squareenix
Latest
OUYA partners with Square Enix, names Final Fantasy III as launch title
We've been saying for a while now that a large deal of the success of Kickstarter blockbuster OUYA will hinge on the console's game selection. News just got a fair bit brighter on that front -- particularly for RPG fans. The company announced via its Kickstarter page (as per usual) that it has partnered with Square Enix. The first fruits of that burgeoning relationship will be Final Fantasy III, making the game a launch title for the console. The company is promising that the title will be "updated to exploit OUYA's high-definition resolution in glorious graphic detail" -- and, as is OUYA's M.O., players will be getting a free demo of the game. Oh, and for those keeping track, the product's Kickstarter page is currently at a mind-boggling $5,820,345 with eight days to go.
Free for All: How I'm preparing for the release of Wakfu
I'm not your typical fanboy. I get excited about an upcoming game, but generally I will not believe in its greatness until I play it. Usually I can get my hands on the game before it comes out so I can see what the fuss is about, but I never find myself that ramped up until release day. Then, and only then, will I really pay attention. Wakfu is one of those games I know is going to at least be different from its rivals. I have already played a bit in all of the betas and now know that it is far from your typical MMO. The classes are different and fun; the lore and artwork is amazing. It runs on almost any PC. The game doesn't insult the player with hand-holding and non-stop popups. It really does walk that fine line between a sandbox and a more linear game. So how am I preparing for the release of this unique game?
iOS deals begin, App Store freeze coming Thursday
And so it begins -- the App Store has its busiest time of the year over the Christmas holiday, when iPhones and iPads and iTunes gift cards are unwrapped under the Christmas tree, and millions of people take to the App Store to pick up some great apps. There are lots of sales coming out this week. We'll have more posts each day, and stay tuned to our Twitter account for even more. Velocispider is free right now. ComicBook! is down to just 99 cents. Sesame Street's Monster at the End of this Book (starring Grover, of course) is only 99 cents right now as well. 1Password for iPad is on sale for $5.99, well worth it according to fans of the app. The micro version of Sword and Sworcery is just 99 cents, while the universal version is $1.99. EA's mobile sale continues -- Trenches 2 is currently on sale for just a buck, along with more than a hundred other EA titles. Odds are that if EA makes it, you can get it for cheap this week. Sega also has a big 99 cent sale going on, with Golden Axe, Streets of Rage, Gunstar Heroes, and many other titles available for just a buck. Gameloft's also got a nice library of titles on sale, including the Gameloft Action Pack of games. And so does Square Enix, but those games have only dropped a few bucks to around $4.99 to $11.99, rather than down to 99 cents. Still, Final Fantasy Tactics for $11.99 is not a bad deal if you've been waiting for it to drop. Firemint (through EA) has Spy Mouse on sale for a buck. You've bought that one already, right? Readdle's got a sale going on its apps, including ReaddleDocs for iPad on sale tomorrow for $2.99. Happy Hills has gone free for a limited time. Big Fish Games is having a huge sale on most of its titles starting tomorrow -- there's a lot of good stuff in there, including Drawn: The Painted Tower for cheap, and Azada HD as well. In Case of Fire is free through the holidays. That's just the beginning -- stay tuned all through the week for more deals on lots of different apps and games around the App Store. Everything will likely be sorted by Thursday (as that's when developers become unable to make any more price or app changes), but before then, we'll see lots and lots of apps on sale, no doubt.
Chrono Trigger hits the App Store, lets Square Enix fans turn back time
Square Enix just couldn't resist plucking at our heartstrings -- not to mention willing bill folds. As a timely holiday treat, the company's made good on its end-of-year promise, delivering the SNES RPG epic and cult hit -- Chrono Trigger -- to Apple's App Store. If you're wielding either a third generation and up iPhone or iPod touch, the endless hours of non-linear, time-traveling gameplay can be yours for the re-hashing, albeit on a maddeningly tiny screen. That 16-bit nostalgia won't come cheap, either, at $10. But it's a small price to pay for a welcome walk down gaming's memory lane.
