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Hades, Greek mythology’s god of the Underworld, regularly emerges in modern popular culture. Often he is depicted as a hellish villain (consider Disney’s Hercules for a memorable example) yet, in antiquity, Hades was not necessarily evil; he just served a vital, albeit unsavoury, duty.

Although debuting as a summon in Final Fantasy VII, most frequently Hades’ Final Fantasy appearances range from fightable enemies to fleshed out major villains. Square Enix depicts Hades as either skeletal or human, depending on how prominent he is in a particular game’s story. Let’s open the gates and descend deeply into discussion.

After someone unexpectedly found a logo of the game within the files of the upcoming mobile entry chronicling the backstory of series chief antagonist Xehanort, Square Enix have all of a sudden announced Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory, a rhythm-based game for current consoles of a similar DNA to the Theatrhythm Final Fantasy releases on the 3DS.

During the 'PS5 - The Future of Gaming Show', Square Enix put out a short teaser for a new IP by Luminous Productions - the studio formerly headed by Hajime Tabata and known for producing Final Fantasy XV. The game has no release window but is said to be "designed exclusively" for Sony's new next-gen machine. The end of the teaser trailer does state this is a PS5 console exclusive, with a later PC version to follow.

As everybody has noticed, 2020 has thus far turned out to be an insane year for the world. With a lot of uncertainty about how our daily lives might look going forward, many people have understandably withdrawn into their own bubbles. We hope everyone is okay. The Final Fantasy VII Remake certainly helped distract many of us.

We invite all of you to bounce your bubbles next to each other and join them together on FFF (a place where social distancing doesn’t need to be enforced). As one we can enjoy the safety of a friendly online environment as we celebrate Birthweek 2020. None of us need to feel isolated when we have a community at our fingertips.

I'm sorry, but did you honestly think FFVII Remake was the most important Final Fantasy release this year? Move aside, Cloud, and let your Clavat masters take centre stage this time, because the delayed Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered Edition is on track for a late summer release this year - the 27th August. Please note that the western release for PS4, Switch and mobile platforms will be digital only.

With an incoming new anime adaptation of the Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai manga, Square Enix are going full steam ahead with a trio of companion video games for this spinoff adventure to the wildly popular, venerable RPG series in Japan. As these games are primarily for a domestic Japanese audience, there is no guarantee - or indeed, any expectation - that they will see western releases, with perhaps one exception.

[WARNING: There be spoilers for the FFVII Remake's narrative, as well as discussion of what may follow in upcoming followup installments.]

For many players, the dust has largely settled and you've experienced at least one full playthrough of Square's latest critically and commercially lauded release. With everyone's eyes now trained to look at the future of the Remake project and where the protagonists' long road ahead will next take them, Square Enix released The Ultimania for Final Fantasy VII Remake approximately a fortnight ago. This compendium of juicy trivia, details and interviews with key senior members of the development staff sheds considerable light into a lot of the designs that went into building the world, character biographies and of course, insight information on the development process of the game and what the team aspires to accomplish on upcoming titles.

The original NieR is ten years old! In a celebratory 10th anniversary livestream of the NieR series, Square Enix announced a remastered version of the cult classic, currently dubbed the very snappy name of NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139. It will come to no surprise, particularly given the game is also coming to both the Xbox One and PC, that this updated release has been confirmed for a western release, though no release window was provided.

The Sirens are amongst Greek mythology's most characteristic monsters. Usually envisioned as half-bird, half-woman, Sirens lure distracted sailors with sweet music causing them to ruin their ships on the rocks. They embody the treacherous zone where sea meets land and signify anxieties surrounding temptation.

In the Final Fantasy franchise the recurring character known as ‘Siren' is sometimes friend, sometimes foe. As a musician capable of silencing her prey, Siren is typically characterised by Square Enix as a humanoid with varying degrees of feather coverage. As we shall see, the particular uses harmonise with the source myths. So strap yourselves to your seats and soak in the knowledge of the Sirens.

What better way to start the week than with a bit of casual eco-terrorism and destructive vandalism of private corporate assets? Without much fanfare (or any fanfare at all), Square Enix have decided to stealth drop the awaited demo for the Final Fantasy VII Remake on the digital PlayStation Store.

