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Square Enix party details make us want to buy a ticket to Tokyo
IGN has some of the details for the upcoming Square Enix party in Japan, which could result in overload for Final Fantasy fanboys and fangirls in attendance. The tip of the iceberg includes: Dragon Quest Monster Joker (DS, playable) Final Fantasy XII Revenant Wing (DS, playable) Final Fantasy Tactics (PSP, playable) Itadaki Street DS (DS, playable) Dragon Quest Swords (Wii, playable) It's a Wonderful World (DS, playable) Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII (PSP, playable) Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles (DS, playable) Final Fantasy XI (PS2, X360, Windows, playable) Final Fantasy (PSP, video) Final Fantasy II (PSP, video) Dragon Quest Monster Battle Road (Arcade, video) Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Complete (Blu-Ray, video) Final Fantasy XIII (PS3, Mobile, video) Partygoers will also be able to play a slew of mobile game demos, and will be going home with exclusive Square Enix goodies, some of which can be seen here. Give us the slime from Dragon Quest, and we might be able to pretend like we experienced all this first-hand.
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: new fun-size screens
The name (Final Fantasy Crystal Chroncles: Ring of Fates) may be long, but the characters are all lil'. The party of adventurers looks like it's composed entirely of three-year-olds. Maybe it's a modern interpretation of the kind of character art found in the NES Final Fantasy games, but whatever the reason, we definitely appreciate toddling in our world-ending crises.Like the Gamecube version, you'll have to have friends nearby to play in multiplayer. However, unlike the Gamecube, pretty much everyone has a DS these days. Check out some screens after the break-- you'll want to e-pinch the characters' little virtual cheeks.
GDC '07: Square Enix demos game-development game [Update 1]
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Square_Enix_shows_DS_game_about_developing_games'; [Update: Gamasutra reports that the presenter was Ichiro Otobe, and that Tadashi Tsushima is leading the project. Also, and this is the best part, rather than designing it from the outset as an internal-only project, SE has yet to decide whether or not to release this to the public when it's finished. So there's a chance!] One of our loyal readers is at the GDC Serious Games Summit, where he sat in on a Square Enix presentation about their "serious game" for the DS, called Project GB, used to teach game design. The game was developed by a small team, and allows "players" to first mod a Space Invaders-type shooter, then develop their own simple games that can then be shared with other players over the internet. Presenter Tadashi Tsushima Ichiro Otobe indicated that this had a negative effect on productivity.We all need to get jobs at Square Enix so we can play this thing. It sounds absolutely amazing. Famitsu has some washed-out pictures of the game. Check the link if you'd like to go squint at them.[Thanks, Jason!]
A new look at a Wonderful World
It's a Wonderful World just keeps getting more wonderful, and, um, worldly. Now in addition to the graphic style, we're hyped about the gameplay! Jeux-France has posted some scans of the game in action, highlighting the touch-screen weapons system, which uses badges to assign different attacks. The attacks shown include Patrol Shot, Piercing Shot, Black Hole, Burst Shot, and Velocity Crash. All of these attacks are done with stylus gestures. The scans also state that part of the game takes place in Shibuya, making the game even more Jet Set Radio-like than we thought. We don't know how wise it is to anticipate a Square action game, but we can't help it. This looks so awesome. See for yourself after the post break.
Actraiser confirmed for the VC
Slated for a release on the Japanese Virtual Console service in March, Actraiser will be the first title offered up for the service by Square-Enix. They plan on brining other titles to the service, but honestly ... who cares? We're talking Actraiser here, people! If they give us Actraiser 2, we'll just have to hand in our letter of resignation and close up shop.That'll be it, our version of Utopia, where we can sit around all day in our bath robe and play as a winged god, finding our only nourishment to be the daily pizza delivery from our good friend Chad at the Pizza Hut (we'll be on a first-name basis with him by then). And no, we're not joking at all.
New It's a Wonderful World screens
Some new screenshots of Square Enix's bizarre action-RPG It's a Wonderful World (Subarashiki Kono Sekai) have surfaced, and they are ... interesting! We think that this game is the best use of Tetsuya Nomura's distinctive style yet. We're actually getting something of a Jet Set Radio vibe from the near-future Tokyo/kids in baggy clothes theme, and we love getting Jet Set Radio vibes.The control scheme is pretty clearly on display here, we think-- the arrows represent commands given to the character on the top screen, while the bottom screen is stylus-driven.We're excited! Much more than we ever were about Kingdom Hearts, and not just because that's a mainly-PS2 franchise. Wonderful screens are posted after the break to test your Action-RPG Excitement Potential.
