| Lost Winds (review) "Without a doubt, LostWinds is like finding a diamond-encrusted Hummer in your box of corn flakes." (Gallery) |
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| Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King (impressions) "Several hours later, since I was still playing ... Without my even realizing it, My Life as a King had gone from boring to fun." (Gallery) |
Wii Fanboy reviews the WiiWare launch lineup
Continue reading Wii Fanboy reviews the WiiWare launch lineup
Joystiq impressions: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King (WiiWare)

If you think upgrades and management are RPG highlights, maybe you'll like My Life as a King. Your young character returns to an abandoned castle to reclaim his dynasty after his dad left in exile. Your job is to spruce up the place, adding new shops that attract and upgrade townsfolk. Some buildings just allow for more people to move in, while weapon shops, magic guilds, and other structures help advance your people.
But with limited coffers, you'll have to send these citizens on quests to raid dungeons and return with more resources to keep building. Force a weak party into a dangerous situation, and they'll crawl back, beaten-down and loot-free. Send a well-equipped party into battle, and they'll bring back treasure.
Continue reading Joystiq impressions: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King (WiiWare)
First VGA-graded games up for auction
Currently available are near-mint copies of Super Mario Bros. 3, Final Fantasy, Metal Gear and others, all in the 75-85 grade range. Final Fantasy is notably already up over $200, and Super Mario Bros. 3 isn't far behind. If nothing else, those NES games look damn sexy in those plastic cases.
Read - First VGA Graded Games Hit eBay [GameSniped]
Read - BigHedToyz [eBay]
Final Fantasy IV hits North American DS on July 22
It appears Nintendo Power was right on the money with a July release -- as one would hope they would be. Other upgrades the title boasts are a remixed score by composer Nobuo Uematsu and "head-to-head battle" via local wireless. The game will retail for $40 and certainly makes for the perfect game to avoid conversation during the end-of-summer family road trip.
Final Fantasy IV coming to North America ... maybe
Role-playing fans can slip on their dancing shoes and party like it's 1991. A new interview with Final Fantasy IV director Takashi Tokita in the latest Nintendo Power seems to point to the game's recent DS remake being localized for North American audiences. Oh sure, he doesn't come right out and confirm the localization -- where's the drama in that? -- but given that the article comes peppered with English language screens and the game itself is featured on the cover, we're certainly leaning towards believing that the RPG will soon be getting some domestic love.Tokita also toys with our emotions, speaking to the possibility of a remake of SNES RPG classic Chrono Trigger provided "the demand is great enough." Though like coming down hard off a caffeine high, he sends us crashing back down to earth by adding that he really wants to "create new titles and not just series installments and remakes." Yours is a cruel love, mon cher.
[Via DS Fanboy]
Chocobo's Dungeon kweh-ming to North America in July
According to Squeenix, this overdose of cute will find Final Fantasy stalwarts Cid and Chocobo hunting for treasure while trying to solve the mystery of a strange town full of people who have lost their memories. The game will even take the cute online via Wi-Fi card battles featuring a darling "3D pop-up book style." Kweh!
[Via Nintendo Wii Fanboy]
A look at the Final Fantasy supporting cast
Metareview -- Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (PSP)

- PSW Magazine UK (90/100): "Crisis Core is a fine PSP adaptation of FFVII's key qualities, taking inspiration from its dramatic cutscenes and magic (Materia still has a big role), but cutting away the fat (lengthy wandering, and an overlong centre) to present the critical core of FFVII's enduring spirit."
- IGN (85/100): "I was sincerely moved by certain portions of the title and I suspect many others will feel the same. I wouldn't dream of spoiling anything for eager players, but I will say that Crisis Core's ending moments are a must see. I'd go so far as to call them brilliant."
- GameTap (80/100): "If you shudder in horror when hearing the phrase "Nibelheim incident," then Crisis Core is a fantastic and emotional companion piece to FFVII. If you shrugged at that phrase, well, you'll probably just see Crisis Core as a well-made PSP action role-playing game."
WiiWare Final Fantasy to charge for downloadable races
SiliconEra is reporting (via Square's Japanese web site) that players who pay 1,500 Wii Shop Points to purchase the ridiculously-abbreviated FFCC:MLaaK will only have access to one of the game's races. Players wishing to recruit any of the other three races will have to spend 100 to 300 Wii Shop Points to construct a home for them. Players will also be able to lay down real money for new character costumes, which don't seem to have any effect on the gameplay.
Given the controversy surrounding the pricing of additional gameplay content for Lumines Live, we can't imagine Wii owners will be happy shelling out 1,500 points for what's essentially an incomplete product. Then again, the wide variety of Final Fantasy collectibles suggests a fan base willing to shell out whatever it takes to get their dose of apocalyptic, Japanese RPG goodness. We'll see soon enough, we suppose.
Final Fantasy vs. Dead or Alive: Round 2
Above you'll find the sequel, an even bigger display of absurd acrobatics, imaginative pummeling and blissful ignorance of the laws of physics. We love it.
[Thanks, dara hoy]
Final Fantasy Tactics A2 not released B4 June 24

