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The MOP Up: Spellfarers lets you dabble in moon magic

✇Massively Overpowered
Od: Justin Olivetti
The recently launched magic life sim Spellfarers Update 0.511 arrived with “lots of fixes, including to cooking, a new stove for Ilo’s kitchen, minor transmutations, and more. Witches can now properly specialize in moon magic by casting the magic specialization spell.” And this is just the beginning of the rest of the news! Read on for a […]

One Shots: Remembering in peace

✇Massively Overpowered
Od: Justin Olivetti
When a beloved player falls, a studio may honor that memory by including him or her as part of the game world. While our headlining picture isn’t the first time we’ve seen such an inclusion, it’s nevertheless heart-touching. “Death comes to us all but this player was very active in game, on the forums and […]

What Are Final Fantasy XIV's Daily Roulettes?

✇Kotaku
Od: Simon Estey

An MMO wouldn’t be complete without a generous dose of grinding, and while this is true for Final Fantasy XIV, Square Enix’s online game eases the pain slightly by adding Daily Roulettes. These missions help more efficiently procure some of the different resources in the game. This guide will help explain what Daily…

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The Best Indies To Play This Summer, The Best Star Wars Games To Snag On Sale, And Other Tips And Recommendations

✇Kotaku
Od: Kotaku Staff

We’re in the thick of summer right now, and while many of us are already looking forward to the cooler days and changing colors of fall, we shouldn’t miss the chance to snag some great games on the cheap as various platforms run their big summer sales. We’ll clue you in on some of the biggest deals on some of the best…

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Final Fantasy 14 hunter spent 3 days collectively losing their minds trying to spawn a monster with sunglasses, mass crying sessions, and alpacas… only to find out they just needed to wait

✇PCGamer latest

S-Rank hunts in Final Fantasy 14 are funny little things. Each S-Rank monster comes with specific spawn conditions, some of which are awfully niche. Want to spawn Armstrong, a monster from Endwalker? Whack on some gear you pick up from a level 46 quest in A Realm Reborn, die in a specific spot and hope he turns up. Spawning Salt and Light requires you to discard items from your inventory 50 times, a painfully tedious process. 

With other bizarre spawn conditions including using Blue Mage's self-destruct spell to KO yourself, crafting a high-quality steak, or flying over spawn points with a specific minion summoned, deciphering how to prompt these foes to appear can be a bit of a task. Thanks to groups of dedicated hunters, these riddles usually get figured out pretty quickly… that is, except for one pesky elite enemy from Dawntrail, the game's latest expansion, which left players utterly stumped for days.

Kirlirger the Abhorrent was one of the newest S-Rank hunts to be added in the game's 7.05 patch, which was released on July 30. Yet three days later, on August 2, he was still nowhere to be found. Hunters' increasingly desperate attempts to spawn him were highlighted on Twitter, with some of my favourite suggestions being to emote dozing on a "landmine" (what hunters call fixed spawn points on each map), popping on a pair of sunglasses, or walking around spawn points as a crafter or gatherer.

A tweet from @EENlX on Twitter.

via @EENlx on Twitter. (Image credit: @EENlX via Twitter.)

How do players even get an idea of where to start? Thankfully Final Fantasy 14 doesn't leave you totally high and dry on the guessing game—each S-Rank comes with a little description that hints towards its spawn condition. Kirlirger's was heavy on references to him avoiding a fair fight, preying on merchants and being able to successfully sneak up on and attack someone despite his large size. 

Well, after numerous hours of dressing as merchants, using countless eye-related abilities and killing mobs in an attempt to spawn it, it turned out all players needed to do was wait for some very hyper-specific weather conditions. Kirlirger the Abhorrent only emerges when there's fog during a new moon, the latter of which only occurs around once every 37 real-time hours. Makes sense that folk weren't able to spawn it too quickly, though it was a slightly more anti-climactic end than people were anticipating.

Despite the final spawn condition being relatively uninteresting, seeing the process of trying to figure out the conditions for a new S-Rank is really neat. It's one of the few things in the game that can't be brute-forced via methods like datamining. It's all trial and error, baby, or sometimes simply waiting a very long time for a narrow window where the weather-based stars align.

© Square Enix

Best selling PS2 games, ranked

✇Destructoid
Od: Chris Penwell

Some of the best selling PS2 games include GTA San Andreas and Kingdom Hearts

The PS2 is arguably the best console ever created with many popular franchises like Kingdom Hearts, Devil May Cry, and God of War taking root on the system. Other series really took off during this generation of consoles, like the Grand Theft Auto franchise. Here are the 10 best selling PS2 games, ranked by sales numbers.

