Final Fantasy VII Remake Almost Had Cloud Pole-Dancing At The HoneyBee Inn
Written by Jason Guisao 
We all remember the Wall Market segment of Final Fantasy VII – whether it was in the original version of the game or the Remake. The latter release, however, came equipped with a humorous, unexpected rhythm section where a dancing cutscene played alongside simple QTEs. It was wacky, but fun nonetheless. And Cloud emerging from the flashy spectacle in a beautiful dress and pigtails was literally icing on the cake. In a recent interview uploaded on the official Square Enix site, Final Fantasy VII Remake Co-Director Motomu Toriyama revealed, albeit briefly, that a pole-dancing scene was in the works at one point over the course of the game’s development.
Throughout the interview, Toriyama talked about why the HoneyBee Inn section was such a momentous task for the studio and how the team ended up creating a polished minigame. “The whole scene took a long time, from the initial idea, to composing the music, taking the motion capture, and adjusting the music and motions to fit together,” he said. “I was incredibly nervous until it finally all came together!” Toriyama and co. ultimately commissioned professional dancers to choreograph the entire burlesque show.
Moreover, long before the onstage dance-off between Cloud and Andrea Rhodea came to fruition, there was another, more risqué scene in mind: “Initially, for example, there was a pole dancing scene included, which meant that filming began on an elaborate set. We decided to take that part out due to the impact on the rating!” And there you have it, everyone; we truly missed out on potentially one of the greatest moments in Final Fantasy history...and a Mature rating!
Jokes aside, Toriyama considers the HoneyBee Inn to be a significant moment where dangerous notions about gender roles were appropriately stripped away:
“Given how famous the cross-dressing was in the original FINAL FANTASY VII, we were aware that people would have high expectations for the remake. We knew we had to do it in a way that both lived up to those expectations, but took modern sensibilities into consideration. For example, fans these days expect stories and dialogue in games to go beyond stereotypical depictions of gender. Through Andrea’s lines and the lyrics of the backing track, Stand Up, we tried to build in a positive and supportive message for Cloud during his cross-dressing scene.”Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade is now available on PlayStation 5. If you’ve yet to hop into the upgraded version, read my Episode Intermission review to get a better understanding of what lies in wait! And if you're interested in reading another Final Fantasy-related interview, check out our talk with the legendary Yoshinori Kitase.
[Source: Square Enix]
Nintendo Is Shutting Down Splatoon 2's Online Lounge Feature In July
Written by Marcus Stewart 
Splatoon 2’s rather nifty Online Lounge feature will soon go the way of the dodo. That means it’s being shut down, effective July 28 according to Nintendo.
The feature allowed players to use the Nintendo Switch Online mobile app to set up Splatoon 2 matches and invite friends by sending them a URL link. Although Online Lounge will no longer be supported, Nintendo says it has no plans to change any of the app’s other game-specific features. That means users will still be able to use voice chat, for example.
Nintendo’s support page doesn’t cite a specific reason doing away with the Online Lounge. Players will still be able to set up local and online Splatoon 2 matches via in-game methods, of course, but this could be part of the gradual sun setting of the game. Nintendo released Splatoon 2’s “final” big update during the summer of 2019, though it has continued to host the occasional Splatfests even past that. The most recent contest took place in January of this year, and it was the battle of Mario power-ups with Super Mushroom vs Super Star (Mushroom won, if you’re curious).
Meanwhile, we know the company is hard at work making Splatoon 3, which was announced during a Nintendo Direct in February. It’s set to release some time in 2022 and the setting moves away from Inkopolis to a brand new zone, the Splatlands. Nintendo hasn’t provided any more details about the game since, and it was absent during their E3 Direct presentation. It wouldn’t be surprising that removing the Online Lounge feature for Splatoon 2 has something to do with paving the way for its successor.
Setting up Splatoon 2 matches with friends in-game can be a hassle (to say the least), so it stinks to lose another, arguably easier method of doing so. With Splatoon 3 a good ways off, it feels a bit premature to deactivate this feature. Nintendo often works in mysterious ways, though, so I can only assume there's a method to the madness.
Do you still play Splatoon 2 regularly and did you use the Online Lounge feature often? If so, are you bummed to see it disappearing? Let us know in the comments!
