Wark Digest #78 - Reunion and An Unexpected Union
Crisis Core Updates
It seems like it was announced only yesterday, but we're now less than a month away from Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion's arrival on modern platforms. Yesterday brought a new trailer and some more details, so let's catch up with this prequel:
What's going on:
A Hard difficulty has been added, and can be switched at any time (and luckily, there's no content for them to gate behind that higher difficulty, eh Jack?)
The team "re-examined all the areas that people considered hard to play" and rebalanced them, smoothing the gameplay to modern standards while retaining the original's essence
The Japanese FFVII Twitter account has confirmed the 300 side missions have returned
Cutscenes triggered by the DMW can now be skipped, and limit breaks stored up for use at your discretion
A new Ability Gauge appears before certain enemies use massive attacks; deplete the gauge by attacking to reduce the damage, or cancel the attack outright
The voice acting is re-confirmed to include "every cutscene, side quest and incidental scene" in English and Japanese
In an interview with the PlayStation Blog, Yoshinori Kitase said a cloud version of the original was possible, but ultimately and soundly ruled out: "the truth is that after Final Fantasy VII Remake fans have higher expectations towards the graphics"
Other eagle-eyed fans have pointed out some potential inconsistencies with small details of characters' clothes, like the rivets on Zack's suspenders
What we thought:
If any element of Crisis Core needed a refresh, it’s the Missions, which were criticized originally for being somewhat bland or copy-pasted; it sounds like they’ve not been changed, but my fingers are crossed for a little more variety, regardless
The Ability Gauge should be a welcome addition for the Hard mode, but how will it affect Normal difficulty?
With every bit of text now voiced, some characters like Yuffie and Tifa will be voiced in Crisis Core for the first time
Kitase's comment was nice, but let's hope they keep listening to us on other things
Touting 4K graphics and 63 times as many pixels as the PSP version, I'm eager to compare Reunion to Remake side-by-side
What's next: We're cooking up some helpful Crisis Core guide content for our website, so check back when the game is out for help on some tricky spots and systems!
Highlights From FFXIV Live Letter #74
It's time again for another glimpse of the future for Final Fantasy XIV, as the latest Live Letter with Naoki Yoshida told us when we can expect the next major patch.
Highlights:
Arriving in "early January" 2023, Patch 6.3 is called "Gods Revel, Lands Tremble" will continue the Main Scenario Questline (side questlines will continue in 6.3 or 6.35)
A new Deep Dungeon, Eureka Orthos, is on the way for Endwalker-level players
Kugane Castle gets a Crystalline Conflict map, and Island Sanctuary will see new crops, animals, and more
Housing is seeing a considerable expansion: Six wards and six subdivisions (1800 total plots) per World
What we thought:
It's more-or-less business as usual over in FFXIV
Normally the "x.3" patch of a FFXIV expansion would bring that expansion's storyline to an end, but Endwalker shook up that norm, and so instead 6.3 lacks oomph, in a way
The timing of the new Deep Dungeon is interesting, given that this system was inspired by Yoshida's love of Tactics Ogre, and a remaster from that series came out just last week—happy coincidence, or all part of the plan?
What's next: With major patches roughly every four months, we might expect 6.4 around April/May, and 6.5 around August/September... which could suggest "7.0" (or rather, the next full expansion) in the first months of 2024. How the release of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth will affect this schedule remains to be seen.
War of the Lions: Brave Influence
The Brave Exvius offshoots have previously featured international popstars Katy Perry and Arianna Grande, but in their latest collaboration for War of the Lions, developer Gumi has recruited one of the biggest names on Tiktok instead.
What's going on:
This week saw the launch of War of the Lions' collaboration with Tiktok figure Addison Rae; players can obtain a special card featuring her riding a chocobo, just by logging in
Another card and a unit of Addison will follow in 2023
Rae: "I’m thrilled to announce that I’ll be partnering with [War of the Visions]! I’ve been a fan of the franchise for such a long time and I’m honored to finally collaborate with Square Enix in an official capacity. My partnership will include vision cards and a custom in-game character that we’ve been developing all year. Can’t wait for you to see it!"
Rae has almost 89 million followers on Tiktok, and is the fourth-largest account on the social media service, and has branched into modeling, singing, and acting—appearing in Netflix's He's All That and being named one of Forbes' 30 Under 30 last year
What we thought:
Despite her success, I... honestly haven't heard of her before (I don't do Tiktok, okay?)
While Perry and Grande—and Sia, who recorded a version of "Fly Me To The Moon" for FFXIV—are more recognizable names to wider groups of people, Rae has a massive following within the more narrow niche of Tiktok
Her following stems directly from accessing a smartphone app, which is conveniently where WOTV can be downloaded—again, a more accessible sort of influence
That being said, is the Venn diagram between "Rae followers" and "people who would play a game like WOTV" really that wide? Time will tell
What's next: If you happen to live in the Irvine, California area, there will be "an exciting pop-up event on Saturday, November 19" at Honey & Butter Macarons, where attendees can "receive exclusive Addison Rae Vision Card themed postcards and stickers" with qualifying purchases, and meet voice actors Skyler Davenport (Machérie Hourne, Rinoa in Dissidia NT) and Erica Mendez (Glaciela Wezette). (You might think that they'd have Rae show up as well, but... here we are.)
Around the Union
This video used Jump last week, and now lands in this week's issue—we're taking a look at the "7 Most Badass Dragoons / Dragon Knights Ever!" Since their humble beginnings in Final Fantasy II, Dragoons have become one of the series' most recognizable job classes, and many great characters have taken up their lance. Did your favourite make the list?
We're also digging way back to the series pre-history for a bite-sized history lesson on "Why Hironobu Sakaguchi Created Final Fantasy (And How It Saved Square)." We get to examine things a little closer than we did in the Complete Evolution of Square, so let us know what you think of this new format!
And a quick final reminder: starting tonight at 8PM EST (5 hours after this newsletter is sent), I’m participating in the Extra Life fundraiser, raising money for children’s hospitals with friends in a 24-hour gaming marathon. These organizations provide vital services to our communities, and are currently under an unprecedented amount of stress. You can help out by tuning in, donating, or spreading the word! Check out our (rough) schedule here, and for more info, please check out my Extra Life page!
Now you’re up to speed! From the whole team at Final Fantasy Union, thank you for subscribing. Please let us know what you think of our coverage, and what you’d like to see covered in our weekly installments. As ever, if you’ve enjoyed our work, please share it with your friends!
Find us on social media: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Discord
Until next time, kupo!