Watching this trailer may embed some niggling questions in your mind -- questions like: Is it safe to run on top of trains? Why does Cloud have black hair? Who at Square Enix decided that story-rich fantasy and gut-crunching metal were a good mix? However, this video should eliminate any question in your mind that a spiritual sequel to a 3-disc RPG masterpiece could fit on a UMD. Focusing mostly on summons, a Final Fantasy staple, this trailer has pushed our excitement for Crisis Core far beyond our apprehension towards the game. We just hope the final product has music of a more ... listenable variety.

Imitation isn't only the sincerest form of flattery, it's also the most legally actionable. At least it is to Square Enix, which recently won a plagiarism case against South Korean music video producer Fantom to the tune of 16 million won (approx. $17,400).

The case centers on the video for the song Temptation Sonata, in which live actors recreate a scene from Square Enix's animated movie, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. According to a judge for the Seoul Central District Court, the video "illegally used 80% of the storyline, setting, characters and their styles of dress and their demeanors," from the movie scene. We're not sure how the judge came to such an exact statistic, but who are we to argue with such an official sounding pronouncement?

A comparison of the videos (both viewable below the break) shows much more than a passing similarity between the two, and Square was definitely within its rights taking legal action. That said, we have to wonder what Square Enix felt it had to gain from a court case. Is this video really hurting the company's ability to milk insane amounts of money out off the Final Fantasy franchise? Does seeing the video makes someone less likely to buy a copy of Advent Children? What's next, a legal case against the makers of College Saga? We just hope the negative PR associated with this case is worth the massive $17,000 pay day Square Enix made off of it.

It's official: the Final Fantasy VII PSP spinoff Crisis Core will be released before the three year anniversary of its initial unveiling in late October 2004. At the Square Enix Party, the publisher announced the game has a street date of September 13 in Japan.

No release date has been given for other regions, but we'd suspect seeing the game hit North America within eight months.

[Via PSP Fanboy]

Diehard Final Fantasy VII fans have recreated Midgar in virtual world Second Life. To make things even sweeter, they've even created an RPG sim in SL so that residents can fight and upgrade their way to notoriety. Weapons and materia (gems used for magic in the FFVII universe) can be bought for Linden bucks, which converts to real world money at a rate of approximately US $1 for every 270 Linden dollars.

According to New World Notes writer Onder Skall, the game has around 300 players. Our experience with the world proved it to be expansive; upon teleporting to the start of the sim, we stepped out of the overlooking portal room and had an exhilirating view of the massive city on our equally massive fall.

As to whether or not the game has the blessing of IP owner Square Enix, not even the creators are sure. While they do the developer a service by providing a high quality sim that promotes the Final Fantasy brand to great success, they are making money (however little it may be) off of the brand. SL users can click here to go to Midgar directly.

[Via Second Life Insider]

Eternally the Japanese RPG's signifier and the cosplayer's bane, the hair in Final Fantasy games is often as entertaining as it is improbable. Though it might be a deeply rooted jealousy that causes us to question just how Cloud's finely kept anti-quiff defies all known laws of the universe, it nevertheless remains a matter of observation and pertinence. Indeed, if we follow the Grand List of Console Role-Playing Game Cliches' Cloud Rule -- the higher the hair, the closer to God -- it would seem that just about every character in Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core (PSP) has a vital part to play in the story. Surely we can find some significance and excitement in that?

Also, the graphics look pretty cool.

[via PSP Fanboy]

In Germany, Final Fantasy is now being called a killerspiele ("killer game"), likely adding fuel to the movement against violent games. Of course, Final Fantasy isn't often singled out for its portrayal of violence, which by most measures is never gratuitous. But when two teenage boys, calling themselves 'Sephiroth' and 'Reno', allegedly stab a couple to death and kidnap another female, it undoubtedly leads to some unfortunate finger pointing. That the two boys also had a copy of Final Fantasy VII installed on a computer doesn't help the spread of sensationalism.

It's unfortunate that during these times of inexplicable grief and confusion there's a tendency to try to rationalize the irrational. Two boys playing Final Fantasy, calling each other Sephiroth and Reno, does not engender such tragedy.

[Via The Last Boss]

In celebrating the upcoming 20th anniversary of that most contradictory of RPG franchises, Square Enix is once again remaking the first and second Final Fantasy games. This time, it's for the Sony PSP. 1UP reports that Final Fantasy Anniversary Edition and Final Fantasy II Anniversary Edition will see release in Japan this year, two decades after the series arrived on the Nintendo Famicom.

Perhaps "enhanced port" makes for a better description -- the PSP versions will enjoy graphical updates and will include the extra dungeons found in the GBA outing, along with monster encyclopedias and music players. In addition, the lavish CG videos made for the PSOne's Final Fantasy Origins will be presented alongside a new art gallery containing the works of Yoshitako Yoshitaka Amano.

No word on a US release date yet, but [pathetic Haste spell joke here].

Jump Festa attendees will score hands-on time with Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII on Saturday. This year the annual anime and manga party, sponsored by Shueisha (publisher of Jump Comics), will feature the first playable public demo of Crisis Core. Jump Festa has traditionally served as a platform for premiering new media, including video games.

Sony and Sqaure Enix have yet to reveal plans to offer a downloadable version of the demo on the official PlayStation website or elsewhere. Update: A Crisis Core producer has revealed Square Enix's intention to offer a downloadable version of the demo by years' end.