[Source: Nintendo Customer Support via Nintendolife]
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Written by Arron KluzNew Xbox Cloud Upgrade Means Game Pass Games Will Look And Play Better
Written by Jason Guisao 
Xbox’s cloud-gaming platform, Game Pass (and Ultimate), continue to bring a stream-lined experience to millions of gamers everyday. The monthly subscription is leagues ahead of most other cloud services out there because of its sheer number of readily available games to play as well as its monthly cycle of titles. Additionally, Microsoft is truly committing to Game Pass by bringing a bevy of its upcoming, highly-anticipated titles to the catalog on respective launch days. Another Xbox cloud update has gone live, affecting the visual and technical prowess of Game Pass titles.
According to Ars Techica’s Sam Machkovech, the upgrade seems to be more prevalent on Game Pass titles being activated on web browsers or through the Android app. This is to make the games play, feel, and look as if they were booted up on an Xbox Series X console:
“The Xbox version has been quite attractive thanks to its value proposition. It includes over 260 games as part of a $15/month subscription...Up until now, however, the catch has been measly power on the server-farm side, since its cloud instances regressed to the "base" Xbox One console spec. Earlier this month, Xbox execs confirmed that its server fleet would begin upgrading to the Xbox Series X spec, which supports higher frame rates, higher pixel resolutions, faster loading times, and advanced rendering features.”Machkovech also states that the upgrade hasn’t been officially revealed, but any games that have still not been amplified or are exhibiting faster load times/better visuals will likely be getting that update soon. If you’re riding the Game Pass wave, we’ve got you covered on what’s coming to the subscription next month.
Have you been playing most of your games through Game Pass? Will you be testing out the upgrades on your PC and Android? Let us know what you’ve discovered and what you think in the comments below!
[Source: Ars Technica]
BioWare Talks About Canceled Mass Effect Movie And Why A TV Adaption Would Work Better
Written by Liana Ruppert 
Back in October, we talked about how a possible Mass Effect adaptation would work better as a TV series rather than a movie. This conversation was sparked by a Mass Effect movie that has been held in limbo for years, only to be eventually scrapped. With the Mass Effect Legendary Edition bringing an entirely new wave of fans aboard the Normandy, BioWare's Mac Walters recently shed some light on the canceled movie adaptation and why a TV series format makes more sense.
The Mass Effect movie in question was in the works back in 2010 under Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros., but it was never able to pick up enough traction to get the project moving forward at full speed ahead. Then, Legendary had a shakeup on the leadership level; the question came into play of "movie or TV?" Unfortunately, that question ended up draining any interest. But now that the remaster has the community alive and well once more, anything is possible.
With so many other adaptations coming down the pipeline, including several Resident Evil projects, a Halo series, and The Last of Us HBO show, the topic of the scrapped Mass Effect movie was bound to come up sooner or later. In a recent interview with Insider, Walters mentioned that Hollywood is going to want another shot at Mass Effect in the future, especially given the vastness of this universe. "It's such an expansive world, and so many people I know in the TV and film industry have reached out to ask me when we're going to do it and saying we've got to do it," Walters told the site.
That being said, if it were to happen, it would need to happen correctly, and a few different angles would need to be addressed: Does BioWare try to adapt the original trilogy? Offer some closure to Mass Effect Andromeda? An entirely new tale, perhaps exploring the franchise's history, such as the First Contact War? The studio can really go anywhere; there are so many pockets of lore found within the games, the anime, and the surrounding comics and books. Because of that expansiveness, however, a movie format could prove too restrictive. According to Walters, "If you're going to tell a story that's as fleshed out as 'Mass Effect,' TV is the way to do it. There's a natural way it fits well with episodic content."
"When we build out a Mass Effect game, we have a backbone or an overall story that we want to tell, but each level or mission is like its own TV episode," Walters added. "It doesn't get written ahead of time. It gets written at the time that we get to it. So it gets added to the main story, and sometimes the main story gets adjusted because we did something really cool in that 'episode.' So long-from storytelling is a great place for game franchises."
Video game movie adaptations don't have the best track record, and a lot of that is because film formatting is restrictive in terms of time allotted to tell a certain story. Because of that, either the vision becomes convoluted or comes out being so far off from the source material that it's unrecognizable. With a TV series, there is time to develop the narrative, world-build, and ensure that the viewer is as immersed as possible. We've seen success with this format with The Witcher, Castlevania, DOTA's anime, and more. It seems to be the magical middle ground that has been left out of consideration when taking to the gaming world.
If you're interested in our own thoughts about why a TV adaptation would work better and some of our ideas as to what that should look like, you can check that out right here.