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Well, Japan has had this one for almost a year now and it's finally North America's turn to get their hands on it. Star Ocean: First Departure, which is a remake of the first Star Ocean game, will be hitting the states on October 21st. The game looks pretty solid and if you're a Star Ocean fan, you should be seriously considering picking this one up.
We've seen Last Remnant screens before. But not in English. Yes, yes, English! Look at all those words, words we all know. Take a look at the latest batch from Square Enix. Do it.
Before we go any further, know that the full details on this are a little scarce, and we imagine we'll only get the whole story at TGS next week (or during the Nintendo presser in a few hours). But the latest issue of Famitsu says that upcoming Square Enix RPG Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time will be playable on both the Wii and DS. Same game, available on both systems. Meaning that the Wii version is - yes - essentially a port of a DS game. There's some other stuff about being able to play cross-platform (which is presumably the whole point of this), ala Crystal Chronicles, but again, we'll hold off on getting too excited until we get the full details from Square Enix next week.
[Famitsu, via Game|Life]
Square Enix has finally dated Dragon Quest IX. The Level 5 developed DS title will get its Japan release in March 2009. According to Square Enix, the release date is given as "March 2009", and the title has not yet been priced or rated. This comes as apparently Square Enix president Yoichi Wada recently stated that the game would be going on sale "during the New Year's period". Dragon Quest IX was originally announced in late 2006.
The title will not be playable at next week's Tokyo Game Show.
The newest issue of magazine Shonen Jump has a few new scans of the DS Chrono Trigger, one of which features wireless "Monster Battles" with monsters that you've raised. The game was originally released for the SNES, and the DS version will feature new content and be the first time it has been released in PAL territories.
Square Enix can be a little sporadic when it comes to handing out screens of their upcoming titles, but when they do get around to it they do it up big. How big? They've just dropped over 70 screenshots for The Last Remnant, covering all the bases. It's so large we had to split it into two galleries, one dealing with the characters and encounters in the game, and another that covers bosses and storyline moments. I'm really digging the style of Remnant, though after the pile that was Infinite Undiscovery (which should have had Saga at the end) anything else comes out looking like a work of art. Without further ado, here's enough pretty pictures to keep us occupied until the game's November release.
Xbox Japan, for Xbox Japan, is on a bit of a roll of late. The console was either the top selling or number two selling home console in the weekly sales depending on which sales data you go buy. Microsoft has secured a slew of RPGs like Tales of Vesperia, Infinite Undiscovery and Star Ocean 4 — joining Xbox 360 RPG titles like Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey. As Xbox Japan honcho Takashi Sensui explains:
Sales have been in an upward trend in Japan recently and we intend to work hard to push this momentum forward moving into the holiday sales season... As an initial milestone, we would like to hit the one million mark as soon as possible, and are continuing to work hard to get to this milestone and go beyond... The recent launch of Infinite Undiscovery on September 11 saw sales of over 90,000 units in the week of September 8-14 according to data from Media Create, placing it the third-highest selling game in Japan in that period... We have similar high hopes for the upcoming launch of other RPGs such as The Last Remnant, Star Ocean 4: The Last Hope and Fable II. However, we have no plans to launch Final Fantasy XIII in Japan.
Wait, wait, wait. "We" have no plans to launch Final Fantasy XIII in Japan? Don't you mean Square Enix has no plans to launch FFXIII in Japan? Ah, yes, hello semantics, how have you been?
Xbox in Japan: A New Dawn? [EDGE]
We thought this had been cleared up, but it appears Final Fantasy XIII producer Yoshinori Kitase may still be getting some heat over the decision to bring the big-budget RPG to the Xbox 360. Kitase told GameSpot early last month that the 360 version wouldn't go into full production until the PS3 one was complete and burned to Blu-ray. He also wanted to calm fears that the already long wait for FFXIII will be even longer, now that it's coming to Microsoft's console.
Furthermore, Kitase wants to set aside any fears that the PS3 version will suffer in an attempt to fit onto an Xbox 360 DVD.
Square Enix today confirmed retail rumblings we'd heard from the recent GameStop Expo, announcing that the remake of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories for the Game Boy Advance will be hitting the PlayStation 2 later this year. Dubbed Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories for extra reading awkwardness, the PS2 version of the GBA original comes with a full coat of 3D paint and a budget price of $29.99.
Kingdom Hearts mainstays David Gallagher and Haley Joel Osment return for the remake, with a new batch of mini-games being whipped up for the console re-release.
Full details can be enjoyed in press release format after the jump, with a not-quite-done-yet official site going up today.
While DS title Dragon Quest IX will not be playable at TGS 08, Square Enix president Yoichi Wada (pictured) seems to be indicating that the game will be available next during the Japanese New Year. Here's a translation of the short soundbyte that popped up on Yahoo! News Japan:
The Latest Dragon Quest On Sale During New Year's Period = Tecmo Purchase "We Will Decide What To Do" — Square Enix President
On the 18th, Square Enix president Yoichi Wada responded in an interview that the latest entry in the popular game series Dragon Quest will go on sale during the New Year's period.
The Japanese New Year's period is January 1st to January 4th, but the original text doesn't get any more specific than "Early January" or "New Year's". Though, maybe he means around New Year's, who knows. And what's more, it's not explicitly clear that Wada is referring to DQIX, though Square Enix has stated several times that the still yet-to-be-dated game will be out this financial year — which ends in March. And what's this about Square Enix deciding what do to about the Tecmo buyout? Thought that Square Enix had rescinded its offer.
ドラクエ最新作、年明け発売へ＝テクモ買収は「今後判断」--スク・エニ社長 [Yahoo! News Japan]
