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Final Fantasy 7 unofficial NES port restored, improved by modders
ROM hackers have overhauled an unofficial 8-bit version of Square Enix's Final Fantasy 7, turning what was once a barely-playable bootleg into a demake that's surprisingly faithful to its source material. Released as an unlicensed Famicom cartridge in China, Shenzhen Nanjing's unsanctioned port of Final Fantasy 7 featured familiar characters and settings from Square Enix's PSOne classic, but removed many key story elements while upping the difficulty dramatically, rendering it an impressive but flawed curiosity. After the subsequent release of a fan-made translation patch, a team led by modder Lugia2009 set out to address the game's many issues. The final product features redrawn graphics, improved music, and an actual ending, among many other bugfixes and improvements. Speaking to Destructoid, Lugia2009 revealed that his next project is a translation patch for Shenzhen Nanjing's unlicensed NES port of Pokemon Yellow.
Final Fantasy 7 on mobile 'years' away
A mobile version of Final Fantasy 7 is still "years" away, according to Square Enix producer Takashi Tokita, despite the fact that the franchise's first six titles are already available for multiple mobile platforms. Speaking with Shacknews, Tokita said that porting the 1997 fan favorite to mobile devices would be possible, but storage is a factor. "It's that currently, space will be an issue. Phones won't be able to contain the space it takes. It's over a gigabyte. People are probably going to have to wait a few years," he said. When Square Enix re-released Final Fantasy 7 on PC last year, the game clocked in at 3GB. In its developer guidelines, Apple notes "iOS apps can be as large as 2 GB, but the executable file cannot exceed 60MB." In Square Enix's home region of Japan, a plethora of mobile devices have penetrated the market. According to an April 2013 feature from CNET, the Sony Xperia V was one of the most popular devices in Asian territories. By default, the device is equip with 8GB of onboard storage, though it can be expanded. While Tonika didn't rule out the possibility of Final Fantasy 7 eventually making the jump to the mobile market, he did reiterate that if it were to happen, "it's definitely going to be years before we do the port."
Steam weekend sales: 2K games, Baldur's Gate and Final Fantasy 7
Look, we know things have been rough ever since the government shut down. Cars have become sentient; peach cobbler is now physically impossible to produce – it's not easy out there. Still, there are some things we can depend on in these tough times, such as the persistence and regularity of sales on Steam. From now through 10 a.m. Pacific on Monday, October 7, a growing selection of 2k Games-published jams have gone under the discount knife, including BioShock Infinite ($26.79), XCOM: Enemy Unknown ($9.99) and a whole bunch of others. Meanwhile, Final Fantasy 7 is half-off at $5.99 and Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition can be snagged for a thin $5. Granted, these sales may not make up for the fact that our nation's stop signs now act as portals to Ung'Thagar's Darkest Dark Moon, but every little bit helps until the government comes back online and this all gets straightened out.
Final Fantasy VII materia-lizes on Steam
Final Fantasy VII is as steamy as the Honey Bee Inn, now that it's available via the Steam portal. The Steam version out this week is the same as last year's PC re-release, complete with Cloud saves, achievements, and the Character Booster. It should be no surprise, then, that it's going at the same price of $11.99/€12.99/£9.99. Often billed as the Final Fantasy that followed VI and preceded VIII, Square's seminal RPG also lives on in the series' latest installment: As revealed this week, Lightning Returns sees its heroine reprise Cloud's trademark look from VII with pre-order bonuses that include his uniform, his Buster Sword, and of course a bit of this.
Euro PSN sale on lots of Final Fantasy games this week
When the European PSN store receives its weekly content update on Wednesday, January 23, it'll celebrate Final Fantasy with discounts across just about every Final Fantasy game available on the digital distribution platform. Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy IX and more will have their prices reduced by up to half.Fans of the more classic Final Fantasy games can grab the original Final Fantasy and its sequel Final Fantasy II on PSP for €4.99 each (£3.99/AU$7.35) this week, while Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions and Dissidia 012 [duodecim] Final Fantasy offer fans of the more recent entries in the series a pretty tempting promotional price.The full list of eligible games and their pricing can be found over on the PlayStation Blog.
Final Fantasy VII returns on PC, for real this time
Final Fantasy VII's achievement-laden PC release is now available from the game's official website, with no sign of disappearing as it did previously.The normal price is $11.99 (€12.99 in Europe), but the game is temporarily discounted to $9.99/€9.99 to commemorate the re-re-launch. It'll go back up on September 12.
