Operation Backlog Completion 2026

Final Fantasy XVI Has Gone Gold

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Mar 312023
 

Final Fantasy XVI, my second-most anticipated game of the year, has officially gone gold.

Square Enix made the announcement in a tweet that also includes another look at the adorable Torgal plushies I wish they’d sell as merchandise.

I haven’t been following Final Fantasy XVI too closely to avoid spoilers, although I did check out the “World of Valisthea” trailer to see the gameplay environments, since exploration is the one thing I still have questions about. From that trailer alone, the world looks beautiful.

Final Fantasy XVI is due out on June 22, so if the game has already gone gold, I think it’s safe to say we don’t have to worry about any delays.

While I had some concerns early on, I’ve been getting more and more excited for Final Fantasy XVI. April is supposed to feature news about exploration and RPG elements, so I’ll be looking forward to that. Now, I still don’t have a PS5, since there haven’t been enough exclusives to convince me, but this should be the game that gets me to take the plunge.

Discourse around Final Fantasy XVI has caused this strange divide where some people think it’s a disastrous insult to Final Fantasy and other people think it will be the greatest, most innovative game that ever existed. I fall somewhere in the middle, leaning toward the positive side. While I would have loved a turn-based Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy XVI looks like it’s shaping up to be a great game.

Are you excited for Final Fantasy XVI? Do you want to buy a Torgal plush? Were you surprised to hear it’s gone gold this far ahead of launch?

(In unrelated news, I saw an article from Noisy Pixel saying a Tokyo Xanadu sequel is being teased, but since the article warns of spoilers and I haven’t finished Tokyo Xanadu yet, I didn’t look into it any further. Here’s hoping I finish my Tokyo Xanadu playthrough in the near future. Then we can actually talk about the potential sequel tease!)

Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis Beta Delayed to Summer

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Dec 122022
 

It’s been a while since we last heard about Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis, the upcoming mobile game intended to cover the entire Final Fantasy VII Compilation.

It was supposed to receive a beta test this year, but that never happened.

Well, a new trailer has finally comes out, and it turns out the Ever Crisis closed beta test has been delayed to summer 2023. That’s quite a delay, especially for just the beta.

The new trailer shows a glimpse at how you’ll select episodes to play through, combat from different points in the timeline, and a few other scenes, including a look at the Chocobo Farm, where it seems you’ll be able to trade medals for a Chocobo.

(Seeing the “Draws” menu option reminds me that this is unfortunately a gacha game, but I’m still hoping it won’t be too intrusive.)

We also get another look at short-haired, younger Sephiroth at the end of the trailer.

A few scenes show characters fighting in scenes where they don’t belong, but previous interviews had implied that’s a thing for replaying chapters, so I’m not too worried about it. I have mixed feelings about Ever Crisis since I’m not a fan of gacha games, but I’m still interested in seeing what it will be like.

What do you think of Ever Crisis’s latest trailer?

Crisis Core Remaster Will Remain Faithful, Rebirth Won’t Cut Content

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Jul 082022
 

Several new interviews have come out about the Crisis Core remaster and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, which were officially announced last month.

Since their announcement, there has been much speculation on how Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core Reunion might tie into the remake and how much Final Fantasy VII Rebirth will diverge from the original.

These new interviews shed some more light on the matter.

Gematsu has a nice round-up of the key information, as well as links to the individual interviews.

Although they’re officially referring to Crisis Core as a remaster, it sounds like they’ve done quite a lot. The assets have been replaced, combat has been adjusted to make it smoother, with combos and shortcuts, and the camera can be freely controlled.

However, when it comes to the story, it is a “faithful reproduction” of the original Crisis Core, and “no new story has been added as a result of Final Fantasy VII Remake.”

Fans have interpreted this in many ways (including some who are convinced they’re lying).

Now let’s talk about what the interviews covered regarding Rebirth. First, their rationale for calling it Rebirth instead of Remake 2 is that… calling it Remake 2 might make fans think there will be a 3, 4, 5, etc. They also want the title to give the impression that you can play Rebirth without having played Remake.

Okay… I don’t even know what to do with that first part, but this is the same company that picked the title Bravely Default 2 to make sure fans wouldn’t think it was a direct sequel…

The second part of that is surprising, though. Apparently they believe the story in Rebirth can be enjoyed on its own without the context from Remake. (Then again, companies tend to insist you can start with the newest entry no matter how reliant it is on its predecessors.)

Rebirth will be massive and vast, but they haven’t revealed whether or not it will be open world yet. That will be part of the next batch of information about the game.

More importantly, they assured fans that the trilogy will not trim down the story. Some of the progression is different, and “the order in which you visit some places may change,” but their policy is to not cut content. It will also contain new mysteries, but they’ve tried to avoid deviating from the original, which is… interesting.

That comment in particular has led to a new wave of arguments over whether this remake is telling a completely new story or if it is still following the original’s plot.

I’m curious about where they’re going with this. I’m also looking forward to the next time they release information about Rebirth, since it sounds like it’ll deal with the world. I’d prefer for Rebirth not to be open world, but having large zones to explore would be nice to see.

What do you think about the latest Crisis Core and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth interviews?

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