In a new broadcast airing today, Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis announced a new scenario for the free to play smartphone RPG that chronicles the events of the Final Fantasy VII universe. In The First Soldier - Episode II, we will continue to follow a younger Sephiroth and how he comes to acquire his Masamune weapon - and pictured alongside him is a young Angeal, featured prominently in Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII.

















Chapter 3 of the Crisis Core scenario will release in June, and then Vincent Valentine will be the newest playable character that will release in Chapter 7 of the Final Fantasy VII scenario in July. Chapter 4 of the Crisis Core scenario will follow in August. A summer event will release beachwear outfits for Yuffie Kisaragi and Lucia Lin as well as guild battles and guild missions.





























Also announced was a Monster Hunter collaboration event beginning May 31st. Picured are Rathalos, Glavenus, Kirin, Zinogre, and Hinoe as well as Monster Hunter-themed weapons and outfits.




https://youtu.be/N5y5p3QsLPc

It's been over three years since the announcement of a Dragon Quest III HD-2D remake from Square Enix, and while it seemed the company would let the 38th anniversary of the franchise go silent, a new posting to the Dragon Quest official twitter account offers a celebratory tease with the message "The legend of Erdrick draws near." in a short video that includes Square Enix's HD-2D branding.



Of particular note is that Erdrick connects the first three Dragon Quest titles - otherwise known as the "Erdrick Trilogy", which has led some to speculate that the first two titles may accompany DQ III. Even series creator Yuji Horii teased the possibility with the game's initial announcement back in 2021.



While Dragon Quest XII may be a ways off, it seems fans of the series may have a throwback title to look forward to soon. Dragon Quest III HD-2D is announced for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, and Steam.






https://twitter.com/DragonQuest/status/1794987069531476347






Official Wallpapers

After several years of waiting, the Kingdom Hearts series on PC is finally shedding its Epic Games Store exclusivity and making its way in totality to Steam. According to an announcement via Twitter, all three major collections will be available on Valve's platform beginning June 13.



While pricing has yet to be officially detailed, fans can expect the following games in each bundle:




KINGDOM HEARTS INTEGRUM MASTERPIECEAll 3 Bundles









Bundle #1KINGDOM HEARTS HD1.5+2.5 ReMIX




KINGDOM HEARTS FINAL MIX





KINGDOM HEARTS Re:Chain of Memories





KINGDOM HEARTS 358/2 Days(HD Remastered cinematics)





KINGDOM HEARTS II FINAL MIX





KINGDOM HEARTS Birth by Sleep FINAL MIX





KINGDOM HEARTS Re:coded(HD Remastered cinematics)






Bundle #2KINGDOM HEARTS HD 2.8Final Chapter Prologue




KINGDOM HEARTSDream Drop Distance HD





KINGDOM HEARTS 0.2Birth by Sleep–A fragmentary passage–





KINGDOM HEARTS χBack Cover (movie)






Bundle #3KINGDOM HEARTS III+ Re Mind




KINGDOM HEARTS III





KINGDOM HEARTS IIIRe Mind (DLC)































Additionally, there will be a bundle called Kingdom Hearts Integrum Masterpiece, and that will include all the above compilations in a single package. Those who purchase said bundle or KHIII will gain access to an exclusive new keyblade: "Dead of Night".













KINGDOM HEARTS IIIPlatform Specific Keyblade:"Dead of Night"Available with purchase of either:Bundle #3KINGDOM HEARTS III + Re MindorINTEGRUM MASTERPIECEon the Steam platform.









Kingdom Hearts on PC was originally released through Epic Games Store on March

In the eighty first Letter from the Producer Live broadcast, Final Fantasy XIV producer and director Naoki Yoshida and global community producer Toshio Murouchi went through an exhaustive list of job updates coming in the Dawntrail expansion, as well as updates to the benchmark, fantasia system, and other news.



Check out our summary below for the latest:



Benchmark Graphics Update & Fantasia Update



The team had an update regarding feedback on how characters appear in the recently-released Dawntrail benchmark, particularly how its lighting settings was creating an erroneous impression of how characters would appear in the full game. The benchmark will be updated before launch (they're shooting for May 30-31 but could not confirm) which will fix these issues.They are also planning to adjust a lot of features based on player feeback - one of which is the miqo'te Keeper of the Moon canines appearing shorter. Yoshida asked for further comments on their plans going forward. Lalafell teeth have also been adjusted. Some characters have had to have their face mapping adjusted based on lines that would appear on the face in certain conditions.



In Patch 7.0, a NPC will be added to Ul'dah that introduces you to the Phial of Fantasia appearance change

Available today, Final Fantasy XI's May 2024 update includes the usual Ambuscade refresh and adds a new Master Trial Wing of War battlefield.



Normal and Intense Ambuscade objectives have been swapped out with new enemies, including tonberries and cetus. Vana'Bout objectives have have been moved to the Quest Menu from the Records of Eminence, and you can how check the amount of plaudits you have accrued from it. Furthermore, the number of plaudits you can earn has been increased daily and for the given period, and a ranking board has been added.



The Wing of War battlefield requires players to have completed The Voracious Resurgence and Rhapsodies of Vana'diel scenarios, and have a main job level of 99 with a Job Master title to participate. To enter, you'll need to give 250 potpourri to Emporox in Reisenjima to obtain the Wing of War key item. Next, travel to the Valhallan Rift in Castle Zvahl Keep and present the Wing of War to enter.



