Square Enix - Page 146 of 177

These Are Not The Colorful Slime Drinks You Think They Are

You’d think that a Slime drink in a blue bottle would be blue. Or one in an orange-red bottle would be orange-red. You are wrong. The drinks come in two flavors: blue Hoimi Cider and orange Mera Tropical. Priced at ¥284 ($3.25), the drinks went on sale earlier this month in Japan and come with…

By Brian Ashcraft Published July 14, 2010

The Worlds Within Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep

Take a trip through Disney Town, the Dwarf Woodlands, the Castle of Dreams, the Enchanted Dominion, and Deep Space, in this Worlds trailer for Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep for the PSP. As I was viewing this video for the first time, my nephew, busy playing my Xbox 360 in the other room, shouted out,…

By Mike Fahey Published July 13, 2010

Kane And Lynch 2’s Dog Days Start A Week Earlier

Kane and Lynch 2: Dog Days moves forward one week in the release schedule, now slated to hit stores on August 17 in North America and August 20 in PAL territories. The Japanese date remains an unchanged August 26.

By Mike Fahey Published July 13, 2010

Square Enix Boss Says Japan’s Core Gameplay “Not As Strong”

Yoichi Wada, boss of publisher Square Enix (Final Fantasy), has some stern words for Japanese developers in a recent interview with industry site Gamasutra. “I don’t think we can say Japan’s strong” in core gameplay, he tells the site. “Western developers have become much stronger, during the past five years, in this aspect — the…

By Luke Plunkett Published July 13, 2010

Keeping Abreast Of Final Fantasy XIV’s Character Customization

Something Is Different. No, *somethings*. Final Fantasy XIV has a robust character creator — with emphasis on bust. We know this! But let’s take a look at what to expect from FFXIV’s character customization. As seen above, players can alter their character’s “type”. Famitsu.com notes that this option is for players who get fussy over…

By Brian Ashcraft Published July 9, 2010

Why Japan Likes Dragon Quest (And Other Pressing Issues)

Dragon Quest IX was released in Japan on July 11, 2009. A year later, the game is getting released in North America. Finally. Why the long delay, Square Enix? “The reality is that we were not able to develop all versions of the game simultaneously, since making the Japanese version alone proved to be a…

By Brian Ashcraft Published July 9, 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

Obsidian Wouldn’t Mind Tackling A Chrono Trigger Sequel

Now that they’re working on Dungeon Siege 3 for Square Enix, are there any other Square Enix series the company would like a stab at? “Chrono Trigger,” says CEO Feargus Urquhart. With their first attempt at an original role-playing game tanking, Obsidian Entertainment is free to focus on what they do best: Making sequels to…

By Mike Fahey Published July 6, 2010

Dragon Quest Creator Launches Sentinels Of The Starry Skies In New York

Celebrate the launch of Dragon Quest IX: Sentinel of the Starry Skies next weekend in New York City, with a Nintendo party in Rockefeller Center featuring the creator of the Dragon Quest series, Yuji Horii. Dragon Quest IX was a big release for Square Enix in Japan, and now it’s a big release for Nintendo…

By Mike Fahey Published July 1, 2010

Now Square Enix Has A Monster Hunter Type Game

In Japan, Capcom’s self-descriptive Monster Hunter series (above, pictured) is enormously popular, selling millions. Namco Bandai has created its own Monster Hunteresque game, the popular God Eater. Now it’s Square Enix’s turn. Dubbed Lord of Arcana, this forthcoming PSP title from Square Enix lets players create customizable warriors that slay large beasts. There are quests,…

By Brian Ashcraft Published July 1, 2010

Final Fantasy XIV PC Gets Two Release Dates

The first steps players take into the world of Eorzea will be wide ones, as Square Enix reveals two September release dates for Final Fantasy XIV on the PC; one for the normal edition, and an earlier one for the lavish collector’s edition. That’s right, Final Fantasy XIV for the PC is coming out on…

By Mike Fahey Published June 30, 2010

Are You Good Enough To Write Dragon Quest?

Like Dragon Quest? Want to, perhaps, write Dragon Quest games? Okay, read on. Square Enix is taking job applications for those interested in writing future Dragon Quest games. That could be you! Well, if you live in Japan and are fluent in Japanese. Hopefuls need to submit two writing samples. One is an essay about…

By Brian Ashcraft Published June 30, 2010

What? Lil Jon’s A Dragon Quest Fan? Yeeeyeah!

Nintendo’s Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies celebrity sneak-peek event gets a lil’ crunk, thanks to Lil Jon and DJ Slade. Slimes beware! [Photo courtesy Nintendo of America]

By Michael McWhertor Published June 29, 2010

Final Fantasy Versus XIII Story Finalized

Final Fantasy Versus XIII was first made public in 2006. Square Enix has shown screenshots and trailers. And now, Versus XIII’s designer is happy to report, the game’s story is finished. In an interview in the recent issue of Dengeki magazine, it was revealed that the scenario for the game is apparently fleshed out and…

By Brian Ashcraft Published June 29, 2010

Who Makes Big Money In Japan?

People who run big companies, that’s who. As previously mentioned, a new regulation now requires Japanese companies to disclose the previously well-guarded salaries of employees over ¥100 million (US$1.1 million). Executive salaries in Japan are lower than the astronomical compensation execs receive in the West. “Companies owe their existence to society,” says Shizuka Kamei, the…

By Brian Ashcraft Published June 29, 2010

Watch Seth Green Sell Dragon Quest IX To Teenagers

How does one sell a game like Dragon Quest IX, a traditionally core role-playing game, to the general Nintendo DS-owning populace? Right. Seth Green and pop rock band The Lost Boys. This is Nintendo’s attempt at shilling Square Enix’s Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies and… gotta say, I think it works. Sure,…

By Michael McWhertor Published June 28, 2010

Square Enix Seems Interested In 3D (What About You?)

3D. 3D. 3D. Final Fantasy XIV? Square Enix has a tech demo for it in 3D. At the recent E3 gaming expo in Los Angeles, the Japanese based game company was showing off the PC version of the game running in 3D on three monitors. The 3D was powered by NVIDIA’s new GeForce 3D. I’m…

By Brian Ashcraft Published June 28, 2010

Kingdom Hearts Designer Talks Picking and Choosing

Last year, it was revealed that Square Enix designer Tetsuya Nomura originally conceived with chainsaws. “There things I wanted to do [with Kingdom Hearts]”, Nomura recently told Kotaku, “but things that were not allowed.” Maybe like chainsaws? Obviously, you can’t have Mickey Mouse wield a chainsaw. (Well, I guess you could. And I guess it…

By Brian Ashcraft Published June 25, 2010

Final Fantasy XIV On 360 Doesn’t Look Likely

Final Fantasy XIV is definitely coming to the PS3 and PC, but Square Enix has previously been coy on an Xbox 360 version. There’s a reason for that. While a publisher will rarely, if ever say that a game is definitely not coming to another platform, it doesn’t look like Final Fantasy XIV will ever…

By Luke Plunkett Published June 25, 2010