Square Enix announced the Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster release date for Switch and PS4 and said these versions have some exclusive features
Square Enix announced the Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster release date for Switch and PS4 and said these versions have some exclusive features. The Pixel Remaster collection releases April 19, 2023, following a staggered series of releases on mobile devices and PC. You can purchase them as a set or individually on digital storefronts.
The console version includes Final Fantasy I through VI and has a new default “pixel font” that Square Enix hopes will look more natural than the Calibri-style font that the PC and mobile releases used. Fans quickly modded something better into the PC release, though Square Enix didn’t say whether the existing versions will be updated with the new font.
You also get a few tools to toggle that make the classic RPGs a smoother experience, including one that turns random encounters off and one that lets you earn up to four times the usual number of experience points. The last one is particularly helpful in Final Fantasy 5 and 6 if you’re mastering jobs and passing around Esper skills.
While the Pixel Remasters all feature a remastered score, you can switch to the original chiptune soundtrack at any time as well. It’s a busy year for the classic RPG series. Final Fantasy 16 recently went gold and is set for launch on June 22, 2023, while Ever Crisis is, presumably, still holding a beta over the summer, and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is planned for winter 2023.
Mario movie star Jack Black hoped someone makes a Red Dead Redemption movie, as video game adaptations prove more popular than ever
Mario movie star Jack Black hoped someone makes a Red Dead Redemption movie, as video game adaptations prove more popular than ever. Black, who voices Bowser in Nintendo and Illumination’s Super Mario Bros. Movie, made the comments during an interview with the BBC, where he said he expects more video game storytelling in TV and cinema in the coming years.
“I’m a fan of adaptations, when done right,” Black said. “The Last of Us [HBO] was fantastic. It’s going to win all the awards.They used the video game almost like a storyboard and I was like, ‘Whoa, this looks just the same.’ And there are some great games that have yet to be explored in television or film. Maybe there’s going to be a Red Dead Redemption movie? There should be, because I think that [has] just as good or [an] even better story than The Last of Us.”
Red Dead Redemption and its prequel-sequel Red Dead Redemption 2 follow an outlaw gang of cowboys, misfits, and criminals at the turn of the 20th century as they try carving a place for themselves in a society where greed and modernization at all costs take priority over human lives. Red Dead 2 won nearly two dozen awards when it released in 2018 and even earned a BAFTA nomination for best game.
Rockstar turned down the chance to make a Grand Theft Auto movie in the early 2000s, but that was a different era for film and certainly for television. Now, Black thinks games with strong stories or recognizable characters have a much stronger chance of successfully making the jump.
“The TV and film industries seem to be seeing a little bit of shrinkage,” Black said. “It will be interesting to see what happens to the entertainment industry over the next 20 to 30 years but I think we will be seeing more storytelling from the gaming universe.”
My first thought after seeing Margot Robbie in the new Barbie trailer released Tuesday was: She looks like the Barbie version of Dorothy Gale.
And now I can’t unsee it — especially because some fans think it could be an Easter egg.
Despite plenty of differences, Robbie’s look in the trailer as the titular character has hints of similarities to the famous blue dress Judy Garland wore in The Wizard of Oz. They’re not too, too similar, but Robbie’s costume here is enough to remind me of Garland skipping down the yellow brick road.
Sure, in the Greta Gerwig-directed Barbie, Robbie’s costume is pink, not blue, but it appears to be light pink gingham, reminiscent of Garland’s blue gingham Dorothy costume. Other similarities include the general shape of the neckline and bodice, which are more aligned with Barbie’s typical looks but still loosely resemble the Dorothy costume, along with the babydoll silhouette — though Robbie’s dress (or romper) is far shorter than Garland’s was.
If you haven’t seen the new Barbie trailer, check it out first:
While I initially didn’t dig too much deeper into my Barbie versus Dorothy costume comparison, others did. Particularly TikTok user Cat Quinn, who also noticed the costume similarities but caught so much more with possible Barbie movie Easter eggs that could be hinting at the plot.
3. The pink brick road
Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz is traversing the yellow brick road, but in the Barbie trailer, Barbie is driving down a pink brick road, which could be a total coincidence or something purposely meant as a nod to the 1939 film. It also seems like this road is the path to (and from) Barbie Land, like the yellow brick road is to Oz.
Screenshot: Barbie trailer
While it’s not mentioned in the TikTok breakdown, this shot of a Barbie waterslide resembles the literal beginning of the yellow brick road in Munchkinland.
Screenshot: Barbie trailer/The Wizard of Oz
There’s even a moment in the trailer when it appears as though Barbie and Ken are leaving Barbie Land for the “Real World,” and while they’re driving down the pink brick road, their car flips in the air.
It could be a bit of a stretch, but it could also be a parallel between a tornado carrying Dorothy to Oz and something causing a cyclone-like reaction, briefly flipping Barbie and Ken on their way out of Barbie Land.
