Track this topic | Email this topic | Print this topic

Courtesy our friends at RPGamer:

Square-Enix has announced a prequel to their blockbuster hit, Final Fantasy VII, named Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII. Unlike Advent Children, which is a movie, this is an actual game with battles and action and everything you'd expect from an RPG. What you wouldn't expect is the platform of the game -- Square-Enix has decided that the cell phone market is good enough to release the game there. This raises questions about the ability to bring Before Crisis to the United States, because as anyone who has been to Japan can attest, the cell phone technology in Japan is much more advanced than what is available stateside.

Personally, I think that it's a good idea for Squenix to do the prequel, because it will sell. I think it's a horrible idea to release the game on cellphones. I don't know if their plan is to goad people into buying their cellphone technology or what, but I certainly wouldn't buy a phone just to play a game. This should be a big thing to discuss -- please do it here!

--------------------

Hey, put the cellphone down for a while
In the night there is something wild
Can you hear it breathing?
And hey, put the laptop down for a while
In the night there is something wild
I feel it, it's leaving me

They should put it on the PS2, but a prequel for FFVII is cool, but why does FFVII get all of this special treatment.

Sounds horrible. I'd like to comment more right now, but I feel somewhat neaseated. I dare someone to argue with me about whether or not Square is going downhill.

--------------------

"That Light has bestowed upon me the greatest black magic!"

Producing games like FFVII, which should be produced for Playstation or other such 3D system, producing games like this on cellphones is a horrible mistake.

If it is only released for cell phones, then yes, I agree that SquareEnix is going downhill.

--------------------

Wow. 1,000 posts.

I miss you all now that I'm in boarding school! ;_;

News: good
Format: Strike Three. Get the Tridents

Clearly, the brains of Squenix were sold when the Enix lads and ladies move din to make space for extra coffee machines. First the travesty of an online game in the sereis, then a Sequel, then a sequle thats a movie, now this. If people did this kinda thing to a human, it'd be GBH. But since its just murdering a game series, no one cares...

Edit

Oh yeah: i have not had a Mobile for 4 years, i'll be damned if this makes me buy one.

This post has been edited by Del S on 11th May 2004 22:13

--------------------

"Only the dead have seen the end of their quotes being misattributed to Plato."
-George Santayana

"The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here..."
-Abraham Lincoln, prior to the discovery of Irony.

This is a terrible idea to have it on a cellphone. I don't think it will sell all that great to be honest. They should go ahead and release it on PS2 or something. People who don't have cellphones don't want to go out and buy a cellphone just to play a FF game. You know how some FF gamers are...they have to play all the FF games...

First of all...AWESOME FF7 Prequel ...ok, happyness over Ok, Grrr...First of all, WHAT THE FF IS GOING ON HERE!!!.....Cellphones? No..No..NO..NOoo...NO...NO!!! ::bangs head on table:: NO...NO...no...No.nnoOOOOOOO!

Ok, Fetal position over...



What a horrable idea to put it on Cellphones...I mean, Look at the N-gauge, it sold like a Black Sabbath album at a Church Banquet. And Look at cell phones, They are used for TALKING!!!!!...not Games, I can't stress that enough..but as a FF fan...I shall purchase it...hopefully, the people at Squenix can get the Gunk out of their brains from too much FFXI....to make it for a diffrent console.

--------------------

"I don't need to be a global citizen,
'Cuz I'm blessed by nationality.
I'm member of a growing populace,
We enforce our popularity.
There are things that seem to pull us under and,
There are things that drag us down.
But there's a power and a vital presence,
It's lurking all around."

Bad Religion - "American Jesus"

I'm starting to wonder if Squenix realizes that there's more than one FF. Does Tetsuya Nomura have naughty pictures of all the higher-ups there?

Also, the whole cell phone idea is kinda weird. Maybe someone will create an emulator...

