Speaking in a 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:new interview with GamesRadar+ on all things Occult Crescent, Final🍬 Fantasy 14 assistant director Tsuyoshღi Yokozawa and battle content designer Daisuke Nakagawa say that, although reactions to their initial reveal of the new entry in the MMO's growing series of Field Operations came too late to "impact" development, Square Enix received quite a lot of feedback on previous iterations like Eureka and Save the Queen that helped.

"When we announced that we'd be adding the Occult Crescent, our planning and some implementation were already underway, so there was no direct impact on development," state the devs. "That said, we received a great deal of feedback on previous Field Operations, and the impact of this feedback has been extremely significant on the development of this content." That's not all, though – Field Operations have proven more popular than expected.

In fact, many fans were waiting for more since the close of Endwalker and the later arrival of 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Dawntrail. "The requests for Field Operations that contওinue from Endwalker were reiterated by the many voices of anticipation we received when we announced the implementation of the Occult Crescent," explain Yokozawa and Nakagawa. "We feel that player demand and enthusiasm have increased compared to when we originally released Eureka."

The two describe the surge in interest in Field Operations – one I'm sure will continue with Occult Crescent now, as a longtime player myself. "Back then, we thought it would be the kind of content that would really resonate with the select people who love the concept - but now, Field Operations serve as a major type of content in Final Fantasy 14, and it feels like even more players than we expected are looking forward to the next piece."

Looking for something else to play? Here are the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best MMORPGs available to try now.

"The development of Field Operations continues to evolve with community feedback obtained through the release of Eureka and Sav🐬e the Queen, and our work on the Occult Crescent is no exception," explain the developers, stating that implementing such content was "extremely challenging" at first. The main attraction of Field Operations, as they say, "is that you can feel the presence of other players while playing the content."

That's the draw of content like Eureka, and now Occult Crescent. "These connections develop organically – e🌠ither as a loose association or something more tight-knit, depending on how you play," say the devs. The "new form of content" that came in the form of Eureka and subsequent Field Operations succeeded. "As it turned out, a good portion of the community understood what we were going for, and we rece🌳ived a lot of positive feedback."

To this day, as the two point out, "There is still a core Eureka player base, showing how much people love the content even now." Its release proved "there is a certain level of demand for this style of content." Not all feedback was positive, however – and Square Enix took it all into ac♍count while developing later Field Operations. "On the other hand, we also received a lot of negative feedback about gameplay being unclear and/or the content being boring."

Second draft

The team used both positive and negative feedback to refine Save the Queen's own content, with a goal of making it more accessible, "especially for players who want 🎀to play Field Operations in a more casual way." Reception, while overall posဣitive, was still a mixed bag with some fans thinking "there were not enough core elements to keep them invested for longer" after post-Eureka and pre-Save the Queen changes.

"This resulted in a lack of content that people could really sink time into and a lower degree of freedom," recall Yokozawa and Nakagawa. "In Save the Queen, we incorporated im꧑provements on issues we experienced with Eureka, and encountered new issues raised from the community's feedback." That's where Occult Crescent comes in. "We took it upon ourselves to conduct another thorough investigation into the good and the bad of Eureka and Save the Queen, and further evolved the good points, and made corrections to improve the bad points."

How did the devs do so? "First of all, we have added more variety to the gameplay than was in Eureka and Save the Queen. We wanted to create a place where players could do what they feel like when they feel like it – wh🍸ether that's creating a goal ahead of time for themselves or just diving right in and having fun wandering around." The two also discuss the integration of Phantom Jobs, and how they add to the latest of the Field Operations' experience.

"In addition, the Phantom Jobs are one of the major elements of the Occult Crescent, and there is truly a wide range of jobs that can be freely swapped around depending on the situation," describe Yokozawa and Nakagawaꦆ. "The act𝐆ions and abilities are very effective, and we believe that even if you cannot skilfully master them, you will feel their effects."

How did fans' reactions following the Occult Crescent reveal impact development, though? Not too much, apparently. "When we announced that we'd be adding the Occult Crescent, our planning and some implementation were already underway, so there was noꦑ direct impact on development," the devs admit. "That said, we received a great deal of feedback on previous Field Operations, and the impact of this feedback has been extremely significant on the development of this content."

The popularity of Field Operations also came as a surprise. "We feel that player demand and enthusiasm have inc🅠reased compared to when we originally released Eureka. Back then, we thought it would be the kind of content that would really resonate with the select people who love the concept – but now, Field Operations serve as a major type of content in FFXIV, and it feels like even more players than we expected are looking forward to the next piece."

Field Operations, including Occult Crescent, are likely becoming more popular thanks to the feedback taken on board by devs. "The Occult Crescent has been improved based on feedback from the community to make it even easier to enjoy, with a high degree of freedom in how you can ꦛplay it. We hope those kinds of players will be sure to try iไt out whenever they're in the mood and see how they like it for themselves."

Some of these improvements are reward-related, with Yokozawa and Nakagawa suggesting that especially dedicated fans give obtaining them all a go. "In the Occult Crescent, we have increased the amount of new ite𒆙ms compared to previous Field Operations. The more time you play, the more items you will naturally acquire, so we encourage completionists to see if they can obtain them all."

That's not the only fun suggestion the two devs have, either. "For those of you who want to explore absolutely eve♔rything on offer, we recommend 🍃trying your hand at conquering the Forked Tower. There are, of course, exclusive items that can be obtained by clearing the Forked Tower, and the more you master Phantom Jobs and enhance your content-specific equipment, the easier it'll become to clear."

In other words, "the more you grind, the higher your chances of success" – a mantra to live by as a frequenter of Fields Operations, for sure.

Looking for something else to play? Here are the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best MMORPGs available to try now.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade - the second part of the remake trilogy - appeared at the Xbox Game Showcase, with Square Enix announcing that Cloud and co would be available on Xbox Series X|S this winter. There's no exact release date for that just yet, but we do know that it's arriving this winter, so that should mean a launch somewhere in the next six to nine mon✨ths.

That shou🌠ld give you just about enough time to play the other Final Fantasy game that's heading to Xbox. Final Fantasy 16, which originally launched on PS5 in June 2023 before making the jump to PC in September 2024, will be available on Xbox later today. For a massive JRPG li♔ke that, six months feels like a decent amount of time to make your way through everything.

If you're an Xbox fan who's been holding out on Final Fantasy over the past few years, then you're in for a treat. Our 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Final Fantasy 16 review said it "stands among the series' greats", while our 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Final Fant🙈asy 7 Rema꧅ke Intergrade review described "a loving reimagining of the original." Both of those were 9/10 scores, so you know you're getting a whole heap of eඣxcellent JRPG gameplay. And the fact that you'll pretty much get to stack them back-to-back means that if you want, you could probably be playing a pair of genre bangers for a whole chunk of the rest of this year.

Never miss an announcement with our 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Summer Game Fest 2025 schedule.

"If the penalty for a crime is a fine, then that law only exists for the lower class." It's a line many Final Fantasy Tactics fans know well, but there's a catch to it – it never actually appears in the 1997 RPG from Square Enix. Aftermath explored into believing it tru🐲ly originated from the game in 2023, only to later present in Final Fantasy Tactics – the very one turned into a meme by .

"What purpose do ൩laws serve when even those who would enforce them choose not to pay them heed?" That's the real in-game line൩, but according to Final Fantasy Tactics director Yasumi Matsuno, the one more commonly shared isn't exactly unrealistic, either. "I found the line that became an internet meme interesting," writes the lead in a new , going on to recite the viral "penalty for a crime" quote known so well in the community.

"Of course, this line was not written by me, nor is it a line in Final Fantasy Tactics," admits Matsuno. "However, it certainly sounds like something I would have written. It's a😼 shame I didn't know about this funny line until today." Replies under the director's post mention just how many folks actually believed the meme's line was real, prompting Matsuno to respond that it might simply be because a majority of players didn't get far in-game.

"Wiegraf is very popular," he jokes. "I am sure it is because many players stop playing at Chapter 1." Elsewhere in the comments, Matsuno addr🐼esses a fan's question about politics in Final Fantasy Tactics, saying that while the line and themes surrounding it can be perceived as political, the RPG's primary purpose is to entertain its players: "It's entertainment, so whether or not it's political,꧑ the important thing is whether or not it's entertaining."

There's no telling what the line will look like in The Ivalice Chronicles come the remake's big release on September 30 this year, but one thing's for certain – there are likely bound to be plenty of new memes made by fans to enjoy and speculate about post-launch.

Need something to look forward to? Here are some 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:new games coming this year and beyond.

One of the best things from 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:PlayStation State of Play during Summer Game Fest 2025 was Square Enix finally announcing the long-rumored Final𝔉 Fantasy T𒐪actics remake. Square Enix has some additional good news regarding the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Nintendo Switch 2 edition of the game.

If you haven't been paying attention, the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Nintendo Switch 2 Editions of original Switch games are a bit of a convoluted case. For games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Party Jamboree, you'll need to pay an upgrade fee to get the Switch 2 version. Nintendo's own games are often a $10 or $20 upgrade depending on how much is added, while others like Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Sღteals Time are only charging $2.50. No Man's Sky decided to skirt the fee alto🌠gether, giving the upgrade for free.

Hello Games is about to have company, as Square Enix has confirmed on its (via ) that Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicl𒈔es will have a free Switch 2 upgrade for owners of the original Switch version. And considering the is a code in a box, that's a relief. Now you can buy the more robust Switch version 🥀and just upgrade.

Curiously, Dragon Quest 1+2 HD-2D remake – which was also recently confirmed t🐎o be getting a Switch 2 releas🀅e – doesn't have this disclaimer on its page. Hopefully thi🐼s is something Square changes as we get closer to launch🎃.

"The will to resist is in your hands": Final Fantasy Tactics writer puts capitalism on blast as the strategy RPG returns nearly 30 years later to a world still filled with "inequality and division."

Way back in September 2021, 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Nvidia confirmed that a massive list of games dug out of the GeForce Now app was real, but it cal🍒led the listings "both releꩵased and/or speculative" as a bit of a smokescreen. No surprise there.

The list, , sounded ridiculous. A made-up wishlist of PC ports that will surely never happen. And when you cast a net that wide, from former PlayStation exclusives to XCOM 3 to a new Metro, you're bound to catch something. But I'll be dam♑ned if i🐲t doesn't keep coming true.

Before Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles, 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:it was Tactics Ogre: Reborn. It was 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers. It was 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Kingdom Hearts 4, sort of. Now, fully cognizant that some, if not most, of this could be sheer coincidence born of the games industry's predictable release patterns, I'm wondering once again if it might one day be F🉐inal Fantasy 9.

A purported Final Fantasy 9 remake raised more eyebrows than most games mentioned in the Nvidia l🥃eak. Years later, i✃t sometimes feels like fans and conspiracy theorists are still just betting that we can all collectively manifest it if we cope hard enough.

