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Final Fantasy IV boxart gets final
Famitsu dropped a megaton on us: Final Fantasy IV boxart. We know, we fell down when we found out about it, too. In fact, our bottom still hurts from the force at which it slammed to the ground. Personally, we're liking the character grouping in the center, but could do without all of the blue everywhere. We understand it's cloudy, but sheesh. Toss some color in for us outside of Japan, please!%Gallery-3278%
Mini FFIV figures are super teeny, super cute
Face it. If you've owned Final Fantasy IV for the SNES, the GBA, and plan on getting it for the DS, you're an FFIV addict. Of course, when we show you things like these miniature figurines, that just makes us enablers.For $39.00, you can get your fix from NCXS. The figures in this Final Fantasy IV Trading Arts Mini collection are only 6cm tall, which means they're tiny. Of course, you might just want to save your money for the game instead.[Via Kotaku]
Square Enix announces Final Fantasy IV sequel!
... for cell phones. In February, Square Enix will release Final Fantasy IV: The After -- Return to the Moon for FOMA 903i and better cell phones on NTT DoCoMo's network, with a release on au's phones to follow a month later. The game stars Theodore, a descendent of reformed Dark Knight Cecil, and takes place on the moon. None of the things we just said matter, because those cell phones are way more powerful than anything we've got outside Japan, and we are approximately 0% likely to see this game, ever.Yes, it is a crime and an insult that this game is not on the DS. Like it or not, cell phones are pretty much the only mobile device that Japan has more of than DSes, and the only device for which Square Enix could farm out a cheapo sequel to a major Final Fantasy game and get away with it.
FFIV looking as sumptuous as ever in new trailer
We already knew that Square Enix's remake of Final Fantasy IV was going to require a whopping 1 gigabit cartridge, and this latest trailer from the company's official site neatly sums up why. Look at it for heaven's sake! FMV, full 3D models, voice acting, and all playing out to Megumi Ida's entrancing vocals. As long as our favourite line is preserved in the localized English version, Square Enix may as well take our wallets from us now.[Thanks, creamsugar!]
Jump Festa has Square Enix fans covered
Square Enix has announced their lineup for this month's Jump Festa, and though it's not extensive, there's enough variety to please even the pickiest of SE devotees. Final Fantasy IV, which releases right before the two-day event, will be playable, but what's really exciting is that we've been promised videos of both Front Mission 2089 and Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. With the dribs and drabs we've seen so far from the very intriguing upcoming DS Kingdom Hearts title, that footage promises to be popular.Of course, now that we're building it up in our minds, it will be precisely four seconds longer than the last footage we saw, and we'll still know very little about the game.
Megumi Ida lays down some vocals for Final Fantasy IV
Back when we heard Japanese singer Megumi Ida was selected to provide her musical talents to Final Fantasy IV, we didn't get that long of a listen to the new jam. Now, thanks to JeuxFrance, we've got a longer version of that trailer, providing us with a good listen. The trailer also sprinkles some cutscenes from the game in, for good measure.
MIDI + art + game songs = <3
Some awesome soul has taken it about himself to make visually enhanced game tunes, and the result is nothing short of spectacular. Using a program called Music Animation Machine MIDI Player, which converts the musical notes of MIDI songs into art, the creator of these videos has managed to blow our minds. Sure, we always enjoy it when musical sounds are synthesized with visual imagery, but when some of our favorite songs are involved, it just makes it that much better.We decided to put the Mega Man 2 "Dr. Wily Stage 1" song up top to celebrate Rock Man's 20th anniversary, and well, because it's our favorite. If you don't look after the break to check out the equally awesome Final Fantasy IV, Kirby, Mario, and other tunes, though, you officially fail at the internet.
A new bard for Final Fantasy IV's Love Theme
After holding an open call, Square Enix found the singer for the new version of the Final Fantasy IV Love Theme. 25-year-old Megumi Ida from Hokkaido was the final choice to perform the vocals on the classic track. Of course, a CD single will be released featuring her performance will be sold in Japan, starting on December 5th, for 1500 yen. Before you decide to put down an order at CD Japan, you can get a tiny preview: a brief snippet of the new version can be heard in this video interview. Pretty haunting! It's definitely emotional, but not to the point of being spoony.
New Final Fantasy IV videos continue to impress
True to the form of Square Enix, we still haven't seen much gameplay for Final Fantasy IV. But, that doesn't mean we can't enjoy more videos showing off the prettiness. The company just added three of them to the game's official site, each one detailing a different character.We put the one featuring Kain up top, but check after the break to see the videos with Cecil and Rosa.*Note: The videos were enlarged from the ones on the official site, which is why they are low resolution.
Final Fantasy IV gently mocked by Ace Attorney
The Ace Attorney games have always sported first-class localized dialogue, managing to be witty and original in whatever language they choose. What's more, some of the references are delightful -- check out this oh-so-subtle nod* to Final Fantasy IV's dodgy Engrish translation, as it appears in Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Trials and Tribulations. Blink and you'd miss it.If you're currently staring at your screen, slack-jawed and with a look of utter befuddlement, then head here for an explanation, so that you can feel as geeky superior as we do for getting it.* Our apologies for the rather blurry pic, but it gets the point across.