It's time for another trailer! This one is eventful, offering us a glimpse of the voice acting for a plethora of characters from Red XIII to the Shinra upper management. Prepare to buckle down and let Scarlet use you as a chair and a foot rest, because series veteran composer Nobuo Uematsu is back to work his wonders with a brand new theme song for the FFVII Remake named "Hollow".

Bad news for those of you who have booked days off work to do some eco-terrorism on the 3rd March this year. Your environmental extremism will have to wait until 10 April, because Square Enix have announced that the anticipated Final Fantasy VII Remake is to be delayed for approximately five weeks. The announcement came with a message from the game's producer Yoshinori Kitase:

Having first graced the 3DS with two earlier installment, it is time for another acclaimed Square Enix IP to make the transition over to the Switch. Bravely Default II was announced along with a trailer at The Video Game Awards 2019 and is tentatively slated to release on Nintendo's current system sometime in 2020.

Hey, have you people heard of this bloke called 'Cloud Strife'? Apparently he's this mercenary chap who's also a tad ambivalent about the Planet literally dying. This amateur group of environmental terrorists decided to recruit him into their cause, for crying out loud! I wonder how much they're paying him, because it doesn't even look like they can afford to pay the annual property tax on their headquarters.

The moogles dance and sing as they dress their kupo nut trees with baubles, tinsel and lights. The tonberry chef whistles as he sharpens his knife under the warm glow of his lantern. Meanwhile the chocobo sheepishly lowers its head and backs away. The festive season is upon us once again!

We can now announce that 2019’s FFF Christmas events are launching!

During the...

Maybe it's called 'ReMIND' because they really want to remind you in advance to reinstall Kingdom Hearts III on your console? You'll probably need it when this piece of meaty downloadable content comes out, especially if you're someone who wasn't too impressed by the conspicuous lack of classic Final Fantasy characters in the base game. Curiously, the DLC release is staggered, with the Xbox One version coming out over a month following its PS4 counterpart.

Hey, did you know that we're reaching ten full years since Final Fantasy XIII was released? Doesn't time fly? Well now that I've thrown you into a state of existential despair, let me remind you that the date of 3rd March 2020 draws ever inexorably near. This means in just over three months' time, you will be able to hand over actual money to the retailer of your choice to get your hands on (part 1 at least of) the Final Fantasy VII Remake. Perhaps not so coincidentally, many of Square Enix's most recognisable senior names and figures from the Lightning trilogy are back for this remake.

Videogames have played a strangely significant role in my life. By now I'm at the age where it's a little embarrassing to admit, but I firmly believe there's no shame in saying so. Something about the kind of stories videogames are apt to tell has resonated with me on more than one occasion in such a way that shapes my personal journey. Some provide a microcosm for learning new life lessons and skills, while others somehow encapsulate a particular era or phase of personal development, assisting in some much-needed introspection. Maybe they're not even the best of games, but they're the ones that, for whatever reason, manage to stick with me years later.

SeeD: The Beginning is a fan written Final Fantasy VIII novel authored by Micah Rodney with M. J. Gallagher. With interior art by Kayley Henderson, cover art by Fiveonthe and the cover design produced by Alex Maine (lead organiser of KupoCon) this collaborative effort chronicles the earliest part of the game.

Presented by KupoCon, attendees of Pomex (London, September 21st 2019) were the first to be able to obtain paperback copies of the book (which remain exclusive to KupoCon events). With the release of the Remastered edition in September, KupoCon’s endorsement of this project couldn’t have come at a better time for Final Fantasy VIII fans.

Today the digital eBook version has launched for everybody to enjoy!

You can...

Glory to mankind! Four months following the release of Final Fantasy XIV's critically acclaimed Shadowbringers expansion comes Patch 5.1: Vows of Virtue, Deeds of Cruelty, the long-awaited collaboration with NieR Automata. For players of the game who wish to revel in NieR creator Yoko Taro's brand of madness, or desire to knock heads with Alexander Ultimate (the next in the series of hyper-challenging fights for hardcore raiders), there are plenty of machines to pick a fight with come the 29th October.