Wark Digest #88 - Sequel of Paradise?
Welcome back to the Wark Digest, your weekly newsletter of new developments in the Final Fantasy universe. I’m Chris, aka Hoogathy, and this week we have a glimmer of hope that Different Futures may lie before us (see what I did there?), and examine a curious piece of Final Fantasy ephemera.
This week’s newsletter is 1352 words, a 6-minute read.
Sequel of Paradise?
Just when we thought Jack’s story was coming to an end this week with Stranger of Paradise’s third DLC, Tetsuya Nomura has revealed that the door may not be entirely closed on our straight-talking, rageaholic friend. (Source & translation: Noisy Pixel)
What’s going on:
On Thursday, Nomura appeared on a live stream regarding the “Different Future” DLC and update
Addressing fans and the game’s reception, he said:
When Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin first came out, there was a lot of negative bashing, especially online. However, I’m pleased to say that everyone watching this livestream has grown very fond of Jack and his friends. So much so that some would love to see a sequel.
And if you do want that to happen, then it would certainly help if one person watching this spread the news to 10 other people. If word of mouth about the game spreads through the DLC’s completion, proving that this is a title that has really resonated with everyone, there may be a time when we can meet again. I personally would love to work with [co-director Nobumichi Kumabe] from Koei Tecmo again.
The rest of the (Japanese-language) stream was spent examining nitty-gritty details of the patch and DLC
What we thought:
While this comment is far from a confirmation, Nomura’s relative positivity about the subject is, frankly, unexpected
Stranger of Paradise earned “mixed or average reviews” from critics and players alike, and its sales figures didn’t astound anyone, nor did there appear to be a sizable flood of people returning for the successive DLC chapters (though it certainly has a community of fans)
The last DLC trailer called “Different Future” the end of Jack’s story in pretty definitive terms
By all indications, it seemed Square Enix viewed SoP as a disappointment to its own internal metrics and was gratefully closing the door on it
But Nomura, at least, is excited to take the game further; is he trying to make a wild personal dream into reality by rallying fans to his cause? Or does he have genuine, evidence-supported cause to think a sequel could be on the table?
What’s next: We’ll have to wait and see how the “Different Future” DLC ends to truly speculate or brainstorm on where a potential Stranger of Paradise 2 could go. This final piece of the game’s season pass went live today and will see Jack cross paths with FFII’s Emperor, so there may be some unresolved plot threads left behind for a sequel. More on that next week…
“To Thine Own Love Be True” In FFXIV’s Valentine Event
Somehow January is almost over, and we’re about to see a wave of Valentine’s content across live-service games. Final Fantasy XIV is no exception, with the annual “Valentione’s Day” event arriving this week.
What’s going on:
The 2023 iteration runs from February 1-15
Players lvl.15 and up can embark on the seasonal storyline in the usual place, Old Gridania, by speaking with the NPC Lisette de Valentione and accepting the quest “Suited for Affection”
New rewards for finishing the questline include the Valentione Emissary’s gear (depending on your character’s gender when you open the coffer), a heart-shaped desk for your lodging, and a “Eat Chocolate” emote
Seasonal items from previous years can be obtained from the House Valentione vendor
What we thought:
Another “holiday,” another in-game event
These are never quite as stimulating as the main storyline, of course, but they make a nice distraction from grinding or waiting for the next patch
For a game that echoes our daily life so much, tying in bigger cultural traditions like this can add an extra dimension of “realism” and immersivity (even if these stories themselves are somewhat shallow)
The items aren’t my cup of tea but somebody’s gonna love that bowler hat
Another “eat ____” emote, though? In the 13 months or so, emotes have been added for eating pizza, eggs, pumpkin cookies, and now chocolate (while a “drink tea” emote was put up for sale on the FFXIV Online Store, for $7 USD!)
What’s next: Seasonal events are nice and all, but how about more crossovers like the FFXV event, which sees Noctis teleported to Eorzea? Otherwise, we can expect the Easter “Hatching-tide” event in April, if not another “Little Ladies’ Day” before that in March.
The Curious Case of Rapping Squall
Recently I came across an odd drawing of Squall that appeared in a game magazine way back around Final Fantasy VIII’s release date, and… well, I had to find an explanation for it.
What’s going on:
The image features Squall with a gold chain and medallion (forsaking his silver Griever pendant), shades, and rapping into a microphone—for those of you who weren’t there, this is 100% what the end of the nineties looked like
In case this wasn’t enough uncharacteristic behaviour, his backup dancers are supposed to be Rinoa and Quistis
The image was originally printed (twice) in PSM: 100% Independent PlayStation Magazine’s October 1999 issue, #26—which I fortuitously found at a local used game store a couple weeks after I saw the baffling cartoon online
More specifically, it was an illustration from the Rumours section of the magazine, which claimed Squaresoft was working on “a new dancing and rhythm title” that could compete with Parappa the Rapper and Bust-A-Groove
The art is by Arthur Adams, who regularly produced original art for this magazine from covers to interior pieces like this
But… why?
This rumour was spilled in the same issue that PSM reviewed Final Fantasy VIII
For the record, they gave it 4/5 and called it “a bigger, better FFVII”, claiming “it is best to consider FFVIII as simply a more polished version of FFVII”
They “were just hoping for a little more,” which may be natural after obsessing over it for almost two whole years across multiple cover stories
That explained the art for the most part (big new game + topical connection to the rumour), but I was now fascinated by the hypothetical dancing game
Look at the list of games Squaresoft has released, and you’ll see this game clearly never saw the light of day; Theatrhythm wouldn’t exist for another 12 years, and doesn’t really sound like this game at all
PSM mentioned they would have more to share in a future installment of their “Nihon Game Otaku” column (a perhaps regrettable name for coverage from their Japanese correspondent… Banzai Chibi-chan. Groan.) but from what I’ve been able to dig up, they never came back to it, and the column stopped appearing regularly in 2000
90s magazines often published leads that never materialized, some of which modern game historians have been able to connect to published games that changed direction, or other games that were scrapped
So this hypothetical PS1 or PS2 rhythm game from Squaresoft may have been a concept sketched on a cocktail napkin, or something that was abandoned mid-production, or just a total fabrication. We may never know.
Either way, we do know Squall would hate all of this scenario
One last farfetched theory: Maybe some insider saw character sketches for The Bouncer and assumed they were for a rhythm game?
Around the Union
Over on YouTube this week, we took a look at “The Curious Case of the Final Fantasy IX Remake!” In light of that supposed “leak” we discussed here last week, join Darryl for an examination of the various elements relating to how and why it may exist.
We also have an update on our Patreon and how it connects to the future of our channel. Check out the video below to learn about some of our ambitious plans for the year ahead, and how you can help us produce… Project Historia.
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Until next time, kupo!
As soon as I saw that rapping Squall, I could just tell that it was drawn by someone who worked for Marvel Comics. So, it was no surprise that I recognized the artist's name once it came up.