Those who are waking up on February 29 with hopes of playing the rhythm game Theatrhythm Final Bar Line may find a bit of a surprise. It turns out there’s a glitch that’s preventing people from playing on this particular day. And only on this particular day.

Something Square Enix forgot to take into account

Users across social media and on the Theatrhythm subreddit have been having problems with their save file today. When they try to load up their game, they’re met by a black screen that never finishes connecting. While some feared that their data was corrupted, it’s thankfully not that serious of an issue. The issue is actually due to Theatrhythm Final Bar Line not recognizing the date February 29, as the developers failed to take leap years into consideration.

If you’ve experienced a similar problem with your game just loading into a black screen, a solution has been offered. Basically, if you change the system clock back to a prior date, it should work. It should also be fixed if the date is set after February 29 as well.

At the time of writing, Square Enix hasn’t come forward with a statement about this date-based oversight. However, it does appear there is a quick solution, but it may be in the publisher’s best interests to perhaps offer a patch for the game.

Theatrhythm Final Bar Line was released last February for PS4 and Nintendo Switch. It’s a rhythm game set in the Final Fantasy universe. It’s the fifth installment in the Theatrhythm subseries, with the first entry released back in 2012.

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It’s time to get out of Midgar. If you’re a fan of the original Final Fantasy 7, you know that game finally opens up in second half of the first disc, with Cloud and the gang setting off into the wider world of Gaia in pursuit of Sephiroth. As such, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is a tougher game to make as it comes with a lot of expectations, more content to recreate, and a lot of build-up from the ending of FF7 Remake. Square Enix has reinterpreted and refreshed all of the enemies, environments, and plot points while adding new, modern elements that still treat the original game with respect. The amount of work that has gone into FF7 Rebirth is truly staggering, and though several parts of the game feel stretched out and encumbered, it follows through on its potential.

The next world

This review will be purposefully vague on the storyline of FF7 Remake and FF7 Rebirth to keep spoilers to a minimum, though anyone who has played through the original game will more or less know what happens. FF7 Rebirth, as a direct sequel to FF7 Remake, comes with several lingering plot threads that are addressed throughout the story. A recap video of the events in the first game is available in the main menu in case you need a refresher.

New cutscenes, conversations, and side quests alter the original plotline enough that it still feels like a fresh take, while the general framework has mostly been kept intact. Revisiting all of the familiar story beats, while listening to modern orchestrations of familiar tunes, is delightfully nostalgic. The party worries about Cloud’s memory, Barret and Tifa want to take down Shinra, Red XIII wishes to return home, and Aerith hopes to learn more about her past. Short scenes involving another character are mainly spliced between chapters, lending an air of mystery on the overarching timeline. It’s not until the latter half of the game that events more significantly deviate from the source material, introducing various elements to the lore that weren’t there before.

The majority of the side quests and protorelic missions spread throughout each region of the world provide opportunities for the party to interact with new characters as well as NPCs from FF7 Remake. Completing these tasks, along with choosing specific dialogue options, also adds relationships points between Cloud and one of the party members. This impacts and provides more options for a particular cutscene later in the game — a mechanic which FF7 fans will recognize. The game doesn’t shy away from adding tongue-in-cheek humor either, especially when it comes to Red XIII riding chocobos and getting mad when humans treat him like a pet.

However, FF7 Rebirth has some trouble sticking the landing, particularly in the last third of the story. How some characters are integrated into the party feels like a missed opportunity and it’s done in an awkwardly deliberate way. Also, the ending reveals a lot of information, but it’s told in a tangled, murky, erratic sequence of events. While it tries to be intriguing by raising as many questions as it answers, it sacrifices clarity for the sake of complex plot structure.

Reforged in battle

Much of the real-time combat system from FF7 Remake has been carried over with a few additional mechanics like synergy skills and abilities. Hitting enemies with basic attacks builds the ATB meter and segments of this gauge can be used to cast spells, use items, and perform character abilities. Enemies also have a stun meter that builds quickly if you’re able to pressure them, typically done by exploiting their elemental weakness or evading their strikes with proper timing. Once it’s full, they become staggered for a long time during which any damage dealt is multiplied.

Each party member has different strengths, so changing which character you control during battle can be strategically useful. In fact, the story has numerous sections that force your group to split up, so you will want to be well-versed with how each character works anyway. Out of the starting party, Cloud and Tifa are strong at dealing single-target damage, Barret and Aerith have long-range attacks, and Red XIII has a multi-hit spinning attack that builds stagger and ATB quickly. 

