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Final Fantasy XIII demo expected at E3
According to statements made in Japanese publication Dengeki, Square Enix is planning to feature a playable demo of Final Fantasy XIII at E3 this year. It's also possible, due to E3's downsizing (and more private nature), that Square Enix will reserve the demo for a public platform like Tokyo Games Show. Simultaneously distributing the demo via PlayStation Store would likely generate the most buzz (and could potentially sell some PlayStation 3 units), but Square Enix has made no commitment to do so. However it's delivered, the demo gives us little insight into when the actual game will be complete. Tentative release schedules indicate a 2007 release.[Thanks, Xenokai]
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].
Square Enix surprise: its a PSP port of a GBA port of NES games
It looks like EGM's Rumor Mill is starting to develop into truth. "Square Enix is whipping up a wild lineup for PSP this year ... These guys are serious too! I'm talking new games, remakes of old classics, and an all-new, unexpected Final Fantasy spinoff that will make the fanboys flip."Well, we can check off "remakes of old classics" off the list: Square Enix just announced their "20th Anniversary Series," which will be heading to PSP. First two games on the table? Final Fantasy Anniversary Edition and Final Fantasy II Anniversary Edition. Both games will feature the enhancements of the Nintendo-published Final Fantasy I & II Advance: Dawn of Souls, and also include new CG movies and "further enhancements."While these aren't the games we've been clamoring for, I guess it's a step in the right direction. Any support from Square Enix is better than none, right? As it stands now, I'd much rather wait for Crisis Core than these remakes of remakes. Hopefully, we'll see the rest of the "wild lineup" that EGM hinted at.[Thanks, zaki! Via The Magic Box][Update 1: Scans are available at Jeux-France.]
Kingdom Hearts' Sora goes on a homebrew adventure
Zelda isn't the only homebrew game to make a splash today. DCEmu's forums brings news about Sora's Adventure, which has no reached "version 0.2." It's still unplayable, as it's still very much a work-in-progress, but the trailer (seen above) shows some exciting potential. From the blurry video grab, we see a Chain of Memories-inspired Sora sprite side-scrolling and fighting enemies. An interesting effort, to say the least--I certainly approve of fan-inspired projects over the stealing bootleggers.Hopefully, word of this homebrew game will inspire the over-protective Square-Enix (killers of the ambitious Chrono Trigger remake) to get working on an official version of Kingdom Hearts for the rest of us.
Final Fantasy XII hits Europe on Feb. 23
It's about bloody time news now, with Square Enix announcing the official release date for Final Fantasy XII in PAL territories. Arriving on February 23rd (that's 2007), role-playing fans in Europe are the last to receive a game rife with political intrigue, androgynous street urchins and bunny-eared vixens. We think that might actually be the description on the back of the box.There's no mention of a fancy collector's edition, but rumor has it that the game itself is well worth the asking price. Particularly impatient gamers would do well to pick up Okami in the meantime -- it's finally out in Europe on February 9th.
Alive and gaming in Baghdad
"We can't go outside, so I prefer to keep inside and keep myself alive."The words are from Wisam, a gamer living in Baghdad. Wisam is a rarity, and listening to his story on Iraq blog / vlog Alive In Baghdad explains why. Wisam, a recent graduate of the Baghdad University English Department, explains that he spends upwards of $200 on electricity each month -- partly from a local generator that runs 4 p.m. until midnight and partly from the fuel he buys for his personal generator. That's a hefty sumWisam said he learned his English from games such as Metal Gear Solid and Final Fantasy. MTV News' Stephen Totilo has a thorough piece on Wisam and the crew of Alive in Baghdad. Among the game-related topics discussed, Wisam talked about the decline in interest for war shooters like Medal of Honor and Call of Duty. "We hate the attacking, the gunfire in games," Wisam told MTV News. "We started to hate it."In a sad note, Wisam described how Grand Theft Auto is much like Baghdad right now. Omar Abdullah, who interviewed Wisam for Alive in Baghdad, concurred, telling MTV News that "it was very, very similar to Baghdad. We were like, 'Oh my God. These are the same actions that happen in Baghdad.' There are some places that are divided. For each place, there is a gang ruling that place. You can go down the street and drive any car. If you want to jump on a motorcycle, you can do it."With all the news that circulates about Baghdad, include tonight's U.S. Presidential address, it's thought-provoking to see a often missed perspective on the region.
Nintendo holds key to franchise longevity, profitability
As noted earlier, a list published by UK newspaper The Independent reveals what many already assume; Nintendo's Mario is the best-selling franchise of all time. Coupled with the second best-selling franchise Pokémon (also a Nintendo property), the two series, which have sold a combined 348 million games worldwide, account for nearly 34% of the total sales of the top-twenty best-selling franchises; which include two additional Nintendo IPs ranked in the top ten, Donkey Kong and Zelda. So what's Nintendo's secret?Cross-culture appeal, spin-offs (e.g., racers, sports titles, puzzlers), brand saturation (e.g., apparel, card games, TV shows), and E-ratings all appear part of a profitable formula built for the long haul.
Wark! Chocobo gets updates
Chocobo and the Magic Picture Book is coming to the US in April, just not under that name. For the American release, the game will be retitled Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales. The minisite is pretty bare at the moment, but we'll be keeping an eye out. For now, you'll just have to content yourself with the gameplay video embedded after the jump.
