Final Fantasy & Kingdom Hearts Union

It's a new year and it promises to be a busy one for the Final Fantasy franchise! Alongside discussing the various games that should either be released this year, or will have more information revealed (e.g. Final Fantasy XVI), Lauren and Darryl talk about the current state of Final Fantasy and Square Enix in general as they look forward to the year ahead. There's also a bittersweet announcement at the end of the show.

The Legacy of the Crystal has been a huge undertaking and in this episode, Darryl tells all! That means there's a huge apology and explanation about the recent podcast absences, a long history about how the book came to be and a discussion about how the campaign has gone so far! Thank you all for your support

With a State of Play and two release dates announced, it's been a busy few weeks for Square Enix! Throughout this episode we discuss what the no show for Final Fantasy XVI at the State of Play might mean for delivering on their promise to show the game in 2021 and a 2022 release, as well as talking about the release dates for Final Fantasy V Pixel Remaster and Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier!

It's been almost five years since World of Final Fantasy released and we thought it'd be nice to talk about the impact of the game, as well as what the future might hold! Or at least, that was the plan, because this show has perhaps the longest introduction in the last few years, as Lauren and Darryl talk a lot about the impact of digital vs physical copies of games and some of the wider issues affecting the video games industry as a whole at the moment.

Tokyo Game Show 2021 has come and gone and there was a load of stuff to talk about following the press conference and subsequent live streams. Throughout this episode discussions revolve around all of the games shown off during the conference (Triangle Strategy, Dungeon Encounters, Voice of Cards, etc.) and there's a more detailed talk about Stranger of Paradise and general thoughts about Square Enix's output in recent times, especially from the Western arm of the business.

Not only was there a huge speculative leak that happened in recent times, but the Tokyo Game Show is just around the corner! It makes for an action-packed episode as we discuss not only the potential of a Final Fantasy IX Remake and Final Fantasy Tactics Remaster, but also the various games that could end up being shown at the Tokyo Game Show, including Stranger of Paradise and The First Soldier.

It's now been five years since Kingsglaive was released, so we wanted to reminisce about going to the UK premiere! Housed within this particular episode are conversations about the location, what it was like to talk with some of the actors and production staff and some general thoughts about the movie itself!

World building has been a prominent focus over the years in Final Fantasy games and this episode we discuss some of our favourite aspects of the world we've seen.

Final Fantasy XII rounded out the PS2 era after numerous delays... but what would have happened if the delays weren't there? That's our main topic of discussion today, as we discuss how the franchise might have changed if Final Fantasy XII had released when it was originally planned to, as well as running through the development philosophies Sakaguchi instilled and how they changed after his departure.

Final Fantasy X-3 has resurfaced again thanks to a brand new interview with prominent creators working on the Final Fantasy 7 Remake. Throughout this episode, we talk about what that means for us fans while also discussing the imminent release of the Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters!

With Final Fantasy XVI skipping E3, one of the main topics of discussion is... when will we see it again? But that's not all! Other topics discussed are the new games said to be in development by Hajime Tabata at JP Games and the results of the "The First Solider" Closed Beta survey!

It's been one hell of a ride, but Kingdom Hearts Union is coming to an end... for now! Join us for this final episode, as Branden and Churro reminisce about their time on Kingdom Hearts Union, talking about how they got involved in the first place and what their plans are for the future!

It's a pretty big milestone for the podcast and we thought, why not celebrate by talking in-depth about Stranger of Paradise! In all seriousness, we do talk about the game, but the whole first-part of the show is a fun quick-fire around between Darryl and Lauren about some of their favourite aspects of the franchise and we hope you enjoy!

It's time for an important announcement regarding Kingdom Hearts Union, so please join Branden for a State of the Kingdom Hearts Union address!

E3 2021 has pretty much wrapped up and there has been so much to talk about from Square Enix! Throughout this episode, we have a lengthy chat about the reveal of Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, as well as the Final Fantasy 1-6 Pixel Remaster collection and give some general thoughts about the Square Enix press conference as a whole!

Now that Kingdom Hearts Union X has wrapped up, it's time for the full finale spoilercast and there is SO MUCH to discuss!

There has been a pretty juicy rumour floating around about a brand new Final Fantasy game called "Final Fantasy Origin" and in this episode, we're going to be discussing the rumour with a decent amount of detail!