Vintage console RPG Chrono Trigger is now on iOS
In addition to all of the other great games that appeared on the App Store last night (Batman: Arkham City Lockdown is available, and the Skyrim Dragon Shout app is out as well), the long-awaited Chrono Trigger has also arrived, and as a game, I have to give it my highest recommendation. This is one of the best Japanese RPGs ever made, if not the best, and it's a must-play if you haven't yet. The sprites and graphics are gorgeous, the characters are well-defined and the story is intriguing. The combat system does some really fun things that I haven't even seen replicated in other titles since the game came out in 1995. This version includes two additional areas not in the original game; they were added in the Nintendo DS version. Unfortunately, this one suffers a little bit from the usual problems of porting an old console title to iOS -- the fonts aren't quite right, and the overlay controls, while workable, do cover up some of that gorgeous art. If you want to play it on an actual console, you can find versions on the Wii's Virtual Console and the PlayStation Network, as well as the DS. But no matter how you play it, don't miss this one if you haven't ever given it a shot -- even years later, the game still shines. It's on the App Store now for $9.99.
Square Enix Market heads to KDDI December 1st, ports the RPG addiction to Android phones
The land that begot Mario, Murakami and okonomiyaki has a lot of perks for denizens of its island chains, like special edition multi-colored consoles or Mother 3. Add to that ever-increasing list of pluses a dedicated Square Enix Market for Android phones and it's clear the Japanese enjoy a home advantage. The recently announced gaming app store is slated to launch as a limited exclusive for KDDI subscribers on December 1st, with DoCoMo and Softbank sharing in the mobile wares sometime soon after. It may have been a good decade or two since the company's RPGs monopolized the latter days of your youth, but there's no time like the present to get reacquainted with those Final Fantasy friends of old. As you might expect, this is a Japan-only affair. So, if you're really keen to take part, you might want to consider relocation.
Chrono Trigger screenshots out, with touch controls and redone menus
Square Enix's Members site has posted a few screenshots of the long-awaited release of Chrono Trigger on iOS, and truth be told, they're a little disappointing. Don't worry -- the game is still there, and as one of the best console RPGs of all time, I'm still excited to play through it again on iOS. But those touch controls, like a lot of Square's games remade for this platform, look pretty tacked on. The original menus for the game were so gorgeous, I'm sorry to see they didn't make the jump to the touch-based version. I guess that's all right for this title -- better to just have it out, at this point, and maybe these touch-based menus, ugly as they are, make the game play that much better. But hopefully we're seeing the end of ports like this, where classic games just get an overlaid virtual joystick and big clear buttons for their menu options. It'd be nice to have a really great old RPG remade into a port where someone has actually thought about how to do the interface justice. Chrono Trigger is due out sometime "before the end of December," with price yet unknown. [via Joystiq]
Square bringing Chrono Trigger, others to iOS (and Android)
The Tokyo Game Show is currently going on in Japan, and here's some news from there that us old school gamers will appreciate: Square Enix is planning on bringing my absolute favorite console RPG ever, Chrono Trigger, over to iOS. Unfortunately, there's not a lot of information on when it'll be out or what's changed from the original (there was a DS version released a few years ago), but I'll wait -- Chrono Trigger is good enough to play through yet again no matter what's different. There are a few other titles also coming to the iPhone and iPad -- Final Fantasy Legends is on its way over, as is Dragon Quest Monsters. It's unclear exactly what Legends is -- it appears to be a new entry in the mobile realm for the Final Fantasy franchise, and nothing to do with the great old GameBoy game Final Fantasy Legend. Dragon Quest Monsters is of course the spin-off series from Enix's Dragon Quest series, so it'll be nice to have that on Apple's platform as well. And there's even more -- a card battle game called Diffusion Million Arthur (your guess is as good as ours on that one), a board game called Itadaki Street, and even a card battling game in conjuction with Epic Games (!) called Demon's Source are all due out at some point. Hopefully all of those will eventually land on the iOS store here in North America. That Epic/Square Enix collab especially sounds really interesting.
