Why is this happening? Because of the upcoming Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster which serves as a remastered collection for Final Fantasy 1 to 6 (and is also releasing for iOS and Android). The titles will begin rolling out one by one in July, starting with Final Fantasy 1. Square Enix is thus encouraging customers to wait and pick up the pixelated remasters instead of the older versions.

There’s no release date for Final Fantasy 5 and Final Fantasy 6 in particular though the updated Steam pages say “soon.” In a recently leaked presentation, it was confirmed the pixel art characters for each title have been fully remastered thanks to series veteran and pixel artist Kazuko Shibuya. Who knows? They may just be the versions that PC fans have been waiting for. Stay tuned for more details in the meantime.

The trio discussed the development of each game and the stories behind them. It was also confirmed that each title’s pixel art characters have been fully remastered courtesy of pixel artist Kazuko Shibuya, a veteran who’s been working on the franchise since Final Fantasy 1. The mention of “pixel art characters” seems to indicate that the backgrounds won’t be in the same style but that’s just conjecture.

A new trailer was revealed at the end of the presentation so expect that to go live sometime soon. Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster includes re-releases of Final Fantasy 1 to 6 with each title being available individually and in a complete bundle. Stay tuned for more details in the meantime.

Though Square Enix didn’t outright confirm the same, Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster could take an HD-2D route in terms of their visuals. This was seen in the recently announced Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake and series creator Yuji Horii has said that he’d like to see similar remakes for Dragon Quest 1 and 2. Again, it’s all speculation as to whether Final Fantasy 1 to 6 are indeed being remastered in this way.

Square Enix will also be revisiting Final Fantasy 1’s world but from a different perspective in Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin. Developed by Team Ninja, the action hack and slash title is out in 2022 for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, Xbox One, PS4 and PC with a demo coming soon to PS5. Stay tuned for more details on that in the coming months as well.

MIMIC CHESTS (DARK SOULS)

The poster boys of traps in video games that players keep falling for. Mimic chests are by no means the exclusive domain of Dark Souls, but FromSoftware’s RPG uses it better than most out there. Walking up to a chest with anticipation of what treasures it might hold, only for it to open its mouth wide and try to swallow you whole can be a terrifying feeling. And sure, the more you play, the less you fall for it, and the more used to it you become- but those first few times are unforgettable.

]]> https://gamingbolt.com/10-video-game-traps-that-gamers-fell-for/feed 0 447620 https://gamingbolt.com/15-emotional-moments-in-the-entire-final-fantasy-series-that-will-make-you-cry https://gamingbolt.com/15-emotional-moments-in-the-entire-final-fantasy-series-that-will-make-you-cry#respond Fri, 05 Jun 2020 12:09:29 +0000 https://gamingbolt.com/?p=441544 The Final Fantasy series may tell a different story with each new sequel (exceptions abound, of course) but each of them has an incredible moment or two that stays with you. While cataloging each and every one of those will take a long, long while, let’s take a look at what we think are 15 of the most emotional moments from the entire series. Spoilers – and we mean major spoilers – for almost every game in the series abound.

Vivi’s Past – Final Fantasy 9

Final Fantasy 9’s cast has this ineffable charisma that makes it hard to not like them. Vivi the Black Mage is one example, being relatively kind but also easy to manipulate and down on himself more often than not. However, Vivi is actually a manufactured Black Mage, created in Dali by Alexandria as a prototype soldier and accidentally separated from his ilk. Upon reaching Dali and learning the truth – that its villagers are responsible for keeping the entire Black Mage production under wraps – Vivi becomes even less self-assured. When Black Waltz 3, a winged Black Mage, arrives to recapture Garnet, the other Black Mages attempt to protect Vivi despite initially capturing him. They all fall, leading to Vivi facing Black Waltz 3 and taking the first steps to defining his purpose throughout the journey.

One of those classics will be getting a remake very soon (or, well, the first part of a remake, at any rate), when Final Fantasy 7 Remake launches on April 10, and in the lead-up to that, we (and millions of others) have been looking back on the highs and lows of the series over the years. In this feature, we’ll be taking a look at all the mainline numbered Final Fantasy games, and ranking them from worst to best.

So without further ado, let’s get started.

