News

This week's issue of Jump Magazine revealed a new Square Enix title for the Nintendo 3DS handheld, Final Fantasy Explorers.

Final Fantasy Explorers will be a multiplayer action-RPG. We don't know a whole lot about the game yet, and other than that, what we do know is fairly stereotypical for Square Enix: you search for crystals, select from various Jobs as the main strategy element, and fight familiar summons from throughout the series. Nobody pulled any muscles coming up with that concept!

The Black Mage, White Mage, Monk, and Knight were all revealed in the Jump article each occupying their accustomed combat roles, while other traditional Jobs from throughout the Final Fantasy series are promised to follow. Ifrit was the only summon revealed, but the article again assured that he would be accompanied by other well-known summons(/espers/eidolons, if you prefer) from throughout the Final Fantasy series.

Interestingly, I don't believe anything about Explorers has been shown yet in Square Enix's live-streaming E3 conference. Perhaps it's just too early on in development; or perhaps something will show up tomorrow?

Source: Siliconera

I posted earlier today about Type-0 being localized, and how Square Enix sneaked that news into the end of their announcement trailer for Final Fantasy Agito. None of us were aware, though, that the Type-0 news there was actually not the big one of the day: the company just announced that this game, AWOL for so long, will actually appear on the Playstation 4 and Xbox One.

The new version will be in HD, of course, but absolutely no other details have been released, including whether the original handheld version will be localized now, or not. Naturally, this is causing some distress among some who clamored for the original game to be released, as they seem to feel betrayed by the fact that the game they asked for will not be on a console they currently own.

This has been a whirlwind first day of E3, so don't be surprised if more details are yet to emerge!

Edited to add: OK, so I probably should have figured this out from the first post. I guess I was really too quick on the trigger, eh?

Source: Square Enix

Turn everything off, pack everything up, the news for which we've been waiting all our lives is finally here: G-Bike, the mini-game from Final Fantasy VII, is going to be released for your mobile (both iOS and Android) devices. The game will be free to download with available in-app purchases, but no release date has been set.

The classic mini-game is completely re-imagined, however: in addition to a considerably spiffier appearance, the video posted on the Square Enix blog (source link below) shows a number of additional moves. Apparently you can customize your bike and/or weapon and/or character, level-up, and obtain items. We are also assured that, in addition to new enemies and old, there will be boss battles featuring familiar favorites.

We'll continue updating news as we hear it for the rest of E3, so keep checking in! Or as always, if you're already watching coverage yourself, drop by CoNchat to join in on the assorted heckling / joy-squealing!

Source: Square Enix

Quick E3 update for you all: the headline says most everything. Final Fantasy Agito has been confirmed for iOS and Android outside of Japan; both versions will be free-to-play with IAP - big surprise.

The real big surprise, though, is that Square have finally heard enough of petitions and tweets: Final Fantasy Type-0 is now confirmed to have a future Western release, with localization underway. As yet, there is no further information.

Just a quick one to move you on down the road today. Maybe we'll get more soon!

Source: Square Enix

Theatrhythm: Curtain Call is making a splash with its large tracklist and new game modes, so it's no surprise that this week's announcements are also building interest. The Western release date is now confirmed to be September 16th of this year, a shade over four months away. Possibly even bigger news for you guys waiting for it is the fact that apparently the Collector's Edition, including special packaging, a 3DS case, a lot of music and some collectible cards, will have a limited edition of only 5000. This edition is only available through Square Enix' online store, but it's not clear if that number is only for the United States or all of North America. If you want it, you better get your preorder in immediately.

We've mentioned a couple times already that E3 is on the way; Square is giving a mixed bag before it starts, though. Starting with the bright side, there's a new trailer for Kingdom Hearts 2.5 HD Remix. Sure, it's just a trailer, albeit with the official release date (December 2, 2014), but Kingdom Hearts fans will be most intrigued by the end: it's the most specific confirmation yet that Kingdom Hearts 3 is in development, and it talks a bit about what might be included. A couple comments at Kotaku imply that there are a couple frames of what appear to be HD versions of Dream Drop Distance, too.

OK, time for the downside of the E3 news, sorry. The next Famitsu has an interview with Shinji Hashimoto that explicitly states that there will be nothing for either Kingdom Hearts III or Final Fantasy XV at the show this year. In development, sure. Anything worth showing to fans? Apparently not!

Source: Square Enix, Kotaku