Hello, and welcome to a weekly wrap-up of the biggest stories in gaming this week. This is a new feature on the site that I’ll be trying to put out weekly, detailing as much news as I can fit into one quick-to-read feature. So, let’s go!
News for the week of February 26th, 2021.
SquareEnix announces multiple Final Fantasy VII updates!
During the most recent State of Play, we were treated to a new content trailer for the Final Fantasy VII Remake, showcasing what we can expect the PS5 version to look like, as well as a whole new subplot with Yuffie being added to that version. Now, it’s being added to new copies of the game on PS5, and if you upgrade your existing copy from PS4 to PS5, for free, you’ll be able to purchase this extra episode for that updated version. As it stands, it doesn’t appear that this new episode is available for PS4 users, which is a bit odd if you ask me.
This new version for PS5, titled: Final Fantasy VII Remake: Intergrade does feature a lot of graphical upgrades that do make the game look a tiny bit better, especially considering it is one of the best looking games on the PS4 regardless. The standalone and digital versions of the game will retail for $69.99 USD, whereas a deluxe version will retail for $89.99 USD that features a digital artbook, mini soundtrack, and a cacstar weapon for those who pre-order through the PSN store. If you caught that $69.99 USD price point amount, it’s due to that $10 hike we are seeing to many PS5 games such as Godfall, Demon’s Souls, and Sackboy.
For a look at Final Fantasy VII Remake: Intergrade, check out the reveal trailer below!
Announced apart from the State of Play were a few mobile additions to the Remake roadmap. First, we have Final Fantasy VII: The First Solider, which is, and I can’t believe I am saying this, but is a battle royal that takes place in the world of Final Fantasy VII. This is set before the events of the main game, where you play as a candidate for the Solider program. You’ll use a variety of third-person melee abilities, gunplay, spells, and even the series’ most popular summons as well. To make battles even more chaotic, AI enemies will join in on the fights as you attempt to be the last Soldier alive. The First Soldier launches on Android and iOS devices later this year.
Lastly, is Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis, which is going to be a simple yet extensive look at the entire series of games that spawned from the original Final Fantasy VII. This single-player adventure is going to tell every single bit of the story as individual chapters. You’ll see story beats from the main game, Before Crisis, Dirge of Cerberus, Crisis Core, and even Advent Children, which was the CG animated movie featuring Cloud and the crew. There will also be new story elements added as well, which will be written by scenario writer, Kazushige Nojima.
The game features a reworked combat system, chibi-like character models that share a lot in common with the original release of FF7. It’s unclear how the chapter release system will work, how far each chapter goes, or the release schedule of when we can see more added to it. The game will hit Android and iOS devices in 2022.
Monster Hunter Rise hits PC in 2022.
With Monster Hunter World, Capcom largely struck gold when it came to revisiting a once niche game series that it had with Monster Hunter. It was popular sure, but Monster Hunter World took the series into new heights and Rise appears to have learned from what worked and is all set to release the game shortly on the Nintendo Switch. But, Rise will also be coming to PC, and while a release date isn’t set in stone, Capcom has stated it will hit the platform in 2022.
While the game hasn’t been announced for Xbox or PlayStation, it’s hard pressed to think that it won’t hit the Series X/S and PS5 after having all that work done to make it run on a modern PC, especially with how popular the game has been for Monster Hunter World. The game is set for launch on the Nintendo Switch on March 26th, 2021.
Pokemon Sinnoh is the place to be!
Nintendo ran a Pokemon event on February 26th, 2021 that detailed one announcement that many have been waiting years for, and one that many were not expecting, both of which will take place in the Sinnoh region.
Pokemon Diamond and Pearl originally released in North America in 2007 on the Nintendo DS handheld, and today, it was announced that the pair of games will see a remake of sorts, featuring an almost 1:1 recreation of the original but with updated graphics that feel very similiar to what Nintendo did with the Legend of Zelda: Link's awakening remake. This chibi-like visual change feels like a natural 3D evolution of the original game, but many are still upset that Nintendo chose to do this over a full expansive remake, putting it at least on par with the visuals of Sword and Shield. While I don’t personally have a dog in the fight as I’m unlikely to buy the game, I do see both sides of the divide in what Nintendo has put forward here.
Regardless, the games, which are retitled as Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, will hit the Switch in later 2021, likely served up as their big holiday release. The games, which are being hailed as “faithful remakes” are being developed by IIca Inc, a studio that was responsible for Pokemon Home. Game Freak’s Junichi Masuda, who was the game director for the original games, will serve as director for these remakes. It’s unclear at this point if the games will see any quality of life updates, or be compatible with Pokemon that originally were not part of the original release, such as those released in the past 15 years.
Lastly, for this bit of Sinnoh news is the announcement of Pokemon Legends: Arceus, an open-world Pokemon game that takes place before the events of Diamond and Pearl. It’s a bit odd that so much work seems to be going into this prequel considering fans have wanted an open-world main entry for years. While Sword and Shield gave us some of that in its wild areas, this seems to be a more Breath of the Wild take on the existing formula for Pokemon. While not many details were announced today, it will see players exploring a Sinnoh was years in the past, catching and battling Pokemon in a massive open-world. With the game being set in Sinnoh, you’ll have your choice between Rowlet, Oshawott, and Cyndaquil as your starters.
PlayStation 5 doesn’t have much space if memory serves…
The PlayStation 5 has a problem, a big one, or rather, when you think about it, a very small problem, its hard drive space is embarrassing. While it was originally touted as being a 1 TB drive, the usable space is only 667GB. When you have the likes of Call of Duty: Cold War, War Zone, Demon’s Souls, and Miles Morales on there, it fills up far too quickly. Thankfully, that space issue is coming to an end. Sort of.
A new report indicates that Sony is set to provide a firmware update that will allow the expansion of its internal storage to SSD drives that sport far more space. While SSD drives are not exactly cheap, they eventually will be, and players will finally have a choice on upgrading to something that allows for more than 4 or 5 AAA games to be installed, especially since you cannot even move them over to an external drive for cold storage.
According to Bloomberg, anonymous sources stated that this upcoming update will unlock the capability of its expansion bay, allowing users to install a second M.2 SSD drive. By removing the outer casing of the PS5, you’ll see that there is an empty bay waiting for something to be installed in it. At this time, that bay is software locked and cannot be used.
While this is still all speculation, it’s still going to be a very much welcomed feature for players as right now, the PS5 has that one massive flaw, or again, a tiny one, depending on how you look at it.
That’s everything I could fit into this feature, what was your favorite news of the week? Comment below!