We don't have any hard evidence of a Final Fantasy 9 remake existing in any form, either as a project in active development, even pre-production, or simply as an idea on a whiteboard somewhere in the Square Enix offices. 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Rumors have swirled for years, as rumors do. If Square Enix s𒁏o 𝄹much as farts on the ninth day of any month, fans will record it for the archives.

The Nvidia leak is arguably the most convincing snippet there is, and for all my copium it's frankly not that convincing. Tons of those leaked games have not magically materialized and almost certainly never will. But Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles, an idea that seemed far-fetched just days ago, makes the what if that much harder to resist.

For a brief and shining moment, Bravely Default's Nintendo Switch 2 remaster looked a🌠 little like Final Fantas🐈y 9. (I'm also very excited about this remaster.) A comforting mirage in the desert that fans have, admittedly, partly built for themselves. Final Fantasy 14 and 16 boss Yoshi-P 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:knows fans want a Final Fantasy 9 remaওke, but doubts it would wor🍸k as a single title, and frankly, would rather revisit Final Fantasy 3⛦ himself. (A fair choice!)

A Final Fantasy 9 remake does feel inevitable in some ways. I'd expect Square Enix to do the whole dang series at some point, if only because the remasters and remakes sell well enough to warrant it. And it is fun to relive these games, and it's good to see them become more accessible on modern platforms, particularly with the treatment given to The Ivalice Chronicles, which includes a near shot-for-shot port of the base game alongside an enhanced version. I probably would've told you in 2021 that FF9R would eventually, likely ha😼ppen.ဣ This week, Nvidia and Square Enix have just teamed up to make me dream all over again.

Final Fantasy 14 devs just went ahead with their FF9 homage because otherwise they would have been "waiting and waiting" for the rumored JRPG remake to show up.

At yesterday's 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:State of Play, Square Enix finally put the rumors to rest and revealed Final 💜Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles, which bundles the original game as it was alongside an enhanced𝔍 version that features full voice actin🅠g, revamped menus, extra scenes, and more.

A new developer now gives us insight into who's actually making the remaster and - surprised Pikachu face - it's more or🤪 le꧑ss the same people who made the original almost 30 years ago.

The game's original director and writer, Yasumi Matsuno, is back to pen the script, as is art director Hiroshi Minagawa. Final Fantasy 16's creative director, Kazutoyo Maehiro, was actually part of the original team at the very start of his career, but he's now directing the♏ re-🍨release. Talk about an upgrade.

"Almost 30 yꩵears have passed since then, and I now find myself working on Final Fantasy Tactics once again as the director," Maehiro says. "I feel that what we have 🦂created together is worthy of being called the quintessential version of Final Fantasy Tactics."

"For this upcoming title, we tried to respect the feeling of the original while also reworking the game with a modern interpretation," Minagawa added. "Of course, aside from the visual evolution, we believe♍ the addition of superb voice acting will immerse you even deeper into the troubles and grievances of the pixel-art characters, right down to their very breaths."

"We have worked together with a new generation of development staff to enhance and revive the world crafted by the original team of creators all꧑ those years ago,"🎉 he noted.

"The will to resist is in your hands": Final Fantasy Tactics writer puts capitalism on blast as the strategy RPG returns nearly 30 years later to a world still filled with "inequality and division"

The retweet was captured on the , since if you look at now you꧙'ll simply see his laments over Final Fantasy 14 mahjong matches. One would assume, of course, that Matsuno deleted his retweet to stave off any ꦏundue speculation, but naturally this has all had the opposite effect.

You can browse that Reddit thread for yourself if you want to enjoy varying degrees of copium and hopium from fans, but the sentiment is probably best summed up by : "So you're saying there's a ch𓆉ance."

Rumors of a Final Fantasy Tactics started circling when it appeared among the games list💜ed in a big Nvi▨dia leak from 2021. The company called ✤the game listin💙gs from that leak "speculative" at the time, but many of those them have since proven to be real, including Square Enix remasters like those for Chrono Cross and Tactics Ogre.

If you want a little extra fuel for the fire – in 2024, Bloomberg's Jason Schreier noted in a that "the Final Fantasy Tactics remaster is real and happening." Today, Schreier is about Final Fantasy Tactics. Take that as you will, but beware joining the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Hollow Knight Silksong community in the pits of unending despair.

If this remaster is real it would, of course, be the second major rerelease for Final Fantasy Tactics, which was previously upgraded for a 2007 PSP release called War of the Lions. It's one of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best PSP games ever made and wꩵould certainly givဣe a fine base for an even more modern remaster.

State of Play gives us an early stop on the road to Summer Game Fest. Check out the full 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Summer Game Fest schedule 2025 for everything you can expect this week.

Preservationists have just hit a major new milestone 🔯in the quest to save Before Crisis, resurrecting the title's Chocobo racing minigame. "Here is most likely some of the first-ever footage of Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII Chocobo Racing in action," as hacker Yuvi says in the description of the YouTube video below. (Thanks, .)

"I've been on a mission toཧ resurrect this game and the n🌊etwork-heavy servers it needs," Yuvi continues. "This is just one of the many features currently working in the game."

Keitai preservation is a wild scene, as the people working to save these games spend their time importing Japanese flip phones and cracking them, mostly simply hoping that there'll still be some as-yet-undiscovered game left on the device's memory. We've previously covered the efforts to save a 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Xenosaga RPG, a 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:lost Professor Layton game, and an 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:impressive King's Field port, but as you migh꧂t imagine, a canonical entry in a story as beloved as Final Fantasy 7 has drawn a lot of extra interest.

Before Crisis has proven 🔯particularly difficult to preserve because it was released in episodes, and many of its features had to check in with Square Enix's servers in order to operate. With old episodes being regularly deleted to free up the tiny bits of storage space available on keitai phones, even finding one with Before Crisis installed would leave you with an incomplete game, never mind the work you'd have to do to make sure the online-tied features worked.

Yet sti🐼ll, little by little, more of Before Crisis is being saved. "This was thanks to a P900iV that I secured," according to f♕rom Naoya, another member of the keitai preservation scene. "The more copies we find, the more we can recover." Here's hoping the keitai scene manages to continue this run of good luck.

Some of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best JRPGs ever made have notable keitai spin-offs.

That comes from producer and director Yoji Fujito, 💧who has been speaking about what the future of the original Final Fantasy MMO might have looked like if things played out a bit diff🌊erently.

Speaking to𒁃 , Fujito reveals that at one point prior to Final💧 Fantasy XI’s 20th anniversary in 2022, Square Enix considered ending support for it as a living game. "There was a real possibility that 2024 would be the year updates would come to an end, with the game shifting into a so-called maintenance mode, where only system upkeep would be performed," he shares (via ).

Expanding further, Fujito says that the original idea was to wrap things up after The Voracious Resurgence 🍌storyline came to a close in 2024. On top of that, the producer recalls that the thought of shutting Final Fantasy 11 down entirely was also floated as the MMO was reaching its server lifetime.

Thankfully, that didn't happen as fans continued to invest time and money into Final Fantasy 11, with the dev team receiving "a lot of support" to keep it going for the long term. "We thought, if The Voracious Resurgence wrapped up and FF11 clearly started losing its momentum, then maybe we really should prepare to en𝓀d it," Fujito explains. "But that didn’t happen. I took this as a sign that we should keep running the game."

And so, Final Fantasy 11 lives on. Alongside an ongoingไ collaboration with MMO sibling Finꦓal Fantasy 14, FF11 is also getting vari🐷ous tweaks and adjustments that include making it more friendlier to play solo and the With fans continuing to show up and support the game, hopefully FF11 has plenty of life in it ꧒yet.

Discord's creator is such a Final Fantasy 11 fan he essentially created the entire platform just to talk to friends while playing the MMO.

The 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Nintendo Switch 2 Direct featured a metric ton of exciting announcements for the upcoming console. Of course, there was 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Mario Kart World and 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Donkey Kong Bananza doing the heavy lifting on Nintendo's side of 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:upcoming Switch 2 games, but the amount of ma♌ssive third-party support shown was impressive.

Not only did FromSoftware's 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Elden Ring and a brand new exclusive from the studio, 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:The Duskbloods, get revealed,ꦇ but we finally saw Square Enix let Final Fantasy 7 Rema♋ke escape PlayStation and finally come to another console, with the first title of the remake project arriving on Nintendo Switch 2.

However, the natural question on everyone's mind is will the sequel, 2024's 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, and the currently unannounced third entry in the remake trilogy make the jump to Nintendo's new console, too? Square Enix 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:has hinted at it, w꧑ith the game's director Naoki Hamaguchi telling fans to "look forward to the continued development of the FF7 Remake series" when the port was announced.

Now, speaking in the , Hamaguchi dropped some more crumbs of hope for fans looking for a Switch 2 release of Rebirth and beyond. The director described his first time seeing the Nintendo Switch 2, stating his intrigue with the system's new features and specs, befo🎶re saying, "I felt it would have enough power to run the Final Fantasy 7 remake series I was creating."

Meanwhile, the video ends with Hamaguchi saying, "I hope players are looking forward to the Finalಞ Fantasy 7 remake series on Nintendo Switch 2."

While it may be inevitable to some that Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth will eventually make its way to the system, having some semblance of a confirmation that it's on the cards for Nintendo Switch 2 is nice. Although, as always it's best to just wait it out and see what happens, and if not, you can 𝄹always give it a go on Steam Deck.

Keeping up with all the latest 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Nintendo Switch 2 news? Be sure to check out our Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order live blog too to keep an eye on the new console's stock levels.

The biggest factors in Expedition 33's success are its lovable characters, great combat, and relatively low $50 price tag, as Rhys Elliott of Alinea Analyticsꦑ tells . But he adds that "there was also an opening for a modern, realistic-looking JRPG🌊" with a traditional battle system.

"Square Enix was reticent to do it with the Final Fantasy series," Elliott continues. "Now it's probably kicking itself. Expedition 33 has given RPG fans something they always wanted. If you asked Final Fantasy fans from the🔯 late '90s/early '00s what the ideal ver♊sion of a JRPG should look like, it'd be something like this."

Back in 2022, Final Fantasy 16 producer Naoki Yoshida told GamesRadar+ that he unde▨rstood the appeal of turn-based combat – after all, he came up alongside that style of 🌞gameplay just as series fans did – but he equally seemed to believe that action-based battles were a far better fit for games with realistic graphics.

"ꦿOne thing that we found recently is that as graphics get better and better, and as characters become more realistic and more photo-real, is that the combination of that realism with the very unreal sense of turn-based commands doesn't really fit together," Yoshida said at the time. "You have this kind of strang🃏e gap that emerges."