Similarly, we didn't quite appreciate the North American release date for Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift. You'll only be able to stick the third part of the "Ivalice Alliance" into your DS on June 24th, which is quite a long way off if you're a Final Fan of strategic RPG-ery. Square Enix promises it'll be worth the wait though, as the grimoire comes packed with 400 quests, "polished game mechanics," stylus controls and new jobs and classes.
FF7 Crisis Core receiving special edition in UK [updated]
We're well aware that only two groups of people are going to be interested in this particular bit of news. The first, of course, is the set of people eagerly awaiting the English version of Square Enix's portable Final Fantasy VII prequel, Crisis Core. Though American fans are due to receive the PSP game later this month, folks in the UK have to wait a bit longer. The wait may not be without reward, however, as a "Special Pre-Order Edition" of Crisis Core: FF7 (complete with obligatory art book and slipcase) has been spotted on certain retailer websites. Eurogamer notes that an announcement is "imminent," and suggests that offers for the rest of Europe may differ.Oh, and the other group? That would be the smaller and decidedly more eccentric bunch that absolutely hates the F7 key for no apparent reason. We apologize if Google search picked up on our headline and led you astray. Personally, we've never cared much for that tilde key.
[Update: You can now see the special edition (animated and spinning!) on the official Crisis Core website.]
[Via PSP Fanboy]
GDC08: Final Fantasy, beautiful men, and fighting the uncanny valley

Isamu Kamikokuryo discussed the process of making art for Final Fantasy in a crowded Q&A panel at this year's Game Developer's Conference. At first, Kamikokuryo reminisced about how he got his job at Square Enix. It wasn't particularly romantic: he followed a simple call for applicants, and submitted a resume with a photograph of one of his oil paintings. He got a call back, and got a job that many fanboys would kill for.
Eventually, the discussion moved on to the high quality graphics that Square Enix has been able to produce in its pre-rendered movies. Asked how the team copes with "the uncanny valley problem," Kamikokuryo noted that it's something everyone on the team is constantly thinking about. "In terms of the uncanny valley, that is something we have to fight against. We can't go there -- that's basically how we feel about it. For all the things we create, many of the section creators get together and we make adjustments so this uncanny valley phenomenon doesn't happen. We don't usually use that phrase, because all the staff has this in mind while we do our work."
Continue reading GDC08: Final Fantasy, beautiful men, and fighting the uncanny valley
GDC08: Square Enix no-comments FFCC Crystal Bearers

The Square Enix staffers demurred in response to this question, saying only that we should "wait for a press release" to tell us about that situation. Does that mean that The Crystal Bearers is definitely canceled for real? No, just that those two developers wisely didn't want to reveal Square Enix's internal plans. Still, it's not terribly encouraging, given rumors of its shaky status.
Square Enix lawyers on guard against Final Fantasy replica swords
The company today announced a federal lawsuit filed in the Central District of California against "alleged infringers of Square Enix's intellectual property." Specifically, said infringers include "at least" four wholesalers of unlicensed sword replicas based on four video games and a CG movie (likely Advent Children) within the Final Fantasy franchise. "While Square Enix appreciates the enthusiasm of its fans, and values its relationship with
them," said Square Enix General Counsel Yasuhiko Hasegawa, "it is also obligated to protect its intellectual property rights or risk weakening or losing the very rights that enable the company to continue to provide its fans with an exciting entertainment experience."
The lawsuit has its swordid (OOF!) origins in the recent seizure of a crate full of "counterfeit" replica blades by the United States Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Patrol. Following an investigation, Square Enix located the primary wholesalers and retailers of these "unauthorized products in the United States." We hope this turn of events will serve as a lesson to all of you looking to sell real things based on fake things.

























