Final Fantasy VII Rebirth will end at the most remembered point of Final Fantasy VII, which makes us suspect possible twists in the game.
RPGs tend to be long games. They aim to tell a story, often with many characters and involving decades or centuries of consequences from ancient acts, and that takes time. Just ask Final Fantasy. A franchise known for its short games that expand beyond 30 hours when you go straight to the main campaign. That’s why, although we’re excited about the announcement of the release date of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, we’re also worried. Worried about asking ourselves a question. How long will this game last? And the game’s creative director has answered us.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is the second part of the remake trilogy of the original Final Fantasy 7. This means that this game will not conclude the story, and therefore, we don’t know where it will end. However, we have Tetsuya Nomura to clarify, and he has explained in an interview on the PlayStation blog how far it will go.
According to him, the game will conclude in The Lost Capital. Those who have played the original game might be breaking into a cold sweat right now. It’s understandable. One of the most iconic events in the game takes place there. However, since Final Fantasy 7 Remake has substantially changed the story compared to the original game, it raises the question of whether the fate of our characters will be the same at the end of this Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. Because things can change.
Especially because Nomura has clarified that they have changed many things along the way. We won’t be visiting Wutai until the next installment of the game, and the order of other important locations will be changed. That’s why it’s not possible to know the exact content of the game, but from what is implied and what we could see in the trailer, it would be strange if there were less than 100 hours of content to complete the entirety of the game.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth will be released on February 29, 2024, on two discs. Its first part, Final Fantasy 7 Remake, is available for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC.
Does a successful game compensate if behind it there are dozens of projects that were left half-finished and others that did not recover the investment?
While it may sound like an urban legend, the name “Final Fantasy” was created due to two situations happening at the same time. On one hand, Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of the game, had given it this name as his last chance to succeed in the industry before returning to university. On the other hand, Square, the company itself, was on the brink of bankruptcy if the game didn’t succeed. Ironically, 36 years later, we find ourselves in somewhat similar circumstances.
And you might be thinking, “But how, when every ‘Final Fantasy‘ has been a success?” The answer lies in the fact that success is relative. Does the success of one game compensate for dozens of projects that were left unfinished and others that didn’t recoup their investment? The overall concept of the brand has been somewhat impoverished, and the failure of the sixteenth installment of the series hasn’t helped calm the waters, to say the least.
Since the release of ‘Final Fantasy XVI‘ until now, the company has lost 2 billion in value, but we shouldn’t look at that game as the sole reason for concern: the proliferation of mobile games filled with microtransactions is mixed with the absolute failure of games like ‘Forspoken’ or ‘Marvel’s Avengers.’
In fact, after updating for a while, the superhero game is closing its online version without much complaint from the gaming community. Square Enix‘s idea to address these setbacks is to reduce the number of small titles and focus on big-budget ones that can improve their profits. Or, though it’s not explicitly stated, to potentially sink them into misery for good.
The company’s failure, it is argued, lies in its own conception: at Square, games are placed under the command of a single producer who chooses absolutely everything about them. It’s one person’s vision, and that leads to what appears to be a concerning lack of organization. Perhaps after so many final fantasies, it’s time to put an end to the fantasy.
Fantasian is a game that was a critical and public success, but it never left Apple Arcade, but it seems that now it will come to Steam
Final Fantasy XVI has created a lot of division among fans. For every person who has loved it, there has been another person who has hated it, and its evident issues have been talked about even more than its numerous and glorious successes. For many people, it’s not a Final Fantasy, but for many others, it is. However, what we can all agree on is that we miss the classic games, with their turn-based combat, unique music, and that particular taste for innovation within 2D. Something that the creator of Final Fantasy also seemed to miss.
We say this because Fantasian, the latest game to date from Hironobu Sakaguchi, could be coming to Steam soon. Having been released exclusively for Apple Arcade in 2021, on August 2nd, a version of the game called “Fantasian Playtest” was listed on SteamDB. This indicates that the exclusivity with the Apple platform has indeed ended, and the game may arrive on PC in an indeterminate future.
