You're looking at the gift. See, XSEED's CEO is Jun Iwasaki, who used to run Square Enix before he left to found his current company. The head honcho over at Square Enix now, Tetsuya Nomura, decided to hook him up with the custom It's a Wonderful World (The World Ends With You) handheld in what we can only hope is an example to others in the future. We have to break down these barriers!
We want to see a Coca Cola truck driver letting a Pepsi truck driver merge during heavy traffic. We want to see DS and PSP enthusiasts swapping consoles, sharing great experiences with each other. It's ... it's just such a feel good moment.
The game we've had our eye on for quite some time, Square Enix's It's a Wonderful World, is going to be releasing outside of Japan. Titled The World Ends with You, the game will supposedly be released in the spring of 2008 to North America and Europe. As you already know, it was developed by the team behind the Kingdom Hearts series of games.
In case you missed our previous coverage of the game in action, it's pretty busy regarding gameplay, but in a good way. We wonder if Square will decide to release any special edition DS Lite with the game like they did in Japan?
Whether you want to call it "fashionably late" or "missed the party," Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker has finally hit North America. During Q4 and its incredible torrent of releases, DQMJ still manages to stick out as one of the highest-profile titles releasing on the system this year. Is it the real deal, or just another imitator? Read on and find out!
Posted Sep 20th 2007 11:30AM by Eric Caoili
Filed under: News
Square Enix quietly revealed its next Front Mission project at the ongoing Tokyo Game Show, and it's for the DS! Aside from its name, Front Mission 2089: Border of Madness, not much else has been announced -- we can safely assume, however, that it'll be an SRPG packed with highly customizable wanzers (mechs) and political drama.
Previous Front Mission 2089 titles have been released for mobile platforms, but we're not sure yet if Border of Madness will be a port of one of those cell phone games or a completely new entry to the spin-off series. Of course, we hope for the latter. Regardless of its origin, we likely won't see it localized for the US unless we support Front Mission DS's release in the states next month!
Even with all signs pointing to Disappointmentville regarding the release date for Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates, we still foam at the mouth for anything we can get our hands on regarding the game. Whether it be screens or video, we can't get enough of the Square Enix game. And these latest screens are no exception, as they showcase some battle portions, as well as concept art.
The fine folks over at JeuxFrance apparently got to visit Japan, recently. In taking their time to extract every bit of delicate and precious piece of Japanese culture they could before having to leave the gaming mecca, they managed to compile quite a gallery regarding the advertisement of Square Enix's It's a Wonderful World. They've got plenty of stuff from the Shibuya district, where the majority of the advertisements were shown.
We've got a flood of Front Mission DS media for you today. In addition to the new screenshots viewable in the gallery below, there's also a minute-and-a-half-long trailer for the Square EnixSRPG past the post break. If you need more than just combat clips and menu hopping to get you going, scroll down a bit further for the original Japanese trailer.
Front Mission DS finally bring the series' first entry to the states, adding touchscreen controls, multiplayer battles (local only), and several new Wanzers to the mech-based title. While this release already includes the alternative UCS storyline from the PlayStation remake, five new missions specific to the DS version have also been added.
RPGamer had a chance to sit down with producer Koichiro Sakamoto to discuss the handheld port and his thoughts on bringing more Front Mission games to the DS. According to the interview, were it not for the campaigning of a particular team member, North America might not have received the game: "There was one [who] was very passionate about the game, and wanted to give players in the United States the chance to experience. He felt that Front Mission 3 and 4 proved that there is a userbase, and since the DS is currently very popular, the thinking went, 'Why not give it a try?'"
When we finally are able to pry loose the cartridge for It's a Wonderful World from its plastic case, we imagine the world will be wonderful. Birds will sing, the skies will part and the sun will shine down onto us exclusively. We'll laugh as we walk down the street and a band will trail behind us, just a few steps, playing that famous song. It will surely be a great day.
