Tag: Final Fantasy 16

This Final Fantasy 16 pixel version needs to be real

Square Enix celebrated the upcoming Final Fantasy 16’s upcoming release date with a pixel rendition of the RPG and chiptune soundtrack

Square Enix celebrated the upcoming Final Fantasy 16 release date with a pixel rendition of the RPG’s protagonist, Clive, and a nostalgic retro take on the game’s setting of Valisthea. Clive is running along an open plain with his trusty lupine sidekick Thorgal, accompanied by a chiptune track created by Final Fantasy veteran composer Masayoshi Soken.

Soken also scored Final Fantasy XIV and its expansions, including Heavesward and Endwalker.

The pixel animation technically isn’t new. A fan found it earlier in January, but this time, the game’s official Japanese Twitter account tweeted the video with a prompt to pre-order the game ahead of its June release date. Good luck trying to get the collector’s edition, though.

Fans were thrilled with the video and especially the special soundtrack. One Twitter user even said the tune prompted them to pre-order the game.

The final product naturally won’t have a chiptune soundtrack, though, and unfortunately, the pixel version is just a fun promotional thing. Unless Square Enix decides to make Pixel Remaster versions of modern Final Fantasy games, we’ll have to content ourselves with this.

Final Fantasy 16 releases on June 22, 2023, for PS5. While rumors swirled about a PC version, producer Naoki Yoshida suggested there wasn’t a PC port in the works – at least not anytime soon.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

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Final Fantasy 16 producer comments on potential PC version

Naoki Yoshida thinks people should just ‘buy a PS5’

Only a few short months remain until Final Fantasy 16 launches for PS5, though many still wonder if a PC port isn’t far behind. According to producer Naoki Yoshida – don’t expect it anytime soon. 

During a mahjong tournament broadcast for Final Fantasy 14, Yoshida didn’t mince words about the possibility of Final Fantasy 16 coming to PC (thanks, PC Gamer).

“Nobody said a word about a PC version releasing,” Yoshida said. “Why is it like a PC version is releasing six months later? Don’t worry about that. Buy a PS5!”

It’s a puzzling response for multiple reasons. For one, the initial announcement trailer for Final Fantasy 16 ends with a notice saying “also available on PC” – check it out here. Secondly, the Game Awards trailer from last month ends with “not available on other platforms until [Dec. 31, 2023]” – which you can see right here.

In fairness, timed-exclusivity stuff can be messy. So Yoshida and Square Enix likely can’t talk about Final Fantasy 16 coming to platforms aside from PS5 for a bunch of reasons. Regardless, it’ll release for PS5 on June 22, 2023.

We actually had the opportunity to ask Yoshida about Final Fantasy 14‘s Island Sanctuary content recently.

Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.

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Final Fantasy 16 collector’s edition pre-orders cost more than an Xbox

Square Enix opened Final Fantasy 16 pre-orders for the fancy collector’s edition, but it’ll cost you more than a few Gil for that swanky box

Final Fantasy 16 pre-orders are open, following Square Enix’s big release date reveal during The Game Awards 2022, but if you want the Final Fantasy 16 collector’s edition, you’ll need a sizeable stash of Gil set by for the occasion. Square Enix is charging $349.99 for the box and its contents – more than the cost of an Xbox Series S and over half the cost of the PS5 you’ll need to play it on – for the first six months, at least.

The Final Fantasy 16 collector’s edition comes with the game for PS5 and a steel case, a set of metal pins depicting icons of the Eikons, a cloth map of Valisthea, where FF16 takes place, and a statue depicting the clash between the Eikons Phoenix and Ifrit, all packed in a collector’s box featuring unique artwork in classic Final Fantasy style. The collector’s edition also includes some in-game items – the Blood Sword weapon, a set of Scholar’s Specs, and a digital artbook and digital soundtrack.

If you don’t fancy spending that kind of money, you can also grab the deluxe edition for $99.99. This version comes with the game and steel case, along with the cloth map and a six-inch cloth banner. If you order the deluxe edition from Best Buy, you get a bonus, Best Buy-exclusive steel case along with the Square Enix case.

You can also just get the game itself for $69.99, and if you pre-order it from the Square Enix store, you also get the six-inch cloth banner.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

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Square Enix announces Final Fantasy 16 release date at The Game Awards

Square Enix is planning a Final Fantasy 16 release date for very early in summer 2023 as promised

Naoki Yoshida previously made a teasing comment about surprising fans with how early in summer 2023 the Final Fantasy 16 release date would be, and it turns out he wasn’t joking. Square Enix will launch Final Fantasy 16 on June 22, 2022, for PlayStation 5, almost as early in summer as you can get. Square Enix made no mention of releasing Final Fantasy 16 on other platforms, including PC, as the RPG is a console exclusive for at least six months after launch.

