Final Fantasy & Kingdom Hearts Union

It's true, according to Tetsuya Nomura, Kingdom Hearts 3 is now officially complete... they've finished working on the main game and to celebrate they've released a new trailer! Not only that, but there are more trailers and videos to come throughout December and the pre-order bonuses have been revealed! There was also a ton of information released about Pixar's involvement with Kingdom Hearts 3 and it sounds pretty intense to say the least!

We're talking about the Final Fantasy 7 Remake in-depth this episode... sort of! Tetsuya Nomura has been speaking to the press about his frustrations... with the press, so we delve into what that actually means. Does he have a point and whose fault is it? Also, what's actually even going on with the Final Fantasy 7 Remake... will it now be appearing on the PlayStation 5? There's so much to discuss! On top of that, there's also some news updates relating to Dissidia NT, Final Fantasy XIV and Final Fantasy XIII!

As part of Microsoft's X018 event, we got to see a new Kingdom Hearts 3 trailer and there was a ton of new details revealed! We got to hear Master Xehanort's new voice, some new footage from Big Hero Six and some new spoilerific scenes featuring Sora, Axel and Kairi! It means there's an absolute boat load of things to discuss and with Sabrina and Churro joining Branden, there are loads if opinions too! In addition, there's also a question from the community about the Radiant Garden being offered up as potential downloadable content.

Shocked doesn't even begin to describe how we're feeling after everything that's happened this week as not only has Hajime Tabata stepped down as the Director/Producer of Final Fantasy XV, he's also quit Square Enix entirely! The majority of the planned DLC episodes for Final Fantasy XV have also been cancelled, with Episode Ardyn the only survivor. It means there's plenty to discuss on this episode; starting with... how did this even happen? Outside of that, there's also a small news segment, with some updates around World of Final Fantasy and Dissidia NT!

Last time we talked about whether or not it would work as a movie or tv show and so in light of Kingdom Hearts III's attraction flow mechanics., this episode we're discussing whether or not Kingdom Hearts would work as a Disneyland ride. As we're getting closer and closer to the release date of Kingdom Hearts III, we're seeing the game pop up at many trade shows. Its most recent appearance at Lucca Comics and Games 2018 saw a new trailer focused around the Tangled world. There was also an announcement about a new single called "Face my Fears" and we close out the episode answering questions from the community. Which Disney film do we want featured in a future game? Well, listen to find out!

Fan theories have been swirling around for quite some time, but what's their impact on the wider lore of the Final Fantasy franchise? Well, that's what's being discussed on the podcast as touch on some of the more prominent fan theories that have done the rounds, and discuss the impact they've had. As part of this, we also look at comments that have been made by the creators on this particular topic, with some being more open to the works of fans than others!

With Disney becoming more heavily involved with Kingdom Hearts 3, there's always the potential for expansion... but what about as a movie or TV show? That's one of the main topics for the show this episode, as one of our community members is keen to see our thoughts about how Kingdom Hearts could continue to grow after the release of Kingdom Hearts 3. There is, of course, also plenty of news relating to Kingdom Hearts 3 and it looks like Union Cross is also getting an update!

Dissidia NT has been out for quite some time now, but things haven't gone as planned... so what's next? This episode, we discuss a recent marketing campaign that Square Enix has launched to try and promote Dissidia NT, but we go further back, looking at why the launch didn't yield the expected results and why their strategy since then perhaps hasn't helped. It all leads onto what's next for the game. Will Season Pass Two help to revitalise the game, or should they look at different approaches to try and bring players in?

With the launch of Kingdom Hearts 3 getting closer and closer, Square Enix are looking to build the hype wherever possible! And that's seen them announce a brand-new compilation game called Kingdom Hearts: The Story So Far. It will act as a full Kingdom Hearts collection on the PS4, including six games and three movie-length cutscenes! Outside of that, the game's opening song has been announced and it's being co-written by Utada and Skrillex! There's also been hints that Sephiroth will be making an appearance in Kingdom Hearts 3!

With the recent birth of our second child, Darryl is flying solo this episode... but that doesn't mean there will be any less to discuss as the games as a service topic has raised its head again following an interview with Final Fantasy XV's director Hajime Tabata! Darryl runs through the merits of the approach in relation to Final Fantasy XV, talking about the lessons that can be learnt and applied to future iterations. But it's also about understanding what exactly it means for games to act as a service, as opposed to a standalone packaged offering. In addition, there's also plenty of questions to run-through, including favourite summon mechanics, opinions on the Ultimania Archive guide books and what we think about Caius and Noel as characters!  

