Square has developed a reputation over the years for dramatically changing how the battle mechanic works with each new iteration of the Final Fantasy series. The Kartel highlights how battling has evolved over the years, and pick out the ones that worked best.
I had the pleasure of recording a podcast with three Final Fantasy enthusiasts. I did not talk and they spoke on everything within the series. See the description. download through iTunes, though Zune, or download the mp3 directly
"As we told you last month, the first two games in the Final Fantasy series are on their way to the iPhone. Here, in Square Enix’s patented iPhone-o-vision, is a trailer for the pair of classic re-releases.
Still no release date, sadly; all we get is a “available soon” at the end of the clip."
GameDaily gives its own take at which RPG style is superior in the categories of the classic RPG, the MMORPG, the tactical RPG, the action RPG, most emotionally engaging (contains FFVII and Mass Effect spoilers), and the overall winner.
Though you might not agree with everything stated, it is an interesting read on a topic that continues to spur the interest of RPG fans.
"A few weeks back I received the best Final Fantasy news I had heard in a long time. No, it wasn't some new announcement about Final Fantasy XIII. Truth be told, I'm a bit apathetic about Square Enix's latest state of the art opus. My bit of excitement came from the discovery that Final Fantasy VIII would be hitting the North American PlayStation store.
Suffice it to say that I downloaded the game the day it was released, and have since been enjoying it on my PSP, a necessity considering my..."
Akitoshi Kawazu, Square Enix developer, has said that he wants the Final Fantasy franchise to last forever.
In a recent interview, Kawazu was asked if gamers will ever see a final Final Fantasy. He said:
"8. Garland (FF9)
Garland is directly responsible for the events in the game. He was created by the Terrans and given the task to find a new planet for them to live on. When he couldn’t conquer Gaia, he created Kuja to be his Angel of Death, killing Gaians to make room for the Terrans’ souls."
"Cecil is the main character of Final Fantasy 4, originally released in the US as Final Fantasy 2 for the Super Nintendo. Cecil starts out the game as a bad ass dark knight, but has to undergo a transformation to a paladin to fight the true enemy. It’s too bad, really, because his first form is much cooler."
When asked which Final Fantasy game should be remade, most fans will say Final Fantasy VII. Psxextreme.com has held many polls on the topic and always end up with the same result. But with so many great games in the series, FFVII isn't the only one that deserves to be beautified for next-gen consoles.
So psxextreme.com asks the question: Besides FFVII, which FF game would you like to see remade?
With Final Fantasy III hitting Japanese VCs this month, Square Enix have already announced that FFIV will be the next game in the series to be featured on the Virtual Console. This takes takes care of one of the ports mentioned earlier, leaving only two more left, which will be filled up by Final Fantasy V and VI.
Final Fantasy IV hits Japanese Virtual Consoles on August 4. There's still no word on when the titles will make their way to North America.
"Since the company was founded in 1983, Squaresoft has had a reputation of making good-quality video games. Since its first title to hit the North American market (Rad Racer back in 1987 for the NES) and through today the ratio of high-quality to low-quality games has greatly skewed toward the former. The company is now known as Square-Enix thanks to a merger with animé, manga, and video game company Enix."
"There are lots of excellent reasons to want to blow up an RPG town. If you’re a villain, for example, you might level a place because it’s friendly to some resistance movement, or it’s in your way, or the heroes are stopping in briefly on their way to kill you. If you’re a game designer, you might do it to raise the stakes, or to give players some emotional reason to want the villain dead. And if you’re a player, it’s probably because you’re sick of listening to a bunch of cooki..."
"Surprisingly the Xbox 360 has a robust range of JRPG’s included in its line-up. From Lost Odyssey to Star Ocean 4 (which EU/AUS, are still waiting for…), Microsoft have secured some great examples of the genre in the form of retail releases. Unfortunately, Xbox Live Arcade is devoid of the same line-up, it seems JRPG’s don’t have a place on the online service.
With many classic games sprouting up on XBLA, it is a strange situation we find ourselves in when not a single one is a JR..."
Final Fantasy IV fans rejoice! The previously Japan/Mobile Phone exclusive sequel, Final Fantasy IV: The After is gong to make it's way to the Wii this year under the westernised title, Final Fantasy IV: The After Years.
Electronic Theatre reports on the confirmation of the availability of Official Japanese Import Soundtrack CDs from SquareEnix. The collection includes soundtracks from The Last Remnant, Infinite Undiscovery, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy X and more...
Within the past several years, Square Enix has been on the ball with remakes of their classic Final Fantasy games. And rumors of a remake for the huge and popular Final Fantasy 7 have been been buzzing around the net.
Square Enix president Yoichi Wada explains how there has been a remake boom lately, "The price of games is high, and consumers tend to be wary of buying games they are unfamiliar with".
That's an interesting reason for the increase of remake talk, but SE fans hope they do...
The DS remake of Final Fantasy IV (originally Final Fantasy II in the Western world) has been confirmed by Square Enix to ship to Europe September 5.
Unlike past Final Fantasy remakes, this one has been completely overhauled, transitioning into 3D, boasting a faithful translation, voiced cut scenes, and more.
"Before we got hooked on the DS remake of Final Fantasy IV a Soulcalibur III player took the time to craft models for Cecil, Kain, Rydia, and Edge based on the new character designs. Whoever designed Kain did an admiral job by creatively giving him a Jump move. You can see it in the first fight with Cecil versus Kain. The Rydia vs. Edge fight (second video) is pretty good too since it appears both players have magical powers. Good stuff thats likely to be forgotten since the soul burns f..."
Here's a comparison video with a difference.
With the upcoming release of the Final Fantasy IV remake for DS, here's a video that compares the remake with the classic SNES version.
Only 12 days left. To keep FFIV fans slightly occupied during their wait for the game, IGN DS has given their full review of the game. From what they haveto say, it seems that the game surpasses the technological advancements made by FFIII DS and does more than adequate justice to the original title. Read their lengthy, 3-page review to find out if this release justifies spending your $40.
"The allure just isn't there anymore for the Final Fantasy titles and we have to ask why. Loyal fans try to create hype, but the games are just not combining new and old expectations. Maybe it's because every game, we have to warm up to new characters and worlds. Square sets itself up for hit and miss titles with no character regularity. The only motif running through the series I can identify is a blond guy and clueless protagonists. Most of the recent Final Fantasy games (dare I say Square ..."
"North American gamers can look forward to seeing Final Fantasy IV (a re-make of the Super Nintendo original for the Nintendo DS) on July 22; while Square Enix has revealed today that the title will arrive in Europe sometime this summer."
"The Japanese role-playing game is a surprisingly important genre for developers to study - both in terms of gameplay and storytelling, and Gamasutra presents an 'Essential 20' explaining and chronicling the top JRPGs of all-time.
Valkyrie Profile: In most RPGs, it's your job to stop the end of the world. In Valkyrie Profile, it's your job to start it.
The battle system is a strange beast, with actions for each of the four party members assigned to a face button. Each character has a numbe..."
![Box shot of Final Fantasy IV [North America]](http://i.neoseeker.com/boxshots/R2FtZXMvTmludGVuZG9fRFMvUm9sZS1QbGF5aW5nL0ZhbnRhc3k=/final_fantasy_iv_frontcover_small_ZriM6Kx1yrlmRDT.jpg)