Yoshida didn't attribute the decision to go all-in on action for FF16 to any sales directive, but there has historically been a feeling in the game industry that action games sell better than turn-based ones. Larian publishing director Michael Dose recently lamented how difficult it is to convince people that "your turn-b♈ased RPG will sell," ಞbut Baldur's Gate 3 certainly proved that there's still an appetite for that style of game. Expedition 33 is ably proving that the JRPG fandom's hunger is 𓃲still alive, too.

According to Elliot, Expedition 33's sales are measur🙈ing up more than favora🐲bly against Metaphor: ReFantazio, the biggest turn-based JRPG in recent memory, and that game offers its own lessons on the power of old-school combat.

"One of the main selling points of a turned based battle system is the fact that players can take their time to think about the action they should take, and then in turn receive appropriate feedback based on those choices," Metaph✤or's lead battle planner Kenichi Goto told GamesRadar+ earlier this year, noting that games where you make "one wrong move and everything's loꦡst" offer their own k💞ind of thrill.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I hope the success of all these game🌱s helps to prove that there is, indeed, a market for turn-based RPGs, and not a niche one. I'm as desperate as anyone for Final Fantasy to return to its roots, but in the meantime there are still excellent games like Expedition 33 to fill the void.

These are the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best JRPGs you can play today.

Square Enix has for years been open about ༒how it's remaking its iconic JRPG in three parts, and with Remake and Rebirth already out, a finale is up next. But the threequel appears to be progressing much faster than expected, as remade Cloud's voice actor Cody Christian recently posted a picture of himself in the recording booth on Instagram (reposted on ), alongside a little graphic depicting Cloud and a caption that reads "so happy to be back with my bestie."

It's a welcome suꦉrprise because voice recording sessions don't usually take place until nearer to a game's completion, partially to avoid leaks but mainly because things can change drastically during development (which would then mean scenes would need to be re-recorded and such.)

Of course, there's no official confirmation that voice recording for the game has started. Christian might be voicing the spiky-haired icon for a spin-off, an ad, or even an unrelated proj𒊎ect that has nothing to do with Final Fantasy, while the mini animated Cloud in his post just threw everyone off.

Last we heard, the plot for Final Fantasy 7 R🐓emake's finale was comple🗹ted late last year, but the game was already "off to the races" just mon🥀ths after Rebirt🌸h came out too, so it wouldn't be too outlandish to think that Part 3 is coming along speedily. Especially since trilogy directorᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ Naoki Hamaguchi previously about how Rebirth - a brain-bogglingly massive game - came together quite quickly because of the development team's tight chemistry built up over the last 10 years.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake is coming to the Nintendo Switch 2 and its sequels might too, as Square Enix says to "look forward to the continued development" of the JRPG series

At least that's🍃 what it's supposed to be – but fans are saying it's anything but "casual" now, as more invested players bulldoze progress through Cosmic Exploration and leave others with nothing to do. A recent meme shared on highlights the issue, with the caption reading "Cosmic Exploration on populated servers be like" and the attached image saying "Cosmic Exploration just arrived... aaaaand it's finished."

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Comments see players agreeing with the meme, with one saying they were "off today for it and still missed the first two phases," admitting it's "crazy how fast it goes." Another on the platform shows fans criticizing 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Square Enix for the debacle, titled "Cosmic Exploration infrastructure e♓xpansion already finished the morning of Day 1?" The OP questions how the developers didn't "think to add some sort of basic time gate."

Not e💯veryone feels the same, however. "FFXIV players are the type to finish a small segment of time-gated content and start dooming that they finished all the content and there's no tim✅e gating," reads a elsewhere on the site, seemingly poking fun at those complaining that Cosmic Exploration isn't properly time gated. Another expresses a similar sentiment: "I feel people are overexaggerating how much they missed on Cosmic Exploration."

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It's all almost too reminiscent of Island Sanctuary's own release in Final Fantasy 14 back with patch 6.2, and 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:how quickly players were optimizing it rather than enjoying it as the relaxiꦛng, casual content it was meant to be. You can always count on MMO stans to min-max, though🀅, I suppose – especially if it's multiplayer-based content that requires collaboration rather than a single-player focused instance like the Island Sanctuary.

After 8 months, Final Fantasy 14 expansion Dawntrail finally goes back to "Mixed" Steam reviews as MMO fans praise patch 7.2: "A massive improvement in all regards"

Dawntrail's long-awaited release was somewhat of a disappointment to many longtime fans, despite leading to 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:"a record number of concurrent users" initially, eventually earning "Mostly Negative" reviews on . Players compared the expansion to Stormblood, citing its weak characters and story, "bland job design," and an overall lack of content in negative reviews, with many hoping that post-launch patches could bring it home in the future.

It would appear that, after all, patches are doing just that. Recent Steam reviews have risen 🦄back up to "Mixed" after eight long months of sitting within the "Mostly Negative" trenches, an🅰d fans leaving positive feedback seem to largely be praising patch 7.2 and crediting it with helping Dawntrail "get better" over time. A thread echoes similar thoughts as players gather to discuss the expansion's newly improved reviews on Steam.

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"7.2 is a massive improvement in all regards," comments one fan. Another says that "7.2 has been very good and for once I am genuinely interested in what's happening in the MSQ." Not all players are convinced by the patch, officially dubbed Seekers of Eternity, however. "The base game and 7.1 had very poor writing," reads one such sceptical commenter's response on the online thread. "7.2 🅷being better doesn𒆙’t mean much for me at this time."

It's an understandable position to take, especially when considering other disappointing moments within Final Fantasy 14's history – including more recent ones, too, like 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:this year's Hatching Tide event reward, a simple parasol. Hopefully, Square Enix pays close attention to fans' improving reviews following patch 7.2 and kicks even more solid content into gear come future Dawntrail update🌃s. I know I'll be keeping my own fingers crossed.

Final Fantasy 14's Yoshi-P was unsure about referencing Final Fantasy 9 so heavily because it's a "masterpiece, and everyone has a strong emotional attachment to it"

The Hatching Tide event arrives every year during the spring, and it's usually accompanied by an array of limited-time items to snag, ranging from cosmetics to mounts. This year's big rewards aren't so big, however – in fact, there's only one, and it's a chocobo-themed golꦐden parasol. While this reward might seem like a fair one to those less acquainted with Hatching Tides of previous years, longtime fans aren't too impressed.

A recent online announcing the event proves as much, with dedicated players taking to the comments to express ♔their dismay. One questions whether Square Enix is pulling a prank with the reward. "You're serious, a paraso🎐l?" Another fan criticizes the parasol when other, arguably better items are available for real money via the Mog Station. "And here's where the dying game makes all good rewards cash shop only, and you get a yellow umbrella."

Elsewhere, a thread regarding this year's Hatching Tide event sees players sharing similar thoughtsജ. "Definitely a reward obtained through a seasonal event," jokes a fan. Below their response, another simply lists every Hatching Tide reward since 2014 – and 2025 is, to say the least, nothing to boast about. In 2017, the MMO gave participants a whole mount and furnꦇiture, while in 2022, it rewarded them with a minion, emote, and housing items.

As a big Final Fantasy 14 stan myself, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't sad to see what this year's reward is. While the parasol is admittedly cute, this Hatching Tide feels like a mediocre event compared to its predecessors. I don't think Square Enix will ever manage a cooler spring reward than the 2024 mount, Peatie, the goobbue maiden, though – but at this point, I'𒁃d be thrilled to see any sort of minion or mount (or anything other than a parasol at all).

Final Fantasy 14's Yoshi-P was unsure about referencing Final Fantasy 9 so heavily because it's a "masterpiece, and everyone has a strong emotional attachment to it"

Rumors of a Final Fantasy 9 remake are nothing new – they've been 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:floating around for years at this point, and Naoki 'Yoshi-P' Yoshida, producer of FF14 and FF16, is 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:well aware that people want it to happen, although he's expressed his doubts that a remake could be squeezed into one single game. Not that I imagine that those desperate for its return would mind a Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy-style approach, mind you. Anyway, everyone wants it, Square Enix knows we want it, and offಞicial news has remained♕ completely silent.

Recently, hopes have been particularly high. It was only last month that Square Enix launched an official 25th anniversary webpage for Final Fantasy 9 while teasing "various projects," which probably fed into fans being convinced for a few short seconds that a remake was being announced during the Switch 2 Direct, only to realize it was Bravely Default Flying Fairy HD Remaster. Now, though, Square Enix has posted a 🌺line from the game on Twitter, "my memories will be part of the sky," while caption🐽ing the screenshot, "if you know, you know," complete with a crying emoji.

Before you get too excited, there are a couple of ways you can read into this. Without spoiling anything, that line comes from the ending of the ga𓃲me – Square Enix might just be referring to how emotional it is if you're aware of the context. Obviously, though, everyone would much rather it mean something else, namely, 'Yes, th꧙is is a Final Fantasy 9 quote, and you know what that means.'

Square Enix still hasn't actually announced anything, but fans are goin𓆉g predictably feral. "Please announce it Square I'm begging on my hands and knees," . "Leaving this summoning circle here. I FEEL IT'S HAPPENING SOON," says another, sharing their efforts to manifest the remake. Even YouTube Gaming is ꦛjoining in: "PRETTY PLEASEEE," .

So, is it finally happening? We'll just have to watch this space – FF9 enthusiasts have been let down before, after all. However, with the JRPG's actual anniversary in Japan coming up on July 7, we can still convince ourselves that there's good reason to stay excit🔯ed for now.

For more games like Final Fantasy 9, be sure to check out our roundup of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best RPGs you can play right now.

But it wasn't to be. What was actually on screen was Bravely Default Flying Fairy HD Remaster – coming to the Switch 2 as a 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:launch game this summer – and one of its four central characters, Agnes, who shares a few features with Dagger: she has long brown hair, is from a Square Enix game, and, at least in the announcement trailer ♔below, wears a bright dress similar to some of Dagger's fits.

I wasn't the only one who freaked out, though. I've seen tons of other people joke about how they were fooled 🎐by the trailer's opening shots, which show Agnes' back with Square Enix's logo printed in big letters on top.

And a new compilation proves I wasn't totally out of my mind. Anyone who has any love for the best Final Fantasy (yes, it is) or anyone who's heard of the long, long rumored remake also seems to have had♏ the same idea.

If you're unfamiliar, mentions of a Final Fantasy 9 remake were found in 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:a Nvidia leak from years ago, which happened to have held legitimate information ♊about then-future games like Helldivers 2, PC ports for exclusives like God of War, and hard-to-guess remakes/remasters for games like Actraiser and Destroy All Humans 2.

Since then, speculation about a Final Fantas🐻y 9 refresh of some kind has been nearly non-stop. Final Fantasy 14 had some unignorable references to the classic game that director Naoki Yoshida la🍌ter said he was unsure about even including because of the fanbase's attachment to it.

