News

The news more or less broke yesterday and was rumored for far longer, but Sony's State of Play just announced it moments ago: Final Fantasy Tactics, the original and best, is back. The new version, subtitled "The Ivalice Chronicles," will be released on September 30, 2025.

Information is a little thin from the brief announcement video, but what we do know for sure is that the package will include a remastered version, with a new, high-resolution player interface and updated graphics, "fully voiced dialogue," and "additions and adjustments to the story." There will also be a version closer to the original, uniting "the graphics and gameplay of the original with the renowned War of the Lions translation." This does not make it clear that the retro version is actually War of the Lions, interestingly - it's not clear yet if that's just poor messaging or if they are including the original wholesale but only with the newer translation atop it.

The game was announced without any platform information; the followup from Sony on the stream did specifically mention Playstation 5 (and Playstation 4), of course, but concrete confirmation at the time I type this for PC or other platforms is not there. It also calls the retro version "a faithful recreation of the 1997 original," which makes the commentary about WotL translation even more confusing.

Preorders are opening up today - I'll add an AmaCoN link to this thread ASAP!

Square Enix has announced a "reboot" of the company to take place over the next three years, with goals to focus on "quality over quantity" and multi-platform releases. As a result, the company has cancelled several games in the works, including Kingdom Hearts: Missing Link which was to be a mobile game set between the events of Union X and Dark Road.

With recent PlayStation-exclusive games from Square Enix performing poorly, it's not surprising that the company will be adopting a multi-platform approach. As previously announced, Final Fantasy VII Remake will be coming to Switch 2, and the popular Final Fantasy XIV came to Xbox Series X|S last year. Expect to see more multi-platform releases in the future.

Source: Gameranx

A New World, the chamber ensemble version that offers Final Fantasy fans a chance to enjoy the music in a more intimate setting than the orchestral Distant Worlds, has announced a flurry of concerts this November. Without further ado, here are the dates:

* Saturday, November 1 – Phoenix, AZ – 7:30 PM @ The Madison Center
* Sunday, November 2 – Albuquerque, NM – 7:00 PM @ KiMo Theatre
* Friday, November 14 – Chicago, IL – 8:00 PM @ Studebaker Theater
* Sunday, November 16 – Miramar, FL – 6:00 PM @ Miramar Cultural Center
* Saturday, November 22 – Oklahoma City, OK – 8:00 PM @ Rose State Performing Arts Center

No particular songs have been announced yet, but the email blast did say the concert would feature music by composers Nobuo Uematsu, Masashi Hamauzu, Yoko Shimomura, and Masayoshi Soken.

Tickets are now on sale for all shows.

Source: A New World

My social media has been bursting with this news: The long-running Magic: The Gathering card game from Wizards of the Coast will be releasing a Final Fantasy expansion on June 13th, 2025. Many cards have already been teased, and the artwork looks fantastic. It'll cost a pretty penny, though: a booster box is going for US$198 on the US Amazon Store currently, and the Collector's box is a whopping $775. Additionally, all of the Commander Deck options are currently sold out at Amazon.

In other news, Square Enix is teaming up with TBS, the Japanese broadcasting company, to create a game based on a new IP. No word on what kind of game it might be, but it is confirmed to be for worldwide audiences.

Source: Magic: The Gathering Website, Nintendo Life

Nintendo's Direct for Switch 2 ran for about an hour, ending just a few minutes ago. This Direct was previously assumed to be mostly about first-party games, particularly those available near the launch window; under that assumption, the number of games presented by third parties was pretty significant.

For Square Enix fans, two titles in particular would be of interest, but neither are new. Bravely Default Flying Fairy was presented as a launch title for Switch 2 on the release date of June 5, 2025; this, the first game of the series, released for the 3DS in 2012. The remaster for Switch 2 will upscale the game and adjust the UI to suit, as well as add some new minigames. The online features from the original have been ported in as well.

Additionally, Squenix confirmed the long-standing rumor that Final Fantasy VII Remake would arrive on the Switch 2. This was not presented as a launch title, as far as I'm aware - the stream had some technical difficulties right before the announcement and I have not yet seen the complete video from that portion, just the audio. The version to be released will be the Intergrade version released for PlayStation 5 and PC, meaning it will include the additional Yuffie content. This of course implies that Rebirth may eventually come to Switch 2 as well, but that was not addressed in today's Direct.

Unfortunately, no announcements for anything Final Fantasy IX today, as many were hoping for - but there's still a few months before we hit that 25th anniversary.

The original release for Final Fantasy IX is nearing its 25th anniversary, with the game’s debut on Japanese PSX on July 7, 2000. In honor of that anniversary coming up, over the weekend Square Enix published a new anniversary-themed website on the Japanese Final Fantasy domain, featuring new art.

The site is primarily a placeholder at the moment, with more details around celebrations of the anniversary coming soon, but a few things were announced at launch, most of them merch:

• A new vinyl album, to be released on July 9
• A picture book featuring a new story of Vivi from before the events of the game, releasing July 2
• Collectibles including new figures of Zidane and Garnet, a pendant based on Garnet’s Alexandrian necklace, and a line of plush characters, all available for preorder now
• Themed eyeglasses and capsule toys in collaboration with Japanese eyewear brand Zoff

The website also mentions a “Commemorative Lottery,” but has no details as to what exactly that might mean yet.

Of course, all of these things are Japan-specific, though it may turn out that some of the physical items may be shippable elsewhere or may also be sold out of other regions in the future. Who knows, maybe the rumored remake of Final Fantasy IX might be a future announcement; I’d pick that up in a heartbeat.

Source: Final Fantasy IX 25th Anniversary Special Page