June 16, 2018 – Doors Open 7:00 p.m. / Performance 8:00 p.m. (PDT)

Dortmund, Germany
Location: Konzerthaus Dortmund
Schedule:
Friday, August 24, 2018 – Doors Open 19:00 / Performance 20:00 (CEST)...

Some will be aware that the tickets for KupoCon's Birmingham event (Pomathon) have recently sold out. This is without a doubt a result of the enormous success of KupoCon's second London event (Pomingham Palace) which took place last weekend on the 3rd February.

KupoCon are feeling very generous! They have announced that they can release another 50 tickets this Sunday (11th February) for Birmingham's Pomathon event. These extra tickets shall go live at 2pm (GMT / UK time).

Be warned... They may go quickly!

The event itself shall take place on September 8th 2018 at the Birmingham Conference and Events Centre.

Who is going?
We do not yet know which special guests will be attending the Birmingham event but we can say that there are already a number of FFF members with tickets for this event. It would be great to see more of you there!

Use our...

If you're a raider and a Final Fantasy VI fan, Yoshi-P has decided to be extra kind to you in this next upcoming patch for Final Fantasy XIV. Patch 4.2: Rise of a New Sun will be live on the 30th January and it brings a plethora of FFVI fanservice when the next raid tier, Omega Sigmascape, is unlocked. Expect a good number of familiar enemies...a very familiar face and an equally familiar signature theme song to go with it.

If you held off on purchasing Final Fantasy XV in the event that a "complete" edition would eventually emerge, your patience will soon be rewarded. Square Enix have announced Final Fantasy XV Royal Edition, an update over the base game with over 20 add-ons and DLC. Interestingly, both the Royal Edition and Windows Edition will feature an expanded map of Insomnia with new enemies and sidequests, and even a first-person camera mode.

What you can expect to see from these two new versions of the game:

Gladiolus and Prompto have already had their own episodic DLC outings, and Ignis will not be too far behind. The last of the bros' character DLC episodes will be officially released on the 13th December, as unveiled by this week's Sony Paris Game Week live conference. For fans of Chrono Trigger, Xenogears, Xenosaga, Shadow Hearts and the upcoming Xenoblade Chronicles 2, famed composer Yasunori Mitsuda is on board for Episode Ignis's soundtrack.

There will be spoilers to come, so for anyone still yet to reach Chapter 9 of Final Fantasy XV, you may wish to divert your eyes elsewhere.

Pirates Ahoy! Contextualising Piracy.

When the player encounters Captain Faris and her crew in FFV, it is immediately evident that she is a pirate; Faris possesses many of the signifiers which usually express 'pirate' in popular culture.

Like most classic-era Final Fantasy characters, there are conflicting representations of Faris: her character artwork designed by Yoshitaka Amano (blonde and wearing a long ornamental black coat) and her in-game sprite (purple hair and green clothing). Faris' Amano appearance is preferred for the cinematic segments introduced in FF Anthology, but her sprite form is chosen for her World of Final Fantasy counterpart; both representations adhere to popular perceptions of piracy.

After yesterday's showcasing of Final Fantasy XV Windows Edition (essentially a 170GB-sized PC version of the game designed for 4k), today at Gamescom 2017 sees another announcement related to Noctis and his retinue. Meet Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition, a smartphone game for iOS, Android and Windows 10 devices you never even knew you wanted!

Last year's Final Fantasy XV will receive a multiplayer expansion entitled Comrades. Square Enix have freshly announced that worldwide closed beta tests for the expansion will take place from the 2nd August to 8th August. To be eligible for participation, you must have purchased a Season Pass for the game or the Digital Premium Edition, with an active PlayStation Plus or Xbox Live membership.

Square Enix have released the official trailer for the second paid DLC for last year's Final Fantasy XV. Episode Prompto is due on the 27th of this month and will naturally focus on Prompto in a more story-driven third-person shooter experience combined with light stealth elements. This DLC episode takes place following the events of Prompto falling off a Niflheim-bound train where terrible revelations await in a Magitek facility.

Naturally, the trailer will reveal spoiler elements, plus a certain supporting character who is about to make a very welcome return.

If you blinked yesterday then you likely missed it!

There was a massive rush on tickets for KupoCon’s second London event (named Pomingham Palace) which is to take place on February 3rd, 2018. Tickets went live for purchase at 2:00 pm GMT and the majority of tickets sold within a number of hours after a feeding frenzy by fans.

24 hours later and ALL tickets were sold.

Firstly, KupoCon should be congratulated for a sell-out which is absolutely deserved. KupoCon far exceeded the expectations of Final Fantasy fans attending the first two events. High interest for Pomingham Palace is no surprise at all, but the speed at which the tickets were sold is absolutely mind-bending! We hope this shall serve as a confidence boost which can lead to many more...

If you were hoping for a PS4 version of this arcade game, you are in luck. Dissidia Final Fantasy NT has been officially announced via a Japanese online stream, just after it was leaked by Amazon of all places, with an expected worldwide release of early 2018. This version of the game is developed by Team Ninja, the Koei Tecmo studio known for Nioh, Ninja Gaiden and the Dead or Alive series.

In this edition of Square Enix non-news, the company is currently forecasting for their next two upcoming Japanese RPG blockbuster single player titles to launch somewhere "in the next three years or so". This was stated by CEO Yosuke Matsuda himself during an outline of the company's fiscal year 2017 performance (which has recently ended on the 31st March this year).

We've had a sneak preview of this song during the Frankfurt Fanfest back in February and now here is the full version of the "Revolutions" theme song for FFXIV's upcoming second expansion. Like with "Dragonsong" two years prior, it is in AMV form with footage from the expansion's main scenario itself, so for players who have yet to complete the main scenario up to this point or are averse to spoilers in general, bear this in mind. As has become traditional, Nobuo Uematsu and Susan Calloway returned to lend their talents once again, respectively as the song's composer and the vocalist.

No, this is not an April Fool's joke, though you're forgiven for initially thinking it is. I certainly did.

Game of War developer Machine Zone has been developing what is purportedly a Final Fantasy XV mobile MMO. With the Californian studio's claim to fame (and riches) being primarily Game of War, it's perhaps unsurprising that their take on FFXV looks like erm...Game of War? It essentially looks like a browser game where you build a town, upgrade it, send out armies and have garrisons on standby to push back against invaders who dare to march into your proud metropolis.