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I kind of predicted last month that a new Bravely Default game, if announced this year, wouldn't be quite what the fanbase was looking for. Unfortunately, as is so often the case, I was right. Last week, the new title announced in response to the series' fourth anniversary was officially titled "Bravely Default: Fairy's Effect," and that a closed beta will take place in Japan in the near future.

The actual systems in play for this new title have not been disclosed, but Siliconera reports that it's likely "due to the nature of the announcement" that the title will be a browser game or a smartphone game. Square Enix are partnering with Silicon Studio for the game, who built the first two games for the 3DS as well as worked on mobile ports of Final Fantasy games - to me, this pushes the needle far closer to the smartphone end of that spectrum of guesses.

Update: The beta has already begun - it's a smartphone game for iOS and Android, coming to Japan in 2017, and users have begun sharing videos and screenshots.

Source: Siliconera

After a decade, we're actually going to get this game: Final Fantasy XV has now gone gold. Of course, going gold doesn't really mean as much as it did back in the days where every game was on a cartridge or a pressed CD; just because the game's now ready for distribution doesn't mean that there won't be a big day-one patch waiting for you early adopters to download before starting. Even so, though, this is a huge step for Square Enix' flagship franchise and the gamers who are waiting for it.

Since they were announcing that anyway, hey, why not some announcements on DLC and a new trailer? For the former, the XV team announced that there will be DLC scenarios for each non-Noctis party member to have an adventure outside of the main story and collect items and treasures, as well as co-op DLC in which you can play scenarios with partners. For the trailer, Square Enix partnered with Digic Pictures, the company behind Kingsglaive, to produce a new four-and-a-half minute trailer, called "Omen." It's a bit of a stunner - catch it below.

Also, today I learned that the ESRB has put a "T" on Final Fantasy XV, in part due to "partial nudity." So, that's a thing. Reminder, the game will be released here a month from this coming Saturday.

Source: Siliconera

Nintendo just let us all know on Twitter that we're going to see... something... about the NX tomorrow morning at 10am Eastern time. They're calling it a "Preview Trailer" and it will apparently be three minutes long, and that's all they're saying. A look at the console? A look at some games? A logo? Let's all see together.

I heard the other day that Japan was getting a demo for the super-cute World of Final Fantasy, but I didn't report on it because it was being announced just for Japan. No longer! Now we're getting one in the West, as well, on Monday October 17. Completing the demo will unlock a special Magitek Armor that can be collected in the game's coliseum once the full game releases on October 25.

If you click through the link above, you can also see the anime opening cutscene for the game, and it looks fairly bonkers. So do that as well, then get the demo and report back to me if I should consider getting this game to play with my kid.

Source: Siliconera

Today is the fourth anniversary of the release of the original Bravely Default game, "Flying Fairy," in Japan. The game's official Twitter feed posted earlier a custom illustration to commemorate the event, and also a cryptic text suggesting that there may be a Bravely Default announcement coming soon. There's no further information at this time, and it's only been about a year and a half since the second main series game, "Bravely Second: End Layer," was released in Japan (and even less time since it came out in North America!).

The cynic, knowing these facts, would immediately jump to the conclusion that this is leading up to a new smartphone game. Perhaps this is true, but the last smartphone game in the series was also released just last year. Perhaps we might soon see a teaser trailer for Bravely Third, even if it's not likely to see release for another year or two. Don't forget, the main series games for BD have all been on Nintendo machines, and the NX is coming out in just a few months...

Source: Gematsu

I'd completely forgotten that a Final Fantasy-themed CCG existed. It's been around for quite a while in Japan, but never any inkling that it would make inroads here; that's a product that seems like it might have had trouble making the leap.

Well, no longer! Starting on October 28, people who like CCGs in Europe and North America are going to get these cards in English. The initial set will have 216 cards, which doubles to 432 when you factor in the fact that each will also have a foil-stamped variant (which may or may not be a more powerful version of the card). The cards will be offered in randomized packs of a yet-unknown quantity of cards, as well as pre-built starter packs that are also not yet confirmed.

Pricing and availability are unknown, but we'll find out in just under a month. I've reached out to a friend with extensive CCG experience, and he tells me that the rulebook for this game looks like it might be pretty overcomplicated, which sounds pretty par for the course for something Square Enix has cooked up lately, right? Let us know if you're planning to pick up some cards just for fun or in an effort to play the game!

Source: Kotaku