Remember that little film project from a few years ago that nearly bankrupted Squaresoft?  Well, if you were one of the few who genuinely enjoyed The Spirits Within, and happen to be a videophile, it's now available on Sony's high-definition Blu-Ray DVD.

The high-def version of Square's film will cost you a cool 20 bucks, and the CGI will never look better.  The Spirits Within may be a real winner for anyone with Blu-ray and a glorious HDTV. ...

If you've ever had dreams of a Keyblade-weilding Sora or a sinister Gabranth standing elegantly on your desk, the wait is over.

Last week Square Enix launched its online merchandise store.  Though it's currently mostly limited to figurines, the store offers a considerable variety of merchandise for the Final Fantasy fan, and a decent collection of keychains and pendants are available as well, even for Dragon Quest and the less famous Valkyrie Profile.

Due to the special nature and limited quantities of the items, a few restrictions apply: all orders from the store must total at least $23 dollars, and only one of each particular item can be purchased at once.  But you're not going to let a little thing like that stand between you and a Moogle plushie, are you?

[Source: Square Enix] ...

The end of July is already upon us, and those of you who own a PSP may know why that's significant--in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the release of the original Final Fantasy, Square Enix has remastered Final Fantasy I and II yet again, this time for the PSP.

Final Fantasy I for the PSP was released last month, and as of yesterday, July 24th, Final Fantasy II had been shipped to retailers.  What does this mean?  It means go get a copy!  This version of Final Fantasy II will cost you a cool $29.99, but the graphics and widescreen presentation are new, the best features and extras from each release of Final Fantasy II have been combined into one shiny package, the music has been fine-tuned, and there's even some fresh artwork in there, to boot.

[Source: GamingToday] ...

To coincide the Crisis Core PSP bundle, on the 13th of September Square-Enix will be teaming up with Suntory to release the FFVII Potion energy drink, much like the FFXII energy drink they released in March last year. The Potion will also come in a limited-edition package, which includes the Drink, a Tetsuya Nomura designed bottle, the Final Fantasy VII 10th Anniversary Ultimania book (which, apparently, is supposed to be a word invented by Square-Enix that means "Ultimate Encyclopedia") and come in a flashy silver box.

To take a look at the limited edition pack and the design of the bottle (which looks rather suspect, if you ask me), click here.

[Source: Next-Gen] ...

On September 20th of this year, Square-Enix will be releasing a special PSP package to go with upcoming PSP game, Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core. And yes, as per usual, it's for the Japanese only. (Don't worry, we'll get our revenge. Fellow news reporter Azar came up with the stellar idea of taking over SE and selling the next Dragon Quest outside of Japan only. Justice will be served, my friends!) In keeping with the "7" theme, the deal will be limited to 77,777 copies.

Included in the deal are one Crisis Core designed PSP, the game itself and a special design strap for your Cell Phone, featuring Zack. While we can't provide you with a glimpse at the strap itself, and while SE refuse to supply you with their fancy limited edition goods, we can give you a glimpse at the PSP which you'll be missing out on.



[Source: Next-Gen] ...

In a recent interview with gaming site Gamasutra, the soon-departing Microsoft executive Peter Moore commented that Microsoft would like to see the Final Fantasy series on the Xbox 360.

Moore stated: "We talk to Square Enix all the time. They're a great partner, and we do some distribution for them now with Project Sylpheed. We're always talking, but it's their intellectual property, and they know what's best for them and their shareholders."

Moore went on to speculate for Microsoft that "One would assume that if we continue to do our job with our install base that Final Fantasy could show up on our box. We did have [Final Fantasy] XI, as you know, and while [Final Fantasy] XIII still seems like it's a ways away, we would hope to have that progress."

Square Enix senior vice president Shinji Hashimoto recently commented that plans for the Final Fantasy series regarding the Xbox 360 are currently "a blank page," which confirms nothing one way or another.

Looks like we'll just have to wait and see if Sony can retain their exclusivity, or if this ...

The sequel to Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, FFTA2: The Sealed Grimoire for the DS, has not yet received a definitive release date.  This hasn't stopped Square Enix from releasing a handful of new screenshots and pieces of art from the game, however.

Check out the recently updated Official Japanese Website for all sorts of new material--videos of the game in action, pictures and mini biographies of several characters (if you can read Japanese, anyway!) and some wallpaper downloads.

Not enough to satisfy you?  Well, stop being so greedy!  Still, there IS more.  Popular site JeuxFrance has quite a few new magazine scans of The Sealed Grimoire, which you can see below.  Click to enlarge.


Final Fantasy Tactics A2: The Sealed Grimoire should see a 2007 release in Japan, but nothing is known at this time about the timing of a western release.

[Sources: Square Enix, JeuxFrance] ...

A new press release from Sony sheds some light on exactly how far Square Enix has progressed with both FFXIII and Versus XIII.