We all have those opinions that are slightly out there, and today Branden and Churro will be discussing some of their hot takes! Outside of that, there's some news about NEO: The World Ends With You, why Kingdom Hearts skipped the PlayStation Vita and news about GamePass!

We had the incredible opportunity to speak with the father of Final Fantasy, Hironobu Sakaguchi, about his new game, Fantasian, and the franchise as a whole! Throughout this episode, we talk about what it was like to speak with Sakaguchi and the highs and lows that happened throughout!

There have been some significant updates to Kingdom Hearts Union X and we're going to be talking all about them throughout today's episode! On top of that, there's also time for plenty of cool questions from the community, so we hope you all enjoy the show!

It's time to revisit Final Fantasy IV in our continuing series of replaying the older games. Throughout this episode, we discuss the story, the characters, and the best version to play... all while talking about NieR Replicant

The ending update for Kingdom Hearts Union X has been delayed and there has also been a change of plans... as the update will now be released in two parts, as opposed to one. We also run through some of the Kingdom Hearts 3 Mods that have been released into the wild so far :D

We have brand new information relating to the Final Fantasy 7 Remake, as Episode Yuffie has now been named! Outside of discussing the name, we also run-through some of the new characters who're introduced, touch on Fort Condor and have a brief segment focussed on our excitement for the upcoming release of NieR Replicant v1.22

With so much talk about the PlayStation 5 and its fancy SSD, we discuss how this might affect any future installments of Kingdom Hearts on the next generation of consoles. In addition, there's some news related to Melody of Memories, the release of Kingdom Hearts on the Epic Games Store and an update on NEO: The World Ends With You.

Final Fantasy has featured some pretty impactful moments and as part of today's episode, we're discussing the ones that had the most emotional impact! In addition, we also have plenty of questions from the community relating to the Final Fantasy 7 Remake, favourite summons and how we've enjoyed the older games on our Twitch stream!

With KHUx coming to an end, it's time to discuss everything that's happened since the release of Kingdom Hearts 3! Throughout this episode, the crew take a deep dive into the canon story of KHUx while also taking time to recognise the 19th anniversary of Kingdom Hearts!

It's another episode and it's another huge update about the Final Fantasy 7 Remake! Yoshinori Kitase and Tetsuya Nomura have been speaking to Japanese media about what to expect from Intergrade, with some loose talks about Part Two, and there's also new information about First Soldier, Ever Crisis and... Forspoken (although that's not Final Fantasy-related!)

Numerous games have gone down the path of creating a prequel and that's the main discussion for today's episode... would it be worth Square Enix making a full on Kingdom Hearts 0? If so, what would the story look like and would it be a full-game or just a segment of another game?

After months of nothing, Square Enix decided to announce a load of news and games related to the Final Fantasy 7 Remake... all on the same day! Throughout this episode, we're discussing Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade, Final Fantasy 7: The First Solider and Final Fantasy 7: Ever Crisis... it's going to be a hell of a ride!

After many, many years, development on the Kingdom Hearts mobile game will be ceasing as both games are now complete! Nomura revealed the news in an open letter, where he stated that once both teams had wrapped up their current workloads they would be merged with the rest of the Kingdom Hearts team. An offline version of the game will then be made available for fans to enjoy.

Based on some new comments from Naoki Yoshida, it feels like Square Enix will be taking a more measured approach with the marketing of Final Fantasy XVI. Throughout this episode, we discuss what this means for the next 6-12 months and why we're pleased with the comments Yoshida has made.

After many, many years, every major Kingdom Hearts game will now be coming to PC. It sees Kingdom Hearts 1.5, 2.5, 2.8, 3 and Melody of Memories all arrive as Epic Games Store exclusive titles and there will be some exclusive keyblades available too!

Having completed our playthrough of the last Final Fantasy game to appear on the NES, it's time to have a discussion about what it brought to the table! There's also a brief run-down of some recent Final Fantasy news, specifically relating to Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker, the next expansion.

It's surreal to think it's already been two years since the release of Kingdom Hearts 3, but we thought it'd be a great time to reminisce! We've also got some new relating to a Kingdom Hearts novel that's being released and addressing some fan concerns about burnout with the franchise.

