“No one has come close to exhausting its full capabilities”.
Four decades after it became an international sales phenomenon and dominated a crowded games market, the Nintendo Entertainment System – the 8-bit box that gave birth to some of the medium’s biggest enduring franchises – today finds itself playing host to something else entirely: new aftermarket IPs that are strikingly polished and joyously fun.
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Warning: this article contains full spoilers for both Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and the original Final Fantasy 7.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth continues the work of its predecessor, which means it not only recreates the original 1997 classic with modern graphics and gameplay, but it also makes substantial changes to the story. Interestingly, Rebirth isn’t quite as radical as Final Fantasy 7 Remake was, and for much of its runtime is a mostly faithful adaptation of what you remember. But the closer you get to the end, the bigger the rewrites become. Ahead lies the seven biggest changes, which naturally means huge spoilers for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and the original game. Read on at your own risk!
In the original Final Fantasy 7, the Black Materia is a mysterious, ancient magical orb that’s capable of summoning meteor, a space-faring rock that can destroy planets. Very little is known of its origin, but its destructive powers are revealed in a mural when the party visits the Temple of the Ancients.
Rebirth partly reimagines the Black Materia, giving it a full origin story. It was created by the Gi, the undead tribe that haunts the tunnels beneath Cosmo Canyon. In a brand new sequence for Rebirth, the leader of the tribe, Gi Nattak, takes you to his village, where it is revealed that the Gi have been living in a restless purgatory for centuries.
In the world of Final Fantasy 7, your spirit is created by the Lifestream and returns to it when you die. Unfortunately for them, the Gi are not born of the Lifestream. It’s never explained where they originally came from, but their outsider status means they cannot return to the Lifestream and thus are trapped as ghosts for eternity. In an effort to release them from their curse, the Gi developed a materia that turned black “with pain and spite”. They planned to use it to summon a meteor that would obliterate both themselves and the planet that held them ‘hostage’. In short: absolute nothingness is better than a tortured eternity of undeath.
Before the Gi could use the Black Materia, Aerith’s ancestors – the Cetra – stole it and locked it away in the Temple of the Ancients. Gi Nattak asks Cloud and his friends to retrieve the Black Materia for him, and while they agree to his request, they only do so in the aim of keeping it away from both the Gi and Sephiroth.
Rebirth introduces four new characters to the party: Yuffie, Cait Sith, Cid Highwind, and Vincent Valentine. If you’ve played the original, only Cait Sith will be introduced in the same way you remember.
This time around, Yuffie is not randomly found wandering the world’s forest. Instead, she washes up on the beach at Junon Harbour, with her early moments replacing the CPR scenes with Pricilla from the original game. Yuffie made her way to Junon with the aim of assassinating Rufus Shinra, and her attempt to do so happens as part of Rufus’ military parade.
Cid is also met in an entirely different part of the world. In the original game he’s recruited from his home in Rocket Town, where a disagreement with Shinra turns into an explosive escape. But in Rebirth the party never goes to Rocket Town. Instead, Cid is depicted as a pilot-for-hire. Summoned by sending up a smoke signal at Gongaga airfield, Cid’s initial role is as a fast-travel system, flying you from location to location in the Tiny Bronco. Later, he pledges himself to the party after revealing that he once met Aerith’s biological mother, Ifalna. Upset to learn that she died, Cid agrees to help Aerith in any way she needs.
Finally we have Vincent, who does still remain locked in the Shinra Mansion basement, but is this time met when the party seeks out a computer terminal that will reveal the location of the Temple of the Ancients. Vincent agrees to help, but when the group stumbles across Professor Hojo’s old Reunion lab equipment, he forcibly steps in to stop them. And by forcibly, I mean he transforms into Galian Beast, the werewolf-like monster that was his Limit Break in the original game. After being defeated, Vincent is convinced to tag along with the party because of his past association with Sephiroth and Shinra.
Throughout the game, visions of Sephiroth try to convince Cloud that Tifa is an imposter. This all comes to a head at Gongaga Reactor where a tormented Cloud lashes out at Tifa, believing that she is a manifestation of Jenova. He tries to kill her, but Tifa manages to dodge backwards and escape the reach of his sword.
While Tifa survives Cloud’s attempt on her life, she instead falls into the reactor’s lake of liquid mako. She’s then swallowed whole by a Weapon, one of the whale-like protectors of the planet. Trapped inside the Weapon’s huge materia-like belly, she watches as it swims through the Lifestream. On the journey she experiences visions from the past, including memories of her childhood conversation with Cloud when she made him promise to save her. This is all very similar to a sequence from the original game, but it took place much later when Cloud was recovering in Mideel. The sequence ends with Tifa watching a vision of Sephiroth guiding Cloud away from her, foreshadowing the villain’s grip over her friend.
