News

2017 is the 30th anniversary of the release of Final Fantasy in Japan (remember, we didn't get it over here for three more years). While the actual release in Japan didn't take place until December of 1987, for obvious reasons Square Enix are looking to make the entire year a celebration.

We've yet to get any new details regarding exactly what that will entail since that prior news post back in September, but the company has announced that there will be a live event in Tokyo on January 31st that will lay out the timeline for the year. There's been no announcment regarding a livestream for fans not lucky enough to win a ticket to the event, but I would be shocked to find that it is not streamed on Twitch, YouTube, NicoNico, or all three.

There have been rumors about remasters or remakes for every game in the series, but as yet those have been unconfirmed by any reliable source. Perhaps that might await us in a month's time.

Source: Siliconera

Here's some non-Square-Enix news for your pre-Christmas week, from Falcom: the eighth entry in the long-running Ys series, released earlier this year for the PlayStation Vita, will be coming out next May for PlayStation 4.

The original release apparently suffers from framerate issues, and naturally, lower-res textures in its original handheld version; the version for the more powerful console will bump up all of the visual issues into a more polished package. There will also be some gameplay additions.

There has been no indication yet regarding a Western localization. However, over time, most Ys games have made it to our side of the world, and the fact that Falcom is investing now in porting the game to a system with a larger worldwide install base bodes well for the future.

Source: Siliconera

After the announcement of the Switch in October, the new Nintendo console hasn't made many appearances. That will change in a big way in just over a month with a two-part Switch event, culminating in the console's first appearance on Western shores.

First, though, on January 12, there will be a streamed presentation called the "Tokyo Webcast," with investors and media live and in person but with the stream presented globally (though, mind, there's no confirmation yet that the stream will also be public). In any event, the price and exact release date are expected to be announced at this time.

The next day, January 13, the Switch will appear in New York. There are no details yet as to what further specifics will appear in this second showing, so it may simply be a new media event for people to get hands-on experience with the console who can't fly to Tokyo. No matter what, we should expect to see plenty of new information that week and will know when to expect preorders to be waiting at our local stores.

Source: Polygon

The time has come. If you weren't the beneficiary of someone accidentally providing the game early, today is the day that Final Fantasy XV is on the shelves of your local retailer or arriving in your mailbox from your preorder. What a long, strange trip it's been, to quote someone with whom I share virtually no aspects of my life.

Because this game isn't your run of the mill release, the information hasn't stopped coming just because the game is playable by the public, no sir. There's a new trailer - yes, a trailer for a game that is out now - with a surprising soundtrack and a mysterious mobile phone call, among other impressive sights and sounds. Square Enix Japan also did one final Active Time Report overnight, which Siliconera provides to us with a nice set of English subtitles. It's full of weirdness that is better seen yourself, but suffice to say that Prompto has a blast at a special party for the game's release and that Yosuke Matsuda, Squenix CEO, pops in to say hello.

And how are the reviews? Solid. Of course, that won't matter to anyone who is convinced that there hasn't been an actual Final Fantasy game since the year 2000, but it is what it is, right?

We're under two weeks away from the Final Fantasy XV release now, and Square Enix are just opening the floodgates on showing us... things. You might go so far as to say that they're doing too much - but if you can't get enough of this game's hype train, here's a list of a bunch of new things to check out.

• A timelapse video of the day/night cycle running on the PS4 Pro
• A magazine scan of two party guests, Cor Leaonis and Gladiolus' sister Iris
• Summoning Ramuh
• The Announcement of a Final Fantasy XV-universe mobile MMO
• A list of sixteen videos detailing different preorder bonuses
• A marketing video in which Final Fantasy fans and a few game-industry notables (like Ken Levine) discuss their own emotional connection to the Final Fantasy series

And, finally, there will be one final Active Time Event in Japan on the eve of release.

If it wasn't yet clear, Square Enix are going for broke on this game. Fingers remain crossed.

I kind of predicted last month that a new Bravely Default game, if announced this year, wouldn't be quite what the fanbase was looking for. Unfortunately, as is so often the case, I was right. Last week, the new title announced in response to the series' fourth anniversary was officially titled "Bravely Default: Fairy's Effect," and that a closed beta will take place in Japan in the near future.

The actual systems in play for this new title have not been disclosed, but Siliconera reports that it's likely "due to the nature of the announcement" that the title will be a browser game or a smartphone game. Square Enix are partnering with Silicon Studio for the game, who built the first two games for the 3DS as well as worked on mobile ports of Final Fantasy games - to me, this pushes the needle far closer to the smartphone end of that spectrum of guesses.

Update: The beta has already begun - it's a smartphone game for iOS and Android, coming to Japan in 2017, and users have begun sharing videos and screenshots.

Source: Siliconera