Peep these sweet Final Fantasy III figurines
For all of you that got a real kick out of the game, these figurines here might be right up your alley. With a total of seven available (with three of them pictured, natch), we imagine many a cubicle area or home desk could be spruced up (or even defended from ne'er-do-wells) by these awesome figurines. Play-Asia supposedly sells them, but they're currently sold out with no signs of replenished stock coming. Anyone want to get their hands on these?
Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales site updates
The American website for Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales (previously known as Chocobo and the Magic Picture Book) has launched, providing us with a better explanation of the game's story, as well as characters. The entire site itself lacks full accessibility at the moment, however Square Enix have been kind enough to grant us some wallpapers and other goodies to tide us over.See also: Chocobo and the magic launch event
Square Enix blames Wii friend codes for lack of FFXI [update 1]
Friend codes. Nintendo's self-imposed restriction on online gaming has been a burden to many who want to play with their friends without having to share a different 12-digit friend code for every game. When the Wii was revealed to have a console-specific friend code, we thought Nintendo had somewhat listened to the community's grumblings. When Pokemon Battle Revolution, the first online Wii title, launched in Japan with friend codes, we realized the folly of our optimism.Square Enix's Senior Vice President Hiromichi Tanaka empathizes, highlighting the friend code system as the primary reason they haven't brought an online game like Final Fantasy XI onto the console. In an interview with Cubed's Adam Riley, Tanaka reveals that the RPG powerhouse is now in negotiations with Nintendo about "resolving this point of contention." A publisher of Square Enix's magnitude does not necessarily guarantee Nintendo will listen, but perhaps Nintendo will ease off or at least allow exceptions for some titles.Then again, Final Fantasy XI on the Wii would surely be profitable even if gamers were required to enter over 300,000 12-digit codes to fully experience the world. That's how much, we suspect, Wii owners our clamoring for Nintendo to join the rest its brethren in this generation.[Update 1: As White Rose Duelist and others have pointed out, Pokemon Battle Revolution's extra friend code might be an exception and not a rule, and Elebits is a cited example where one can exchange in-game pictures with Wii friends. However, as we do not have any other details from impending online games, and Nintendo has not readily clarified, we're just not sure.]
What's that racket? It's the Dragon Quest orchestra warming up!
This is what happens when the composer of soundtracks for Godzilla vs. Biollante (great flick, by the way) and Enix' Dragon Quest series gets his own way. Dragon Quest fans in Japan are advised to form an orderly queue right about now, for Koichi Sugiyama and his band are coming to a town near you*! The composer, who bears an eerie resemblance to a cheerier clone of former NCL dictator Hiroshi Yamauchi, is conducting a five-date tour in venues across Japan. It all kicks off (we predict a riot) in Tokyo on February 26. Tickets are on sale now, starting at ¥3,000 ($25 in real money). *Assuming, that is, you're somewhere near Tokyo/Nagoya/Sapporo. And if you are, check out Sugimania.
FFXII: Revenant Wings trailer
A trailer for the upcoming Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings has hit the 'net and, in watching it more times than a person honestly should, we've seen some interesting gameplay and characters who will join Vaan and Panelo in their adventure. The video quality doesn't do the game's graphics justice, in our eyes, so we assume to be blown away even more upon getting our hands on the title.As always, video is available past the jump.
Treasure trove of Revenant Wings images
a href="http://www.gfdata.de/archiv12-2006-gamefront/2621.html"> German site GameFront has apparently been pillaging all the Revenant Wings images they could get their hands on, for they've collected a veritable trove of shots, from gameplay screens to mind-blowing concept art.
Chocobo and the magic launch event
Chocobo and the Magic Picture Book launched in Japan today and, in full-on Square-Enix fashion, was accompanied by an event in Shinjuku. Consumers were also greeted with this snazzy little pouch as a bonus gift upon purchasing the title. It's said that the final game features over 40 different mini-games and you can bet we will be getting our hands on it should it release stateside.More pictures available after the jump ...See also: More info on Chocobo and the Magic Picture Book Wark! Chocobo coming to the DS Chocobo and the Magic Picture Book gets Japanese date Checking out Chocobo and the Magic Picture Book
Dragon Quest IX financial news report footage
As the most-watched video today on You Tube, the embedded video footage covering some of the financial backlash of Square's announcement that Dragon Quest IX is to be a DS exclusive shows some of the past entries in the franchise as well as some footage of the upcoming Wii-based title. More importantly though, is the footage of the unveiling of the title, something that sends shivers down our spine in anticipation for the game.
