Things have been started looking pretty grim for Square Enix in the past few weeks. Dampening the successful updates coming out of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn are reports that the company posted a half-yearly loss of around US$68 million.

And now, a former Square head honcho has hit them hard.


Hisashi Suzuki, former Square Enix president, slammed the 2003 merger via twitter and said the company lacked vision for the future. Pretty harsh words; will they prove true?

[Sources: Kotaku, siliconera] ...

Do you remember the charm of the 2D sprite based Final Fantasy games? Well Kasuko Shibuya, an artist on the original Famicom games, has whipped up a mock cover for the Final Fantasy Tribute ~Thanks~ album. Will it be the final product? Who knows, I'm just enjoying the sight of our 2D heroes and villains!


[Sources: Crunchyroll, siliconera] ...

The gaming industry has no shortage of WWII themed first-person shooters. There are more of them than you can shake a stick at. But Heroes & Generals, the love-child of a partnership between Danish studio Reto-Moto and Square Enix, promises just a little bit more.


It's not a simple FPS in the vein of Call of Duty or a grand scale strategy game along the lines of Hearts of Iron. It's both. Heroes & Generals is named because of this interesting function: players can choose to be a Hero, fighting on the frontline on-foot and in a variety of vehicles, or they can be a General, to ensure troops and combat resources are effectively placed.


It's in Beta phase now, and you can sign ...

Final Fantasy Type-0 has been a big talking point lately, especially with Operation Suzaku attempting to petition for its release in the West. With that in mind, Gamespot Asia has interviewed Hajime Tabata, scenario director and the man behind titles like Before Crisis, Crisis Core and Type-0.


Despite having commercial success, Tabata notes a number of things he would have liked to improve in Type-0 with more time: "I would have added ad-hoc capabilities and a co-op mode where players could help each other at any time," he said.

"I would have also been more thorough with the storytelling and making it easier to comprehend. Lastly, I would have also liked to adjust the levelling curve and balance of the magic."

He also hinted at wanting a sequel set in the far-future. "At the end of Type-0, the loop structure of the world ended, so there is a direction of history the world took after that. ...

The team over at TheLifestream.net have been very busy preparing something very special. Going by the screen name Pixel both at TheLifestream.net and here at our very own EoFF, one dedicated FF enthusiast Joseph Knight has assembled a team and created audio book versions of the On the Way To a Smile short stories that bridged the gap between Final Fantasy VII's finale and Advent Children's opening act.

You can check out "The Case of Tifa" here, free for download, along with the other short stories. If you've got a long commute to work, this is the perfect way to pass the time. Let your inner FF nerd out a little!

I chatted with Joseph a little just to find out what kind of FF fan he really is.


Q: What got you into Final Fantasy in the first place? Do you love the stories?
JK: FF7 was my first, so it has always had a special place in my heart. These stories [On the Way to a Smile] added so much more to the characters we all love, even more than we saw in the original game or Advent ...

The final box art for the next addition to the popular Tomb Raider series has been released after a long and patient wait from fans.

The cover shows the younger Lara Croft in a gritty setting, holding her wounded arm. This takes a drastic manoeuvre away from the artwork of the earlier games of the series which show the popular heroine in less dangerous situations, sporting a more seductive appearance.

The series is being completely revamped after Square-Enix took over Eidos Interactive in April 2009.

The game itself is also taking a new direction, being based around the early years of Lara’s life, in which she is not the strong and independent heroine that her fans are used to. The new turn has caused some controversy, and has received a mixed reception from the fans and critics alike.

The trailer released in 2011 shows the game in very dark, dangerous and at times frightening settings. It reveals that Lara will be taking quite a beating and be unable to protect herself. This is a far cry from the iconic Lara Croft ...

There has been speculation that a "seventh" sequel of a Square-Enix franchise was getting a remake. Naturally, many assumed it would be the oft-begged-for Final Fantasy VII... but that was eventually shot down. So it should come as no surprise that the game in question is actually Dragon Quest VII. And it's being remade from the ground up for the 3DS.


A rumor began circling the net yesterday, but today Jump magazine in Japan confirmed the rumor and published details and even a screenshot of the remake. They mention that it will utilize StreetPass in some fashion, perhaps in a similar way Dragon Quest IX for the DS did, by exchanging "quest maps" with every person you pass.

