Those of you that know me well, know that my gamertag hasn’t always been Kaloudz. Before Kaloudz, I was known as CloudStrife 900. Obviously, this comes from my favorite game of all time, Final Fantasy VII. Why, Mark, are we talking about your freakin’ gamertag? Well, because at long last, Final Fantasy VII is coming to Xbox One. Those of you unaware, Square Enix recently confirmed that a heap of legacy Final Fantasy games are coming to current gen consoles over the course of the coming months. For me, this is the best announcement of the year so far.
First and foremost was the release of Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition HD, which is currently available on Xbox One. This will be closely followed by World of Final Fantasy Maxima, set to release in early November, 2018. Following that, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy IX, Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remastered and Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Ages, will subsequently release in 2019. Safe to say that if, like me, you’re a fan of the series, this is like gold dust. Those of you on PS4 or Nintendo Switch will enjoy Crystal Chronicles and Chocobo’s Mystery Dungeon, in addition.
Sadly, there’s no word on why Final Fantasy VIII hasn’t made the cut. This is most likely either down to the game’s source code not being compatible – or being hard to work with – or some form of legal issue. We’re not sure, and Square seem to be tight lipped on the matter. In any case, each and every one of these games coming to Xbox One is a must have. Final Fantasy has, like any other series, had its ups and downs over the years. Myself, I’ve always preferred the older turn-based concept over the modern releases that we see now, but that’s just me.
If you’ve never played the older titles, or any Final Fantasy game at all, these legacy games are the perfect place to start. Each numeric story is totally isolated, unless there’s a direct sequel to it, such as X and XIII. You don’t at all need to play these with the mind set that if you haven’t played the first, you need to go back and start from there. That’s simply not the case. What we have here, ladies and gentlemen, is a treasure trove of classic RPGs coming to current gen hardware in rapid succession. Hopefully, Square will also dish out Kingdom Hearts I and II.
I mean, that would certainly make sense ahead of the release of Kingdom Hearts III on Xbox One, but that’s for another time. These Final Fantasy games are hella long and can be very, very tough. It helps, of course, that most of them are tethered to some wildly interesting and deep stories. Take Final Fantasy VII, for example, which spanned a total of three discs back in its day, and focused on several different plot points that all ran into one large, satisfying story. The same can be said about the series’ follow-up entries. World of Final Fantasy Maxima is an intriguing one.
If you want a crash course on what Final Fantasy is all about, as well as the chance to meet many of the heroes from different Final Fantasy games in one place, then World of Final Fantasy Maxima is for you! World of Final Fantasy Maxima is the powered up version of World of Final Fantasy which was originally released in October 2016. The game allows players to embark on a journey that focuses on siblings Reynn and Lann as they explore the vast land of Grymoire to rediscover their past and save the future. Having never played it, I can hardly wait to get hands on.
The inhabitants of Grymoire span heaps of characters from Final Fantasy; Cloud Strife, Tifa Lockhart, Squall Leonhart, Tidus, Yuna, Lightning, and many, many more. Though, these don’t tend to represent their mainline character counterparts, and instead fit into this game as though they’ve originated from it. The offer dedicated side quests and stories that are separate to the main narrative, packed into a story that’s said to be rich, deep and diverse. Naturally, as a game that isn’t part of the numerical canon, World of Final Fantasy plays somewhat differently.
The point of this article is to highlight how very relevant and important these games are. Final Fantasy VII changed the face of gaming back when it released, going on to inspire an entire generation of fans. Hopefully, the same will once again occur for a new audience on modern hardware. Whether it’s VII’s story of conflict that pulls you in, IX’s story of love and betrayal, or XII’s plot of war and destruction, each and every title that’s coming to Xbox One is well worth your time and attention. Are you looking forward to them? Do you plan on picking any up? Sound off in the comments below.
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