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TGS07: Advent Children gets dirty on Blu-ray
Square's big budget fan service film, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, is heading to Blu-ray and it's going to provide much more than an HD transfer. A new trailer showcased at TGS shows a few new scenes that expand upon the film's storyline. One scene took place in the alleys of Midgar as children afflicted with Geostigma appear to be melting goo. Another sequence shows Sephiroth stabbing Cloud through the chest, skewering him and swinging him like a piece of dead meat. Not only will the updated Blu-ray disc feature new scenes, but new special features that were cut from the original DVD will find their way into the collection, thanks to the spacious capacity of the HD movie format.But that's not what has us most excited. The fight scenes from the film have been completely re-rendered with a feature we've long waited for: dirt. The always-fashionable Cloud and company will have perfect clothes no more! They'll have to invest in even stronger hair gel to survive the battles that they face. The press release explains it best: "Clothing that gradually dirties through intense combat, faces that darken with soot from explosions, and motorbikes pockmarked with gunshots - the Complete edition brings a grittier, dirtier look to the film's nonstop action."The now-Incomplete edition will now be too clean for the Square Enix hardcore. The added sheen of the HD transfer will only accentuate the dirty details that Square has deemed necessary to include in this re-release. Of course, we can't wait for the next 2160p "Really Complete Edition" which will add even more wrinkles to the character's clothes and subtle acne on their backs.
Crisis Core sells 470k in first week -- 100k PSPs also sold
Yes, we know. Another day, another half-dozen headlines featuring the inexplicably popular adventure that is Final Fantasy VII. The popularity of the franchise cannot be ignored -- according to the latest sales charts from Japan, Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core sold around 470,000 copies in a single week. This also prompted the sale of nearly 100,000 PSP units, which actually topped the number of Nintendo DS Lite units sold. This is something to be celebrated!Even though the DS had to bow out of its almost unending chart domination, the release of Crisis Core didn't take the number one spot on new releases. Pokemon is still the most popular, advancing over the city of Midgar with about a 100,000 unit lead. Regardless, this should be proof positive that the PSP is in no way a failure and that if fantastic games are developed for and released on the handheld, sales will accumulate into a gigantic ball of Meteo-like proportions. Or was Meteo more of a Final Fantasy IV reference? Alas.
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.
Fans want it: FFVII
We've been discussing this notion of a (DS) remake of Final Fantasy VII around here for the last few weeks, particularly since the confirmation that Final Fantasy IV was getting the makeover treatment. It turns out we're not alone; at the Square Enix Party in Japan, fans were given a chance to scribble their dreams on sticky notes for a suggestion board, and Cloud Strife's story was a little popular. Gamefront has several images of the boards, with a good luck at the variety of suggestions offered by fans. Final Fantasy VI makes an appearance as well.
Play Final Fantasy VII in Second Life
Diehard Final Fantasy VII fans have recreated Midgar in virtual world Second Life. To make things even sweeter, they've even created an RPG sim in SL so that residents can fight and upgrade their way to notoriety. Weapons and materia (gems used for magic in the FFVII universe) can be bought for Linden bucks, which converts to real world money at a rate of approximately US $1 for every 270 Linden dollars.According to New World Notes writer Onder Skall, the game has around 300 players. Our experience with the world proved it to be expansive; upon teleporting to the start of the sim, we stepped out of the overlooking portal room and had an exhilirating view of the massive city on our equally massive fall.As to whether or not the game has the blessing of IP owner Square Enix, not even the creators are sure. While they do the developer a service by providing a high quality sim that promotes the Final Fantasy brand to great success, they are making money (however little it may be) off of the brand. SL users can click here to go to Midgar directly. [Via Second Life Insider]
Dream Games: Final Fantasy VII
Dream Games is a new weekly column where we explore a game we'd love to see on the PSP. Feel free to check in, and comment, every week.Final Fantasy VIIDoes this game need any explanation? This 32-bit debut from Square put Sony on the map through the liberal use of CG movies that stunned everyone at the time. Some people really like the story, the characters, and the gameplay as well.Why PSP?It makes a lot of sense to release the original right around when Crisis Core, the FFVII prequel hits our system. Considering UMD's greater storage capacity, the game would most likely fit on a single disc: none of this disc swapping nonsense to worry about!Is it possible?Although Square seems keen on revisiting this franchise over and over again, it seems unlikely that Square will settle for a simple port. The Final Fantasy VII tech demo that appeared on the PS3 makes Sony's next-gen console the most likely candidate for a remake, hopefully complete with new Advent Children-style CGs.