Screenshot: Barbie trailer
In the TikTok breakdown, Quinn then uses these possible Easter eggs as a springboard for speculating what the Barbie plot could be about. Obviously, we won’t know for sure until the movie is out, but these Wizard of Oz clues are too noticeable to ignore now.
Warning: DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN’T WATCHED EPISODE 4 OF TED LASSO SEASON 3.
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Welcome to our Ted Lasso Power Rankings!Each week of the 12-episode season, For The Win will chat about the latest episode to see who is thriving and who is straight up not having a good time in the Ted Lasso universe. Let’s dig into it.
“It ain’t no use to sit and wonder why, babe.”
Those were the Bob Dylan lyrics that fans heard during the end credits as the latest episode of Ted Lasso paid tribute to the late journalist Grant Wahl. It is a perfectly fitting way to memorialize Wahl, whose unexpected death in December shook the sports world.
But it wasn’t actually just a tribute during the end credits. In fact, midway through the episode, there is actually an Easter egg that you may have missed if you weren’t watching closely.
Coach Beard was holding a copy of Wahl’s book. Here is how it looked:
Apple TV+
Beyond his contributions to the game of soccer, Wahl was actually directly affiliated with this show. Hunt says that the writer’s room reached out to Wahl to ask about his book The Beckham Experiment.
They hoped to hear what it was like for Wahl to write a book while embedded within a team with a new superstar on the roster so that they could apply it to their characters Trent Crimm and Zava (via Rich Eisen Show):
“Grant Wahl came back with paragraphs of answers within two days. He was incredibly generous with his experiences and it was really, really great and pretty helpful. We have a little nod to him coming up in this next episode. This was when he was still with us. We did not know what was going to come to pass.”
Wahl later visited the Ted Lasso set in England and wrote about the experience on his Substack.
“The show brought a lightness that I didn’t realize how much I needed. It was a little like the effect the show itself had on me when I started watching during the pandemic.”
The show continues to bring light to Wahl’s loved ones. Wahl’s wife, Dr. Céline Gounder, tweeted that the tributes in this episode “means so much” to her and her family.
A new round of rumors suggests Sony may have another PlayStation handheld system in mind, but don’t get your hopes up for a new PSP just yet
A new round of rumors suggests Sony may have another PlayStation handheld system in mind, but don’t get your hopes up for a new PSP just yet. The rumors say Sony is working on a handheld to rival the likes of Logitech’s G Cloud, one that only plays games via cloud streaming.
Speculation about new hardware should always be viewed with a measure of suspicion. Plans can change, and sometimes, rumors are exactly that – with no basis in truth. However, former VentureBeat reporter Jeff Grubb lent an element of credence to the idea in a brief comment on Twitter.
“I am traveling to Super Nintendo World, but I see the reports about a potential Vita 2, and I would definitely scope down those expectations,” Grubb said. “I’ve only ever heard about a cloud-streaming handheld.”
“Sounds disappointing enough to be what ends up happening,” one Twitter user responded.
I am traveling to Super Nintendo World, but I see the reports about a potential Vita 2, and I would definitely scope down those expectations. I've only ever heard about a cloud-streaming handheld.
Sony has a checkered history with its handheld systems. The PlayStation Portable rivaled the Nintendo DS when Sony launched it in the mid-2000s, with a fair amount of first-party support and ports of classic PlayStation games such as God of War. The PlayStation Vita, the PSP’s successor, launched with a bevy of new technology, but while third parties, indies, and smaller studios continued supporting the system for nearly a decade, Sony quickly stopped making games for the platform.
If the new handheld does exist, some speculate Sony might tie it to its existing cloud and streaming offerings as part of the PlayStation Plus subscription program.
It took 28 years for Martin Guigui to bring Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton’s story of breaking the NBA’s color barrier to cinema.
What started for Martin Guigui as an attempt to learn and tell an important story that had been lost to time turned into a decades-long exploration of the award-winning filmmaker’s own approach to art.
When Sweetwater hits theaters April 14, it’ll be the culmination of not just the painstaking research and and pulling of industry teeth Guigui did over 28 years, but also of the country evolving to a place where it’s ready to embrace the film with the level of empathy the writer and director desires.
Born in Argentina and raised in New York City, Guigui first became aware of Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton in the 1990s, and he knew immediately he wanted to bring Clifton’s story of breaking the NBA’s color barrier to cinema.
“The culture that I grew up with, where I come from, my DNA, there was this global understanding that sport and music brings us together,” the 9/11 writer and director said. “Sweetwater Clifton exemplified a lot of what I believe in, what I jump out of bed to experience in life everyday.”
A member of the Harlem Globetrotters in the 1940s, Clifton was one of the best players on a team that revolutionized basketball with an entertaining, up-tempo style of play that included dunks, incredible ball-handling and a team that might have been the best in the world.
