Hasta La Gadget!

Ah, the Final Fantasy franchise has seen its fair share of highs in the past, and recently, you can say that it has not been going great guns. At all. In fact, many other people have already moved on to other forms of CRPGs, but you cannot deny the fact that there is still a relatively large fan base for the series. We humans forget all too easily too, and as PC and PS3 gamers await the debut of Final Fantasy XIV, we are glad to say that the first screenshots that hail from its console edition have been released.

Square Enix blogged, “Knowing that everyone has their own personal tastes, not to mention the need to have a load-out that’s compliments the character and role you’re playing in-game, all of the UI elements that you see in the screenshots can be enabled, disabled, and repositioned to suit your preferences. Menus are also simple to navigate with the command you’re looking for being only a few button presses away.”

All we need to do now is wait until 2013 rolls around, where we can then spend countless waking hours finishing up Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn on either a PC or a PS3. Incidentally, the new trend in gaming is catching on, as Final Fantasy XIV does support cross-platform play.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII to arrive in 2013, no concrete date set yet, Square Enix Final Fantasy Dating Game is but a prank,

Square Enix has pulled the veil off the Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary Ultimate Box, a massive collection spanning most of the main series. Sadly, spin-off titles such as Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles and Final Fantasy Tactics seem to be missing from this compilation, but all of the main series games to Final Fantasy XIII are present. It sounds like the perfect collection for die-hard Final Fantasy fans, but it’s going to cost quite a bit of money if you want to take one home with you.

Andriasang says that the Final Fantasy Ultimate Box will cost ¥35,000 in Japan, which works out to right around $447. That’s assuming that it even makes it to the United States, as at the moment, the Final Fantasy Ultimate Box is only confirmed for Japan. There’s no word on if it will launch in other regions yet, but it wouldn’t surprise us to hear that Squeenix wants to keep this Japan-only.

The first nine Final Fantasy titles will be offered on PS1 discs (with Final Fantasy VII through IX spanning four discs each) except for Final Fantasy III, which is included as a PSP game. Final Fantasy X, XI (Vana’diel Collection 2 to be specific) and XII are on PS2, and finally, we’ve got Final Fantasy XIII on PS3. It wouldn’t be much of an “Ultimate Box” if it only included games though, so Square Enix has added a number of extras, including an anniversary video, an art collection dubbed “Crystal ArtWorks,” a two-disc anniversary soundtrack, and a “mini replica of Amano FF 25th Anniversary visual.”

It definitely isn’t a bad collection, and it’ll be hitting Japan on December 18. It will only be available on the Square Enix e-Shop, which reinforces the idea that this is a very limited release. If that’s the case, then it isn’t looking good for a US or European release, but Square Enix might just surprise us – it is Final Fantasy‘s 25th Anniversary, after all. Keep it tuned to SlashGear, as we’ll have more information for you once there are new details to share.

Final Fantasy Ultimate Box collection heading to Japan is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

I know that it is not April Fool’s Day just yet, but this does not mean we should get on with our lives in a humdrum manner, does it? Square Enix shows the world that they do have a sense of humor, having unveiled an elaborate prank known as the Final Fantasy Dating Game. This particular faux dating game was set in the world of Final Fantasy Type 0, where you can check out a rather elaborate presentation of it in a video that had since been blocked due to copyright grounds. To put it in a nutshell, you play the role of Khalia Chival XXVI (descendant of Khalia Chival VI), who is a young Agito candidate as well as the first ever female student at a magic academy that is teeming with drop dead gorgeous.

Relying on the series’ trademark Active Time Battle (ATB) system in order to run the dating simulation that targets the female audience, you get new “AT” systems which range from “Active Time Talk” to “Active Time Lesson” and, most importantly, “Active Time Kiss.” What do you think of such a title, if there were to be enough fans clamor for a real world release? Will Square Enix relent?

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Square Enix brings original Final Fantasy game to Android, Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary site kicks off ,

It’s not hard to see that offering high-quality games through the cloud has its pitfalls, not the least of which is getting customers to pay. Square Enix may have licked that last problem through its new Coreonline web gaming service. Players can still pony up for the full-priced games or even single levels if they want unfettered access, but the cleverness comes through Coreonline’s parking meter approach to ad-supported free play: the more ads you watch and the longer they run, the longer you’ll get to play without spending a single coin. As our colleagues at Joystiq found out, however, the current level of OS support is inconsistent. Windows gamers can use Chrome, Firefox or Internet Explorer to start playing, but their Mac-owning friends have to lean on Chrome for some games and can’t even consider running the marquee title, Hitman: Blood Money. Square Enix’s library of eligible games will start expanding in October; while there’s no guarantee the Final Fantasy series or many other dream games will make it to the roster, Coreonline’s approach might just be viable enough to spare us a few raids on the bargain bins.

Continue reading Square Enix Coreonline offers top-tier games on the web for free — if you feed the ad meter

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Square Enix Coreonline offers top-tier games on the web for free — if you feed the ad meter originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Aug 2012 20:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This week we saw Ouya gain support from OnLive, the online game streaming service, and now the company has found another ally in the gaming industry. Ouya has taken to its Kickstarter page to announce that it has partnered with Square Enix, with the developer intending to bring Final Fantasy III to the Android-based console when it eventually launches. Ouya say that this is the first time gamers outside of Japan will be able to play Final Fantasy III on a television via a console.

Square Enix will be going back and polishing up Final Fnatasy III as well, tuning it for the NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor inside the Ouya and promising “high-definition graphics.” The game made the jump to iOS devices back in March, offering the same graphical improvements plus sequences that would be exclusive to the mobile version of the game. It’s among the more expensive iOS games at $15.99, and from the sounds of things it will be a paid option on Ouya as well.

Ouya did confirm, however, that a free demo would be available to try for curious gamers. The announcement comes not long after Ouya received support from OnLive. That company detailed how it would bring an Ouya compatible app to the console at launch, allowing gamers to access hundreds of streaming games with an affordable subscription, as well 30 minute demos of the latest games.

The Ouya Kickstarter project still has 8 days left to go, but the console has already amassed $5.8 million in funding, shattering its intended $950,000 goal. A little over 45,000 backers have funded the project, and close to 40,000 Ouya consoles have been snapped up by backers. Costing $99, Ouya promises a wealth of free games plus an “open” platform that runs on Android. The console will be powered by NVIDIA’s quad-core Tegra 3 processor and will ship with a customized controller reminiscent of what’s used by other consoles.

[via Eurogamer]

Final Fantasy III coming to Ouya is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.