In addition, each party member has access to limit breaks as well as a synergy meter that increases every time ATB is used. This fuels powerful synergy abilities that can give two members temporarily larger ATB meters, access to higher limit break levels, or unlimited MP for a short time. Meanwhile, synergy skills can be used freely and which ones you can use depends on your current party makeup.

FF7 Rebirth provides many opportunities for character progression beyond basic leveling. Obtaining a wide variety of materia and giving them AP from battles is vital, making materia slots on weapons and armor crucial for keeping pace with enemies and bosses in the long run. Every new weapon you find allows a character to learn an ability from it permanently, and various accessories you can purchase or craft from materials can increase base stats and grant immunities to status effects. Also tracked is Party XP earned by defeating story bosses and completing minor world intel objectives on the map. As this increases in level, your party will unlock new options on their skill trees that can be learned by spending skill points. 

The main weakness of the combat system is that it’s finicky on occasion. Evading homing attacks, particularly the swallow ability from land worms, is more difficult than it should be. Figuring out limit levels is tricky too since you have to learn the appropriate skill synergies on the skill tree and then track limit level increases on your own in battle. Since using items takes one ATB charge, using them in battle is a rough call when abilities and spells tend to be better options. It’s not until you earn the Item Economizer materia or have Mist potions on hand that using one is worth the action economy.

Overlapping audio is an occasional problem as well. As you explore a town, you’ll sometimes walk around a crowd of NPCs and all of them begin talking at the same time to the point that you can barely make out what they’re saying. In fiend battles on the map, a new AI character named MAI will interrupt the fight by spewing out facts about the enemy. It’s supposed to be helpful, but alongside the intense music and special effects, her dialogue is a distraction that you can’t turn off. 

Gold Saucer-eyed

One of the best parts of FF7 Rebirth is seeing every environment expanded to an incredible degree. The first town of Kalm has beautifully detailed streets and shops, while the opening Grasslands region has green rolling hills, watermills, and trickling streams. Those are merely starters compared to several cities later on, like Cosmo Canyon, Costa Del Sol, and the Gold Saucer, that are even more impressive. The level of detail just in the number of objects that fill each area is incredible. This remains consistent as you progress from one chapter to the next, even as regions become more complex to navigate.

Fortunately, dealing with the rougher terrain is by and large resolved by riding a chocobo. Not only are chocobos faster than walking on foot, but they also make grabbing resources easy and can sniff out hidden treasures on the map. Much of these are materials that can be sold for gil or transmuted into items and equipment. Specific regional versions allow you to reach restricted areas as well, like mountain chocobos being able to climb the side of cliffs. You can locate chocobo stops too that give you a chance to rest and provide another point for fast travel.

On the downside, around half of all the activities on the map amount to busywork. Similar to viewpoints in Assassin’s Creed, activating remnawave towers will reveal locations of nearby points of interest. But finding every tower, life spring, summon sanctuary, fiend battle, moghouse, cache, excavation site, and more is exhausting. The chocobo stealth activity and the Moogle Mischief mini-games are especially burdensome (and the Moogles look more like koala bears for some reason). Even if you aren’t a completionist (like I am), you are encouraged to finish as much as you can to earn Party XP, purchase powerful materia from Chadley, and unlock combat simulator battles.

Otherwise, most of the mini-games are enjoyable side diversions that add a lot of flavor. Queen’s Blood, a three-lane card game that’s similar to Triple Triad from FF8, requires a lot of strategy in placing cards on the field, and there are players in every town that you can challenge. Out of all the activities at the Gold Saucer, chocobo racing is the main attraction and plays very close to Mario Kart. In addition to Chadley’s combat simulations, there are a few other arenas for more intense fights. The piano performance mini-game from the demo appears throughout the journey too. Other mini-games from the original game have been recreated here, including the Shinra Junon parade and Fort Condor. Doing well at all these games awards strong materia, weapons, and accessories, so while many of them are optional, completing them is time well spent.

Completing the main campaign and every world intel mission takes around 100 hours, more so if you decide to tackle optional content that unlocks after you finish the story. Some chapters feel stretched out more than they should be, with some levels that go on for too long and activities that repeat themselves across every region. Tying the more mundane tasks to one of the party members, similar to how side quests are done, would have helped alleviate the tedium.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Final Verdict

Through its expanded story, fantastic graphics, and abundance of side activities, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth vigorously continues the momentum from FF7 Remake. While some parts of the game are too slow or padded for the sake of content, the majority of the experience is a pleasant ride through nostalgia. It will be curious to see how progress, if any, is carried over to the next game, given all the exploration and items that you can obtain here. At any rate, FF7 Rebirth lives up to its promise as a love letter to the original game and solidly sets up the third and final title in the trilogy.

