-
I Want To Play A Full Final Fantasy Game With Rhythm Combat
There’s a new Final Fantasy game coming out tomorrow. Don’t get too excited: this isn’t Final Fantasy XV. There are no next-gen graphics or melodramatic stories here. Instead, Square Enix will release Theatrhythm Final Fantasy, a 3DS game that is best described as “Elite Beat Agents with Final Fantasy music,” or “the game that makes…
By Jason Schreier Published July 2, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Report: Why Square Enix Average Salaries Are Sky High
According to online research site Nensyu Labo, here is a list of the mean yearly income for the game industry with numbers crunched from public reports filed by the companies: Square Enix Holdings: ¥21,680,000 (US$272,988) Sony: ¥9,230,000 ($116,189) Nintendo: ¥9,140,000 ($115,032) Sega Sammy: ¥8,220,000 ($103,486) Konami: ¥6,780,000 ($85,371) Namco Bandai: ¥6,400,000 ($80,577) Tecmo Koei: ¥6,150,000…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 29, 2012 -
Kotaku East
The Road to Final Fantasy XIII-2
At the GDC in Taipei held at the Taipei International Conference Center in Taiwan, Motomu Toriyama of Square Enix held a presentation on the development between Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy XIII-2. Toriyama, who held the position of director for both games, took the podium and revealed the inner working of development on Final…
By Toshi Nakamura Published June 28, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Fret Not! Dragon Quest‘s Slime Chewing Gum Isn’t Really Slime Flavored.
Fit’s is a brand of Lotte chewing gum, and this August, there will be “Slime flavored” gum for you to chomp on. But it’s not really “Slime flavored”. PHEW. “Slime” (スライム or “suraimu”) is used as a pun: “suppai-raimu” (スっぱいライム). “Suppai” (here, スっぱい) means “sour” and “raimu” (ライム) is Japanese for “lime”. The flavor is…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 28, 2012 -
Quantum Conundrum Turned Into a Real, Live Game Show
Square Enix and art group iam8bit have gone and done a thing. They’ve paid for a TV show based on first-person puzzler Quantum Conundrum, and it’s going to be hosted by Kevin Pereira. It’s called The Super Dimensional Quantum Learning’s Problems and Solutions Gametime Spectacular!!, and will put contestants in a replica of the game’s…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 28, 2012 -
Hey, You Got Your Pokémon In My Kingdom Hearts
Meet the Dream Eaters, the monsters you’ll be attacking, breeding, and recruiting in upcoming action-RPG Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, which is out July 31 for Nintendo 3DS. Kind of remind you of a certain other Nintendo game, don’t they? Still, I’m psyched for this one. It’s looking more like Kingdom Hearts II than…
By Jason Schreier Published June 27, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Fifty Bucks? For This Final Fantasy Food? Really?
At the recent Decade of Final Fantasy XI Vana★Fest 2012, Square Enix and gamers celebrated ten years of FFXI. Ten years! That’s quite a milestone and definitely worthy of celebration. This meal, however, isn’t. The above lunch box cost ¥4,000 (US$50), which is shocking to people in pricey Japan. The meal looks like something you…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 27, 2012 -
You Think You Can Hold Up Tifa’s Suspenders?
