Square Enix has announced that Final Fantasy will make its official debut in Europe on September 16th. Both expansions to the game, Rise of the Zilart and Chains of Promathia will be included in the release, which will contain seven CD-ROMs total. This launch will coincide with the Japanese & North American release for Chains of Promathia, which will allow for the entire game to be played by a worldwide audience for the first time. The game will retail for about 50 Euros, which includes a free 30-day trial. Afterwards a charge of $12.95(USD) will be issued a month, and an additonal $1.00 for every character up to fifteen characters per month.

In other news, Square Enix has added a three soundtrack samples to the music section of the official FFXII Site. The game, soundtrack and all, is slated for a Spring 2005 release in Japan, and a North American release date is yet to be announced. We will keep you posted.

[Sources: RPGamer-FFXI, RPGamer-FFXII]

...

Square Enix has recently announced some plans for its upcoming cell phone based content. The FFVII prequel, Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII, will be an online action RPG that takes place six years prior to the events of Square's famous hit, FFVII. To advance in the game, players will have to assemble a team to take on the various missions throughout gameplay. The game is still under development and progressing as planned. Information regarding any release dates, outside or in Japan, are not yet known at this time.

The company is working simultaneously on Final Fantasy XI mobile content. The viewer-like software will allow users to exchange themselves for instance with other members of their Linkshell. Square Enix is labeling it a solution to keep in touch with the game's virutal world 24 hours as chat, PT and other features will be implemented.

Also, it was previously announced that the creator of Final Fantasy, Hironobu Sakaguchi, has founded his own company. Sakaguchi has chosen Kensuke Tanaka as the vice president of Mist Walker. Tanaka served as general producer of the anime project Final Fantasy Unlimited. ...

Another magazine scan was recently released on FFVII: Advent Children and Before Crisis. In this one, Yuffie makes her first appearance as she sails down from the sky. This scan also includes a few interesting shots of Cid, RedXII, Reno, and Rude. Go here to check out this hot scan. Advent Children is expecting a release date of Fall in Japan. A North American release date has not yet been announced but we will keep you posted.

[Source: RPGamer, Advent Children] ...

The ever famous mastermind behind the whole Final Fantasy series, Hironobu Sakaguchi has recently announced the founding of a new game company called Mist Walker. The new company plans to focus on game development, and not publishing. Sakaguchi revealed little of his plans for future projects beyond that he has his sights set on next generation technology. He also noted two potential employees for his new company, Yoshitaka Amano, who worked on FFI-VI, and Takehiko Inoue, popular for the many magnas he has done.

Ever since the failure of FF: The Spirits Within when he resigned as Vice President of Square and president of Square USA, Sakaguchi has not made many public appearances at all. He was credited as the executive producer of Final Fantasy X and XI, but really had little input on the two titles. What the creation of the new comapny means for Sakaguchi's relationship with Square Enix is yet to be revealed.

[Sources: RPGFan, RPGamer] ...

Square Enix has recently revealed the release date for PS2 and PC versions of the expansion to their popular MMORPG, Final Fantasy XI. Chains of Promathia will be available in Japan and the US on September 21st for a retail price of $29.99 US. The release of Chains of Promathia in Japan and the US will coincide with the release of Final Fantasy XI in Europe.

[Source: RPGFan] ...

Square Enix was just on the verge of completing Final Fantasy 1&2 Advance when it's progress was hindered by an error in the final programming of the game. The GBA release of the game was originally scheduled for release in Japan on June 24th, and has not yet received a new release date. We will keep you posted as soon as the news comes in.

Also, new screens have been released for the FFXI expansion, Chains of Promathia. Click here for 50 amazing shots of the new territories.

[Source: RPGamer] ...

Recent scans in the latest issue of Weekly Shounen Jump magazine confirm two more familiar faces in the upcoming movie. This scan shows a still of both Cid and Red XII. Also included in this scan is a picture of Cloud and Tifa talking to each ohter on mobile phones, and a picture of Cloud and Aeris in a field of flowers. At the bottom you can catch a few screens from Before Crisis.

Another scan can be found here, which features Reno and Rude fighting Yazoo and Loz.


