Caves of Narshe: Final Fantasy IV

Square Enix News Tidbits: Much PSP Media

Wed, 9 Mar 2011 00:40:45 GMT

Because I've missed a couple Fridays, here's an off-schedule Tidbits post of Square Enix news to cover the gap for a bit.

In case you missed the last post, there are big releases for PSP coming from the Final Fantasy franchise very soon. Over the past couple weeks, the company has had a media blowout to share new shinies with the gaming public from both Final Fantasy IV Collection and Dissidia Duodecim. These probably aren't new to the fans who most eagerly await these two releases, but if you're still on the fence or don't have a PSP... well, you're probably not reading this thread, are you? Okay, in that case, it's just for those of you who might be bored.

Here's a list of the new stuff by game:Final Fantasy IV CollectionNew trailer with "Interlude" content bridging the two gamesScreenshots from andriasangDissidia DuodecimMore screenshots from andriasangLow-quality video of the new Desperado Chaos characterAdditionally involving both Dissidia and FFIV Collection is the detail released last week regarding some free DLC for Dissidia. Some of it is free to all from the Playstation Store, two new costumes for Cecil can be gotten for free with purchase of Collection, and the last is just for people who belong to the Mobile Square Enix site, which will bring some free new music into the game. All of these promotions are obviously just for the Japanese Dissidia players; does anyone know from other sources or from the treatment of the first game if similar promotions will run here in the West?

Finally, a bit of bolt-on news, unrelated to the PSP; Square Enix tweeted today that they have another new Facebook game in the works. This one will be set in Japan and will center around some sort of group of fairies. I'm trusting someone else's translation, here, possibly to my chagrin. I think that previous Square Enix Facebook games have been modestly successful, though, so whatever's good for the company, why not go for it?

Source: andriasang

Square Enix News Tidbits: Spring PSP Releases

Fri, 4 Feb 2011 18:21:02 GMT

A cool week for Square Enix News Tidbits, by and large, but two upcoming PSP games from long-running Squenix franchises got North American release dates this week.

For those who haven't been turned off by the series' lack of desire to maintain a consistent game genre or play style, The 3rd Birthday got a release date as well as a lead voice actress for fan favorite Aya Brea. The game will be available to North American players on 29 March 2011 (which just happens to be this humble author's birthday, so hint, hint); if you pick the game up, you'll hear Aya voiced by Yvonne Strahovski. You might well recognize her name from her work both as a voice actress in Mass Effect 2, as Miranda, as well as her leading role in NBC's "Chuck." If you'd like to get your preorder in for this game via AmaCoN, look no further.

Another game getting a release date this week is the PSP remake of Final Fantasy IV. This one will be dropping on 19 April 2011; if you haven't seen the news, you can note that this remake will be a rollup of Final Fantasy IV with previously-Wii-only The After Years. We know that the game will get a bit of visual polish and new CG, and will probably look a bit like previous Final Fantasy remakes on the handheld, but other than that we're not quite sure which Final Fantasy IV we're getting, exactly. Picking up the game? Let us know, and do it from AmaCoN.

This is shaping up to be a massive year for Squenix on the PSP. Beyond these two games, don't forget that owners of the now-first-generation Sony handheld will be getting Tactics Ogre and the Dissidia sequel, all before the end of Spring. Keeping up will be painful.

Source: IGN, Kotaku

More Final Fantasy IV For You!

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 14:31:28 GMT

Okay, readers, let's be honest. The majority of us have played Final Fantasy IV. A decent number of us have played it on more than one system. What with the SNES version, PSX, GBA, DS and Wii, that's five different ways to play! I know what you're thinking right now. "Only five? That's pathetic! Final Fantasy I has been released on at least SIX different platforms!" And you would be correct. Square-Enix, apparently realising this, have decided to bring four up to six. By that I mean, bring Final Fantasy IV up to six platforms, and not.... you know what, never mind.

So, my friends, here's the deal. Final Fantasy IV is coming to a PSP near you. HUZZAH! It'll be coming with Super-Turbo-HD graphics, in the same vein as the Final Fantasy I and II remakes from a few years ago and NOT the 3D graphics from the DS remake. No specific release date as of yet, only "Next Spring". That's quite close.

But that's not all. Remember the sequel to Final Fantasy IV, titled "The After Years"? It was originally released on mobile phones, and then released in installments on the Wii Shop Channel. This sequel will come included in the game with the same graphical enhancements. Booya. It is not clear yet whether the sequel includes all of the episodes with it, but one assumes that that would be the only way to go.

Some people might sigh, seeing this game remade for the forty-fifth time (see linked article), but 4 is one of the games that I never really get bored of. Now I'm going to have to find one of my copies of Final Fantasy IV and play it again. Squee.

Source: Kotaku

Square Enix News Tidbits: Everything Here is AAA

Fri, 10 Sep 2010 15:41:56 GMT

Lots of stuff going on in the monolithic, despairing towers of Square Enix since the last tidbits. The biggest news of this week has been twofold - well, really only onefold unless you're in Japan.

