Square Enix pre-Conference Meeting – Star OceanS

   

Take note of the capital S in the title. (It’s not a typo, this writer just felt the need to put emphasis on the plural of Star Ocean, you’ll know what we mean in a bit.) Square Enix held a Pre-Conference Meeting at its HQ in Shinjuku and let’s just say there was a deluge of new info about the upcoming titles.

Squeenix is definitely giving the Sony PlayStation Portable a lot of love. They’re releasing three Star Ocean titles, two of which are for the PSP. Yup, you read that right. Star Ocean: First Departure is a full makeover’d version of the original Super Famicom video game (it was only released in Japan). Second up is Star Ocean: Second Evolution which is also a remake for the original PSOne Star Ocean: The Second Story. Star Ocean 4 is still under development by the original devs for the series, tri-Ace. There wasn’t any info on what platforms it will be released on and an ETA.

Shinji Hashimoto announced a new Wii title under the working title Chocobo‘s Dungeon: Toki-Wasure no Meikyuu. It will be released in honor of the 10th anniversary of the Chocobo franchise. Reportedly, it will serve as a follow up of the DS Chocobo Tales and will feature familiar characters and locations. The difference would be that the title will focus on dungeon gameplay instead of a bunch of minigames. Producer Yuki Yokoyama concluded:

Finally, a word for those who enjoyed Chocobo Tales, we are including something special that should be very familiar to you to discover, and I hope you’re looking forward to this title as much as I am.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers were discussed by Akitoshi Kawazu, executive producer of the series. He indicated that Ring of Fates will be coming to Nintendo’s handheld and will be utilizing the DS’ WiFi capabilities. Ring of Fates will be more focused on traditional action RPG gameplay with good special effects. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates will be released in August 23 in Japan – a bit later than what Square Enix had planned. A short in game footage for The Crystal Bearers for the Wii was shown featuring sky ships and other impressive elements.

Lastly, the Square Enix announced Final Fantasy XII: International Zodiac Job System (definitely a mouthful) which is scheduled for a August 9 release. Hiroyuki Ito, producer and director for the title indicated that a secret DVD will be included. The North American version of the game will be English dubbed and will feature a 16:9 widescreen mode. According to Ito, “the Zodiac Job System now enables players to create characters that adhere more closely to classic Final Fantasy job systems, like White Mage, Red Mage and Black Mage.”

Looks like we’ve got a lot to expect from Square Enix this year. Expect more goodies as when the party really begins. Stay tuned.

   

Take note of the capital S in the title. (It’s not a typo, this writer just felt the need to put emphasis on the plural of Star Ocean, you’ll know what we mean in a bit.) Square Enix held a Pre-Conference Meeting at its HQ in Shinjuku and let’s just say there was a deluge of new info about the upcoming titles.

Squeenix is definitely giving the Sony PlayStation Portable a lot of love. They’re releasing three Star Ocean titles, two of which are for the PSP. Yup, you read that right. Star Ocean: First Departure is a full makeover’d version of the original Super Famicom video game (it was only released in Japan). Second up is Star Ocean: Second Evolution which is also a remake for the original PSOne Star Ocean: The Second Story. Star Ocean 4 is still under development by the original devs for the series, tri-Ace. There wasn’t any info on what platforms it will be released on and an ETA.

Shinji Hashimoto announced a new Wii title under the working title Chocobo‘s Dungeon: Toki-Wasure no Meikyuu. It will be released in honor of the 10th anniversary of the Chocobo franchise. Reportedly, it will serve as a follow up of the DS Chocobo Tales and will feature familiar characters and locations. The difference would be that the title will focus on dungeon gameplay instead of a bunch of minigames. Producer Yuki Yokoyama concluded:

Finally, a word for those who enjoyed Chocobo Tales, we are including something special that should be very familiar to you to discover, and I hope you’re looking forward to this title as much as I am.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers were discussed by Akitoshi Kawazu, executive producer of the series. He indicated that Ring of Fates will be coming to Nintendo’s handheld and will be utilizing the DS’ WiFi capabilities. Ring of Fates will be more focused on traditional action RPG gameplay with good special effects. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates will be released in August 23 in Japan – a bit later than what Square Enix had planned. A short in game footage for The Crystal Bearers for the Wii was shown featuring sky ships and other impressive elements.

Lastly, the Square Enix announced Final Fantasy XII: International Zodiac Job System (definitely a mouthful) which is scheduled for a August 9 release. Hiroyuki Ito, producer and director for the title indicated that a secret DVD will be included. The North American version of the game will be English dubbed and will feature a 16:9 widescreen mode. According to Ito, “the Zodiac Job System now enables players to create characters that adhere more closely to classic Final Fantasy job systems, like White Mage, Red Mage and Black Mage.”

Looks like we’ve got a lot to expect from Square Enix this year. Expect more goodies as when the party really begins. Stay tuned.