10. Kingdom Hearts

Image via Square Enix and Disney

The strange crossover between Disney and Square truly worked during the PS2 generation of consoles with over 5.9 million copies sold worldwide, as of 2007. Sora, Donald, and Goofy fought against dark creatures called the heartless in Disney worlds we all know and love like The Little Mermaid's Atlantica and Hercules' Olympus Coliseum. The action-RPG system is fast-paced, and lets you summon the likes of Dumbo and Genie to the battle. While the first game hasn't aged the best, the Kingdom Hearts franchise is still beloved worldwide.

9. Final Fantasy XII

Final Fantasy 12 sold around 6 million copies
Image via Square Enix

After the success of the 10th entry, Final Fantasy XII took us back to the world of Ivalice, featuring kingdoms and olden-style language. It sold over 6 million copies, according to a 2009 interview with Yoshinori Kitase in Gendai. This entry in particular was different from other entries in the series, as it featured a real-time system similar to an MMO. "It was a triumph in many ways with its open world combat flow and groundbreaking (at the time) AI-manipulating gambit system," said our review for the remaster The Zodiac Age.

8. Tekken 5

Tekken 5 features Devil Jin and new characters like Asuka.
Image via Bandai Namco

Tekken 5 is also reported to have sold around 6 million units. This is the fighting game sequel that introduced the fan-favorite characters Asuka and Lili, in addition to the badass Dragunov and Raven. The game has an impressive 88 Metacritic score based on 62 reviews. "Better balancing, a ton of gameplay modes, smarter AI, and high-quality presentational elements are tough things to beat -- but Tekken 5 has all of them," said IGN's review when the game was released in 2005.

7. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

Metal Gear Solid 2 is one of the best selling PS2 games
Image via Konami

When you combine the reported sales of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and Substance, you'll find that a total number of 7.03 million copies were picked up at stores. Launching in 2001, this game was a gigantic step in Hollywood-style storytelling within games. The second title also added a first-person camera for aiming down sights and the ability to hold foes up at gunpoint. Many love this game, despite a surprising switch of the main protagonist.

6. Grand Theft Auto III

Grand Theft Auto III sold very well on the PS2
Image via Rockstar Games

Grand Theft Auto III revolutionized gaming when it first came out on October 22, 2001 because of its big open world mechanics and mature content. As a result, it sold around 8.3 million copies worldwide. I remember going around my friend's house at nine years old and being amazed at how open the game was, and freaked out by how many atrocities could be performed by the player. A remaster was released for this game, but the less said about that, the better.

5. Final Fantasy X

Final Fantasy X was a PS2 masterpiece
Image via Square Enix

Final Fantasy X was the best-selling PS2 game in the series at over 8.5 million copies, according to a 2013 press release. This was a big deal back in 2001. FFX was the first game in the RPG franchise to have voice acting with James Arnold Taylor as Tidus and Hedy Burress as Yuna. The elaborate love story between the two main characters also attracted many to the RPG. Composer Nobuo Uematsu also constructed a musical masterwork in the game's soundtrack, with standout tracks like "Movement in Green," "To Zanarkand," and of course, the epic battle theme.

4. Gran Turismo 4

Gran Turismo 4 sold very well on the PS2
Image via PlayStation

The Gran Turismo series was huge during the PS2 generation, as its modern competitor Forza was yet to take shape. It drew 11.76 million racing fans to buy the game from store shelves in 2004. This game was praised for its fantastic graphics at the time and simulation mechanics. "Gran Turismo 4 is the Encyclopedia Britannica of driving, with more than 700 distinct sets of wheels to prove it, and introduces you to it with the restrained reverence of a martial arts instructor," said Eurogamer's review. "It wants you to win through training and discipline, not brute force and chrome elbows to the side paneling."

3. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

Grand Theft Auto Vice City is the fourth best selling PS2 game.
Image via Rockstar Games

The Grand Theft Auto series began to take over the industry with its next entry, Vice City. It sold a total of 14.2 million copies worldwide (according to the Guinness World Records 2009 Gamer's Edition book). This entry took us back to the '80s; the theming was exceptional, with a fantastic soundtrack and neon throughout the city everywhere. It also features an engaging narrative following Tommy Vercetti, voiced by Goodfellas actor Ray Liotta. "The game of fast cars and ruthless criminals packs more action and excitement into the first few hours than can be found in the entirety of most games," said IGN's 2003 review.

2. Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec

Gran Turismo 3: A Spec sold almost 15 million copies on PS2
Image via PlayStation

Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec accelerated excitement from the PlayStation 2 fanbase even more, with almost 15 million copies sold in 2001 and beyond. It brought incredible visuals for racing enthusiasts at the time, and likely convinced many to take the leap from the PS1 to the PS2. The official website says the game added "impairing sunglare, shimmering heat waves, real-time reflections" and more to make this game as realistic as possible at the time. There was also an Arcade mode and a Simulation mode added to Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec to make it as appealing to a wide audience as possible.

1. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Grand Theft Auto San Andreas is the best selling PS2 game
Image via Rockstar Games

Arguably the best of the PS2 trilogy, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is on top of the best selling PS2 games list with 17.33 million copies reportedly purchased by PS2 players around the world, according to the Guinness World Records 2009 Gamer's Edition. Playing as Carl Johnson, you're living in the '90s, trying to save Carl's family after his mother was murdered and trying to flee corrupt cops who frame him for homicide. The game has an amazing 95% Metacritic average rating from 80 outlets.

Game Informer gave it a perfect score, saying "San Andreas breaks the video game mold and emerges as something far greater." (Via Metacritic) Despite a terrible remaster much later on, it seems to still hold a place in many fans' minds as one of the best in the series.

The post Best selling PS2 games, ranked appeared first on Destructoid.

What Is The Best Way To Play Secret Of Mana?

✇Kotaku
Od: Timothy Monbleau

Few games evoke retro gaming nostalgia quite like Secret of Mana. Released in 1993 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, this Squaresoft action-RPG is likely to have been the first RPG for many Western gamers. s. Secret of Mana begged to be a memorable experience with its vibrant graphics, memorable soundtrack…

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Please be nice about FF14: Dawntrail spoilers if you're in early access, says Square Enix, as some players will start 'at the official launch or play at their own pace'

✇PCGamer latest

Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail is entering early access later this week—and, in addition to announcing the official start date for those VIP doors (and dropping an actual Aetheryte in the middle of London) Square Enix has asked players to please, pretty please, be nice about spoilers.

In an official news post, which highlights that Dawntrail'll be entering its early access period at 2 am PDT (that's 10 am BST, or 5 pm PST) June 28—and that email codes will be coming to Dawntrail hopefuls today—the developer additionally put a small ask at the foot of the page, which reads:

"During the early access period, there will be no restrictions on what content you can discuss, post, or stream," Square Enix then asks, with the air of a parent wanting their teenage kids not to trash the house while they're gone: "We ask that early access users please be considerate and do their best to avoid posting spoiler-related content as there are those players who may start at the official launch or play at their own pace."

It's a natural hope, considering how much of a story-focused game Final Fantasy 14 is—half of the juice of any expansion is in its main scenario quest (MSQ) which'll typically average a few dozen hours of single-player RPG content and storytelling.

If anything, such a focus on story makes early access periods like these questionable—though it'll only be a week before it goes live to the public, and the price of entry is pre-ordering the game for its standard price, which anyone hungry enough for a distilled, spoiler-free experience is likely to do anyway. In other words, Square Enix isn't pulling the same baffling gambit it did with the upcoming Life is Strange game.

Regardless, you're probably going to want to keep off YouTube for a while. It's regrettably common nowadays for cutscene-clippers to all-caps story spoilers with a big, plot-sabotaging thumbnail delivered bluntly to your feed because, well. You click on a lot of videos for X game, so the site thinks it must be a great recommendation.

It's gotten to the point where I've actively stopped watching videos on a game I'm currently playing—and I'll sure as shoot be doing the same thing for Dawntrail. Especially since I'll likely be dealing with the standard MMO expansion launch server queue woes—which will hopefully be nothing like Endwalker's, but anything can happen.

© Tyler C. / Square Enix

Final Fantasy 14 is helping us poor souls who spend hours creating a character only to absolutely hate it by giving its transformation potion a 60-minute grace period

✇PCGamer latest

I feel like at this point, it's a rite of passage to spend hours in a character creator, meticulously tweaking every slider, colour picker, and back-and-forthing between two voice options, their battle cries echoing in your skull for the next several hours… only to get into the actual game and realise you hate everything about them. It's an even more mortifying occurrence when it happens in an MMO, a genre that traditionally wants you to cough up a couple extra bucks for the pleasure of changing your character.