More recently, Square Enix created a 25th annivers🤪ary website for Final Fantasy 9 in preparation for "various projects" around its milestone birthday, 🔜so a remake is looking more and more likely by the day.

With its Nintendo Switch 2 remaster on the horizon, Bravely Default producer hopes "we can carry on this lineage into the future"

Standing as an entirely revamped release of one of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best JRPGs ever created, Final Fantasy 7 Remake is only available to play on the PlayStation 5 or on PC – but not for long. As the Direct livestream yesterday and a from game co-director Naoki Hamaguchi reveal, the monumental remake and first part of the planned Final Fantasy 7 trio is ꦛgoing to be available to play on the Nintendo Switch 2.

Whether or not 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and itsღ follow-up will join Remake on the new Switch is still unclear, but 🐭it certainly sounds like a possibility if Hamaguchi's words offer any hope to hang onto. "FF7 REMAKE is coming to Switch 2," writes the director. "We are excited to be able to launch FF7 REMAKE to Nintendo console game fans. Please look forward to the continued development of the FF7 REMAKE series!"

There's no telling whether Hamaguchi's last line could point to a potential Rebirth launch on the Switch 2 or the Remake trio's third title on Nintendo's coming console, but it's certainly a fun thought to consider – and judging by fans' comments, it's safe to say players would be interested. "I can't wait to play FF7 REMAKE again on the Switch 2," reads one such response under Hamaguchi's post. "So excited for the future of this series."

Rebirth will drop on the Switch 2 after Nintendo's upcoming console's hotly anticipated release itself, which is set for June 5. As for 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Switch 2 pre-orders, they're scheduled to begin going live next week on April 8 – but anyone hoping for an early invite from Nintendo will need to tick off a certain number of requirements from the company as a result of its 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:plan to combat Switch 2 scalpers, including a Nintendo Switch Online membership.

Searching for more? Here are some of the most exciting澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询: upcoming Switch 2 games to look forward to, as well as our roundup of 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Nintendo Switch 2 Direct news from yesterday.

Briana White, the iconic English voice behind beloved character Aerith Gainsborough, sh🌞ares as much in a recent online. Responding to news of the live-action film's 2027 release, the actor says she wants to audition "so bad" for the role of Princess Zelda: "I just wanna audition for Zelda so bad. Just an audition." Unsurprisingly, fans (it's me, I'm fans) are commenting to express how much they'd like to see White as Zelda.

"PLEASE,🔜" writes one, "you did SUCH a good job voicing ওAerith." Another tells White she'd "make a great Zelda."

It's not just fans that think so, either. Fellow voice actors are replying to White to show their own support, too. As Dragon Ball, 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Genshin Impact, and 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's Paul Castro Jr. comments, "Fr you’d be a killer Zel🐼da!"

The idea is certainly fun to consider, but 𝔉Nintendo's own pick for Zelda✅ remains a mystery.

Not much is known about the movie's plot just yet, including Zelda's actual role in it – is she a child or an adult, and which timeline is the film's princess from? There's no telling for now, but I'd argue that White could do a mean 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Breath of the Wild or 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Tears of the Kingdom Zelda impression.

Other popular actor picks making rounds within the series' community include Anya Taylor-Joy, as well as Hunger Games and Euphoria actor Hunter Schafer.

澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Speaking to Variety in the past, Schafer admitted she'd 🅰also love to play Zelda. "That would be so cool," said the actor. "I love the game, personally. I played it as a kid, and I still play it now. Who knows! That would be pretty cool."

Whether it ends up being White, Schafer, or another tale𝔉nted actor, though,𒅌 I'm personally just happy we're finally seeing a Zelda-related on-screen production come to fruition – and no, the 1989 animation doesn't count.

The Legend of Zelda movie and Sonic 4 are game for competition with both set for release a week apart

The , a celebratory page recently launched to commemorate Final Fantasy 9's 25-year anniversary, mentions "various projects" in the works - a reveal that, unsurprisingly, has fans hoping for a remake of one of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Final Fantasy games to date. While Square Enix doesn't give too many fine details about theꦆse projects, the company does state that they'll include some "💙merchandise and collaborations."

Judging by past crossovers between the studio's games, it's likely collaborations with other beloved entries in the JRPG series, such as MMO 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Final Fantasy 14, could see limited-time features referencing Final Fantasy 9 drop. While cosmetics and mounts are good fun, tho🐈ugh, fans are now discussing the possibility of a full-blown remake being one of the mentioned "various projects" to come with theꦜ anniversary.

A highlighting the new Final Fantasy 9 website showcases as much, with some players going as far as speculating that Square Enix has been waiting for 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Nintendo to release more news of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Switch 2 to announce a remake. "When they say 'we're preparing various projects,' yeah, Final Fantasy IX Remake is j🔯ust confirmed at this point, it's just a matter of when," comments one fan. "Switch 2 D🦩irect maybe?"

Another agrees, saying that a potential remake's "announcement delay" is down to developers wanting "it to be a Switch 2 launch title." There's no telling whether a remastered edition of the ever-beloved Final Fantasy 9 is actually underway as of now, however, but as always, the community (including myse෴lf) continues to chug the hopium that it is – especially with past rumors still in mind.

Two years ago, leaks regarding the supposed remake resurfaced as Giant Bomb's Jeff Grubb said in a podcast he "heard very recently, once again, Final Fantasy 9 remake is real, that is real and happening." One year later, the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Epic Games Store database launch further sparked interest in a Final Fantasy 9 remake following cryptic listings possibly referencing it, so anything's possible at this point – and I'm choosing to hope for the best.

While you wait for a remake, here's a stunning 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Final Fantasy 9 mod to help make the decades-old JRPG feel new.

Many had compared the combat of Final Fantasy 7 Remake to Final Fantasy 13; however, this wasn't the source of inspiration. , Endo said, "I didn’t really look at different Final Fantasy titles, as I felt like if I leaned too much on them, it would prevent me from pushing the envelope. I tried to look at it from a very sort of flat and non-biased way" Endo added, “I wanted to take the feeling of fun of a command-based battle, that feelin👍g you get, not necessarily the system itself. So I built the system from scratch, and it might have been a coincidence that parts of it felt similar to other games.”

When Endo joined the Final Fantasy 7 Remake project, it had already been decided that the game wouldn't be turn-based, but outside of that the combat hadn'🍌t been defined. Inverse says that during his time as lead game designer on Monster Hunter World, Endo had "accumulated knowledge working on the various action elements of Monster Hunter that worked to his advantage, and when combined with Square’s technology and unique skills, iꦕt created a 'chemical reaction'."

Endo was asked how his approach to the game's combat was altered by Final Fantasy 7 Remake being spread across multiple (and at the time an unknown amount of) parts. Endo said, "I don’t really give too much thought in terms of long-term planning, but put my all into whatever I’m working on. If I think too much about what’s supposed to come ahead, I get too tied up in that thinking, feeling like whatever I put in the moment will be incomplete." He added, "I want to put my full focus into whatever project I’m on, then add to it and build from there. I think that will eventually lead to a better conclusion." Given that the combat in Final Fantasy 7 Remake is one of the best in the series (I'm a 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Devil May Cry sicko, so Final Fantasy 16 gets my vote), I'd say t💝hat this approac🧸h worked out perfectly.

Elsewhere in Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy 14's producer Yoshi-P was hesitant to reference Final Fantasy 9 because it's a "masterpiece, and everyone has a strong emotional attachment to it."

Previously, Final Fantasy 14 introduced what was supposed to be 🅺an improvement to its blacklist feature, allowing players to block all characters tied to an account when they block one of them.

In theory, this should have reduced the chances of players being harassed, but players discovered that, with this new feature, every player had a unique account ID, broadcasted to the game's client.

This ID is supposed to be invisible, but a mod that could access it soon surfaced – neither personal information nor payment details could be accessed this way, but needless to say, it⭕ wasn't good news for players who were now faced with the possibility of others tracking down all of their alternate characters using their a♛ccount ID.

With 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Patch 7.2, Square Enix has to the blacklist, noting tha♌t, "to help prevent the identification of account IDs that are not displayed in-game, relevant saved client data has been reset."

Anyone you've blacklisted will remain blacklisted, but their character names have been removed, and will only be visible if you block them again. Furthermore, fans investigating the situation found that some level of account ID obfuscation had also been put in place, but this apparently isn't enough to stop the proble𝓰m at all.

"After a *lot* of testing and a group chat full of my smartest FF14 friends, we have figured out the obfuscation is vulnerable, and that the account IDs are actually reversible," one player who goes by "[𝓀Square Enix] needs to stop sending ♈the account ID entirely to clients and just set a hidden flag or something."

Continuing, NotNite explainﷺs that "this functionally means nothing to plugins like PlayerScope" – the mod that was previously used to identify account IDs – the only difference is "they need to work slightly harder and discover the algorithm on their own."

NotNite and their friends have reportedly already "been able to deobfuscate several account ID🔥s (of friends with consent) with a 100% success rate," but they understandably aren't sharing the details of how it's done beyond noting thꦑat "it is very easy to do."

NotNite is calling on Square Enix to fix the flaw, and "fix it pro🌱perly." They allege that "it's a security risk," and that "they should not obfuscate this information, they s𝐆hould completely stop sending it to the client."

Needless to say, Patch 7.2 hasn't brought the reassurance that players left feeling uncomfortable by the blacklist exploit saga were hoping for. Clearly, though, ♔Square Enix wants to see this issue dealt with, so hopefully the developers can make another attempt to solve it for good.

Final Fantasy 14's Yoshi-P was unsure about referencing Final Fantasy 9 so heavily because it's a "masterpiece, and everyone has a strong emotional attachment to it."

"Thank you for voting for Tifa," Nomura says in a statement for the (translated by ). "It has already been about 30 years since I designed the original Tifa. Her getting such support, even now, after 30 years, is a great honor as a designer. However, a character is not just about appear💜ance, personality is also important. I believe Tifa’s good qualities are the combination of her character, expressions, voice, movements, combat abilities, and all of her other charms. The entire team worked together to create her charm, and we are truly grateful for the recognition that it has received."

If you've been on the internet for more than three seconds, you've probably seen an array of Tifa fanart running the gamut from "admirably chaste" to "beyond pornographic," and there's historically been a bit of debate in the Final Fantasy fandom over whether Tifa's appeal is in her looks or her character. Of course🎀, some of that debate is the product of deeply silly fandom wars between Aerith stans and Tifa fanatics, so maybe it's best to just ignore all that and enjoy your favorite characters on your own terms.

As Nomura points out, people latch onto a character for a variety of reasons. Yeah, sex appeal is one of them, and Square Enix is more than aware of that – even OG FF7 background designer Kenzo Kanzaki that his favorite character "would be Tifa, because of her ample bust." But that kind of appeal only gets you so far, and there's probably a bigger reason Tifa's popularity h﷽as outlasted that of, say, FF15's Cindy or FF13's sexy chocobo.

