News

Dragon Quest VI, the 1995 SNES RPG, was released in Japan yesterday on the Nintendo DS. Accompanying it is an excellent trailer filled with cosplay goodness. Does that make me want to buy the game? Probably not. What MIGHT make me interested is the Dragon Quest restaurant Josh mentioned a few weeks ago. It opened yesterday. Will it succeed? No idea.

Final Fantasy news has some more substance, fortunately. We're given a look at Final Fantasy XIII's PAL Collector's Edition. For £60, European consumers will receive, in addition to the game, a hardback FFXIII artbook, collector's cards and a "sample" CD of the game's soundtrack. Now, I'm all for collector's editions, and I understand why there's a sample instead of the full thing with this edition, but I'd still like to see a full edition that comes with the game, full soundtrack, artwork and a nice box to keep it all in. And hey, maybe give a pass for the beta of Final Fantasy XIV? That'd be pricier, obviously, but I'd seriously consider it.

Final Fantasy has had many spinoffs and sequels and sub-serieseses. Tactics (and, I guess, Ivalice), VII Collection, Crystal Chronicles, etc. The first has always been popular, what with re-releases and the Advance series. The second...well, does much need to be said? The Crystal Chronicles series, however, is one that has been declining since it's start. The Gamecube title in 2004 was largely successful, and with sequels on the Wii and Nintendo DS, Square-Enix has been frequently pursuing the series. However, it would seem that sales figures for the most recent game, Crystal Bearers, fall far shy of the sales of the original. Will the series keep going forward, or will Square quit while they're...less behind?

Remember all that talk of a Final Fantasy VII remake? You know, for like, the last 8 years? Once again, the rumours and talks have quietened thanks to Tetsuya Nomura, who does not believe one is in the works. He did, however, mention that the characters might make cameos in other games in the series. Hopefully more than just a reference, a la Final Fantasy IX. What's interesting is what Hironobu Sakaguchi is now working on. A new RPG for the Nintendo Wii entitled "The Last Story". The logo design is very Final Fantasy-esque, and, hey, so is the name. What do we know of it so far? About thiiiiis much. Good song. It's somewhat reminiscent of Final Fantasy X's orchestral version of Suteki Da Ne, if you ask me - which you totally did. And that's a good thing for the musical side.

Keep your eyes out for another news post tomorrow with lots of information regarding another upcoming Square-Enix title. That is, providing Mass Effect 2 doesn't distract me from it. In the meantime, go check out your shiny new awards! Maybe!

Source: Kotaku, Final Fantasy Union

For years, Final Fantasy VII fans have come to verbal blows over a simple question: was Cloud in love with Aeris or with Tifa? Well, nearly thirteen years after the release of Final Fantasy VII, this debate could be over, shot to hell by canon-fire.

Found in the Final Fantasy 20th Anniversary Ultimania Scenario, a picture of Cloud and Tifa sitting together under the Highwind with the following caption, translated by The Lifestream translator Tres Dias:

For the one I love
Through the long journeys, the love of the protagonists develop. Occasionally they become separated, but the two's value to one another gives them the great strength to overcome whatever crisis may come.

If that doesn't sound like Cloud x Tifa, I don't know what does. Although this will probably do little to quiet the legion of Aerith fans that insist that she was Cloud's one true love, this is probably the first truly conclusive item of evidence for either party.

Caves of Narshe is officially taking a neutral position on the validity of this information as well as the debate itself. Personally, I don't really have a horse in this proverbial race, but I have been annoyed and frustrated by Tifa vs. Aeri(th/s) debates for many years. This translated caption could very well be one localizer's opinion, but it's pretty compelling.

Source: The Lifestream, photo evidence

Final Fantasy VII International was released on the Japanese Playstation Network Store yesterday as downloadable content for PS3 and PSP devices. The asking price is 1500 yen, or about $15.

A lot of people having been talking about whether this one would actually happen or not. I'm surprised to see it did, and would now expect a US store release will follow suit in upcoming months.

Source: Japan Playstation Store

Recently, bit-tech.net conducted an interview with Yoshinori Kitase, who some gamers may recognize as the director of Final Fantasy 7. The interview is mainly about the recently released Final Fantasy 7: Crisis Core, a spin-off game for the PSP. However, the most interesting bit of the interview comes near the end, when the question is raised about whether or not there will be more prequels or sequels in the FF7 series. Kitase remains noncommittal, but mentions that they wouldn't even look at a remake of the initial game unless they could bring together the core of the FF7 development team, who are split among various projects, most notably FFXIII, so the idea won't be explored until at least after that game is completed.

Though I think a lot of good could come from a remake of FF7 on a system with much more power than the original PS1, I think I would much rather have the development team of such a great game working on newer projects. FF7 is getting a tremendous amount of overexposure as a new title within the universe seems to be released every year. It appears that the idea of a remake is at least put aside until after the completion of Final Fantasy XIII, so gamers who, like me, would rather see new content, will be placated to that end.

Those links again:
bit-tech.net
Interview with Yoshinori Kitase

Still no official announcement from Squenix, but GameStop claims that Crisis Core will ship to US customers on 28 March 2008.

Hopefully, this means that something more specific will be coming soon.

Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core, the PSP prequel to FF VII starring Zack Fair, is selling awfully well for only a week on the market. According to VGChartz (linked below), Crisis Core sold approximately 350,000 units on its first day and an additional 100,000+ units in the following week - VGChartz admits that these estimates, while impressive, are still probably lower than the true numbers. And These sales figures don't include the special limited-edition 77,777 units sold along with a customized new-model PSP, bringing the total to a minimum number of 527,000.

There is still no confirmed release in North America or Europe for Crisis Core, but once it's announced it should be posted here shortly after. With sales numbers like those in Japan and FF VII's popularity in the United States, it's a foregone conclusion that we'll see it eventually.

Source: VGChartz, via Digg.com