5 Things Square-Enix Can Do To Save Final Fantasy
Square-Enix has had some problems with the Final Fantasy brand lately, especially in the west. Final Fantasy 13 was a linear, surreal journey through a nonsensical world that made no effort to actually explain anything beyond directing the player to a glossary. Final Fantasy 14 was a middling MMO that angered players so much a major Square-Enix investor pulled millions of dollars out out of the company after playing it. The company seems to be ignoring gamers' called for a remake or legitimate sequel of Final Fantasy 7, and even the vaguely related Kingdom Hearts series has gotten so sidetracked it's seen more prequels, sidequels, and retcons than actual series games. If you're not happy with safe, predictable Dragon Quest games, this isn't a good time to be a Square-Enix fan.
The days of fans holding their breaths for the next Final Fantasy game are long gone, but they can come back. Square-Enix can salvage the brand, but it has to make some major changes and realize just where it started to mess things up. It doesn't have to turn to the Dragon Quest formula of keeping nearly every element the same, but it does need to tone down the bizarre bullshit it's been doing. I still hold Final Fantasy 4, 5, 6, and 7 dear to my heart, so I've put together six things Square-Enix can do to put Final Fantasy back on the right track.
Theatrhythm Final Fantasy is a Giant Interactive Cutscene
I'll admit I had completely missed any mention of this new Final Fantasy title before andriasang posted this trailer, and I'm a little bummed it's not a new RPG for the 3DS. Now the invented word "theatrhythm" makes a bit more sense. The game is a rhythm/music game with scrolling dots similar to Guitar Hero/Rock Band, except it throws a track list culled from Final Fantasy's long, long history at you.
I gotta tell ya, I'm not all that excited about a stylus-tapping game set to the ballroom scene from Final Fantasy VIII and a bunch of other cinematic and gameplay video from the series. I will concede one point, though: I got a little stoked when the boss fight music from Final Fantasy VI kicked in, and the rhythm tapping accompanied a graphically revamped battle with Ultros. That was a track that just always sounded like Go Time to me.
The State of Gaming: Nintendo
E3 went down a few weeks ago and while there were no real earth shattering announcements (thanks to the ever persistance subculture of everything getting leaked), all in all it was a pretty good show. The rest of the year is looking pretty good indeed, with some of the smaller titles like Child Of Eden
First up: Nintendo.
Top 5 Fan-Made Video Game Web Series
Video game movies suck. Video game television shows suck (except for that one Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon). Basically, if there's a script and acting and it's about video games, it's going to suck... unless the fans are making it. Video game fans have come up with some impressive web series based on their love for different franchises, ranging from anime mash-ups to parodies to epic, episodic dramas. Here are five of the best.
Spoiler Time! Let’s Ruin These 11 Games
If you can't tell from the title, this story is pretty spoiler-rich. Let's look at the dramatic twists and insane bullshit of some of the biggest video games that... well, I pulled out of a hat. Surprises are key for any plot-driven game, but they can be pretty hit or miss. Sometimes they're surprising, jaw-dropping, and completely shake your perceptions. Sometimes you saw them coming 15 minutes into the game. Sometimes you're left ridiculously confused and find yourself cursing Hideo Kojima under your breath.
If you don't want to learn the spoilers about Call of Duty: Black Ops
Dissidia 012[duodecim]: Final Fantasy Japanese Release Shows a Hopeful Trend
Normally, we don't report on Japanese release dates here at Aggrogate, because, hey, we're not in Japan. That being said, it's worth noting the release of Dissidia 012[duodecim]:Final Fantasy because of one interesting fact. Siliconera reports that the sequel to the PSP only game will be launching Japan on March 3rd and will be coupled with a typical Japanese limited edition PSP; this particular one will come with images of Chaos and Cosmos on it, though no pictures have been released yet. What's most interesting about this is the price: the PSP game will cost 6,090¥ (~$72) in stores, but will only cost 4,980¥ (~$60) on PSN. To my knowledge, most games on PSP have parity for the retail and the digital release and, on occasion, the digital release lags behind the retail, though this occurrence has lessened since the PSN moved to Tuesday releases. As a fan of the digital revolution and a rare lover of the PSPgo, I find this wholly encouraging.
How Big Will 3DS Games Be?
According to an article over at GoNintendo (via Nintendo Life), the 3DS cart will have a capacity of 1GB and can go up to a whopping 8GB. For comparison's sake, the current DS card holds only 512MB, and the PSP's dual layer UMDs can only hold 1.8 GBs of data. Of course it's doubtful that the developers will actually use all that space. But it's good to know that Hideo Kojima won't have to sacrifice his uncompressed audio to port Metal Gear Solid 3 to the 3DS. Of course these could be a great chance to start a new wave retro revival; I, for one, would love to see the PS1 and maybe even PS2 Final Fantasys make their way over to the 3DS. I think there's room for a 3D remake scene to go alone the HD remakes that we're getting.
Square-Enix Fan Quits FF14, Sells $27 Million In Stock
Wow, Square-Enix really upset people with Final Fantasy 14. Not only is it shaping up to not be a World of Warcraft competitor in the American market, not only is it receiving terrible reviews, but it's apparently so bad it caused a major shareholder in Square-Enix to quit the game and sell all his shares.
According to FF14Core (via Geek.com), an unidentified Square-Enix stockholder and FF14 player quit the game and sold his shares in the company. This shares amounted to approximately 1% of Square-Enix's outstanding stock, or about $27 million worth of holdings. That's a lot of cash. The sale actually caused Square-Enix stock to dip from 1800 yen to 1735 yen, before stabilizing near 1800 again. It doesn't seem to be having any long-term effect on Square-Enix's stock prices, but it still has to be a pretty big blow to the company's pride and pocketbook.
Review: Blade Kitten
Blade Kitten is an odd little platformer. It looks like a standard fare run-and-slash affair, but it features some interesting design choices that really makes it pop. It’s a downloadable title based on the comic of the same name, and it's made the jump from the web page to PSN, XBLA, and Steam.
TGS 2010: Final Fantasy Versus and Agito XIII Trailers, As Seen By Cell Phone
Well, alright! Thank you, cell phone camera person, for sneaking out the videos for Final Fantasy Versus XIII and Final Fantasy Agito XIII. Now I won't have to wait till this January to see them.
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