In fact, this is a very real possibility according to recent statements from Sakaguchi himself. In an interview with IGN Japan during the Monaco Anime Game International Conferences 2023, he mentioned that he was aware that many people were asking for a PC port of Fantasian and that, in fact, it was something they themselves wanted. This desire also extended to the possibility of a sequel.
Fantasian is a game developed by Mistwalker, a studio founded by Sakaguchi in 2006. Its main focus is on being a turn-based role-playing game very similar to the classic Final Fantasy titles. It even boasts the legendary Nobuo Uematsu as the composer, who is known for creating the music for virtually all the Final Fantasy games up to IX.
Whether we will eventually see Fantasian on PC and when exactly remains a mystery. However, all signs point to the possibility that, with a bit of patience, we will soon be able to enjoy this game that has received critical acclaim and is being compared to Sakaguchi’s great classics.
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There may not be less hype for the game, or it may not even have sold less than the previous one, but the drop in week two is harder to explain.
Getting the predictions right for this year’s hits and misses is purely a matter of luck. ‘Indiana Jones’ is a failure, ‘Barbie’ is a success, ‘Zelda’ is a smash hit, and… what about ‘Final Fantasy XVI’? What’s happening with it? In a 2023 filled with blockbusters in film, television, and video games, it seems to have fallen victim to the lack of hype. Specifically, a person can only be excited about a certain number of things throughout the months. Or perhaps we are mistaken, and it has secretly been a huge success? Let’s analyze it.
Since the beginning of time,‘Final Fantasy’ sales have only gone up and up without limits. ‘Final Fantasy XV’ sold five million copies just on its release. Six years have passed since then, and the numbers are far from being as impressive now: in its first week, the sixteenth installment of the franchise had to settle for three million units. There are explanations, of course.
The first, the most obvious one: far fewer people have a PS5 compared to those who had a PS4. Additionally, ‘Final Fantasy XV’ was released simultaneously on Xbox One, and at that time digital sales (which are not accounted for) were much lower than they are now. And all of this is very true: it’s possible that there isn’t less hype for the game, or that it hasn’t even sold less than its predecessor, but the drop in the second week is harder to explain.
In Japan, the game sold 336,027 units in the first week, but for the second week, it dropped an incredible 88% to only 37,763 units, painting a rather bleak outlook for its future. It seems like everyone who wanted ‘Final Fantasy XVI’ has already purchased it, and now only residual sales remain. It’s not the only major country where it saw a decline from one week to another: in the UK, for example, it experienced a steep drop of 78% and was once again surpassed by ‘Tears of the Kingdom’, resulting in a double somersault with bruises.
The reception has not been as expected for a game in the franchise, partly due to its different gameplay style and partly because nothing on the screen resembles the ‘Final Fantasy’ we know. Perhaps with the price drop of the PS5, the fan base will grow and expand, but the future outlook for Square Enix doesn’t look promising. The question, at this point, is not whether there will be changes in ‘Final Fantasy XVII’, but rather… if there will be a ‘Final Fantasy XVII’ at all.
Yoshitaka Amano announces that his anime Deva Zan, which has been announced since 2010, has a future date… although it won’t be exactly soon
Yoshitaka Amano is an artist who, despite having a fascinating body of artwork and a long career as an illustrator, is particularly known for being the creator of logos and character designs for Final Fantasy. Defining the personality of one of the world’s most famous RPG franchises, his name is intimately and eternally linked to the franchise. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have other equally fascinating works. For example, his anime called Deva Zan.
While the project has been discussed since 2010, initially as a film, it has been at least ten years, since 2013, since we had any new information about the fate of Deva Zan. Until now. During Anime Expo 2023, which took place this weekend in California, it was announced that an anime series of Deva Zan will be released at some point after 2026. This means we will still have to wait for at least three more years to learn more about the project, with no specific date on the table yet.
While all of this may sound disappointing, we have to keep in mind that this project has been in an unknown state since 2010. And Amano himself has mentioned on several occasions that it was likely that we would learn more about it in a serialized format. Therefore, this change should not come as a surprise at all.