See also:
Crisis Core trailer emphasizes PSP shortcomings, offers hope

Square Enix's closed-door TGS trailer for Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core has finally surfaced. For the bulk of this five-minute demonstration, a handful of manicured men (and one woman) ham it up in a whirlwind of staged emotional drama. Are we supposed to want to play a soap opera? (Don't answer that.)

There are some brief moments of relief, glimpses into the game's active battle system, which suggest commonalities with Final Fantasy XII. There's no denying that Crisis Core appears extraordinarily capable; a bittersweet detail. That is, efforts like Crisis Core really highlight the lack of solid support for PSP. Alas, Square Enix's prequel has been a long time coming -- and, for those of us outside of Japan, the wait isn't getting any shorter.

And quite unbelievably, one of them happens to be a Final Fantasy game. Confirmed by IGN and triumphantly splashed across the pages of Famitsu Shonen Jump, Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings will bring the world of Ivalice to the DS. In case you've spent the last year traipsing about a disturbing parallel universe devoid of oxymoronic names, you'd note that the PS2 version is due for a release this Halloween. Judging by the more youthful appearance of the protagonists -- that's Vaan and sandwich soundalike, Penelo -- it would appear that Revenant Wings is a prequel of sorts. It makes sense, since they all die at the end of the PS2 adventure anyway.

No word yet on what the gameplay entails, but given the Ivalice setting, a direct continuation of Final Fantasy Tactics Advanced wouldn't be out of place at all. If it's a more original experience you're after, the second DS game to be announced by Square Enix may do some naughty and unmentionable things to your fancy. It's a Wonderful World looks to be the end result of Kingdom Hearts and Jet Set Radio colliding violently on the freeway. Incidentally, that's exactly what happens at the end of Kingdom Hearts II.

That brings us to the final game shown on the scanned page, Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix. The PS2 screenshot reveals a new card-based battle system, possibly indicating some connection to Chain of Memories on the GBA. Square Enix will no doubt clarify once the Tokyo Game Show begins later this month, but until then, feel free to scrutinize every last bit of the full scan.

[Note: This post contains fake spoilers! Thanks, Phantom42!]

Though you might be inclined to give Square Enix president, Yoichi Wada, an incredulous stare as he discusses the merits of innovation before the release of Final Fantasy Thirteen, a recent interview with Nikkei Business Online points to his fairly levelheaded approach to the topic. "If we don't see some [next-generation] titles that differ from traditional games, the industry is in trouble. Nintendo's DS lineup gives you an idea of the potential..." However, Mr. Wada goes on to say that immmediately tossing out all previous conventions and concepts isn't necessarily the best solution.

"We must change. But if we change all at once, the system will collapse, and since our profits are built on that system, it's a difficult question. So you have to introduce change from a completely unrelated direction within a separate budget framework. This is something all the companies are worrying about right now. Fortunately, we're financially prepared to handle change." It raises the interesting point that change may be easy to trumpet but difficult to usher in, requiring gradual steps and some assistance from current franchises. The earlier point regarding the DS' success is an interesting one, since Nintendo's many franchises and characters were arguably instrumental in introducing a different way of playing games.

The ability of unique hardware to funnel innovation in certain ways also intrigues Square, which is why "Square Enix will collaborate with Taito, a company that produces physical hardware. In our talks with Taito, ideas for an actual physical product have come up. In any case, we will be releasing some 'thing.' It's interesting in that it's not the sort of thing you expect from Square Enix." With that in mind, we now can't wait to play some sort of Final Fantasy game on a Square Enix thing at an undisclosed time in the future.

[Via Gamasutra]

For those dreaming of the gorgeous gun ballet glimpsed in Final Fantasy XIII, it may come as a rude awakening when we loudly exclaim, "Hang on, we haven't even gotten number 12 yet!"  Thankfully, Square Enix has answered our call by officially announcing the North American release date for their next inevitably epic RPG. Final Fantasy XII will be in stores this Halloween, 31 October 2006. If ever there was a good reason for Sephiroth and Rikku cosplayers to head out into public and purchase the game in full fantasy garb, this is it.

Not to be left behind on the platform as the Collector's Edition trend train heads off, the game will be arriving in two distinct versions. The vanilla package will retail for $49.99, whereas the Collector's Edition, laced with interviews, series featurettes, trailers, art galleries and ancient evils, will be available at Gamestop and EB Games exclusively for $59.99. Depending on how fond you are of the non-final franchise, that's either a trick or a treat.

[Image: Advent Children.net]

Cartoon Network's Robot Chicken finally answered the one question that's been on gamer's minds since the completion of RPG classic Final Fantasy VII. No, not can we expect a remake on PlayStation 3, but rather what would it be like if the cast of Final Fantasy VII ran a fast food joint.

3/4 persepctive and Meteo FTW!

See also:
For role-playing times, make it Suntory time

IGN has posted a list that is sure to generate some grumbling. But that's what's to be expected anytime you try to cram the baddest evildoers into a list of ten. Here goes:

• #10 - Bowser (Super Mario)
• #9 - Dr. Robotnik (Sonic)
• #8 - Dracula (Castlevania)
• #7 - Evil Otto (Berzerk)
• #6 - Psycho Mantis (MGS)
• #5 - Kerrigan (Starcraft)
• #4 - SHODAN (System Shock)
• #3 - Wesker (Resident Evil)
• #2 - Sephiroth (FFVII)
• #1 - The Nazis ("too many games to count")

What?! No Ganondorf? Blasphemy. So how does your list compare?