The Weapon eventually resurfaces at Gongaga Reactor and, surrounded by Whispers, releases Tifa. The suggestion is that, much like when Barret was ‘killed’ and resurrected by Whispers in Final Fantasy 7 Remake, it’s not Tifa’s time to go yet.
In the original Final Fantasy 7, Aerith had no idea of the death that awaited her at the Forgotten Capital. But in Final Fantasy 7 Remake, it was suggested that Aerith was able to see the future. Rebirth reinforces this, and reveals that Red XIII also had the ability to see the future, too (provided you take him on a date at the Gold Saucer.) However, since leaving Midgar, both Red XIII and Aerith have lost their ability to see what’s ahead.
But how could Aerith and Red XIII see the future, and why can’t they now? The answer seems to be Aerith’s White Materia. In the original game this special orb was used to summon Holy, a protective magic that can defend the entire planet. In Rebirth, Red XIII explains that materia is formed of knowledge and memories, and so it seems that the White Materia is the vessel for Aerith’s visions of the future. Red XIII was presumably able to tap into those visions, perhaps as a result of his time spent at the spiritual retreat of Cosmo Canyon. The problem is that by the events of Rebirth the White Materia is no longer white – it’s colourless and ‘empty’. The memories are gone, as thus so is its power to call Holy.
Those memories were taken by the Whispers. Last year, Square Enix confirmed that each time the Whispers touched Aerith in Remake, they stole away another memory. By the time the Whisper Harbinger had been defeated, every one of her future memories had been taken away, leaving her none the wiser of her fate.
In Rebirth’s final chapter, Cloud is taken to a new reality where he meets an alternate version of Aerith who has her own working White Materia. She tells him “Whatever happens, don’t blame yourself,” clearly demonstrating that this Aerith also knows of her fate thanks to her materia. She gives her orb to Cloud and sends him back to his reality, allowing him to reunite his Aerith with a working White Materia, those future memories, and the power to call Holy.
Sephiroth’s plan in the original game was to ascend to godhood via absorbing the Lifestream. While he still seems pretty set on that ascension in the remake trilogy, Rebirth reveals that his master plan also involves conquering the multiverse via something called Reunion.
Reunion is not a new thing for Final Fantasy 7 fans, but in the original game it referred to the reunion of Jenova’s cells. In Rebirth, it refers to Sephiroth orchestrating the convergence of many different worlds or realities. He calls this a ‘homecoming’, and when it begins he says their joining is a “confluence of worlds and emotions.” It seems, then, that the mass collection of both realities and the emotions of those who live within them is important to Sephiroth’s overall plan. And since he still wants the Black Materia, it seems pretty obvious that mass destruction of not just one world but many is on his bucket list…
In the original Final Fantasy 7, Aerith was killed by Sephiroth at the Forgotten Capital. However, the final cutscene implied that her spirit lived on in the Lifestream, and that she was able to protect the planet from meteor from there. This idea has been kept for Rebirth, but it is presented in a very different way. Aerith still dies by Sephiroth’s sword, but her spiritual form lives on and can directly communicate with Cloud – although sadly the rest of the party are unaware of her presence. In the final cutscene, Aerith promises Cloud that she will stop the meteor – a clear nod to the original game’s finale.
While Aerith’s fate is only somewhat different to the original game’s version, what we see of Zack is very different. He outright died in the original, of course, but the creation of multiple realities in the remake trilogy means that Zack lives on in different worlds of the multiverse. We actually see multiple different versions of Zack across Rebirth in worlds separate from the ‘main’ reality our heroes live in. At the very end of the game, though, the Zack that fights in the final battle ponders on something Sephiroth told him: that worlds unite and part. He wonders if that means that worlds can reunite a second time. The implication – or at least the hope – is that Zack’s reality will unite with a world where he can live happily with alternate versions of Aerith and Cloud, as the ones in his reality appear to be terminally sick.
The original Final Fantasy 7 briefly established that Yuffie’s home of Wutai was once at war with Shinra. The remake trilogy has expanded on that, and it becomes a notable secondary plotpoint in Rebirth. There’s currently a cease-fire agreement between Wutai and Shinra, but Glenn Lodbrok – a former SOLDIER who defected to Wutai – is attempting to stoke the fires of war again and destroy both Shinra and Midgar. In a public address he claims that Shinra has massacred Wutai soldiers – a situation he almost certainly engineered to increase tensions – and also falsely blames the emergence of the Weapons on the company.