Sony PlayStation Vita debuts in Japan on December 17th, partnering with NTT DoCoMo for 3G (updated)
Sony's just announced in Tokyo that the PlayStation Vita will debut in Japan on December 17th, and it'll partner with NTT DoCoMo for the console's prepaid 3G service. Customers will have two choices of connection here: 980 yen ($13) for 20 hours, and 4,980 yen ($65) for 100 hours -- see press release after the break. Alas, the rest of the world will still have to wait until 2012, but you'll know more concrete dates as soon as we do. For now, head over to our sister site Joystiq for the SCEJ press conference liveblog.Update: Capcom's Yoshinori Ono came on stage to mention that Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 would launch simultaneously with the console. Square Enix also announced that the PS2's Final Fantasy X will be remastered for the PS Vita, and it'll be in PS3-like quality; sadly, there was no date nor demonstration.Update 2: The first 500 units sold will come with 100 hours of prepaid 3G connectivity. Want in? Pre-orders open on October 15th.Update 3: We now have a video demonstration of the Vita's interface. Enjoy!%Gallery-133612%
Eyeborg filmmaker fires up eye-cam to document cutting edge prosthetics (video)
In late 2008 filmmaker Rob Spence, caught our attention when he announced his plan to jam a video camera in his skull to replace an eye he lost to an unfortunate accident. Instead of connecting the camera to his brain, Spence sought to become a so-called "lifecaster," recording the feed on an external device. Now his bionic eye is up and running, and he's even partnered with a little company called Square Enix to create a documentary about state-of-the-art prosthetics and cybernetics. The short film, embedded after the break, was commissioned to celebrate the launch of Deus Ex: Human Revolution. But, this isn't just some over-long commercial for a game, it's a serious exploration of cutting-edge leg, arm, and eye replacement technology. Check it out below, but be warned -- there are a few images that might not sit well with weaker stomachs.
Massively's guide to PAX 2011
What can be said about PAX Prime in Seattle, Washington that hasn't been said already? Everyone knows that it is the largest public gaming event in North America. Attendance totaled 67,600 last year, not including press and exhibitors. And this year, even more gamers will descend on the Washington State Convention and Trade Center. The latest and greatest games -- released and unreleased -- will be available for public consumption. Developers will mill around the showroom floor, answering your questions. Not to mention that no one will look at you funny because you play video games! This year, MMORPGs really stand out in the crowd. Seattle native NCsoft has a huge presence at the convention, borrowing a theater just to showcase its games. BioWare comes armed with its heavy-hitter, Star Wars: The Old Republic. And free-to-play titles like Firefall, Lord of the Rings Online, and Wakfu promise to strut their stuff at this year's PAX. Punch past the break as Massively outlines the must-see booths for MMO fans. And don't forget the panels, including a couple of MMO spotlights for PAX Dev, the gathering of fans and developers at Sheraton Seattle Hotel on the 24th and 25th.
Final Fantasy Tactics: First look
The much anticipated Final Fantasy Tactics has finally hit the App Store. Retailing at a somewhat steep US$15.99, Square Enix brings The War of the Lions to the iPhone. An iPad version is due for release this Fall. I haven't had as much time to spend playing this as I might like, so this write-up represents only first impressions. Compared to App Store norms, Tactics may seem pricey. But when you look at some of the prices Final Fantasy cartridges go for on Amazon and eBay, $16 isn't entirely out of the ballpark. We've been buying FF on Gameboy Advance, and the demand remains high for these games. The game is a huge download -- nearly half a gigabyte -- and like other members of the Final Fantasy family, Tactics is primarily a port rather than a re-envisioning. There's no Retina Display support, although visuals have been "adapted for optimal performance on iPhone/iPod touch screens." For the most part, you're buying into nostalgia. It's a way to return to one of your favorite games, bringing it to a more convenient platform. If you're already familiar with the gameplay, well, you're already familiar with the app. If you're not, expect extensive how-to tutorials and hours and hours of playtime once you've mastered the basics. And, as my daughter points out, it totally beats the graphics on the GBA. The menu system was a bit disappointing. I found that once you leave the tutorial session, it lost track of which items were complete. That's a pain since you can't tell at a glance which tutorials were finished and which were not. I also found glitches in menu interaction, where my daughter occasionally could not select items at all. I found some of the menu interaction confusing, as if menus were designed for button-based systems rather than touch. This was despite the supposedly "intuitive" touch screen controls, but I'm probably being overly fussy here. Early reviews on the App Store complain about a few other flaws, although the overall response to the new app is far more favorable than negative. Expect some updates soon from Square Enix to iron out the rough edges. But all in all, it seems to be a hit. Unlike the other Final Fantasy titles on App Store, Tactics is a more strategy-based game than a simple RPG. Compared to those, I found the overall GUI easier to use than the FF I and II offerings. The overwhelming number of tutorials (23 by my daughter's count) can be a bit daunting for new players, but they won't be an issue for those familiar with game play. Although it's just been released and I haven't finished playing through it yet, I feel comfortable giving it a modest thumbs up. If you loved the old game, this will be like coming home. If you haven't played before, it's a very well-loved tactical battle game.
