Final Fantasy & Kingdom Hearts Union

We've got quite a few topics to discuss in this episode of Kingdom Hearts Union, especially with Kingdom Hearts making a splash at SDCC 2016.   There was a demo featured and we also learnt about a new Sora Play Arts Kai that's due for release towards the beginning of 2017. Some artwork from the 3rd anniversary of Kingdom Hearts X also teased some new costumes for Riku and Kairi!   We also have plenty of questions to discuss, with topics ranging from a DVD/Blu-ray release of Back Cover through to a theory around the ending of the original Kingdom Hearts title! Enjoy! xD

Final Fantasy XV is just a few short (or long!) months away, but there's another Final Fantasy game coming out pretty soon after, World of Final Fantasy. It had a strong showing at E3 and there have been murmurs that people might actually be more excited for this spin-off!   Our main topic this episode discusses what World of Final Fantasy brings to the table and why you should perhaps be giving it more of your focus, if you weren't already!   We also have a shred of news as Mobius Final Fantasy has gained a release date, Final Fantasy VII has released on Android and we some new characters have been revealed in Final Fantasy XV!

It's time to celebrate everyone, as Kingdom Hearts Union has now reached episode 100! Branden is joined by Churro and Sabrina to party like "nobody's" business!   It's also the perfect time to bring back Kingdom Hearts University. This time, the group talk about The Final Battle With Xehanort and it's split into multiple parts. Oh, and did we mention that this episode was recorded LIVE!?   As a result, the show also featured plenty of live questions and of course, the classic music segment! We really hope you've enjoyed the journey with us so far, long may it continue!

The dust has now settled from E3 2016 and as often happens, that means there's a huge news lull! What better time to discuss some of the older Final Fantasy titles, specifically experiences we've had when venturing back to play them again (or for the first time).   Darryl is joined by Lauren and Jared to talk about different entry routes into the series and how that might affect how older titles are perceived. There's also the interesting topic of going back to replay titles, and how potential things change due to developments elsewhere. It's a topic we could probably have spent an age discussing!   There is also some new (shock!) relating to Final Fantasy XIV, the release of Final Fantasy Brave Exvius and the delay of Justice Monsters Five.    We hope you enjoy the episode!

Let us just say... E3 2016 was so amazing! The guys were able to share so many cool experiences with other Kingdom Hearts enthusiasts and meet some of the creators for the game!   For this episode, of Kingdom Hearts Union, it's all about the aftermath. There's a specific focus therefore, on news relating to Kingdom Hearts 2.8.   To try and make it digestible, we've broken it down into the individual games that are featured within Kingdom Hearts 2.8. There's some awesome insights that have been revealed and we even discuss tie-ins with Kingdom Hearts 3!   (also, apologies for the slightly late arrival of the show!)

We're back following our Final Fantasy Type-0 HD episode to give you all the news on E3 2016 and what a show it was!   To start with, Square Enix kicked things off way before with the surprise announcement of Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age and then others relating to World of Final Fantasy. However, when the actual show started, Final Fantasy XV didn't necessarily have the best showing.   For our main topic this episode, we discuss how Final Fantasy XV's reputation in the wider industry was potentially damaged by its showing on the biggest stage and the subsequent miss-steps that took place throughout the show. Don't worry though, we're still pumped for the game!

In case you didn't know, we were at E3 2016 in force, with Branden and Churro heading out! They are also joined this episode by Logan, another E3 attendee and Kingdom Hearts enthusiast to talk about their experiences.   The first half is focussed on Kingdom Hearts 2.8 HD Remix. Each of the guys shares their experiences with the demo that was on the show floor. This is then followed by an overall piece about E3 2016.   There are definitely some stories here, including getting to meet Tae Yasue and getting featured on the official Kingdom Hearts Twitter feed!

Continuing on with our Final Fantasy Type-0 HD celebrations, part two of our special podcast episode has arrived and we are talking all about gameplay, structure and presentation!   Darryl is joined by Jared for this second part, as we spend an extensive amount of time running through the different gameplay mechanics on show, from battles through to different how the story is delivered.   After that, the focus shifts onto the graphics, voice acting and even the musical quality, so we hope you enjoy all of our various conversations around the game!   Normal service will be resumed next episode, but we hope you've enjoyed these two special episodes!

To mark the (slightly belated) one year anniversary of Final Fantasy Type-0 HD's release, we've recorded a special podcast to talk all about it!   It used to be something of a tradition on the show, but we haven't done one of these for a while. However, if you aren't familiar, these are in-depth, spoiler-heavy shows... so if you haven't played Type-0 HD yet, do so before you listen!   For this first part, Darryl and Lauren take on everything to do with the story. That means we try our best to explore the different levels of the story and delve into the characters we loved!   We hope you enjoy it, it's a pretty long episode by normal standards!

Kingdom Hearts Union Episode 97 has arrived and there are so many topics to talk about. This kicks off with a whole host of big announcements, including the fact that Branden and Churro are heading to E3 again this year! That's not all either, but you'll have to check out the episode for the other announcements.   This episode's main focus is E3 predictions! Branden, Churro and Sabrina talk through their safe bets, decent bets and of course, their crazy bets!   There's also time for a question from community member bloom4815, who asked about what type of legendary weapon could be incorporated into a future Kingdom Hearts game... that isn't a keyblade!   We hope you enjoy!