Yoshida appeared on stage during the The Game Awards 2022 to make the announcement, which included the Revenge trailer, showcasing some of the most intense action and combat in the game to date.

The news comes after the first Final Fantasy 16 rating appeared in the wild from the South Korean ratings board, listing a range of factors that certainly seem to warrant the game’s “Mature” rating tag. These include violence, sexual content, and disturbing situations, and while that may seem at odds with what’s normally a toned-down fantasy RPG series, it isn’t entirely out of keeping with past games.

Final Fantasy XIV, which Yoshida also produces, regularly deals with darker, heavier themes, and Final Fantasy Type-0 didn’t shy away from the bloodier side of war and conflict.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

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Final Fantasy 16 rating prompts release date speculation

The first Final Fantasy 16 rating is up, and it sounds like the Square Enix RPG is earning its “mature” standing

Brazil’s ratings board published the first Final Fantasy 16 rating (thanks, VGC), which has prompted a few questions not just about what to expect from the upcoming RPG – which certainly seems to be earning its mature rating – but when it might release. Producer Naoki Yoshida recently teased that the Final Fantasy 16 release date would be sooner than some might expect.

Whether we hear news about the release date soon is anyone’s guess, but it seems guaranteed Final Fantasy 16 news of some variety is coming soon. Geoff Keighley, host of The Game Awards, announced that Yoshida will make a special appearance during The Game Awards 2022, and Yoshida previously promised another trailer and more information at some point before the year ends.

Games are usually rated anywhere from a few weeks to several months before they release, though so far, the ESRB hasn’t issued a rating for United States audiences just yet.

The Brazil rating says the game is not for children under 16 and cites sexual content, violence, torture, and hate crimes. Surprising as those rating tags may sound, it’s not entirely out of keeping with some of the long-running series’ darker entries. 

One narrative thread in Final Fantasy 12 was altered in Japan owing to its similarity to real-life kidnappings that had taken place in Japan at the time, and Final Fantasy 14 frequently delves into darker storytelling and doesn’t shy away from violence.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

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Final Fantasy 16 will be a PS5 exclusive for six months

PC and Xbox owners will have to wait a bit longer.

It seems that Final Fantasy 16 will be available exclusively on PS5 for about half a year, anyway.

On Monday, PlayStation released a new trailer showing off several features of the PS5 DualSense controller. Very briefly, there are a few snippets of Final Fantasy 16 footage with a disclaimer about its release that reads, “[Final Fantasy 16] anticipated Summer 2023. PS5 exclusive for six months.”

That’s not all that surprising. Since the initial reveal, publisher Square Enix has repeatedly stated that Final Fantasy 16 would land on PS5 first — though we didn’t know for how long it would be exclusive until now.

Check out the sizzle reel for yourself below.

As for Final Fantasy 16’s release date, there’s still nothing concrete. Producer Naoki Yoshida recently said it’ll be out earlier than fans expect. Whatever that means!

There’s no indication that Final Fantasy 16 is releasing to Xbox platforms, but a PC version is likely still coming — the first trailer suggested as much, anyway. Since then, however, the teasers removed any mention of PC ports. 

It’s probably not worth fretting over, though. Square Enix has been releasing virtually every series entry on PC as of late, including the Final Fantasy 7 Remake.

Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.

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The Final Fantasy 16 release date won’t be delayed, Yoshida says

The Final Fantasy 16 release date may be sooner than we thought, as Square Enix says the game is 95 percent complete and won’t face a delay

The Final Fantasy 16 release date is seemingly set in stone and won’t be delayed past summer 2023, producer Naoki Yoshida told Famitsu in an interview (translated by Audrey/aitakimochi). Yoshida also said the game is 95 percent complete and Square Enix is planning to announce the release date before the end of the year in another info drop. The launch will likely be earlier in 2023 than most people are anticipating, he said.

A demo for the upcoming PS5 game will launch sometime before the full game releases.

The comments come in a wave of new interviews about the hotly-anticipated RPG, alongside several other new insights about the game, some more welcomed by fans than others. 

Creative director Kazutoyo Maehiro said Final Fantasy 5 inspired Final Fantasy 16’s combat, which includes a broad array of customization options. Game Director Hiroshi Takai told EveryEye the main game will take roughly 40 hours to complete, though the run time stretches to 70 or more if you plan on doing side quests. Enemies become stronger in New Game+ as well.