In the finale, it is revealed that Glenn is actually a puppet of Sephiroth, and that the attempts to reignite the Shinra vs. Wutai war is a ploy to distract Rufus. Sephiroth does not speak plainly about why he’s doing this, but he does say “our promised land will become a reality”. Based on this, it’s logical to assume that he’s trying to divert Rufus’ attention away from his goal of discovering the Promised Land. In the original Final Fantasy 7, Sephiroth sought the Promised Land as it was a place where he could absorb the mass amounts of Mako energy required to use the Black Materia and cast Meteor. Meanwhile, the late President Shinra hoped to find it and use its energy to build Neo Midgar. We know Rebirth’s version of Rufus still hopes to complete his father’s work, and it makes sense that this version of Sephiroth still requires the energy. Thus, if Rufus is distracted by a war with Wutai, then Sephiroth can more easily beat him in the race to the Promised Land.
Matt Purslow is IGN’s UK News and Features Editor.
Wish upon a card.
We made it out of February and it is finally the weekend!
Keen to keep the good vibes going, this week on Nintendo Life we celebrated the first Pokémon Presents of 2024. And what would you know, it wasn’t all that bad! The big takeaway was the grand reveal of Pokémon Legends: Z-A coming to Switch in 2025, but we also got to see a neat new TCG app too.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
In an unexpected twist, a large amount of my time is now spent playing Fall Guys, the rubberised, free-to-play competitive bean racing game. I am therefore well equipped to tell you about its Survival Update, released this week, which adds new levels, new powerups and makes it possible to create survival rounds via the in-game level editor.
The Xbox Series X is now one of the best-selling video game consoles of all time, even if there were rumors Microsoft was going to stop making consoles – which is thankfully false. If you want to enhance your gameplay even further, then it’s worth considering some of the best Xbox Series X accessories to pair with your Xbox Series X console.
From high-end Xbox Series X controllers with additional buttons and paddles to make gaming easier, to immersive Xbox Series X headsets that allow you to hear every movement in-game, there are some seriously cool Xbox Series X accessories to consider.
The good news is, that you don’t need to stretch your budget too far if you want to invest in some new peripherals. But if you want to splurge, the option is there.
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If you enjoy pro gaming or you want to up your performance in-game, the Xbox Elite Controller Series 2 is designed for competitive gamers. It features adjustable-tension thumbsticks, short hair trigger locks, a wrap-around rubberized grip, exclusive button mapping options, and interchangeable components.
Depending on the game you’re playing, you can save up to 3 custom profiles on the controller and switch between them instantly using the profile button on the controller. Admittedly, there’s a hefty price to pay here, but the beauty of this Xbox controller is that it can pair to Xbox Series X|S consoles, Windows PCs, and mobile devices, too, making it great value for money in the long run.
Equipped with a rechargeable battery, you can easily pair the Xbox Elite Controller Series 2 with a rechargeable battery kit or something like the PowerA Dual Charging Station for Xbox X|S, so you’re never without charge.
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The Xbox Series X comes with a standard 1TB of storage. Some of that is instantly eaten away by the operating system, leaving you with just 802GB of usable space. When you consider some Xbox Series X games are over 100GB once installed, you’ll soon realize there’s not much space left on your Xbox to play the games you want.
The officially licensed Seagate Xbox Storage Expansion Card comes in 1TB and 2TB sizes, allowing you to install more of the games you love without any hassle. It’s easy to increase the capacity of your Xbox Series X, though it does come at a price. However, this is really the only sacrifice you’re making since the expansion card runs just a touch slower than the Xbox’s internal SSD.
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More affordable than some Xbox Series X headsets, the Microsoft Xbox Wireless Headset is the perfect pairing for this console and is noise-canceling too. The adjustable headband means it’s comfortable to wear for long periods of time, and can be shared between your household. And, since it’s wireless, you won’t be tied down to your Xbox if you want to grab a snack in between matches.
The controls are easy to access; you can adjust the volume on the fly and alter the game/chat balance depending on what you’re focusing on. Keeping with its intuitive and lightweight theme, the Microsoft Xbox Wireless Headset doesn’t require any dongles, cables, or extras to connect wirelessly to your Xbox. It can even double up as a headset for your phone too as it features Bluetooth connectivity.
Use the Xbox Accessories app to create a customized audio experience just for you, and switch between a range of sound modes including Windows Sonic, Dolby Atmos, and DTS Headphone:X.
