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Square offers to bring back deleted characters for new expansion
Are you or someone you love a former Final Fantasy XI addict just itching to get back in the game again? No? Well me neither, but Square Enix is offering its services for those looking to fall off the wagon again. They're bringing back the "Return to Vana'diel" campaign, where players who have previously deleted their Content IDs or PlayOnline accounts can have them automagically restored. And wouldn't you know it, they're starting the campaign a scant three weeks before the release of their fourth expansion, Wings of the Goddess. The "Return to Vana'diel" campaign is set to run through the end of February though, so it's no rush.Personally, when we have enough strength of conviction to delete a game after we unsubscribe, it's usually evidence enough that we don't want to go back. So whether Square Enix is being nice and just offering a service to its former players or whether they're just being dirty rotten enablers hooking in former addicts, is certainly a question open to interpretation.
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]
Ring of Fates hits PAL regions next spring
Our excitement levels for (deep breath) Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates are steadily rising -- not only did our ears prick up earlier this year at the Famitsu score of 35/40, but this morning we got a release date for PAL territories (spring 2008, the same as the US release) and pretty screens (bizarrely in two different sizes).Most of all however, we're looking forward to wirelessly questing with chums on our handhelds. For many, getting four players together for a co-op game of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles on the GameCube was an almighty headache, if only because the Cube itself was just so damn sparse. Fortunately, DS ownership is somewhat more common, which should make assembling parties of warriors in Ring of Fates -- dubbed "the most accessible Final Fantasy ever" in this morning's press release -- a piece of cake.%Gallery-3462%
GameInformer reveals a few new FFXIII screens
If you're really starved for anything related to Square Enix's Final Fantasy XIII, then we might have an appetizer for you today. It's not much at all, but GameInformer has gotten a hold of five screenshots that, for the most part, haven't been seen. Whether or not these are hi-res screencaps of the closed-door videos shown at TGS are anyone's guess, but they seem to detail predominantly summoned creatures, a big ol' airship of ultimate destruction, and that funky Seifer-meets-beanie guy. Whether or not five screenshots tickle your fancy is up to you, but it's good to see a trickle of info about this game every now and then.
Ring of Fates gets a little bonus content
Sometimes we actually benefit from being outside the realm of Japanese gaming. Sure, usually we're like kids outside the candy store, cheeks pressed against the glass, grubby fingers flexing uselessly as we stare inside at the avalanche of goodies that are clearly labeled "not for you." Just when we've reached the end of our proverbial rope, however, someone tends to throw us a bone. This time it's Square Enix, offering up bonus content for North American gamers who pick up Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates.The North American release is slated to include four quests not in the original Japanese game. We'll hope the same can be said for the European release; otherwise, we expect several folks will be importing English-language copies from overseas. Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings is set to get the same treatment as well, though we don't have specific details on just what will be added to next month's strategy RPG.
FFCC: The Little King and the Promised Screenshots
In these latest screens of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Little King and the Promised Land, we can begin to see some hints of gameplay. Like King Story, the game involves building up a town using earned crystals. The crystals allow you to build different kinds of structures, like residences or weapon shops, that can increase different attributes of the town.There are dungeons, but because young King Leo is too little a king for fighting, you choose parties of adventurers to explore them. It is unlikely that you as the player take part in this dungeon exploration, instead receiving treasure on a scale based on the attributes of the party.It sounds like people expecting an action RPG like the first Crystal Chronicles game may be in for a disappointment when the game launches in March; however, if you're looking for something on the order of MySims with a coat of Final Fantasy paint, this might be worth your time. If it takes a Crystal Chronicles-style, uncomplicated approach to resource management and town-building, we may be up for it.