This game met an interesting fate in the US when it was originally released. Every Dragon Quest game before it had been released exclusively on Nintendo consoles, but just as with their then-rival Square, Enix opted to move over to the new PlayStation for their seventh entry. However, rather than taking a huge step forward graphically with 3D ...

This oddly named title has been getting all of praise in Japan. While we still haven't heard wind of it heading to Western shores, our Japanese brothers and sisters are getting ready to enjoy even more of Bravely Default: Flying Fairy with a free PC companion being released.

Square Enix says there'll be a way to link up the two games, with the PC version no doubt being used to unlock things in the main game. This is building off the city building elements (pun intended) that we reported last month. Bravely Default: Flying Fairy is shaping up to be an awesome game, so Square Enix: why haven't you let us play it yet?


[Source: siliconera] ...

Epic Games have been hard at work creating its Unreal Engine 4 and Square Enix are the first ones to publicly license it. With the latest technology at its back, Square Enix will be able to realise all of its gaming goals. Or at least, that's what I'm hoping! Perhaps now with the Unreal Engine 4, SE might put Final Fantasy Versus XIII together and release it for us. I'm expecting sexy, sexy characters graphics like we saw in the Agni's Philosophy tech demo. Wait, that was from the Luminous Engine, not Unreal 4. Who owns the Luminous Engine again? ...Oh.


[Source: Joystiq] ...

Remember how there was a sequel teased at the end of the iOS port of The World Ends With You? We might very well have it on the way, in a sense. Continuing with Square Enix's complete and utter focus on social and mobile gaming, The World Ends With You: Live Remix is set to be released for smartphones too.


There's still no news on exactly what TWEWY: Live Remix is all about - it could very well be a spin off and not a true sequel - but Kotaku are predicting a release "in Winter." That's Summer for you Southern hemisphere folks. Only way to find out if this is the sequel we're all waiting for is to pick it up, I suppose!

[Source: Kotaku] ...

The battle systems in Final Fantasy form the crux of the gameplay; without battles, there would be very little else to pass the time between story events. With such an important role to play, it's a wonder that Hiroyuki Ito is an uncommon name. Ito created the turn-based battle system that Final Fantasy began with, and has played a major role in shaping each subsequent version, even pioneering the ATB system.

In an interview with 1UP, Ito revealed the inspiration behind Final Fantasy's turn-based battle system: American Football. He cited the concept of two teams lining up on opposite sides, each with pre-set plays, ready to execute. Ito had another interesting influence when it came down to creating the Active Time Battle system too; he tried to create "action-like game with no action elements" by using techniques from racing games.

"At the time, there was a shift going on in Formula One racing, where they introduced semi-automatic transmissions," ...

Square Enix's celebrations for Final Fantasy's 25th Anniversary have been quite extensive. From collectible merchandise, to new Final Fantasy novels, new (and very collectible) Ultimania guides, as well as new game announcements, Square Enix has really been going all out in this milestone of a year. While Square Enix is searching for their No. 1 Fan, an event for the FF fanatics has already taken place. The FINAL FANTASY Experience was held in Seattle, WA on August 31 and and brought people together with a shared love of the series. For those of us who couldn't make it, the guys at iam8bit compiled a short video (below) giving us a glimpse of what the event was like.


Also, the winners of our limited edition Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary posters will be revealed live very soon in our chatroom! Join in and see if you've scored one! ...

There aren't many people as well known in Final Fantasy as Yoshitaka Amano. The legendary artist has created some very iconic pieces, and his art is highly collectible; just ask our very own Amano-enthusiast, espritduo! Not only that, but it is Amano's art featured on the limited edition posters we're giving away!


He was recently interviewed by Kotaku and revealed his two favourite characters: Kain and Terra. For him, they were the closest to real actors, come to life through his artwork. They're also two of my personal favourite characters and were given powerful parts to play in their respective games.

The interview also revealed some other interesting facts, like Amano has never played a Final Fantasy game; his children would always snatch them up before he could.

For the full interview, click the link at ...

Last month we brought you news of the Square Enix hacking that took their Official Online Goods Store offline. Though there was apparently no financial threat to customers with credit card details not being stored online, other information such as names and mailing addresses might have been compromised.

A month after the breach was discovered, Square Enix has announced the permanent retirement of the site.


The products previously vendored through the Official Online Goods Store - which was primarily focused on collectibles and character goods - aren't gone forever though. Square Enix will shift it all over to their official e-store, which has previously been only for games and music.

Consolidating their products into a single online store after a successful breach seems like a risky idea to me though. What do ...