Square Enix have just revealed a new Final Fantasy game, but it might not be the kind you’re expecting. Whilst we might all have been anticipating news regarding the Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy’s final part, the newly announced release is a huge curveball: it’s a board game!
Final Fantasy VII: Ascend the Shinra Tower fuses together Jenga-style block balancing with Cloud and his team’s mission to take down Shinra. Players take it in turns to build the Shinra Tower between them and have Cloud ascend it to the top, but the wobbly structure needs support, which is where teamwork comes in. Using wooden blocks in the shape of Final Fantasy VII‘s most iconic characters as balancing tools for the platforms climbing the tower, Cloud needs to reach the peak at the eighth floor for the game to end.
Whilst the game is currently available to pre-order on the Japanese Square Enix store, purchases do include instructions in English, French, German and its native Japanese. It’s releasing on November 6 and costs ¥4,400 with tax included – that’s around $28 USD or £20 GBP.
The box includes 20 pieces of flooring, 54 walls, 24 actions cards, 24 wooden pieces and a rulebook. The wooden characters include Cloud, Tifa, Aerith, Barret, Sephiroth, Rufus, Reno, Biggs, Wedge, Jessie, Rude and a bunch of enemies like the Airbuster and a Shinra soldier.
This type of game isn’t entirely original, as it’s seemingly heavily based on Cat and the Tower, a similar Japanese board game that sees a black cat named Toto trying to reach the top of a tower with wooden cats used for balancing. Unsurprisingly, Cat and the Tower’s creator Arclight Games are confirmed to be collaborating with Square Enix on Final Fantasy VII: Ascend the Shinra Tower.
We’re still waiting for Final Fantasy game news, but at least we have a new board game to play as time passes with Final Fantasy VII: Ascend the Shinra Tower. Rounds take a maximum of 30 minutes, so we can probably fit a few thousand rounds in before Final Fantasy VII Remake‘s Part 3 gets released.
