Final Fantasy 16 Devs Looking At DLC ‘Options’ After Feedback

It’s kind of unthinkable that a massive RPG wouldn’t get some sort of post-launch DLC in the year 2023, but that’s apparently what the plan was for Final Fantasy XVI earlier this year. That may be changing, however, with producer Naoki Yoshida now saying that the game’s development team is looking at “options” for how to address fans’ demand for more content. Many who have finished the game already have a good idea of where they could start.

I Didn’t Play Final Fantasy XVI ‘Right,’ And That’s OK

Earlier this year, director Hiroshi Takai said there weren’t any existing plans for DLC. Yoshida explained why in a May interview with Game Informer. “”We have no idea if people are going to fall in love with Valisthea and fall in love with Clive’s story and want to see more of the world and more of its characters,” the producer said. “So while we always want to consider DLC or spinoffs or those types of things where you can learn more about the game, first we want to see if Valisthea and Clive are really things players around the world want to see more of and then make that decision.”

Read More: 12 Things We Lowkey Love About Final Fantasy XVI

Now that the game is out, has already shipped over 3 million copies worldwide, and appears to have won fans over, it sounds like some sort of DLC might be happening after all. “As you know, going into FFXVI, the one thing we wanted to do is create a full complete story, something you can enjoy from beginning to end one hundred percent without any DLC,” Yoshida said in a new interview (via IGN). “And I think we were able to do that.”

He continued:

But now we understand that we’re getting feedback from players that have played the game and a lot of players want to see more and we know that and understand that. For us, we’re taking that and then thinking about our options moving forward, so hopefully in the near future we can have something that we can give to you all.

Spoiler warning: The rest of the article will briefly touch on some of the context around the ending of the game and why fans think there’s room for additional DLC.

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While it’s true that Final Fantasy XVI tells a mostly complete story, there are plenty of pieces of backstory that players would still like to see filled in. One of the biggest revolves around the so-called “Lost Eikon” Leviathan. The sea serpent is one of the only original summons that doesn’t appear in the game and is only referenced by name. As Clive discovers the legends surrounding Valisthea’s mothercystals, Eikons, and old gods, it’s hinted that Leviathan is occupying the Northern seas, though we never actually see it or who its current-day Dominant is.

This has led lots of players to speculate about whether Leviathan was cut from the game for some reason, and to suggest that it would serve as a perfect jumping off point for an additional DLC-sized set of story missions. Clive could explore a new location, get some cool new Leviathan powers, engage in one last Eikon battle, and possibly even discover more about the Fallen—Final Fantasy XVI’s ancient civilization whose ruins are scattered throughout the world.

Of course, players have other ideas as well. Another popular pitch for DLC revolves around Clive and Jill finally getting to hook up for real, and potentially having a nice little prologue that provides a proper send off for all of the characters at the Hideout that players have come to care about over the course of the game, not too dissimilar to the final mission in The Witcher 3’s Blood and Wine expansion.

But why settle for DLC when you could ask for an entirely new game? Making a new game from scratch takes forever and is wildly expensive. Maybe it’s time for another sequel spin-off called Final Fantasy XVI-2. Jill can channel Final Fantasy X-2’s Yuna and finally get her own time in the spotlight to help usher in a new era for Valisthea after all its magic and gods are gone. That’s the real fan DLC copium.

         

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Final Fantasy XVI Cast Weighs In On Barbenheimer

Cid, Clive, and Benedikta are shown against a backdrop of Barbie and J. Robert Oppenheimer.

Image: Square Enix / WB / Universal / Kotaku

It’s July 21, and that means both Barbie and Oppenheimer are in theaters. Both movies are reviewing well, and if you haven’t decided to see both as a double feature, you might be wondering which you should see first. Well, I’ve only seen Barbie thus far, so can’t weigh in on which is better, but perhaps some of your favorite characters from Final Fantasy XVI may be able to sway you?

I Didn’t Play Final Fantasy XVI ‘Right,’ And That’s OK

The actors behind a few of Final Fantasy XVI’s standout characters have been recording and posting clips of them ordering a ticket to one of the movies, and on top of just being delightful to hear these performers as their characters again, it’s funny because we get a pseudo canonical look into their respective film tastes. Ben Starr, who plays the very sad softy protagonist Clive, started the trend with a clip of the hero ordering his ticket to Barbie on July 16.