Final College Fantasy
His name is Mark Leung. And he's often bored at Massachusetts' Babson College. So he picked up a camera and began to craft a meticulously detailed parody of Final Fantasy; what he calls "College Saga." Here is Mark's introduction:"Once upon a time, when Earth was still a beautiful place, an evil force came to turn all living things into Vegetarians. Three students from suburban Massachusetts would step up against this catastrophe ... to end Vegetarian Supremacy. Mark, Jesús, Maria and their foes would make amazing personal discoveries as the two forces clash. And so began the ultimate saga about friendship, heritage, sex and explosions."Additional episodes: 2, 3, 4[Thanks, Plusmail]
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.
Want more Kingdom Hearts? Wait until mid 2007, then...
At the Jump Festa event the other week, there was hinted a new Kingdom Hearts project with the sparkly letters "New Project Starting in 2007". Granted, the trailer that revealed the hint had a multitude of games featured, but it seems most likely it was referring to the Disney/Square magic. Now that rumor has been confirmed -- Famitsu magazine got confirmation from the big boys that something is indeed cooking for Kingdom Hearts next year.Tetsuya Nomura, the game's producer, stated that there are multiple projects slated for the series. Some are games, some will be something else entirely. What other medium could they possibly exploit? Certainly not the animated/CG film industry? Disney has no pull in that area, no sir, no way... What do you guys think the "other" projects could be? Film, comic, theme park? Leave your thoughts and we'll report new details when they surface in mid-2007.
More Kingdom Hearts in 2007
Brace yourself for this one, folks: Square Enix is taking a successful franchise and furthering it with sequels galore. Kingdom Hearts producer Tetsuya Nomura told Famitsu that there will be multiple KH projects in the works, with announcements coming in 2007.We're not going to make any assumptions as to the future console of choice for Kingdom Hearts 3 (or whatever crafty subtitle they decide), especially after the Dragon Quest DS shuffle. If multiple projects are in order, however, the true successor in the series will probably go to a home console, with portable systems receiving the side stories (see: Chain of Memories).Square Enix hinted at forthcoming 2007 announcements during their presentation at Jump Fiesta; are these two news bits related or does the RPG giant have more secrets in store for next year? And while we're at it, what Disney movies has the series overlooked in merging the two companies' icons?
It's a wonderful site
The new site for It's a Wonderful World is up and running, and it really does suit the game's name. While the site is all in Japanese (and in a crazy font as well), there's still information that can be gleaned about Neku and Shiki's efforts to win Death's game from the site, and there's a lengthy trailer that shows off a lot of gameplay footage. We could tell you where it is, but that takes the fun out of clicking all the buttons and waiting for things to load!
Revenant Wings gameplay shots
And with the screens come the new details. We've already heard that the battle system for FFXII: Revenant Wings will be a simplified version of that in FFXII proper, with specialized stylus functionality -- now we see it in (still) action. Now we also know there is no battle screen -- all fights take place in real time, and the player uses the stylus to position characters for battle. Sounds like a lot for the DS to handle, and we can't wait to see it in action.Check out a few more shots from Vaan and Penelo's upcoming adventure after the jump.
Another Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles scan emerges
And with it comes the juicy details. RPG site has some translated information from the scan, and we've scavenged the best bits here for you: The director of the game is Mitsuru Kamiyama, a coder for the original Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles (nice promotion!), and Toshiyuki Itahana, character designer for FFIX, will be reprising that role for this game. Single player mode requires the player to swap between characters ala Lego Star Wars. We just hope it's less buggy. Ring of Fates will feature some voice acting, but will not have a fully voiced script. Check out the new scan after the jump!
Why Dragon Quest for DS makes sense
When Square Enix announced Dragon Quest IX as a DS exclusive, many people turned their heads -- ours included. That's where Wired's resident gaming expert Chris Kohler comes in, explaining why these two commodities, announced at this moment, make perfect sense together. From fiduciary interests to demographic compatibility, Kohler makes a sound argument in favor of the decision. It's a fascinating read, especially for those who want some insight into where Square Enix might go next. What remains to be answered is just how many zillions more DS units will be sold from this announcement.
FFVI Advance previewed, adored
1UP's given FFVI Advance the preview treatment, and they are effusive in their praise. However, they're quick to note that the additions and improvements are few. This is very nearly the same game, just as it was released on the SNES -- the backgrounds have not been redrawn and the sound suffers compared to what we've become accustomed to. The added content is slim -- a few new fights, some of which we've seen. But that's okay, because Final Fantasy VI, naked and unadorned, remains one of the most beloved entries in a renowned series. It would seem somehow wrong to dress up a game that is already responsible for so much of what we enjoy in RPGs today.
Dragon Quest IX announced as DS exclusive
The strange and somewhat pathetic sobbing you hear in the background originates from the offices of Microsoft and Sony, where once diligent executives have now completely broken down and given up on much of their lives. Square Enix just handed Nintendo the keys to the Death Star. As if the DS wasn't already an unrelenting steamroller in terms of sales and popularity, it was announced today that Dragon Quest IX would be released exclusively on the most touchy-feely of portable systems. In the unlikely event that you've been stuck in some sort of spatial anomaly (like Disneyland) for the last few years, it's important to remind you that the Dragon Quest franchise is one of the most popular properties ever in the minds of Japanese gamers. It was widely expected that the next instalment in the franchise would move to the PS3, an expectation that has now been crushed beneath Satoru Iwata's diamond-encrusted boot. Expect more news on the title as the week continues -- for now, all we know is: it's being developed by Level 5, it supports multiplayer battles and the subtitle is something along the lines of "Protector of the Starry Sky." [Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
A peek at Crystal Chronicles
Looks like the upcoming Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates is taking a cue from Final Fantasy III on the DS as far as looks are concerned. We doubt it will be as hardcore old school, but you can't have everything. And is it just us, or is that a really long name?We've got some scans after that jump that show off the game's look -- check 'em out.