--------------------

"I sat alone and I didn't care,
I sat two years in the same old chair,
I saw three roads but didn't know,
Which way to go-go-go"
My Coco, stellastarr*

Wait wait, maybe there's more to this than meets the eye.

Maybe Squenix is releasing the FFVII prequel for cell phones but that does not exclude the possibility that the cell phone game will just be a cut-down version of a PS2 game. I just read the article again, and it says, I quote:

Quote (RPGamer)

The biggest surprise about the game is probably that it is being developed by Square Enix's Mobile sub-division for use on cellphones.

It says "for use on cell phones", but it doesn't say anything about it not being released on a real console.

Just thought I'd shed my views on it. Maybe I'm wrong, but even in Square's present shape, I don't think they're so idiotic they'd produce a prequel to one of their most popular games on cell phones. In any case, though, producing a game for a cell hpone is a bad idea. Unless it's Tetris or Q-Bert.

OK, I'm done now.

--------------------

Wow. 1,000 posts.

I miss you all now that I'm in boarding school! ;_;

Yay! I love the optimism Figaro, props. Let's HOPE that's the case, considering it doesn't say for sure. Anyway, there is the possibility they may rerelease it in the US for the playstation paired with Tactics Advance for more money (If you don't have a cellphone or a gba), like antholagy & origins.

Anyway, if it's gonna be on cell phones, i'm assuming it's 2d, which is wierd. Don't get me wrong I LOVE 2D games, but a 2d partner to a 3d game is just wierd (And vice versa.)

--------------------

"We're not tools of the government or anyone else. Fighting... fighting was the only thing I was ever good at, but at least I always fought for what I believed in." - Frank Yeager (a.k.a. Grey Fox)

If it's being developed by the "Mobile sub-division", you have to assume that that's its primary target, otherwise they'd just be converting it at some point later.

It's really stupid. The only announced Square Enix project I've actually been interested in, and then they make the target platform mobile freakin' phones. Bizarre.

Or... I don't know. Did anyone even know Squenix HAD a "Mobile sub-division"? It's been stated before, if I'm not mistaken, that the main team don't have the resources to be making prequels/sequels unless it's something where they can reuse substantial amounts of the original work over again (10-2). Perhaps it was deemed that the only way something like this would get made would be to pass it off onto some small division. And hey: for all you guys who say there's more opportunity to concentrate on plot and gameplay in 2D games, maybe we'll get to see that here, which wouldn't be a bad thing.

Or not, since none of us have anything to play it on. Ah well. Someone will probably make an emulator.

It's a smart idea from their point of view, no doubt. Because there will be people who be persuaded to spent those extra amounts of cash on a cellphone high-tech enough to play the game. Not to mention hardcore-FF fans who'll buy the phone just because of the prequel.

On the other hand, this is an example of monopoly abuse if I ever saw one. It's like Internet Explorer...I know it's crappy and all, but I use it since it's included in Microsoft programming and that's , plain and simple, the stuff you work with unless you want to dive head-first into more expensive, more complicated and lesser known systems.

Furthermore, I'd rahter have seen a FF VI preqeul...but I've never bothered with the VII game at all, and the few things I've seen/heard about it have led me to believe that VII was a mistake that was later corrected with VIII.



--------------------

The Collapse of Heaven and Earth

That's the most bizarre idea I've ever heard.

Quote (Tiddles @ 12th May 2004 03:55)

Or... I don't know. Did anyone even know Squenix HAD a "Mobile sub-division"?

There is out (or maybe they are still making them) cell phone versions of FF1 and DQ/DW1. I'd imagine the Mobile Gaming Unit handled these titles.

Even though they discussed it at E3, who knows if Square Enix will even release this game in the US. The cell phone market is much mre standardized in Japan.

--------------------

"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." - Aristotle

I read this and became very happy. But then I read that it was going to be only on cell phones . Curse you SquareEnix, CURSE YOU!!!

I doubt it will come to the States mainly because it's going to be a cell phone game. I wouldn't buy it even if it did come, just because of the fact that it's only on the cell phone.

