November2021
News Square Enix Is The Next Company To Embrace NFTs And Blockchain Gaming
"NFTs have high affinity with our assets"
With the likes of Sega, Ubisoft and EA all looking to leverage the potential of 'non-fungible tokens' and blockchain gaming, it's inevitable that others will follow – and now it's the turn of industry veteran Square Enix. The company
News Actraiser Renaissance Almost Included A Morality System
"We ended up dropping the idea"
Actraiser Renaissance certainly came out of the blue when it was announced earlier this year. An update of the legendary SNES title, it mixes action platforming with world-building to excellent effect – so much so that we gave it a high recommendation in our review. The game's director, Hideo Iwasaki, has been...
Rumour The Original Final Fantasy Tactics Might Be Getting A Remaster
A new listing has surfaced online
Square Enix has been remastering a lot of its older RPGs in recent years, and if a new online listing is anything to go by, it seems the Final Fantasy Tactics series could also be making a return. This is according to an archived page over on the online store Instant Gaming. The remaster will apparently be released...
October2021
News Tomb Raider Will Finally Make Its Switch Debut With Two Lara Croft Titles In 2022
Guardian of Light and Temple of Osiris are on the way
There are some prominent franchises that have so far eluded the Switch, and one that will finally break that streak is Tomb Raider. Well, technically, though the games in question were actually spin-offs that didn't bear the IP's name in the main title. Oh well. In a big ol' press release...
News Dragon Quest X Offline "Data Transfer" Will Connect With The Online Version
Clear the offline game and get a head start online
The upcoming Square Enix release, Dragon Quest X Offline, is set to arrive on the Switch on 26th February 2022. In the lead-up to its launch, the game's producer, Takuma Shirashi, has been answering fan questions about what to expect from the "offline" version. Perhaps the most interesting detail...
News Sakurai Reveals How A Chance Encounter Led To Sora In Smash Bros. Ultimate
And the rest is history
After ongoing requests, Sora from Kingdom Hearts joined Super Smash Bros. Ultimate earlier this week as the final DLC fighter. For a lot of fans, it still seems too good to be true, so how exactly did it happen? In Sakurai's latest column (translated by @PushDustIn and @KodyNOKOLO), the Smash director goes into details about...
News Smash Bros. Ultimate's Final DLC Fighter Has Arrived - Sora From Kingdom Hearts
Everyone is here, at last!
Well, the day has finally arrived - the fighter roster for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is officially complete. Today's update (Version 13.0.0) sees the arrival of the last DLC fighter - the Kingdom Hearts' representative, Sora. If you've already purchased the second Fighters Pass, it's simply a matter of updating your copy...
Video Here's A First Look At Dragon Quest X Offline, Coming To Switch In 2022
Still no mention of localisation
Earlier this month, Square Enix confirmed the "offline" version of the MMO Dragon Quest X would be coming to the Nintendo Switch. I'll be arriving in Japan on 26th February 2022 and is officially titled, Dragon Quest X Offline
News The Dungeon Encounters Launch Trailer Doesn't Show Much, But The Music Shreds
Grid grinding
Dungeon Encounters was an interesting reveal during the Square Enix presentation from Tokyo Game Show; it's a dungeon exploration RPG that's opted for a minimalist aesthetic. It's out today (14th October) on the Switch eShop with a 20% discount until 21st October. The launch trailer above is rather fun for the shredding guitar solo,...
Video Why Didn't Square Enix Port The Kingdom Hearts Collection To Switch?
Game developer MVG shares his own thoughts
One announcement that appears to have upset and confused many fans during the recent Super Smash Bros. Ultimate final fighter broadcast was the reveal of the cloud versions of Kingdom Hearts for the Nintendo Switch. As much as this decision "sucks", Nightdive Studios and Limited Run developer, Modern...
News Dragon Quest X Offline Has Been Confirmed For Switch, Launches In Japan Next February
But there's still no mention of localisation
Earlier this year during the Dragon Quest 35th Anniversary live stream, Square Enix announced Dragon Quest X Offline - an "offline" version of the MMO Dragon Quest X for Nintendo Switch. At this year's Tokyo Game Show, the company has now locked in some platforms and a release date - revealing the title...
News Square Enix Unveils Dungeon Encounters, Directed By Hiroyuki Ito
Out this month!
Square Enix has wrapped up its live show at TGS, which was a pretty solid showing overall. It also unveiled a surprise new title called Dungeon Encounters, which is directed by Hiroyuki Ito and will feature the ATB (Active Time Battle) system that he pioneered for the Final Fantasy series. It's arriving very soon, too, with a 14th...
