Square Enix

Does This Lady Love Final Fantasy XI More Than You?

Emiri Kato doesn’t just play Final Fantasy XI, she lives there. The voice actress has an impressive resume of anime and game titles she’s worked on, but that’s nothing compared to her FFXI playtime. As pointed out on website 4Gamer, Kato has played FFXI for 557 days and 18 hours. That’s 13,386 hours. Before you…

By Brian Ashcraft Published October 20, 2011

Is this Lady the Most Famous Final Fantasy Tester Ever?

Meet Yuko Oshima. She’s 23. She’s famous. And she’s testing Final Fantasy XIII-2 Make that “famous”, if you follow Japanese pop music. Oshima is a member of idol group AKB48. And “testing”, if you mean appearing in promotional clips. Testing video games is hard, gruelling and time-consuming work! Not that being an idol is a…

By Brian Ashcraft Published October 17, 2011

How Different Will Final Fantasy XIV Version 2.0 Be?

The original Final Fantasy XIV was a total bust. FFXIV Version 2.0 promises to be better. Much better. Version 2.0 will feature a complete redesign of the game’s current repetitive maps. “The current maps in Final Fantasy XIV are not only massive, but allow for seamless passage across wide expanses of the realm,” wrote the…

By Brian Ashcraft Published October 14, 2011

First Look at Final Fantasy XIV Version 2.0

Final Fantasy XIV Version 2.0 is Square Enix’s revamp of FFXIV. Today, the Tokyo-based game maker released images of what’s to come in Version 2.0 The concept screens and concept art show interface, world maps, characters, and weapons, among other things. Have a look and see how it stacks up to the current version of…

By Brian Ashcraft Published October 14, 2011

Beleaguered Final Fantasy XIV Reborn with Version 2.0

Online role-playing game Final Fantasy XIV‘s launch was an enormous disappointment. Not only did Square Enix president Yoichi Wada apologize for the game and boot the original team from the project, he also said FFXIV had damaged the Final Fantasy brand. That may change, because today, Square Enix is relaunching the game as with a…

By Brian Ashcraft Published October 14, 2011

Spend Your Next Seven Minutes Watching This New Final Fantasy XIII-2 Trailer

Do you like Final Fantasy games? Do you like Square-Enix’s brand of role-playing game drama? Then spend seven minutes watching this new Final Fantasy XIII-2 trailer. Over on YouTube, the commenters tried to derail things by demanding Kingdom Hearts 3. You wouldn’t do that here, would you? FFXIII-2 will be out in North America for…

By Stephen Totilo Published October 13, 2011

Square Enix’s New Engine Could Mean Photo-Real Games Faster

Square Enix, makers of Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, is working on a next generation game engine. It’s called the Luminous Engine. During a recent press event in Tokyo attended by Game Watch Impress (via Edge), Square Enix detailed the Luminous Engine, which can simulate liquids and cloth as well as realtime reflections. It can…

By Brian Ashcraft Published October 12, 2011

Let These Cosplayers Bring Your JRPG Fantasies to Life

Good cosplay isn’t only about good costumes. It’s about good backgrounds. Kansai-based cosplay collective Akasha-Chronik nails both. The group, lead by cosplayer Mao Inumoto, focuses largely on Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy as well as sporting picturesque backgrounds that look straight out of Square Enix’s art department. In the above gallery, Mao and Akasha-Chronik take…

By Brian Ashcraft Published October 12, 2011

Batman: Arkham Asylum Action Figures May Be Late, But They’re Still Great

We’re on the cusp of enjoying the next great Batman game, but if you’re a big, big fan of the last one, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Square Enix has some mighty fine action figures you might be interested in. We saw Batman and Joker in their highly articulated, nicely sculpted polyvinyl chloride at this year’s San…

By Michael McWhertor Published October 10, 2011

Square Enix, Tear Down This Final Fantasy XIV and Give Us Final Fantasy XV

In today’s final and fantastic episode of Speak up on Kotaku, commenter Paradox Me has an absolutely brilliant idea for Square Enix: Trash the failed MMO and recycle its assets for a new single player Final Fantasy game. Why is Final Fantasy XIV so goddamn pretty and why can’t we get this style in a…