Here some more info and pics...
http://www.gamesarefun.com/news.php?newsid=884

--------------------

I will be the mustard of your doom!

FINAL FANTASY.... IN .... CELL PHONE>SS>SS>>!~>!>!>>!>~>!>>!!>>!!?!?!??>!?!?

I CANNOT BELEIVE IT!!!! WHAT A HORRIBLE IDEA!!!! THEY SHOULD FREWAKIN PUT IT ON PS2!!!!!! NOT CELLPHONES!!! BOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Sware is sorta going on a downwardhill (goes on his bed and starts to cry)

This is friggin' out rageous!!!!!!! What is wrong with them???!!!! These people that came up with this Cellphone thing obviously did not graduate 1st grade...what kind of idiots??!!.....I think I'm just gonna drop it there before I go off the deep end...Ihonestly I would rather them not even make a prequel then make one on a cellphone...!@%$#$%#@$%^@#$%%!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

--------------------

Climhazzard is the timeless evil robot who runs some of the cool stuff at CoN (mostly logging chat, since there are no quizzes at the moment), all the while watching and waiting for his moment to take over the world. -Tiddles

Hey guys, chill out. It's not the end of the world (OK, maybe it is) but you don't really need to respond with pages of gibberish and exclamation marks.

If you're going to lament, at least do it grammatically.

And no matter what systems it comes out for, I probably won't buy it. Unless it comes out for PC. In which case, I'll get it somehow.

And with that rant, I get 700 posts.

This post has been edited by Figaro on 12th May 2004 23:57

--------------------

Wow. 1,000 posts.

I miss you all now that I'm in boarding school! ;_;

What the heck are they thinking!? I read this on the main page and couldn't belive my eyes, then, going to square-enix U.S.A. they DO have a section for their mobile division up. This is completely outrageous! I just cannot belive what has happened. Enix has begun to taint Square with its Sucky-ness.

--------------------

Come, my love, I won't hurt you, I won't bite. Allow me to steal your love, to take you in my arms, and enter the sweet abyss.
~Kincaid~

And there goes my plans to make an unofficial FF7 game for the PC.

I read this yesterday and I'm not excited in the least. I think making another prequel/sequel is the sign that Square-Enix is just trying to play off past successes, FF7 being one of their biggest ever.

It will sell, no doubt, but I can't think of any reason why they'd want to apply to the demographic that wants sequels to every game made by man instead of new console games.

In addition to not buying a phone, I'm not going to buy a strictly on-line game. Christ, at least they created some good games before they experimented with happy grass. =/

--------------------

It's gonna be a glorious day
I feel my luck can change

Wow. Hey, new slogan:
Squenix: Getting the cash cow drunk and taking advantage of it.

I am not a fan of pre/sequels (in the traditional sense) of games, so I already don't like the idea. FFX-2 was tolerable because people have said FFX left it open for a sequel. FFVII-AC and FFVII-BC are going too far. But, I admit, you have to love the prequel's abbreviation, as it hints at it being a prequel.

As far as cell phones go, it seems Squenix (has faith in/loves to mock) fanboys.

--------------------

"I had to write four novels before they let me write comic books."
-Brad Meltzer

It will probably sell record amounts in Japan. The Japanese aren't complaining at all! I do find it a little naive of Square to deny their North American market this way, though.

--------------------

Lou: There's a couple of guys fighting down at the aquarium, Chief.
Wiggum: Do they still sell those frozen bananas?
Lou: I think so.
Wiggum: Let's roll.

If I were you guys I wouldn't be too worried. If I know people in this country they'll find a way to emulate the technology and then we can all play it on our pc's.. look what happened with game boy advance. I already have most of the games I bought on my pc from downloads. lol anyway don't fret I'm sure Square is still kickin good vibes. They didn't get to be this big from denying their fan base.

Feh. What's so great about FFVII anyway?