Final Fantasy VII PC released early, then pulled
Yes, it is possible for a game to be considered "released early" in 2012 even after having been originally made in 1997. The new PC version of Final Fantasy VII showed up for sale on the website last night, according to reports on the forums.The problem is that the downloaded copies don't work yet. The automatic license activation (through the SecuROM DRM) failed for those who bought it, and manual serial number entry also didn't work. If that's how it is for early purchasers, it's probably a good idea that Square Enix pulled the apparently erroneous purchase links. The total price attached to these early sales was $12.70, so expect that to be the price when it's ready for prime time.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
Final Fantasy 7 update isn't updated with microtransactions
Final Fantasy 7's new PC version comes with a "Character Booster" that lets you inflate your characters' HP, MP, and Gil. That seemed like the perfect place for a microtransaction system, but that isn't the case, Square Enix told Kotaku."No, the Character Booster will not cost real money to use," a Square Enix representative confirmed to the site. "We'll have final pricing info on the game to share soon, but we can confirm that there will be no microtransactions for the upcoming rerelease of Final Fantasy 7 on PC."Boosting your characters will still cost you, but only time.
Final Fantasy VII on PC is definitely not an HD remake
Nothing quite gets us juiced for mid-90s gaming like cheezy trailers, and today's Final Fantasy VII PC clip is no slouch in that department. There's something magical about watching a publisher attempt to tease a game with decade-old cinematics. The game looks good, of course, it's just ... ya know ... not recent. And it's certainly not an HD update.%Gallery-159802%
Final Fantasy 7 officially 'coming soon' on PC, exclusive to Square's online store
The cached Final Fantasy 7 website we saw previously is now live for real, officially revealing plans to re-release the PC version of the game with achievements. Final Fantasy 7 is simply listed as "coming soon," and features cloud saves (still funny) and a (potentially microtransaction-based ) "Character booster" to artifically increase HP, MP, and in-game currency.The website indicates plans to release the game in the US and Europe in English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish – all exclusive to the Square Enix Store.
A brief history of Final Fantasy 7 through achievements
This is a column by Kat Bailey dedicated to the analysis of the once beloved Japanese RPG sub-genre. Tune in every Wednesday for thoughts on white-haired villains, giant robots, Infinity+1 swords, and everything else the wonderful world of JRPGs has to offer. First things first about my history with Final Fantasy 7: I was spoiled on the death of Aeris before it even came out. Before I even really knew what Final Fantasy 7 was, honestly. My friend, who had been obsessively following its development on the fledgling internet, described the scene in all its gory detail for me. I'm still kind of mad at him for that, even if at the time I didn't really care. Of course, as I eventually discovered, I was hardly alone in being spoiled on the event that helped signal the beginning of gaming's modern era.The death of Aeris is but the greatest example of the lore that has been built up around Final Fantasy VII over the years. There are countless others that have circulated around the proverbial playground over the years: the fact that it's possible to go on a date with Barret, for example. Or all the persistent rumors that Aeris can be resurrected without a hack. This stuff is legend at this point – the result of outsized popularity and a somewhat ambiguous story.When word hit last week that Square Enix may be reviving the PC version of Final Fantasy VII with a smattering of extras, my first thought was how fertile the ground is for achievements.
Leak reveals Final Fantasy 7 coming (back) to PC with achievements
A Google cache of the site finalfantasyviipc.com shows evidence of a plan for an updated PC release, with achievements, cloud saves (appropriate!) and a "character booster" that lets players increase HP, MP, and money "with the simple click of a button, leaving you to enjoy your adventure." Final Fantasy VII first came to PC on disc in 1998.A whois search of that domain reveals it to be owned by Square Enix – registered, in fact, under CEO Yoichi Wada's name.Square Enix hasn't officially announced the new version yet, so we don't know when this is due, but the cached page prices it at £7.99 / €9.99 (about $12.50).[Thanks, Phoenixumn!]
Long-awaited Final Fantasy VII costumes dated for LittleBigPlanet 2
A LittleBigPlanet Sackboy skin patterned after Final Fantasy VII's Sephiroth was first revealed at Tokyo Game Show in 2008. Three years and one LittleBigPlanet sequel (plus two spinoffs) later, a newly redesigned version of Sackiroth is finally on the way to LittleBigPlanet 2, and he's bringing some "friends." The PlayStation Blog revealed that a LittleBigPlanet 2 Final Fantasy VII costume pack will be released on July 13, containing Sackboy garments based on Sephiroth, Cloud, Tifa, and Aeris, who of course is doomed to lose her stuffing at the adorable hands of the vicious Sephiroth Sackboy. If you buy the $5.99 / €5.99 / £4.79 bundle, you'll get a bonus Vincent Valentine costume, allowing you to complete that long-in-progress LBP remake of Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII. Separately, each costume will run $1.99 each (though Vincent is only available in the bundle). Other Sackboy raiment due for release soon includes Infamous 2, Toy Story, and Killzone 3 packs.
