Final Fantasy has been such an expansive franchise, but with so many games to choose from... how could you ever just pick one? Well, that's our challenge today, as we discuss with main-line game we'd like to play for the rest of our lives, while also discussing how we'd make the same decision with the franchise's mobile titles. In addition, we've got some cracking questions round expanded stories with other potential Final Fantasy remakes and also, delving into how Final Fantasy XIII actually ma...
May 07, 2019•46 min
Not only do we have the EPIC conclusion to our Kingdom Hearts 3 review, but we've also had a huge news blast where ReMIND was announced! Yep, it's a two-part episode this time around, as the big finale gets some in-depth discussion as each of the conflicts is broken down in some rather granular detail. And then, there's the news blast. Not only have they announced Critical Mode, but Kingdom Hearts 3 ReMIND was also unveiled. It will come with plenty of paid and free content - plenty to keep us b...
Apr 30, 2019•2 hr 16 min
With E3 2019 getting ever-closed, we decided to take a look this episode at how we'd like to see Square Enix utilise the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII within the Final Fantasy 7 Remake! Yep, we're going to be talking about utilising characters from Before Crisis, Crisis Core and Dirge of Cerberus and how post-launch popularity of certain characters could also sway their decisions! We've got a specific focus around characters featured within Midgar, but there's plenty of room for discussions a...
Apr 23, 2019•43 min
It's time for the next part of our rather extensive review, which sees a two-hour special for the Keyblade Graveyard! As we've done in our previous review episodes, there's a significant focus around the story... but we'll also be looking at the level design and general gameplay, the visual presentation and the general impression it left on us! We've also got a question about the possibility of the Kingdom Hearts franchise appearing on Nintendo Switch! Music this episode is provided by UprisingG...
Apr 16, 2019•2 hr 53 min
With the start of Square Enix's new financial year, there's been plenty of change afoot! It's seen a continuation of the changes we saw at the end of last year when Hajime Tabata left to pursue new ventures, as Hideo Baba (Head of Studio Istolia) has also now resigned from the company. Square Enix have also published more information around the restructure that's seen the business divisions merged, to hopefully make development efforts much more streamlined. Oh, there's a small piece of news too...
Apr 09, 2019•37 min
Even though Kingdom Hearts 3 has now been out for a little while, our extensive review is continuing in earnest and this episode we're tackling The Caribbean and San Fransokyo! We've also got a fantastic discussion topic that was suggested from the community around the lyrics of Chikai and Don't Think Twice and what they symbolise, so we hope you enjoy our deep dive into that particular topic! Music this episode is from Musicality: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SWngOE5pm4...
Apr 02, 2019•1 hr 25 min
To celebrate Nobuo Uematsu's birthday, we figured it would be a fantastic opportunity to have a show dedicated to his career so far! Having joined Square back in 1985, Uematsu-san has gone on to have such an impactful career within the video game music industry, not least due to his involvement with the Final Fantasy franchise. It's a testament to his talents that he was able to have so much longevity, with his older works will standing up decades later. For this episode, we run-through his care...
Mar 26, 2019•35 min
We have a very special guest this episode, as we're interviewing Tasha Sounart, who works at Pixar and was a consultant on Kingdom Hearts 3! In a wide-ranging interview, we ask Tasha about numerous things like... how involvement with Kingdom Hearts 3 actually came around and the relationship that evolved with the Kingdom Hearts team! But that's not all.... as the gang also continue their discussions around Kingdom Hearts 3! This episode it's all about Monstropolis and Arrendale, so hopefully you...
Mar 19, 2019•2 hr 36 min
We've ventured into antagonists, so it's only fair that we venture into the world of protagonists... but that's not all this episode! Outside of discussing the various protagonists that have graced the Final Fantasy franchise over the years, we're also taking a look at potential cross-over games that would benefit from classic Final Fantasy mechanics. Oh, and we also have a rather extensive news update for you all, so hopefully you enjoy that! Music this episode is provided by Belzifer: https://...
Mar 12, 2019•53 min
With the release of the Kingdom Hearts 3 Ultimania, we've gained access to a whole host of glorious information and we're going to be delving into all of it today! There's numerous topics to discuss, from what the DLC may be (including Critical Model and Kingdom Hearts 3 Final Mix), but also what may happen next with the franchise and some of the more nuanced pieces of information around why certain decisions were made and even cut content! It's another extensive episode, so we hope you enjoy th...