It's A Wonderful World (of scans)
Coming from the latest issue of Famitsu, 4 pages worth of coverage for It's A Wonderful World is the prize for those willing to traverse the dangerous landscapes of the real world in order to acquire it. For those unfamiliar, It's A Wonderful World is the next project from those responsible for the Kingdom Hearts series and will feature both rythm-based gameplay, along with RPG influences.The game stars Neku, a boy who can read peoples' hearts. When he meets a young girl by the name of Tsuki, the two stumble upon Japan's Shibuya district and must play a mysterious game where they have a time limit of 7 days to win.See also: It's A Wonderful World revealed TGS 2006: It's A Wonderful World preview Concept art explosion: It's A Wonderful World It's A Wonderful World's wonderful scans
Crystal Chronicles to be shown at Jump Festa
According to German gaming site GameFront, Square-Enix will have Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles on-hand at Jump Festa, a gaming/anime/manga event held in Japan, taking place on the 16th and 17th of this month. The only information missing is just what version, or versions, of the game will be at the show. Will we see the new DS game or that installment that is Wii-bound? We'll update you as soon as we receive confirmation.[Via Go Nintendo]
Monotone: Square-Enix colors the mobile kingdom
You won't find Kingdom Hearts director Tetsuya Nomura's new portable RPG on a Sony or Nintendo handheld. Monotone was developed exclusively for the mobile phone market and is a subscription-based (¥210 per month; under $2) puzzle-RPG, in which the protagonist must restore color and sound to his world (and no, he's not a wolf-god).For a limited time, Square-Enix is accepting fan-submitted content, presumably to inspire new characters, monsters, and quests that could be added to the game at a later date. There's also an in-game points system, which encourages players to redeem their hard-earned points for ringtones and wallpapers. Monotone is currently available on Japan's DoCoMo network. In other words, you won't be playing it.
Nintendo dishes out the facts on Children of Mana
We haven't had much news on the game as of yet, mostly due to a lack of official word from Nintendo and Square on the game's contents. Now we know, for example, that there are over 180 magic gems that players can use to customize their characters.Turns out, in the game world, 10 years before the start of the game for the player, a great catastrophe has struck the land of Illusia and monsters have taken over the land. This, in turn, causes the Mana Tree to become corrupt with its own power and mysterious Mana pillars to have erected across the world. With the aid of the Sword of Mana, the player must free the locked guardian spirit within each pillar and restore Illusia back to its original status.The main characters of the game are Ferrik, who was saved as a child by a nameless swordsman and has spent the entirety of his saved life trying to become a great swordsman himself. He lost his parents and older sister during the catastrophe. Tess is a more scholarly type, spending all of her time studying the Mana Tree and its Mana Goddess. Poppen is a magician from the desert of Jadd. Tamber is a young dancer who lost her brother and parents during the catastrophe. Finally, Wanderer is an outcast of the niccolos race and is described as loyal and compassionate.
More info on Chocobo and the Magic Picture Book
In the latest update for Chocobo and the Magic Picture Book, some info relating to the game's battle system and characters is revealed. The game is to feature 3 playable characters in (the obvious) Chocobo, Shiroma (a White Mage) and Chromo (the Black Mage responsible for bestowing the book upon our yellow-feathered protagonist). The game's villain is Bebazu, who is sealed within the magical book in the game's title of the same name.The battle system for the game is card-based. Using cards causes them to be gone for good, however after you win each battle you are gifted with new cards, so your deck is very much a renewable resource. It is also said that there will be character cards, like the ones present in Final Fantasy VIII, so discretion is certainly advised.See also: Wark! Chocobo coming to the DS Chocobo and the Magic Picture Book gets Japanese date Checking out Chocobo and the Magic Picture Book
It's a Wonderful World's wonderful scans
According to a feature on the upcoming DS RPG from the makers of Kingdom Hearts, It's a Wonderful World revolves around one Neku Sakuraba. According to the feature, the young protagonist's life is threatened by a mysterious organization known simply as Shinigami. If he does not complete a task for them, which he has 7 days to complete, then he will be killed.The game also takes a new approach to the conventional RPG task of pumping NPCs for info. Neku, who apparently just discovered he has psychic powers, is able to read people's thoughts. The player can do this by merely tapping said person on the DS's touch-screen with the stylus. The game's combat system is card-based and uses both screens during the conflict. 4 arrows show, allowing the player to choose one of which for their next action, which also determines which cards the player will be given.[Thanks Alex!]
