News

Does anyone remember The Last Remnant? It released in 2008 exclusively for the Xbox 360 (and PC shortly after) and was one of the very few HD JRPGs actually released by Square Enix during the previous generation. While the game is now no longer available on Steam, a remastered version for PlayStation 4 was announced and is scheduled to release digitally on the 6th of December this year in western territories.

Fans of the Tales of series may already know that long time series producer, Hideo Baba, left Bandai Namco following Tales of Zestiria to found and lead a new development studio under Square Enix's wing. The new Studio Istolia is currently working on a brand new original fantasy RPG tentatively titled Project Prelude Rune for the PlayStation 4 and as of this year's Tokyo Game Show, finally demonstrated a short sample of what the game and its main protagonist will look like.

It's lives!

For those of you unaware, Left Alive is a survival action shooter worked on by veteran leads such as Toshifumi Nabeshima (of Armored Core fame); Takayuki Yanase, who designed many mechs over the years, such as the ones in Mobile Suit Gundam 00 and Ghost in the Shell: Arise; and Yoji Shinkawa, whose distinctive artwork is recognised by many a fan of the Metal Gear Solid games. It serves as a spiritual successor to the Front Mission games, exchanging tactical RPG gameplay for a tactical shooter affair.

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.

All aboard the Gummi Ship for San Fransokyo!

Though we have known for a while that Big Hero 6 will be one of the playable worlds in Kingdom Hearts III along with fellow newcomers such as Tangled, Toy Story, Monsters Inc and Frozen, we've yet to actually see any footage of this world until now. With the Tokyo Game Show just around the corner, Square Enix Japan have released a new short teaser trailer. In it we are introduced to Hiro and Baymax of the film, other characters in the game's other worlds and of course, the overarching villains of the entire franchise.

The currently Japanese exclusive popular free-to-play mobile entry in the Star Ocean series of games is finally due to spread its wings and expand its presence beyond its home territories. Square Enix is apparently bringing Tri-Ace's Star Ocean: Anamnesis to western App stores for iOS and Android devices. True to the Star Ocean franchise, Anamnesis retains the familiar real-time 3D combat system and also promises co-op multiplayer battles on top of the freedom for players to choose the composition of their party squads using characters from across all mainline games.

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.

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!

In rather expected news, Square Enix have officially announced that the next installment in their Dragon Quest franchise will leave Japan to head for western shores sometime next year, under the moniker of Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age. No platforms have been announced for the western release.

An overview of the game was provided by Square Enix:

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.

It will five years after Kingdom Hearts III was officially announced, but Sora and friends will return in 2018, confirms Square Enix. In the meantime, you can enjoy this new trailer of the game and the confirmation that Pixar's Toy Story will be one of the game's worlds. You're used to Tom Hanks voicing Woody, but have you ever heard Japanese Woody?

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.

The elusive Kingdom Hearts III actually showed up with a new trailer at the Kingdom Hearts Orchestra -World Tour- event in Los Angeles. As the game will not appear at E3 2017 this year, this will be the only time we will see the game before next month's D23 Expo event on 15 July where Square Enix promise a new world announcement followed with yet another new trailer.

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...