Later that day, a fan tagged Benedikta actor Nina Yndis suggesting she also join in by recording her character, the scheming agent antagonist, asking for a ticket to Oppenheimer. She obliged, and captured Benedikta’s impatience in the delivery.

As for me, I’m a Cid stan. He’s my favorite character in the game, and that holds true for a lot of people. Where does he fall on the Barbenheimer debate? Well, it looks like Starr roped his actor Ralph Ineson into the joke, and posted him, reluctantly, ordering a ticket to Barbie on July 20.

Now that Cid, Clive, and Benedikta have been accounted for, we need to hear where the rest of Final Fantasy XVI’s cast members join the conversation. Where do Joshua, Jill, and Dion fall on this? Who is going to be the brave cast member to order both tickets? The people need to know.

While the Final Fantasy XVI cast is pouring into theaters, Barbie and Oppenheimer fans are engaging in the most heated debate on the issue: the Wikipedia page on the entire phenomenon.

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Final Fantasy XVI Devs Are So Over The Trolls

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Image: Square Enix

Final Fantasy XVI is the latest game to spark an intense discourse, from debates around difficulty to whether it’s even a true Final Fantasy game. And producer Naoki Yoshida has grown absolutely tired of the negativity.

I Didn’t Play Final Fantasy XVI ‘Right,’ And That’s OK

Read More: Final Fantasy XVI Shouldn’t Be This Divisive

In a mini-documentary aired in Japan and translated on Twitter by Audrey “aitaikimochi” Lamsam, CEO of the anime merch site Aitai Kuji and the one who found Sora’s IRL apartment, Yoshida reacted to Japanese players’ comments on the game. With his hands rubbing his cheeks in visible exhaustion, Yoshida remarked that he’s over all the negativity Final Fantasy XVI has received since launch.

“There’s a lot of people who just yell at you, people I’ve never seen, met, or talked to before,” Yoshida said. “It’s weird. What did we do to them? Perhaps they just write it from a place of negativity and malice. It’s tiresome.”

It’s hard to know exactly what Yoshida is referencing here, but there have been plenty of examples of people raising concerns about the game which may, at times, have crossed the line from criticism into toxicity or personal attacks. Folks have argued that the game is far too easy even without activating its “insane amount of accessibility options.” Others have claimed it’s not a real Final Fantasy game but one that “uses the Final Fantasy branding” for marketing. And then, of course, the game’s hard pivot to straight-up-action à la Devil May Cry has left folks wondering where the “Golden Era” of turn-based Final Fantasy games has gone, one that prompted us at Kotaku to discuss what makes the series what it is. While the game’s gone on to receive generally favorable reviews, garnering a score of 87 on Metacritic and 88 on Open Critic, it’s been divisive all the same.

Kotaku reached out to Lamsam and Square Enix for comment.

Read More: Final Fantasy XVI’s Jill Should Be More Than Pretty

While critique and debate should be welcome and can push the medium forward, resulting to personal attacks because you don’t like a game ain’t it.

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Final Fantasy 14 Finally Coming To Xbox A Decade Later

At long last, Xbox owners will soon get to enjoy the MMORPG PlayStation players have enjoyed for nearly a decade. Final Fantasy XIV is headed to Xbox Series X/S in spring 2024 after being a PlayStation console exclusive since 2014.

I Didn’t Play Final Fantasy XVI ‘Right,’ And That’s OK

Producer and director Naoki Yoshida made the announcement on stage at the game’s 2023 fanfest in Las Vegas, NV alongside Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer. The Xbox Series X/S version will offer 4K graphics and faster load times, like its PlayStation 5 counterpart. While the full release is still almost a year away, an open beta will be available for players to try much sooner when patch 6.5x arrives in the months ahead.

For those who have been living under an adamantoise shell, Final Fantasy XIV has you complete fetch quests, dungeons, and raids across the dazzling world of Hydaelyn, full of political intrigue and mythical wonder. The game was one of the first live-service disasters when it first launched in 2013, and was even entirely shutdown for a time before re-releasing as A Realm Reborn.

Specner And Yoshida announce the Xbox port at Fanfest 2023.

Screenshot: Square Enix / Kotaku

It’s recieved increasingly excellent expansions ever since, each introducing new characters, classes, and conflicts. And while it’s an MMO, a Duty Support system lets you play solo with AI-controlled NPCs. By the time Final Fantasy XIV comes to Xbox Series X/S, Square Enix says the feature will enable players to complete everything from the start of the game up through its most recent Endwalker expansion without ever needing to interact with another human being.