Square Enix points to Tifa and this $2,600 Nier Automata 2B statue for driving its "strong" merch sales - and I need to know how many of you bought it.

Final Fantasy 9's fingerprints are pretty much all over the MMO's latest expansion – locations like Alexandria Castle are central to both, you can draw clear parallels between certain characters, FF9's iconic sword-fighting minigame is definitely referenced in Dawntrail, and the expansion includes wind-up cameo minions of the cla𝓰ssic's leading p💦air, Princess Dagger (Garnet) and monkeyman Zidane.

Speaking to in an interview translated by , Yoshi-P made some incredi𒈔bly based comments about feeling "rather torn" about referencing Final Fantasy 9 so much because it's "a masterpiece and everyone has a strong emotional attachment to it, so I wanted to avoid consciously pulling the story too much in that direction."

As Dawntrail's narrative and general structure started to become more concrete 🍒during development, those nods🍌 just seemed natural, though.

"When we first decided on the main storyline, Alexandria Castle was not so important. But once we decided to i𝕴ncorporate more FFIX elements, we 𒁏made sure to create them with proper meaning and intent," Yoshi-P explains.

"I thought it might be best to distance ourselves a little from homages to FFIX and was going to go with that approach," he continues, but with 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:patch 7.2 coming in two weeks and 7.3 heading towards the expansion's big conclusion, Yoshi-P seems to me more comfortable with callbacks to the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Final Fantasy of them all (fight me).

Despite what some fans might hope for, all the references don't seem to be part of some shadowy plan to tease a Final Fantasy 9 remake under our noses, if Yoshi-P is to be believed. Last summer, he said 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:he wasn't working on such a project and didn't know if the game was even bei🌌ng remade.

More recently, Yoshi-P expressed wariness about a potential Final Fantasy 9 project 🌟since it would probably balloon into another multi-game saga, like the Final Fantasy 7 remakes.

Regardless, Final Fantasy 9's remake was part of those prophetic Nvidia leaks from years ago and rumors about it🔯s existenꩲce have continued to swirl online since then.

The Final Fantasy series has sold a whopping 200 million copies, while the Pixel Remaster reportedly outsells FF16 with 5 million copies

That comes from the latest Letter from the Producer live stream, which features a new trailer and announces that one of the 🍎MMO's largest patch runs yet will begin in just over 10 days.

澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Final Fantasy 14 patch 7.2 will follow the usual tradition of advancing the story as we deal with the aftermath of the Dawntrail expansion before eventually moving toward what's going down🔴 iꦜn the next expansion.

You've also got the second section of the The Arcadion raid series that includes three new encounters, and will release before a Savage version c🎶omes thereafter to really test you.

What's got most fans excited, though, is the extra content that's due to come as part of the 7.2x series of updates. While we'll get some of the content spoken about on March 25, a l🐷ot of it will come in the weeks and months following.

Getting into that, there's the craft🅠ing-oriented Cosmic Exploration and, for those who have been missing Eureka and Bozjan Southern Front-like content, the Occult Crescent, which promises big boss battl𒁃es, Phantom Jobs, and 48-player raids. The longer stretch of time between patches means we've had to wait a bit longer for the sort of goodness many of the community missed from Endwalker and beyond, but it's nice to say it's nearly here.

That's not it, either. You've also got the Dawntrail weapon enhancement quests, another Trial and Unreal Trial, and other bits like balancing updates. There's also a new dungeon called The Underkeep. It's no wonder that director and producer Naoki 'Yoshi-P' Yoshida reportedly called Fina🍨l Fantasy 14's 7.2 update the ෴MMO's largest ever.

As Final Fantasy 14 raiders tear through the MMO's hardest duty with no healers and then no tanks, the community can only see this going one way: "Now it's time to clear without DPS."

"The Final Fantasy series has now sold over 200 million copies across the globe," the publisher announced today, "Wherever you joined us on our adventures, thank you." Those sales account for a whopping 16 mainline games (22 if you include numbered sequels and the recent FF7 remakes), alongside countless mobile spin-offs, strategy pivots, orchestral rhythm tapp🎉ers, fighting game experiments, and much꧒ more.

Squeenix's recent Final Fantasy Pixel Remas📖ter "series" has also moved more than five million copies after receiving staggered multiplatform ports across PC, mobile, PS4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox. The Pixel Remaster bundle includes the series' first six classic outings with a much shinier coat of pixels slapped on top, though each game is also available to buy individually, so I'd be curious to see how those sales were split. I'd guess some (FF4 and FF6) probably fared better than others (sorry, FF2).

To coincide with the major mi🔯lestone, the Pixel Remasters got a addressing minor bugs across all platforms𝕴. Final Fantasy 3 now also has a handy accessibility feature allowing you to adjust the "rate that character job level increases" if you'd like to cut down on the grinding.

Pixel Remaster's success is so nice to see because turn-based, non-Pokemon JRPGs were almost an endangered subgenre two console generations ago. Now, the collection is seemingly a bigger hit than the spectacle-stuffed Final Fantasy 16, which has only managed to sell 3.5 million copies. Maybe that 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:multiplatform strategy is finally bearing fruit.

Either way, Final Fantasy's updated numbers puts it in very exclusive company, as only the likes of Mario, Po🌄kemon, FIFA, Call of Duty, and aꦿ few others can boast of such success.

For now, why not reminisce with the very 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Final Fantasy games of all time?

Speaking in a recent interview 🔯with (translated into English using both Google and DeepL), Yoshi-P discusses some of the new content that's set to drop with patch 7.2 and says he's looking forward to it. The lead first describes the crafting-oriented Cosmic Exploration and then the Occult Crescent, the update's Eureka and Bozjan Southern Front-esque instance, which features large-scale boss battles, Phantom Jobs, and 48-player raids.

Yoshi-P continues, diving into a bit of a behind-the-scenes look at MMORPG development – and how it, unsurprisingly, differs from the way players experience games like Final Fantasy 14 on a day-to-day basis. Developing content post-Dawntrai👍l isn't quite the same as working on 6.0 and onward was, either, when Square Enix had set a goal🥀 of "widening the scope" of the game. With patches post-7.0, developers' focus has shifted.

Production was no lo🙈nger about players being able to enjoy the game alone, but ratheꦬr with others – the core of the MMO genre. According to Yoshi-P, multiplayer content is largely what Square Enix has its sights set on now, and patches like 7.2 should reflect as much. The soon-to-release update is especially exciting as it's apparently the "largest ever" – and that means it's seriously large, considering past behemoth post-expansion patches like 6.2.

Seekers of Eternity, as patch 7.2 is titled, sounds like it'll be one of the most impressive in a while, if not the most overall. There's not long left to wait now until the update arrives later this month, bringing everything from main scenario quests and 𓆉instances like the Occult Crescent to higher-end challenging content such as The Arcadion: Cruiserweight Tier, with four new Norꦑmal raids and Savage variants, and the Recollection trial.

World of Warcraft's new housing system lets you decorate without the floating hacks I've been using in Final Fantasy 14 for 11 years, and I weep

Three weeks ago, Solution Knights managed to clear Futures Unwritten, 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Square Enix's most recent Ultimate raid in Final Fantasy 14, without any healers at all. A full video showcasing the impressive feat is up on , highlighting the successful party's composition and the strategies employed by the players to manage the no-healer clear. The group consistedꦚ of four Paladins, a Reaper, a Dancer, a Red Mage, and a Pictomancer.

As if that wasn't mind-blowing enough, three days ago, Fuures Rewrien (yes, that's a clever play on Futures Rewritten without any "t") – except this time, without any tanks. The static's composition was markedly different than Solution Knights' aside from its inclusion of a Pictomancer, with a Scholar, Astrologian, Sage, Monk, Dragoo𒁏n, Ninja, and Bard instead – and no tanks in sight at all, of course.

Now that the raid has been cleared by a group with no healers and a group with no tanks, fans are wondering what's⭕ next for the Ultimate. A recent thread highlighting the no-tank run proves as much, with players discussing the p🌸ossibility of a no-DPS clear. "Homies better hit us with the no DPS run before 7.2, complete the trifecta," jokes one commenter. Another fan adds, "Now it's time to clear without DPS."

The community is going as far as theorizing compositions and methods for a no-DPS run (or one close to it): "7 tank/healers + 1 Picto." Not everyone is happy about the prospect of such an "easy" Ultimate, however, with some saying Futures Unwritten "will be another UCoB in a few years where you will see kills with 30 deaths." As a longtime raider msyelf, though, I'd argue the Unending Coil of Bahamut is still an impressive clear – as is Futures Unwritten.

What's next for Final Fantasy 14 when its 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:biggest post-Dawntrail patch yet drops later this month?

You might remember that back in 2023, Final Fantasy 14 content creator Pint took to the internet to share their long journey to beat the world record to overcome the Kugane Tower jump puzzle (introduced in the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Stormblood expansion) as fast as possible. For five ౠlong years, the record – held by a speedrunner known only as Em0_oticon – stood at 43.58 seconds, but after a lot of effort, Pint was able to shave a few milliseconds off and grab the record with a 43.30-second run.

And so, the world record belonged to Pint… for a day. Em0_oticon took no time at all to respond to their challenger, as th🌄ey snatched back their place on the pedestal in under 24 hours, with a jaw-dropping time of 38.74 seconds.

But what could Pint do to reclaim that fleeting moment of glory? That's exactly what the player has mapped out in . For a start, splashing some cash was required – starting the game with a new character that could live on the EU servers instead of the US ones meant that the UK-based player had less lag to deal🧸 with, which was vital, but required about $60 to be spent on the Jobs to climb the tower as quickly as possible. On to𒅌p of that, Pint found that they could add the jump command to a Macro (a sequence of commands that can be used with a single button), and spam that button in order to send out a jump on every server tick. This, combined with a 20% speed buff, meant Pint had all the tools possible to beat the tower jumping puzzle in record time.

And that's exactly what they did. With a new time ofꦉ 38.31 seconds, smashed in just a day, the record had been reclaimed. Except… Pint still isn't the world record holder. It turns out yet another challenger, known as Azura Stargazer, had also been training to take the number one spot, and had already beaten Em0_oticon's time. While Pint's 38.31-second time did briefly become the world record once more, Azura wasn't going to give up that easily. In fact, , posted yesterday, was just 34.616 seconds long.

Alas, Pint concedes that they've lost, "but at least I tried," and hey, at least they did reclaim that world record for a little while. Meanwhile, it sounds like it's g༒oing to take an actual wizard to beat Azura's new best time, but at this point, nothing is impossible.

