13.) Final Fantasy II: 2 votes
12.) Final Fantasy XI: 3 votes
11.) Final Fantasy: 3 votes
10.) Final Fantasy X-2: 6 votes
9.) Final Fantasy III: 11 votes
8.) Final Fantasy XII: 16 votes
6.) Final Fantasy IV: 21 votes
6.) Final Fantasy IX: 21 votes
5.) Final Fantasy V: 22 votes
4.) Final Fantasy VIII: 26 votes
3.) Final Fantasy VI: 29 votes
2.) Final Fantasy VII: 57 votes
1.) Final Fantasy X: 59 votes

What is your top three?

"イケメン"シドってどう?「FF アンケート」『XIII』購入者100人を調査/ゲーム情報ポータル：ジーパラドットコム [Gpara]

It's too early to tell; however, this patent application lists Tetsuya Nomura as the inventor of a character switching battle system for RPG/action RPG games. The system allows players to control and switch to temporary characters during combat — meaning, you can hop in the skin of another character. When time runs out, players then automatically change back to their main character and inherit the temp character's abilities.

The patent does not specify a platform, stating the combat system is designed for "a portable gaming apparatus." The apparatus included in the patent looks somewhat like the PSP.

More details in the link below.

Is This One Of Tetsuya Nomura's Unannounced Games? [Siliconera]

"The presence of Japanese games is not as strong within the international market these days, and as a business that creates and sells games, the reception in the Western market is naturally a point of interest to us," Kawazu told Destructoid. "However, when developing a game we do not separate our target audience into categories like 'Japanese' or 'Western.'"

Instead, the producer explained, Square Enix focuses on preferences the players might have — "such as those who like higher difficulty levels, those who enjoy more of a collection element, those who look for more freedom in a game, those who like to have set objectives, and so forth."

And what is a different preference players have? "I do feel that one major difference in the Japanese and Western gamers' preferences lies in the art style." And Square Enix's art style largely appeals to Japanese gamers' preferences, no?

Square Enix: We don't separate East and West markets [Dtoid]

Final Fantasy Classic WITH LYRICS [YouTube, Thanks Lyndon R. L.]

The band—which is largely a solo act—will change its name to Owen Pallett next year. That's in reference to violinist Owen Pallett, the musician at the core of the artist formerly known as Final Fantasy. I know what you might be thinking, that Square Enix's trademark protective team of laywers has gone after Pallett, putting him in a legal headlock, forcing the man to change his band's name. Not so, says Pallett.

While he points out that "the laws of trademark infringement exist for good reason," he says he is "voluntarily retiring" his band name.

"I feel it is in my own best interests to definitively distinguish my music from Square/Enix's games," Pallett said in a statement. His previous band name, he says "the experience— and the tone of the material— was reminiscent of the hours and hours" spent playing Japanese RPGs.

Final Fantasy Changes Name [Pitchfork - thanks, Spoo!]

In an email sent out to PlayStation email subscribers, Sony announce in the "coming soon" section that Final Fantasy VIII will be turning up on the PlayStation Store.

I'm interested to see how it holds up after all these years, both because it's my favourite Final Fantasy game, and because last time I played it I remember it holding up much better than Final Fantasy VII does these days.

You are reading Kotaku's once-weekly (sort of) journey back to yesteryear.

I direct you to the June 24, 1990 edition of The Oregonian. The headline: "Video Games Capitalize On Popularity Of Movies." But past reports of Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Dick Tracy games is a bit on something called Final Fantasy.

Tom Sarris, a spokesman for the Nintendo empire, said that the company expects about 70 new game titles out between now and the beginning of the year.

"Basically, you can expect something for everybody,'' he said. "One of the most eagerly anticipated titles here is 'Final Fantasy,' which is very, very big in Japan, and that is very much geared to the adult market.''
Final Fantasy is a role playing-adventure fantasy game that will come with two maps and, Sarris said, the biggest instruction manual ever to accompany a Nintendo game — 84 pages long.

"It will be the most sophisticated game yet,'' said Sarris. "We estimate the serious player can get through it in 60 hours. Casual players may take twice as long.''

I never played that first Final Fantasy. I never counted the pages of its manual. I couldn't even say it's not for adults, though I didn't think it was geared for the adult market. But it certainly was big in Japan. Still is!

[PIC]

I was introduced to Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers last week, discovering quickly that this was not the kind of Crystal Chronicles game I had expected. It is, you see, a single-player game, the first in a splinter line of Final Fantasy games made for Wii platforms and previously designed for four players.

