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]

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Square-Enix have opened the official site for their forthcoming cell/mobile phone based title, Before Crisis: FFVII. President Shinra, Rufus, Tseng, Reno, Rude, Veld and two other playable characters have been confirmed for the game so far, and more may be in the works. FFVII's star players Cloud and Sephiroth are also featured on the official site, so there's a chance they'll both be involved in the game, too.

Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII will be available to Japanese users of NTT DoCoMo's FOMA 900i series cell phones on August 31st, 2004. European and North American release dates are unconfirmed as of yet.

To view the official website, click here.

[Source: RPGFan] ...

According to Square-Enix, a "special" preview edition of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children will be shown at the 61st Venice International Film Festival on September 1st in Venice, Italy.

The director of the movie, Tetsuya Nomura, had this to say concerning the event: "We are honored to be a part of Venezia Digitale, this exciting new category that highlights the values of innovation and artistry of digital imagery. As we continually strive to create digital entertainment that pushes the boundaries of technology and art, we welcome the opportunity to become a part of the world cinema community through the Venice International Film Festival."

[Source: AllRPG] ...

As you read this news update, copies of Final Fantasy I & II Advance for the Gameboy Advance should be flying off the shelves in Japan. Interestingly, Square-Enix have included a questionnaire with the game, asking players which games they'd like to see re-made and re-released for Nintendo's DS. Some of these titles include Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy V, Final Fantasy VI, Seiken Densetsu, Saga, Front Mission, Hanjuku Hero, Chrono Trigger, and Chocobo.

Also confirmed for the DS are Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles and some sort of Dragon Quest title.

[Source: Square Insider] ...

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. ...

Square-Enix have completely redesigned the official Final Fantasy XII site, and the results are impressive. As well as the appearance overhaul, some new pages have been created, entitled: "About Ivalice", "Download" and "System".

These sections are well worth a look, and contain some great screenshots and wallpapers.

[Sources: FF12.com, Square Insider] ...

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] ...

True, we already have "Final Fantasy: Advent Children" and "Before Crisis" in the works, but Square-Enix have also confirmed that yet another Final Fantasy VII related title is being developed as we speak. No details concerning the game or storyline have been released, but the current issue of V-JUMP magazine shows a silhouette of a character (that looks like Vincent) who will be featured in the game.

We're assuming that Square-Enix will make some sort of announcement about this title in the near future. When this happens, we'll let you know.

[Source: Square Insider] ...

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] ...

IGN got their greedy hands on more Advent Children screens. Take a look. I've spotted Vincent, but I can't make out anyone else. Advent Children is slated for a direct-dvd release sometime in 2005. ...

Next week, "Summerfest" begins for all you avid Final Fantasy XI players. From July 23rd up until August 8th, you'll be able to take part in this very special event that will brighten up the skies of Vana'diel. You'll be able to purchase fireworks to play around with, and you'll also have a chance to win some superb items from the Moogles (who will be holding a special event of their own).

To view the times/locations of these events, click here.

[Source: Square Insider] ...

The official Final Fantasy XII website has been updated again, and it now contains two brand new wallpapers for you to download. These wallpapers show the recently revealed characters: Basch and Penelo, and are of a very high quality.

You can download the very cute Penelo wallpaper by clicking here, and you can also check out the rather buff Basch wallpaper by clicking here.

More details on the monsters in the game have also been released. The enemies will be able to detect you by using their smell, sight and sound abilities. This should make for some very varied and interesting gameplay.

[Sources: SquareNet, Square Insider] ...

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] ...

Good news for you Mobile nuts: Square-Enix has announced the launch of "Square-Enix Mobile" in Europe. Within the coming weeks, Aleste and Actraiser will be available for download, and many other titles are also in the works (including Drakengard). Users of Vodafone Live!, Orange World, T-Mobile's T-Zone and 02 Active will be able to get their hands on these exciting new games.

These titles will be available on a wide range of colour phones in various languages, including English, French, German, Italian and Spanish.

[Source: Square Insider] ...