But, until then, guess we'll just have to settle for a few screens and some concept art.
Posted Jul 9th 2007 12:20PM by Eric Caoili
Filed under: News
Square Enix spent the morning revealing its lineup of "fresh new faces and timeless classics" that the company plans to exhibit this week at E3, attaching US release dates to its upcoming titles:
We're jumping on our beds with glee over the fact that we'll be receiving Front Mission so early after the localization was announced, but several disappointing details failed to escape our attention -- Final Fantasy Tactics A2: The Sealed Grimoire, It's a Wonderful World, FFIV DS, and Dragon Quest IX's absence; and Ring of Fates' distant date. The multiplayer ARPG and its DS Lite bundle are scheduled to hit Japan this August 23rd.
This week's clip features Alhanarlem, one of the main characters from the ARPG's spellcasting tribe of Yukes, leaping from platform to platform in what looks like a competitive minigame in which players race through a stage to find a hidden blue switch. Power-ups are scattered around the field, but their effects aren't revealed until they're grabbed. Vault past the post break for the embedded movie.
Even with a diminished E3, there's no controlling the wave of rumors that hit the Internet every year before the show. Why fight it? From now until E3 hits, we'll be posting one piece of wild speculation every day. Some may be patently ridiculous, and others just might turn out to be true. Even some of the ridiculous ones might turn out to be true! Rest assured, everything will be totally made-up and unfounded. Except, of course, when we speak about all the ass Reggie is going to kick. That part? Totally true.
Rumor: Square Enix will announce remakes of games that have yet to be released!
Another Square Enix game, anotherspecial-editionDS Lite. SE seems to have set up a template for these: logo on the left, line art on the right, money in the bank.
This time, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates gets the special-edition treatment on a Crystal White DS Lite. For Japan, obviously. We like the pseudo-stained-glass look, which can be found in full color on the box. This new DS variant is great news for people who were holding out on a DS purchase until the Japanese Ring of Fates came out. It's probably a little irritating for Square Enix fans who already have a plain DS.
Posted Jun 19th 2007 5:55PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: News
If there's one defining characteristic of the Square Enix fanbase, it's that they love buyin' stuff. How else would you explain the myriad re-releases of Final Fantasy games? Square Enix hopes to facilitate these fans' insatiable need to fill their inventories. They've set up a website that will, in the near future, be the home of an official Square Enix shop.
Will they have lots of expensive figurines? No doubt! Will you be able to buy the Potion drink there? Possibly! How about Tidus's pants, as seen above? Why, there's no end to the kinds of pants they could sell!
Not literally. If they never ended, there'd be no holes to put your feet through.
We've been clamoring for a proper follow-up to the Seiken Densetsu series for over a decade now, and by the looks of the Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates videos we've seen so far, we might finally be getting one. The first Crystal Chronicles entry on the GameCube was by no means disappointing, at least in our opinion, but hardware and link cable requirements made getting a group together much harder than we would've liked. Its handheld sequel seems free of those problems without losing that multiplayer ARPG's cooperative fun.
Square Enix's latest Ring of Fates clip demonstrates the teamwork involved in getting through the game's dungeon puzzles. Carrying around a huge block of wood can be difficult if someone isn't knocking back the enemies coming at you! Bring your crew past the post break for the short movie.
Posted Jun 11th 2007 1:00PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: News
Yoichi Wada, head of Square Enix, believes that handhelds are the way to go, at least until the next generation settles down somewhat. Wada told the Financial Times "There is a new breed of gamers in the market – we have to make games for all kinds of people." Which means, of course, the DS.
It should be no surprise that the company has a lot of faith in portable systems, since their flagship franchise has moved to the DS. Still, it is a little unusual for Wada to publicly speak against next-gen systems with so many important Square Enix games headed to the PS3. "There are too many specs – and you also need a high-definition TV, a broadband connection and a deep knowledge of gaming – these consoles are mismatched to today's environment. In a year or two years they will fare better."