First, as most of you already know but didn't submit to the news section, Dissidia: Final Fantasy is getting a sequel. It's going to come out next year, and it's apparently going to be called Dissidia: Duodecim, which I feel I must from now on reference as "Dissidia: Duodenum." Looks like Lightning and Kain are locked in as new entries, which is sure to please some people at least. For more discussion about this upcoming game, you can hit up the other, less news-posted thread.

Next, despite the Xbox 360 in a decided last place in this generation's console war in Japan, Squenix announced this week that they're porting Final Fantasy XIII to the console for the Japanese market. It's an "International" edition, and it's going to have an "easy" mode (because Westerners are stupid), and all the voice and sub work will be in English. Should be a pretty easy port, that said, hence the rumored release date of 16 December 2010. As one might possibly expect, a good number of Japanese gamers are up in arms about this turn of events.

Still on the topic of Final Fantasy XIII, you might remember that Motomu Toriyama implied at the Japanese launch of the game that downloadable content expansions could be in the cards, a first for a non-MMO entry in the Final Fantasy series. Nearly a year down the road, though, he's now backtracked, confirming that there once were plans for DLC, but now those plans have withered and died, like a summer blossom in mid-September (okay, so I took some poetic license there). I'm not sure how to feel about that. It seems that the single-player JRPG, as a genre, has survived for many good years without needing to bolt on extra content, and I'm not sure how dedicated the Square Enix teams are to adding new content while still keeping it relevant - were they to release DLC, I have a hunch that it would be primarily minigames. Or maybe Final Fantasy XIII Versus. Who knows?

Last week, Square Enix announced that their Japanese operation is pairing with an unannounced American developer for a new "AAA" game. For those not in the know, a AAA game is one of those that is also known as a "console seller," or a "killer app," one of those games that people fall all over themselves to buy and play. They've got big budgets and big expectations, and a lot of hype. This all sounds well and good, but the presentation announcing this was done as a Powerpoint presentation. Yeah, I know that's how most big games start, but doesn't it kind of melt your enthusiasm to know that the business folk are out there announcing how their goals include a "Metacritic score over 90," "intended for core gamers?"

In the not-news, I noticed the other day on Kotaku that Canadian popstress Lights cut her hair like Lightning. Yeah, nobody cares, but she's cute and so is her music. No sense not giving her a bit of play.

Oh, and speaking of not-news, I just yesterday finished up a hack to our beloved forums. You'll note that I've removed the IM client buttons from everyone's posts, so if you want to find someone's MSN, AIM, Y! Messenger, or... ICQ... you'll have to hop into their profile. However, you might also note that in their place I've installed a spot where you can put in your Facebook ID or vanity name, or your Twitter username, and those will now show up with each of your posts. I, naturally, have added links to both the CoN Facebook page and the CoN Twitter account for mine, because why on earth would you want to see what I myself actually have to say? Big thanks to Death Penalty for helping test this across all our forum skins, and for some quality feedback as well.

Source: SiliconEra, Kotaku

More Final Fantasy IV: After Years Content

Tue, 7 Jul 2009 16:59:15 GMT

Yesterday, on 6 July, the next three "Stories" in the After Years canon were released to the WiiWare store at a cost of three hundred Wii points apiece. The new stories belong to Edge, Palom, and Yang; however, details around each story are still sketchy in nature.

So, that being said, who among you has gotten these stories downloaded and can fill in the rest of us with regards to what's going down? If you plan to get them, you had best get started as the next batch will be out in under a month's time. After that, there's just the final large chapter coming in September and then this Final Fantasy IV spinoff will be fully in the books.

Source: Wikipedia: FFIV: The After Years

Final Fantasy IV sequel on the Wii Virtual Console

Mon, 1 Jun 2009 17:09:25 GMT

That's right, all of you Wii owners out there can see what Cecil and Rosa's son Ceodore as well as the rest of the Final Fantasy IV cast's progeny are up to today, by downloading Final Fantasy IV: The After Years for 800 Wii points (approximately $8 US).

Originally released for Japanese mobile phones, The After Years is the first of an unknown number of chapters of a new adventure. The planet's second moon has reappeared out of nowhere, and a mysterious blue-clad woman is attempting to steal the world's eight crystals. Kain has also exiled himself to Mount. Ordeals, where he hopes to return as someone cleansed of his inner darkness. If you want to find out how all of this new plot goes down, then it's time to get downloading.

Source: <a href="http://kotaku.com/5273891/the-nintendo-download-final-fantasy-iv-continues">Kotaku</a>

Final Fantasy IV Sequel Shows Up on ESRB

Sun, 1 Mar 2009 19:24:33 GMT

Could this be the start of a trend? First Japanese cellphone-exclusives The Third Birthday and Final Fantasy Agito XIII receive PSP ports, and now we have a WiiWare port for the cellphone-exclusive Final Fantasy IV The After: Tsuki no Kikan.

