It's not exactly clear when the European armof the Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Moogle Paint contest opened up, but it looks like it was originally set to end before June 12th, since the official rules still say that's when winners will be notified. We think it has actually just started, and that the June 12th date is supposed to be for the U.S. contest. In any case, you have from (some time) until the end of July.

If you're in Europe (there's a list of eligible locations in the official rules), you've got Ring of Fates, and you like painting Moogles, you're (eligible to be) in luck! You could win framed art, a soundtrack, or other prizes signed by character designer Toshiyuki Itahana, or even have your design used in a future game! Unfortunately, you can only enter once, so you'll have to pick one KISS makeup design to use instead of submitting them all separately.


[Via press release]

Some of you may be tired of hearing us moan and groan about Square Enix's inflated game prices, but that doesn't mean we're going to stop -- paying $40 for a DS game is a cruel practice. Now, though, you can pick up Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates at an almost normal DS game price, since it's currently on sale (or perhaps marked down) at Amazon. The game will still set you back a cool $33.99, but when it comes to Square Enix, we'll take whatever deals we can get.

A few watchful CAGers have also noticed a handful of other titles that were marked down a dollar, mostly from Atlus. One dollar isn't immense savings, we know, but in case that's enough to push you over the edge for a purchase, check out Amazon's listings for Rondo of Swords, Drone Tactics, Luminous Arc, Summon Night: Twin Age, and Advance Wars: Days of Ruin. Strangely enough, we think Amazon might be having a bizarre $1 off sale throughout its gaming department, as we noticed this "mark down" with Super Smash Bros. Brawl, too. That leads us to believe you can probably find more goodies slashed down a dollar, if you feel so inclined to look -- after all, one-hundred pennies saved are one-hundred pennies earned.

[Via CAG]

There's just nothing quite like giving away free stuff -- except maybe for winning it, and one lucky reader has done just that. Nguyen will walk away with our copy of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates thanks to his love of Final Fantasy III. Didn't win? Unfortunately, there could be only one, but watch this space for our next contest.

There's nothing we love more than giving you free stuff, particularly when it's something we've enjoyed ourselves. This time, we invite one lucky reader to join twins Yuri and Chelinka (and friends) on their epic quest. All you have to do to win our copy of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates ($39.99) is answer a simple question: what's your favorite DS game from Square Enix (so far)? Legal residents of the United States and Canada (excluding Quebec) may enter once per day between now and Wednesday, April 9; the contest will end that night at 11:59 PM Eastern time. Please note that, as with most of our contests, you must be 18 or older to enter. Questions? Check the official rules. We'll select one winner in a random drawing on April 10. If you want it to be you, get commenting!

Square Enix wants you to paint your wagon moogle in Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates, and they're offering fabulous prizes in return! From April 4th through May 5th, the official Ring of Fates website will accept your custom Moogle Paint jobs. The Moogles will be eligible to compete in one of three categories: Most Fashionable Moogle, Best Culture Moogle or Freestyle Moogle. Freestyle Moogle is just a wildcard-type category, and not necessarily Moogles drawn to look like X-Games competitors. Though if you want to draw some Mountain Dew logos on the little guys, that's probably fine.

Prizes include stickers, signed art, and a "Moogle stained-glass mascot." We wonder if it will come pre-painted?



[Via press release]

This week, there are a lot of DS games headed out all around the globe, but it's particularly a great week for those of you who keep your eyes peeled for interesting Japanese releases. Not the import type? That's okay -- there's a lot of other games to consider, and some that aren't even quite games, per se.

• Diary Girl
• Fantasy Aquarium by DS
• GoPets: Vacation Island
• Lost in Blue 3
• Sega Superstars Tennis

Let me get this out of the way right off: I have always preferred the "older" Final Fantasy games. By that, I don't mean the older titles in the series (my favorites are scattered throughout), but rather, those that feature older main characters. Because of this, I approached Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates with a rumbling feeling of apprehension. It looked good. It sounded much improved, control- and gameplay-wise, over the GameCube's Crystal Chronicles. But would I be able to get into a storyline that revolved around youthful characters?

I need not have worried. Ring of Fates boasts a surprisingly rich coming of age story in a world that is beautifully realized and packed with dungeons just waiting to be looted. Even the most hardcore fans, who prefer a traditional Final Fantasy experience, will find little to disappoint here.