#16. FINAL FANTASY 14 (ORIGINAL RELEASE)

Final Fantasy 14 came at a time when the series as a whole was perhaps in the worst shape of its life. Final Fantasy 13 had been come across as something of a disappointment in 2009, and the fact that FF14 was an MMORPG meant that quite a few automatically lost interest as well. It didn’t help that when the game launched, it was utter crap (to put it mildly). Thanks to being terribly unpolished, being ridden with performance issues, featuring an interface that was a nightmare to navigate, and core interaction, exploration, and combat mechanics that were an absolute chore, the original Final Fantasy 14 was perhaps the biggest misstep this series ever made. Of course, Square Enix did manage to turn things around, to the extent that Final Fantasy 14 as we know it today is probably one of the best games in the series- but we’ll get to that soon enough.

Final Fantasy 15 is an important game- it’s had ten long years of development, multiple delays, a change in systems, one change in directors, an entire change and reboot in direction, a name change, a whole lot of money poured into it that it is unlikely to ever make back, and in the time that separates its announcement to its release, JRPGs, and Japanese games in general, and Square Enix specifically, have gone from being eminent institutions in the gaming industry to shadows of their former selves. Final Fantasy 15 has a whole lot of expectations riding on it- not only must it live up to ten years of expectations, from the audiences and the developers and publishers, but, as with all Final Fantasy games, it also has the implicit expectation of being the standard bearer for its entire genre, and for all games coming out of its country of origin. It is not a stretch to say that Final Fantasy 15 succeeding could single handedly revitalize reception of Japanese games internationally, if not domestically.

"It is not a stretch to say that Final Fantasy 15 succeeding could single handedly revitalize reception of Japanese games internationally, if not domestically."

Then, too, there are more personal stakes involved here- not only have Square Enix managed to squander almost all of the goodwill that they once held, but the Final Fantasy brand itself is no longer the pristine, industry shaking event that it used to be. The protracted and confused development of Final Fantasy 15 aside, Final Fantasy 13 was a terrible game, that Square Enix immediately doubled down on twice, with games that weren’t much better. Meanwhile, Final Fantasy 14 was the worst game to ever release bearing the Final Fantasy name, and while Square Enix overhauled the game and made it entirely excellent later, the game being as bad as it was and coming right in the wake of Final Fantasy 13 only hurt the brand more.

Final Fantasy 7 was great, sure, and fans the world over love and respect that game- but there is nothing to suggest that the series still has it in it to deliver the kind of defining adventures that made the SNES, PS1, and PS2 games so beloved to begin with. Final Fantasy 15 looks incredible, and that’s the reason it has as much hype as it does – people are willing to be cautiously optimistic about it, in spite of the series’ recent failings, because of how great it looks – but if this game were to also disappoint, then I don’t think that Square Enix would ever get a chance to convince people that Final Fantasy was returning to form ever again.

"The fate of a series, a brand, a publisher, a genre, an entire country’s games industry rests on its shoulders effectively. Let’s hope it is capable of carrying that weight."

And that’s why it is so important that the game lives up to expectations. On a superficial level, I have no doubt that it will do so- it’s a great looking open world RPG in an era when those are very well received, and judging by the most recent demo, it is mechanically sound and plays well enough. I have no doubt that Final Fantasy 15 will be a good game, and certainly a far better one than anything since Final Fantasy 12 has- but the question is, can it live up to the ten years of inflated and bloated expectations built up around it by virtue of the fact that people have been waiting so long for it? Or is it doomed to disappoint in that regard? Have Square Enix painted themselves into a corner? Will the game being great, but not worth a ten year long wait, count as a knock against it?

One thing is for certain- the reception to Final Fantasy 15 will be very important, as will the domino effect of consequence that it sets off in motion. Once again, it is not hyperbole to say that Final Fantasy 15, no matter how it goes, will end up being the most important game release of this year. The fate of a series, a brand, a publisher, a genre, an entire country’s games industry rests on its shoulders effectively. Let’s hope it is capable of carrying that weight.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

Square Enix has revealed that Final Fantasy V is headed to the iOS. We have the pricing and other details on the game as well.

It will support the iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, and Android devices. The source is a Japanese magazine and the game will be released on March 28th for 1,800 yen.

The menus have been redone for smartphones and the Android version will be released this summer. The sprites are touched up but it’s not clear whether it is significantly enhanced.

The game is based on the GBA version and has 2D character artwork with dialogue. It was originally released on Nintendo platforms then the PS1 system and is known as one of the best games ever made.

Square Enix have been following a mobile strategy and it looks like more games could be headed to these platforms.

Tell us what you think in the comments section below.