Square Enix News, Square Enix Features - Page 23 of 26

It's fact

It's official. Japan's gaming Bible, Famitsu, has scored Final Fantasy XIII 39/40. One whole point less than Bayonetta then. We're sure that whole lost point isn't exactly tangible; i.e. the game is pretty rad, full-stop. Prepare for Japan to go nuts in the coming weeks.

If you happen upon Tokyo's Akihabara store over the next few weeks, prepare to be hit by a whole mass of Final Fantasy XIII content

The game's due to launch exclusively in the Japanese region on Playstation 3 in a few weeks. Sony domination ahoy.

We're not sure if stupidly long games are a good thing

On one hand, you can guarantee you're getting your money's worth. But on the other - does anyone really want to invest 60 hours into one game? It's daunting. Still, a considerably long game Final Fantasy XIII will be, with director Motomu Toriyama telling Famitsu magazine the experience could last anywhere up to 60 hours.“For XIII, the size of..

Would you like to see a white box with a picture of Final Fantasy XIII protagonist and the game's logo? Well that's exactly what you're going to see on store shelves come March 9th

And well, there's nothing else to say is there. It's a box. With not much on it.

So, apparently Japan is hitting Final Fantasy XIII saturation point now

The game's out in like, just over two weeks, and Japanese presence is ramping up to "big cultural event" point. As evidenced by this advertisement for Elixir, a Japanese beverage. Dude! Sales predictions, anyone? Remember, the demo pushed PS3 sales through the roof...

Sit back, relax, and get ready to gawp at pretty CGI people talking in Japanese

Yep, it can only be Final Fantasy XIII, and the last trailer Square-Enix intend to release before the game's launch in Japan. We're now taking bets on first-day sales. Where you putting your money?

The original may have lost Jeff Gerstmann his job, but that ain't stopping IO Interactive announcing a sequel to Kane & Lynch

Set in the "gritty Shanghai underworld," Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days is going to have a real innovative style, with an undercover documentary vibe going on. Sounds very interesting indeed.“Gamers are always looking for something new and that is exactly what..

How do you guarantee the sale of lots of PSPs? You put Kingdom Hearts stickers on it and sell it alongside the upcoming Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep

This special PSP-3000 will be available from January 9th for 22,000 Yen.

As gaming prominence in the West continues to grow and grow, so must the attitudes of traditionally Eastern developers - like Square Enix

Cue, Square Enix's president - Yoichi Wada - confirming that the company's first "global game" is in development in Montreal. The game is being developed alongside Thief 4 and Deus Ex 3 in Eidos' Montreal studio. Of course, those up to date would know..

Bizarrely it was announced today that Final Fantasy XIII's theme song would be handled by Britains own (rather sexy - Ed) Leona Lewis

We've oft criticised the X-Factor winner here in the PushSquare offices. She often overdoes her vocals. So what of "My Hands," the track announced as the offical Final Fantasy XIII theme tune? As usual, Leona Lewis wants to remind us she's a good singer..

It's official

It's happening. As promised, there has been a Final Fantasy XIII announcement, and alongside new details contained in the embedded video, well, there's a release date. Both Europeans and North Americans will have Final Fantasy XIII in their hands this March 9th. The epic video also confirms the inclusion of music from the British X-Factor winner Leona Lewis. She will provide the..

You know something's going to be either exciting or disappointing when a company feel it's necessary to announce an announcement

But that's exactly what Square Enix have done in regards to Final Fantasy XIII, which is due an uber announcement over at the European Playstation Blog this Friday. What's most interesting about the announcement is the tie to both the Playstation Blog and the European arm..

A Final Fantasy XIII puzzle discovered by Siliconera has been cracked by the fine brains at a Final Fantasy fansite

The anagram ("A Henchmen Inventor Tent Unto.") has been solved to read: "Announcement Nov Thirteenth." The nature of the announcement is unknown, but we suppose we could speculate it might have something to do with a Western release date.

It's been revealed via scans from Shonen Jump magazine that Japanese copies of Final Fantasy XIII will include beta entry to Final Fantasy XIV- the online MMO from Square Enix

We're assuming the beta will be for PC, even though the game is due on Playstation 3 aswell. Still, it's a nice little extra incentive (as if any was needed) for the Japanese to pick up a copy of Final Fantasy XIII when it..

Final Fantasy games usually take a long time to localise

It's something Square Enix want to avoid with Final Fantasy XIII, with plans suggesting the game may be available before the end of the current financial year. Alas, Square Enix president Yoichi Wada did hint that while the game's on track, other elements such as marketing could hold it back further than the financial year end. Still it's..

Allow us to introduce Crystalium on Square Enix's behalf, the levelling system that will be used in the upcoming Final Fantasy XIII

As Andriasang point out, the system works by providing players with Crystal Points at the end of each battle. These points can then be spent on upgrading abilities and stats which are arranged on a circular chart. As you progress down one of the chart's specialisation..

Did anyone expect Final Fantasy XIII to be completely free of installation? We didn't

But it is. Kinda. The game will not require you to install, but those who do can enjoy a significantly speedier experience. So it's totally optional then, much like Street Fighter IV. That being said, there'll only be loading when the player transitions between town and field anyway. The game background streams..

Late last month we posted the latest Final Fantasy XIII trailer -- in Japanese

At the time we were waffling about underage-looking girls because we had little else to say. Having seen the trailer in English (which you can do yourselves right here) we can conclude that the romantic tones we'd predicted (but refrained from writing for fear of misinterpreting imagery and looking like fools) were in..

If you were hoping to get some early access to the upcoming Playstation 3 Final Fantasy MMO then you're going to have to wait a little while we're afraid

There will be a beta, but sadly it will be PC only, as confirmed by Final Fantasy XIV director Hiromichi Tanaka. The beta will start out closed with just 10,000 people but will eventually open up and could be running at full capacity by Summer..