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Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light Hits the DS in October
Square Enix’s Japanese-only portable game The Four Warriors of Light: A Final Fantasy Anecdote is coming to the U.S. with a less unwieldy name in October. Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light arrives on Oct. 5 for the DS
By Brian Crecente Published May 27, 2010 -
Is Story Important For Japanese Role Playing Games? Ask This Lady
Miwa Shoda joined Squaresoft, now Square Enix, in 1995 and went on to write Japanese Legend of Mana and Final Fantasy XII. Those are big games with big stories — something that they apparently do not need. “I’ve worked all over the place and gained a great deal of valuable experience from all sorts of…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 27, 2010 -
Sony Still Teasing North America With Final Fantasy IX
Garnet wants to be kidnapped right away, and while that’s all fine and good in Europe, where Final Fantasy IX is now available for purchase on the PlayStation Network, here in North America we must ignore her desperate pleas. Japan got a PlayStation Network version of Final Fantasy IX on May 20, and now the…
By Mike Fahey Published May 26, 2010 -
Square Enix Wants More Games Like Heavy Rain
Thriller Heavy Rain has a fan in Yoichi Wada, the guy who runs Square Enix. That company churns out Final Fantasy games. In a recent interview with game magazine Famitsu, Imperial Hot says he’s recently played the thriller. His thoughts? “It would be good if they made more games like Heavy Rain,” said the exec…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 26, 2010 -
Front Mission Evolves Into Action Game This Fall
The giant mech strategy series turns shooter this September, when Square Enix brings Front Mission Evolved to the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC (in stereoscopic 3D!!!), hoping to lure in a new legion of fans of piloting massive Wanzers. Square Enix has dated Double Helix Games’ Front Mission spin-off for September 14, bringing futuristic…
By Michael McWhertor Published May 25, 2010 -
Macho, Macho Man, Nier’s Gotta Be A Macho Man
Ever wonder why there are two versions of role-playing game Nier? In the West, “macho” means big and muscular. Beefcakes! Just look at the majority of Western games. In Japan, however, ideas of masculinity are different. Someone can still be manly and strong, but not necessarily shaped like a gorilla. When development on RPG Nier…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 21, 2010 -
Did Square Enix and Yahoo! Change Japanese History? Um…
Earlier this week, a teaser site appeared on Yahoo! Japan, claiming that the web portal and the game company would change Japanese history. The teaser site than asked Twitter users to guess what was to come. The guesses ranged from Dragon Quest online to a search engine game. Those guesses are wrong. Totally wrong. Inside,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 21, 2010 -
Square Enix And Yahoo! Japan To “Change Japanese History”
Japanese history is voluminous. And there have been huge changes. Just look at the past century! But domestic game company Square Enix and Yahoo! claim it will change Japanese history. The gall! A teaser site on Yahoo! Japan reads: “On May 21, we’ll change Japanese history.” So when you buy a Japanese history book in…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 20, 2010 -
How’s Final Fantasy XIV Coming Along?
Not bad, not bad at all. Upcoming massively multiplayer role-playing game Final Fantasy XIV won’t be out until later this year, but here’s a look at in-game city-state Limsa Lominsa and it’s landmarks: self-descriptive Fishermann’s Bottom, culinary capital the Bismarck and armory Coral Tower. The game has been penciled in for the PS3 and is…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 20, 2010 -
Dragon Quest IX Comes Stateside In July
The wait for the North American release of the game that sold more than four million copies in Japan comes to an end this July, as Nintendo locks in a date for Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies. Dragon Quest IX for the Nintendo DS shattered sales records in Japan, so it came…
By Mike Fahey Published May 19, 2010 -
Multi-Platform Final Fantasy Versus XIII Remarks Cleared Up
At a Tokyo investors meeting, Square Enix president Yoichi “Imperial Hot” Wada stated that the company was “looking into” bringing PS3 exclusive Final Fantasy Versus XIII to the Xbox 360. As previously posted, publisher may consider a multi-platform release. But there’s some “looking into it” to be done, so don’t expect an announcement of that…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 19, 2010 -
Final Fantasy Versus XIII On Xbox 360? Square’s ‘Looking Into It’
Will Square Enix’s long-in-the-making Final Fantasy Versus XIII follow the lead of its predecessor and make the leap from the PS3 to the Xbox 360? Probably… err Square Enix is “looking into it,” according to the company’s president. Yoichi Wada told attendees at an investors meeting today in Tokyo that, despite claims that the more…
By Michael McWhertor Published May 18, 2010 -
Final Fantasy XIII, Batman Selling Millions (Millions!)
Square Enix just reported its best year ever, on the back of super-strong sales of a handful of key titles. Like Final Fantasy XIII. And Batman: Arkham Asylum. And Dragon Quest IX. All of which sold millions. Final Fantasy XIII, despite some up-and-down review scores, has sold 5.5 million copies worldwide since launch, with the…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 18, 2010 -
Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep Dated, Detailed, And PSP Bundled
Square Enix’s vague summer release date for Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep has become a definite September release date, with a limited edition PSP bundle commemorating the next star-studded entry in the beloved Kingdom Hearts series. Does September 7 still count as summer? Probably not, but it’s only missing it by a few days, so…
By Mike Fahey Published May 17, 2010 -
This Nier DLC Costume Is Not Subtle
Along with a younger version of the protagonist, role-playing game Nier (read our review!) is getting new downloadable outfits. One of which sure is saucy! Kotaku already posted this costume’s concept art. However, concept art doesn’t show how something looks in-game on character Kainé. It only shows the concept And in concept this, probably shouldn’t…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 17, 2010 -
The Bizarre Dragon Quest Battle Road Victory Controller Approaches!
For the Wii owner that demands an authentic Dragon Quest Battle Road Victory arcade experience at home, controller maker Hori offers this elaborate and very expensive… thing. The new controller, seen here in its conceptual form, replicates the controls from the arcade version of Dragon Quest Monsters Battle Road II Legend, coming to the Wii…
By Michael McWhertor Published May 10, 2010 -
Final Fantasy IX Coming Soon To North American PSN
With a May 20 release date already revealed for Japan, Square Enix confirms a North American release for Final Fantasy IX, the second-highest rated game in the Final Fantasy franchise, on the PlayStation Network. I’ve made no secret that Final Fantasy IX is my favorite game in the series, and aside from Final Fantasy III…
By Mike Fahey Published May 7, 2010 -
Reviews
Nier Review: Not Without His Daughter
Can one hideously ugly man facing impossible odds to save his daughter from a mysterious disease make for a beautiful action role-playing game? Find out in our review of Square Enix’s Nier. Dog-faced Nier’s young daughter Yonah has been infected with the strange Black Scrawl virus, and he’ll do whatever it takes to free her…
By Mike Fahey Published May 4, 2010