Final Fantasy IV comes with nice soundtrack treat
Having a jukebox feature is not unique to video games, but it's not often (or never) that we have this pleasure with a Final Fantasy title. Fortunately, though, the Final Fantasy IV remake for the DS will have a jukebox component, hosted by none other then everyone's favorite spoony bard.Once you make Edward play your tune of choice, you can close up your DS, listen, and relax. If all of our DS games let us do this, we probably wouldn't have any need for our iPods anymore (okay, that's a lie).It's important to note, however, that the soundtrack for the DS version is slightly different from that of the original game because of sound issues on the handheld. Regardless, we find this to be a nice little feature for the game.[via Siliconera]
DS Daily: Battle of the boxes
It's been a while since we've done one of our wacky "versus" topics for daily discussion, and when we saw these two boxes posted over at GoNintendo, they just seemed too perfect to resist. They have some similarities and yet are pretty distinct. Which would be more likely to catch your eye? Is that also the game you think you would prefer?
Man, look at that FFIV cartridge -- it's huge
We doubt the Final Fantasy IV cartridge will be visibly bigger than any other DS cartridge, so Tiny Elvis wouldn't even notice the difference. The FFIV developer blog reveals that Matrix Software is now using a 1 gigabit DS card for the game. The developers cite the addition of voice acting, along with FMV, as the reasons for the large space requirement. We're sure Square Enix will recoup the extra costs. We wonder which game will come on the bigger card: FFIV or The Simpsons? Both boast loads of speech and video.[Via Siliconera]
V-Jump scans aplenty: Final Fantasy IV, Dragon Quest IV, and more!
NeoGAF's wonderful neo2046 has extracted all of the delicious DS essence from within the pages of the latest V-Jump. Thanks to his largesse, we can gawk at some new images of upcoming Japanese games, including both Square Enix remakes of fourth entries in famous RPG series. In addition to Dragon Quest IV and Final Fantasy IV (above) you'll find Tales of Innocence, Bleach: The 3rd Phantom, which stubbornly continues not to be a Treasure fighting game, and Digimon Championship 2008. Enjoy looking at some incomprehensible magazine pages! And check out the Bleach game in particular, since this is the first good look we've had.
Friday Video: Celebrating remakes
Lately, we've had remakes on the brain, and foremost among them seems to be Final Fantasy IV. Maybe it's just because we're crazy about the franchise, but we also like the love and care that Square Enix puts into their remake efforts. Due to that, the trailer from this year's TGS just doesn't get old, which is why we've decided it deserves a place in this week's video spotlight.
Nintendo conference screenshot roundup
We posted a lot of DS screens revealed at or to coincide with yesterday's Nintendo conference, but there's no way we could do an individual post on them all. Three screens of something we've already seen tons of screens of doesn't exactly warrant its own post. Some of the screens listed have been previously released. Some of the games, we just didn't get to. But we can link to a Japanese roundup post that's loaded with screens, and list the games shown within by title! We promise that as soon as we get more information on this stuff beyond a few screens in a roundup, we'll post it. Until then, check after the break for every game in the roundup, organized in order of appearance on the GAME Watch page.
Final Fantasy IV Trading Arts figurines are cute
We know that when most people think about Final Fantasy IV, they think about great music and an engaging, mature storyline and Active Time Battles and blah blah blah. The character designs, especially those in the new DS remake, completely short-circuit the storytelling with OMG CUTEness. Seriously, these lil' guys are just precious. Look at the adorable little paladin! How huggable. NCSX is taking preorders for these Trading Arts figurines for $39. They come semi-randomly packed in boxes of nine, but each box should contain one complete set of six, along with three duplicates that can be sent to your pals at DS Fanboy.
V-Jump scans reveal Final Fantasy IV release date, Moogle-esque creatures
Much of the art and screens shown in these V-Jump Final Fantasy IV scans has already been revealed in other magazine scans, but there's new stuff, too. Like little white non-Moogle creatures called "Pochika" (or something close) who seem to be able to help out in battle. If you're really concerned about gameplay changes in the DS remake, now would be the time to go buy the Game Boy Advance version. Inheriting other characters' abilities is nothing compared to adorable mascot out of nowhere. And, for the practical-minded gamer who doesn't care what's in the game until you can get it, this scan shows the Japanese release date for the game: December 20th. That doesn't give you much time to learn Japanese! Check out the scans after the break for more FFIV loveliness, and another look at the nice new character models.
DS Daily: Changes for FFIV
Final Fantasy IV is making a change that makes everything new old again -- as in many later games, in the DS remake, characters will be able to learn abilities that were once unique to other characters in previous versions of the game. Siliconera has the details from a recent article in Jump magazine:" ... one of the newer features to grace the Final Fantasy IV DS remake is the ability of your (main) party members to inherit the abilities of former party members. As I mentioned above, it is possible for Cecil to inherit Edward's Sing ability as well as Palom and Porom's Twin Magic ability ... This makes things a bit interesting as it allows you the ability to customize your characters will [sic] skills that highly benefited you from previous party members, though I don't know how much you benefited from Edward's singing."Hmm. It's an interesting change, and we're sure opinions will be all over the place. Where do you stand? We're frankly undecided as yet, but it's not like you have to use anything ... so, does it really matter?
No Final Fantasy VII -- for now
Square Enix told petitioners yesterday that their pile of signatures was in vain -- there are "no current plans" to produce a remake of the wildly popular and much-in-demand Final Fantasy VII. Of course, earlier this year, Final Fantasy III producer Hiromichi Tanaka did not rule such a remake out, but merely said it was a matter of timing. By timing, we can only assume that Square Enix means to go through Final Fantasy V and VI first, after finishing up with the fourth installment of the series, which is as it should be. Right, Square Enix? Right?... please?The sheer size of the title is often cited as a reason such a remake may be unsuitable for the DS, but we would just like to point out that such obstacles are not insurmountable. After all, Archaic Sealed Heat, our favorite game that we've never seen, is set to be released on a larger-than-normal game cart.
