Square Enix Trademark 'Dragon Quest Wars'
Posted on 2009/04/28 by Ronin90
Square Enix have submitted a new trademark application for 'Dragon Quest Wars', which suggests they are going to continue to go forward with their strategy of utilising existing franchises as a priority.
It's unknown which console the game is targeted at, but so far all Dragon Quest games this generation have been on the Nintendo DS or Nintendo Wii, so it's more than likely going to be on one of those two. The name also suggests that it could be some kind of Strategy RPG, which could certainly be interesting.
It was originally filed for on the 23rd of April 2009, and it was awaiting final approval on the 27th of April.
Tags:
Square Enix, Dragon Quest, Dragon Quest Wars
Dragon Quest Wars
Square Enix Now Mainly A Portable Developer
Posted on 2009/04/26 by Ronin90
When looking through a list of Square Enix games that have been released or are in development on their official Japanese website, it was actually quite surprising to see how things have changed so dramatically in one generation. Squaresoft, Enix and then Square Enix were all strong supporters of the Playstation 2 and other home consoles such as the NES and SNES. However, this generation has seen a stark change in Square Enix's process and they've gone completely against their strategy for the previous 20 years.
For the first time, Square Enix has chosen to support hand-held consoles over the home console and they have shown their support mainly by backing the Nintendo DS to extreme proportions. According to Square Enix's Japanese website, Square Enix are majorly involved with 95 titles on nine different platforms. It was actually quite amazing to see that 54 of these (56.8%) were for the Nintendo DS. A further 13.6% of titles were also concerning the Sony Playstation Portable, which brings their total involvement to just over 70% of all Square Enix's activity.
Tags:
Weekly Musings, Square Enix
Square Enix Product Distribution
Square Enix Wage War On Piracy
Posted on 2009/04/21 by Ronin90
In a press release today, Square Enix issued a statement directly targeting those who wish to share the new Blu-ray edition of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete on the internet via illegal methods.
Square Enix have been getting a lot tighter with regards to protecting their Intellectual Property recently, and they've even started taking down footage from their games off of YouTube. In the press release it is claimed that they are continuously monitoring the internet, with selected sites (not mentioned) being earmarked as specifically garnering their attention.
Should websites be found to have the Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete download available, they can be looking forward to communication from Square Enix which will initially come in the form of emails or letters.
Tags:
Square Enix, Advent Children Complete, FF7 Compilation
Advent Children Complete Download
New FFCC: The Crystal Bearers Scan Shows Gun Play
Posted on 2009/04/21 by Ronin90
The latest edition of Shonen Jump magazine in Japan has a pretty massive spread which features some new information about the upcoming game for the Nintendo Wii; Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers. While Square Enix kept people in the dark for a long period of time, they've now started to divulge information about the game.
The latest scan shows off some new screens that highlight an interesting element of the combat. In the first screenshot, the main character can clearly be seen engaging a flying enemy while wielding a rather large rifle. Whether this is completely automated, or will require a degree of user input remains to be seen.
Hopefully some more information about the game is released soon, although it's doubtful that any concrete information will be released soon as the latest edition of Famitsu magazine in Japan revealed a considerable amount of information. This covered the main character, the races seen in the game (i.e. Yukes) and other characters that will be seen throughout the game.
Tags:
The Crystal Bearers, Crystal Chronicles, Shonen Jump Magazine Scans
Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers
Final Fantasy XIII Demo Coming To North America Afterall?
Posted on 2009/04/18 by Ronin90
Following the successful joint release of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete and the Final Fantasy XIII Trial Version in Japan, fans have been clamouring to get their hands on the demo. Previously Square Enix stated that the North American version of the release wouldn't feature the demo, so anyone who wanted to play it has had to wrestle with customs fees and import it. However, a new statement from Square Enix could contradict their previous statements.
When talking about the North American version of Advent Children Complete (currently scheduled for release on the 2nd of June 2009), Square Enix said that it would include an "Exclusive preview of Final Fantasy XIII". Now, this could be one of two things; either Square Enix are giving North American gamers some exclusive new trailers not released to the public, or they're thinking about packing in the demo for North American gamers too.
Tags:
Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy XIII Demo, Advent Children Complete
Final Fantasy XIII Demo
Who Cares If The Final Fantasy XIII Demo Is 5GB?
Posted on 2009/04/17 by Shawn
According to various news sources, the size of the Final Fantasy XIII demo stands at about 5.09GB, 256 MB of that being a firmware update for the PlayStation 3. This, of course, spread the idea that the Xbox 360 version will be downgraded from the PlayStation 3 version, or the PlayStation 3 version will be downgraded to run on the Xbox 360, due to the Xbox 360 using the DVD format (around 6.5GB due to copyright protecting), compared to the 50GB Blu-ray currently has.
But really, who really cares if the demo is 5GB?
Tags:
Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Complete
Final Fantasy XIII Demo
FXN Podcast: Episode 17
Posted on 2009/04/17 by Kyle
With David and Lauren away, Kyle and Jamie are joined by Darryl to dig into the latest on Advent Children Complete and the inbound Final Fantasy XIII demo. To note, this was recorded on Sunday.
Listen / Subscribe to the FXN Podcast on iTunes
Direct Link: FXN Final Fantasy Podcast Episode 17
RSS Feed
As mentioned in the podcast, listeners of the FXN Podcast are encouraged to check out Kyle and Jamie's new podcast, the Gaming Union Podcast!