While Square Enix still hems and haws over a Final Fantasy VII remake, cosplayers continue to don the duds of the game’s iconic heroine, Tifa Lockhart. A white t-shirt, suspenders, a mini skirt and red boots, Tifa’s character design is simple. It’s also one gaming’s most memorable and easily identifiable. Anyone can put together a…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 27, 2012 -
Kotaku East
If There Were a Final Fantasy VII Remake, Final Fantasy Would Be Finished
Another day, another request for a Final Fantasy VII remake. The game was released in early 1997, and there are still calls for a remake. Endless calls. At a Square Enix meeting today in Tokyo, honcho Yoichi Wada was asked about, wait for it, the possibility of a FFVII remake. He replied that even within…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 26, 2012 -
The Most Profitable Final Fantasy Game is the One Players are Still Paying For
In case anyone was wondering how ten-year-old Final Fantasy XI scored a brand new expansion pack while you’re still waiting for a Final Fantasy VII remake, consider which one makes Square Enix the most money. According to a picture-filled account of this weekend’s Vana Fest 2012 event at Famitsu (translated by Andriasang), Square Enix CEO…
By Mike Fahey Published June 25, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Japan Getting Inevitable Dragon Quest X Bundle
When Dragon Quest X goes on sale this August in Japan, those folks who have yet to purchase a Nintendo Wii can get a special DQX bundle. That’s assuming those people exist! The bundle comes with a black Wii, a Classic Controller Pro, a USB memory stick, a copy of the game, a ¥1,000 (US$12)…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 25, 2012 -
Longtime Final Fantasy Producer Stepping Down, Health Reasons Cited
Hiromichi Tanaka, one of the earliest members of Square, with producer credits on Final Fantasy XI, Xenogears and Chrono Cross, will be leaving Final Fantasy XI and Square Enix altogether, reports Famitsu. An interview at Vanafest 2012 revealed that Tanaka has a “major illness” (this according to Tanaka himself) and that led him into his…
By Owen Good Published June 24, 2012 -
Final Fantasy XI‘s Newest Expansion will be Seekers of Adoulin
Commemorating a decade of Final Fantasy XI, Vanafest 2012 revealed a new expansion for the MMO. Seekers of Adoulin will promise new lands, new tales, new jobs—including the “Geomancer,” confirmed on the expansion’s official site. Check out its official trailer above. It’s mostly text, though the background of the “new tales” clip might give you…
By Owen Good Published June 23, 2012 -
An Open Letter To The Creators Of Final Fantasy
Dear Square Enix, How you doing? It’s been a while. Last I heard, you guys had some money issues. Hope you’ve bounced back. Sold off some of those extra records in the attic. Took out a second mortgage on your airship. Made some Facebook games. Whatever. I’m writing today because you’re the vanguard of role-playing…
By Jason Schreier Published June 22, 2012 -
Hey Square Enix, Please Bring This RPG To The U.S.
This is Bravely Default: Flying Fairy. It’s a role-playing game made by some of the people who made 3D Dot Game Heroes and some of the people who made Final Fantasy: The Four Heroes of Light. Nintendo showed it off during its Japanese livestream last night. And it looks wonderful. Let’s try to ignore the…
By Jason Schreier Published June 22, 2012 -
May The Incredible Music of Final Fantasy Live On Forever
No matter how you feel about the current state of Final Fantasy—and if you’re a fan of role-playing games at all, you likely have some sort of unshakeable conviction about which was the best, which was the worst, and how Square Enix has ruined everything—there’s one fact you can’t deny: It’s got some awesome jams.…
By Jason Schreier Published June 21, 2012 -
ReviewsQuantum Conundrum: The Kotaku Review
Let’s just get this out of the way: Yes, Quantum Conundrum is a first-person puzzler, just like Portal. Yes, it was designed by Kim Swift, the project lead on Portal. And yes, it shares some of Portal‘s core traits: there’s a physics-altering arm device, a goofy omniscient narrator, and an alarming number of buttons that…
By Jason Schreier Published June 21, 2012 -
Kotaku EastThe Free-to-Play Square Enix Online Game You’ve Never Heard Of
When people think of Square Enix and online games, Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XIV—and perhaps the upcoming Dragon Quest X—are probably the games that come to mind. But late last year, Square Enix tried its hand at a free-to-play browser game by the name of MONSTERxDRAGON. MONSTERxDRAGON is a strategy RPG/card game hybrid…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published June 19, 2012 -
This is Only a Launch Trailer for Heroes of Ruin If You’re in Europe
Square Enix’s four-way online multiplayer Diablo-esque action role-playing game Heroes of Ruin is out today in Europe and the UK for the 3DS, so they can enjoy this launch trailer. North Americans are free to ignore this until next month.
By Mike Fahey Published June 15, 2012 -
Kotaku East
See How the Amazing Final Fantasy Tech Demo Stands Up to Pre-Rendered Graphics
Square Enix, the folks behind Final Fantasy, are working on a new game engine. And hot damn, it looks fantastic Recently, Square Enix showed a real time demo of the tech in action. In the above gallery, you can see how a pre-rendered version stacks up with a real-time version. This shows just how stunning…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 14, 2012