Everett Osborne stars as “Sweetwater” in writer/director’s Martin Guigui’s SWEETWATER, a Briarcliff Entertainment release. Credit: Ian Fisher/Briarcliff Entertainment
The Globetrotters twice defeated the world champion Minneapolis Lakers of the NBA, which ultimately kickstarted the New York Knicks’ pursuit of Clifton against the wishes of other league owners. In 1950, they finally pried him away from the Globetrotters, making Clifton the first Black player to sign a contract with an NBA team and spurring league-wide integration the same year.
“This is a message that says, ‘Let’s evolve. Let’s move on. Let’s learn more. Let’s do it together,” Guigui said. “And let’s make sure that we share that with as many hearts, as many souls as possible. And cinema is such a powerful medium so often misutilized. I thought, let’s also make it entertaining. I want this to have all the things that I love in life.”
But first Guigui had to find all the information necessary to make that possible.
When he started on this journey, the internet wasn’t what it was today and the story of Sweetwater Clifton wasn’t as documented as that of Jackie Robinson and Major League Baseball. The NBA was only five years old at the time of integration and not nearly as popular as MLB of that time.
Guigui needed to find and talk to all the right people — which eventually included Red Auerbach, Wilt Chamberlain, Meadowlark Lemon and the families of Clifton, Globetrotters founder Abe Saperstein and former Knicks coach Joe Lapchick. He also had to convince the right people in film studios and production companies this was a story worth telling, and then fight to tell it how he believed it needed to be told.
All of his work over the years turned into a nearly two-hour film that brings to life some important figures in the history of basketball, and a project more special to Guigui because of the journey it took to reach the finish line.
“It was by far one of the most inspiring and fulfilling and impactful, challenging journeys that I’ve ever had in my entire life.”
The career of a video game icon demands constant reinvention. Even the most established characters in the world of gaming have to constantly evolve when it comes to their abilities, their backstory and even their fashion if they want to keep up in the ever-changing video gaming landscape. Like the greatest icons in other fields like music and movies, Mario has had plenty of looks over the years and seems to double his wardrobe with every new game.
It started with a handful of suits that came with special abilities, but as the years have gone on, Mario has amassed more suits than a lawyer’s funeral. Some of these suits are useful, but some of these don’t even give him special powers (other than slaying). We’ve taken on the monumental task of ranking Mario’s most iconic suits and the suit at the top may come as a shock to traditionalists.
The newest episode of The Mandalorian hit the streaming platform Disney+ today as Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), Baby Yoda (Grogu) and Bo-Katan (Katee Sackhoff) continued on their journey across the galaxy. Last week, the trio set off in order to reunite with Bo-Katan’s former Mandalorian clan and fold them in with the rest of the always-helmeted group.
This week, Bo-Katan tracks her faction of Mandalorians — who are now mercenaries-for-hire across outer space in the Imperial ships they stole back in Season 2 — to a very lavish world with a battle droid problem.
WARNING: SPOILERS ABOUT CHAPTER 22 FOLLOW!
We get three incredible cameos as Din Djarin and Bo-Katan are roped into handling the rogue robots. The leaders of this opulent planet? No other than the iconic singer/flautist Lizzo and actor Jack Black. Their head of security that has a bunch of misbehaving machines on his hands? That would be… Christopher Lloyd.
Unsurprisingly, everyone lost it at the appearance of the eclectic-yet-incredible trio.
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The new Barbie trailer dropped this week — we still don’t really know what the movie is about — and we got new cast photos to boot. These pictures introduce the characters in the most Barbie way possible: bright colors and fanciful artwork.
Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling lead the charge as the main Barbie and Ken for Greta Gerwig’s newest movie, which will hit theaters on July 21, 2023. Each cast photo includes the actor’s name and a little note about them like, “Barbie is everything,” or “He’s Ken, too.”
In a brilliant move, the studio set up a way for fans to upload pictures to create their own fun posters using this link. Unsurprisingly, the results were fantastic, and a new meme was born.
Greta Gerwig, Margot Robbie and Barbie. What more could you ask in a movie? This July, we’ll get a feature film on the iconic toy, and we just got more cast photos and an official trailer.
Unsurprisingly, it’s very pink, and Margot Robbie (Barbie) looks incredible. Ryan Gosling (Ken) and Simu Liu (also Ken) seem to be mortal enemies — possibly fighting over our titular queen — in beautiful Barbie Land.
There’s an incredible supporting cast that includes Issa Rae (also Barbie), Kate McKinnon (another Barbie), Emma Mackey (yes, Barbie) and Dua Lipa (you guessed it, Barbie), plus humans in the mix with Will Ferrell playing the Mattel CEO. Add in Michael Cera (Allan), America Ferrera (Gloria) and Helen Mirren (Narrator), and you have a recipe for success.
The trailer looks incredible, but there’s just one problem. What is actually going on in this movie? Barbie seems to be living in Barbie Land and wants to head to the real world, but is the doll going to become a human? Regardless, I cannot wait.