Regarding Deva Zan, all we know is what Amano published in an illustrated novel released by Dark Horse Comics, spanning around 240 pages. In this novel, set in the 19th century, a samurai named Zan is transported to an alternate dimension to battle evil. With a story full of action, seamlessly blending fantasy and the aesthetics of samurais, it has the potential to result in a spectacular anime with Amano’s unique style.
In any case, we will still have to wait to see it. But as we have mentioned before, considering that this project has been announced since 2010, a release date after 2026 doesn’t sound too far away after all.
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Naoki Yoshida, the director of 'Final Fantasy XVI', is open to doing something that would spell the end of the franchise as we know it.
It is curious that ‘Final Fantasy’ was, literally, the last game that Squaresoft was to launch before closing its doors and saved them to this day. The saga has seen more than 35 years of history through its 16 main installments (and countless spin-offs, revisitations and remakes). Now, Naoki Yoshida, the director of ‘Final Fantasy XVI‘, is open to doing something that would mean the end of the franchise as we know it.
And it has to do with the numbers that accompany each title. Just like the movies get rid of them after a certain installment (‘Halloween,’ ‘Evil Doll,’ ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’), Yoshida believes there are more cons than pros to continuing to number the games in the series: “A lot of gamers are going to go in and look at it like a comic book where you have to read from the beginning to know what’s going on now. It’s hard for marketing because every numbered title we release in the series we have to say, ‘Okay, you don’t have to play the rest.'” Mind you, ‘Final Fantasy VI’ you do have to play it. Not for continuity, but because it’s really good.
Ready to take all the blame and not foreseeing how protective fans are of his stuff, Yoshida continues, “Removing the numbers is something we’ve discussed. Maybe it’s time. For example, you have Final Fantasy XIV. You have a new player who comes in and says, ‘Wait a minute, why am I going to play Final Fantasy XIV if XVI just came out?’ Why don’t we just call it Final Fantasy Online and remove the title altogether? It’ll be easier to understand.” He’s not wrong, but I’ll be damned if I don’t want to be eighty years old and enjoy the kids trying to order ‘Final Fantasy XLVIII’ in the stores.
Yoshida directed the fourteenth part and has produced this one: although his career is mostly focused on making video games, he has also released three installments of his autobiography ‘Yoshida Uncensored’ and refuses to keep his opinions to himself because, after all, he’s past fifty and horribly doubts he’ll ever touch a single title in the franchise again: “Whether Final Fantasy XVII or XVIII would have to have a number or not, that’s going to be the problem of whoever develops it and whoever is in charge of the brand. That’s their problem, not ours!”. That’s called having charisma by doing evil.
By the way, ‘Final Fantasy XVI’ is coming out on June 22 so we hope you’re ready for the new game of the year of the week after ‘Tears of the Kingdom‘ and before ‘GTA VI’. These are tough years for our gamers’ wallet.
This new installment of the Square saga is giving people something to talk about because it promises to be a game for adults in which we will find drugs, scenes of torture, sex, prostitution, and hate crimes.
There’s a month and a half to go until the release of ‘Final Fantasy XVI’ and, apart from repeating the cycle of every Final Fantasy (fans saying that the previous one was the good one and this one isn’t), this new instalment of Square’s saga is really getting people talking because it promises to be a game for adults in which we’ll find drugs, torture scenes, sex, prostitution and hate crimes. It’s like a crossover between Final Fantasy and ‘GTA‘. However, there is one country that has gone beyond “for adults”: it has erased it from existence.
According to ESRB, the US rating system, the voices saying it’s too edgy aren’t lying: there will be moaning in a hotel room, dialogue like “I’d be happy to show you… if you can afford it”, half-exposed asses and breasts, and words like “fuck” and “shit”. OK, yes, we don’t think it’s anything to shout about either, but it was enough to give it an M rating, i.e. recommending that children under 17 stay away from it. PEGI, for its part, has also rated it for 18+.
Of course, the essentials of the game are still there: orcs, magic, swords, fireballs, that sort of thing. After all, it’s still ‘Final Fantasy‘, even if there are suddenly scenes written by a fifteen year old. However, in Saudi Arabia, the company in charge of rating the game has refused to do so and, consequently, the game will not be released and will remain unreleased in the country.
