Here’s something that you may not know about Project Octopath Traveler. Francesca Baerald, an artist and cartographer, has a fairly significant role. Square Enix brought her on board to handle the map.

This week, Baerald was kind enough to share the full map shown in Project Octopath Traveler’s reveal trailer from 2017. It was made with watercolor and ink on paper.

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Dragon Quest Builders pre-load live on the Switch eShop

Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch | 0 comments

Dragon Quest Builders can now be pre-loaded on the Switch eShop. The option is available in both North America and Europe.

If you pre-load, you’ll be ready for launch. Nintendo is letting upcoming players pay for the game in advance and the required data. Doing so will let you begin playing almost immediately upon release.

Dragon Quest Builders launches on February 9. It’s a 811MB download.

Source: Switch eShop

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Square Enix considering the Secret of Mana remake for Switch, aware of western interest in Seiken Densetsu Collection

Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch | 51 Comments

Square Enix will soon be bringing out a remake of Secret of Mana. At least for now, the game won’t be offered on Switch. That doesn’t mean Square Enix isn’t considering it, however.

Producer Masaru Oyamada reiterated to USgamer that development on the Secret of Mana remake began before Switch was announced. Square Enix was later “very surprised to see the amount of demand and feedback we received for a potential Switch version.” Although there are no promises, Oyamada said the team “will make an effort to see what is feasible in the future”.

More: interview, Masaru Oyamada, Secret of Mana, Seiken Densetsu Collection, Square Enix, top

Square Enix gave some consideration to making Dragon Quest XI an open-world title

Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Switch | 12 Comments

Dragon Quest XI could have taken an open-world approach. In an interview with DenfaminicoGamer, series creator Yuji Horii said that the idea was considered towards the start of development.

Dragon Quest XI has a little bit of open-world gameplay, but is still based on the franchise’s linear approach. Horii said that some players might have a difficult time understanding what to do next in an open-world, and creating a big story would be difficult.

Here’s the full exchange between Horii and DenfaminicoGamer, as translated by Siliconera:

More: Dragon Quest XI, interview, Square Enix, Yuji Horii

Lost Sphear launch trailer, day one update

Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch, Videos | 3 Comments

Lost Sphear is officially available today in the west. To celebrate, Square Enix has released a new trailer. We have the video below.

Make sure to download the day one update for Lost Sphear. It features a number of free upgrades including new equipment and artefacts, a new dungeon, the new Moonlight Battleground mode, and more.

More: Lost Sphear, Square Enix, title update, Tokyo RPG Factory

First hour of Lost Sphear on Switch

Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Switch, Videos | 0 comments

Lost Sphear makes its debut on Switch this week in North America and Europe. Have a look at the game’s first hour below.

More: Lost Sphear, Square Enix, Tokyo RPG Factory

Yuji Naka has joined Square Enix

Posted on 7 years ago by Matt(@OnePunchMaz) in General Gaming, News | 13 Comments

Yuji Naka, most famous for his heavy involvement with the Sonic series since its beginning, has announced on Twitter that he has joined Square Enix. He will be working in game development and says that he aims to develop “an enjoyable game”.

He was a key member of SEGA and Sonic Team for over 20 years, first as a programmer on Sonic games, then later on as a general producer. In 2006, he left SEGA to create his own studio, Prope.

Source Via

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Nintendo seems to be publishing The World Ends with You: Final Remix in the west

Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch | 37 Comments

Nintendo and Square Enix have formed a fairly close relationship in recent years, particularly in the west. The Big N has long published Dragon Quest games on its platforms in North America and Europe. Additionally, Nintendo will be in charge of Project Octopath Traveler’s release in the west.

The World Ends with You: Final Remix appears to be another Square Enix title Nintendo will publish in North America and Europe. The official North American and European website pages indicate as such. Nintendo also had its name listed for The Worlds Ends with You segment in the English Nintendo Direct Mini whereas the Japanese presentation had Square Enix.

So that’s an interesting little tidbit. Square Enix originally published the DS version of The World Ends with You in the west, but it looks like that duty now falls to Nintendo for Final Remix.

More: Square Enix, The World Ends with You: Final Remix

Dragon Quest Builders Switch tech analysis

Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Switch, Videos | 15 Comments

A new video from Digital Foundry examines the Switch version of Dragon Quest Builders. We’re able to get a better idea regarding how the game holds up technically, and how it compares to the PlayStation 4 version.

Dragon Quest Builders runs at 720 when docked rather than going for a higher resolution. That’s because the developers were targeting 60 frames per second. Also, this allowed for much of the visual quality from the PlayStation 4 version to be preserved.