September2021
Video Here's Another Look At Square Enix's New Racing Game Chocobo GP
Start your engines in 2022
If you are keen on arcade-style racing games and are tired of waiting for Nintendo to release a new Mario Kart game, then Square Enix's Chocobo GP might be worth a look when it arrives next year exclusively on the Switch. The follow-up to the 1999 PlayStation classic Chocobo Racing
News Yoko Taro's New Game Is A Swords-And-Sorcery Strategy RPG With Cards
'Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars'
In a shockingly weird twist during today's Nintendo Direct, Kirby is now in the world of NieR Automata (sort of) and NieR Automata developer Yoko Taro is making... a card game? Yes, this new Yoko-Tarot game is called Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars, and Square Enix has been teasing it for a while...
News Switch Exclusive Chocobo GP Sure Wants To Be Mario Kart, Doesn't It?
Racing to the finish in 2022
Square Enix's rumoured Chocobo Racing sequel has been revealed, and it really looks like Mario Kart. Chocobo GP launches exclusively on Switch in 2022 and features a cast of Square Enix characters power-sliding around circuits that wouldn't look out of place in Mario Kart 8. Mario Kart
News Dragon Quest XII Is Being Co-Developed By Square Enix, HexaDrive And Orca
HexaDrive has worked on Wind Waker HD in the past
While Dragon Quest XII: The Flames of Fate doesn't have any confirmed platforms as yet, we do know who'll be doing the heavy lifting on the Unreal Engine 5-based JRPG. Japanese studio HexaDrive is involved (thanks, Push Square), and is a company with which Square Enix fans should be familiar – it...
News There's An Official Life Is Strange: True Colors Lo-Fi Playlist
Is that HOT DOG MAN?
Sure sure sure, okay, this is probably of interest to very specific kinds of people — but if that's you, then congratulations, my friend. You've just found the soundtrack to your next few hours. At this point in time, you've probably already heard of lo-fi hip hop radio - beats to study/relax to, a never-ending radio-style...
Talking Point It's A Golden Era For Video Game Music Fans, So How Do You Listen?
When you're not playing the games, obvs
Being a fan of Nintendo-based video game music has historically been pretty tough. Older aural aficionados would cling tightly to their Killer Cuts CDs, dedicated collectors wept at the triple-digit pricing of rare Japanese CD sets containing most, but never quite all, of a popular '90s RPG soundtrack, and...
News Bravely Default Producer Keen To Continue Series But Admits A New Entry Might Take A While
"we’re still in the planning phase"
Last week, Square Enix revealed its Switch release Bravely Default II had sold around 950,000 units worldwide. It's on track to surpass the sales of the original 3DS release - which sold just over a million units in its lifetime. Naturally, it's raised questions about the future of the series. The good news is...
August2021
Quick Beats Final Fantasy And Vagrant Story Composer Hitoshi Sakimoto Talks YMO And Dua Lipa
"It’s been played often"
Throughout the Nintendo Life Video Game Music Festival we're speaking to a range of composers and musicians for a mixture of in-depth interviews and shorter, sharper (and perhaps a little goofier) Q&As where we ask just ten rapid-fire personal questions; we're calling these shorter features 'Quick Beats'. Today we're...
News Bravely Default II Has Almost Reached One Million Sales On Nintendo Switch
The original game is still out in front
Bravely Default II for the Nintendo Switch is currently on track to become the best-selling entry in the series. According to a Square Enix PR, the February 2021 release has now sold more than 950,000 units worldwide. While this might not seem like much to get excited about compared to certain other Nintendo...
News Bravely Default II Is No Longer A Nintendo Switch Exclusive
Steam release confirmed for this September
Bravely Default II may have started out as a Nintendo Switch exclusive when it was released earlier this year, but now, just six months later, Square Enix has announced the acclaimed RPG will be coming to Steam next week on 2nd September. While we've seen this with quite a few Nintendo Switch exclusives in...
News New Life Is Strange: True Colors Gameplay Is 13 Minutes Of Flirting And Choices
It's looking REAL good
The first official gameplay trailer for Life is Strange: True Colors has just been uploaded to YouTube, and it shows our nervous newcomer hero Alex Chen exploring the record store in the town she's just moved to. It's already looking miles more impressive graphically than the original Life is Strange, with subtle facial...
News The Switch Version Of Life Is Strange: True Colors Has Also Been Delayed
But it should still arrive "this year"
Following on from the delay of the Life Is Strange Remastered Collection, it's now been revealed September 10 release date for the Switch version of Life Is Strange: True Colors has been pushed back. Here's the full message provided over on social media, which confirms the game will still arrive this year:...
News Life Is Strange Remastered Collection Delayed To 2022
Life Is Postponed
In a statement on Twitter today, the Life Is Strange development team announced that they would be delaying the release of Life Is Strange Remastered Collection in order to "alleviate any additional pressure" on the studio, who will also be working on Life Is Strange: True Colors, due to release this Autumn. Life Is Strange...