The reason is that Square has steadfastly refused to censor the game and make the necessary modifications to make it look good, so the hardcore fans out there may already be preparing “alternative ways” to get it. Wink, wink. The ratings body hasn’t said exactly what it is that’s been bothering them, but rumour has it that it’s a homosexual couple. Frankly, good for Square. There’s money to be made that isn’t worth stooping for.
This is not the first game to be censored in Saudi Arabia, which has a long tradition of banning experiences for the most bizarre reasons. For example, ‘The last of us II’ had a homosexual couple, ‘Dead rising 2’ had gambling and nudity, ‘God of war’ had religious and sexual content and ‘Spec Ops: The Line’ had a fictional representation of Dubai. There are many others, including ‘Roblox‘ or ‘Injustice: Gods Among Us’, and ‘Final Fantasy XVI’ is just one more on the list.
Not least because Saudi Arabian laws apparently don’t follow censorship enforcement and games end up appearing in shops without anything happening, so fans of Japanese RPGs in the country will probably be able to get their hands on it anyway. The censorship issue is a curious one: for example, no games were banned in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2021, except for one, with the idea of protecting the younger generation from a bad influence. You’re thinking of ‘Manhunt 2’ or ‘Carmageddon’, right? Well, it was PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. What you have to see.
Whether waiting for you on the highest mountain, or behind locked doors, these video game bosses are shrouded in mystery, and we love them.
There’s nothing in gaming that gets your heart pumping more than a boss fight. Standing between you and the end of the stage, bosses push your skill, strategy, and reflexes to the absolute limit.
In most games, the most difficult fight in the game is against the final boss. Some games, however, feature incredibly difficult secret boss fights that most players will miss on their first playthrough. These boss fights are often game-breakingly difficult, and beating one of them is a rite of passage to calling yourself a master of that game. Here are a few of the best of these mysterious but brutal encounters.
Top 5 secret video game boss fights
5. Reptile (Mortal Kombat)
I am Reptile, find me!
Mortal Kombat is known for its secrets more than any other fighting game. Creator Ed Boon loved messing with his players by including false hints and teases to characters that didn’t exist. This caused many kids to spend hours at the arcade trying to find hidden fighters, wasting quarter after quarter. One secret character that did actually exist, however, was Reptile.
Occasionally, the green ninja would pop in before a fight and say something cryptic like “Look to La Luna” (fight in the stage with the moon) or “TIP EHT FO MOTTOB” (“bottom of the pit” spelled backward). If the player successfully deciphered his messages and followed his instructions you will actually get the opportunity to fight him.
To fight Reptile, you must get a double flawless victory without blocking in single player on the pit stage, and uppercut your opponent into the spikes.
Using moves from both Sub-Zero and Scorpion, Reptile is no slouch. Though you won’t unlock the ability to play as him, beating Reptile gave you the ultimate arcade bragging rights.
VIDEO IS NSFW
4. Morgan Freeman (South Park: The Fractured But Whole)
Listen to my voice, Gaze at my freckles, Guess what? You’ve just been Freeman’d
Every boss fight in South Park: The Fractured But Whole is bizarre, but even then the game’s secret boss fight against Morgan Freeman stands out as strange.
Morgan Freeman has retired from his storied Hollywood career to run a humble taco shack in South Park. Throughout the game, he serves as a friendly NPC, and the player can purchase various items from him.
However, if you walk behind the counter and hit him three times you’ll immediately start the hardest boss fight in the entire game. It’s recommended that you challenge him after you beat the game, as you’ll need every powerful summon and ability you can get for this fight. The man with the golden voice doesn’t play around.
VIDEO IS NSFW… obviously
3. Red (Pokémon Gold and Silver)
…!
Kids back in 1999 were shocked to discover that beating Pokémon Gold and Silver unlocked the ability to travel to the Kanto region, which is the area featured in Pokémon Red and Blue.
The player can explore the entire region to obtain eight additional gym badges and loads of new Pokémon. Collecting all 16 gym badges unlocks access to a new area called Mt. Silver, an incredibly difficult dungeon complete with brutal wild Pokémon. Fighting your way through this long and grueling dungeon reveals a summit with a lone familiar figure. Without saying a word, Red from the original games challenges you to a battle.