The Crystal Bearers is different, set 1000 years after Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles and putting the player in control of a single hero, a mercenary named Layle. The series' dwarf race, the Lilty Tribe, have risen to power. The mechanical race, the Yuke, have seemingly been wiped out.

I was told by a Square-Enix representative that this game would feel like a "true Final Fantasy" for the Wii. It will have a deep storyline. But it also has real-time combat and was described to me as 75% mini-games.

What I saw and played clarified things. I was shown Layle running through a farm, getting pulled into a challenge to pluck all of the vegetables from a field before a clock ran out. A scarecrow was the opponent, shooting at Layle to try to mess him up. So don't think of "mini-games" in terms of a Mario Party, I realized. Think of them is mid-game challenges.

Next, I was shown some combat. Layle ventured to a dusty desert area and enemies attacked. The game is played with a Wii Remote and Nunchuk. The control stick moves the character. The Remote's pointer is used for telekinesis, to pick up objects and enemies, then toss them. The d-pad on the Remote is used to swivel the camera, the only element of the controls I found hard to handle in the few minutes I played the game.

I was told that conversations with non-player-characters will be less than typical for an FF game. Instead, the interactions the player tries to get are "reactions." You get these from enemies by encountering them. For example, out in that desert area, Layle fought some dog enemies. Once he had a Reaction associated with them, he could get them to stop fighting, run over and, uh, urinate on him. Other Reactions are equally comical, sending enemies into a daze because they've had their heads knocked off, for example. It's all cartoony, done for laughs.

Also, somehow, some way, you can take a cow, hold it over Layle's head, and shoot enemies with its udders.

I'm a sucker for the absurd in my games, so, as little as I saw of the Crystal Bearers, I was encouraged. It's hard to see it as being a "true" Final Fantasy game, but only a longer play session that presents more of the story can verify that claim.

I was told that Crystal Bearers does support a co-op mode that allows a second player to use the Remote as an assist, similar to Co-Star mode in Super Mario Galaxy.

The game plays swiftly, action-first. It is colorful and has fun visuals, as you can see in these shots. Crystal Bearers may be off some people's radar, but it will indeed be out this year in North America, the day after Christmas, for the Wii.

A pair of Square-Enix representatives was in New York to show the company's holiday lineup and tease some of 2010's. That tease included a playthrough by them — no touching, journalist — of the E3 build of Final Fantasy XIII. That's the build our Luke Plunkett would have seen more of had a PlayStation 3 firmware upgrade not ruined things.

Perhaps I could glean no new facts from a June build of a game that will be released in Japan next month. But I could at least form a more informed judgment.

Allow me to provide my Final Fantasy main-game playing resume for context: Never played I-III, started and liked IV on the Game Boy Advance, didn't play V-IX, played all but the final boss of X, none of XI and about a third of XII. You wouldn't call me a super-fan.

But I liked XII a lot. I enjoyed the switch from turn-based battles to real-time combat. Even more than that I liked the Gambit System in XII which allowed me to assign tasks to party members, so they would automatically heal or fight in certain ways at certain moments. That system, I felt, surmounted some of the tedium in turn-based role-playing games.

XIII is turn-based, using a battle system similar to IV in that attacks are made available during combat as a meter fills to enable them (translation: you can't spam attack buttons, but also don't have to wait to take a turn). But the new game has no Gambit system. Hence my concern that this game wouldn't be for me. I was concerned that some classic RPG tedium would be back.

The demo that I was shown had the male lead character, Snow, running through part of a city, encountering a few guards and culminating with a boss battle against a phoenix-type creature. I was learning a lot along the way, as the Square-Enix rep played: That I can only control one character in battles, based on whichever one the designers deems best for that moment; that the story is long and intricate, involving a band of lead characters who have branded with the task of destroying their hometown.

I watched a few of the game's turn-based battles and was impressed with their swiftness. A return to turn-based combat apparently does not mean a return to a slower pace of play. Not only are enemies visible on-screen as you run through the world, but transitions into battle sequences are snap-of-fingers quick.

The Gambit System may not be back, but I was introduced to the Paradigm System, which seems like it could be shorthand for it. The system allows the player to set basic behavior preferences for their party members. You can set one to medic, for example, though it wasn't clear to me whether that would be as useful as setting a XII character to automatically heal themselves any time their health drops below 30% of maximum. I'm optimistic about this but need to see more.