The heroes of Dragon Quest IV
In case you missed out on Dragon Warrior IV the first time around, or if you did play it but can't distinguish any Dragon Quest characters from one another unless they're Slimes, Famitsu has posted an introduction to the characters found in the DS remake of Dragon Quest IV. These are just some of the people who show up over the course of the game-- in particular, these folks show up starting in Chapter 2.Not counting the "Hero," who is, of course, a big blank, we have: Clift, a priest of the Santheim Kingdom who performs recovery magic; Alena, princess of the Santheim Kingdom with a desire for adventure-- and, of course, a natural talent for fighting; and Brai, a magician who serves as Alena's tutor, teaching her the art of having hair like Larry Fine.In the course of introducing these characters, Famitsu naturally posted a bunch of screens of the game. And it must be "Japanese RPG Remakes With 3D that Actually Looks Kind Of Okay Day", because the 3D actually looks kind of okay! Seriously, the more we see of Dragon Quest IV's look, the more we like it.
Win a gift from the Square Enix Shop holiday collection
Square Enix Shop is updating their collections for the holidays. Coming soon in November, December and January are a wide range of plushes, figures and collectibles. Get ready to break the bank!To celebrate the gift-giving season, we're giving away a Final Fantasy Tactics prize package, which includes the new PSP remake, and a gift of your choice from the Square Enix Shop holiday lineup. The new items for sale are featured after the break.To enter, leave a comment with your most-wanted item from Square Enix's holiday lineup. The comment must be left before November 1st, 5PM Eastern Time. You may enter only once. One (1) winner will be selected in a random drawing. Selected winner will receive a copy of Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions and a gift of their choice from the Square Enix Store holiday collection, up to $30. Total ARV of prizes: up to $70. Click here for complete Official Rules. You must be a US resident, age 18 or older to enter.%Gallery-9087%
Infinite Undiscovery trailer discovered on XBLM
We sure love Xbox Live Marketplace. Today we have a new trailer for Infinite Undiscovery, a new RPG from Sqare Enix. Unfortunately, the trailer is somewhat old, though we seem to have missed it, so it might be new to you if you never leave the comfy confines of X3F (and really, you shouldn't). The game centers around a world that worships its moon. Of course, something awful is happening to the moon -- it's careening towards the planet -- so the world is suffering as well. Given that, we're guessing the goal of the game is to right whatever is wrong with the moon. The game features real time environments in which the game's action takes place. This counts for both environmental interactions and combat, which is definitely intriguing to those losing interest in the traditional Japanese RPG formula. Go download the trailer if you so desire, or feel free to watch it embedded above.
FFTA2 fan translation project underway
Though Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift doesn't officially hit Japanese stores until tomorrow, forumers at the GBAtemp community have already managed to procure a copy and are working on translating its squiggly words. The motivated group has deciphered an impressive amount of cutscene conversations and menu items, overlaying shots from the SRPG with English text. Even in its early state, this picture guide will be a huge boon to interested importers without any Japanese reading skills. Considering that Square Enix has yet to announce its plans for bringing Final Fantasy Tactics A2 to the states, this fan-backed effort may be the best way to play the game for a while.
Glimpse 1.5 of Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
Remember those scans that allowed us a peek into the depths of the recently-announced Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days? Now they've been screenitized (new word; you read it here first) for your viewing pleasure, and there's a preview video for you as well after the jump. Actually, calling it a preview might be going a bit far, since you'll miss it if you blink, but hey, it's better than being beaten up and left for dead on the side of the road. The best part? The video is also poor quality. Never let it be said that DS Fanboy doesn't deliver!The tiny video can be found after the jump, along with the other shots.
This Wednesday: Cylons and Exit make their entrance on XBLA
This wednesday, in addition to the previously-announced Battlestar Galactica, escape-prone puzzler Exit will come to Xbox Live Arcade. Both games will be available for 800 MS points (US $10). Ire-inducing card game Uno is also receiving an update this week. The title now supports the Big Button Pad used with Scene It! as well as some camera and privacy improvements. New content for Bomberman, dubbed Bomb-up Pack 3, and Pinball FX is also due to arrive. All content will become available this wednesday at 5 a.m. ET.
