Square Enix’s store is no more, but that’s no reason to fret! The spirit lives on at their new cafe, Artnia. When Yusouf came to Japan, he and I visited this cafe and had a some coffee and pancakes. Artnia is right near Square’s offices, housed in the strange egg-like structure above.
The cafe part of Artnia sticks to a very strict red and white color scheme, which nicely complements the constant smooth jazz (surprisingly non-game-related) soundtrack.
They had a special pancake available on the day we went.
Yu ordered it, and the Cactuar kind of matched the color scheme.
…and a “potion” to drink as well, which was actually a glass of ginger ale.
Meanwhile, I went for a coffee, and got a cute chocobo in my foam.
…and a Moogle to match my strawberry pancakes.
Above is a look at the menu you’ll find in the café section of Artnia.
However, I mentioned that the spirit of their old store lives on at Artnia, and the non-café part of the store is devoted to Square Enix goods.
They even have a shelf devoted to soundtracks and games.
The three iPads at the bottom will allow you to listen to any soundtrack they sell, which doesn’t make not buying them any easier…
Finally, there’s the showroom, where they show off the expensive stuff. At the center of the room is, of course, a crystal. The water around it seems to be moving upwards. (The music in this room is different too, but, bafflingly, it was Christmas music).
The things in the showroom vary from Play Arts toys for both Square Enix and non-Square Enix franchises…
…to jewelry and keyrings.
And of course, Final Fantasy VII cologne based on Cloud and Sephiroth.
Images taken by Yusouf Azahan.