Disclosure: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth PS5 code provided by publisher.

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The ongoing Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy will seemingly have the 2005 film Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children in mind, according to the game’s director.

What did Tetsuya Nomura say?

In a recent interview with The Guardian, Tetsuya Nomura — who directed Advent Children, as well as both Final Fantasy VII Remake and the upcoming Final Fantasy VII Rebirth — was asked about how the trilogy of games will handle things like Advent Children, which also takes place in the world of Final Fantasy VII.

According to Nomura, the trilogy will “link up” to Advent Children in some way. He noted players won’t have to worry about whether or not things are connected by the time they get to play the trilogy.

“If you play right through to the end, it will link up [to Advent Children] so you don’t need to worry about that,” said Nomura.

Advent Children took place two years after the events of FInal Fantasy VII. It focused on the appearance of a trio that kidnaps children and infects them with a disease.

The next game in the ongoing Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy is set to be Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, which will release on February 29, 2024 for the PlayStation 5.

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In the latest plan to boost sagging profits at the company, Square Enix president Takashi Kiryu has revealed plans for the publisher to identify existing properties that could be “upgraded to AAA status.”

Kiryu discussed this strategy for shoring up profits during a investor Q&A, held during the company’s financial results briefing meeting in early August.  

Square Enix president Takashi Kiryu wants to identify existing IPs that can be ‘upgraded’ to AAA status

As originally reported by VGC, comments from Square Enix president Takashi Kiryu reveal that the company plans to revitalize some of its most promising properties by upgrading them to AAA status.

This strategy to help bolster profits comes as some analysts have expressed concerns about Square Enix’s profitability in the face of a sharp drop in the company’s valuation. According to a report from earlier this month, Square Enix has lost nearly $2 billion in value since the release of Final Fantasy 16 in June.

Kiryu’s remarks, which can be read in an outline available on Square’s investor relations website, come following reports from earlier this year suggesting that the long-awaited Final Fantasy 16 failed to meet Square’s high-end expectations.

Despite these claims to the contrary, Kiryu says that sales of Final Fantasy 16 were “in line with our expectations.” He also announced that Square has plans in the works to boost sales of the game on PS5. Kiryu stated that there is an opportunity for the publisher to boost profits by establishing “greater depth” to its gaming portfolio.

Rather than simply doubling down on its most high-profile franchises, Kiryu believes Square can increase revenue by identifying existing IPs from its portfolio that could be “upgraded” into AAA titles. While it’s unlikely that games like the upcoming Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth will lose their place of prominence in Square’s portfolio anytime soon, Kiryu’s remarks suggest a shift away from what some see as an overreliance on its most iconic properties to drive sales.

Increased investment in some of its lesser-known IPs could help the company turn around its recent sales slump and — at least temporarily — stave off persistent rumors of Sony purchasing Square Enix.   

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We finally have a Final Fantasy VII Rebirth release date for the upcoming second part of Square Enix’s ambitious Final Fantasy VII remake project.

When is the FF7 Rebirth release date?

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth will be released for PlayStation 5 on February 29, 2024.

“The Unknown Journey Continues… After escaping from the dystopian city of Midgar, Cloud and his friends set out on a journey across the planet. New adventures await in a vibrant and vast world – sprint across grassy plains on a Chocobo and explore expansive environments,” says the official description. “Players wishing to experience the Final Fantasy VII remake project so far can pre-order the Twin Pack, which includes Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, the graphically enhanced and expanded version of Final Fantasy VII Remake.”

Check out the FFVII Rebirth trailer below:

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Square Enix hasn’t spoken much about Final Fantasy 16‘s future since its launch. However, the company just announced a new Final Fantasy 16 update that adds numerous skins for free, as well as premium DLC that’s now in development.

The Final Fantasy 16 update adds free costumes

Square Enix announced the update and released a short trailer for it (which contains some big narrative spoilers). The update is currently live, too.

The trailer went over some of the new features that will be in the update. Clive Rosfield, Jill Warrick, Torgal, Joshua, and Ambrosia are all getting skins, and all five can be seen in the trailer (but only the first three are named). Players can also now transmog their sword so it keeps the stats of one blade while having the look of another.

