Final Fantasy Day – Final Fantasy VII Machinabridged Season 1 February 4, 2017

Do I seriously need to give an intoduction to TeamFourStar?  They’re an incredible team of online creators who developed a series of abridged online videos for beloved shows like Dragonball Z.

Back at ConnectiCon 2015, my girlfriend and I had the pleasure to attend their panel, where they revealed their plans to produce an abridged version of the beloved game Final Fantasy VII.  This was music to my ears and I could not have been happier with the finished product. Here is the entire first season of their series in one video:

The video doesn’t cover the whole game, but hopefully we will see more in a new season.

Final Fantasy Day continues!  More content will be coming soon, so stay tuned!

Final Fantasy Day – GameTrailers Retrospective February 4, 2017

Years ago, GameTrailers.com produced an epic multi-part retrospective documentary on the Final Fantasy franchise. While the information is now a bit out of date, you can tell it was produced with a lot of love and care by long-term fans.

GameTrailers may be no more but their original content lives on through their YouTube Archive and I wanted to share some of my favorite episodes from that retrospective.

First off, let’s start with Part 1, detailing the history behind the first game and its ports.

Part 2 details information about Final Fantasy II and Final Fantasy III, which had only recently been brought to the US by that point.

Part 3 discusses Final Fantasy IV and Final Fantasy V, the first two 16-bit Final Fantasy games.

Part 4 discusses one of the most beloved games of the franchise, Final Fantasy VI.

Part 5 covers the other most beloved Final Fantasy title, Final Fantasy VII and all of its spin offs.

Part 6 covers the last two numbered Final Fantasy games on the PS1, Final Fantasy VIII and Final Fantasy IX.

Part 7 details the franchise’s leap to the PS2, with the games Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2.

Part 8 is the only part of the retrospective in HD, as it discusses the PC/PS2 MMO Final Fantasy XI.

Part 9 discusses Final Fantasy XII and the earlier games that laid its foundation.

I would love to keep going but if I did that we would be here all day. The retrospective goes for thirteen parts, detailing Final Fantasy spinoff games and culminating with the common themes of the franchise.  If you want to check it out, I recommend visiting the GameTrailers Channel on YouTube!

We’re not done with Final Fantasy Day yet!  Plenty more content from across the web is on its way!

Final Fantasy Day – Mega64 February 4, 2017

I’ve been aware of the work of Mega64 for about a decade now, when they produced some videos on the bonus DVD for Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory which left me in stitches. I happen to think they produce absolutely hilarious gaming content, but the video I’m about to show you is my favorite.

You can’t think of the word Final Fantasy without first thinking about its creator, Hironobu Sakaguchi.  He served as the director of the Final Fantasy games for years, and laid the groundwork for its enduring franchise.

If you’ve ever wondered about Hironobu Sakaguchi’s creative process, wonder no longer. Mega64 reveals the true inspiration behind Mr. Sakaguchi’s Final Fantasy games.

Mega64 also produced a behind the scenes look into how they made the video, you can check it out here.

Love Final Fantasy Day?  We’re just getting started here!  Tons more content will be coming throughout the day!

Halo Wars 2: Live Announced January 30, 2017

When Halo 5: Guardians launched on the Xbox One in 2015 Microsoft streamed a massive live event which was declared the biggest live stream of its time. Now, in early 2017, they’re doing it again, and this time it is going to be for the multiplatform RTS game Halo Wars 2.

Halo Wars 2: Live starts 4PM PST on February 16th.  We can expect early previews for the game, behind the scenes information about its development and a whole lot more.

Halo Wars 2 is coming February 17th, 2016 to the Xbox One and Windows 10.

Dear Rising 4 Patched, New Difficulty Modes Added January 30, 2017

A major update for Dead Rising 4 was just released on the Xbox One, adding some new difficulty modes and support for new DLC content including Street Fighter costumes.

The new difficulty modes are included free with the patch, so you won’t have to pay extra to unlock them. If you previously had the most recent version for the game already installed, the patch should take up a little under 7GB.

Dead Rising 4 is out now on Xbox One and Windows 10.

Pokemon TCG Online Code Redmption Website Now Live January 26, 2017

A big part of my personal draw to Pokémon TCG Online is the app’s ability to redeem the digital code packs included inside physical TCG packs you can buy at retail. When the app was first brought to the iPad platform, redeeming those codes were a total cinch.

However, for some reason that escapes all logic and common sense, Apple forced the Pokémon TCG Online developers to remove their code redemption feature on the iPad version of their app, despite the fact that the code redemption worked fine on their competing platforms.  The Pokémon Company promised they would create a workaround and I’m happy to announce that they have.  It is now possible for TCG Online players to redeem code pack codes through their official website. We are not going to provide the link here but rest assured the direct link is accessible in the iPad app and on the official Pokémon website.

The website uses anti-bot verification so it is nowhere near as simple or elegant as redeeming codes in the original app was, but rest assured the codes redeemed on their website will be applied to your account regardless of the platform you choose to play on.

Pokémon TCG Online is out now on iPad, Android Tablets, PC and Mac.

Prey Release Date January 25, 2017

In 2006 I played what I felt was one of the last truely great PC games, Prey. Back in 2011 I had the fortune to view a closed door demonstration of its intended sequel Prey 2. It had next to no familiarity and could barely be recognized as a Prey game.  That game would eventually be cancelled.

Now, publisher Bethesda has wisely rebooted the Prey franchise and now it seems very much in line with the game’s original design plans. Time will tell how gamers will respond to it, but for now we have an all new trailer and an official release date.

Prey is coming May 5th, 2017 to PC, PS4 and Xbox One.

Toys R Us Announces Pokemon Day Feb 4th January 25, 2017

Last year, Toys R Us stores across the country hosted Pokémon Play and Trade events. They gave out goodies including rare promotional TCG cards, posters and a lot more. These events were a ton of fun and I always looked forward to joining them when they took place.  Today, Toys R Us has announced they’re doing another one!

All Toys R Us stores will be participating in a new Pokémon Play and Trade event on Saturday February 4th, 2017 from 12-2PM. They will be giving away a rare Cosmog foil TCG card from Pokémon Sun and Moon and a Pokémon activity book.  The event is free to everyone, so if you’re a long-time Pokémon Trainer or just someone interested in starting their Pokémon Journey check it out!

Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Released January 24, 2017

Late last night, Square Enix released the highly anticipated compilation game Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8.

Not only does this compilation game include an HD remaster of the Nintendo 3DS classic Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance, the HD cinematic Kingdom Hearts X: Back Cover, it includes an all-new game, Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep 0.2.  Take a look at this trailer for it.

Everything in this new game serves as an excellent prologue to Kingdom Hearts III!  Expect an unboxing and possibly a live game stream for this game soon.

Kingdom Hearts 2.8 HD is out now exclusively on the PlayStation 4.

Final Fantasy XV Moogle Chocobo Carnival Begins January 24, 2017

Square Enix is hosting an incredible festival inside Final Fantasy XV and players in North America and Europe can check it out right now!  Take a look for yourselves what is in store for you!

This event is only going on for a limited time so make sure to fire up your game ASAP if you want to check it out. You need to make sure your game is patched to the latest version and you’ve downloaded the recent DLC pack to participate.

Final Fantasy XV is out now on Xbox One and PS4.