Why did it take so long to get FFXIV on Xbox?

The story of how we got here, however, is a long one. Yoshida was asked as early as 2013 why the game wasn’t on Xbox One. His answer at the time was that Microsoft’s stance on crossplay was too restrictive. “The main reason from our side is that I don’t want the community to be divided; to be split into two or more. For example, one player might be on the PC version, another might be on the PS4 version, and I’m playing the Xbox version – but we’re not able to join the same game servers,” he told RPGSite at the time. “That is just… I just don’t like the idea. I disagree with it.”

That was back when Microsoft was the company seemingly standing in the way of crossplay between the two consoles. Years later, roles were reversed, with Sony pushing back against crossplay for games like Fortnite. Yoshida repeated his requirement for crossplay in a 2017 interview with Kotaku, and things seemed to be progressing in that direction not long after.

Spencer publicly promised to bring the game to Xbox at the X019 fanfest event in London. “We have a great relationship with Yoshida-san and we’re working through what it means to bring a cross-platform MMO, that they’ve run for years,” he told VGC at the time. “It will be one of the games that’s coming and it’s something that I know our Xbox fans will be incredibly excited to see.”

No deal immeidately materialized, however. Yoshida was asked again what the problem was during a 2021 interview around the time Final Fantasy XIV came to PS5. “So I feel bad for saying the same thing every time,” he told Easy Allies. “But we are still in discussions with Microsoft and I feel like our conversations are going in a positive tone.”

The positive tone of those conversations seemingly wasn’t enough to finally get Sony to agree to crossplay though, until now. The two companies also recently reached a 10-year agreement for Call of Duty to keep coming to PlayStation after Microsoft’s acqusition of Activision Blizzard is finalized. Purely a coincidence, I’m sure. Sony, Microsoft, and Square Enix did not immediately respond to requets for comment.

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Final Fantasy XIV Is Getting Fall Guys-Inspired Mini-Games

In the words of Paula Abdul and MC Skat Kat, opposites attract. Perhaps that kernel of wisdom can explain the recent announcement that Final Fantasy XIV—an epic, fantasy MMORPG—is crossing over with Fall Guys—a colorful, small-scale battle royale—in a future update.

I Didn’t Play Final Fantasy XVI ‘Right,’ And That’s OK

Final Fantasy XIV was a giant disaster when it first launched in 2010. However, following a complete shutdown of the original version in 2012, FFXIV was reworked into a better game known as Realm Reborn in August 2013, which was received much better by fans and critics. Since then, the game has received numerous updates and expansions, becoming one of the most popular MMOs in the world. And in the near future, the world of FFXIV will include Fall Guys content, for some odd reason.

The odd news was announced in Las Vegas by FFXIV producer and director Naoki Yoshida—known online as Yoshi P—during the first day of Square Enix’s Final Fantasy XIV Fan Fest 2023 on July 28. While the team didn’t release any videos or trailers of the Fall Guys content coming to the game, some screenshots were shared that show obstacle courses familiar to anyone who has played Epic’s popular game show-like battle royale.

A screenshot shows FF 14's upcoming Fall Guys content.

Screenshot: Square Enix / Kotaku

“These warriors of light are having a bit of a different time than usual,” joked Yoshida on stage during the keynote.

According to the producer and director, the new content will support up to 24 players at once and is currently in development. This new Fall Guys-inspired content won’t be added randomly to missions or in the open world, but will instead be added to the preexisting Golden Saucer, an in-game amusement park that contains mini-games for players to enjoy.

Yoshida further added that since it was given this opportunity the developer really tried its best to make the most of it. That’s evident in the screenshots, which contain obstacles and platforms that look very accurate to what you would see in Fall Guys. Even HUD elements from the battle royale seem to be included in FFXIV’s version.

A screenshot shows FF 14's upcoming Fall Guys content.

Screenshot: Square Enix / Kotaku

As for when you’ll be able to play this, Yoshida promised the new mini-games would be included as part of the 6.5 updates sometime in September.

But if you really can’t wait for that and you need some Fall Guys X Final Fantasy content in your life sooner than later, I’ve got some good news for your weirdly specific desire. On August 23, a Final Fantasy-themed battle pass will launch in Fall Guys and will run for six weeks. The update will include costumes based on iconic Final Fantasy characters and creatures, like Chocobos.

Now, somebody just needs to add MC Skat Kat to one of these popular online video games. Please. Oh, and in other news, FFXIV is coming to Xbox Series X/S consoles later this year.

