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Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis offers style and flash — for a bit of cash
Square Enix masterfully knows how to tease it best Final Fantasy stories
Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis was revealed during the 2021 State of Play livestream. Now that the game has entered closed beta, we can finally see what Square Enix has been cooking. As a fan that's been playing Final Fantasy for over a decade and a half, starting with Final Fantasy IX (working forward and backward), I've sunk my teeth in every spinoff and sequel to every mainline title since. This also includes Crisis Core on the PSP, Dirge of Cerberus on the PlayStation 2, and reading through fan-translated transcripts of Before Crisis, a Japanese-only mobile game.
Square Enix's Voice of Cards trilogy is now available for Android
These card-based RPGs offer a unique narrative experience
The Voice of Cards series, a trilogy of card-based RPGs, is out now on Android. Initially released by Square Enix in 2021, these games are inspired by tabletop RPGs and can be played as standalone experiences.
Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent starter's guide
The basics every traveler needs to navigate the evils of Orsterra
Square Enix's Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent is Android's first entry in the series. The beloved IP originated on the Nintendo Switch in 2016, considered a love letter to the old-school RPG style with a few shakeups. Nonetheless, newcomers can experience Champions of the Content without prior knowledge of the series. The game is a prequel with plenty of character-collecting gameplay to explore on your favorite Android gaming phone.
Echoes of Mana beginner's guide: Starting your journey and building the best team
Learn the ropes of the latest action RPG from Square Enix
It's time to save the Mana Tree again; Square Enix's latest Mana series crossover, Echoes of Mana, will have you depart on an epic quest while meeting familiar faces across the beautiful lands played straight on your favorite Android phone. You'll revisit memories, paying homage to classic tales across every game in the series. However, Echoes of Mana has a fair share of grindy systems that adds a few bumps on the road, which is why we've produced a guide to teach you how to easily traverse these systems; covering all the basics, from battling to upgrading systems and how to go about forming your dream team.
All six Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters are on sale for 20% off
If you've been waiting for a sale to pick up the Final Fantasy 6 Pixel Remaster, today's the day
Square Enix remastered the first six titles in the Final Fantasy RPG series, with the first three rolling out this past November and the sixth title finally landing this past February. Well, since these are all titles that are fairly new, they've yet to go on sale since their release. This ends today as all six games are currently 20% off their retail price. So if you've been patiently waiting for a sale to pick up a few of your favorite JRPGs now that they've been remastered with a fitting 2D pixel art style, Square Enix has your back with today's Play Store discounts.
Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier starter's guide - Tips and tricks for new players
Jumpstart your Soldier Candidacy by mastering these basics
For decades, Final Fantasy VII has surged in enough popularity that its developer Square Enix has been able to pump out prequels, sequels, spin-offs, and reimaginations to milk the profound success the JRPG has had with its fans. This time around, Square Enix is eying to come out on top of the battle royale genre with Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier.
Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent hands-on — Inferior in every way
It may look the part, but something's certainly missing
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Square Enix's latest gacha game is Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent, styled after the Nintendo Switch game, but now offering all of the free-to-play mechanics most gamers hate. That's right; Square thought it wise to cash in on the popularity of Ocotpath Traveler with a monetarily abusive gacha game on mobile, offering a familiar amalgamation of its popular HD-2D art style, but it's severely lacking in polish, almost as if the bare minimum is a perfectly sound business strategy when developing and launching free-to-play mobile games, clueing everyone into precisely what Square Enix thinks of its fans.
Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent is the laziest gacha game from Square Enix yet
Pillarboxing, no English voice work, horrible monetization, retreaded gameplay, and poor performance are just the tip of the iceberg
Square Enix certainly has a penchant for taking its premium RPGs and turning them into gacha games for mobile, and Octopath Traveler is the latest to receive this treatment with the launch of Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent. As expected, it's a gacha game, a greedy one at that, and it's incredibly unpolished to boot despite the fact it's now globally released. Sure, it may look the part with similar graphics to the console/PC game, but in the end, it's a cynical cash grab filled with greedy in-app purchases, designed from the ground up to empty wallets instead of providing fun. So let's dig in and explore why Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent is a trash-tier release.
Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent is coming to Android next month
A recent Twitch stream finally revealed the release date for the West
Since February, we've known that Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent would be coming to Android in the West sometime this summer. We've already gone hands-on with the beta if you're curious to see how the game plays. Beyond the Western beta, the gacha game has been available in Japan since 2020, but it's finally making its way to the US and Europe next month. As a matter of fact, Square Enix has revealed in a recent Twitch stream that the game is set to arrive on July 27th, which is a little over a month away.
Square Enix is bringing a classic PS2-era JRPG to Android with a slick-looking refresh
Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song is arriving this winter
Square Enix has been on a tear lately, releasing new premium games on mobile at a breakneck pace, and next up is another Romancing SaGa title, and this time it's Minstrel Song, a PS2 remake of the original Romancing SaGa game released in 1992. Well, Square Enix has seen fit to remaster the PS2 game, revealed during a SaGa livestream in Japan. Thankfully the developer has released an English trailer, so it would appear that a global release is planned across Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Steam, with an expected release sometime this winter.
