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• The Final Fantasy Rule: Why the New Final Fantasy XIII Demo Matters, Even if You Hate the Series

  I’ve had to stop myself from doing something stupid many, many times in the past few weeks. Late at night, typically before bed while I’m enjoying that just-brushed-just-flossed feel of my teeth and that last drink of water, I’ve opened my laptop and gone to Play Asia, added an item to my cart, and made it all the way to the check out before stopping myself. What am I, an idiot? What kind of person would do this? I’ve slapped my own wrist, both literally and metaphorically, closed the computer, and waited for morning, when the sobering light of day inevitable reintroduces logic to my shoddy impulse control. Honestly. Spending eighty dollars on a demo of Final Fantasy XIII, a demo in a language I don’t even understand, is stupid. Very, very stupid. Yes, it comes with a nice new version of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, but even that little perk isn’t worth blowing two weeks worth of grocery money on an hour long sampling of a game that will be out before too long. The impulse is detestable. It is, however, an inevitable impulse, one that isn’t rooted in fanaticism. The allure of a new Final Fantasy, even just a taste of it, has less to do with fetishism and everything to do with wanting to see just what any given game console can do. Read More... Posted Apr 16 2009, 07:00 PM by John Constantine with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: john constantine, final fantasy, square-enix, tetsuya nomura, final fantasy iv, final fantasy xiii, final fantasy x, final fantasy vii

• Trailer Review: Final Fantasy XIII Looks Disturbingly Interesting

  I'll admit that the creative direction of Final Fantasy XIII always bothered me a little--I was never a fan of Tetsuya Nomura's Japanese pop culture aesthetic--but after seeing the new trailer for Square's upcoming RPG (thanks 1UP), my tune's started to change a little. Only recently I've realized that I've begun to grow a little bored with the typical medieval trappings of JPRGs; I'm currently yawning my way through Tales of Vesperia, hoping something outside of swords and sorcery will eventually grab my interest. It's actually pretty exciting to see something from the JRPG extend far beyond the limitations of J.R.R. Tolkien and Gary Gygax, despite what my snotty 17 year-old self whined about FFVIII. "It's supposed to be Final Fantasy," indeed. Many of Nomura's games (or at least the ones he's had a hand in) have been slowly grasping at imitating the American blockbuster movie, and so far, Final Fantasy XIII seems to be the most extreme--or, according to some people, egregious--example of this mentality in action. Hell, when compared to the ninja acrobatics, machine gun fire, and exploding sky trains of XIII, Final Fantasy X almost seems like an art film. But, flashiness aside, perhaps the most notable feature of this new trailer is the actual gameplay on display; I'm not exactly sure what the hell's going on, but all of those numbers flying around certainly look exciting. Watch the trailer after the cut. Read More... Posted Jan 28 2009, 03:00 PM by Bob Mackey with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: trailer review, tetsuya nomura, final fantasy 13, bob mackey, square enix

• Final Fantasy XIII Delayed to 2010--Wait, Where Are You Going?

  Was 2006 really the last time we've seen the release of any major Square franchises? It may be hard to believe, but ever since Kingdom Hearts II and Final Fantasy XII hit store shelves, the company's been spinning their wheels with ports, remakes (admittedly, some worth playing), and abominable new franchises like The Last Remnant and Rediscovered Nondiscovery. At this point, I'm not holding out a lot of hope for seeing Final Fantasy XIII anytime soon--which is why I wasn't at all shocked to read a Guardian report proclaiming that the latest game in Square's most-famous franchise won't hit American shores until April of 2010 at the earliest. Read More... Posted Jan 16 2009, 12:00 PM by Bob Mackey with | with no comments Filed under: tetsuya nomura, final fantasy 13, bob mackey, delays, square enix

• 10 Games Nadia Played In 2008 Instead Of Working: The World Ends With You

  If my organs don't randomly decide to leap out my mouth and run down the street before I finish my Top Ten Games for 2008, you'll come to notice that I have a lot of Nintendo DS games put down as personal favourites. Could it be that I ride the subway often enough to feel like the kin of the Morlock? Mmmmmaybe.     The World Ends With You was probably the nicest surprise of the year for me. I cared very little for the game when it was in its development stages: one gaggle of Kingdom Hearts fangirls is all it takes to forever spoil your appetite for Tetsuya Nomura. So when I accidentally found myself with the game for review purposes, I threw a sulk in the style of The World Ends With You's orange-haired protagonist. He even started the adventure with an inner monologue about how the world in general could descend into Hell for all he cared, waah waah, Linkin Park. I'm a sullen bitch who bites people on the ankle when they prove me wrong, but it was a joy to discover just how wrong I was about The World Ends With You. Read More... Posted Dec 11 2008, 01:35 AM by Nadia Oxford with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: the world ends with you, nintendo ds, japan, square-enix, tetsuya nomura, kingdom hearts, nadia oxford, top 10, shibuya

• Up All Night: Parasite Eve

  Welcome back to Up All Night, the only place on the internet where you can be subjected to the trashiest videogame fun you can have at 2am on a Saturday night! What’s that you say? You can get that all over the internet? Well, screw you, pal. The difference here is that these are games you’re only supposed to play after drinking two liters of peppermint schnapps out of a Hello Kitty sippy-cup and after you tried to convince that chick at the bar that you’re related to Tom Selleck. Games so bad, they’re really bad. But awesome. To celebrate the franchise’s impending return on the PSP, we’re taking a look at the 1998 dollop of joy known as Parasite Eve. It’s the story of New York City cop and babe Aya Brea fighting a psychotic opera singer named Eve who’s leading a revolution on New Year’s Eve in 1997. The Shyamalan-worthy twist is that the revolutionaries are mitochondria! That’s right, cells are evil in Parasite Eve. They turn normal folk and rats into disgusting monstrosities or orange goo, depending on their mood. Read More... Posted Aug 04 2008, 01:00 PM by John Constantine with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: john constantine, up all night, final fantasy, yoko shimomura, parasite eve, square-enix, tetsuya nomura

• Screen Test: Final Fantasy Versus XIII

  Fine, Square-Enix. Your CG cinemas are gorgeous. After eleven years, I think you’ve proved your point. High-five. And you, Tetsuya Nomura, I get that you like zippers. I also get that you like Sigue Sigue Sputnik’s style. But both of you need to stop showing off images of games that may or may not even exist. Final Fantasy Versus XIII, one of the three games that Nomura says “are all XIII”, was announced over two years ago now and no one even knows how it plays. In fact, no trailer has even officially been shown to the public, only leaks. These screens? They’re gorgeous images made using a computer. But why show us these at all? The game isn’t even going to come out for another two or three years! Square-Enix, Mr. Nomura, you guys are jerks. Gigantic jerks. Read More... Posted Jun 19 2008, 05:30 PM by John Constantine with | with no comments Filed under: john constantine, screen test, square-enix, tetsuya nomura, final fantast XIII