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Final Fantasy XVI Gets Free Update, DLC And PC Port Confirmed

FFXVI's Clive Rosfield stands in front of a shattered kingdom.

Image: Square Enix

Final Fantasy XVI’s long-rumored and all but confirmed PC version has now been made official by the game’s producer, Naoki Yoshida. He told fans on September 2 that they can expect more information on the timing of the port before the end of the year, and revealed that two DLC expansions are also definitely happening. A new, free update for the PlayStation 5 role-playing game capped off the good news.

Three Things We Learned From The Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Demo

Buy Final Fantasy XVI for PS5: Amazon | Best Buy | GameStop

“Allow me to take this opportunity to officially announce that development on a PC version is currently underway,” Yoshida told PAX West attendees by way of a brief video address over the holiday weekend. “I hope to be able to give you more information on both the upcoming DLC and the PC version before the end of the year, so please stay tuned.”

He added that fans have wanted to see “more of Valisthea’s story and spend more time with her inhabitants,” hinting that the DLC packs will focus on fleshing out Final Fantasy XVI’s world. It’s unclear if their content will take place before or after the main campaign, but fans have been hopeful any expansion might delve deeper into the mystery of Leviathan, the only Eikon (summon) that’s hinted at in the game but never makes an actual appearence.

Version 1.10 dropped for free on September 3. It adds customizable costumes for each of the main protagonists as well as a new Onion Sword for Clive to wield. There’s also an extensive list of patch notes, most of which have to do with how arcade mode is scored and fixing a handful of bugs. One nice feature is that you can finally now see the cooldown for each ability from the skill menu.

FINAL FANTASY XVI | Free Update Showcase Video

Final Fantasy XVI’s PC version was originally referenced in the game’s very first trailer before later being removed. Square Enix has repeatedly been asked about the timing for a PC port, with Yoshida even telling fans at one point just to buy a PS5 instead of waiting. He then casually mentioned in an interview earlier this year that development on the PC version would begin after the game released in June.

A sizzle reel uploaded by Sony last year signalled that the game’s console exclusivity would only last six months. This has left Xbox owners hopeful the RPG might come to Xbox Series X/S eventually as well, though Microsoft Gaming CEO said recently at Gamescom that he wasn’t rushing Square Enix. Five years later, Final Fantasy VII Remake still hasn’t been ported to the platform.

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Final Fantasy VII Rebirth’s New Trailer Reveals Release Date

Whenever Sony events roll around, there’s always a twinge of anticipation among players that we may see new footage of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Square Enix’s sequel to Final Fantasy VII Remake, which itself was the first chapter of its trilogy of games that are not-so-faithfully remaking the 1997 classic. And that’s exactly what we got during today’s State of Play event stream.

Three Things We Learned From The Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Demo

The new trailer shows new footage of Cloud meeting everyone’s favorite human-sized plush cat, Cait Sith, who joined Cloud in battle alongside Sephiroth (as an ally?), as well as some choice scenes of Zack carrying a K.O.-ed Cloud, and the teensiest peak at Cloud’s red-cloaked, gun-toting companion, Vincent Valentine. Or at least his back. And what a glorious back it is. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, which was initially slated to release this winter, will now be released on February 29 2024 for PlayStation 5. You can check out the trailer below.

PlayStation

The last time we got a crumb of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth footage was during this year’s Summer Games Event. In it, we saw pleasant scenes of Cloud, Tifa, Aerith, Barret, and Red XIII traversing Juno, visiting Cosmo Canyon, and riding some Chocobos. We also saw less pleasing sights, like Shinra TV news footage of Barret and Tifa carried into an ambulance and Tifa on her back foot in a fight with Sephiroth. Suffice it to say, FFVII Rebirth looks to continue to remixing story beats from the original game, which’ll have fans on the edge of their gamer chairs.

Read More: A PS5 Game On Two Discs Is Giving 1995

A Quick FAQ About Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

Now that we’ve gotten an eyeful of some new FFVIIR scenes folks are sure to be fast at crafting intricate fan theories, art, and memes, so here’s a quick recap of everything we know about Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth takes place after the events of Remake, in which a bunch of events from the original game—like the deaths of Zack Fair and Aerith —seem to not be happening this time around. Or at least not yet, god forbid. Rebirth appears to continue to play with scenarios that deviate from the original 1997 game, chief among them being a scene where Cloud and Sephiroth are traveling through the wilderness together. Weird.