I'd read about XIII's Gestalt mode, though I had misunderstood it to believe it was a purely real-time combat system. XIII allows players to summon epic characters, as is Final Fantasy series tradition. The Gestalt mode lets the player transform the summoned character into a vehicle. Button prompts appear, letting the player manually select from vehicle-based attacks. From what the Square-Enix rep playing the game told me, you're not freely doing these completely free-form. You're executing one at a time, somewhat strategically.

Overall, the battle system didn't seem like the regression I thought it would be and presents an interesting cocktail of concepts. I'm less worried about it.

I was curious about other aspects of XIII that have frustrated me in other role-playing games I've played, but little more information was available. Take saving, for example. I was shown a save point, which looked like the standard location-based saving system. No word on whether this game will allow for on-the-fly saving. I couldn't learn anything more about the game's inventory system either. In the past I've found them a bit messy and overwhelming, but it seems that we'll have to wait until the XIII's release in Japan in December.

I didn't see a whole lot of Final Fantasy XIII, but I did see enough to think better of the game than I had before watching it played. My disappointment that it is so different from XII has all but dissipated. I'm ready to accept it on its merits, if only we can learn more about it.

There are major aspects of the game system that remain a mystery. We''ll find out more next month. The game will be out in North America and Europe on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on March 9, 2010.

So big. The magazine also has Hope's summon, Alexander, and brings word that Final Fantasy XIII will come with Final Fantasy XIV beta codes when it goes on sale in Japan.

Shonen Jump: FFXIII Chocobos, Alexander and FFXIV Beta Codes [Final Fantasy XIII.net]

The news post dated Friday - no link, nothing further - said simply: "A puzzle for FINAL FANTASY XIII fans! Solve this anagram to find out what lies ahead: A Henchmen Inventor Tent Unto. Check back Monday for the answer!"

We can check back on Friday, actually, because a couple users on the finalfantasy-xiii.net forums unscrambled it to say "Announcement Nov Thirteenth." No word if that's the game's long-awaited North American release date. Guess you'll have to check back then.

Square-Enix Anagram Solved, Final Fantasy XIII Announcement Coming November 13th [ripten]

They're so short that it's hard to make out the Bon Jovi song. I checked out after that Young Guns soundtrack, so I'm not the best person to ask! Maybe there's a longer version of this ad — hopefully. The tune, however, is We Weren't Born to Follow, which is off the band's latest album.

Square Enix could've used any sample from pretty much any rock song to the same effect. But, hey, Bon Jovi, no?

Know what does add to this Final Fantasy Wii game? Three words: Laser cow udders.

All you have to do is dust off your Wii and update the Shop channel. A little button saying "One Free Title" should appear after you've done so and then you'll get the goods. Hurry up, though, the offer expires on 11:59pm PST on 12/31/2009.

So now, after updating my Wii for what feels like the first time ever, the only question is which NES game should I get? I was thinking to get a game I haven't played before like Kirby's Adventure or the original Final Fantasy. But half the fun of Virtual Console is nostalgia, right? So maybe I want Galaga or Donkey Kong...

Thanks for the tip, Nightwheeldot!

Here's at least one reason why the game is worth a closer look — make that four reason: laser shooting teats.

So all this week, I'm going to try to play games with earthquakes in them. I guess I could widen that to include games with bridge collapses, since part of the Bay Bridge fell during the quake. And if I was feeling really desperate for something to do, I could go find a copy of R.B.I. Baseball since I was probably playing that instead of watching the real ballgame that day.

Here's what I've got:

Fracture
Bad Day L.A.
Incredible Crisis
Any SimCity game
Cities XL
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask – if you let the moon crash into the planet
Any Final Fantasy game where enemies keep casting Earthquake
Quake – even though there aren't any earthquakes in it

Anybody got any other games I can add to this obscure list?

I hope I didn't just spoil a major plot point of Final Fantasy for you guys, but after playing it on the Nintendo DS, PlayStation, NES, PSP, and Gameboy Advance, I'm prepared to burn a few bridges, secure in the knowledge that the king will just rebuild them when the next set of nameless orphans wanders through town. That's part of the charm of the original Final Fantasy, which is available today for the Wii Virtual Console (500 points). The Four Warriors of Light are coming. Everybody look busy.