Best Alternative Expansion Card for Xbox Series X
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We wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t want to splash all your hard-earned cash on Seagate’s Xbox expansion card. If this is the case, you might want to turn your head to the WD C50 Expansion Card, which is a more affordable alternative. It also comes in 512GB and 1TB storage sizes, if you don’t want to go all out and upgrade to 2TB.
This expansion card is officially licensed by Microsoft, too, so you can simply plug and play without any hassle of installing additional storage and taking your Xbox apart. Install all of the games you want, and thanks to its portable size, you can even take this expansion card with you to your friend’s house if you want to play games that they haven’t installed.
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Racing fans will love the Logitech G923 Racing Wheel and Pedals, though you might gulp at the price. Featuring Trueforce technology, this racing wheel makes it really feel like you’re in the driver’s seat. The finer details like the hand-stitched black leather wheel cover and polished metal pedals only add to the experience (and cost).
What makes the Logitech G923 Racing Wheel and Pedals stand out is its lifelike replication of driving a car. The programmable dual clutch simulates real race car launch directly from your controller, alongside the ability to fine-tune your speed with the built-in LED RPM indicator.
Adjustable wheel sensitivity, force feedback, and button customizable add to the racing wheel’s appeal, offering the full racing sim experience at home.
Best Affordable Controller for Xbox Series X
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If you’re not fussed about using a wireless controller on your Xbox Series X, and perhaps don’t want to spend too much on additional controllers for when your friends come over to play, then the PowerA Enhanced Wired Controller is a great alternative. This budget-friendly controller comes in a range of styles to suit every gamer. You could spend hours looking through the vast designs on offer.
Despite its cheaper cost, this controller comes with two mappable advanced gaming buttons, dual rumble motors, and the usual Share button so you can capture screenshots and clips in-game. There’s a volume dial too and a one-touch mic mute which is perfect if you chat with your friends while gaming. The generous 10ft cable shouldn’t get in the way, and it’s easy to plug into your Windows PC or Xbox One, too.
Best Thumbsticks for Xbox Series X
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Competitive gamers will appreciate the upgraded precision that the KontrolFreek FPS Freek Inferno Performance Kit offers. This cheap and cheerful Xbox Series X accessory comes with a mid-rise and high-rise thumbstick to customize your gameplay.
Best of all, there’s no DIY needed here. Just place the thumbsticks on top of the existing Xbox Series X thumbsticks to completely change up your gaming experience. The rubber material provides additional grip and comfort, giving you the upper hand when you need it.
There are a lot of different accessories you can buy for the Xbox Series X, but the only actually essential accessory is an Xbox controller. You will also likely need multiple controllers if you plan on playing multiplayer games locally on your Xbox. And although not essential for gameplay, a decent gaming headset or gaming earbuds are great if you want to play quietly.
Unfortunately, Xbox consoles do not currently support Bluetooth audio. That being said, there is a workaround that will allow you to connect Bluetooth headphones to the console. See our guide on how to connect AirPods to Xbox for more info.
Kegan is an avid gamer who has been playing games since his Atari days. From a young age Kegan was tinkering with PCs and now has a passion for building custom gaming computers.
Space Crew is superficially similar to FTL: you manage a crew in space as you deal with peril, put out fires and fight off aliens. It’s set apart by between-mission management, during which you get the steady dopamine drip of ship, crew and equipment upgrades and customisation.
It’s free to keep from Steam for the next two weeks.
Balatro publisher Playstack Games has taken to social media to defend its poker roguelike after fans noticed it had been removed from certain stores.
Players started to point out Balatro’s disappearance over the last few days, with some taking to social media to express their concerns. Reddit user JustASmith27, for example, was unable to find the Nintendo Switch eShop store page in the U.K. Players from other countries, such as Australia, have reported that they are running into the same roadblock as well.
Mainly, the problem seems isolated to Nintendo Switch stores outside of the U.S. Playstack shared an explanation behind Balatro’s disappearance on X/Twitter, saying that the team is working “as hard as we can to get the game back on sale as soon as possible.” With some territories still able to purchase Balatro without issue, the publisher confirms its removal is tied to a sudden change in its age rating.
“This is not an issue with the stores themselves, however a reaction to an overnight change to Balatro’s age rating from 3+ to 18+ by a ratings board without any advance warning,” Playstack said, “due to a mistaken belief that the game ‘contains prominent gambling imagery and material that instructs about gambling.’”
Playstack adds that it addressed gambling concerns with the ratings board in October. At the time, Balatro was labeled 3+ after receiving an initial rating of 18+.