[Source: Advent Children] ...

For those fans out there who have been awaiting new Square Enix games apart from sequels, this news tidbit is for you. Square Enix has finally announced a Japanese release date for its upcoming title, Dragon Quest VIII. This anticipated title will be released Winter 2004. Square Enix also plans to release their other long awaited title, Final Fantasy XII this Winter or even Spring 2005. The company has made it clear it does not want to create any inter-company competition between the two games, so this dates are subject to change.

Square Enix has still left us in the dark on when we might see a North American release for these two titles.

[Sources: RPGamer, RPGFan] ...

As new information for the upcoming addition to the Final Fantasy series, Final Fantasy XII, continues to come in, the cast to this game continues to grow. Recent information mentions a new playable character and a race of creatures that many FF fans will be familiar with.

The latest character is Basshe, a commoner of Dalmaska who rose in the military ranks to become a general. Basshe is a good leader who is very well-liked in the kingdom, but also he is surrounded by mystery and tragedy. When the King of Dalmaska is murdered, Basshe becomes the prime suspect. His character becomes even more cloudy when he negotiaties a surrender with the forces from the Kingdom of Arcadia. Basshe will join as a playable character, but it's possible he may only be temporary.

Also, new screens have revealed that the cute little race of moogles will be back in action. They appear very similar to how they do in the GBA's Final Fantasy Tactics Advanced. It also appears that their role in this game is managing the chocobo stables. Release dates for Final Fantasy XII still ...

Square Enix has just announced a few new details regarding their online expansion, Final Fantasy XI: Chains of Promathia. Adding to the earlier announcment of adding the areas of Tavnazia and Movalpolos, two new areas have been announced. The first being Pso'Xja which is an underground ruin system thats has been under the control of the shadowy Tenshodo, an underground merchant guild. Filled with the carvings of a lost civilzation, the Tenshodo have decided to open the ruins to exploration by adventurers. The second area is Attowha Chasm, an arid land that makes up eastern Aragoneu. Attowha is home to poisonous gases, unique creatures that can thrive in this harsh environment, and the mysterious Parradamo Tor, a hill that is said to be in the chasm but from which adventurers never return.

Along with the two new areas, two new NPCs have been announced that will add to the already establish Final Fantasy XI storyline. The two characters are a young girl named Prishe and a young boy known only as the "Enigmatic Youth" who appears out of nowhere but speaks little. ...

Earlier this May at E3, Square Enix announced that a mobile prequel to its legendary RPG Final Fantasy VII was in development. The title of this prequel has been announced as Before Crisis - Final Fantasy VII. The game is set in Midgar 6 years before the events of FFVII and players will be in control of a member of the Turks.

The game is slated for a September 2004 release in Japan, and it will be available on NTT DoCoMo 900i-series or higher phones. A North American release date for the prequel has not yet been announced, and it is likely that the FFVII:BC will not be a downloadble option for US Gamers in the future given the disparity between Japanese and North American handset technology.

Also, according to the FFVII:AC official site, the release date in the Info section has been modified from Summer 2004 to a vague 2004 timeframe. It seems that fans will probably have to wait a little longer to for this anticipated movie release.

Sources: GameSpot, Advent Children

...

Square Enix has recently announced some of their expectations and plans for the future. The company plans to sell 8 million units this coming fiscal year, opposed to the 4.9 million units sold in the past year. The problem with this is that the company's big upcoming titles like Final Fantasy XII, Kingdom Hearts II, and Dragon Quest VIII are on track to be finished around the same time. Releasing these titles too closely together could cause problems for Square Enix to meet its expectations.

In a recent interview with Square Enix's president, Yoichi Wada, he revealed that the company definitely has interest in developing for Sony's PSP and Nintendo's Dual Screen. Square Enix also wants to continue to develop more online titles. One of the biggest topics in this interview was whether Square Enix would support Microsoft's XBox Live. Wada clearly stated he has no reason to allocate to the XBox as long as they have PS2. Wada also stated that he did not like the idea of a closed network in a closed enviroment for online gaming. As for the next generation Xbox console, Wada stated that they would definitely take into consideration developing for it. Click here ...