Fantasy

There’s no question that Sephiroth is an icon, striking fear into players even remotely familiar with the villain. Just the opening notes of his theme song, One Winged Angel, are enough to get the heart racing. But Sephiroth didn’t make a name for himself with Final Fantasy alone. A particular Disney and Square Enix collaboration, Kingdom Hearts, introduced the villain to a new era of fans, and his appearances in that series are just as menacing, if not more so, than his Final Fantasy 7 presence. If players missed out on…

Everyone who reads both books and fanfiction knows there’s a clear difference in reading speed. While a 500 page book might take a week to get through, reading at “fanfiction speed” can allow a reader to devour a similarly sized fic over the course of one night. How is fanfic routinely able to defy the bounds of eye strain and the need for sleep?How Important Was it for Jason Reitman to be a Part of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire?It’s possible because fanfiction is some of the best writing out there, excelling at hooking…

The Famitsu Dengeki Game Awards 2023 happened on March 17 and while awards were spread over a wide number of games, one game stole the show entirely, taking home five of the 17 awards — Final Fantasy XVI.  The Famitsu Degeki Game Awards are voted for by readers and run by Famitsu and Game Dengeki. While the new Final Fantasy didn’t get as much hardware at other shows like The Game Awards, it’s clearly garnered some love in Japan. It took home awards for Best Graphics, Best Music, Best Voice Actor and Character for Clive,…

I’m a firm believer that the music of Final Fantasy XIV is among its biggest selling points and you don’t even need to play the game to appreciate just how good it is. The, frankly genius, Sound Director and Composer Masayoshi Soken is someone who I have endless respect and praise for, but we’ll get into the reasons why later. Until then, in the spirit of celebrating Soken and the FFXIV sound team’s work, I’m narrowing down a list of favorites. As we await a new era of bangers in Dawntrail, let’s look at my personal top…

PlayStation 5 players have been raving about the second part of the FF7 remake project Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. As with the first part, it was made clear well in advance that this game would be a PlayStation exclusive at launch, however, we did eventually get Remake of the first part on PC around a year later. This gives PC players hope that the same treatment will be given to Rebirth, but the big question becomes how long will we have to wait this time? Is it possible to see it come to PC storefronts faster than its…

Square Enix This article contains spoilers for Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. Midway through 1997’s Final Fantasy VII, Cloud Strife walks up a small staircase and finds his companion, Aerith, kneeling on a small platform. She’s locked in prayer as holy-looking light streaks in through the windows around her. That serene moment gives way to a shocking tragedy. Aerith looks at Cloud and calmly smiles before the camera pans above her head. A black shadow bursts out of the light above her; it’s the…

Following the release of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth last month, an orchestral world tour has been announced. Set to kick off in August 2024, the tour will allow fans to “experience all new symphonic arrangements” of the music of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. The show will include “beloved scores” by Nobuo Uematsu and “exciting new contributions” from Mitsuto Suzuki, Masashi Hamauzu, and many other esteemed composers and arrangers. The whole thing will be performed by an orchestra and chorus of over 100 musicians led by renowned…

Over the last nearly 40 years, Moogles have undergone a lot of changes. In every game of the Final Fantasy franchise, artists have tweaked the design of the fluffy, flying mailmen and each design is usually well received by players. This time, though, something is amiss. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth features, as you’d expect at this point within the franchise, Moogles. But these Moogles, in the words of more than one player, “look like cursed Koalas.” I have to admit, that was my first thought upon seeing them, too. If…

Squaresoft went all out in when they decided to grow Final Fantasy VII from a humble multimillion-selling game to a whole series. To that end, they created the “Final Fantasy VII Compilation,” an ambitious collection of cross-media FFVII titles that would conquer the world. The initiative met a lukewarm response from the public, with the only very well-received title coming out of it being Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core, a prequel to FFVII. However, many have forgotten that Compilation tried to set up a character who…

While there’s no shortage of ways to distract yourself while playing Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, one of the most unexpected minigames is the surprisingly deep piano system. In most of the major hub towns you encounter across the expansive world, Cloud can find a piano to sit down at and tickle the keys. You’re free to play any song you want in free play, but you can turn this system into a full-on rhythm game, almost like Guitar Hero, by collecting sheet music of some of the game’s most iconic tracks. There’s even an…