Red is the protagonist of Pokémon Red and Blue. Armed with a full party that includes Charizard, Blastoise, Venusaur, and an insanely over-leveled Pikachu, Red presents arguably the toughest boss fight in the entire series. Finding the character you journeyed with through Red and Blue was shocking at the time, and taking him down was an accomplishment that few trainers could achieve.
2. Giga Bowser (Super Smash Bros. Melee)
Good luck defeating this colossus!
The Smash Bros. series is no stranger to bosses. Whether it be the mysterious Master Hand or the all-powerful Tabuu, the series has a treasure trove of original boss characters.
If you beat the Adventure Mode in Melee in under 18 minutes with no continues, you’re treated to a terrifying cutscene of Bowser transforming into Giga Bowser. You also have to play on a difficulty higher than normal.
Giga Bowser is more than twice as big as Bowser, and features more powerful attacks. Unlike Master Hand, Giga Bowser has a percentage meter instead of an HP meter, meaning that he must be knocked off stage to be defeated. This makes for a much more difficult fight.
Series creator Masahiro Sakurai based Giga Bowser’s design off of what he imagined when he first saw Bowser’s sprite in the original Super Mario Bros.
1. Culex – Super Mario RPG
I am matter… I am antimatter… I can see your past… I can see your future… I consume time… And I will consume you!
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars was the first ever RPG set in the Mushroom Kingdom. Developed by Square, known for the Final Fantasy series, the game saw players exploring Mario’s wacky world and battling foes in turn-based battles.
Players mostly battled colorful characters straight out of past Mario games like Goombas, Koopas, and Piranha Plants. However, if the player gets a Shiny Stone and opens the locked door in Monstro Town they can fight a very, VERY un-Mario character.
Enter Culex: a purple demon with the power to control matter and time. Take another look at the character and keep in mind that you fight him in a Mario game.
Culex is a reference to Square’s own Final Fantasy series. Though he does not appear in the Final Fantasy series himself, the character’s grand design and tiny overworld sprite is a reference to the franchise.
The battle music from Final Fantasy IV even plays as you fight him, and the famous Final Fantasy victory music plays after you defeat him. Culex has two characterizations depending on if you played the English or Japanese version of Super Mario RPG. Culex is the hardest enemy in the game by far and has more health than the final boss’s two forms combined.
No matter which version you play, Culex is one of the hardest boss fights in any Mario game.
Wrapping up
For all of these titles, the core game is more than enough. The bonus hidden boss was just a cherry on top of the sundae. We are glad that they are there, and we hope we might find more in the future.
What’s your favorite secret boss battle ever? Let us know!
Ready to tie the virtual knot? Here are the benefits to your game.
Marriage in MMOs can be a confusing topic. Some may not want to get married, even in a virtual sense, unless it’s to their actual real-life spouse. A select few have even had their virtual ceremony stand in place of their real-life wedding. Others, on the other hand, may choose to get married for the various benefits that an MMO has to give to a married couple.
Either way, there are some MMOs that stand out in particular as being amazing choices for anyone looking for a digital ceremony. And on top of that, if you’re an avid player of any of these games, then you’re sure to enjoy the plethora of bonuses you can receive with your in-game partner. Below are some of the most prominent MMOs to feature marriage systems, and some benefits to getting married in them.
Often overlooked as the older Final Fantasy MMO, FFXI is a little out of date when it comes to most things, and MMO marriages is one of them. With no more updates to come, it is one of the only MMOs to be surely static in its lack of marriage benefits. The wedding ceremony is good for those who like the graphics of slightly older PC games as well as traditional Final Fantasy games.
Unlike most MMO weddings, the vows are able to be selected from a few options, making the wedding somewhat role-playable. Outside of the wedding, however, there isn’t much benefit to getting married, and characters are restricted to opposite-sex marriages. Hopefully, with Final Fantasy XI coming to mobile in the next few years, we can expect the marriage system to be redone as well.