For more games like Final Fantasy 14, be sure to check out our roundup of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best MMORPGs you can play right now.

Reflecting on his time a꧑s the lead account manager for Japanese publishers🏅 and developers, Yoshida says the goal was to ensure that all major games from the region came to PlayStation. And at the time, few were bigger than Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest.

"When a new one came out you had long lines of customers waiting to buy them," Yoshida tells . "It made the national news when a new Dragon Quest came out. There was controversy over kids calling out sick from school to stay hom🐠e and play games."

O꧒ne probl﷽em. Both Square and Enix were "close to Nintendo" and initially "weren't interested" at all.

What follows is well-worn ground, with Yoshida saying that Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi was "disappointed" when he learned that the Nintendo 64 would continue 🃏using cartridges. "Squaresoft tried to convince Nintendo to change that pla🀅n, but they wouldn’t," Yoshida adds.

PlayStation offering the CD-ROMs that the Nintendo 64 wouldn't certainly 💖gave Sony an in, but a deal wasn't guaranteed. Getting the signature came about thanks partly to a Sony Music veteran who had an industry trick or two up their sleeves.

"Our team – m🎶y boss was a schmoozer," he says. "He’d come from Sony Music. He hung out a lot with the executives from Squaresoft, throwing parties at his apartment. Eventually we were able to get Squaresoft to commit to the PlayStation. They brought all their franchises from Nintendo to the PlayStation."

Funnily e🐓nough, the move also prompted Enix to bring Dragon Quest to PlayStation, as the team had always wanted to release the JRPG "on the console with the largest🍌 installed base."

It's not the first time we've heard about Sony Music's role in PlayStation's early days. In an interview with , Fellow PlayStation alumni Shawn♏ Layden paints an amusing picture of the same period.

"When [Sony] decided they were getting into the game business, they knew they had the technology, the engineers," he recalled. "But they said, 'Let's be honest, weℱ sell✱ electronics'. Sony knew that without entertainment DNA, we would not be successful.

"So the initial stage was made a joi🃏nt venture between Sony Electronics and Sony Music. Half the company was from the music side and, well, you could see it on the shop floor at 8am. All the hardware engineers were at their desks wearing their Sony vests, working on their engineering thing. And then around 10 through 11am, all the Sony Music guys would come in - hungover, sunglasses, cigarettes hanging out their mouths. They'd look at the Nikkei paper for 45 minutes, drink a cup of tea, and then go: 'alright, lunch.' They'd all stand up. They'd all leave."

Layden goes on to say that you wouldn't see them for the rest of the day because Sony Music populated sales, marketing, advertising, and publisher relations. "So those were the guys who would go out with the people at Square 🌊and ply them with whiskey until the wee hours of the morning to finally get Final Fantasy 7 💎off of Nintendo and onto PlayStation."

Real schmoozers, indeed.

Final Fantasy creator says the original JRPG's programmer was "like a god" to him: "I still strongly feel that the core program itself is the ‘life’ of a game."

Initially released for the GameCube in 2003 in Japan and in 2004 elsewhere, the spin-off action RPG saw the series return to Nintendo for the first time since Final Fantasy 6. Fast forward to August 2020, we got a remaster including good🅘ies like enhanced graphics and additional dungeons for the Nintendo Switch, PS4, Android, and iOS.

We mention iOS lightly, however, as Square Enix is ending service. As per an on its website, the Final Fantasy developer shares that reports have been coming in since January 25, 🔥2025, that iOS user🐷s are unable to access the content they have paid for. After looking into the whole situation, all of it has been brought about due to a bug that Square Enix can't fully fix.

"The issue is due to changes made to the in-app purchases model," an announcement reads. "Further investigation revealed that w🍒e are unable 🌜to completely fix the bug and implement the new changes, making it unlikely to resume service for the game. Thus, we must regretfully announce that we will end support for the iOS version of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles."

Thankfully, if you're one of♏ the customers who made in-app purchases in Jཧanuray, 2024, or later, you have until August 31 of this year to make a refund request.

After 3 years of playing Final Fantasy 14 "almost every single day," series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi reckons the MMO "might be the game that I've played the most in my life."

While Sakaguchi is most synonymous with the beloved series, programmer Nasir G﷽ebelli's own reputation has aged like fine wine. Your favorite programmer's favorite programmer, Gebelli was behind several earlꦡy PC games that proved legendary at the time, so much so that Doom guy John Romero called him

His subsequent work on the first three Final Fantasy games has aged just as well. Just last year, in fact, we reported that some people believe it took 13 years to bring Final Fantasy 3 back 澳洲幸运5开⛄奖号码历史查询:because no one could replicate his code.

Despite all of that, Gebelli is seemingly humble, too. After years of silence, he reapp🦋eared to feature in a Fina☂l Fantasy documentary to say his legendary code "was pretty simple," and it could even be bet🍸ter.

Now, Sakaguchi himself has joined th🤡e chorus of praise, saying Gebelli was "like a god to me."

"I was introduced to computers and games on the Apple II, so Nasir was like a god to me," he tells . "It was a miracle and a gr𓂃eat honor to meet him, a꧑nd even more so to work with him on Final Fantasy.

"I think that respect for Nasir helped to make the first Final Fantasy an amazing game. I still strongly feel that the core program itself is the 'life' of a game. All of my memories of him are fuzzy (laughs), but they always contain his enveloping kindness and politeness, which makes the happy memories come back even brighter. Nasir truly is a wo🎐nderful person."

A wond♒erful person and a dang good coder, it would s🎃eem.

After 3 years of playing Final Fantasy 14 "almost every single day," series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi reckons the MMO "might be the game that I've played the most in my life."

Speaking to , Sakaguchi charts the road back to Square Enix that recently led to his lovely🌄 wee JRPG Fantasian springing free from Apple Arcade jail to PC and consoles. Replaying Final Fantasy 6 influenced him to make Fantasian in the first place, though it was how Final Fantasy 14 honored its series' legacy that helped set things in motion for a post-release port.

“I've been playing Final Fantasy 14 for a little over three years now, and I log in almost every🀅 single day. It might be the 🌞game that I've played the most in my life," he says. "Because of that, I can't pinpoint the specific factors that influenced me. I believe I have been significantly influenced by it in ways that aren't overt.

“My experience revisiting Final Fantasy 6 influenced Fantasian's production. But witnessing how Final Fantasy 14 honors 😼the legacy of earlier Final Fantasy games while also enhancing them impressed me and allowed me to approach the direction I had for Fantasian without wavering.”

Sakaguchi goes on to say that playing Fi🅷nal Fantasy 14 also brought him into contact with the MMO's producer 💛and director Naoki Yoshida, who played a large role in making Fantasian's Neo Dimension glow-up a reality.

“I felt that Yoshida-san was a diligent and sincere person through my experience with Final Fantasy 14, and that impression was reinforced through working with him on Fantasian Neo Di𝓀mension,” Sakaguchi says. “Needless ✨to say, if the opportunity arises, I strongly wish to work together with him again and create something new."

Fantasian: New Dimension is out now.

Final Fantasy creator says his Final Fantasy 14 habit got so bad "on rare occasion" that some of his employees would hop on the MMO to DM him about missed meetings.

You can read our 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:previous coverage on the exploit for more details on how it works, but in short, the new blacklist means that when you block a character, you now block all characters tied to an account. That function is faciliཧtated by the fact that servers now broadcast an account ID for all the characters you come into contact with. This isn't visible to players, but if the right mods were created, you could collect account ID information and start building a list of every character tied to a given player's account.

A mod that did exactly this soon went public, and, while it's since been driven underground, players came to fear that stalkers wo𓃲uld use the information generated by this mod to create alternate accounts and start harassing a target's alternate characters.

A few weeks after these concerns started taking hold, Yoshi-P put out a noting that the devs "will continue to take a firm stance against" the usage of third-party mods, 🍬and were exploring both "requesting that 🦩the tool in question be removed and deleted" and "pursuing legal action."

In today's Letter from the Producer broadcast (which was entirely in Japanese, but helpfully translated by the folks at the ), Yoshi-P reiterated some of the details from that previou🍰s statement, reconfirming that no personal information – such as address or payment information – could be acces༺sed by the tool.

Nonetheless, Yoshi-P said "I am very disappointed that this kind of tool exists, but we will be improving the system going forward," according to that fan translation. These improvements – which the devs are remaining vague about for now – will start to land in the upcoming patch 7.2, which ☂promises to be the biggest ꧃Dawntrail update yet.

"It's simply impossible": Final Fantasy 14 lead explains why the MMO's difficulty level will never be "just right" for all players.

Revealing as much during the most recent live letter stream from 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Square Enix, Final Fantas𓆏y 14 producer and director Naoki "Yoshi-P" Yoshida walks fans through some of the cont🧸ent releasing with patch 7.2 in late March. Dubbed "Seekers of Eternity," the patch brings new main scenario quests continuing the post-Dawntrail story as well as duties to run alongside them. For more story-focused or casual players, there's The Underkeep dungeon.

The Arcadion: Cruiserweight Tier is coming, too, with four new Normal raids and Savage variants. Another trial is also j♑oining the plethora of patch 7.2 duties in both its Normal and Extreme form, titled Recollection. As for content geared toward more dedicated fans of crafting and gathering, Cosmic Exploration is coming with Seekers of Eternity – and it's massive. Think the Diadem or Island Sanctuary, but if they weඣre set among the uncharted stars.

Fans of instances like Eureka and The Bozjan Southern Front are eating good this patch, too, thanks to the addition of the Occult Crescent. With large-scale boss battles and 48-player raids, it sounds downright chaotic – but it's the jobs available within the Occult Crescent that truly set it apart. Known as Phantom Jobs, these unique mix-and-match classes offer new abilities on top of the ones already granted by no🎐rmal jobs.

It's a lot of content coming at once, and this doesn't even cover it all. According to Yoshi-P, the patch will also address community concerns like the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:backend exploit third-party tools were taking advantage of. You can wa🤡tch the full stream for more information if you're as excited as I am to hop into 7.2 once it's here, but it's important to note that the stream is in Japanese and hasn't yet been translated into English.

"It's simply impossible": Final Fantasy 14 lead explains why the MMO's difficulty level will never be "just right" for all players

Square Enix just released its for the nine-month pe𒀰riod ending on December 31, where it broke down just how much money it made from merch. In the last nine months of 2024, the company cashed 14.8 billion yen (or roughly $97 million), whi𓄧ch is a steady jump from its merch sales in the last two financial years over the same period.

So, what's responsible for the spike? Square Enix says it's "mainly driven by strong sales of new character merchandise," and pointed to a trio of "major products," namely, a set of acrylic Dragon Quest stands, a probably bolstered by the release of 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, and an exorbitantly-priced 2B statue.

