It was way back in 2002 when Square made the surprising decision to release Final Fantasy XI as a MMORPG. The series had long been a single player affair (barring a few games that let you use a second controller in battle), and at that time MMOs weren’t that common, being a few years before World of Warcraft blew the hinges off the door there. It found its audience enough that Square tried again with Final Fantasy XIV, a game that was a disaster, but was saved by an incredible expansion that reworked the entire core of the title. It’s still ongoing today, with major updates still coming. It looks like it could be the last time Square goes into that realm, too, by the sound of it.

In speaking with Spieletipps, Producer and Director Naoki Yoshida and Head Writer Banri Oda said there was no plans for an online sequel to XIV. They are going to continue to focus on updating XIV and using online concepts and ideas they have being saved for that game. As of now, there’s no discussion about trying another MMO entry in the series (thanks to PCGamesN for translations).

Considering both the long development periods we’re seeing for the mainline games coupled with the general state of MMORPGs, it’s not too surprising. Final Fantasy XIV has managed to cultivate a strong base, too, so Square Enix focusing on that seems like a smart move. But, of course, when we get to Final Fantasy XVII, things may change, but who knows when that’ll be.

Few games in history had have the amazing turnaround that Final Fantasy 14 received. When it originally launched, it was largely seen as a flop and something that would end being a massive failure for Square Enix. With A Realm Reborn expansion the company seemingly managed to do the impossible and crafted what’s been one of the most successful MMORPGs ever. Now, if you’ve let your subscription lapse, but maybe are thinking of jumping back in, Sqaure has you covered.

The company announced that if you’ve let your subscription lapse for more than a month, they’ll still let you log in free of charge up until August 16th. Players can’t participate if they use multiple service accounts and at least one of those accounts is still active, or if they’ve been banned. If none of that applies to you, and you’re feeling a little of that itch, it’s a good time to get back in.

Final Fantasy 14 is available now for PlayStation 4 and PC. While the game won’t be getting any visual upgrade for awhile, the upcoming patch is promising to create a more compact story. So, not a bad time to jump back in.

As part of the crossover event with Final Fantasy XIV, Monster Hunter: World got the Behemoth as a boss in the game. You have to do some quests to be able to go up against the Behemoth and it will be quite a unique fight and different  from what you’re used to seeing in the game. This guide will tell you all you need to know to defeat the Behemoth and take home all of that great loot.

Tips and Tricks To Defeat The Behemoth :

There are information boxes that will pop  up occasionally during your fight with Behemoth that will let you know what’s going on with this boss. Whenever he’s going to perform any attack, look at the information boxes to see what kind of spell he is going to throw at you. Secondly, as usual try and get rid of its tail. One of the boss’ most annoying attacks is its Tail Swipe which deals a lot of damage to everyone caught in its huge range so try and attack it. If nothing else, this should stop those annoying tail shots.

Behemoth will also keep using different spells. For example, the comet spell will leave behind a large rock, and you should make sure that the Behemoth doesn’t smash this rock. You will need these rocks to protect you when he uses his ecliptic meteor spell which can cause instant death for anyone who isn’t hiding behind the rocks. Next up is the charybdis spell, where he will basically cause a tornado to start growing at a player’s feet. One way to deal with this is to draw the tornado away from the action and your teammates. The best way to counter this is to use a flash bomb.

And lastly, as with every boss, exploit its weakness. Behemoth’s weakness includes sleep, poison, stun, paralysis, and blast. Make sure you plan ahead with these weaknesses in mind so that you can really exploit  these weaknesses to deal a lot of damage against the Behemoth.

Below you fill find the complete boss and the Behemoth ‘Drachen’ Armor, Dragon Soul Kinsect and Gae Bolg Insect Glaive in action.

Square  Enix has announced their financial results for the nine months up to December 31, 2017. Overall, there has been a considerable increase in both operating and ordinary income. Additionally, the specific results of Digital Entertainment business was also detailed.

Although there were some big releases for consoles such as Dragon Quest XI and Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age, the overall sales had declined as compared to the previous year. This decline of sales was caused due to a lack of blockbuster games released within this period. However, operating income has increased thanks to the many downloads of older titles such as Nier: Automata, and the success of the company’s mobile games. As for their MMORPGS, Square Enix reported strong performance of both Dragon Quest X and Final Fantasy XIV. 

Overall, the company has had great results during this period with a 66.9% increase in operating profit as compared to the previous year.

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn launches for the PS4 on April 14th, and Square Enix has now given some details on the beta of the game, which many fans had some questions about.

The beta will run in two phases- the first phase will run from February 22nd to March 3rd, whereas the second phase, leading up to the actual release of the game itself, will run from April 4th to April 7th. It will, obviously be an open beta, and anyone with a PS4 will be able to download it via the PS Store.