Mar 05, 2019•1 hr 26 min
Episode Ardyn Prologue has been released in preparation for Episode Ardyn and it was pretty intense! This episode, we're running through Episode Ardyn Prologue (spoiler free) talking about what they've looked to achieve and how the various characters were portrayed. But... we're also running through the Q&A they released alongside the Prologue, where they talk about what's to come and also their motivations around producing it in the first place!
Feb 26, 2019•36 min
It's time for Part 2 of our rather extensive review of Kingdom Hearts 3 and this time we're talking about a few more worlds! Branden is joined by Churro for the 2nd part of our review, which focusses on the Toy Box and Kingdom of Corona worlds. We'll focus on how the story played out in these worlds, as well as the visuals and gameplay elements that Square Enix brought to the table. There's also time for some questions for the community, with an emphasis on romance and the removal of it from the...
Feb 19, 2019•2 hr 41 min
To celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Final Fantasy VIII, we decided to have a special fangasm episode...! That's right, we're joined by Chris (aka Hoogathy) for this episode, as we're running through our favourite characters, favourite moments and favourite pieces of music from what a rather special game in the Final Fantasy franchise. We hope you enjoy our discussions, as we reminisce on why this game meant so much to us all when it released 20 years ago and all the times we've played it since!...
Feb 12, 2019•54 min
Kingdom Hearts 3 has now released and we couldn't be more excited! Join us, as we talk through our impressions of the early sections of the game! Yep, as we had to wait such a long time, we're also going to taking our time with this review. For this first part, we're going to be running through the initial worlds that feature in Kingdom Hearts 3 with a specific focus on the story, level design and gameplay, presentation and general lasting impressions. Not only that, but we also have a boat load...
Feb 05, 2019•2 hr 22 min
With so many to choose from, this episode we're talking all about our favourite Final Fantasy antagonists! Yep, that's right... we're going to be running through the various villains we've seen since the Final Fantasy franchise started and discussing what they brought to the table in their respective games. Then, as you'd expect, we talk through which are our favourites, while naturally providing some solid rationales behind why we feel certain antagonists did a better job than others!...
Jan 29, 2019•48 min
As we venture further into 2019, there's plenty to discuss and this episode we're talking remakes, first impressions when playing games and whether the franchise has lost its gameplay mojo! Yes, that's right, it's time for a full-on questions episode as we delve into some rather interesting topics such as... what our first impressions were when playing Final Fantasy 8, whether or not you should buy Final Fantasy Type-0 and whether Square Enix should go down the route of remaking other titles. As...
Jan 22, 2019•47 min
Kingdom Hearts 3 is so close now, we can almost touch it and that's why we've got a super long episode as a precursor to the biggest release in the franchise's history! Even though we're so close though, there's still plenty of room for speculation around what we will see within the final product. But before any of that happens, there's also talk about how Nomura has decided to fight back against those who are trying to play leaked copies of the game... what exactly that means for in the wider c...
Jan 15, 2019•1 hr 28 min
Happy New Year everyone! To kick things off, we thought it would be rather interesting to dive into the mystery that is... Hiroyuki Ito! In the earlier days of the franchise, Hiroyuki Ito was one of the stars of the company, having a prominent hand in the majority of Final Fantasy games that released. However, in recent years, Ito has been missing from the limelight. But why? We run-through everything this legendary game designer has done for the franchise, before speculating around what he's ac...
Jan 08, 2019•36 min
Kingdom Hearts 3 is now in the wild following a leak... so with just over a month until the game's official release, there will be plenty of spoilers rolling around! That's why we felt it would be a good idea to do an episode on how to avoid Kingdom Hearts 3 spoilers, as they can come from numerous sources these days! We've also got a few questions from the community, including... how long we'll have to wait until we see Kingdom Hearts 4!
Dec 18, 2018•1 hr 23 min
It's been a rather interesting year for Final Fantasy with some definite highs and lows, so to round-out the year, we thought it would be rather appropriate to pick-out some key moments! Yes, that means we'll be talking about Final Fantasy XV's DLC, the launch of Dissidia NT and the interesting announcements that were thrown our way during TGS 2018! On top of that, there's also a little recap about our lives outside of Final Fantasy! Thank you all so much for your support throughout another year...
Dec 11, 2018•43 min
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!
Dec 04, 2018•1 hr 4 min
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 Fina...
Nov 27, 2018•47 min
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...
Nov 20, 2018•1 hr 28 min
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, w...
Nov 13, 2018•42 min
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 announ...
Nov 07, 2018•1 hr 7 min
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!
Oct 30, 2018•35 min
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!...
Oct 24, 2018•1 hr 5 min
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...
Oct 16, 2018•37 min
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...
Oct 09, 2018•52 min
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...
Oct 02, 2018•40 min