This MMO features a very traditional Chinese-style wedding. As it is based in feudal China, it makes sense that it has stuck to the customs of its time. Though not ideal for some, marriages can only be held between a male and female character, after the male proposes to the female. Players can even see a matchmaker to arrange their weddings for them.
The main advantage of getting married in Age of Wushu is the elaborate wedding. Depending on how much you plan to spend, the weddings can be some of the most illustrious scenes of the game. The main marriage benefits are the ability to teleport to your spouse, and some exclusive titles.
Overall, this marriage is ideal for those looking for an elaborate in-game wedding, or looking to receive all titles available, but not necessarily for those looking for deeper gameplay. Also note, the male character must pay for the betrothal gift (the proposal item), and the fees for a divorce if there is one.
For most MMOs, the main attraction of getting married is the elaborate wedding, with a few little benefits on the side. MapleStory flips this by having a simple wedding with some pretty decent marriage benefits. Uniquely, they feature a spousal chat that’s separate from the other chat-types, making it easier to have a distinct conversation with your partner without needing type in their name for whispering frequently. Additionally, there are special quests for married couples that give unique and strong benefits to each partner. This alone is the reason that many people get married in MapleStory, and some even choose to marry their own alternate characters just for this.
Unfortunately, there is no same-sex marriage in this game either, meaning you will have to find an opposite-sex character to marry in the game (this game also doesn’t feature the ability to reroll character gender/traits like in many other MMOs, so if you’ve already made your character one gender and want to marry someone who has a character of the same gender, then you’re out of luck).
While World of Warcraft may not feature a formal marriage system, its free-to-play counterpart does. Often compared to the giant WoW, one of Rift’s many cosmetic differences is in its wedding ceremony. Though almost all benefits are cosmetic, the marriage provides some unique achievements and equipment that can only be obtained that way. The wedding is surprisingly optional, though definitely recommended if you’re into them. It features a unique tribal-like ritual with a strong connection to nature that isn’t always seen in-game weddings. Marriages also have no race or gender restrictions in this game.
While most MMOs that have a marriage system allow you to marry another player, Star Wars: The Old Republic actually has you marry an NPC. Throughout the game, you are given the option to romance various NPC companions that join you on either side. Originally class and gender restricted, you’re now able to choose between a large variety of companions to romance.
While this marriage is mostly valued for its story elements, getting married to a character can also boost certain skills and rewards that the character can yield. As such, it can also be a strategic choice to marry someone you find useful. This is also one of the few MMO marriages to not be shown on screen.
Not only will Skyrim fans be happy to see that ES:O has marriage, but it also features one of the best marriage benefit systems of any MMO. If both you and your spouse are online with your wedding ring equipped, you each receive a 10% experience bonus to everything you do. This makes leveling much easier, and can speed up the process for pretty much everything in the game. The ceremony is a pretty simple one, however, being more about soul-binding than actually marrying someone.
As far as in-game weddings go, Final Fantasy’s Eternal Bonding Ceremony has got to be one of the most extravagant out there. With no gender-based restrictions, players have the choice between three different ceremonies, each with their own benefits and rewards.
The marriage system in FFXIV allows for the player to teleport to their partner for free, and also gives a plethora of rewards they can receive. These rewards are mostly cosmetic, but include a unique two-seater mount. The main benefit to getting married in Final Fantasy XIV is the extravagant and customizable wedding, as it rivals many real-life weddings in terms of quality and elegance.
Interestingly, same-sex unions in MMOs are typically supported by the fanbase, and but some companies defer because of political reasons (for example, MapleStory owner Nexon does not include same-sex marriages in its game because of Korean politics). Despite this, many fans argue for same-sex unions, since most MMOs have a higher rate of female characters in them, such as in Guild Wars 2. Even games that have a higher male fanbase tend to have more female characters. This is most likely why more recent MMOs have begun to allow these marriages, along with changing North American politics.
Sadly, there are many great MMOs out there without a marriage system, including the ever-popular World of Warcraft. That hasn’t stopped hundreds of players from performing their own wedding ceremonies, especially for the players who are married in real life as well. No matter what MMO you’re interested in, there is a way to create the perfect wedding for you (just be careful what server you’re on if you don’t want uninvited guests).