Podcast music "Umaro Uematsu" is by Quinn Fox of OCRemix.
Tags:
Final Fantasy VII, FXN Final Fantasy Podcast, Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy VII Advent Children
Final Fantasy Podcast
Proper Battle Music Returns In Final Fantasy XIII
Posted on 2009/04/14 by Ronin90
A lot of attention has been focussed around the Final Fantasy XIII demo recently; the gameplay, the characters and just everything in general apart from the music. In a recent celebratory edition of Famitsu, information was actually divulged about the game's score, which is being composed by Masashi Hamauzu.
It turns out, that unlike in Final Fantasy XII (where there was minimal battle music aside from boss fights - and even that wasn't anything to shout about), Final Fantasy XIII will return to the ways of old and feature battle music when fighting against random foes. This could make the game more engaging, as walking around Dalmasca Estersands fighting against wolves to an ambient piece of music isn't exactly a favourite past time. Even Final Fantasy X-2, which is frowned upon by most fans, had battle music which actually made for a more driving experience. Obviously, until the actual music is heard it's going to be hard to form a conclusion about the impact it will have, but that's another matter entirely.
More after the jump.
Tags:
Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy XIII Music
Final Fantasy XIII Battle Music
Final Fantasy XIII Demo A Complete Waste Of Time
Posted on 2009/04/13 by Ronin90
Anyone who's even vaguely interested in Final Fantasy XIII will know that in a couple of days Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete comes out in Japan, and with it comes a demo of Final Fantasy XIII. It's been talked up for quite a while, but some of Square Enix's recent statements really question the validity of the demo itself as to be honest, it now seems fairly redundant.
To go straight for the jugular, Square Enix claimed that the demo isn't even reflective of the game's current build, as it was built using an older version of the engine that was used during 2008. So, they're effectively saying that the experience offered in the demo doesn't represent what the actual game will be like... so, what exactly is the point in showing it to people? Many people buying it will probably use the demo to judge whether they will buy the end product and if it's not a great experience, it might change their minds (Haze anyone?).
This does also lead nicely on to the second point, why release the demo so far in advance of the game's actual release date? Square Enix haven't even tied themselves down to a quarter yet, so the game isn't that near completion. They've done the same in the past too, as they released the Final Fantasy XII Demo a year before its release in combination with Dragon Quest VIII... spot the similarity?
More after the jump.
Tags:
Weekly Musings, Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy XIII Demo
Final Fantasy XIII Demo
New Potential Summon Revealed In Final Fantasy XIII
Posted on 2009/04/12 by Ronin90
Some new scans have surfaced on the internet which were picked up by FFShores, and they appear to show a new kind of monster that hasn't previously been seen.
Whether or not this is actually a new summon, nobody knows. However, it certainly does look feasible. One of the biggest questions probably revolves around whether or not the monster is actually an organic being, or a robot. While it has lights over its body, they could easily be part its armour.
It also doesn't look dissimilar to Diamond Weapon from Final Fantasy VII.
Tags:
Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy XIII Summons
Final Fantasy XIII Summons
Final Fantasy VII PSN In Japan And Hong Kong
Posted on 2009/04/10 by Ronin90
Square Enix have finally made Final Fantasy VII available on the Playstation Network (PSN) for users in Japan and Hong Kong. It has seemed like an extremely obvious move for the longest time, and it ties in perfectly with the build-up for Advent Children Complete which comes out shortly in the region.
The download size isn't yet know, but it will cost ¥1,500 and HK$118, which works out at roughly US$15. Whether or not this release will appear in North America or Europe remains to be seen, but since North America now has a confirmed release date for Advent Children Complete, it could definitely be on the cards.
Tags:
Final Fantasy VII Compilation, Final Fantasy VII PSN
FFVII PSN
Echoes Of Time Fails To Impress North American Gamers
Posted on 2009/04/05 by Ronin90
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time was released earlier this year in Japan, and it had fairly mediocre sales, especially on the Wii. While the DS sales were a bit more admirable, many were unsure how it would perform when released in the Western world.
Estimated sales figures have since appeared following its release on the 24th of March and they aren't exactly great. According to VGChartz the DS version of the game sold approximately 25,000 units and the Wii version sold just under 16,000 units. This is a far-cry from the the Japanese sales, especially for the DS, which sold over 4 times less.
Tags:
Weekly Musings, Crystal Chronicles Echoes of Time, Crystal Chronicles
Weekly Musings
Dissidia: Final Fantasy North American Trailer
Posted on 2009/04/03 by Ronin90
With Dissidia: Final Fantasy being released in North America at the tail end of last year, fans were eagerly anticipating the first official North American trailer. Thankfully, Square Enix have indulged their fans and released a trailer to tide them over for the time being.
Tags:
Final Fantasy Dissidia, Dissidia Trailers
Dissidia First Trailer
Advent Children Complete: TV Commercial #2
Posted on 2009/04/02 by Ronin90
A new TV commercial has aired in Japan which gives a more extended look at Advent Children Complete than the last one which aired a couple of weeks ago. This one is much more focused on promoting Advent Children than its pack-in; the Final Fantasy XIII Trial Version.
Tags:
FFVII Compilation, Advent Children Complete, Advent Children Complete Trailers
Advent Children Complete TV Spot