The numbers seem unusually accurate, and it's hard to know exactly what the percentages entail. Nevertheless, Final Fantasy XIII is apparently 13% complete, while Versus XIII is only 1.3% done.  With at least a year to go for FFXIII and likely more than that for Versus XIII, Square Enix has plenty of work left to do.

[Source: Joystiq] ...

With E³ just days away, Square Enix has announced what games they're planning to show off at this year's considerably reduced Expo.  Check out the spread below.

Playable demos:

• Final Fantasy II (PSP, July 24)
  
• Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions (PSP, October 9)
• Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings (DS, November 20)
• Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker (DS, November 6)
• Front Mission (DS, October 23)
• Heroes of Mana (DS, August 14)

Display only:

• Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates (DS, Spring 2008)
• Final Fantasy XI: Wings of the Goddess (PS2, Xbox 360, PC, Winter 2007)
• Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors (Wii, unknown)

There's certainly no lack of Final Fantasy titles on display at this year's E3, though those hoping for playable console games look like they'll be left out in the cold--XIII seems to be a no-show, and the only console games on display are a new Final Fantasy XI expansion and a new Dragon Quest title.

Still, anyone with a Nintendo DS or Playstation Portable should be extremely pleased with the bevy of on-the-go gaming Square ...

It's summertime, and that can only mean one thing-you're hot, and you're itching to play a revamped classic RPG.  Well, maybe it's just hot.  But if you are antsy to, say, replay the original Final Fantasy with new graphics, bonus features, and more, today is your lucky day.

Final Fantasy I for the PSP is out!  With content added in from every conceivable source, including the Gameboy Advance remake Dawn of Souls, and the added enhancement of a 16x9 display, the PSP version may well be the "ultimate" release of the game that started it all.  Until Square Enix remakes it again, anyway.

Head on down to your local game store, or wait for the larger retailers to get the game in stock and onto store shelves (probably in the next day or two).  Final Fantasy I for the PSP will cost you $29.99, and so will Final Fantasy II, when it's released on July 24th. ...

We're all used to it by now anyway.

Square-Enix are partnering with Nintendo again to bring out a special edition Nintendo DS to be released with Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates. The DS features the fancy stained glass window from the cover of the game in a stylish black and white. Of course, this means nothing to 99% of us because we're never going to get our hands on one because as you probably figured out, it's for Japan only! Ah well, at least you can look at it.

Click for visual stimulation.

[Source: DS Fanboy] ...

Ever dreamed of having your very own Cloud coffee mug?  How about a keychain of a chibi Final Fantasy character?  Or even a model of your favorite protagonist?  Well, odds are you may soon get your wish, as Square Enix has launched a teaser site for a brand new online merchandise store!

Check out the site right here.  The store isn't open for business yet, but there is an option to sign up for an email notification.  If you just have to get your hands on the merch as soon as possible, sign up and let the waiting begin.

[Source: Square Enix] ...

Square Enix is finally re-entering the fighting game arena with FF Dissidia for the PSP, and thanks to the 20th anniversary party of the Final Fantasy series, we've got a brand spankin' new trailer to show off a bit more of the game.

Details are still sketchy, but the game supposedly focuses on two gods, Cosmos and Chaos, who eternally vie for control of the world.  When Chaos gains an upper hand, you-know-what ensues, and each side (Good and evil, light and dark, order and chaos--whatever you want to call it) calls upon the world's best fighters to duke it out.

As we've previously reported, Garland and Warrior of Light from FFI and Zidane from FFIX will be playable in Dissidia; newly unveiled, however, is Sephiroth.  Being a favorite of fanboys everywhere, it's no surprise to see Sephiroth take part in the brawler, but confirmation is always welcome.

Check out the trailer in the link to Joystiq below, or just click here.

[Source: Joystiq] ...

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates, the Nintendo DS sequel to Square Enix's somewhat popular (and somewhat unorthodox) GameCube Final Fantasy, is one of the furthest along titles Square had to show off at this year's Party.

The game shares some things in common with its predecessor--a focus on exploring dungeons and fighting baddies, though some new moves have been added to buff up the gameplay, and puzzle elements have been implemented into the dungeon design.

Players can now hop on top of enemies and perform a brutal downward attack, or pick them up and attack them from underneath.  In addition, a Special attack can be performed after it is built up.  Normally, all the action takes place on the top screen of the DS, but when the right trigger is held, the screens switch positions, and a special attack can be performed by tapping the appropriate enemy with the stylus.

To keep the multiplayer spirit of the first game alive, Ring of Fates will make use of the DS wi-fi abilities.  Presumably, more than one mode will be available for online multiplayer, including some sort of co-op play; in the version IGN briefly demoed, players were able to race against each other to "score points by plucking little critters out of the ground."  They could also attack each other to attempt to gain the upper hand.

Ring of Fates doesn't look quite as good as Final Fantasy III or the newer Chocobo Tales, but its charming visual style and fairly robust ...