Mech porn: Hella Front Mission screenshots
Though you wouldn't know it by the amount of advertising Square Enix has done so far for Front Mission, a total equal to nothing, the mech-filled SRPG stomps into stores next week. Those familiar with the series will agree -- as far as SRPGs for the DS go, this is the best one coming out in North America this year. Just to make sure we've swayed as many of you over as we can, we have updated our gallery with over 65 new screenshots and artwork images from this remake of the original, never-been-localized SNES/PS1 game. If you prefer your pictures moving, Square Enix has also swapped out its completely uninformative, six-minute clip of a building exploding in slow-motion with a new English trailer at the official Front Mission site. %Gallery-4781%
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.
DS Fanswag: Pick up two units for your DS army!
The DS Fanboy giveaway craze continues with a brand-new shot at a couple of games, all for you. Free. The way games should be. We've got a two-pack for one lucky winner, featuring Heroes of Mana from Square Enix and Luminous Arc from Atlus, valued at $39.99 and $34.99 respectively. If you have a driving need to move some units, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post that answers a very important question between now and Monday, October 22, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern. You may enter once per day only, so please avoid spamming the comments with the same thing over and over. On Tuesday the 23rd, we'll select one lucky winner in a random drawing and ship off your free games. Does it get any better than that? We think not. There are, of course, a few caveats. Winners must be both U.S. citizens and over the age of 18 (sorry, guys!). You can check out the full official rules here.So, here's the question: witches or rabites? Feel free to explain at length.
Rumor: Dragon Quest coming to PSP
Here's a juicy rumor to ponder. Gamelabo is reporting that Square Enix is working on a PSP version of Dragon Quest IX. The RPG is currently a DS exclusive, but according to this short snippet, encouraging sales of the PSP have made Square Enix consider multi-platform development. This is far from confirmed, but if this comes to fruition, it'll certainly be a huge win for PSP owners.Update: It appears that Gamelabo has a very poor track record. Don't get your hopes up. At all. It's something we're going to keep in mind next time the rumor mill starts turning.[Via NeoGAF]
New DS trailer blowout!
The non-disclosure agreements have just expired on what was shown at last week's Nintendo of America Media Summit; naturally, within seconds the Internet has become flooded with information about new games. Rather than post each trailer individually, we've decided to embed the newest DS trailers from this event into one roundup post-- because we're Bloggin' Cowboys! Above, obviously, is a new trailer for Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword. Check after the break for brand new material on Mario Party DS, Final Fantasy XII Revenant Wings, EA Playground, Professor Layton, and Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker.
Today's most horrific video: Final Fantasy Cosplay Lip-synching
In honor of the upcoming Halloween Holiday, we bring something cringe-inducing and nausea-causing: namely, cosplayers singing. Well, at least one of them is singing. The other one is lip-synching, complete with backup dancers. The only thing she's missing is a wind machine to toss her hair about in a sultry and sexy manner while she goes through the motions.Well, you at least have to applaud their enthusiasm, and their willingness to make complete fools of themselves on the international internets. Plus, Rude actually looks fairly slick in his outfit, even if his acting skills make Pauly Shore look like Jude Law. And Cloud's sword looks, well ... authentic. We're just sayin'.Anyhow, check out the vid. We hope you were scared because there are more to come as we countdown to Halloween. Don't say you weren't warned.
Super Odd Chrono Snatcher: Your choices for DS remakes
DS Fanboy readers have excellent taste, and we all know it. After all, you own the greatest handheld in the world, and hey, you're here. But if that's not enough to convince you, then the winners of the recent most-desired remakes poll should do the trick nicely. DS Fanboy readers chose four very different titles as candidates for the rampant remake craze, and each game has the potential to be a fantastic DS game in its own right. Let's just hope the right people are paying attention.Out of a field of seventeen titles, all chosen by the readers, Chrono Trigger, Snatcher, Super Smash Bros. and Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee were selected as the best choices for future DS titles. Now we're here to tell you why.
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.