Kingdom Hearts 3 had a strong showing at this year's Tokyo Game Show, with plenty of new stuff shown! First up, we finally received footage of Big Hero 6! This was announced some time ago, but until now we had only seen a piece of key art; that's all changed thanks to a brand new trailer! There were also new story sequences revealed, some information about returning characters and there's also plenty of interesting morsels from an interview with Tetsuya Nomura... including talking about the secret ending!

We're now approaching the end of the 31st anniversary for Final Fantasy, and we just had a ton of announcements! Were these the games Hashimoto was talking about throughout last year? Who knows! Either way, we couldn't be more excited about the announcement of the Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered Edition and with more content coming to World of Final Fantasy, classic games coming to Xbox One and Nintendo Switch and the announcement of a Chocobo Dungeons remaster, it was quite the explosion! With the Tokyo Game Show not even underway yet, there's also the chance that we may get even more news too - so keep your eyes and ears peeled!

Tokyo Game Show 2018 proposes to be a pretty huge event for the Kingdom Hearts franchise with plenty of stuff already confirmed! And that's what this episode is all about, building the hype and discussing what's going to be at the actual show. Outside of that, there are plenty of updates relating to Kingdom Hearts Union X and we have the customary questions, which relate to side content in Kingdom Hearts 3 and unrealised potential within the franchise!

With Final Fantasy constantly changing in almost every regard, with respect to the narrative, are love stories now a thing of the past?   That's out main topic for today, as we take a look through how the franchise tackled romantic relationships in the earlier iterations and how they've been tackled in the more recent ones.   We also have a rather lengthy question from the community where we run-through some of our favourite pieces of music from the franchise and the stories as to why certain pieces stand out!   Hopefully it's an insightful episode!

There's been another mini Kingdom Hearts 3 news explosion, but we've also had some rather interesting questions asked this episode! As part of a new wave of press, the Kingdom Hearts 3 team have spoken more about the role of the Gummi Ship in this latest iteration, that there will be secret World Bosses that they won't reveal before launch and they also went into detail about the whole localisation process. We've also got some great questions from the community around unexpected worlds we think will appear in Kingdom Hearts 3, other characters we'd like to play as and whether we think the next game will act as a reboot for the franchise!

With Square Enix focusing so heavily on remakes and remasters in recent years, has this been hindering their creative efforts elsewhere? That's the main topic of our show today, as we talk through the pros and cons of remakes and remasters! In addition, we've also got a whole host of questions from the community, relating to topics such as Final Fantasy X-3, likes/dislikes when it comes to the various mobile titles and whether or not we think there will ever be another game released within the Final Fantasy Tactics franchise! It's an action-packed episode full of plenty of discussions!

Perhaps it's too early to think about it, but that's where we're heading this episode... as we we're taking a look at what's next for Kingdom Hearts as we progress beyond 2019. Of course though, there's still plenty of time for some news and with Gamescom on the horizon, there's going to be a ton of stuff to look forward to and discuss! There's also the classic question about how to best prepare for the release of Kingdom Hearts 3 - are you guys going to start right at the beginning and have a huge marathon?

With Octopath Traveler doing so well, should it have been positioned as a Final Fantasy game? That's the topic we're discussing today, and we also branch it out into wider games like the Bravely series. It makes for an interesting debates about the merits of being associated with Final Fantasy, or whether it's sometimes better to go it alone! In addition, we've also got numerous questions from bosses that we think would be good parents, through to who we think should be the main composer on Final Fantasy XVI!

With so much happening right now related to Kingdom Hearts 3, we often have to pick and choose what we cover, so today, we're running through the news that we often don't cover! So, we're talking about game length, Nendoroids and interesting prize draws that are being run in Japan at the moment! There's also time for a bit of news about Kingdom Hearts Union Cross! Outside of that, there's a whole host of questions to run-through, relating to the best numbered titles, how certain characters may have an impact on the story of Kingdom Hearts 3 and the secret ending of Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded!

We're taking plenty of questions this episode, and our main topic delves into the realm of us... becoming the CEO of Square Enix! It makes for some interesting discussions and some unique angles as to where and why Square Enix should focus on certain things! Outside of that, we've got a whole host of other questions related to the enemies we feel most guilty about beating up, through to Dissidia NT characters and future remakes!