Square Enix have announced that they’ll be releasing Final Fantasy: The Four Heroes of Light in the West this Fall/Autumn in Europe, with a US confirmation to follow later today.

The DS spin-off has had a slight name change for the localization, as it was released in Japan as Final Fantasy Gaiden: Four Warriors of Light.

The title is a back-to-basics Final Fantasy title, with a turn-based battle system, four heroes, crystals and kingdoms. It’s designed to harken back to the NES Final Fantasy titles.

The game’s likely to be at E3 so we’ll bring you our thoughts and impressions from the show. Stick with us for the latest on Final Fantasy: The Four Heroes of Light.

This dead horse: we’re flogging it. A few days ago Motomu Toriyama, the game director behind FFXIII said he would very much like to remake Final Fantasy VII, a remake fans have been clamouring for ever since the PS3 tech demo of E3 2005.

To add further fuel to the fire that will never die out comes Square Enix CEO Yoichi Wada with a statement that is sure to once again split the fanbase:

“Many fans have requested we remake Final Fantasy VII. We’re going to explore the possibility – whether or not we’re going to do it, if we’re going to do it, and the platform.”

Meaning it might not even be on the PS3. Holy controversial statement, Batman, a Final Fantasy game not on the Sony PlayStation! What is this, the early 90′s? Assuming it happens of course. Which it probably won’t, but hope springs eternal.

While being interviewed at GDC 2010 regarding Final Fantasy XIII, Motomu Toriyama shared some interesting facts about the future of the Final Fantasy series.

What may be the most interesting piece of the interview was when Toriyama was asked which Final Fantasy game he would like to remake.

“That would be Final Fantasy VII! If we had the manpower and the time to work on a project, if we were to remake Final Fantasy VII with the quality of Final Fantasy XIII it would become a tremendous project. If we can get the number of people we need by all means that would be the one I would really want to remake.”

As if anybody expected any other answer.

Read the rest of this entry »

Square Enix has announced that they are publishing a game for the iPhone/iPod Touch platform, called Chaos Rings.

The title is being developed by Media Vision, most known for the Wild Arms series. According to The Lost Gamer, the story is that 5 pairs of warriors are trapped in an arena and forced to fight in a tournament, in order to gain eternal youth. In addition, there’s a free-roaming portion of the game, where you can level up your character, and do all the other things you do in the open-world portion of Squeenix games.

Looking at the trailer, it’s pretty obvious that their entire design document was just one sentence: “Make Final Fantasy, except on the iPhone.” And you know what? I’m okay with that. If I can get my fix of floating numbers, turn-based combat and weird hairstyles while on the bus, then I’m a happy camper.

Read the rest of this entry »

Well, this is interesting. According to Andriasang, Square Enix’s recruit page has a listing looking for staff for work on a “next generation” gaming engine.

“At Square Enix, in anticipation of the appearance of next generation platforms, we’ve started development on a new generation game engine for competing beyond the level of the strong developers throughout the world, and are presently seeking a lot of talent.”

Square used the image of Cloud from Final Fantasy VII in the listing, but we probably shouldn’t read into that too much – it’s most likely just a picture for the sake of promoting the company’s image. The FFVII remake rumours stopped running their course a long time ago.

Square Enix has just announced that Final Fantasy XIII has shipped over 5 million units worldwide, with at least 3 million of those accounting for US and Europe figures, as reported by Andriasang,

The game has shipped at least 2 million units in Japan since its launch back in December, and by all accounts it looks like it’s going to easily eclipse that success here in the west.

This figure brings sales of the franchise as a whole to a whopping 96 million units in 20 years. Not too shabby.

Well, North American sites have joined in on the Final Fantasy XIII review extravaganza, but it seems that Edge has the most scathing review so far, especially since the majority of reviews have been fairly positive.

Full list after the cut:

Read the rest of this entry »

Well, it’s about time that Final Fantasy XIII reviews showed up online after being suppressed for so long. And now, days away from its release, we in North America and Europe can finally know what the big names in games have said.

List of reviews after the cut.

Read the rest of this entry »

MSXbox World has the first ten minutes of Final Fantasy XIII in plain’ ol’ English! Not that Japanese moonspeak you saw before.

Not only that, the Collector’s Editions for the PS3 and 360 have been revealed in fancy CGI fashion. Revel in the majesty (thanks, VG247)!

Final Fantasy XIII is out March 9th. THAT’S TWO WEEKS FROM RIGHT NOW.

