Hasta La Gadget!

The game that made Squaresoft (remember back when it was called Squaresoft?) a famous name with gamers is getting a new re-release today. The first Final Fantasy has arrived on the Google Play Store, giving players young and old the perfect opportunity to travel into the past and see where it all began. The game itself is compatible with Android 2.1 and up, so this will work on a pretty wide range of Android devices, and it even comes with a fresh coat of paint too.

Yes, Android version features updated graphics, but not quite to the extent that we saw with the mobile re-release of Final Fantasy III. Instead of 3D textures and enviroments, we’re getting SNES-quality sprites. That isn’t a bad thing however, especially considering that Final Fantasy released on the NES way back in 1987, so any update to the graphics is a welcome improvement.

Like most of Square Enix‘s other games available on mobile platforms, you’ll be paying a fair amount of money for Final Fantasy. The 46.39MB game will set you back $6.99, and while that seems like a lot to drop on a mobile game, it’s far better than Final Fantasy III‘s $15.99 asking price. Hopefully this will prove to be something of an on-going trend for Square Enix – after all, we can name quite a few Final Fantasy titles we’d like to see release on mobile devices. Anyone else pining for a mobile version Final Fantasy VI?

[via Google Play]

Original Final Fantasy now available on Android is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

After failing to find success in the massively multiplayer online game Final Fantasy XIV, Square Enix is now preparing to launch a sequel that addresses gamer complaints and hopes to make a much bigger splash in the admittedly competitive MMO community. While Final Fantasy has always been one of the great RPG franchsies, its attempts to bring the world of moogles and phoenix downs to the online world haven’t risen to the same level.

But that isn’t stopping Square Enix. Enter Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. That’s right; don’t call it Final Fantasy XIV-2. It is going to carry on the Final Fantasy XIV torch but with a whole slate of new improvements and enhancements. It also seems to carry on with the trend of Square Enix continuing its titles with sequels. First it was Final Fantasy X-2, then Final Fantasy XIII-2, and now Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn.

In a press release, producer and director Naoki Yoshida said, “Since announcing our plans for the future of the title last October, we have been working tirelessly to include all of the elements that we have promised in FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn. This new title not only becomes a symbol of a completely new FINAL FANTASY XIV, but also marks the beginning of a new stage as the latest title in the FINAL FANTASY series. I hope you’re looking forward to it!”

[via Joystiq]

Square Enix’s Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn revealed is written by Mark Raby & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

For the moment, Sony and Microsoft seem content to stick with the current generation of consoles instead of rushing the next generation to market. Some players love the idea of a longer console generation and some don’t, but lately we’ve been seeing publishers and developers join the call for a new line of consoles. Square Enix is the latest publisher to do so, saying today that Sony and Microsoft are making a “big mistake” by trying to extend the life of current generation machines.

Speaking to GamesIndustry International, Square Enix worldwide technology director Julien Merceron said that since this console generation has been so long, developers who have experienced difficulty in developing for Xbox 360 and PS3 have now moved on to mobile and browsers, whereas in generations past, they would simply wait for next generation consoles to arrive:

They found web browsers, they found iOS, they found other things and a lot of them won’t come back to the hardware platforms. So you could look at it that thanks to Microsoft and Sony and the length of this generation, it helped the emergence of other platforms and helped them get strong before the next hardware comes out.

Last month at E3, Square Enix revealed a tech demo for the next generation (seen above). It’s certainly impressive, but with Microsoft and Sony refusing to talk about their upcoming consoles, it seems that it will be quite some time before we’re playing games that look like this. Naturally, there have been plenty of rumors and speculation, but unfortunately it all comes down to the decisions made by Sony and Microsoft executives, so the next generation doesn’t appear to be any closer despite player and publisher demand.

[via GamesIndustry International]

Square Enix: Sony and Microsoft making a ‘big mistake’ by sticking with current gen is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

We’re sure that many Final Fantasy gamers can agree that Final Fantasy VII is probably one of the best Final Fantasy games ever made. That being said, with the game being so old, many are wondering if Square Enix will eventually release a remake of the game with updated graphics and perhaps some new gameplay mechanics. Unfortunately that will not be happening, at least not anytime soon. During the company’s annual shareholding meeting, Square Enix’s CEO Yoichi Wada was asked about a possible remake of Final Fantasy VII. He responded by saying that the remake will only happen once Square Enix has created an FF game that exceeds the quality of FFVII. He admits that the Final Fantasy games released now aren’t exceeding the quality of FFVII, and that if they were to release a remake now, it might be the end of the franchise. We can’t help but feel it’s a bit dramatic but at the same time, we’d rather not see a butchered remake of a game that many gamers have come to know and love.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Final Fantasy III confirmed for the PSP, Final Fantasy VII on the PlayStation Vita spotted,