My first MMO experience was with Final Fantasy XI, Square-Enix’s first entry into the genre. For whatever else it was – forced grouping, unneeded time sinks, brutal deaths – they did one thing exceedingly well: telling the story. Here’s hoping they change some things about the game mechanics here and there so it can be more enjoyable to go adventuring in the land of Eorzea in their next foray into the MMO realm.
What could Final Fantasy fans want more than a bunch of their favorite characters from past titles all kicking each other’s ass in one game? Nothing, that’s what. Its a Final Fantasy fanboy’s wet dream. That being said, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I loaded up the demo. Sure, I’ve read the articles and watched videos about the Japanese version of the game – it did pretty well, from what I hear.
As you probably know, lately the genre lines have somewhat blurred, with shooter/RPG lovechilds being fairly popular. Well, Dissidia does that, but it meshes together 3D fighters and RPGs. Battle feels a lot like the battle system in Crisis Core, except on a larger scale. You’ll see over-the-top attacks, huge, sweeping jumps, dashes and signature moves from characters we all know and love.
Keep dreaming of those pretty graphics, awesome orchestral sounds, and the gameplay you expect from Final Fantasy titles. The next in the series won’t be hitting North American shores until at least April 2010, according to a interview with Square Enix President Yoichi Wada.
The game is scheduled for release in Japan in 2009, so brush up on your Japanese and importing skills if you have any inkling of playing the game this year.
This isn’t all that surprising given Square Enix’s track record with delaying product for a long time. There will be plenty of other big titles this year to keep your gaming time occupied, so hold on a bit longer.
Six years later and Final Fantasy XI is still receiving DLC, that’s dedication. Square Enix plans to release three brand spanking new expansion scenarios for Final Fantasy XI over the course of next year. The expansions will be made available through the PlayOnline Viewer across all platforms simultaneously.
The three expansions are titled A Crystalline Prophecy – Ode of Life Bestowing, A Moogle Kupo d’Etat – Evil in Small Doses and A Shantotto Ascension – The Legend Torn, Her Empire Born. The first to be released in the spring of 2009 and the other two will follow in the order listed above. The Rise of the Zilart expansion is required to play any of the new expansions.
I am way out of my league here when it comes to anything Final Fantasy so I am going to do you the pleasure of linking to the official page which includes brief synopsis of each expansion if anyone is interested. Don’t shoot the messenger.
In the recent months, Square Enix has hit the modern day newsstands (aka the Internets) with a few stories. The developer/publisher of Final Fantasy fame has recently pursued a failed bid for Tecmo, dumped Sony for Microsoft to release the next Final Fantasy, partnered with Gas Powered Games to publish Supreme Commander 2. Now the new headline is Square Enix seems to be setting up a new studio in the US of A, specifically in Los Angeles.
Square Enix has always been big in the US with titles like Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, and more, so why are they making these recent moves? Sony, a Japanese company and longtime platform of Final Fantasy and other Square titles is dumped for Microsoft, a US company to continue the Final Fantasy franchise. Last week shows the announcement of a strategic partnership with Gas Powered Games based in the US to develop games geared towards the North American market. Now their own studio in the US. Will this new studio produce fresh, creative material or will this serve as base to generate revival titles with an American twist?
Square Enix has mentioned they are focused on North American and European markets but there have not been any similar moves to stake ground in Europe. Anyone think we will see a few Square Enix lead acquistions around the EMEA region in the near future?
In the turbulent times we are living globally, I thought it would be relevant to highlight some of the industry happenings as there are potential impacts to the gaming public. Hopefully this will continue as semi-regular Loot-Ninja feature. The following have been the recent headlines in no particular order. Hit the links for the Loot-Ninja articles.
Lots of grim news financially and lots of studios shutting down, downsizing, rightsizing, etc. The global recession taking a toll on the gaming industry, probably. The above news updates are pretty similar to latest news in the banking industry. In case you’ve been living in a cave for the past year that means things are not very good.
In an effort to increase their western development Square Enix has partnered with Gas Powered Games to bring Supreme Commander 2 to the masses. Square Enix has always performed well in their home market of Japan but they have been taking efforts to bring their name and development to the United States and Europe.
“We see great opportunities in European and North American markets, both of which are expected to be maintaining sustainable growth over these coming years,” commented Yoichi Wada, president of Square Enix.
“Therefore, it is crucial we create alliances with proven developers such as Gas Powered Games in order to serve these significant markets better by providing products and services in tune with customer tastes.”
Chris Taylor is the founder of Gas Powered Games who is best known for the Dungeon Siege series. Supreme Commander was fairly well received so it seems like a decent enough idea for Square Enix to sign Gas Powered Games as their first western developer. Who wouldn’t get excited for more massive mech battles?
Developer: Squaresoft Publisher: Nintendo Release Date: May 13th, 1996
What do you mean Bowser’s not so bad? Who the F**K is Smithey?!
Hot damn it’s good to see Squaresoft and Nintendo getting along together again. Of course, some of you may not remember the rough spot in the companies’ history – it wasn’t pretty to say the least.
And one of the best examples of this reunion is the re-release of Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars for the Wii. This is a favorite even among the RPG elitists.
Interested? You damn well should be. Hit it!!
Square Enix released a whole heap, yes a heap of trailer for their upcoming PSP title Crisis Core: Final Fantasty VII . Sit back and enjoy. I can’t wait to spend countless hours on my PSP playing this title.
Holy lots of videos Batman. We’ve got four new videos for you today from Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core for the PSP. It’s looking to be one of the best Final Fantasy titles since FF7.
The game will be releasing in about a month, so get ready to spend some cold hard cash on this title.
Coming Soon!
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