Special Edition Advent Children PlayStation 3 unboxed in all its matte glory
There's a lot to love about the special edition 160GB Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Complete Cloud Black PlayStation 3 bundle that was unleashed this week in Japan -- a fancy Strife Wolf emblem, a copy of Advent Children Complete on Blu-ray, and a Final Fantasy XIII demo you can't play anywhere else -- but perhaps our favorite part is the console's matte finish. For us, a smudge-resistant PS3 is well worth the 49,980 yen (US $505) price of admission. 1UP has the unboxing, hit up the read link for more pics.[Via Joystiq]
Advent Children Complete 'Cloud Black' PS3 unboxed
Do you have an extra 49,980 yen ($505) to spare? Well, someone at 1UP does, as they've picked up the new Advent Children-themed, limited edition PS3 bundle from Japan. The package includes a 160GB PS3 system in a matte black color -- it's supposedly "fingerprint resistant." In addition to the hardware, which is emblazoned with Cloud's wolf emblem, the bundle includes the Advent Children Complete Blu-ray disc and (you guessed it) the special Final Fantasy XIII demo.Visit 1UP to see more pics.
Final Fantasy VII now available on the PlayStation Store
... in Japan. The PSone RPG classic is now a downloadable PS3/PSP game, just in time for the Advent Children Complete Blu-ray release. This digital re-release can be purchased for 1500 yen. The multi-disc game has been converted into a massive 1715MB download, so make sure your hard drive/Memory Stick has enough room before downloading.We'd love to assure you that FFVII will find its way stateside, but we'd be lying. Square Enix has already re-released a number of PS1 classics in Japan, and none have found their way to the US/EU PlayStation Store.
FFXIII demo, special edition 160GB PS3 coming April 16 to Japan
The Final Fantasy XIII demo is hitting Japan on April 16 packaged with the Blu-ray Final Fantasy flick, Advent Children Complete. According to Famitsu, Sony will commemorate the release with a new 160GB PlayStation 3 bundle for ¥49,980 (US$550) that includes the movie, demo and specially marked console seen above.Already got a PS3? ACC is also coming sans hardware for ¥5,900 (US$65) with the demo and ¥4,900 (US$54) without ... but let's be honest, is there really a market for people who want the movie but don't want to play and / or eBay the FFXIII trial? Square Enix recently said that there are no plans to release the demo overseas, so if you've been pining for a taste of the long-awaited RPG, we suggest you brush up on your Japanese.[Via PS3 Fanboy]
The Daily Grind: Which Final Fantasy would you prefer in MMO form?
Square-Enix is known for making each of their Final Fantasy games in a brand new world or at least mostly new. While that's fine and dandy, let us suppose that the next MMO to come out of Square-Enix is in fact a recreation of one of their previous Final Fantasy games in MMO form. Which game would you like to see get the treatment? Midgar and it's band of rebel miscreants from Final Fantasy VII or perhaps Final Fantasy XII with its dashing sureshot Balthier? Or something else entirely? We're curious to know which of these many, many worlds and famous characters you'd most love to experience.It's a tough call for us, but we're somewhere in-between the two aforementioned games for both their worlds and characters. On one hand you've got an interesting game mechanic where classes could utilize materia, but on the other hand you've got a world where some kind of magical mist can drive its denizens to crazed outbursts of rage. Although we may have to go with the twelfth game due to its bunny girls. Then again, if they were to make the sixth game into an MMO we could probably create Moogle characters for a change.
First Impressions: Requiem: Bloodymare
We've been talking about this game for months now, and Requiem: Bloodymare is finally available to play. Hailed as the first horror MMO, there are definitely aspects of R:B that are pretty gruesome. Whether or not they freak you out is between you and the game. I will say that, having played the beta, Gravity Interactive has made leaps and bounds in turning this title into something that I could spend a great deal of time playing.What you behold is our First Impressions for Requiem: Bloodymare, a feature meant to give you some idea of what gameplay will be like once you've signed up for an account. Keep in mind: this is not a guide, there is no insider knowledge here. This post merely details the experiences playing this title for the first few hours; your mileage may vary. Up, up, and away!%Gallery-26440%
Gaming without Guides
Is WoW really player friendly? Tobold doesn't seem to think so. Says he, there's a lot of things that it doesn't tell you or you can miss the first time around, such as spending talent points, and that at the end game, he constantly has to check outside sites to figure out what he needs to grind to get certain drops and recipes. WoW does things better than most other MMORPGs, he says, but it is far from perfect. But, me, I'm not sure he has it quite right.
