Final Fantasy VI for Europe

There have been a ton of remakes and spin-offs from Square-Enix recently. This one is no exception. However, it just happens to be one of the best FF games before the Playstation era of games!

Final Fantasy VI was the last main numbered FF title (as of today) that appeared on a Nintendo console, appearing on the SNES. Now, the game has been remade for the second time (it was initially remade for the original Playstation) for the Gameboy Advance and now, the Europeans have a concrete release date of 29th June 2007.

Hope you have the time to play it...

Source: Eurogamer

This weekend

Friday (about time too) means the weekend is just around the corner.

It's a tricky situation this time though. I have some stuff to get on with and Saturday's are pretty busy. However, I should have some time for gaming. I have 2 to pick from though. There's Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth to continue, or there's Final Fantasy 12.

I hate these kinds of decisions. VP:L is a refreshing change from normal RPG's while Final Fantasy 12 is epic, huge and not one to be missed by FF fans (like me :-) ).

Or I could restart Puzzle Quest and help to make a new FAQ...

Watch List: Shadow Hearts: From The New World

Every Friday, I look at one of the games on the Watch List, the list of games that you should be keeping your eye on for news and reviews.

Name: Shadow Hearts: From The New World

Format: Playstation 2

Website: Official site

What is it?

This is the third in the Shadow Hearts series which has been well received amongst the JRPG people wanting something different. The highlight of this game is the Judgement Ring. In the ring, there are several segments where you have to press the button. Time it well and you attack the enemy. The better you time it, the more damage you do. If you time it wrongly, then you lose the chance to attack.

The game is also strangely (for a JRPG) set in New York where the main character is a young detective. The cast of characters are said to be very fun but the game has had it's criticisms, especially from those who love Shadow Hearts, and in particular, Covenant.

The game is due for release on the 25th May 2007 and can be found for just £17.99 on play.com. Be aware though that some sites have reported FTNW to be very short, reportedly clocking in at 25 hours.

Trailer: Jeanne D'Arc (Sony Gamer's day)

This gorgeous looking game from Level 5 is their first on the PSP. One to own if you're an SRPG fan. This game is due in August in the US although there are rumours that this may be pushed forward to July. There is no release date for Europe but when the PSP is region-free, do you have an excuse?!

Note that this video has been resized to fit the page. For this reason, there may be performance issues when watching the video. A link to the full sized video can be found below

Gametrailers link

Atelier Iris 3 comes to Europe

As the title says, the ongoing Atelier Iris series continues with the 3rd game of the series. Atelier Iris 3: Grand Phantasm is to be released by KOEI across Europe in July.

From the official press release:

Atelier Iris 3 centres around two adventurers called Edge and Iris. Upon finding a magical book which will grant any wish once all eight pieces have been brought back together they set out on a quest to locate all of the missing pieces.

For the first time in the Atelier series players can freely accept or reject quests. The brand new Guild Quest system enables intrepid adventurers to browse the job list at the Guild and simply select the ones which are most appealing. It’s a much greater level of freedom that should make each player’s experience far more enjoyable and a great deal more individual.

Grand Phantasm maintains one of the Atelier series most popular features which is that of the item and weapon synthesis. By combining items, entirely new and incredibly useful potions, weapons and items can be created, but only when the right combinations are discovered. It is an area that inspires as much devotion as the actual quests and battles and has now been made even more interesting, creative and challenging than in previous Atelier Iris titles.

Battles have also been lavished with some major advancements including an Active Cost Card Battle system, where the quicker you are to move the sooner your next strike comes around. Grand Phantasm also features a skill gauge that replaces the traditional magic point gauge found in many RPGs for one more akin to a special skill gauge found in fighting games, which fills as you attack.

Burst mode enables players to unleash a flurry of undefended attacks. The more combos you string together the more damage you inflict. But burst mode can only be triggered when you’ve filled the burst meter in normal battle. Mana spirits can be summoned into your team to unleash incredibly powerful magic attacks but only once you have built up a team capable of acquiring mana spirits.

And for the first time in an Atelier Iris game players are no longer at risk from random battles. Symbols on the map now confirm where enemies reside and players get to choose whether to engage the enemy, run away or simply attack them on the map whereby victory will clear your path, give you a chance of picking up any dropped times but won’t improve your experience points. Only proper in-depth battles will improve your stats. But depending upon the situation a variety of choices are now at the player’s disposal.

This week's UK releases (12th to 19th May)

Every Thursday, I report on what is being released this week on all consoles. Releases are subject to last minute delays and changes.

PLAYSTATION 2
SBK 07: Superbike World Championship 07
SOCOM U.S Navy Seals Combined Assault

PLAYSTATION 3
Spiderman - The Movie 3

PSP
Harvest Moon - Innocent Life
SBK 07: Superbike World Championship 07

DS
MindStorm
Pony Friends

All dates according to Gameplay and GAME UK. Please direct your angry e-mails to them :-)

ICO team working on TWO games?

The rumour mill has been a bit quiet on Ico 3 lately with next to no news apart from the fact that Fumito Ueda said in December 2005:

"I can't saying anything concrete about our next project, but it may use the same theme of "hold, and perform an action" from Shadow of the Colossus."

Well, that rumour has been surpassed by a rumour that Team ICO are developing two games. It's stated that this information has come from the Sony Playstation forums after a Motorstorm event in Germany (which did happen so there may be some credibility in this item). One of the games will follow in the footsteps of ICO and Shadow of the Colossus but the other game (much like ICO 3 really) is shrouded in mystery.

The plot thickens...

Source: N4G

A great comeback

Played Puzzle Quest yesterday and I made one hell of a comeback. Here are the details.

I started a battle against a Liche (which I'm starting to hate more and more as I go on). Battle started normal enough. I have 245 HP and it had 155. So I started to knock down it's HP and got to 120 ish.

Then, he managed to aquire all the mana required for his mega spell and duly cast it, reducing my HP by half AND producing skulls on the board. I had so much HP that for all but about 10 spaces, the board was full of skulls. He ended his turn and I was left with... 2 HP. He took out 243 HP in a single turn!

Obviously I was fuming so I carefully went through the board and started to chip away and get some mana. I eventually ground him down to 7 HP using a few stuns and extra skulls. I then got the final shot in and beat him - taking no damage along the way. Needless to say I was ecstatic :-)

Most Wanted: Final Fantasy Tactics

Every Tuesday, I look at a game on my Most Wanted list and discuss why I want it so much as well as some details from the game.

Name: Final Fantasy Tactics

Release Date: October 2007

Format: PSP

Developer: Square-Enix

Websites: Japanese official site

What is it?

This is possibly the most well known and generally most well received spin-off of the Final Fantasy series with a large fanbase. The game is a strategy based RPG based in the world of Ivalice (sound familiar?). Itself, this game is actually a remake of the PS1 game but with added job classes, characters and cut-scenes.

Why is it on the list?

The added cutscenes look good and the added features and new multiplayer mode should be enough to convince FF fans who have played this to try again. For the ones who haven't been able to experience this game, this is your best chance to do so. This is also the game's premiere in Europe and as an added bonus, the game is being released in Europe and North America at the same time!

Last week (7th May to 13th May)

Square-Enix made a couple of announcements ahead of their big party:

The Last Remnant
Dissidia: Final Fantasy

I also remembered why I wanted Rogue Galaxy so much, dragged my feet in telling you how good Dark Chronicle was and had a brief look at Galatrix on the watch list.

Finally, I started a look-out for new blog writers, asked you what you were up to this weekend and gave you a quick look at what games were out this week.