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!