Dragon Quest Builders lands on Android as a surprise release
It's $22, and that's 20% off the retail price
It would appear that Square Enix has managed to do it again. The developer has released yet another hobbled port on mobile, this time for Dragon Quest Builders. It's a surprise release launched in celebration of Dragon Quest's 36th anniversary, and despite the high asking price of $21.99 (that's with a current 20% discount, by the way), controller support was removed, and DLC was added. Yep, $21.99 doesn't even get you the whole game. If you'd like to unlock the new free play build mode exclusive to the mobile release, you'll have to spend more money. Gee, thanks, Square Enix.
Hands-on with Echoes of Mana: A patchwork of nostalgia enveloped in a gacha wrapper
The latest game in the ARPG series, but it doesn't stack up to the originals
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Over the last year, Square Enix has been busy celebrating the 30th anniversary of its Mana action RPG series, launching classic remasters like Trials of Mana and Legends of Mana on the Play Store. Of course, these are older games despite their remastering, so it's about time something new was brought to the table, and so Square Enix has developed an all-new title in the Mana series called Echoes of Mana. It's a free-to-play gacha game that offers a new story, and it just launched this past week, which is precisely why we've revisited our guide to ensure it's up-to-date for the global launch. So if you're interested to see how the global version of the game stacks up now that it's out across the world, you've come to the right place.
Echoes of Mana is now available on Android as a free-to-play release
The game brings a fresh story to the classic action RPG series
We first learned about Echoes of Mana back in June 2021, and the game finally entered into pre-registration this past March, signaling Square Enix was ramping up to the global release. While the initial Apple App Store listing touted an April 30th release date, Square confirmed at the end of last week the game would launch on the 27th. Coincidentally, that's today, and as of early this morning the servers for Echoes of Mana are live.
Front Mission is coming to mobile, and there's already a concept trailer
Pre-registration is now open on the game's website
Front Mission is a tactical RPG series from Square Enix that dates back to 1995 as a Super Famicom release, which eventually made its way West as a Nintendo DS title. Over the years, the series has seen many entries, including a couple of mobile games released exclusively in Japan under the 2089 moniker. Well, it would appear that Square isn't done with the 2089 mobile offshoots and is bringing the series West, and so the company has released an official concept trailer for a new game known as Front Mission 2089: Borderscape, along with a handful of social media accounts and a website that already offers pre-registration.
New Kingdom Hearts mobile game on the way celebrates 20 years of the series
Closed beta planned for 2022
Square Enix held a 20th-anniversary event for Kingdom Hearts over the weekend and subsequently released a trailer for three games. The first trailer is for Kingdom Hearts Uχ Dark Road, which will be concluding its story this year, and the third trailer reveals Kingdom Hearts 4 is in the works, a mainline entry. These are fine announcements on their own, but the second trailer is why we're here, teasing an all-new mobile game in the franchise, known as Kingdom Hearts: Missing Link. Details are incredibly light, though it looks like an action RPG, and should be entering into closed beta testing in select regions this year.
There's a new Mana game coming from Square Enix — pre-registration starts today
It's time again to save the Mana Tree
Last summer, Square Enix celebrated the 30th anniversary of its Mana action-RPG series, announcing that Trials of Mana would come to the platform (having launched in July 2021), along with a brand-new title in the series called Echoes of Mana. Well, as of this morning, Echoes of Mana is available on the Google Play Store for pre-registration. Sticking to the series ARPG roots, Echoes of Mana is a 2D action RPG, and this time around, you're on the hunt for the Mana Sword in order to save the Mana Tree.
Hitman Sniper: The Shadows — A beginner's guide for new agents
Never again fail to fulfill your contracts
Square Enix has launched its latest free-to-play Hitman game on mobile, known as Hitman Sniper: The Shadows. Our first look at the game discovered a slew of opportunities for high-profile assassination, but there's also a clever twist involved with your sniping. Each level works like a puzzle, which requires strategic thinking to take down your targets. This extra bit of depth allows for a more satisfying finish to each level, though things can get tricky the further you progress, which is why AP is here to help.
Apparently, someone at Square Enix remembered Chrono Trigger exists, and so a fresh Japanese trailer has dropped that outlines a substantial incoming update that's expected to land on mobile and PC this Friday. The sharp eyes at Gematsu reported on the trailer's existence early this morning, and the video covers what fans can expect when the update lands later this week.
Hitman Sniper: The Shadows blasts its way onto Android — here's what the first 30 minutes look like
Does it stack up to the original?
Last year Square Enix announced the follow-up to its Hitman Sniper mobile game at E3, and this past Valentine's Day, we learned that Square would officially launch the game on the Play Store on March 3rd. That's today, and Square has held true to its word as Hitman Sniper: The Shadows is now available on the Play Store. Of course, if you'd like to see how the game plays, we've recorded a gameplay video to illustrate precisely that. So if you've been curious to see Hitman Sniper: The Shadows in action now that it's available on Android, you've come to the right place.
FFVII The First Soldier kicks off its second season, adding new aerial combat, materia, and a Bahamut boss
With more changes including a new map coming later
Season two has officially begun for Square Enix's FFVII The First Soldier, a battle royale game set in the world of Final Fantasy VII. With the tagline "Dominate the Sky," the new season "extends the battlefield upward" with dragoon-style combat fans of other Final Fantasy games may recognize, as well as new guns and materia, and Bahamut around to shake things up on a map now studded with crystals.