Two unfortunate titles share Final Fantasy's spotlight this week. Big John Games brings a horde of Thorium beasts to the DSi in Thorium Wars (1,000 points,) a first and third-person shooter for Nintendo's handheld, while Digital Leisure delivers Word Searcher to WiiWare (500 points,) with 100 themed word-search puzzles. Check out the official descriptions below while we wait to purchase Final Fantasy for the umpteenth time.

FINAL FANTASY
Original platform: NES
Publisher: SQUARE ENIX
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) - Mild Fantasy Violence
Price: 500 Wii Points™
Description: The world lies shrouded in darkness. The winds die. The sea rages. The earth decays. But the people believe in a prophecy, patiently awaiting its fulfillment. "When darkness veils the earth, four Warriors of Light shall come...." After a long journey, four young travelers did at last appear, and in the hand of each was clutched a crystal.

Nintendo DSiWare

Thorium Wars
Publisher: Big John Games
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) - Fantasy Violence
Price: 1,000 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: In Thorium Wars, you must stop the Thorions, a super species of Thorium-based machines, from destroying mankind. Blast through waves of Thorions by controlling an arsenal of tanks, skyfighters, hovercrafts, gunboats and starfighters with either the standard or touch-screen controls. In 12 exciting missions, navigate through a variety of combat environments while viewing 360 degrees of the battlefield, fully rendered in 3-D. Toggle between first- and third-person views to destroy the terrifying army of Thorium beasts, from swarms of Redeye Drones to the bone-crushing Manticore Walker. This man-versus-machine battle proves to be the ultimate test for the survival of the fittest.

WiiWare

Word Searcher
Publisher: Digital Leisure Inc.
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Wii Points
Description: You'll need a sharp eye and a quick mind to complete 100 themed word-search puzzles. Word Searcher contains fun words from multiple categories including anatomy, world cities and U.S. presidents. With a huge assortment of subjects to choose from, there's sure to be a puzzle for everyone to enjoy. Help improve your vocabulary, memory and problem-solving skills with these engaging puzzles. Track and try to beat your own play-through times again and again-words are scrambled every time you play.

GRIN shut down last month, after a lackluster year that saw Terminator: Salvation, Bionic Commando and Wanted: Weapons of Fate all fail to impress. Apparently the same went for the studio's handling of Square's much beloved franchise. GamesIndustry says Square reclaimed the project after six months of work, citing quality concerns.

A lack of solid projects in the pipeline, coupled with Swedish law that severely restricts a business going into debt, forced GRIN's closure.

Last week we published some pictures taken in GRIN's office during a public sell-off of its office furniture and other items. Four of them showed concepts tied to "Fortress," possibly revealing certain details about its prototype story. The fifth was believed to be of a sequel to Bionic Commando: Rearmed, which won GRIN praise in 2008, but was a download-only title.

Square Enix, through a North American spokesperson, declined comment on the report when contacted by Kotaku.

GRIN's Final Fantasy Spin-Off Still In Development [GamesIndustry.biz]

All photos from Kiddy Land, a toy store in Tokyo's Harajuku district.

UPDATE - While some of this art is from the Final Fantasy game, upon closer examination it looks like most of these are instead for something new! Bionic Commando Rearmed 2, most likely, given the layout and 2D side-scrolling stuff.

Here is a map of The Fortress, dated Jan. 22. "Fortress" may have been the code name for a Final Fantasy game. The map lists event locations of the different chapters in the game, possibly revealing key details of its story. "Friendship duel," "dragon event" "assassination + duel" and "boarding the floating core," are among the events listed.

These appear to be exterior concepts, possibly for Fortress. A schedule to the lower left breaks out the teams with their assignments: three different "roaming" teams were assigned to environments: "Terrain," "Desert" and "Forest." A one-man team last on the list was handling "material / sky dome." GRIN, the makers of Bionic Commando and Wanted: Weapons of Fate, went out of business a month ago. Reports had it that some former GRIN employees founded a new studio, Outbreak Studios, but it plans to focus on downloadable titles for Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, iPhone, Games for Windows Live and PSPgo. Something of the scope of "Fortress," a code name believed to be for a Final Fantasy game, probably wasn't taken along with them.

Pretty straightforward, this is a mockup of the namesake fortress where the game takes place.

This is labeled "Desert Layoyut Guide" and is dated June 29. The environment is rough and rent by canyons and gorges.

This wipeboard appears to be a mockup of a side-scrolling action game, or at least something unrelated to "Fortress." There are 23 stages, starting with a seaside landing, progressing through a jungle, into urban settings and factories, and finally some sort of climax aboard a crashing aircraft.