According to a series of posts answering fans’ questions on the official Final Fantasy VII Twitter account, we know that the remake’s take on the original game’s planet-spanning world will be large enough that “players will be able to journey across the wide and multifaceted world with a high degree of freedom.” A part of that odyssey will include a “chain of narrative developments” involving “each character’s destiny.” The account went so far as to claim Squeenix “made preparations” so that players won’t necessarily have to play Remake to “fully enjoy” playing Rebirth. Given the bonkers timeline changes at the end of Remake, I reckon players should play Remake before Rebirth.

Read More: Final Fantasy VII Remake Will Be A Trilogy

Something else players can look forward to with Rebirth is that the game will feature “new comrades.” However, the official tweet saying, “new comrades will join you in battle and you can cooperate with other party members in even closer ways than before” is vague as all hell, so it remains to be seen what that all indicates.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is due out for PlayStation 5 on February 29 2024, while the third, currently unnamed entry in the FFVII Remake trilogy will be released in the future.

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Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Collector’s Edition Costs A Wild $350

During Sony’s latest State of Play on Thursday, Square Enix revealed a new gameplay trailer for Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, the next entry in its FF7 Remake trilogy. The game looks very good and I’m excited to play it. Also announced Thursday: A $350 Collector’s Edition of the game. I’m…less excited about that.

Three Things We Learned From The Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Demo

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth continues after the events of Final Fantasy VII Remake, which took the first major section of 1997’s classic RPG Final Fantasy VII and translated it into an action-RPG. Remake’s storyline also changed up some details, both big and small, to create what appears to be a new timeline that is both separate from but somehow connected to that of the original game and its many spin-offs.

PlayStation / Square Enix

Today’s trailer for the upcoming Rebirth shows this new sequel will continue to shake things up, depicting Zack from Crisis Core carrying Cloud into a city, something that doesn’t happen in the original game. (Also…Cloud riding a Segway?)

Interesting stuff! Anyway, the new trailer looks cool, so you might be excited to pre-order the game ahead of its February 29, 2024 debut. About that. The standard edition of the game will cost $69.99, and the “deluxe” will be $99.99. But the biggest, most expensive version of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is the collector’s edition…and it costs more than a Nintendo Switch.

What’s included in the Collector’s Edition of FF7 Rebirth?

According to Square Enix’s official store, this pricey, $349.99 edition of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth comes with the following:

•Final Fantasy VII Rebirth – Deluxe Edition
Art BookMini SoundtrackSteelBook® Case

•Large Collectible Statue
Approx. 48cm / 19 inches tall and depicting the iconic antagonist Sephiroth in highly detailed sculpting. The wing can be detached.

•Moogle Trio Summoning Materia (DLC)
A summoning materia that can call “Moogle Trio” in the game.

•Magic Pot Summoning Materia (DLC)
A summoning materia that can call “Magic Pot” in the game.

•Accessory: Reclaimant Choker (DLC)
A choker with an effect of restoring HP when an enemy is defeated.

•Armor: Orchid Bracelet (DLC)
A bracelet that gives courage to traverse an expanding world.

•Armor: Midgar Bangle Mk. II (DLC)
A bracelet worn by travelers leaving Midgar.

So, does all of this sound like it’s worth $350? For some, the answer is probably yes. For others, a solid maybe. And for many out there, like me, the answer is a strong “nope.”

Personally, the prospect of a $350 edition of a video game makes me roll my eyes so hard they fall out of my head and I have to scramble around on the floor for a few minutes to pick them back up. But I’m also not a person who cares much for statues or collectibles. At the very least it’s nice that Square Enix is including a physical copy of the game in this pricey package!

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth launches on February 29, 2024 exclusively on PlayStation 5. The base game costs $70. The deluxe edition is $100. And as mentioned, the Collector’s Edition, at $350, costs more than an Xbox Series S.

Pre-order Final Fantasy VII Rebirth: Amazon | Best Buy | GameStop

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Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Doesn’t Support Importing Saves

Square Enix has recently unveiled a lot of new details about Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, the next chapter in its three-part remake trilogy of the classic 1997 RPG. One key bit of info is that players won’t be able to import their saves from Final Fantasy VII Remake into Rebirth, but there will be a reward for those who played the last game and its DLC.