What a week for DS releases! Of course, in the shadow of a certain release on the Wii side of the Nintendo fence, a big week was probably necessary, but that doesn't make it any less exciting. Though there are only three DS titles scheduled for release, each one has something going for it. How often does that happen?

• Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates
• Insecticide
• Nanostray 2

In fact, there's a lot to look forward to all around the world. Europe's scoring Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker and Bomberman Land Touch! 2, among other titles, and Japan boasts our beloved Contra 4 (there, Dual Spirits), and the hilarious Duel Love. Surely you can find some time to tear yourself away from beatdowns for one of these.

With the game set for release next week, we're anxious to see how the Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles formula will work out on the DS. We had a lot of fun with the game on the GameCube and are looking forward to the Wii Ware game, so it's only natural that we'd get excited for the DS game, as well. How about you all, though? Still on the fence?

Hit up our gallery below for a bunch of new screens. It may bring you down off that fence.



[Via Wiiz]

The last Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates videos have all focused on gameplay. We were beginning to suspect that the "new Square Enix" had taken hold of DS development as well! What's all this actual footage of the game business? Final Fantasy fans want to be surprised by the real graphics and play of a Final Fantasy game.

SE has returned to form with this latest trailer, embedded here and available on the new official North American Ring of Fates website. It hits hard with some very exciting CG cutscenes before getting into a few quick snippets of the real game.

Okay, we might be a little too sensitive, but is anyone else creeped out by this clip of brutal fox-bashing in Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates? We're used to playing action RPGs, so we're not surprised by the constant bludgeoning of small animals for gold and experience. But the animals are usually fighting, or at least fighting back. And the player character usually isn't a toddler.

We can pinpoint the exact moment that this gameplay video gave us the jibblies: when the player picked up one of the creatures, stacked it on top of another, then jumped on top of the once-frolicking baby foxes and proceeded to hack at them.

Last week, we clambered onto our soapboxes to rant about the ridonkulous delay between the U.S. and European release of Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker. "No more, Square Enix!" we cried, shaking our fists and jabbing our rusty pitchforks skywards. "No more neglecting Europe!"

Despite the fact that we did this while at our desk in another country with nobody else in the room, Square Enix seems to have listened. The company just announced a PAL date for Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates, and it's not in 2013 or anything. It's on March 21st THIS YEAR, just ten days after the U.S. release. Square Enix had promised a spring release for PAL gamers all along, but we had no idea whether it would hold, much less that it would be so close to the North American release. Oh, happy days!


[Via press release]

Remember back in June when we had a new video every week for Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates leading up to its launch in Japan? Well, with the cooperative ARPG's North American release imminent (March 11, 2008), Square Enix has set up a developer blog similar to the Japanese one we ripped wholesale for its movie updates, except in our barbaric language.

The latest multimedia update on the site has a localized version of the game's opening cutscene many of you have only seen in Japanese, complete with English voice overs! The script isn't as sophisticated as we would like, and the voice acting is far from stellar, but, uh, at least we can understand it all now!

Square Enix unveiled its release strategy for early 2008 today, keeping its games on our minds and reminding us to plan our spring budgets accordingly. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates, the four-player co-op ARPG, ships out to North American stores on March 11, 2008, almost seven months since its debut in Japan. With that long of a delay, we're hoping for some added content with the US release (e.g. online features with more depth than moogle-trading).

As for The World Ends With You (a.k.a. It's a Wonderful World, Subarashiki Kono Sekai), Square Enix plans to bring the stylized romp through Tokyo's Shibuya district stateside around "spring 2008." You can check out screenshots and artwork for both games in the galleries we've dropped below. Still missing from Square Enix's schedule: Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift, Dragon Quest IV, and Dragon Quest IX.



[Via Press Release]

Our excitement levels for (deep breath) Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates are steadily rising -- not only did our ears prick up earlier this year at the Famitsu score of 35/40, but this morning we got a release date for PAL territories (spring 2008, the same as the US release) and pretty screens (bizarrely in two different sizes).

Most of all however, we're looking forward to wirelessly questing with chums on our handhelds. For many, getting four players together for a co-op game of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles on the GameCube was an almighty headache, if only because the Cube itself was just so damn sparse. Fortunately, DS ownership is somewhat more common, which should make assembling parties of warriors in Ring of Fates -- dubbed "the most accessible Final Fantasy ever" in this morning's press release -- a piece of cake.