Finally arrived from the official Square Enix apparel shop! I'll be celebrating 35 years of Mana in style.

Having the original Final Fantasy Gaiden, Secret of Mana, and Visions of Mana side-by-side really puts the entire franchise journey into perspective. I’ve been a huge fan ever since I first played Secret of Mana on the SNES back in 1994, and seeing Visions receive the official "聖剣伝説5" title treatment on the logo is such a satisfying touch.

A quick review of my order for anyone that cares:

Prints & Colors: The print quality turned out correct. It’s standard apparel printing rather than high-end boutique silk-screening, but the pricing is reasonable for official gear. The colour options are great: the deep red complements Haccan’s art for Visions of Mana perfectly, and I think the olive base would pair naturally with the Adventures of Mana print (but I picked white here). The tees are basic "Gildan" cotton blanks.

The "boxed" design: When Square Enix first revealed these mockups two weeks ago, there was fair criticism about the "squared-off" framing. Seeing them in person, I would argue the borders are far less jarring than they appeared on screen. What I'm trying to say is, when worn, it isn't as much an issue as I first thought it could be.

Details: If you pick the sweatshirt option (like I did for Secret of Mana), know that it is ridiculously soft, pure bliss. A welcome detail is the 35th Anniversary logo printed on the upper back of each piece. It's subtle, thoughtful fan service (Picture 2).

These are available on both Amazon.co.jp and Amazon.com. Since I'm in Canada, I had a friend in the US reship them to me.

Link to the Square Enix apparel storefront. BTW, they do print official apparel for other Square Enix series, like Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Octopath Traveler and Kingdom Hearts : https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/AB0DA3CE-6EB8-4A33-AA5B-25624D9E1F7B

The third edition of the Octopath Traveler Champions of the Continent soundtrack is now available for digital download!: https://sqex.lnk.to/O1ZscvDc

Final Fantasy’s 40th Anniversary is coming up and Final Fantasy Tactics is not even included? Why would such an amazing franchise not be included in the celebration?

https://na.finalfantasy.com/40th

Today’s Monday, October 12, 2026. Happy birthday to Shiki Misaki from “The World Ends with You” series. ❤️ 🎂 🐱 ✨

Featured:
“The World Ends with You” (video game, 2007)

“Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance” (video game, 2012)

“The World Ends with You: The Animation” (anime, 2021)

“Neo: The World Ends with You” (video game, 2021)

As if the whole game wasn't heartbreaking enough, they had to hit us with this train.

This took me back to my first playthrough. Story time:
I had recently graduated high school. My teenage mood swings combined with the trauma of losing the friends that I had known all my life made me really miserable. Though, I never acknowledged it, being the tough little man, I was really shaken.

In those days, LIS was the perfect game for me. I could relate to all of Max's struggles. A misfit in school who struggled to connect with people, hoping that she could fix everything by reversing time. The only difference between us was that she could actually reverse time.

It was heart-wrenching, and also comforting in a sense, that Max couldn't change much even by reversing time. With all her powers, she couldn't fix the onslaught of time. Just like me, she also felt trapped by her irreversible choices.
Like a kid refusing to grow up, she would countlessly go back in time, trying, trying to fix everything. Hopeless.

It was one slow evening, when I was faced with this choice, like a punch in the gut. But my choice was clear to me. It was just a matter of acceptance. I did what I had to, I killed my best friend, because I couldn't see her suffer.
As soon as I pressed the button, it all came back to me, one by one. My time with Chloe, the fun we had, and then I was reminded of the friends I had lost (to death or lost contact with), my high school; all like a past life.
A tear fell from my left eye. Then another. Soon, like a child refusing to be separated from his mother, I felt myself resisting this parting. Resisting losing Chloe, my high school, the few friends I had there, but most of all, I was resisting losing myself.

I was sobbing hard when the most random and frustrating thing happened, the lights went out and my mother walked into the room at that exact moment. Seeing me crying while sitting on an empty desk, she asked me out of genuine concern: "Are you alright? Why are you crying?".

I explained to her everything that had happened and SHE UNDERSTOOD! Never in my life, had I ever felt so SEEN.
She didn't think of me as a little bitch for crying on such little things. I would always downplay my problems, so I never shared them with anyone. But that was the first time I had ever felt seen. It was the beginning of change for me. It's easier for me to share things with people now.

My mother went on to finish the rest of the chapter with me, as I had to replay the whole thing due to the power outage.

Funny how such simple things can mean so much to us.

Not my content. Written review: https://noisypixel.net/octopath-traveler-nintendo-switch-2-review/

Me playing my own arrangement of Traverse Town on guitar. You can find the full version on my page and the link to the score/tabs is also available in the YT video description if you would like to try it out! I’m also currently working on more KH arrangements!

To be oil painted soon

These will probably not be available outside Japan. Announced in the Shimamura collab stream on YouTube.

Anyone copping anything?