IGN asked Yoshida whether fans can expect to see people of color in Final Fantasy 16, as previous trailers showed only white characters in all of the game’s six kingdoms. Yoshida said the team based Final Fantasy 16 on medieval Europe and believed focusing on diversity would “violate” the narrative boundaries the team set for themselves.

Later in the response, he also said:

“It can be challenging to assign distinctive ethnicities to either antagonist or protagonist without triggering audience preconceptions, inviting unwarranted speculation, and ultimately stoking flames of controversy.”

The reaction on Twitter was largely negative, and Kotaku’s Sisi Jiang summarized it in an article that posed the question of why a game based on medieval Europe shouldn’t reflect the diverse people groups who actually inhabited the region, as is well documented.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

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5 things you didn’t know about Final Fantasy XVI

Final Fantasy 16 just got an explosive second trailer, and Naoki Yoshida has been revealing new facts about the game ever since.

Final Fantasy XVI is, in case it wasn’t clear from the title, the sixteenth mainline entry in the Final Fantasy series, and already looks set to be one of the biggest and best game releases of 2023. We’ve seen two trailers thus far, with the second seeing a debut recently, and the fan reception has been positive.

The medieval fantasy setting looks great, and the action-heavy combat has been widely praised thus far. In a series of interviews game producer Naoki Yoshida shared a few tidbits about the game you might not be aware of, but we’ve collated them below. Here are five things you might not know about Final Fantasy XVI. 

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Final Fantasy 16 has a mature rating to tell a story with ‘difficult adult themes’

Final Fantasy 16 will be the first mainline game in the series to come with a mature content rating.

Final Fantasy 16 will be the first mainline game in the series to come with a mature content rating. As well as the implied nudity in the trailer, you can expect the upcoming game to be more violent and touch on stronger themes than other games in the series.

Naoki Yoshida is working on the project as a producer. He’s the person who’s often credited for successfully saving Final Fantasy 14, the critically acclaimed MMO that suffered a rocky start.

Speaking to GameSpot, he opened up about why the team decided to pursue a mature rating for Final Fantasy 16.

“Video game ratings have become more and more restrictive recently regarding what can or cannot be shown,” Yoshida explained. “That said, I do believe that ratings are very important to ensure that younger players are shielded from extreme material.

“But on the other hand, when trying to tell a story with difficult adult themes, these ratings can end up becoming somewhat of a hindrance. And you find yourself changing things that you wanted to do in the game based on that rating. You wanted to show something, but because you have this certain rating that you need to go to, you need to move the camera away. And that ends up making the entire experience feel a little bit cheaper.

“So, this time, to make sure that we could tell the story that we wanted in the way that we wanted to, we decided to pursue a mature rating in most of the regions that will be releasing the game. But again, this is not because we simply wanted to make the game more violent or the game more explicit, this is because we felt it was necessary to allow us to explore those more mature themes that the game tackles.”

Elsewhere in the interview, he spoke about how some of the summon battles will be like 3D shooting games, while others will be like wrestling matches. He also chatted about the game’s themes, the main differences between it and Final Fantasy 15, and plenty more. It’s worth checking out in full at the link above.

Final Fantasy 16 will follow the story of Clive, a character who you’ll play as through different stages of their life. Instead of being joined by traditional party members, your companion will be a wolf.

Final Fantasy 16 is coming to PS5 in 2023.

Written by Kirk McKeand on behalf of GLHF. 

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New Final Fantasy 16 gameplay trailer is exciting beyond belief

At long last, Square Enix gives fans the goods.

The wait for Final Fantasy 16 is utterly excruciating, especially after seeing it again after so long.

During State of Play on Thursday, Square Enix finally released the second trailer for Final Fantasy 16. No, you’re not dreaming – it’s real, and looks brilliant. When producer Naoki Yoshida began teasing fans about this weeks ago, he really should have given everyone a disclaimer that it would be overflowing with hype. Seriously, most of us knew gameplay was coming, but story tidbits and soundtrack teases too? We’re feasting. 

Enough fanboy prattle from me, though. Check out the latest Final Fantasy 16 trailer below. 

My goodness, the graphics sure improved since that initial reveal years ago. It’s unclear if Final Fantasy 16 is running natively on PS5 here. Given that timed platform exclusivity deal, it likely is. No status update on the PC version yet, I’m afraid.

As for release date information, Final Fantasy 16 is coming summer 2023.

developing…

Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.

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