Episode 122 of Final Fantasy Union has arrived and there's a bit of a news explosion for everyone this time around! Our main discussion topic relates to an interview conducted by Famitsu with Sakaguchi and Tabata, where Sakaguchi dishes some dirt! It's pretty enlightening and it's somewhat refreshing to see Sakaguchi talk about things in this way.   Outside of that, we've got news relating to Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster, Final Fantasy Brave Exvius, Final Fantasy XV Collectors Editions and Final Fantasy XIV!   We also have Josh on as a Patreon guest. He talks about his favourite Final Fantasy games and what he's looking forward to.    To round things out, we then had quite a few questions from the community. Topics range from limited edition PS4s, through to Final Fantasy XV mini-games and Toriyama's secret projects! Enjoy!

It's taken what seems like an age, but the time has come for Branden, Churro and Sabrina to rank the Kingdom Hearts games in their order of preference! It's always a contentious thing to do, but the guys are pretty confident with their selection.   The other featured discussion for the episode is from a community member called Frankie. They asked what we like most about the series and whether it affects our view of other titles around.   Questions on the show this episode relate to the recent live action Disney remakes and also how well we believe Kingdom Hearts 2.8 HD Remake will sell. We hope you enjoy listening!

It's a bit of a ranty episode this time around on Final Fantasy Union, as we caught wind that some people had booed the music of Final Fantasy XIII at a recent Distant Worlds concert. Much of the episode is spent talking about this specific action, looking at why they might have done it, whether they should or not, etc.   Don't worry though, we do also have some news, albeit a little late as there were some additional announcements that came out today relating to Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster on Steam and the announcement that Brave Exvius will be getting localised.   We hope you enjoy the episode, and the music at the end and we'll see you next time!

Fantastic news for fans of the music in Kingdom Hearts, there will now be a worldwide Kingdom Hearts concert series allowing you to soak it all up in its gloriousness.    Branden is joined by Churro and Sabrina to run through what this announcement means for fans and to talk about some of the background behind the world tour, including messages from Nomura and Shimomura.   In addition to this awesome news, there's a featured discussion that talks about things from Kingdom Hearts Unchained X that we'd like to see transitioned over into Kingdom Hearts 3 when it releases. This includes things like Keyblade upgrades, costumes and even side missions.   As always, we also have some questions from the fans. This time, they relate to Kingdom Hearts 3 Final Mix and how we'll handle spoilers when Kingdom Hearts 3 comes out.

Final Fantasy Union is back for Episode 120, but it's not the usual hosts running the show this time around! Branden has invaded and he's joined by Jared to discuss Final Fantasy XV, as Lauren and Darryl are on holiday.   The featured topic revolves around Final Fantasy XV being make or break for the franchise and it focusses on three main areas: use of technology, overall experience and how it challenges the status quo.    We also have some news for you guys, relating to the release of Final Fantasy IX on Steam and some info about Kingsglaive's release and the production of more Ultimate Collector's Editions for Final Fantasy XV! Enjoy!

Kingdom Hearts Unchained Chi has finally released in North America, so we've got an episode full of impressions!   Branden is joined by Churro as they talk through loads of different parts of the game, including the battle system, mission structure and of course, the story that's featured throughout!   We also have a few (unrelated) questions about music for Kingdom Hearts 3 and whether or not we believe the Kingdom Hearts series deals with humour in a positive way.

Uncovered: Final Fantasy XV was an explosion of everything Final Fantasy and everything that's happened since has been absolutely mind blowing! It's therefore the perfect time to catch you guys up on everything that happened during the show and has happened since!   The first part of the show is therefore us talking through a bit of the pre-Uncovered coverage, the show itself (with little pieces of info attached) and then everything that's happened after thanks to interviews with Tabata and various other publications.   The second part of the show see us dive into the Final Fantasy XV Platinum Demo. I'm sure most of you have had the chance to check it out for yourselves, but if you want to hear what we think, we've got you covered! There's even time for a couple of questions on the end too.   It makes for a pretty awesome episode and we are certainly psyched for Final Fantasy XV.

Everyone's talking about Final Fantasy XV right now following a rather successful Uncovered: Final Fantasy XV event. It poses the question, should Kingdom Hearts adopt a similar model?   Branden is joined by Churro as they discuss whether or not Kingdom Hearts, as a franchise, should look to start releasing multiple properties (not necessarily games) within a year, but release them less frequently outside of these sprints, or just stick to a single release every year.   There are also some questions relating to who will voice Master Xehanort in Kingdom Hearts 3 and another relating to the theory behind Emblem Heartless - not something that should be missed!

The dust has now settled from Uncovered: Final Fantasy XV and we thought it'd be the perfect time to do a special episode so you guys didn't have to wait two weeks to hear our thoughts!   Darryl is joined by Branden for this episode due to their special connections with Uncovered. We were also hoping to get Churro on the show too (as he sat pretty much next to Sakaguchi), but he was unfortunately not available   For Final Fantasy Union, it was immense. We were featured heavily during the pre-show thanks to our event a few weeks ago. Lauren was also the first interview they played during this segment, so it was pretty surreal! Branden was also featured in the pre-event thanks to his art. He was the first fan artist show during the calendar segment, with his drawing representing the month of November.   For the show itself, we talk about everything from the release date of Final Fantasy XV, to Kingsglaive, to Brotherhood, to theme songs, to collector's editions!   We hope you enjoy it!

Uncovered: Final Fantasy XV, quite possibly the greatest release date spectacle of our time, is almost upon us! It's therefore rather fitting that we have a podcast dedicated to its potential awesomeness.   Darryl is joined by Lauren and Jared to discuss everything Uncovered, from potential release dates through to other surprise announcements we feel they might ping out way.   We also delve into all the recent Final Fantasy XV news that's cropped up in the last week or so and there have been some interesting nuggets involving Cactaurs, Airships and languages.    It makes for another action-packed show and hopefully it's enough to tide you over before the craziness of Uncovered starts!