As someone personally guilty of forking out for an extra Fantasia just to make my Viera slightly more tanned, I'm very grateful to the change Final Fantasy 14 is making which will give Fantasia-heads a 60-minute grace period after using one. It'll be implemented with upcoming expansion Dawntrail, which is set to release on July 2 (with early access on June 28).

The change was announced during the most recent Letter from the Producer livestream, where director and producer Naoki Yoshida said: "You want to see your character in action in locations that you have gotten familiar seeing your character in, and we did receive a lot of feedback about how 'we want to make adjustment to characters afterwards.' So we are going to make it so that Fantasia, within 60 minutes of playtime—so if you log out, the counter will pause—if you want to make adjustments to your character creation you can do so within 60 minutes of using Fantasia."

It appears that those 60 minutes also continue to tick down while you're actively using the character creator for any subsequent changes, and Yoshida clarified that while you can dip back in and out during that hour time period infinitely, there's no manipulating the timer to reset each time you do. It'll also still consume the Fantasia if, for whatever reason, you decide to completely revert your changes back to pre-Fantasia status. So you've got a flat hour of playtime to log in, run around, decide if you're cool with how you look and, if not, you've got enough time to tweak things here and there.

It's a nice change, one that I'm sure will save some of my ever-changing pals a little bit of cash in the long run. Like I said, I too have been guilty of having some deep Fantasia-induced remorse, leaving me to pay double to revert what is often very minor changes. Not only that, but Dawntrail is giving everyone one free Fantasia via a quest—that's thanks to the graphics update which will see the game's races get a facelift—so it's perfect timing all round.

I'll definitely be storing that Fantasia in the bank for the time being, but it's good to know that when I eventually have a virtual identity crisis, I've got an hour to fix my mistakes. That's all the time I need.

© Square Enix

Healers in FF14 get that awful sinking feeling as Yoshi-P cheerily announces a major buff to an ability mainly used for resurrection

✇PCGamer latest

Final Fantasy 14 has had its last "live letter" before Dawntrail—live streams which clue players in on what they can expect in the next expansion. This time around, Yoshi-P revealed a ton of new info about job (class) changes that'll be coming with its latest expansion, Dawntrail.

Among a very flashy and exciting trailer showing off all the new toys we'll be getting, the game's director Naoki Yoshida (better-known as Yoshi-P) worked through several of the more granular tweaks to jobs. One seemingly innocuous update, however, has the game's healers clutching their staffs, nautiloids, and fantasy tarot decks: Swiftcast's getting buffed.

In case you're completely uninitiated, Swiftcast is an ability available to all healers (as well as magic ranged DPS jobs) that allows them to cast their next spell instantly. While some jobs have niche uses, for healers, Swiftcast's primary role is allowing them to resurrect one of their allies right away. 

This is because such spells, like Raise, have a cast time of 8 whole seconds—which is much, much too long to pull off in most high-level content. During the live letter, it was revealed that Swiftcast's recharge was reduced from 60 seconds to 40 seconds. Which, considering the game's hardest fights (Ultimates) can last dozens of minutes, is huge.

So yay, right? Healers should be rejoicing, right? Uh, not so much.

See, these balance changes are the first look we've gotten at how FF14 will be approaching difficulty in Dawntrail. It's all conjecture right now, of course, but we at least know that Yoshi-P is interested in injecting a little more stress back into the formula. Furthermore, changes like this aren't going to have much of an impact on casual content—which has shorter fights packed with more forgiving mechanics. 

Essentially, if you're wondering why healers are biting their nails right now—it's like how when a game gives you a bunch of healing potions out of the blue, and suddenly you're put on-guard waiting for a boss health bar jumpscare. 'What am I being prepared for?'

"WHAT is in Dawntrail that requires one of the most rigid abilities in the game, something that endlessly comes in clutch or helps your rotation, to suddenly get a shorter cooldown," writes one player, with another adding: "I like to imagine there's some Actual Hell waiting in endgame content that makes this [cooldown reduction] necessary."

But that's not the only thing making terrified hardcore players' tinfoil hats tingle. Abilities like Feint and Addle, which both reduce enemy damage when used, have also been buffed, and DPS healing abilities like Second Wind are also getting a bump. It's the equivalent of reading sheep innards right now, but all signs are pointing towards Dawntrail having a lot more damage than we're used to.

Personally, I'm all for it even if this trickles-down into regular content, too. As I mentioned a while back, Endwalker suffered from a lack of decently-challenging content for "midcore" players—if we're gonna be getting smacked outside of Extremes, Savages, and Ultimates, I'll be a happy camper (on the floor, face-down, dead because I tried to get full uptime on a boss).

© Square Enix

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