Final Fantasy Tactics released for iPhone at last
It's been over a year since Square Enix announced it was porting Final Fantasy Tactics to the iPhone. Following a series of delays (that Square Enix tried to say weren't really delays), the app has finally been released for the iPhone. Final Fantasy Tactics is one of my favorite video games of all time, but I haven't played it in about ten years. Seeing it come to iOS at last means I can finally revisit this game, with a translation much improved over the original. No more random "I had a good feeling!" Engrish-y translation errors? Yes please. The game is a fairly large download at 457 MB, and at US$16 it's probably one of the most expensive games on the App Store. If you already have a copy of the original PlayStation version or the remake for the PSP, the iOS version may not be worth the asking price for you. If you're like me and remember this game fondly but don't already have a copy, or if you've never played it before at all, $16 isn't a terribly high price for this game. Final Fantasy Tactics has an epic gameplay length -- I got well over 50 hours of playtime from the original -- so while the price tag may seem high, Square Enix is right to price it at a "premium" over the typical $0.99 - $2.99 prices we see on the App Store. Having said all that, however, I'm going to wait for the iPad version of Final Fantasy Tactics, which Square Enix says will be released this fall. In the meantime, many of Square Enix's games are on sale to celebrate FFT's launch -- some are discounted by 50 percent or more -- so check out the App Store if there's a game you've been waiting for the price to drop on. We'll have a hands-on review of Final Fantasy Tactics for the iPhone soon.
Square Enix releases new Chaos Rings 2 trailer, promises Final Fantasy Tactics soon
Square Enix has released a new set of "trailers" for the upcoming Chaos Rings 2, but you'll need to know Japanese to get anything out of them, unfortunately. They're all about the voice actors for the game, and don't really show any gameplay footage -- it's just the actors talking about the new title and how it works for them. There are some screenshots over at Famitsu, though, and if nothing else, we can at least take these as a sign that the game is closer to release than before. In other Square Enix news, Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions is still coming to iOS, but Square says on Facebook that it obviously couldn't get the game out this Spring as planned. Instead, they're now targeting a release for later this month, and the date written on the wall (in dry-erase marker, not stone, of course) looks to me like July 27. That would be next Wednesday, so stay tuned. Final Fantasy Tactics is pretty much considered the best tactical strategy RPG around, so it'll be great to have a game like that on iOS.
Final Fantasy Tactics supposedly coming to iOS this summer
It's been nearly a year since Square Enix announced at E3 that it would port the venerable Final Fantasy Tactics to iOS. The original release date was supposedly September 15 last year, but Square Enix later backtracked on that and claimed "the wrong information about the FFT release date is spreading around somehow" -- the chief source of that information being Square Enix itself. The company initially didn't offer a time frame for release, then said "Spring 2011," which is now almost over with still no release. According to the company's official Facebook page, Final Fantasy Tactics is (finally) due for release on the iPhone in either June or July. Square Enix also says an "HD" iPad version is in the works, and it offers as proof a couple of re-drawn graphics lacking the "jagginess" originally present in the game. Whether the release date for the iPhone version will slip yet again is anyone's guess. As for the iPad version, we can probably expect that to come out a couple months later and be priced at around a 150 percent markup over whatever the iPhone version's price turns out to be. I haven't played the original Final Fantasy Tactics in about ten years or so; I don't own a PSP, so I've never played the updated "War of the Lions" iteration. I've played all the way through both titles in the Final Fantasy Advance series, though, and all three titles number among my favorite games of all time. I hope Square Enix finally gets the lead out and releases this game for iOS so that I can play through and enjoy it again.
