Wednesday, May 24th, 2006
Posted by Reeve at 07:39 AM EST
Final Fantasy VII Remake Coming... Or Is It?
According to the June 2006 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly, a remake of Final Fantasy VII is being planned for a 2007 release. However, Square Enix reps told IGN that the company "has never stated this".
While it does not fully discount the possibility of a remake, for now, we should chalk this one up to the rumor mill-- especially since Yoshinori Kitase, in an October 2005 EGM article, said that if an FFVII remake would come to pass, it would take about five years to make.
(Source: ComputerAndVideoGames.com)
Friday, May 12th, 2006
Posted by Reeve at 04:35 PM EST
Major Changes Planned for Dirge of Cerberus' North American Localization
GameSpot recently posted an article covering the various changes Square Enix has planned for the North American version of Dirge of Cerberus, currently scheduled for release this August. These changes include a faster running pace for Vincent, a new double-jump move, the elimiation of the "easy" difficulty mode, and the addition of an unlockable "extra hard" mode that contains forty special missions. Much of the content for this latter addition is being adapted from the Japanese version's online multiplayer mode, which will not be included in the North American release. If you'd like to learn more, you can read the full article here.
Another recent article at GameSpot covers their impressions of Before Crisis, as shown at Square Enix's E3 booth this year. That article can be found here.
Tuesday, May 9th, 2006
Posted by Reeve at 10:35 PM EST
New Dirge of Cerberus and Crisis Core Screens, More
The Compilation of FFVII section sees a major update today with the addition of nine new screenshots from the upcoming English-language release of Dirge of Cerberus, as well as the very first official images from Crisis Core. Check out
DC Images & Media and the all-new CC Images & Media to see these new screenshots.
Speaking of DC, a new page dedicated to the recently-announced Lost Episode has been added. This page will be updated as more information about this title is revealed, so stay tuned!
Also new today is a small update to the DC FAQ, an interesting addition to our ever-growing collection of FFVII Name Origins concerning Advent Children villain Kadaj, an update to the page on Itadaki Street Special regarding its PSP sequel (which is due out in Japan later this month), and four new pieces of fanart-- two custom AC plushies by Raincloud, and two pieces featuring Reno by myself.
Monday, May 8th, 2006
Posted by Seb at 06:21 PM EST
The first Crisis Core images and a Dirge of Cerberus Mobile spinoff
Square-Enix has just held its annual Pre-E3 Press Conference. Among the announcements were news of the long awaited Crisis Core and a new Mobile Phone game based on Dirge Of Cerberus.
Despite Crisis Core being absent from the E3 lineup announced a few days ago, a trailer was shown with the first actual footage from the game. It appears that the trailer comprised of FMV cinematics rather than any actual examples of gameplay but nevertheless was impressive considering it is a PSP title. The release date has still to be decided; the trailer finished with 'A Work in Progress' which seems to suggest a 2006 release is unlikely. Information on the title can be found at the recently updated Square Enix E3 site which includes two images we presume are of cinematics featured in the trailer. No doubt more images will follow!
There was also news on Dirge of Cerberus which is now slated for release in the U.S. on August the 22nd and will include 'new features' (what these features are is as of yet unclear). Additionally there will be a Mobile Phone DoC spinoff game entitled Dirge of Cerberus: Lost Episode which should be available this summer. Images of this spinoff and a brief synopsis of the game can be seen here.
Those hoping for the announcement of a FFVII remake may be disappointed to hear that it did not materialise. Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles for Nintendo's next generation 'Wii' console and Final Fantasy XIII for the PS3 were the major announcements of the conference. Square Enix also announced two further FFXIII spinoff titles including a mobile phone based game and an action based PS3 title. These different titles will apparently be based on variations of the FFXIII Universe with each game featuring different worlds and characters but sharing the 'common mythos'. Among these is Final Fantasy Versus XIII for the PS3 which is being made by the Advent Children and Kingdom Hearts II teams and is being directed by Tetsuya Nomura.
Reports on the Press Conference can be found at both Gamespot and Game|Life
Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available!
Thursday, May 4th, 2006
Posted by Reeve at 03:45 PM EST
AC Competition Winners, AC Now Available in Australia, More
We're pleased to announce that after much deliberation, the staff and I have settled on three winners for our AC Screenshot Editing Competition. You may view these winning entries, along with three honorable mentions, here. This was a fun contest for us, and I hope we can do something like this again in the future; thanks to everyone who took time out to participate!
Next up: Advent Children was released in Australia this week! For our Aussie visitors who have yet to pick up the DVD, you may want to check out the exclusive Collector's Tin version from EzyDVD.
As far as site business goes, the Press Clippings section is now up to date with the lastest three FFVII-related press releases from Square Enix, the Errors page under Secrets & Mysteries has a new entry, the page covering Final Fantasy VII on the Nintendo 64 has been updated, and finally, submissions are once again open.
