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For the large number of users who haven't caved in front of the Apple iOS megalith, it is disappointing to have a mobile platform that doesn't have many Square Enix games. (I wouldn't know, I'm already far too invested in the Apple appconomy.)

Squenix are now taking at least one step to rectify that - Final Fantasy Tactics is being refreshed and released for Android. So far, this is just for Japan, but there's no reason to expect that it won't be localized.

This Android release is very similar to the Apple release, with touchscreen controls for selecting options, and multitouch gestures to navigate the battlefields. The gestures are disconcerting at first if you are used to the console and PSP versions, but they work pretty well once you adapt. The Android version will even leapfrog the iOS port with crisper graphics and a higher framerate, though those features will be released to iOS as well sometime in the future.

Final Fantasy Tactics is becoming one of the more-ported games in the series now, and it's with good reason. If you haven't played this game before and have an Android device, it's definitely worth grabbing as soon as it's available.

Source: Siliconera

Starting today, the North American PSN store has a series of Final Fantasy games half off. Which games, you might ask? Well, a bucket of them. You can get a version of every numbered Final Fantasy game up through IX (not including III, which never has had a Sony release). Most of the games are the PS One versions, including Origins, Anthology, and the three released originally for the first PlayStation. Final Fantasy IV's PSP version is included, as is Tactics: War of the Lions. Rounding out the set are three games from the Dissidia series.

This sale is 50% off the top and will be running for two weeks. The game selection is a little different than the European-region sale that we, uh, forgot to post about until right now. That sale's over, though. Sorry about that.

Source: US PlayStation Blog

I can't speak for everyone that owns an idevice, but I have been anxiously awaiting the port of Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions for the iOS since I first heard about it.

Originally stated to be released sometime in September 2010, then delayed until May 2011, then again delayed until 'sometime from June to July', Square Enix have finally confirmed that Thursday, Aug. 4th they will be releasing the title, finally. Yes, that's 2011.

No tricks!

The iOS version will be released Thursday for iPhone 4G and 3GS (but not 3G, as they claim it was too slow on said product), and iPod Touch. iPad users will have to hang on for just a brief while longer as they've slated release for it to be sometime next month.

Though they've done little to update graphics-wise, it will support some nice, clean retina display looks, faster load times than the PSP version, all at the cost of dropping the multiplayer function from the game. A slight shame, but I doubt anyone will be crying too much over that factor.

Come Thursday, Aug. 4th, it'll be available in the App Store for 1800 yen/$15.99 US/€12.99. Woot!

Even though that's a big price for an app, it'll be worth it for such a title, and furthermore, as we've seen with their past port releases, you can likely expect a price drop on their other titles, so keep an eye out for that as well!

Source: SQUARE ENIX DLG@Facebook, RPGFan

Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions, the 2007 PSP remake of Final Fantasy Tactics, will be released on iOS compatible devices in June or July of this year. First announced to be coming to those platforms at E3 2010, soon iPhone and iPad users will be able to enjoy the game with a new touch-friendly interface and slightly wider viewing window.

Square-Enix has not given an official, concrete release date for the game yet, but promises the iPhone version will land in June or July. The iPad version may take a little longer to hit Apple's app store due to the challenges presented by developing for a the larger screen, but one of the game's producers assured fans that the gap between formats will not be a long one.

Source: Square Enix's Facebook page

You might recall laszlow's post from a couple months back, in which we, the gamers, were invited to vote upon which games should be included in their retrospective. Time has flown, and now the results have been made public - well, people who voted got the results an hour ago, but now they're actually public.

So, how did your favorite games do? If you're thinking specifically of Square Enix games, they did pretty okay. For the PlayStation, three of the four games came from the old Squaresoft: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy Tactics, and Einhander. Beyond that, though, not so hot; Final Fantasy lost to Zelda, Chrono Trigger also lost to Zelda, and Actraiser whiffed against the first Sim City on SNES.

I think a fair number of the results were pretty predictable, but that's probably because a lot of the games are either truly impressive, had lax competition in their categories, or both. I happily greeted the news that Bioshock and Portal both got in, personally, and was quite amused to see Minecraft topple the Starcraft II juggernaut. To form your own opinions, just hit the source link below.

Source: Smithsonian Institute

Got an iPhone? Love Final Fantasy Tactics? As we reported back during E3, Square Enix is bringing FFT and Secret of Mana to the iPhone (and, presumably at some point, the iPad).

Well, the announced release date for the game, 15 September, has now come and gone, and word has come today that the game has obviously been delayed, and no new release date has been announced as yet.

Frankly, I forgot this was coming out, because I still haven't finished my PSP game. I don't really need it for my iPhone. Hope it's not to disappointing for any of you wanting it, though, particularly if you were waiting for it on the iPad.

Source: Gizmodo