That was sort of a joke.

But everyone in Japan has cell phones, from what I understand, so selling a game on phones is probably a good idea from their stand point. Why make it an FFVII tie-in? Who knows?

Personally, I've pretty much had it with Final Fantasy. I've grown tired of uber-long RPGs, so I think after playing FF1-10, I'm done with the series. With XI being an MMORPG, XII looking like old school Medieval FF we've seen time and time again (and apparently diverging some from the traditional FF), X-2's style being so radically different from X while not really adding much of anything to the storyline, I pretty much have come to the conclusion that Final Fantasy the Series ended with FFX. That said, unless another FF Tactics is made, I think I'm just staying away from FF for awhile, maybe Squenix in general. Hell, they out to just end the series, come up with another title, and go from there.

But that wouldn't be smart marketing would it?

On the other hand, there's this idea: "Hey, let's make a sequel involving, get this, Final Fantasy VII! Yeah! Cuz we haven't milked that cow dead yet!" and then putting it on phones, well, hell, if it ever does get made that way and is sent to the US market, count me out. If they want to make it portable, but it on Gameboy Advance. At least that is a device meant to play games.

Which leads me to my next point!: When the hell did cell phones become PCs?! I thought the idea was to talk to people from any location! Now, you can't get a decent cell phone without all this extra, useless crap attached to it. I don't want to take pictures, surf the net, send text messages, send photos with voice, download porn, play video games on my stupid phone, so I can eat up even more minutes and money. If I want a protable PC, I'll bring a lab top. Least that has a screen meant to display such things.

Anyway, FFVII prequel on a phone seems like a bad idea form our point of view, but if its mainly for a Japanese only market, I can see it working. I can only wonder about its quality though... we're talking an RPG here, not Nintendo and Atari games. Everyone here's syaing put it on the PS2; I seriously doubt the game is that advanced, otherwise, how they'd get a PS2 level game on a phone?

Either way, any game made for such a tiny "system", I don't think could be very good quality, especially if its supposed to be an RPG of current standards.

--------------------

And behold, I saw a Pale Gaming System, and the name of he who rode it was Squaresoft, and Enix followed him.

it's kinda sad to see them doing this cause heck.. to get a good phone with color and good games is like over 100 or 200 bucks.. let alone you have to spend about 40 to 60 bucks or more just for minutes. i'm just fine playing snakes II on my dad's cell phone.. but why make a RPG for a cell phone????

I can proably see some of they stuff they got out on it now.. but ff1/DQ/ff7:bc????

--------------------

Shinrin's Youtube Gaming

alright good thing for a prequel. however, in edmonton, alberta... schools are banning the students using cell phones (or even having them in the school building)... so when would we get a chance to play this game???? it ticks me off

--------------------

~ A Hero Is Someone Who Stands When Their Legs Are Gone~

Quote (Zechs @ 4th June 2004 14:00)

alright good thing for a prequel. however, in edmonton, alberta... schools are banning the students using cell phones (or even having them in the school building)... so when would we get a chance to play this game???? it ticks me off

At home. It's not like you bring your PS2 to school.

--------------------

"I had to write four novels before they let me write comic books."
-Brad Meltzer

According to this Month(July's issue) of Game Informer i recieved today- the Game is called FF7-Before Crisis- Where you star as a Turk before the game. I don't know about the platform- but if this were on PS2 or summat i would buy it.

--------------------

If you've been mod-o-fied,
It's an illusion, and you're in-between.
Don't you be tarot-fied,
It's just alot of nothing, so what can it mean?
~Frank Zappa

Sins exist only for people who are on the Way or approaching the Way

a pre-sequal AND a sequal is too much even 4 ff7. comon squenix can do better than this. i definatly dont like the idea of ffXII being for cell phones. i admit im an addict but im not going out and buying a phone just to play ff.

....we can only hope that they find there sanity soon....

i didnt know they had a cell phone division, confusing.
xXXx