Final Fantasy aliases used by murdering teens
In Germany, Final Fantasy is now being called a killerspiele ("killer game"), likely adding fuel to the movement against violent games. Of course, Final Fantasy isn't often singled out for its portrayal of violence, which by most measures is never gratuitous. But when two teenage boys, calling themselves 'Sephiroth' and 'Reno', allegedly stab a couple to death and kidnap another female, it undoubtedly leads to some unfortunate finger pointing. That the two boys also had a copy of Final Fantasy VII installed on a computer doesn't help the spread of sensationalism.It's unfortunate that during these times of inexplicable grief and confusion there's a tendency to try to rationalize the irrational. Two boys playing Final Fantasy, calling each other Sephiroth and Reno, does not engender such tragedy.[Via The Last Boss]
Final Fantasy remakes bound for PSP
In celebrating the upcoming 20th anniversary of that most contradictory of RPG franchises, Square Enix is once again remaking the first and second Final Fantasy games. This time, it's for the Sony PSP. 1UP reports that Final Fantasy Anniversary Edition and Final Fantasy II Anniversary Edition will see release in Japan this year, two decades after the series arrived on the Nintendo Famicom.Perhaps "enhanced port" makes for a better description -- the PSP versions will enjoy graphical updates and will include the extra dungeons found in the GBA outing, along with monster encyclopedias and music players. In addition, the lavish CG videos made for the PSOne's Final Fantasy Origins will be presented alongside a new art gallery containing the works of Yoshitako Yoshitaka Amano. No word on a US release date yet, but [pathetic Haste spell joke here].
Our most wanted PSone games
We have faith that one day, the PlayStation Store will be accessible via PSP without the need for a PS3, and will flourish into a glorious realm of classic games, one that will be untouched by the competition. Of course, homebrew users will rip their own games ... but for the rest of us, this is my personal wishlist of PSone games that I'd like to see available for download.
TGS 06: Every PSP game previewed
There are way too many PSP games at this year's Tokyo Game Show. Because not all of us have time to read all the impressions and previews of all the games coming out, PSP Fanboy has created this nifty guide for all the games that were previewed. You'll get a thumbs up or a thumbs down from the major video game news sites. If a game looks like it might be a real winner, we'll award it "The Official PSP Fanboy Entranced Korean Award." These are the games that'll end up in Korea on giant PSPs, luring people to their eventual doom. And, that's pretty cool. Read on to see all the previews!