This sequel to Final Fantasy IV is planned to be released in monthly installments over Japanese cellphones. Virtually all of the surviving characters from Final Fantasy IV make appearances, with a few of their offspring as playable characters (Cecil's son Theodor and Yang's daughter Ursula). Kain makes a key appearance as one of the game's major antagonists. The game uses a traditional SNES-era Final Fantasy interface, with 2D sprites, the ATB system, and random battles. The stats of players and appearances of monsters vary on lunar phases, which can be changed by spending the night at an inn. In addition, players can execute powerful "band" attacks that require any two players taking action, similar to Twin attacks in Final Fantasy IV DS or Dual Techs in Chrono Trigger.

The ESRB (North America's rating organization for videogames, the equivalent of Europe's PEGI or Japan's CERO) has published ratings for Final Fantasy IV: The After Years as a WiiWare game dated for 2009. This is all the information we have on a non-Japanese release, and hopefully we'll have more information soon.

Source: <a href="http://kotaku.com/5161587/the-esrb-rates-wii-final-fantasy-iv-sequel">Kotaku</a>

Release Dates: FF4DS (EU) and Harvest Moons (US)

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 14:51:30 GMT

After too much waiting for a game that doesn't require any real localization at all, Amazon.co.uk now has a release date for Final Fantasy IV DS; it's September 5, 2008. Of course, that's coming up in just over three weeks, which really makes sense given that there wasn't any real localization necessary. As usual, AmaCoN tries hard to get all preorders to you on the actual release date of the game, so you won't have to wait: <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.co.uk%2FFinal-Fantasy-IV-Nintendo-DS%2Fdp%2FB001B42EDA%2Fref%3Dsr_1_4%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Dvideogames%26qid%3D1218633663%26sr%3D8-4&tag=cavesofnarshe-21&linkCode=ur2&camp=1634&creative=6738">order now</a>.

The other new release dates for the day are for the new Harvest Moon games, for the Nintendo DS and Nintendo Wii, subtitled "Island of Happiness" and "Tree of Tranquility" respectively. While the Harvest Moon series has always been a bit niche, even for a series that has been going on for over a decade, I know there are quite a few fans who might be looking to pick these games up; if you're one of them, you can preorder now for a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FHarvest-Moon-Island-Happiness-Nintendo-DS%2Fdp%2FB00149TZ66%2Fref%3Dpd_bbs_sr_2%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Dvideogames%26qid%3D1218634841%26sr%3D8-2&tag=cavesofnarshe-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325">DS release on August 26</a> and a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FHarvest-Moon-Tree-Tranquility-Nintendo-Wii%2Fdp%2FB0018RYC9Y%2Fref%3Dpd_bbs_sr_1%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Dvideogames%26qid%3D1218634841%26sr%3D8-1&tag=cavesofnarshe-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325">Wii release on September 16</a>. Not only that, Amazon preorders for these games pack in farm animal plushies as bonuses. So, uh, get your farm... animals?

Final Fantasy IV DS Developers' Q and A

Tue, 1 Jul 2008 15:29:34 GMT

The development team for Final Fantasy IV DS, beyond simply <a href="http://ff4developers.cocolog-nifty.com/">having a blog</a>, is opening itself up for a web-based question and answer session with us, the fans, starting now. This is all being facilitated by the <a href="http://member.square-enix.com/na/blog/2008/06/final-fantasy-iv-fanpowered-qa.php">Square-Enix Members Blog</a>, and you have to have an account to participate, but if you don't have one and don't feel like signing up, please feel free to ask your question right here and I'll be happy to submit it on your behalf.

They're a bit nebulous on the deadlines for submitting questions and the posting of the collection of answers, but I would imagine that all of this will be happening over the next couple weeks so that they can publish the final article no later than the North American release date of the DS game, which is still currently scheduled for July 22.

Source:
<a href="http://member.square-enix.com/na/blog/">Square-Enix Members Blog</a>

Finally, Final Fantasy IV DS with English

Sat, 31 May 2008 16:27:30 GMT

In advance of the upcoming North America release, now under two months away, the official Square-Enix blog has now published <a href="http://member.square-enix.com/na/videos/">the first English-voiceover video</a> from the game. This video is meant to be an in-store promo, so you should also be able to see it quite soon at your favorite game shop.

Far be it from me to comment on the voice acting, as I'm no expert on the matter, but it sounds solid enough to me. If anything, it's just good to finally hear it in English; they could have Bobcat Goldthwait and Gilbert Godfried doing the lead roles and it would still be nice to finally see the progress towards launch.

Finally, of course, I have to ask, why haven't you <a href="http://www.cavesofnarshe.com/amacon/redirector.php?aurl=http://www.amazon.com/Square-Enix-90811-Final-Fantasy/dp/B00184219U/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8;s=videogames;qid=1211590038;sr=8-1">pre-ordered it from AmaCoN yet</a>?

Source:
<a href="http://member.square-enix.com/na/">Square-Enix Members Blog</a>