At the end of the first phase of the beta (on March 3rd) all characters will be wiped from the game’s database. However, the characters players create and develop in the second phase of the game will be transferrable to the final product.

PS3 and PC players will also be able to transfer their characters to the beta. Stay tuned for more info, we’ll keep you updated as we get to know more.

Square Enix’s recently released hit MMORPG, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn is coming to the PS4 early next year. The good news is that players of the game on the PS3 will get access to the PS4 version for free.

Effectively, this should give PS3 players who have a PS4 an incentive to upgrade to what is bound to be the better version of the game and also generate some goodwill for the game, which might make this a smart play in the long term: foregoing some immediate revenue in the form of the $60 purchase, but securing ongoing revenue via monthly subscription fees even by those who do upgrade their consoles.

In addition to this, Square also announced that the beta for the PS4 version of the title will begin on February 22, 2014, which is the same day as the console’s launch in Japan. It was unclear if the beta launches worldwide on that day, or just in Japan.

In any case, stay tuned to GamingBolt for further news on Square’s reborn MMO, including our upcoming extensive review.

Square Enix’s recently launched, rather brilliant makeover of the MMO Final Fantasy XIV has been experiencing some server issues and distress. While in a sense, that’s a good problem to have (more players playing it than you anticipated), it’s also a big turn off for the players, and can lose you some paying customers and revenue.

Which is why Square is addressing the problem almost instantly. That’s the good news. The bad news is that fixing these problems will entail a ten hour long maintenance period from 5 PM PDT to 3 AM PDT on September 3, reports DualShockers.

The silver lining is that more servers will be added to the game during this period, and there will also be some new processes included that offload the influx of concurrent users by splitting the processing of the duty finder.

The maintenance should finally address the server issues, meaning you should be able to play the brilliant, Final Fantasy themed MMO the way it was meant to be played, without any problems, soon.

We will have our full review of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn for you soon. In the meanwhile, stay tuned for more coverage.

Square’s upcoming Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn looks like it will be a serious contender in a rather crowded genre- although its gameplay mechanics are honestly nothing new and pretty par on the course for the kind of game that it is, it looks to have oodles of that Final Fantasy charm, which is sure to set it apart from the other MMOs on the market.

It also looks really good- the thirteen minute long trailer that you see above shows off the ‘destruction of the world’ (in the game lore, that is how the transition from the original, maligned Final Fantasy XIV to A Realm Reborn was explained), the character creator, and then proceeds to show us some in game footage as well. The game looks absolutely gorgeous, with an incredible artstyle (it is a Square Enix game after all) and the technical graphics backing it up to boot; what also sounds incredibly great is the music.

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn comes to PC later this year; a PS3 version follows, and it will also hit PS4 next year.

Square Enix announced today that the final beta test for Final Fantasy XIV: A Real Reborn will take place on August 17th-August 19th for both Windows PC and PlayStation 3. Players will be given the opportunity to fully dive into the final testing phase of the expansive MMORPG.

Square Enix also announce that loyal Final Fantasy fans who pre-ordered FFXIV will be given early access to the final version of the game, and will be among the first to play it’s completed form starting August 24th.

Furthermore, producer and director Naoki Yoshida discussed some upcoming goodies to get gamers even more hyped for the launch:

A Veteran Rewards System – Where players get to enjoy certain perks and bonuses, determined by how long they’ve selected to subscribe to the pay-per-month MMO, with distinctions at 30, 60, and 90 day subscriptions. 90 day subscribed players will receive all bonuses that 30 and 60 day players receive, plus the 90 day bonus at the same time.

An iOS App – While we don’t know exactly what the app will do, we know that it will act in a companion capacity to FF XIV, and it will arrive a week after game launch.

A Welcome Back – Gamers who played the disastrous Final Fantasy XIV version 1.o will be able to play A Real Reborn for free until Monday, September 9th as an apology of sorts.

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn is set for an official August 27th release for Windows and PS3.

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn is Square Enix’s relaunch of their much maligned Final Fantasy branded MMO, Final Fantasy XIV. They have been working on it over the last few years, and the fruits of their labor are pretty good, as Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn genuinely looks like one of the best MMOs to be on the market right now.

Now, Square Enix have released a new video to drum up even more hype for their upcoming title. The new video shows off a dungeon raid, and it showcases more of those gorgeous graphics that make this game stand out so much.

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn hits PC, Playstation 3, and Playstation 4 later this year. Registrations for Phase 4 of the beta are now open, so be sure to register if you are interested in giving the title a whirl before it releases, just to see if it’s your thing.