Gamespot lists its most anticipated TGS 2006 handheld games
I think I can actually begin to feel the excitement of the Tokyo Game Show emanating to me through the internet. And it seems Gamespot feels the same as they've listed their most anticipated games to be shown at TGS.They listed four handheld games they are most excited about are Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Lumines II, Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops and Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, which just so happens to be the only Nintendo DS game to make the list. Take that you blasted Nintendo fanboys!(Via Gamespot)
Square Enix talks up innovation, hints at new hardware
Though you might be inclined to give Square Enix president, Yoichi Wada, an incredulous stare as he discusses the merits of innovation before the release of Final Fantasy Thirteen, a recent interview with Nikkei Business Online points to his fairly levelheaded approach to the topic. "If we don't see some [next-generation] titles that differ from traditional games, the industry is in trouble. Nintendo's DS lineup gives you an idea of the potential..." However, Mr. Wada goes on to say that immmediately tossing out all previous conventions and concepts isn't necessarily the best solution. "We must change. But if we change all at once, the system will collapse, and since our profits are built on that system, it's a difficult question. So you have to introduce change from a completely unrelated direction within a separate budget framework. This is something all the companies are worrying about right now. Fortunately, we're financially prepared to handle change." It raises the interesting point that change may be easy to trumpet but difficult to usher in, requiring gradual steps and some assistance from current franchises. The earlier point regarding the DS' success is an interesting one, since Nintendo's many franchises and characters were arguably instrumental in introducing a different way of playing games.The ability of unique hardware to funnel innovation in certain ways also intrigues Square, which is why "Square Enix will collaborate with Taito, a company that produces physical hardware. In our talks with Taito, ideas for an actual physical product have come up. In any case, we will be releasing some 'thing.' It's interesting in that it's not the sort of thing you expect from Square Enix." With that in mind, we now can't wait to play some sort of Final Fantasy game on a Square Enix thing at an undisclosed time in the future.[Via Gamasutra]
Final Fantasy XII releasing this Halloween
For those dreaming of the gorgeous gun ballet glimpsed in Final Fantasy XIII, it may come as a rude awakening when we loudly exclaim, "Hang on, we haven't even gotten number 12 yet!" Thankfully, Square Enix has answered our call by officially announcing the North American release date for their next inevitably epic RPG. Final Fantasy XII will be in stores this Halloween, 31 October 2006. If ever there was a good reason for Sephiroth and Rikku cosplayers to head out into public and purchase the game in full fantasy garb, this is it.Not to be left behind on the platform as the Collector's Edition trend train heads off, the game will be arriving in two distinct versions. The vanilla package will retail for $49.99, whereas the Collector's Edition, laced with interviews, series featurettes, trailers, art galleries and ancient evils, will be available at Gamestop and EB Games exclusively for $59.99. Depending on how fond you are of the non-final franchise, that's either a trick or a treat.[Image: Advent Children.net]
What if the cast of FFVII ran a fast food franchise?
Cartoon Network's Robot Chicken finally answered the one question that's been on gamer's minds since the completion of RPG classic Final Fantasy VII. No, not can we expect a remake on PlayStation 3, but rather what would it be like if the cast of Final Fantasy VII ran a fast food joint. 3/4 persepctive and Meteo FTW!See also: For role-playing times, make it Suntory time
3 Final Fantasy XIII games; 2 just for PS3
Final Fantasy XII won't be out for the PS2 in the States until October, but we now have a glimpse of Final Fantasy XIII thanks to Square Enix's pre-E3 press event -- and this installment in the series won't be coming alone.Like the different titles in the Compilation of FFVII collection of games and movies, the initially announced installments in the FFXIII universe will span multiple platforms which, in this case, include both the PS3 and sufficiently advanced mobile handsets. Not much is known about the mobile-bound Final Fantasy Agito XIII, but the subtitle-less version of FFXIII will concern a gun-and-sword-toting heroine in a futuristic world, while Final Fantasy Versus XIII will focus on "a spiky-haired character," "extreme action elements," and a primary theme of "bonding" (whatever that means). Anybody ready to "resist the world"?The multiple titles might explain the earlier rumor reported in March that FFXIII was "practically close to being finished" (maybe only one of these games was nearing completion). Whatever the case may be, we're just happy that more than one not-so-Final-Fantasy will be hitting the next PlayStation in relatively rapid succession. RPG feasting: on the way.[Via Joystiq]
Top 10 most memorable villains
IGN has posted a list that is sure to generate some grumbling. But that's what's to be expected anytime you try to cram the baddest evildoers into a list of ten. Here goes: #10 - Bowser (Super Mario) #9 - Dr. Robotnik (Sonic) #8 - Dracula (Castlevania) #7 - Evil Otto (Berzerk) #6 - Psycho Mantis (MGS) #5 - Kerrigan (Starcraft) #4 - SHODAN (System Shock) #3 - Wesker (Resident Evil) #2 - Sephiroth (FFVII) #1 - The Nazis ("too many games to count") What?! No Ganondorf? Blasphemy. So how does your list compare?