Square Enix also tweeted out the patch notes in a thread, which are much more detailed than the trailer.

Producer Naoki Yoshida also spoke in a separate video about how there will be new control schemes (which the last big update also touched on) and revealed even more about what the studio has in store. After thanking fans for their support and feedback, he noted that he saw how players wanted more from this world and these characters. And in order to accommodate those hungry for more, the team has started development on two premium expansions. He didn’t give any details, so it’s unclear how big they will be, when they’ll come out, or how much they’ll cost.

This is also an update from his statement from July where he said the studio was thinking about its options regarding DLC. He also noted in May that DLC wasn’t being planned at the time, but seemed to imply that fan demand might cause Square Enix to change course.

A PC port is now in development, too, meaning that Final Fantasy 16 will no longer be a total PS5 exclusive. Yoshida said he’d also like to give updates on both the DLC and PC port by the end of the year.

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Editor’s Note: Today marks National Dog Day, so we’re republishing a feature on the very best PlayStation dogs. Original article, as published on May 2, 2019, is below.

Unless you’re a monster (or allergic or something), chances are you’re pretty okay with dogs. Man’s best friend and all that. Now, we live in an era in which the world of video games is really beginning to understand the appeal of a big ol’ floofer showing up to hang out with players. While today’s big question is whether or not the player can pet the dogs, we figured it would be fun to look back through the pages of PlayStation history at all the dogs with a bit more substance to their presence. From trusty sidekick to full-on starring roles, here are our (the Royal “our,” meaning me, my, and mine) favorite canine characters on PlayStation platforms.

Sant’ Angelo di Roma (Final Fantasy VIII)

Final Fantasy VIII has come to be one of the more controversial entries in the series lately, due in part to the apparent disappearance of its master source code. While we may never see a re-release on the level of its PlayStation peers, you can still get the PSOne Classics version. Anyway, Angelo belongs to Rinoa, the game’s leading lady. With the exception of a few plot moments, Angelo can be summoned as one of Rinoa’s Limit Break options, and reading pet magazines can expand her list of abilities. The most famous one, of course, is Angelo Cannon, which sees Rinoa fire the brave pupper off her arm like some fuzzy ordinance.

PaRappa the Rapper (Uh, PaRappa the Rapper)

While there are only so many PlayStation exclusive dog characters, my boy PaRappa is a tremendous one. One of the defining games of the early PlayStation identity, PaRappa the Rapper combined music rhythm mechanics with the strange, but wholesome vibe emanating from artist Rodney Alan Greenblat’s cartoon style. PaRappa is generally a Good Boy, learning life lessons through the power of hip hop such as saving money, exercise, cooking, and patiently waiting in line for the bathroom.

Jake (Dog’s Life)

From Frontier Developments, best known today for Elite: Dangerous and Jurassic World Evolution, Dog’s Life was a surprisingly cute PlayStation 2 game all about the inherent strangeness of being a dog. Jake, the protagonist, is on a journey to rescue a lady dog from the local dogcatchers (video games gonna video game) and along the way he barks, smells things, and farts a lot. It truly is a dog’s life.

Amaterasu (Okami)

A long time ago, a studio called Clover existed under Capcom. This studio produced a number of incredible games that were underappreciated at their time, leading to Clover being shut down and the eventual creation of Platinum Games in its wake. One game that has survived beyond Clover is Okami, a Zelda-like game starring the sun goddess Amaterasu. Taking the form of a wolf, she uses paint-based powers to solve puzzles, defeat bosses, so on and so forth. She’s also one of the best characters in Marvel vs Capcom 3, which is a totally objective statement and not just based on my regular team.

Dogmeat (Fallout series)

Dogmeat doesn’t exactly originate on PlayStation or hang out exclusively on PlayStation, but he’s great so he gets to be on the list anyway. Part of Fallout‘s whole deal is incorporating other post-apocalyptic media such as Mad Max and A Boy and His Dog, both of which feature awesome supporting dog characters. Dogmeat is a sort of tribute to those works, and totally helps the player out in various ways across games. In Fallout 4, you can even dress him up with unique equipment.

Koromaru (Persona 3)

The Persona series involves a ton of character drama, especially when the series took its current form starting with Persona 3. These games explore internal conflict manifested as demons from literal Christian Hell (and other religions, because why not throw ’em all together), and exploring the “social links” between people is a huge part of progression. So naturally, Persona 3‘s playable cast includes a dog who just barks and stuff. Koromaru is great though, and plays into the game’s mechanics in fun and creative ways.

