It’s a new month which means a new slate of titles for Xbox Game Pass subscribers. Microsoft already confirmed that Dragon Quest Builders 2 is out tomorrow for Xbox consoles and PC subscribers with content like the Aquarium Pack, Historic Headwear, Dragonlord’s Throne and more included. FIFA 21 also releases on May 6th via EA Play for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC subscribers.

However, on the same day, Red Barrels’ Outlast 2 will also be available for consoles, cloud and PC. Cloud and console subscribers will also have access to Ubisoft’s Steep, an open world winter sports title. May 13th is when Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster becomes available for consoles and PC alongside Just Cause 4: Reloaded.

The original Psychonauts is also making its way to the service on the same day for cloud, console and PC subscribers. If that weren’t enough, Red Dead Online is out on the same day for consoles and the cloud along with Remnant: From the Ashes for PC subscribers. From May 15th onwards, numerous titles will be leaving Xbox Game Pass. This includes:

• Alan Wake (Console and PC)
• Battlefleet Gothic: Armada 2 (PC)
• Dungeon of the Endless (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Final Fantasy 9 (Console and PC)
• Hotline Miami (PC)
• Plebby Quest: The Crusades (PC)

Play them now while you still have the chance. Stay tuned for more details on titles coming to Xbox Game Pass later this month.

Media Create’s hardware and software sales charts are out for the week of May 18th to 24th and while the PS4 and New Nintendo 3DS XL being neck-and-neck in sales isn’t surprising, it is interesting to note sales for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

In its debut week, CD Projekt RED’s The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt sold 67,385 copies which was enough to unseat previous week’s best seller Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster (which has since dropped to seventh place and only sold 5,591 units on the PS4 with lifetime units at 21,504). Minecraft: PS Vita Edition still has a surprising amount of strong sales with 11,898 units sold this week and 167,176 units over its lifetime. This was followed by Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition which sold 10,876 units and averaged 243,559 lifetime sales.

The rest of the chart is fairly standard with Mario Kart 8 in sixth place and Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire in ninth, both games hanging on with strong sales several months after release. What are your thoughts on the success of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt? Let us know in the comments.

However, it’s interesting to note that the HD Remaster for both titles was done on the PlayStation 3 first. Considering the sizable leap in performance between both platforms, what kind of visual differences could one look forward to? For that matter, how did the HD Remaster compare to the PS2 versions of yore? Let’s find out.

First the good news: The PlayStation 4 indeed offers a significant bump in performance to Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster with the frame rate staying stable at 30 FPS. This is compared to the PS3 version which saw a fair number of drops. It’s especially impressive when you consider that the PS3 version offered two rendering options – 720p with anti-aliasing and 1080p with no anti-aliasing. Meanwhile, the PS4 version is capable of a 1080p resolution with multi-sample anti-aliasing and still maintains a solid frame rate.

Final Fantasy X-2 PS4 Versus PS3 (720p with AA) Head to Head Comparison . Please click 1080p for the best possible video quality.

MSAA itself a solid addition to both games as it provides a higher level of image quality and sharper edges overall. Object geometry and the overall sharpness of structures is a significant step above the PS3 version. This also helps with the geometry of playable characters which we’ll get to in a bit.

Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster also serves to improve the texture map resolution in several places with the anisotropic filtering on PS4 resulting in less compression artifacting and crisper textures overall. Ambient occlusion has also been applied on PS4, lending a more refined dimension of shading and rendering to the games’ characters. It certainly helps present a more realistic rendition of Spira and its inhabitants, which is all the more important given the fantastical events occurring.

It’s not all hunky dory though and the texture map resolution improvements serve to highlight the fact that the PS4 version’s textures aren’t all that different from the PS3 version. In fact, there are several places which seem to have been giving a facelift while other remain noticeably lower grade and PS3-esque. This isn’t even a clear pattern throughout the game – it’s as inconsistent as the PS3 version’s frame rate drops.

In terms of little touches, the PS4 version sees better alpha effects. Smoke and fire effects are improved and even the fur detailing looks pretty good. Water and lighting effects are better than ever and the PS4 version properly shows off the use of bloom and dynamic shadows with relation to the improved surroundings. And while most NPCs and other characters have new textures, the main cast have been rebuilt to a fair degree. The geometric meshes governing their expressions look much more well-rounded and full of detail. While only the main characters have seen such a strong overhaul to their looks, you’ll notice a few NPCs having improved rendering as well.

Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster may sport a native 1080p resolution but sadly, the CG full motion videos have simply been scaled from a 4:3 aspect ratio to 16:9. The result is a loss in detail overall and it required a sizable amount of effort in both art and programming to have it mesh with the gameplay. Sure, it looks clearer than the PlayStation 2 version but there’s no denying that lack of clarity overall.

Sufficient effort was put into remastering the game’s music with roughly 60 tracks remastered and the ability to choose between the original score and the remastered work. Voice audio has also been significantly improved though you’ll still have to put up with Tidus’s horrifyingly cringe-inducing laugh.

A number of graphical errors can also be seen at certain points, mostly related to clipping. Hands will pass through sleeves, hair passes into a character’s back as the head moves around, ribbons don’t fold properly and so on.

Final Fantasy X PS4 Versus PS3 (720p with AA)  Head to Head Comparison . Please click 1080p for the best possible video quality.

When viewing the Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster on the PlayStation 4, it’s easy to compare it to Square Enix’s recent Final Fantasy Type-0 HD. The latter saw a boat-load of improvements in alpha effects, resolution, etc. while the former’s biggest improvements are by of ambient occlusion, a nearly locked 30 FPS frame rate, full HD resolution, MSAA and improved geometry meshes. The aspect ratio of the cut-scenes is a bummer and it is annoying to see glitches from 2001 making an appearance in a 2015 video game, regardless of its status as a remaster.

However, the final result represents an earnest and committed drive by Square Enix to bring its older titles to current gen console users. Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster may not be the best remaster of all time but it stands tall, warts and all, and presents a compelling experience worthy of the tag.

GamingBolt’s Bill Smith performed the technical analysis of this game.

This week’s Media Create sales for Japan are in and Square Enix’s Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster has debuted in first place. It hasn’t exactly had the highest number of sales though – it only sold 15,913 units on the PlayStation 4.

Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition is still doing decently with 13,844 units sold in the past week and lifetime sales of 232,683 units. Minecraft: PS Vita Edition is still doing surprisingly well with 11,303 units sold (lifetime units of 155,278). Girls Mode 3: Kirakira Code follows next and has 7,422 units sold in the past week with 128,213 units sold in its lifetime.

Borderlands: The Handsome Collection also debuted but sold only 6,922 units in its first week. This was followed by Mario Kart 8 with 989,307 units sold in its lifetime. Another recent title from Square Enix, namely Bravely Second: End Layer, managed to sell 5,260 units this past week with lifetime sales of 134,905 units. Then there’s Xenoblade Chronicles X which sold 4,236 units in the past week on the Wii U, marking the total lifetime units at 101,511.

The latest UK game sales data via Gfk Chart-Track is currently available and reveal a very peculiar first Namco Bandai’s Project CARS. Apparently, the Slightly Mad Studios-developed racer is the only game from the publisher to reign in the number one spot for two weeks in a row since Ridge Racer IV, which released in 1999.

Wolfenstein: The Old Blood made its debut this week at second place and saw significantly higher sales on the PS4, with 67 percent, versus the Xbox One at 27 percent. Grand Theft Auto 5 has finally dropped to third place after spending weeks at the number 2 position followed by Mortal Kombat X. Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster also debuted in the UK albeit at fifth place.

The remainder of the top ten looks fairly similar to the previous week’s with FIFA 15, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Dying Light, Destiny and Battlefield Hardline occupying the remaining top spots. Oddly enough, Minecraft on the Xbox and PlayStation has fallen out of the top ten.

Stay tuned for more information on future UK game sales especially with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt set to release this week.

Game Overview:

Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD is a remastered compilation of Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2 for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita. The game was first announced in a Sony Press Conference in Japan on September 14th, 2011 . The game was released on December 26th, 2013 in Japan and in March for other countries.

Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD is developed and published by Square Enix. The game is now available for the PlayStation 3.

Check out the video walkthrough of Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD below and let us know if you have any questions in the comments section below.

For video game guides, tips and wikis, check out our gaming portal here.

Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster will bring back the Final Fantasy you all know and love…well, sort of, for the PS3 and PS Vita. As the first Final Fantasy title for the PS2, Final Fantasy X focused on Tidus and Yuna as they journeyed a mysterious world in order to combat a menace known as Sin. It also featured Blitzball, an annoying and awkward laughing sequence between Tidus and Yuna and some really snazzy graphics. Let’s not even talk about the fan service in Final Fantasy X-2.

The HD Remaster, like many remakes of this nature, will feature support for Trophies on the PlayStation 3 and PS Vita. Check out the full list of all 34 (three of them hidden) Trophies below.

Completion
Obtain all available trophies

Speaking in Tongues
Find 1 Al Bhed Primer

Teamwork!
Win a blitzball match

The Right Thing
Clear the Besaid Cloister of Trials

A Talent for Acquisition
Steal successfully with Rikku 200 times

All Together
All party members come together

Heartstrings
View the “Underwater Date” scene

Show Off!
Win a blitzball tournament

Striker
Learn the Jecht shot

Chocobo License
Pass all chocobo training

Lightning Dancer
Dodge 200 lightning strikes and obtain the reward

Feel the Pain
Obtain Anima

It’s All About the Money
Obtain Yojimbo

Theater Enthusiast
Buy every sphere at the Luca Theater

Chocobo Rider
Win a race with a catcher chocobo with a total time of 0:0:0 (2)

Power Strike
Do 9999 damage or more in a single attack

Under the Table
Spend 100,000 gil or more in bribes

Messenger from the Past
Obtain all Jecht Spheres

Mega Strike
Deal 99999 damage with one attack

Chocobo Master
Get 5 treasure chests during the Chocobo Race at Remiem Temple and win the race

Sphere Master
Complete a Sphere Grid for one character

Blitzball Master
Unlock all slot reels

Learning!
Learn to use all enemy abilities

Summon Master
Obtain all Aeons

Weapon Master
Obtain all Celestial Weapons

Master Linguist
Find all 26 Al Bhed Primers

Perfect Sphere Master
Complete the Sphere Grids for all main characters

Perseverance
Defeat Penance

Overcoming the Nemesis
Defeat Nemesis

A Journey’s Catalyst
View “Eternal Calm”

Currently available in Japan, Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster will be available on PS3 and PS Vita on March 18th 2014 in North America and March 21st 2014 in Europe.

(Source)

A new video has been dropped for the upcoming remake of Final Fantasy X/Final Fantasy X-2, and it looks better than ever. This is keeping up with the trend of HD remasters of classic games, which we’ve seen a lot of in the RPG genre.

This video covers the game’s wedding between Seymour and Yuna. Character personalities, and gives us an indepth look of sorts at the characters of Kimarhi and Auren, two fan favorites.

Final Fantasy X is arguably the most important contemporary installment in the Final Fantasy series. As first released on PlayStation 2, it bore the burden of both bringing in a new generation of gamers to the series and genre while simultaneously delivering on what the already die hard fans were expecting. And it delivered on both of those fronts.

This is one HD remake I am extremely excited for, and the first I will most definitely buy myself. What about yourself?

“We’d love a Vita version of Final Fantasy 12…I am also hoping that this HD remaster will open up some great possibilities in the future.”

As for why he chose the Vita specifically, Kitase stated, “The gaming scene has changed quite a bit from 10 years ago and today’s younger generation who grew up with smart devices now carry these devices around with them to play games whenever and wherever they want, not just when they go outside but also at home, wherever they may be in the house as well. Even when they are in the toilet!

“One of the appealing things about the PS Vita is that it allows for this kind of play style. In addition to that, another advantage is that it has a wonderful LCD display that can hold up to the PS3 in terms of graphical quality.”

Does this bring us one step closer to Final Fantasy VII HD? One could hope. Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster will release by Q4 2013 for PS3 and PS Vita.

Speaking to RPG Site, Final Fantasy developer Yoshinori Kitase stated “If they do well, I think this will pave the way for more of the previous games to remade in an HD sort of quality.”

When asked which game he’d like to see remastered in HD, Kitase stated, “I mean, if we HAD to single out one of the vast number of Final Fantasy titles which we could make in HD, it would have to be Final Fantasy XII. I was not involved in the project, though, so we can’t really comment on that.

“What I can say though is that I hope the remastering of X and X-2 will trigger similar projects for more of the past games.”

Does that mean hopes for a Final Fantasy VII remake still remain alive?