By Mike Fahey Published October 6, 2011

It’s Square Enix x Yahoo! Monster x Dragon

Sigh. Double sigh. The “large scale new title” Square Enix and Yahoo! Japan are teaming up on is Monster x Dragon. It’s a “MMO active time strategy” game. Who knows, maybe it’s good! [ANN]

By Brian Ashcraft Published October 6, 2011

This Square Enix RPG’s Name Sounds Terrible, Looks Just Fine

There’s a new Square Enix game on the way for the Nintendo 3DS called Bravely Default: Flying Fairy. Even going by Square’s ridiculous standards, it’s a ridiculous name. Lucky, then, it looks so damn good. Understand that this appears to be an incredibly “traditional” Japanese role-playing game, and that I’m talking about its visuals, not…

By Luke Plunkett Published October 5, 2011

Which Retailer Has the Best Final Fantasy XIII-2 Preorder Incentive?

When Final Fantasy XIII-2 hits North American shores on January 31, GameStop, Best Buy, and Amazon customers that preordered the game will walk away with some pretty spiffy bonus items, but which is the most enticing? This time around it’s not GameStop. In the world of retailer-exclusive preorder bonuses, dedicated video game retailer GameStop normally…

By Mike Fahey Published October 3, 2011

What’s the Reaction When You Make Dragon Quest Games

As far as iconic games in Japan go, they don’t get any more iconic than Dragon Quest. It’s one of those rare games that still ensnares people who don’t game as much as they used to or don’t game at all. So in Japan, working on Dragon Quest must be a pretty big deal, no?…

By Brian Ashcraft Published October 3, 2011

Chrono Trigger Arrives Tuesday on PSN

Square Enix confirmed on the PlayStation Blog yesterday that Chrono Trigger will be available on PlayStation Network beginning Oct. 4. Pricing was not mentioned. What’s more, in response to a commenter who said he’d “Rather be playing Chrono Cross,” Square Enix’s Charles McCarter said “Well, you might not have to wait that much longer…” [h/t…

By Owen Good Published September 30, 2011

Square Enix and Yahoo! Teaming Up for Something (Something Disappointing?)

Square Enix, maker of Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, is joining forces with Yahoo! Japan’s mobile game division for a new project. Smart money says it’s a some sort of social or browser game, sure. According to the teaser site, which will reveal the new work on Oct. 5, the two are collaborating on a…

By Brian Ashcraft Published September 28, 2011

Culture

More of Deus Ex: Human Revolution’s Amazing Concept Art

Deus Ex: Human Revolution is a game that’s art direction was so memorable, and so well-loved, that I figured it was worth a second round of concept art. Whereas last time we looked at a little bit of everything from a whole bunch of the game’s artists, today we’re looking at some new stuff from…

By Luke Plunkett Published September 28, 2011

Final Fantasy XIV “Damaged” Final Fantasy

For a game with grand ambitious, Final Fantasy XIV has been a grand disappointment. Today in Tokyo, Square Enix honcho Yoichi Wada once again addressed the game’s shortcomings. “The Final Fantasy brand was damaged,” Wada said, adding that the game was being “substantially reworked” so that the game can be revived as the FFXIV that…

By Brian Ashcraft Published September 27, 2011

Will There Ever Be a New Dragon Quest Anime?

Dragon Quest, one of Japan’s most beloved role-playing games, spawned more than sequel after sequel. A manga version ran for around seven years, and there was an anime in the early 1990s. That doesn’t necessarily mean there’s going to be a Dragon Quest anime in the future. It also doesn’t necessarily mean there won’t. “The…

By Brian Ashcraft Published September 27, 2011

When Pokémon Comparisons Don’t Piss You Off

The idea of raising monsters and then having them fight didn’t start with Pokémon. In 1992’s Dragon Quest V, players could select monsters and have them duke it out. That was years before Pocket Monsters came out. Yet, Dragon Quest spin-off Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker, which focuses on capturing and breeding monsters for battles, is…

By Brian Ashcraft Published September 26, 2011