Annoying Dog (Undertale)

Bark!

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Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles producer Akitoshi Kawazu has said that he wants to make a new game in the series and asked fans to trust that “a brand-new chapter” will be released “one day.”

Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles first released 20 years ago

Kawazu made his comments as part of Square Enix‘s 20th-anniversary celebrations for Crystal Chronicles, which was first released on Nintendo GameCube in 2003. A remastered version was released in 2020 for the PS4, among other platforms.

Kawazu said that he “regrets” that he hasn’t been able to accommodate fans who have been asking for a new Crystal Chronicles game. He added that there are a lot of projects he’d like to pursue but he doesn’t have time to do it all. However, Kawazu acknowledges that Crystal Chronicles’ characters “deserve to shine again” and reassured fans that their story is far from over.

“They’re [the characters] eager to set out to discover the true meaning of the crystals’ blessing, and much like those of us who were cooped up at home for the past few years, they could only gaze up at the skies above their respective towns, day after day,” Kawazu wrote (as spotted by Eurogamer). “But new trials do await them — ones from which they will grow stronger.”

Kawazu ended his note by stating that fans should trust that a new chapter will be added to the adventure one day.

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Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi has offered a brief review of Final Fantasy 16, showering the game with high praise. Having seemingly finished a playthrough, Sakaguchi declared that FF16 is the “ultimate” fantasy.

Final Fantasy 16 is Final Fantasy, says Hironobu Sakaguchi

For those who haven’t been following the discourse surrounding FF16, the game has been somewhat polarizing among Final Fantasy fans despite earning rave reviews. Some players argue that it’s too much of a departure from the series to be classified as a Final Fantasy game, with intense debates surrounding its combat and gameplay mechanics. But for Sakaguchi, FF16 is Final Fantasy.

That settles it, then. Can’t argue with the father of Final Fantasy, right? Wrong! While a large number of fans expressed their fondness for FF16 in response to Sakaguchi’s tweet, others dared to disagree.

FF16 producer Naoki Yoshida previously expressed his disappointment with online trolls, stating that they are “tiresome” to deal with. While welcoming constructive criticism, Yoshida said that there’s no reason for anyone to be intentionally negative and malicious.

Sales-wise, FF16 is off to a strong start considering its PS5 exclusivity. However, in what is now a Square Enix tradition, the game has yet to meet the “high end” of the publisher’s expectations.

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Final Fantasy 16 sold 3 million copies in just a week. However, the acclaimed RPG has not hit Square Enix’s highest expectations.

Square Enix blamed the PS5’s install base

As noted by Bloomberg‘s sources, Square Enix president Takashi Kiryu reportedly said in a post-earnings call that Final Fantasy 16’s initial sales “did not meet the high end of the company’s expectations.” Bloomberg also alleged that he blamed “slow adoption of the PS5,” which is unusual since the PS5 is vastly outselling the Xbox Series X|S and is only slightly behind the adoption rate of the PS4. He reportedly noted that the company has plans to boost sales now that more systems are out there.

This is all a little unexpected since other stories concerning Final Fantasy 16, aside from the company reportedly worrying about pre-order numbers, were all positive. It was the fastest-selling PS5 exclusive and performed “extremely well” according to Square Enix. However, sales can still be solid but under expectations, especially when tied to one single system with a user base of 40 million people, which is what Square implied with its “extremely well” statement.

For comparison, Final Fantasy 15 launched on PS4 and Xbox One in November 2016 and sold 5 million copies in just a few days, a milestone it could hit because of the multiplatform release on two systems. Final Fantasy 7 Remake sold over 3.5 million copies in 10 days in April 2020. And while it did just launch on PS4, the PS4 install base was over 106 million at the time.

Square Enix has been notorious for its acclaimed, multi-million-selling games still coming under expectations. Tomb Raider, Hitman, Sleeping Dogs, Just Cause 4, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, Marvel’s Avengers, and Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy are some of the other Square Enix-published games that came in under what the publisher expected. Most of those studios and franchises have also been sold.

Final Fantasy 16 is different because it is the only title in this group that was developed in Japan. Square Enix also noted that Forspoken sales were “lackluster,” but it’s the least acclaimed title of the bunch and therefore doesn’t have positive reviews backing it up like the others.

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