Final Fantasy XIII director Motomu Toriyama issued a statement on the official European FFXIII website about XIII’s linearity and how it will be beneficial to all – fans and newcomers alike.

“In order to allow the player to become absorbed in the drama of the storytelling and the new and exciting world of Cocoon and be drawn to the characters without getting distracted or lost we have deliberately used a linear game design for the introduction sections so they can be enjoyed in the same manner as watching a film,” said Toriyama.

“We are aiming for a vibe while playing that is similar to the experience of an FPS style game, where the player rapidly progresses through a series of dramatic events and experiences one after the other on an imposing and atmospheric battlefield.

“This kind of design is also very beneficial for the player in allowing them to gradually and systematically learn the brand new battle system that this installment brings to the series. It is set up such that the player will experience and try out each character’s possible roles in battle and naturally internalize the intensely tactical nature of the Paradigm Shift system.”

Kind of interesting how an FPS game would influence an RPG game with the idea of quickening the action from one section of the game to the next. Never thought of it that way.

Final Fantasy XIII is out for the PS3 and 360 March 9th in the US and Europe!

Yoshinori Kitase said to TechDigest that a Final Fantasy VII remake is possible should the right amount of time be invested into it, that is, a year’s time.

“If it were possible that we had all the right facilities and the right environment to be able to make and prepare a Final Fantasy VII remake within a year, we’d very much like a go at it.

“But even Final Fantasy XIII has taken over three and a half years to create. If we were to recreate Final Fantasy VII with the same level of graphical detail as you see in Final Fantasy XIII, we’d imagine that that would take as much as three or four times longer than the three and a half years it has taken to put this Final Fantasy together. So it’s looking pretty unrealistic.

“But if any such situation came about, by any remote chance, then yes, we’d do it”.

Looks like everyone will just have to be content with the PlayStation game for now, but thankfully it’s available for everyone to snag on the PlayStation Network.

Speaking to GameTrailers recently, Final Fantasy XIII producer Yoshinori Kitase admit that he’s quite interested in seeing a Final Fantasy VII remake come to fruition.

“I’m really interested to see this more complete form of Final Fantasy VII portrayed more realistically with the voice and animation and all the suttle expressions there.

“I’d be interested to see that and to make that, it would be a great experience. I don’t get tired of people asking that question, so I’ll continue to answer my thoughts as long as people keep asking.”

It’s surprising to hear this, considering that Square Enix has gone on the record numerous times stating that its simply not going to happen. Of course, just because he wants to make it, doesn’t necessarily mean it will actually happen.

Well, the US isn’t the only country that’s going to see the Final Fantasy XIII 360 Bundle, but European gamers who desire a new system will be happy to hear that the boxed set will be upon their shores on March 9th as well.

The special edition bundle comes in two flavors:

-120 GB console, wireless controller and a copy of the game
-250 GB hard drive, two wireless controllers, a copy of the game, two codes for downloadable Avatar items, and the console itself has “Final Fantasy XIII” engraved on it

Read the rest of this entry »

A rumor and pictures have been spreading through the internet the past few days as to a Special Edition (hereafter referred to as SE) for Final Fantasy XIII, Square-Enix’s newest game in the Final Fantasy franchise.

We are unable to see any pictures that aren’t blurry or require a login to member sites to view, but we’ll give you what we have.

The SE bundle is set to include:

- LE 250 GB Black (even though boxart shows white Xbox 360) Xbox 360 (no current branding)

- 2 Black (again, possibly white) wireless controllers

- The basics: AV Cable, Headset, Network Cable

- A copy of FFXIII (obviously)

The SE is set to retail at $399.

We’ve yet to see if there’s any truth to this rumor, but keep your eyes out for further information.

Well, Team Teamwork has done it again. The creative mind that brought you The Ocarina of Rhyme has graced our ears with Vinyl Fantasy VII.

If you’re unfamiliar with either creation, what Team Teamwork does is take a game’s soundtrack, toss in some ridiculously fresh beats from famous rap and hip-hop artists and make something that’s, at the very least, fun to listen to.

Familiar names like Jay-Z, Outkast, MF DOOM, and Ghostface Killah grace the lineup of rhyme spitters.

Unfortunately, Team Teamwork’s Bandcamp page received a cease and desist notification for using copyrighted material, but you can still keep updated on current projects via the Team Teamwork Tumblr. You can also listen to other mash-ups on the official MySpace page.

Happy listening!