Once inside, you and a party of three to six have sixty minutes to vanquish all foes.



In other news, the Return Home to Vana'diel campaign is back until May 20, 2024, where players with an inactive service account

In Square Enix's report analyzing the previous fiscal year and the one upcoming, the company lays out their strategy for the next three years, and it includes several notable shifts.



In examining the last year, the release of titles in its High Definition portfolio like Final Fantasy XVI, Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster, Dragon Quest Monsters The Dark Prince, and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth compared favorably to the previous year, but collectively didn't hit the profitability goals the company was looking for. This assessment doesn't lay the blame at the feet of any particular title, but its AAA offerings not selling up to the company's highest expectations and a salvo of smaller budget games failing to make splash, it's not hard to see why the HD sector is a major target in the company's medium-term plan. The company cites increased development costs and the content valuation losses for a larger operating loss.



The company also identified a slowdown in its SD sector - a classification for their smartphone and web browser offerings like Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis and Final Fantasy Brave Exvius. In the last year alone, the company has sunset many of its gacha-style games like NieR Reincarnation, Dragon Quest Tact,

Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis has a new story update due out May 15, 2024 (7:00pm Pacific) for iOS, Android, and Steam. This update includes two new chapters for the The First Soldier scenario, which follows a trio of SOLDIER operatives dispatched to the Rhadore region to establish a site for a new mako reactor.



During their mission they are encounter a mysterious young man named Rosen, and are assigned under the command of a young Sephiroth. In the trailer below, we see footage from Chapter 7 "The Boy and the Hero" and Chapter 8 "The Hero Sephiroth".



In recent Ever Crisis updates, a new summon Leviathan can be acquired after fulfilling certain requirements and new weapon draws for Yuffie Kisaragi and Matt Winsord are available, alongside the typical slate of banners and promotional events.



Catch the trailer below:



Ever Crisis — Chapter 7: "The Boy and the Hero" & Chapter 8: "The Hero Sephiroth"





Japanese




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDTi0ZV2kNU






English




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugFQZj181Tc

The Make-it-Rain Campaign limited-time seasonal event returns to Final Fantasy XIV from May 15th, 2024 through May 31st, 2024. Subtitled "March on, Imps!", a short scenario quest will be available in game with a variety of seasonal rewards. Limited time items from previous years' iterations of the event can also be purchased from the Online Store at a discount.



Take a look at the event details below, and, while you're here, check out the details from the latest Letter from the Producer Live, which featured more from the upcoming graphics update as well as new features for the blacklist function.



The game is also hosting the second phase of a two-part Moogle Treasure Trove II event, where by challenging various objectives, you'll earn a currency to trade to a moogle for special items for a limited time.





"The Make It Rain Campaign is back, giving thrill-seekers the chance to earn 50% more MGP and obtain some enticing Imp-inspired gear─perfect for merrily marching with your fellow mascots! Join the festivities and rake in the rewards!"







Quest



Of Impish Importance



Location: Speak to Quevain in Ul'dah, Steps of Nald. (X: 9.4, Y:9.2)Requires: Level 15, travel to Ul'dah.



"Quevain is convinced that the truth is out there."Start: May 15, 2024

In an update from Final Fantasy XIV director and producer Naoki Yoshida, the team is planning to release an updated benchmark for the Dawntrail expansion in late May. While Yoshida couldn't yet confirm an exact date, he stated that the current plan is the latter half of the week of May 23rd, following a round of development and Q&A.



The current Dawntrail benchmark provides a character creator in which players can preview their character as they would appear after game's extensive first graphical update is implemented in the expansion. According to Yoshida, after fans "graciously provided a tremendous amount of feedback with screenshots" the team was able to identify a direction to proceed with fixes and adjustments.



In a previous letter, he outlined that lighting and weather conditions exclusive to the benchmark created an erroneous impression of what characters would look like following the Dawntrail update, such as light sources including backlighting causing characters to appear lifeless or with less detail or with incorrect amounts of gloss. Other areas include un-implemented high resolution textures, issues with necklines, and uncorrected scaling of the mouth for certain playable races.



Final Fantasy XIV is now available on Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Mac, and Xbox Series

In a statement released yesterday, Square Enix shared that the company will incur an extraordinary loss in an efforts to "be more selective and focused in the allocation of development resources." The company's board of directors convened to review the company's upcoming project pipeline and voted to incur a loss of a potential 22.1 billion yen (nearly $149 million US dollars as of this post) in the fiscal year ending 2024.



Recently, the company has partnered with external studios to deliver what seemed like a salvo of games belonging to franchises in its existing portfolio like Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin (Koei Tecmo) , Star Ocean The Divine Force (tri-Ace) along with new IP like Harvestella (Live Wire) and Triangle Strategy (Artdink).



Many of these titles came within rapid succession with varying degrees of fanfare and reception, and had smaller budgets and scope than the company's AAA blockbusters. However, it seems that the newly-minted CEO Takashi Kiryu has had this on his slate for a while now: consolidating resources, and likely shuffling projects and teams, as he indicated in his letter at the start of this year:




"We are also working to put organizational structures in place that will enable closer collaboration