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The newest mobile, turn-based strategy game from Square Enix is releasing in under two weeks now, and as of yesterday pre-downloads were made available on both Apple and Google app stores. Released last year in Japan, Dragon Quest Tact is a monster-collecting, monster-training, grid-based strategy game developed by Aiming. It looks to be pretty standard mobile tactical RPG fare, but the Dragon Quest IP is really cute in context and the design and animation look pretty impressive too.

Anyone who pre-downloads the app before the release on January 27 will get a free King Slime monster for their party, too. Who could say no to that?

Source: Dragon Quest Tact

I think we all knew that Final Fantasy XVI would appear on the next generation of consoles, sure, but was it really expected to debut today at Sony's PlayStation event? Well, it did, in the form of a four-minute trailer with what appears to be a pretty significant amount of footage. What we know so far is that the game will be a console exclusive for PlayStation 5, but will also have a Windows release, and that it will be a single-player game with action combat that immediately seems to be an extension of the Final Fantasy XV combat system. We also know that the footage shown was all in-engine for both combat and cutscenes, but it is very clearly in an early stage. We also know that Naoki Yoshida will be on the masthead as producer and that Hiroshi Takai will assume the mantle of Director; both have extensive experience within the company, particularly recently in Final Fantasy XIV. The game is being developed by Squenix' fantastically-named "Creative Business Unit III" group, which is... something else we know, I guess. Finally, we know that the trailer is footage captured from a PC, attempting to emulate the new PS5 experience.

The trailer, subtitled "Awakening," focuses on three main characters. The first we see is an unruly-haired warrior with a tattoo or brand on his cheek; he appears to be a soldier off to war in which both sides wield summoned monsters, here called "Icons." It seems that he is on the side who summon Titan, as he is told that his target is Shiva, who we see fighting against the "bloody mountain" early on. The second is a younger man who serves as a squire toward the third, a boy named Joshua (which, hey, good choice, guys). The younger squire appears to be the main character, as he is the only one shown in the combat sequences, and his role is to guard the child, who is the son of nobility. The "Awakening" takes place as young Joshua experiences a shock and apparently transforms into something highly unexpected. Another battle of icons takes shape, and also forms the basis for the game's logo - a Phoenix and Ifrit in conflict.

That's a quick and as spoiler-free as I can make it recap, written up after watching just a couple times. So, here, have some more general ideas and speculation. First, the two warriors, older and younger, look pretty similar. I could see them being somehow related and on separate sides of a growing conflict, or, if Squenix want to get really twisty, possibly even the same man in some sort of time loop situation. I could also give credence to a theory that in this universe, the summoned Icons are superpowers that can be bestowed upon warriors by their factions' crystals, or are even inborn powers that are unlocked over time. I also think that Square has probably elected to not play a number of cards yet with this unveiling, as the combat scenes show only one character and no battle UI at all; after the combat systems of XV and FF7R, it seems very unlikely to me that there would be only one playable character in battle on this new platform.

And finally, that puppy needs to be a companion for the whole game or I may not buy it.

Watch the video below, and click through to learn more. Square Enix have said that this will be the only information we get on the game until 2021, so enjoy it.


Source: Gematsu

Have you ever gone to Distant Worlds and thought, "okay, this is pretty awesome, but what if they did it just for Final Fantasy VII? And used the new arrangements from the Remake?" Well, okay, they kinda did that last year, sure. But that one-off is now a real thing, and we have the first dozen-plus dates for it for 2020 and 2021. This concert series is going to include the new Remake arrangements, as well as the new theme song that debuted last week. It will also have visuals from the new game, and will be directed by Arnie Roth; this, of course, might mean that Distant Worlds will be back-burnered for a while, but worse things have happened, surely.

No tickets are on sale until a couple weeks from now, but here are the known show dates:

• June 14: Los Angeles
• July 4: Singapore
• July 9 and 10: San Francisco
• August 22: Fort Worth, Texas
• September 11: Atlanta
• September 25: Phoenix, Arizona
• October 3: New York City
• October 24: Chicago
• October 30: London
• November 7 and 8: Bangkok
• December 13: Paris
• December 19: Barcelona
• January 8 and 9, 2021: Denver
• January 13, 2021: Nashville
• January 31, 2021: Boston
• February 12 and 13, 2021: Tokyo

Source: Final Fantasy VII Remake Concerts Official Site

It's easy to fall behind this time of year, as we're all getting ready to move into 2020. But Square Enix is not taking a break, and starting with The Game Awards last week, the team has been rolling out more apertifs for the game releasing in March of next year. Below, see the newest trailer; it focuses on Cloud and his development from mercenary to hero. It's got a little bit more combat and also some good snippets from Barret's (literal) elevator pitch to Cloud in the prologue and Tifa and Cloud's reunion at 7th Heaven.

Gematsu also reported earlier this week on Squenix' publication of a lot of new images, including a couple iconic scenes, and some newly-written character descriptions. The first explanations of Aerith's abilities in-battle are detailed here, too, as well as a first look at stills of Shiva, the Train Graveyard and Shin-Ra Headquarters.

Squenix also set up some good marketing for us recently, with a load of wallpapers and avatars of Tifa, Cloud, and Barret, with Aerith apparently coming soon. Those can be grabbed from the offical site. Also on social media, there's a brief teaser of Cloud on the FF7R Twitter feed. They're showing a little more of the soundtrack with each video, too, which is pretty great. All in all, a nice little gift for fans awaiting the game's release in March.

Last time I posted about Final Fantasy concerts, the released dates for the A New World series stopped in early January, in Kansas City. Now, though, this chamber ensemble has a half-dozen more shows lined up to treat fans in early 2020:

• Chicago, January 18
• Berkeley, CA, January 31
• San Diego, two shows on February 1
• Nashville, February 8
• Ann Arbor, Michigan, March 13

All shows, as typical for the New World series, will feature Benyamin Nuss on piano and direction by Eric Roth. Tickets for all of these shows are already on sale, so hopefully there's one near you.

Source: A New World

Sure, it's 25 years later. But rejoice, Mana fans, as Seiken Densetsu 3 is finally, officially coming to the West. Times two, in fact. If you love the original Seiken Densetsu games, you can pick up Collection of Mana, a compilation we've talked about previously at CoN that will contain the first three games in the series. Those games are known here as Final Fantasy Adventure, Secret of Mana, and of course, Seiken Densetsu 3 as it was never previously localized - it's now to be known as Trials of Mana. The first game originated on the Game Boy, and the second two on the Super Famicom. Collection of Mana is available today for Switch via the eShop, priced at $39.99. Physical copies will be released on August 27.

If you want to maximize your Trials of Mana time, though, there's also going to be a full 3D remake next year. It's been announced for PlayStation 4 and Switch already; odds are that Windows and Xbox One versions will follow soon. It appears to take its cues from the recent Secret of Mana 3D remake, and the intro trailer makes it look pretty slick.

Given that Square Enix are taking the novel tack of releasing both the original version and a new one, it seems unlikely that they will be able to mess this up. How exciting!

Source: IGN, Polygon, Gematsu