Three Things We Learned From The Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Demo

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, out exclusively on PlayStation 5 on February 29, 2024, takes place after the events of 2020’s FF7 Remake and its Intergrade DLC. Like the first game, this new sequel seems to be a visually stunning remake of Square’s beloved PS1 RPG megahit, Final Fantasy VII. As before, in Rebirth small and big details of the original storyline seem to have been tweaked, leading to interesting results. And with Rebirth directly continuing the adventure of Cloud and gang, some might assume they can carry over their saves into the sequel, but that isn’t the case.

Buy Final Fantasy VII Rebirth: Amazon | Best Buy | Gamestop

PlayStation / Square Enix

In an interview with the Official PlayStation Blog, Rebirth’s director Naoki Hamaguchi explained that players won’t be able to import their leveled-up and super-powerful characters from Remake into the new sequel, suggesting that each entry in the FFVII remake trilogy will be a “standalone game in its own right.”

“Because of this, each game’s balancing is done independently,” explained Hamaguchi. “And a player’s levels and abilities will not carry over from one game to the next.”

While some might be disappointed that they can’t trample through FFVII Rebirth’s enemies and bosses with their OP Cloud and Aerith, this decision makes sense. These remakes are large RPGs of their very own, and trying to design them to support high-level characters would likely be challenging and ruin the overall balance.

But, if you did play Remake, Square Enix has “special bonuses” for you, as confirmed by Hamaguchi. On Square Enix’s official website, the publisher revealed what those bonuses are: Leviathan Summon Materia for folks with Remake save data and Ramuh Summon Materia if you’ve got Intermission save data. Just keep in mind that this save data needs to be on your PS5 when you play Rebirth.

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Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Confirms How To Pronounce Cait Sith

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, due out on February 29, will be giving Cait Sith, a cat-like party member from the original Final Fantasy VII, his proper introduction in the Remake timeline. We’ll be getting a lot of face time with our feline friend in the sequel, but that naturally means people are going to be saying his name, so Rebirth will have to deal with a long-simmering fan debate about how you pronounce “Cait Sith.” Now, Square Enix has finally revealed the name’s pronunciation in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, and it’s causing some conflicting emotions among fans.

Three Things We Learned From The Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Demo

While the background is obviously different, the name Cait Sith originates from a creature in Celtic mythology. But a lot of fans didn’t realize this when they met the character in the original Final Fantasy VII, which didn’t have voice acting. As such, swaths of the community have pronounced his name the way it looks, but it sounds like Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is taking a hard stance. Square Enix made a post on Twitter (now known as X) saying Cait Sith will be pronounced like “Kate Sihth,” which is more or less how many fans have been saying it, as opposed to using the original Scottish Gaelic pronunciation “Ket Shee.”

Pre-order Final Fantasy VII Rebirth: Amazon | Best Buy | GameStop

The response to this announcement has been mixed, as you can see in the responses to Square Enix’s tweet. For some players this affirms the way they’ve said Cait Sith’s name for over 20 years. Others argue this is erasing the actual term’s history, which is embedded in an entirely different culture and folklore. The Japanese pronunciation is much closer to the original Gaelic, but English-speaking territories will get the more anglicized pronunciation. In theory, Square Enix’s ruling could have ended a decades-long debate, but instead it seems to have added more logs to the fire.

Even when Final Fantasy VII extended universe works like the Advent Children film gave voices to the characters, they often talked around Cait Sith’s name instead of saying it. In Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII, Cid pronounces Cait Sith like “Kate,” but given this was a spin-off game, it’s likely several fans have never heard this exchange. Here’s the clip of the scene. The name drop happens at the 40-second mark:

Square Enix / meeepuns

Pronunciation debates in Final Fantasy aren’t new, especially pertaining to character and concept names most people read in the early days of the franchise before 2001’s Final Fantasy X gave its characters voices. Even that game still has a raging debate surrounding how to pronounce its protagonist’s name, because you could rename Tidus however you wanted and dialogue was carefully written to never name him out loud. Later spin-off games like the Dissidia franchise and Kingdom Hearts pronounced his name “Tee-dus,” but even Kingdom Hearts II confused the issue by calling him “Tide-us.”

Final Fantasy XVI ran into this as well with protagonist Clive pronouncing series summon mainstay Ifrit like “If-reet,” as opposed to “Eef-rit” in some past iterations. Basically, Final Fantasy fans have been working with inconsistent information on a few fronts, and Cait Sith is just one of a few examples.

While we can debate how to say “Cait Sith” all day, one thing we can all unanimously agree on is that Andrea Rhodea is the best character in the Final Fantasy VII subseries, am I right?

Pre-order Final Fantasy VII Rebirth: Amazon | Best Buy | GameStop

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