Square Enix-produced Imaginary Range comic book out now, free
About a week ago we heard Square Enix would be releasing an interactive comic for iOS, and now it's out and available on the App Store in the US on the same date as the Japanese release. While the early reviews are terrific, with art that's supposed to be really solid and interactive parts keeping everything enjoyable, the real kicker is the price. Square Enix has released the app for free. That's a solid deal, so if you're looking for a little something to read through and play with this weekend, there you go. There's an HD iPad version as well, and it's also free. With this, those upcoming Chaos Rings titles, and the arrival of the great Final Fantasy 3 on the iPad recently, Square Enix is really delivering some solid titles for iOS users.
Square Enix working on two followups to Chaos Rings, Imaginary Range comic
Square Enix has announced three different iOS products in the pipeline for later on this year in both Japan and, eventually, the US. First up, original iOS title Chaos Rings is apparently getting not one but two different followup titles. The first will be called Chaos Rings Omega, and it will be a prequel (shouldn't it be called Alpha, then?), with the story set before the first game begins. Square Enix has also placed ads in a Japanese gaming magazine for a full-fledged "Chaos Rings II" sequel, though information on that is slim so far. But fans of the first game (which predated Infinity Blade as a full-featured, original AAA title for iOS) will have plenty to play through. Square Enix has also announced an interactive comic book called Imaginary Range, which offers game-related elements and mini-games in conjunction with a full comic book story. It sounds intriguing -- in part because it doesn't sound like your average comic or game -- and it will probably be an interesting experience built just for iOS. Imaginary Range will be out on the 5th of May in Japan, and presumably we'll see an English translation here in the US soon after that.
Moon Diver review: Lunar mayhem
Do you remember Strider? I'm not asking if you have a vague awareness of it or even if you've played it -- do you remember the excitement of its arrival on the Sega Genesis? It was the first game to shove eight megabits of memory into a single console cartridge, a fact loudly proclaimed by an emblem on the box art that screams "8MEGA MEMORY." It featured enemies like a giant centipede made out of people, an evil guy in a robe who (as the story goes) took out five of the seven continents without breaking a sweat, and, of course, giant robot dinosaurs. If you owned a Sega Genesis in 1990, Strider was a Big Damn Deal. 21 years later, it can be said with no great amount of equivocation that the quietly-released Moon Diver is about as far as one can get from a Big Damn Deal. What Moon Diver is, however, is as close to "Strider for the 21st century" as we may ever see. It looks like Strider, it plays like Strider, it even features a production credit from none other than Kouichi Yotsui, Strider's director. While it never explicitly references the 20-and-change-year-old classic, it is quite obviously cut from its cloth. Moon Diver's prime target audience, then, is those who do remember Strider as a Big Damn Deal. %Gallery-117024%
Dissidia 012 [duodecim] Final Fantasy review: A tale of souls and buster swords, eternally retold
As far as lumbering, big-budget franchises go, Final Fantasy's a bit of an anomaly. Yes, yes, the giant swords, giant-er hair styles, and comparatively small horse birds contribute to that, but indulge me for a moment while I discuss business trends. In an ocean of same-y sequels where all the major players seem content to tread water, Final Fantasy's willingness to regularly reinvent itself is pretty damn impressive. Well, when it comes to the main series, anyway. Spin-offs, it seems, don't count – at least, if Dissidia 012 [duodecim] Final Fantasy is any indication. So, remember all that intense love/hatred/apathy you felt toward the original Dissidia? That's pretty much what you'll be getting here as well. %Gallery-115987%
Square Enix launches Hippos Lab, puts App Store titles on sale
Legendary Japanese game developer Square Enix has launched an internal studio called Hippos Lab, which will be dedicated strictly to making original content for smartphone platforms (specifically Android and iOS, we're guessing, but the company's obviously leaving its options open). The studio's been working on a title since March 7, and we're supposed to see its output very soon. Square Enix has already had a lot of success with its own content on the App Store, both original games and ports from other platforms, but this is a more formal dedication of resources to the mobile gaming market. And speaking of Square Enix's content, the company has put a whole slew of its titles on sale to celebrate the Final Fantasy III release earlier this week. We already told you the first two Final Fantasy games were on sale, but the original Chaos Rings RPG is also half off (cheaper than I've ever seen it), as is the great old Secret of Mana title. And the puzzle/real-time strategy game Sliding Heroes has dropped to the low price of completely free. Some excellent deals from Square Enix on the store right now. [via Engadget]