News

Coloring Dragons, a website dedicated primarily to the hosting and discussion of webcomics, has just published an interview of Rangers51 of the Caves of Narshe (yes, that's me speaking in the third person). The initial interview took place in spring of 2008, and I sat down again with them just today to refresh the content after seeing the interview recently posted featuring CoN member Orinocou. Will you find it interesting? Well, probably not, because as a CoN reader you have already heard me spouting off my philosophies for many a year; however, since this is the first time that I can recall being interviewed simply for being an awesome webbish guy, you might as well check it out.

Source: Coloring Dragons

After ignoring it for far too long, I've now gone through and reconfigured the wallpaper section of CoN to be database-driven; additionally, I've rebranded all the offerings so they're more recognizably CoN. What this means to you, the visitor, is that you can now search through all our wallpapers by size or game, and that we've expanded the total collection from just forty-one total wallpapers across all sizes and designs to over two hundred, including the first wallpapers for both Chrono Trigger and the site itself. So, please, install a wallpaper. Don't let my work be in vain.

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: Kotaku

Even though it's still not the E3 of years past, there's no way to not get a little interested in the gaming industry this time every year. For my part, personally, I'm a little disappointed that I no longer work at home and therefore can't watch some of the live coverage; however, I'm sure there will still be some live chatting going on at the house of CoN as news breaks. That being said, there have been some pre-Expo, Square Enix news dribblings that have come to light over the past week, so why don't we get you primed up for this week's events by recapping them briefly here?

First off, check out the massive adverts for Final Fantasy XIII that were hung in Los Angeles last week. There are three, one with Vanilla, one with Snow, and one with Lightning (luckily, the names aren't plastered on the adverts, so non-gamers will have less to mock), all on adjacent buildings. Since the game isn't coming out for a bare minimum of seven months, and probably more like twelve, this might seem premature; however, it seems like these ads might hang for quite a while, since they were covering up similar banners for Grand Theft Auto IV, a game that launched fifteen months ago.

In other news, it's been announced that Final Fantasy XI, the numeral that won't die, is getting another platform on which to hang out. This time it's Playstation 3; however, it's as yet unknown whether this version will sport any sort of refactoring, or whether it will be a straight rollup of all content previously released for Windows and the 360. However, does it really matter? Surely this game is reaching its critical mass of gamers, and simply releasing it for another system isn't alone going to breathe new life into the game. In other words, don't you think anyone who had much intention of playing FFXI has done so by now?

Famitsu has also been talking again with Tetsuya Nomura, and he threw out some typical but interesting tidbits of information. Top of that list is that Squenix is getting more involved with Playstation Network downloadable content; it's come out since that he was specifically referring to a PS3 (and PSP) release of Final Fantasy VII, though there's surely more to come. Additionally, it seems that Final Fantasy XIII must be making great progress, as Nomura himself has moved on from being involved in development to focus most of his time on Versus and Agito. And, in what is clearly the most interesting news for me (or would be if I had a PSP), the newest Parasite Eve sequel has not yet been cancelled!

And, finally, the Square Enix Members Blog also published late last week the official list of titles being shown by Square Enix at E3 this year. Look for more information on some of these as the week goes on.

• DISSIDIA FINAL FANTASY


• FINAL FANTASY XIII Ed: look out for a new video trailer, here.


• FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: THE CRYSTAL BEARERS


• FRONT MISSION EVOLVED


• KINGDOM HEARTS 358/2 Days


• NIER


• ORDER OF WAR


• SUPREME COMMANDER 2


• FINAL FANTASY IV: THE AFTER YEARS


• FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: My Life as a Darklord

Enjoy your E3, and tip us off if we miss any big news!

Sources: Square Enix Members Blog
The Magic Box
Kotaku

And none of them are games!

To commemorate the series' 20-year anniversary, Square-Enix are releasing the full soundtrack to the series, on 20 discs! In addition to the soundtrack(s), the package also comes with a bonus DVD filled with unspecified extras. "How much?" I hear the crowds cry! Well, this little bundle is just a bargain at a mere $220! Aren't Square-Enix so generous?

Honestly, i've never played a SaGa game, but I have heard selected parts of the soundtrack, and while i'd rather take a Final Fantasy collection, SaGa definitely has a soundtrack worth listening to.

Source: Kotaku

Apparently Japan isn't running out of ways to transform nostalgia into gold, because we have another handheld remake of a popular RPG on our hands. Lunar: The Silver Star, which has already seen remakes on the PlayStation, Sega Saturn, and Game Boy Advance, is receiving a new coat of paint on the PlayStation Portable as Lunar: Harmony of Silver Star. The game is being remade from the bottom up, with new visuals, gameplay, cutscenes, and voice work.

All we have on the game so far is a magazine ad and a few screenshots (right here), but really, it's a remake. You should probably know what to expect, and if you're a longtime Lunar fan like I am, then you have another difficult choice on your hands: do I like this game enough to buy a remake and play it again, or have all the times I've played it in the past been enough? Gamers in the West can probably expect to receive this remake, since goodness knows we have a thousand other PSP remakes lying around (From Ape Escape: On the Loose to Ys Chronicles I and II) and most of the games in the Lunar series have made the trip across the Pacific. Personally, I'm not sure if I have any nostalgia left at this point.

Source: Kotaku