-
The Last Story Out The First Month Of Next Year
Next January, upcoming role-playing game The Last Story will be released on the Nintendo Wii. But what day? I’ll tell you! The game will be released on January 27, 2011 in Japan. It was originally set for release this year in Japan. No word on the game’s Western release. The Last Story is set on…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 29, 2010 -
Dissidia 012[Duodecim] Final Fantasy’s TGS Trailer Busts Out
Square Enix’s next Final Fantasy drenched fighting game, the painfully titled Dissidia 012[duodecim] Final Fantasy, was shown at this year’s Tokyo Game Show in both playable and trailer form. Here is the latter. The PSP game appears to have all the high drama and the beautifully rendered CGI of a Final Fantasy game, but now…
By Michael McWhertor Published September 22, 2010 -
A Magical Journey Through Tons Of Square Enix’s Licensed Stuff
Capcom isn’t the only Japanese game publisher ready, willing and thrilled to sell its licensed wares to Tokyo Game Show attendees. Square Enix always has a commanding presence at TGS, a space loaded with high quality crap for purchase. Whether you’re in the market for perfumes that will make you smell like a Final Fantasy…
By Michael McWhertor Published September 19, 2010 -
Have A Look At Dissidia 012 [duodecim] Final Fantasy
Square Enix is following up its role-playing fighting game Dissidia Final Fantasy with “Dissidia 012 [duodecim] Final Fantasy”. Not all the characters have been made public yet — however, Lightning from Final Fantasy XIII and Kain from Final Fantasy IV will be in the game. Dissidia 012 [duodecim] Final Fantasy will be released in 2011.…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 14, 2010 -
Final Fantasy Fighting Game Gets A Sequel Struck By Lightning
Square Enix has revealed the follow-up to its portable Final Fantasy fighting game, Dissidia: Final Fantasy, in the latest issue of Japanese magazine Weekly Shonen Jump. That game is the somewhat clumsily titled Dissidia Duodecim: Final Fantasy, a PlayStation Portable release planned for release sometime in 2011, the magazine reveals. (The logo looks like Dissidia…
By Michael McWhertor Published September 7, 2010 -
What Nintendo 3DS Games Is Japan Excited About?
The Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo’s 3D-glasses-free portable, isn’t out yet. Nintendo has only said it will be out before next April. Yet, Japanese people are excited to play games on it. But which games? Website 4Gamer polled over 21,000 of its readers about which Nintendo 3DS games they were most excited about. Here are the results…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 3, 2010 -
Final Fantasy Dev: Japanese Games Slipping Because Of Technology, Passion
Why aren’t Japanese games made by companies not called Nintendo not as big or important as they used to be? Square Enix’s Final Fantasy veteran Akitoshi Kawazu has a theory. “Aside from a few well-known titles, games from Japan are receiving less and less attention, regardless of if it’s an RPG or not”, he told…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 31, 2010 -
The Idol Game Metroid’s Co-Creator Made With Final Fantasy’s Creator
Hironobu Sakaguchi created Final Fantasy. Yoshio Sakamoto co-created Metroid. And in 1987, both worked together on a game with this lady, Miho Nakayma. Game company Square was interested in doing an adventure game. But not any old adventure game, but one that used the telephone. Square was gung-ho for Nintendo’s Famicom Disk System console, which…
By Brian Ashcraft Published August 26, 2010 -
Games Within Games: Making Asteroids, Final Fantasy and Metal Slug in Starcraft II
Starcraft II looks to be an amazing game in its own right, but it’s also an incredible tool for making your own games. When Blizzard took to the stage last year to show off the game editor for Starcraft II they were sure to bring with them examples of some incredible mods they had already…
By Brian Crecente Published July 21, 2010 -
Let’s Watch Some Guy Play Final Fantasy XIV
Final Fantasy XIV is now in beta, so people in the real world are playing it. And what do people in the real world do when playing video games? Yeah, they film it and upload it to YouTube. Here’s the game’s character creation suite, followed by a lengthy section that divides its time between cinematic…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 20, 2010 -
So Many Square Enix Toys, So Little Time
At this year’s Tokyo Toy Show, Square Enix showed off…toys. There are loads of Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts figures and knick-knacks. Makes sense, because there are loads of Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts games. I like the inflatable Slimes. Have a look for yourself. ［東京おもちゃショー2010］スクウェア・エニックスでフィギュア三昧 [Gizmodo Japan]
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 15, 2010 -
If A Slime Met A Chocobo
What would happen if Dragon Quest’s most famous slime encountered Final Fantasy’s most famous bird? Yuji Horii, father of Dragon Quest, must know the answer. “Maybe Slime hops onto Chocobo,” Horii told Kotaku last week through a translator during an interview tied into the U.S. launch of Dragon Quest IX on the Nintendo DS. “Would…
By Stephen Totilo Published July 12, 2010 -
Screw English, It’s All About C
This month, Japanese online retailer Rakuten.com decided the language that was used internally by the company would no longer be Japanese. By 2012, the company’s official in-house language will be English. That would mean all meetings would be conducted in English and all internal documents would be in English. English, English, English! Rakuten has been…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 8, 2010 -
Slime, You Can Drink
Because who doesn’t like drinking something called “slime”? Japanese game company Square Enix has collaborated in the past with Osaka-based beverage maker Suntory to release game-themed drinks for its Final Fantasy series. This time around Dragon Quest gets its own beverages as part of a promotion for Dragon Quest Monster Battle Road Victory. The drinks…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 7, 2010 -
First Final Fantasy Versus XIII Gameplay Images
The first in-game Final Fantasy Versus XIII cutscene footage was shown at the 2008 Tokyo Game Show. It’s now 2010. Let’s see the first gameplay images. The latest issue of Japanese game magazine Famitsu has details about the PS3 title’s gameplay. While the title is set in the same universe as Final Fantasy XIII, Final…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 24, 2010 -
All Square Enix Games To Include Social, Multiplayer Gaming
Square Enix has been looking at the future, and that future is either stuff from China that’s cheap and is played online, or on Facebook. Expect all future Square Enix games to incorporate at least some of those aspects. In an interview with Forbes, Square Enix boss Yoichi “Imperial Hot” Wada says that from here…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 24, 2010 -
Final Fantasy Designer Would Like To Make A First Person Shooter
Tetsuya Nomura, the famed Square Enix designer known for Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy, has been busying himself recently. Sure, he’s had at working designing Final Fantasy Versus XIII. But that’s not all. “I have been playing a lot of first-person shooter Battlefield Bad Company 2,” Nomura says. The designer readily admits that he’s a…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 15, 2010 -
Resident Evil Creator: JRPGs Were Never Popular In The West
In the West, new role-playing games like Mass Effect (and its sequel) have been picking up steam. There has been concern that the popularity of Japanese role-playing games are on the slide in the West. It’s not that simple, says Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami. “I think it is because Japanese RPGs were really never…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 10, 2010 -
What Is Your Favorite Square Enix Series?
A recent pol asked 3,000 people that same question in Japan. But before we get to that, let me ask you this: What’s your favorite Square Enix franchise? Here are the results to said poll: 10. Valkyrie Profile series 2.7 percent 9. Front Mission series 2.8 percent 8. Kingdom Hearts series 2.9 percent 7. Itadaki…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 9, 2010 -
Japanese Man Arrested For Fake…Stickers
Daisuke Yamashita, 33 years-old, has been arrested for two counterfeit stickers in an online auction for ¥3,160 (US$36). That’s right two He was also charged with possession of 13 more stickers that depict art from Studio Ghibli anime films, like My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service and Laputa: Castle in the Sky. Police seized approximately…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 2, 2010