That's no exaggeration, either. The of 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Nier: Automata's mascot retails for a whopping $2,600, while the costs a marginally more 'a♋ffordable' $2,400. In fairness, the three-foot statue is absolutely gorgeous and I'd probably grab it if I ever unlock the IRL infinite money cheat.

"The base includes the support unit 'Pod 042,' as well as many elements that tell thไe story of the battles of the YoRHa unit, such as parts of the YoRHa heavy armament unit and f🌄light unit, as well as Virtuous Treaty, all of which are presented as a single three-dimensional piece," the item's description reads.

The deluxe version tries to justify the extra $200 with a head part without combat goggles, a right arm with the Virtuous Contract in hand, and a lo🌌wer body part "in self-destruct mode" - AKA, her iconic outfit all ripped up, and that's probably the reason it seemingly outsold the cheaper v෴ersion. (Sigh.)

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s PC sales were “fantastic,” analyst says after Steam players put the JRPG atop the US’ best-selling games chart.

Circana games industry analyst some info from Circana's own retail tracking service on Bluesky, and says that, across both physical and tracked digital game purchases, "Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth was the best-selling game of the week e🧸nding Jan 25 in the US market ($ sales), while the FF7 Remake and Rebirth Twin Pack ranked third." That's a huge week for Final Fantasy, especially considering we're now approaching almost a year since Rebirth's initial release on PS5 – it goes to show that PC ports are seriously valuable for getting more players on board.

Responding to this info, Bloomberg reporter his own thoughts, concluding that "Steam has become a bright spot for many game-makers as console sales have flattened," and arguing that "console exclusives will become obsolete soon, especially for third-party publishers." The latter is an interesting suggestion, and it'd tie into Xbox's recent efforts to make more of its prior exclusives available on other platforms. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, one of Xbox's biggest 2024 games, is 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:set to be playable on PS5 this spring, and it'll be 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:joined by Forza Horizon 5.

Anyway, given Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's success on PC, it makes you wonder if the third and final part of the remake trilogy could see a simultaneous release across PC and console. The wait between Rebirth's console and PC release was shorter than it was for Remake, but those without one of Sony's current-gen consoles still had a pretty long time to wait. At the very least, it's been confirmed that the next game won't be exclusive to the as-of-yet unannounced PS6, so we shouldn't need to worry about securing 🌺yet ano♚ther new console in order to play it.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth lead asks thirsty PC players to not make "inappropriate" mods after FF16's Clive got swiftly unrobed.

Final Fantasy 7✤ Rebirth's director was worried modders would be quick to add slightly more, err, risque cosmetics to the game's PC release, but indecent outfits aren't what&♍apos;s dominating modding website NexusMods. Reshades, tech improvements, support for ultrawide screens, and new hair colors were quick to pop up onto the site before any nudist mods tainted our childhood icons.

So༒me Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth players have now turned its c🌃ombat into chaos, though. In the vanilla game, characters who aren't actively in your chosen party of three will occasionally give you support from the background - now, the '' mod makes all heroes, both in and out of your party, way more involved. They don't just sit in the background and rain down fire from far away; they're right up in the action.

Once you combine that with a mod that permanently - two characters you get to control in only a select few moments - then fi🐽ghts turn into utter chaos with all nine of them slashing away at enemies at the same time. Twitterer GamesLover went one step further and somehow managed to cycle through all characters, as well. You're usually only allowed to swap between three characters at a time, so 🐼the clip embedded above seems to give the player a little more control over all the mayhem. I couldn't quite find any mods that let you control more than whoever's in your party, nor has anyone glitched the game into submission just yet, so I'm not too sure how GamesLover was able to get this to work. Still, anything's possible in future mods.

“There are mods that could shock some players”: Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth director agrees mods “breathe life” into games like Fallout and Skyrim, but says please keep it clean. 

As part of a video series on Square Enix's YouTube channel, actors Briana White (Aerith) and John Eric Bentley (Barret) meet up for a chat – a party chat𝓀, if you will. The whole hour is worth watching for the rather wholesome vibes they bring, but a highlight is White reꦆminiscing over how Bentley helped put her at ease.

Bentley recalls a moment in Vancouver post-E3 that allowed the cast of Final Fantasy 7 Remake to chat properly. With most of the recording done at that point,💮 Whit👍e adds that she was able to ask about the process – "is this normal, is that normal, am I cut out for this?" Given her "lack of experience," the situation was likely rather new.

Getting directly to the point, White says that Bentley sജimply told her, "They cast you for a reason, and you are allowed to be in that booth, a💙nd to bring makes you special to the acting. That just opened up a whole new world for me."

Barely missing a beat, Bentley tells White she took the role elsewhere because she made it her own. And, just a few years later, she has a rather shiny 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Golden Joystick award for Best Supporting Actor 𝐆to show for it. Lovely.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's ending proved divisive, but the director of the original JRPG is "very satisfied" with Part 3's story and is confident you will be too.

Last December, Ha♈maguchi asked modders "not to create or install anything offensive or inappropriate" in an interview. And you can see why – brooding Final Fantasy 16 protagonist Clive was sw✃iftly unrobed when the action game hit PCs, after all. Given the chance to clarify his position further, Hamaguchi tells that he sees modding as a "positive thing" and uses the odd mod himself, just, you know, be careful out there.

"I wasn’t trying to tell people not to use mods," he says. "It was more about being mindful. Both creators💛 and users alike should ensure mods don’t detract from the intended game experience."

Hamaguchi acknowledges the range of mods available, from helpful UI customizatio♊ns to "extreme" costume changes and reverse engineering, though it's the latter sort he's been referring to. "There are mods that could shock some players, so I e꧙ncourage users to research what they’re installing and for creators to be mindful of their audience," he says.

Can the raging thirst of the Final Fantasy fandom be contained on PC? . Still, I respect the point Hamaguchi is trying to get across. Horny mods aside, Hamaguchi appreciates what a modding community can do to keep breathi𝓡ng new life into a game long after its release.

“Mods have played a significant role in the rise of the PC market," he says.♊ "Look at series like Fallout or The Elder Scrolls – even years after rele🐻ase, new mods breathe life into these games, making players want to come back to them."

So there you have it. Hamaguchi seems on board with the sweeping range of benefits that a moddin👍g community bring꧋s. Just, you know, consider what your search preferences are when scouring mod websites.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's ending proved divisive, but the director of the original JRPG is "very satisfied" with Part 3's story and is confident you will be too.

Once described by Doom creator John Romero as his "programming god", programmer Nasir Gebelli is a legend of game development, having programmed the first three entries in the Final Fantasy series, as well as Secrets of Mana. But despite his clear impact on RPG history, he revealed in 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:an interview with GamesRadar+ that until ღthe first F﷽inal Fantasy game, he had never even seen an RPG before.

"I thought ꧂it was pretty similar to what I was doing for Apple in the same processor," he begins, "so as far as coding, it was pretty simple. There was no learning curve. But I'd never seen any role-playing games until Final Fantasy." Having never worked on an RPG before, this understandably provided some challenges for Gebelli. "For example, you're playing this level, and this level has this many messages. While you're playing the game, if the computer can create this background and messages and store them in the temporary memory, and if needed display them, it's gonna take much less memory.𝐆"

That being sa🐠id, Gebelli notes that🅷 the challenges of working on something so new were part of what made the work so enjoyable. "It was a challenge, but at the same time it was exciting to be able to do something different."

With hundreds of people working on today's Final Fantasy titles, it can be hard to appreciate just how big a role Gebelli alone played in the series' early development, with some developers believing that the original games took 16 years to receive a remake simply because 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Gebelli's code was too good to replicate.

For more Final Fantasy, check out our list of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Final Fantasy games of all time.

In an interview with , Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi discussed his previous game, 2021's 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Fantasian, which had a PC and console release last month, and how he had initially planned to step back from work for good following its release. However, while he "intended Fantasian to be my final project before I retired," he now plans to finish his career with a gam𒁏e he views as "a successor to Final Fantasy 6."

Fantasian is a game that has drawn comparisons💜 with Final Fantasy 6, the last game in the series to use the original 2D-pixel art style that characterised the series in its early years, though Sakaguchi views things differently. "My approach to creating Fantasian was different from my previous works. For this project, I aimed to tap into my inner creativity to earnestly craft an RPG once more, so because of this, drawing comparisons with existing games felt pointless to me," he explains, before describing Fantasian as "somewhat of a farewell note from me."

However, Sakaguchi found the process of developing Fantasian so enjoyable, that he decided to stick around to develop one more game with the team. "The fantastic team that was🌜 assembled⛄ to complete [Fantasian] was so enjoyable to work with that I found it hard to part ways," he begins, "I'm currently working on a new project with the same team that worked on Fantasian."

While he wants to explore the idea of a successor to Final Fantasy 6, Sakaguchi is𝐆 clear that it won't just be a reh💖ashing of old ideas. "Our goal is to create something old but new at the same time," he says. "It'll be part two of my farewell note."

Check out where Final Fantasy 6 sits on our list of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Final Fantasy games of all time.

We first got word that Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3's story had been completed back in No♚vember last year, and this came up again in a new (with translations , checked using Google and DeepL). In it, Kitase, who also served as producer on Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Rebirth, says he tasked Tetsuya Nomura, the director of Remake and creative director of Rebirth, with making something thꦬat wouldn't just "respect the original," but also give a "sense of satisfaction" that goes beyond what the 1997 game offered.  

It couldn't have been an easy task, and there's no doubt that the team will have had in mind the mixed responses to Rebirth's conclusion, even if director Naoki Hamaguchi recently explained that the devs "wanted to inspire speculation and discussion among fans during the gap between the second and third game," and therefore got 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:"the response we wanted to achieve." However, it sounds like Part 3's story is likely meant to be more universally accepted, as Kitase says he's "very satisfied with it" a🃏nd is "sure" that fans will be, too.

Square Enix is yet to show off Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3, or even give it an official name, for that matter, but expectations are high. With that said, Kitase previously claimed that this is what he wants, saying: "I really hope the fans can have great expectations toward this gaꦡme, and we will meet those expectations. We will definitely expand on and make the world of Final Fantasy 7 even bigge✤r than it is now." 

If you're on the lookout for more games to play in the meantime, be sure to check out our roundup of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best JRPGs.

In a recent interview with (with translations provided by ), producer Yos♚hinori Kitase says we can "rest assured" that the third game in the Remake trilogy won't be exclusive to PS6. Remake was exclusive to the PS4 before it c🍸ame to PC, and Rebirth never touched the PS4 at all but launches on PC today.

If you're wondering why we're reporting on the PS6 when it hasn't even been announced yet, it's because Final Fantasy 7 Part 3 hasn't been in development for long. Square Enix started work on it "right after Rebirth ended, in March, April 2024, so we’ve been developing it for about nine months already," Kitase says, and 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:the plot has been completed already. Remake came out in April 2024, so we may ওbe waiting until 2028 to play the final entry of this series.

