A new Final Fantasy Board Game has recently been announced. It isn’t an RPG, a card game, or even some sort of Final Fantasy Tactics inspired strategy spin off. Instead, it’s a tile balancing tower stacking game about climbing to the top of the Shinra building from Final Fantasy VII.
Final Fantasy VII Ascend the Shinra Tower reenacts the climactic conclusion of the 1997 RPG’s prologue. Except, rather than infiltrating Shinra Tower, a group of players will build their own tabletop sized version of it, and climb little wooden versions of the party from FF7 straight to the top.
The exact rules of the game aren’t currently known. The closest we have to an explanation of its mechanics comes from its product description. In the game, you will: “Stack “Floor Tiles” atop “Wall Tiles” of varying heights to build upward, level by level. As the Shinra Tower rises, it gradually begins to tilt, becoming increasingly unstable. Maintaining balance through teamwork and discussion becomes the key to success in this cooperative challenge.”
We’ll need to wait for the game to come out before we can determine whether its unusual tile stacking gameplay rises to the challenge, or stumbles and collapses. Aesthetically, though, the game looks promising. It features a selection of chibi wooden miniatures representing Cloud, Aerith, and the members of Avalanche, as well as Sephiroth and a selection of antagonists. These minis have clearly been designed with a great deal of care, and if that same affection has been extended to the rest of the game, then it should all stack up impressively.
Ascend the Shinra Tower is currently available to pre-order on the Square Enix web store. It has an estimated release date of January 2027.
If you’d rather not break into Shinra HQ, then you’re more than welcome to head over to the Wargamer Discord instead and share your best board game takes with us.
Source: Wargamer