It's the 20th anniversary of Final Fantasy X and we felt it would be prudent to discuss why we hold the game with such reverence. It leads to some interesting discussions around the specific elements that we feel make Final Fantasy X such a special experience and we hope you enjoy!

With EA's exclusivity deal now ended, does that open for the door for Star Wars characters to start appearing within the Kingdom Hearts universe? That's the main topic of this episode, but there's also room to talk about Melody of Memory, its impact and some of the story elements that are a bit more nuanced.

The year has only just begun and there's already Final Fantasy 7 Remake speculation! Throughout this episode, we run-through the latest Final Fantasy trademarks, discuss our views on Final Fantasy XVI and run-through the various games we're excited to see and play throughout the year!

2020 has been a pretty crazy year on all fronts, and it's been one to remember for Final Fantasy. Throughout this episode, we have a focus on discussing the release of Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Crystal Chronicles Remastered Edition and the reveal of Final Fantasy XVI... as well as a brief look at our expectations for 2021! Thank you all again for sticking with us this year

Kingdom Hearts is an expansive franchise that appeals to all ages, but when it is best to start? This is one the many questions discussed on today's episode as Branden and Churro venture into other topics like SEJ's new working from home policy and Yoko Shimomura's music retrospective series!

Boss battle are always pretty intense and this episode we're running through five of the best! It's a shorter episode this time around though, as Darryl is flying solo. It means there's not so much discussion, but at least you get to listen to Darryl rambling about stuff and attempting to justify his weird opinions!

Now that Melody of Memories has been out for a little while, we've decided to do a full-on spoilercast to run-through everything relating to the ending! That then leads into discussions about the future of the Kingdom Hearts franchise, as there were some quotes from a recent Dengeki Interview that tie-in well with content that was shown within the ending of the game.

Final Fantasy II released not too long after its predecessor, but even though some elements were similar, others were vastly different. During this podcast, Lauren and Darryl talk about their recent experiences with the game, running through the story, gameplay, music and why Final Fantasy II often features at the bottom of most people's tier lists!

Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory has now released and we have plenty of thoughts about what was housed within! It means we're going to be talking about gameplay and thoughts about how the final product has turned out compared to initial impressions. But there's also time for some spoiler discussion too relating to the ending and what it means for the future of the franchise!

We have new information relating to Final Fantasy XVI and we couldn't be more excited to run-through all of the tiny details that lay within! Throughout this episode we discuss the characters and world, while also talking about what we're hoping to see from the next media blast.

With a new console generation now just weeks away, how will it affect Kingdom Hearts? Will Square Enix produce a new suite of re-releases of the original Kingdom Heart series, or will backwards compatibility suffice? In addition to this main discussion point, there is a whole host of news to run-through, such as the potential for a collaboration with Final Fantasy XIV and how Melody of Memories came to be!

With numerous video games properties being made into Netflix shows, this episode we discuss the potential for Final Fantasy. It makes for a lively topic, as Lauren and Darryl pick two different Final Fantasy games that could work and two different formats as well. We hope you enjoy the discussion and we can't wait to hear what your recommendations would be!

Square Enix has released a demo for Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory and we've been playing it a ton! Famitsu also released an interview with the composers who worked on the Kingdom Hearts 3 soundtrack and they talked in-depth about production. In addition, there are also plenty of questions to discuss, such as the whether Kingdom Hearts will come to the Switch and viable plots for Kingdom Hearts 4!

Final Fantasy has a long and rich history and for today's episode, we figured it would be a nice change of pace to move away from Final Fantasy XVI and talk about where it all began. It leads to a spirited discussion that has numerous segues (sorry!) and hopefully as we continue on with our journey, there will be many more opportunities to talk about the classics. If you're interested in checking out our progress, follow us on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lozzadar

Square Enix and Disney have enough a strong relationship through Kingdom Hearts, but what if DIsney decided they no longer wanted to be part of the arrangement? It's an interesting topic and it forms the basis for one of our main discussions on this episode, which also has updates on the latest from Melody of Memory!

Final Fantasy XVI has been officially announced and we've got a whole episode dedicated to discussing various elements that were disclosed! In the initial sense, it means we're going to discuss the initial reaction, but there's also plenty of tangents about why we're excited about the direction and staff involved! Darryl even gets on a bit of a soapbox!