“During that specific appeal, the ratings board assured us ‘we have reviewed your product and determined that the disclosure of gambling themes was unwarranted,’” Playstack added. “The game content has not changed since the age rating was amended to a 3+.”
— Playstack (@PlaystackGames) March 1, 2024
The Playstack team says they “fundamentally believe the ratings decision is unfounded,” mentioning that LocalThunk, Balatro’s sole developer, is “staunchly anti-gambling.” LocalThunk took to X/Twitter to share their own thoughts on the matter, doubling down on their stance against the accusation that Balatro contains any form of gambling.
“I do not condone gambling (staking something personally valuable on an uncertain event) nor do I believe that Balatro contains gambling,” the post says. “I did add risk/reward mechanics and RNG to Balatro, but these are core mechanics to the genre at large.”
Re: the Balatro news today
I do not condone gambling (staking something personally valuable on an uncertain event) nor do I believe that Balatro contains gambling
I did add risk/reward mechanics and RNG to Balatro, but these are core mechanics to the genre at large
— localthunk (@LocalThunk) March 1, 2024
While Playstack is confident Balatro will remain on PC storefronts like Steam, it’s not sure how other platforms will be impacted. It adds, “Please rest assured the game will be back up on sale, possibly with a temporary 18+ rating while we resolve the issue.”
Balatro launched for PC, Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X | S on February 20, 2024. Although its Steam page boasts that it is “the definitive poker roguelike experience,” it also features a variety of gameplay twists, such as cards with unique abilities, a campaign, difficulty modes, and more.
“Combine valid poker hands with unique Joker cards in order to create varied synergies and builds,” its description says. “Earn enough chips to beat devious blinds, all while uncovering hidden bonus hands and decks as you progress. You’re going to need every edge you can get in order to reach the boss blind, beat the final ante and secure victory.”
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He started writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.
Be sure to give him a follow on Twitter @MikeCripe.
It’s looking increasingly likely that Gearbox Entertainment is going to be sold by Embracer. In a town hall with staff earlier this week, CEO and co-founder Randy Pitchford reportedly told staff that a decision had been made regarding the studio’s future, with more details to be shared in March.
Embracer bought Gearbox for $1.3 billion (around £1.02 billion) in 2021, but it was reported that they were looking to sell last year as part of ongoing layoffs, closures and divestments.
“We are especially disappointed in the actions of the ratings board”.
LocalThunk’s excellent roguelike deckbuilder Balatro has been removed from various Switch eShops “without any advance warning” following an apparent age rating change from 3+ to 18+ by European ratings board PEGI.
Publisher Playstack issued a statement via Twitter saying the publisher is “especially disappointed in the actions of the ratings board” following post-appeal assurances in October 2023 that the game did not contain gambling themes after they had presumably been flagged in the certification process.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Hey Xbox Insiders! We have a new Xbox Update Preview releasing to the Beta ring today.
It’s important we note that some updates made to these preview OS builds include background improvements that ensure a quality and stable build for Xbox consoles. We will continue to post these release notes, even when the noticeable changes to the UI are minimal or behind the scenes, so you’re aware when updates are coming to your device.
Details can be found below!
Thanks to all the great feedback Xbox Insiders provide and the hard work of Xbox engineers, we are happy to announce the following fixes have been implemented with this build:
Games
My Games & Apps
System
While known issues may have been listed in previous Xbox Insider Release Notes, they are not being ignored! However, it may take Xbox engineers more time to find a solution. If you experience any of these issues, we ask that you please follow any guidance provided and file feedback with Report a Problem.
Audio
Networking
As always, be sure to use Report a problem to keep us informed of any issues you encounter. We may not be able to respond to everyone, but the data we’ll gather is crucial to finding a resolution.
If you’re an Xbox Insider looking for support, please visit the community subreddit. Official Xbox staff, moderators, and fellow Xbox Insiders are there to help with your concerns.
When posting to the subreddit, please look through the most recent posts to see if your issue has already been posted or addressed. We always recommend adding to existing threads with the same issue before posting a new one. This helps us support you the best we can! Also, don’t forget to use “Report a Problem” before posting – the information shared in both places helps us understand your issue better.
Thank you to every Xbox Insider in the subreddit today and welcome to the community if you’re just joining us! We love that it has become such a friendly and community-driven hub of conversation and support.
For more information regarding the Xbox Insider Program follow us on Twitter. Keep an eye on future Xbox Insider Release Notes for more information regarding your Xbox Update Preview ring!
The post Xbox Insider Release Notes – Beta (2403.240228-2000) appeared first on Xbox Wire.
