2023-05

Final Fantasy XVI’s combat is fast, chaotic, and, most importantly, fun. There are plenty of combos to pull off, and in just the small taste of the action during my cover story trip to Square Enix’s Tokyo, Japan, office, I saw so much variance in setting up Clive’s combative abilities that I can’t wait to see what others do in-game.  I also watched combat director Ryota Suzuki play through some of the most challenging encounters in the game, and unsurprisingly, he excelled, taking maybe one or two hits in the 20 minutes he played. He used combos I didn’t really comprehend – admittedly, he was playing at a much later portion of the game than I had hands-on access with – and it got me thinking: is he excited to see what players do with FFXVI’s combat, much like I...

On May 27, the development team behind Wii and GameCube emulator Dolphin announced a massive roadblock: Nintendo's legal team was moving to prevent the software from launching on Steam. While the Dolphin team is investigating its options, the project is currently "indefinitely postponed." Here's the full quote from their blog post: It is with much disappointment that we have to announce that the Dolphin on Steam release has been indefinitely postponed. We were notified by Valve that Nintendo has issued a cease and desist citing the DMCA against Dolphin's Steam page, and have removed Dolphin from Steam until the matter is settled. We are currently investigating our options and will have a more in-depth response in the near future. We appreciate your patience in the meantime. Originally reported by PCGamer, this is not actually a DMCA takedown, just the warning...

Robosen Robotics has for some years fostered a fun partnership with Hasbro and its Transformers license, including an awesome fully transformable Generation 1 Optimus Prime that would change between robot and truck on its own. In a similar spirit, the same team now has a new robotic collectible coming to market, this time emulating the Optimus Prime character as he appears in the new Rise of the Beasts live-action film. Instead of full transformation like the previous G1-style incarnation, this new collectible is built as a display piece that can shift between various aerial action poses, speak lines of dialogue, and respond to voice and app commands from your phone or other device. The figure features 21 precision servo motors and 69 microchips. Even before mounting on his included stand, Prime stands at 16 inches tall. The team even brought...

Final Fantasy XVI is the most action-forward game in the mainline series’ history, and while it’s been a point of contention between players excited for this and fans of the franchise who yearn for something turn-based, it’s hard to deny the combat looks flashy and fun. And as someone who’s played a few hours of the game, I can say it is.  While I attribute most of that to how great it feels to control Clive, it turns out there might be some tricks developer Creative Business Unit III learned developing Final Fantasy XIV’s action to make FFXVI’s combat feel even more satisfying beyond the actual gameplay.  “For example, in boss battles, when you have an attack and you may see certain areas on the ground that light up to show that’s where the attack’s going to be, that’s something...

Do you know DMA Design? Great development studio – up in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded all the way back in 1987 by gaming industry icon David Jones. You may not know some of its first games on the Commodore 64, Amiga, and Atari ST, but you’ve probably heard of its breakthrough hit, Lemmings. Or maybe the SNES racer Uniracers? I’m sure I’m forgetting something…...

Naughty Dog, the renowned developer behind franchises such as Uncharted and The Last of Us, has released a statement on its multiplayer title in The Last of Us universe. In the post, the developer says it needs more time than originally forecasted for the multiplayer project, but softens the blow by teasing an unannounced single-player-focused game. "We know many of you have been looking forward to hearing more about our The Last of Us multiplayer game," the statement reads. "We're incredibly proud of the job our studio has done thus far, but as development has continued, we've realized what is best for the game is to give it more time. Our team will continue to work on the project, as well as our other games in development, including a brand new single-player experience; we look forward to sharing more soon....

Final Fantasy XVI’s Valisthea is sprawling, comprising a mix of five main nations, various more-linear dungeons, and some open field areas. The primary focus of FFXVI will be playing through Clive’s story and all it entails, but there’s more to the game than just the main scenario.  I was curious about how players will get around Valisthea, especially with developer Creative Business Unit III at the helm. In its MMO, Final Fantasy XIV, mounts are abundant. You can ride chocobos, the Regalia from Final Fantasy XV, Magitek armor, and more. There are dozens of mounts to acquire in-game, and I wondered if that would bleed over into FFXVI.  “To tell you the truth, it’s pretty much just chocobos,” FFXVI director Hiroshi Takai tells me. “In past Final Fantasy games, you’d have canoes or boats or cars to travel in....

During our Final Fantasy XVI cover story trip, I played a few hours of the game much of the press experienced. But I was also given an exclusive tour of FFXVI’s endgame and other supplementary content by creative director Hiroshi Takai and combat director Ryota Suzuki.  It’s safe to say there’s plenty to play, especially if you enjoy chasing numbers in combat.    FFXVI features an Arcade Mode, allowing players to run through stages they’ve already completed, this time with an on-screen score calculator and combat grader. But a New Game+ playthrough opens up two additional versions, and both are more difficult than the game’s base Story Mode and Action Mode difficulties. It’s important to note you can play through New Game+ on one of these base difficulties if you’d like, but you’re missing a lot of features intended...

Zelda received its second post-release patch last night, and just like its first post-release update, the patch notes cover a lot of ground without diving into many specifics. Here are the patch notes from Nintendo's website: Ver. 1.1.2 (Released May 25, 2023) Audio Bug Fixes      • Fixed an issue where the sound would play at an extremely high volume in certain conditions. Additional Fixes      • Fixed an issue in the main quest, “Camera Work in the Depths”, where players could not progress beyond a certain point. Downloading the update will allow players to proceed past that point.      • Several issues have been addressed to improve the gameplay experience. Alongside fixing the audio issue and the Camera Work in the Depths quest, the "Several issues have been addressed to improve the gameplay experience," note is covering a lot of ground. It seems...

During my hands-on time with Final Fantasy XVI for our cover story, I play through the game’s opening hours, which feature moments from Clive’s childhood when he’s 15 years old and a flash forward to a 28-year-old Clive. Here, Clive meets Cidolfus Telamon, or Cid for short – because this is Final Fantasy, after all. Shortly after, Cid brings Clive to a place dubbed Cid’s hideaway.  This hideaway is one of the main hubs in FFXVI. While I’m not sure of its location in Valisthea, the continent where the game takes place, it looks built into a cavernous structure. It features a pub where you speak with locals about what’s going on in the world, side quests to pick up, and a music player, as well. I discover music tracks exploring Valisthea, and while these are new tracks from...