Microsoft has revealed the newest slate of titles coming to Xbox Game Pass for consoles in May, starting with today’s releases of Bohemia Interactive’s DayZ and Rockstar Games’ Red Dead Redemption 2. The former is known for its long development cycle and survival sandbox mechanics. The latter is considered as one of the best games of the generation, with 29 million units shipped till date.

Old school Final Fantasy fans can look forward to the release of Final Fantasy 9 on May 14th. Then there’s Fractured Minds, an indie title that looks at mental health issues by providing challenges that affected invidiuals will experience. It’s out on May 19th for Game Pass.

Of course, there will be quite a few titles exiting this month as well. Rockstar’s own Grand Theft Auto 5 will be gone today, while May 15th sees games like Metal Gear Survive, DOOM, Black Desert, The Banner Saga, and Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus, among others. Enjoy them while they’re still around and stay tuned for more releases to be announced for Xbox Game Pass this month.

Final Fantasy 7

For many people, this was the reason they bought a PlayStation One. Sure, the CG cutscenes didn’t indicate the amount of turn-based combat that it had but Final Fantasy 7 was still a trail-blazer for its time. It took Japan-developed RPGs into the mainstream, catering to more mature audiences; the graphics were leaps and bounds above any of the SNES Final Fantasy games; and the story of Cloud and Sephiroth remains etched in gaming history. Oh and Final Fantasy 7 is also a pretty robust, insanely involving, highly entertaining RPG in its own right as well.

After discovering a new side-quest more than a decade after its release on the first PlayStation, Final Fantasy IX still delivers plenty of secrets after all these years. Some concept art from the recent Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary Ultimania book has revealed that at one point, the final boss in Final Fantasy IX was supposed to be Hades.

Hades is a hidden boss which has been spotted through the series, most especially in Final Fantasy VII, and can be used as a summon should you beat him. He’s tough though and doesn’t go down without a fight (or three). That being said, Necron turned out to be the final boss in Final Fantasy IX and it was never especially clarified as to why it was the latter. Kuja summoned him and wanted to destroy everything. Simple, yes, but still lacking in clarity.

Nonetheless, Hades is still a hidden boss in FFIX and you can use him to inflict darkness magic on your foes. But would he have made for a better final boss? Let us know what you think below.

But the short story here is protagonist Zidane Tribal coming upon a house where the Nero family stays. As two siblings leave to look for the other family members, you exit the screen and return to find a new member of the family leaving the house to look for the rest of the family. Needless to say, it ends up being a pretty big family.

On entering the house when the last family member departs, you’ll find a Protect Ring in a chest as a reward for your constant checking back. We’re not sure if that justifies it all but free loot is free loot.

Now, how about an HD remake of Final Fantasy IX for the PlayStation 4, Square Enix?

Square Enix today announced that Final Fantasy IX will be available to download from the PSN across PAL territories from today. When the Queen of Alexandria begins terrorising neighbouring kingdoms with highly advanced magical weapons, a skilful young thief named Zidane forms a group made up of bandits, knights and magicians in an attempt to stop her. Little do they realise that the Queen’s warmongering actions are merely a cover for a far more sinister plot. For the sake of mankind, Zidane and his company must put an end to the Queen’s reign before she and the evil forces that accompany her can carry out the deadly plan.

According to a tweet by Square Enix, the game will be hitting the PSN Japan within two days. The tweet said:

“2 more days till the greenlight of FF9 on PSN in Japan.”

Stay tuned with GB for more news and updates.