By then, the PS6 will likely be out, and after 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:the supply issues we all faced when the PS5 first launched, it makes sense people a🔯re worried about anythi🐷ng being exclusive to the platform when it comes out.

This doesn't mean that the game won't be exclusive to PlayStation, however. It may simply be available on both the PS5 and PS6. Don't hold your breath for a PS4 version, though. Square Enix said last year that 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Rebirth sales were "below expectations," so it may try to break from Sony exclusivity for the finale and come to Xbox, too, or launch on PC at the ꦦsame time rather than months later.

While you wait, check out our 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:50 most anticipated games of 2025, there's a lot to look forward to this year.

Asked what it means to create an RPG in 2025, Sakaguchi told that "Nvidia has announced their latest 5090 graphics card and the evolution of graphical expression is going to continue to expand. So an experience that fully takes advantage of what the 5090 can offer, you could argue, is an RPG geared for 2025, a♛nd it could probably create the same kind of wave, or almost social phenomenon, as [Black Myth] Wukong did."

Wukong was indeed something of a phenomenon, 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:shifting 10 million copies in i🅘ts first four days and instantly becoming the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:biggest single-play♒er launch in Steam's history. The game was lauded for its impressive visuals and fun boss fights – our 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Black Myth: Wukong review agreeജs – and proved to be a breakout success from China's burgeoning game scene.

Final Fant🍰asy itself is still pushing some graphical boundaries, but Sakaguchi acknowledges his own modern work isn't on that cutting edge. "Fantasian, on the other hand, is much more of an old style experience," he continues. "And it still, I think, stands for one interpretation of what an RPG can be. So another way to look at RPGs in 2025 is this diversity of experiences players have at their fingertips."

It's tough to argue against that kind of diversity. Our list of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best games of 2024 includes the likes of Dra🦩gon Age: The Veilguard, Metaphor: ReFantazio, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Dragon's Dogma 2, Persona 3 Reload, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, and Unicorn Overlord - all wildly different RPGs with very different interpretations of what the genre can be.

The Final Fantasy 7 remake series is "perhaps one of the best interpretations" of an RPG remake, but Hironobu Sakaguchi wants to "continue giving birth to something new."

A shorter version of the documentary from NHK World Japan, , is available to watch for free online. An expanded version featuring Gebelli was more recently released in Japanese. I haven't been able to find the full video listed online, but a clip of Gebelli was shared on Twitter by Japanese gaming hound Genki. This is the first interview that the famous programmer has done in many years, and it earned yet another shoutout : "Without Nasir, there is no DOOM. His work was the inspiration for so many game develope♑rs."

"I was making games for A𝔍pple back in the 80s or late 70s," Gebelli recalls in the documentary. "I started doing some video games for Apple 2 computers. I probably did, in a couple of years, 10, 15 games. All action games. That was my specialty." Gebelli's works include games like Phantoms Five, Cyber Strike, Star Cruiser, Space Eggs, and Gorgon.

"I thought it was pretty similar to what I was doing for Apple in the same processor," he says of work on Final Fantasy. "I already knew just about every machine code for that processor. So as far as coding, it was pretty simple. There was no learning curve. But I'd never seen any role-playing games 🏅until Final Fantasy."

Gebelli points to a few programming challenges from the series' development. "For example, you're playing this level, and this level has this many messages," he explains. "While you're playing the game, if the computer can create this background and messages and store them in the temporary memory, and if needed display them, it's gonna take much less memory. It was a challenge, but at the same time it w🦄as exciting to be able to do something different. And it was also fun to work with the team, especially with [Hironobu Sakaguchi-san]. When he had a vision for something, whether it's a simple message playing on the screen or something, and you do the work, display it on a monitor, and you look at people that have this vision and see their eyes light up, that's satisfaction."

When such challenges came up, Gebelli says he would consider the possible solutions that came to mind and theꦺn "just pick the one that I felt at the time was more interesting. And if I could code it, that would be my choice." This lines up with previo🌄us comments suggesting much of his programming starts with mental imagery.

T⭕he most amusing section of this snippet of the documentary may be Gebeꦆlli's assessment of what appears to be the original Famicom version of Final Fantasy 1. As he plays through an airship section, Gebelli remarks: "Actually looking at it, it could, visually, look better if it was at least, like, 10% slower."

The irony here is that, as previously reported (citing an article from Japanese site ), programming the Final Fantasy airship's high-speed movement was seen as one of Gebelli's grea♋🙈test accomplishments at the time.

It's been speculated that one of the reasons the original Final Fantasy games weren't ported for 16 years, and weren't remastered for a staggering 31 years, is that nobody else could match or replicate Gebelli's code, or at least the practical effects of it, on new platforms. Yet here's the man hi🔜mself saying, in so many words, yep, wasn't that hard, could be better, and maybe a little slower even. I guess nobody's immune to hindsight.

Skip ahead just a few years in gaming history and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is now Steam Deck verified ahead of the JRPG's PC launch next week so that you can play "in the bathroom… wherever you want."

Speaking in a recent interview with , Masaki 'Mr. Ozma' Nakagawa explains why he doesn't see 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Square Enix ever designing the "🦩perfect" difficulty for all of Final Fantasy 14's players. "I believe it's simply impossible to design a difficulty level that's 'just right🌊' for all players," he says. "Each [piece of] content should be designed with a specific demographic in mind, with a difficulty that's just right for that target audience." 

Nakagawa continues, detailing how diverse he believes content should be and how different൲ types of duties fit different kinds of players best. "At the same time, I also believe the content should still have something in store for players outside the primary target audience," says the lead. "For example, alliance r🌞aids are primarily designed for those who don't participate in high-end duties such as extreme trials or savage raids."

Alliance raids aren't necessarily fun for everyone, however. "On the other hand, those who enjoy savage raids and other high-end duties may find that alliance raids are neither satisfying nor engaging; to them, alliance raids would just be boring content. So although we adjust difficulty levels based on a primary target audience, we still try to make the content as enjoyable as possible for all ꦆplayers, and we apply that philosophy to all content."

The lead then looks back at some of Dawntrail's content𓆉 and describes how difficulty played a part in its development. "For example, Patch 7.0 added Worqor Lar Dor (Extreme), which was designed with the target audience of 'players who are🥀 trying extreme trials for the first time.'" As a result, Nakagawa admits that "many players probably felt the encounter was easier than the extreme trials in the Patch 6.x series."

That doesn't mean it wasn't rewarding for longtime fans: "I beli🐭eve many veteran players still found the battle against Valigarmanda to be a refreshing and enjoyable one, thanks to flashy attacks and mechanics like Mountain Fire." When it comes to Dawntrail's difficulty, it also wasn't all down to Nakagawa. In fact, MMO director Naoki "Yoshi P" Yoshida himself helped with the development of the battle content in patch 7.0 and on.

"The difficulty of battle content in Patch 7.0 onꦬward was discussed with core members of the battle team, including producer and director Yoshida, and certain aspects of our direction were changed compared to pre-7.0." Before Dawntrail, the team's "policy of reducing gameplay-related frustrations was sometimes taken too far," resulting in the gameplay being "less fun" without some of its necessary "hurdles and frustrations."

Considering all of this, Nakagawa says developers "shifted to a design policy of placing greater emphasis on enjoyability." This "was a bold decision for us with a lot of unknown factors, but we're relieved to hear that people enjoyed it!" As for what's to come, he states that "the impact of this policy change will be more evident in future patches" - and Iܫ, for one, cannot wait to see how i𝔍t all ends up playing out come later updates.

Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail helped players block stalkers, but the problem might get much worse with a backend exploit some mods are already taking advantage of

With the introduction of the new blacklist features in Dawntrail, blacklisting an individual character would now block all characters tied to that player's a🍌ccount. As notes, players soon discovered that, alongside this feature, each player now had a unique "account ID" that would be broadcast to the game client whenever you entered the same area as one of that player's characters.

With the right mod, somebody could, in theory, start matching characters to account ID🧜s and build a database that makes public any given individual's full roster of alts. It doesn't take much imagination to see how such a feature might be used for harassment. While your best defense against a genuine stalker in FF14 might once have been to create a new character, if somebody could track down your alts you'd have to make a whole new account - something Square Enix's notoriously la𒁏byrinthine account system would not make easy, to say nothing of the progress setbacks.

This week, the that just such a mod was already in development. Called PlayerScope, it promises to track pretty much all character information tied to a given account, from alts to retꦗainer assistants, and future updates promise to add in Free Company and PvP team info, too. The mod has not been made publicly available yet, but its developer is currently whitelisting players for use of the plugin.

To say that the overall response from the community has been negative would . The consensus is that the only purpose of such a tool would be to harass other players, and nobody's happy with the dev's suggestion that you should join the PlayerScope Discord if you want to opt out 🧜from being tracked.

The Discord for PlayerScope is currently quite small, but the communitღy has some hope that making noise about it early ꦅwill draw Square Enix's attention to shut the whole thing down - or, ideally, to correct the account ID issue that makes it all possible in the first place.

Final Fantasy 14 is one of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best MMORPGs around, but you can't host a massive online community without some of its members trying to spoil things for everybody.

"This might sound cliché, but it would be Cloud for me," Rebirth and Remake's director Naoki Hamaguchi said in an interview with . "And the reason is quite simple: I've been on the Final Fantasy 7 Remake project for about 8 or 9 years𒐪 at this point, and I've always had Cloud there, visibly. I don't think there was a time that I haven't seen him in front of me, so he's almost like family to me at this point."

Final Fantasy 7 Remake was first announced a full decade ago, so Hamaguchi's likely spent countless hours sweating over the protagonist's new design, especially since the icon's been redrawn and fan art'ed to death over the decades. I guess ဣI can almost understand picking him over Tifa or Tifa's girlfriend Aerith as a favorite.

OG Final Fantasy 7 director and now series producer Yoshinori Kitase went a different direction, though. "I've had an affinity fo𓆏r Vincent since the original Final Fantasy 7 because I wanted to introduce a character that leans on that sort of horror atmosphere, so I asked the scenario writer at the time to introduce this character," he said about the gothic figure. "And throughout the Remake project, or in Rebirth particularly, he's more of a guest and doesn't really actively participate in the party just yet, so I'm really excited to see how he's going to be depicted in the third install𒁃ment."

That third and final game in the remake trilogy is now fully in development as Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's PC port is almost out in the wild. Hamaguchi recently confirmed that the team had澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询: finally nailed down the plot to wrap up the alt universe-spanning, sometimes meta, reimagining. We don't know too much else about the saga's finale, though Kitase said futuꦫre Final Fantasy games can't afford to 🐬be exclusive to a single platform. 

OG Final Fantasy 7 director said he’d “love” to see the game get another movie adaptation.