Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories

People outside Japan might never played Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories, unless they imported it. But now thanks to Square Enix, the game is coming to North America on December 2 this year for Playstation 2. The game was released originally for Game Boy Advance in 2004 and then got a full 3D enhancement and released as a bonus game for Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix + in March 2007 in Japan. Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories is a card based game. It bridges the gap between the first and second Kingdom Hearts story-wise. With Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, Kingdom Hearts Coded, and Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days around the corner, Square Enix is definitely spread some love for the fans.

Star Ocean 4 and Last Remnant Playable at TGS

We all know that Tokyo Game Show is the biggest game event in Asia, even the world, and the great thing is that it's open to public unlike some of the gaming event i know of. But Microsoft never be a big player at TGS. The fact that their console is a failure in this rising sun country is not helping either. But things get better with the Xbox 360. It is definitely more popular than the original Xbox. It is partially thanks to the many RPG games that available on Xbox 360. Japanese just love RPGs, they don't like first person shooter games like the Americans do. So, the japanese gamers might notice Microsoft's booth at TGS this year more. Why? Because they have a playable exclusive RPGs from Square Enix. What are the games? You might guessed it right. Star Ocean 4: The Last Hope and Last Remnant will be in a playable form at Microsoft's booth. But it's not available in Square Enix's booth. Weird huh? Square Enix will play a new footage of the games instead. I posted earlier about Square Enix's games that will make an appearance here.

Square Enix's TGS Line Up

I bet all gaming enthusiast want to go to Japan early next month. Why? Because the largest gaming event will be held there. Yeah, I'm talking about the annual Tokyo Game Show. Usually, the event is held in mid September, but this year, it will be started on October 9.
Many publishers, game developers, and game related companies will show off their latest and coolest games and products. And today, Square Enix just announced their line up for this year TGS. The announcement came in the form of a special Japanese TGS 2008 website. They will be showcasing a lot of games in the form of playable or video-only.
The list of games that will be in the playable form are as follow:
Chocobo and the Magic Picture Book
Chocobo Mysterious Dungeon DS
Dissidia Final Fantasy
Dragon Quest Battle Road
Dragon Quest Monsters Battle Road
Final Fantasy IV The After
Itadaki Street Mobile
Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep
Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days
Pingu's Wonderful Carnival
Snoopy DS
Valkyrie Profile DS

And here's the list of games that will be in video form only:
Chrono Trigger
Dragon Quest IX
Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Complete
Final Fantasy XIII
Final Fantasy Versus XIII
Final Fantasy Agito XIII
Final Fantasy XI
Infinite Undiscovery
Kingdom Hearts Coded
The 3rd Birthday

There are 3 other games, but whether they will be in playable form or just video only is not stated yet. The games are Last Remnant, Star Ocean 4, and Ellark. I was hoping that all three Final Fantasy XIII would be playable. But I guess it's not happening.

Square Enix's Pull Out

Today (Friday morning in Japan exactly), Square Enix made an announcement in response to yesterday's Tecmo in talk with Koei news. Square Enix decided to pull out from Tecmo buy out bid. This is expected i guess after Tecmo refuse Square Enix offering and have a talk with Koei instead for a possible merger.
No offense Tecmo, but I think Square Enix is WAY better as a company than Koei, but I could be wrong, as always.

Koei And Tecmo in Talk

Just recently, I read on the internet that my favourite publisher Square Enix submitted a proposal to buy out Tecmo. The company was seeking to buy the shares for ¥920 per share in a tender offer which may be worth at least ¥11 billion. The proposed price is about 30% premium to Tecmo's closing price of ¥706 before the offer news.
Apparently, Tecmo rejects the offer. According to Japan Business News site Nikkei Net, Koei Co. and Tecmo Co. have begun merger talks with the goal of integrating their operations. Does it mean that we will see Ryu Hayabusa in Dynasty Warriors game in the future? Only time will tell.

Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days

Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days (what a weird title) is a Square Enix's Nintendo DS game set to release sometime this year in Japan. It is a story about a character from Kingdom Hearts II, a member of Organization XIII, Number 13, Roxas. The storyline takes place before Kingdom Hearts II.
Roxas and Axel were watching the sunset from their usual spot on the station's clock tower after a long day of collecting "hearts" from the heartless, as ordered by their organization. When their daily work ended, they often spent their evenings there. They talked about the day's work and other things over ice cream.
"Do you know why the sun looks red as it sinks below the horison? It's because among the countless colors comprising light, red travels the greatest distance."
"You're just trying to show off, Axel."
It was idle chatter between two boys without hearts.....

In Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days, you will explore a variety of Disney worlds in not only in single player mode, but also in multiplayer missions made possible by the unique networking features of the Nintendo DS in an all new and mysterious Kingdom Hearts storyline. Check out the screens and drool over it.

Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep

I love Kingdom Hearts series. It started with Kingdom Hearts fos PS2, followed by Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories for GBA, and Kingdom Hearts II for PS2. With an engaging stories, lovable characters (who doesnt love final fantasy's and Disney's character), unique battle system, Kingdom Hearts series have been a new big franchise. I think i like it more than Final Fantasy Series now. And I was thrilled when I know that not one, but two Kingdom Hearts games are coming. Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days for Nintendo DS and Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep for PSP. We'll talk about the latter here.
Birth by Sleep is a prequel to the Kingdom Hearts saga. It is a tale of a new three heroes, told across three scenarios utilizing the groundbreaking technology of the PSP. Exciting new features are introduced on top of the traditional controls, game systems, and visual style of its predecessors.
The Keyblade is said to hold phenomenal power. One legend says its wielder saved the world, while another says that he wrought chaos and ruin upon it (Ansem's Report - Kingdom Hearts).
Long before Sora took up the keyblade, there were other Keyblade masters. One of these masters, Xehanort, disappeared one day along with his apprentice. This event proved to be a foreshadowing of great disaster to come. Aware of the threat, another master ordered his three apprentices to seek out Xehanort and his cohort. That's the story of Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep.
It is still a long way until it arrives in storeshelves, so enjoy the screens below in the mean time. It's courtesy of ign of course.

Final Fantasy Agito XIII Screen

Originally developed for mobile platform, now it's coming to Sony's PSP too. It's another RPG from Square Enix. A prequel to Final Fantasy XIII and a part of Fabula Nova Crystallis, it is a game involving a young hero who must protecu a sacred crystal from evil. It still has no release date and not much is known. So, meanwhile, enjoy the only image below until Square Enix unveils more.

Final Fantasy Versus XIII Screens!

Check out the latest images of Final Fantasy Versus XIII below. It is a Square Enix game exclusively for Sony's Playstation 3. The images are courtesy of ign.





For more images, go here.

Final Fantasy VII Rumour

Last week, the internet community was once again treated to a rumour about Final Fantasy VII. The rumour came from a series of photos and videos depicting what appeared to be an advertisement for Final Fantasy VII for the PS3. The item had a release date of the 16th this month and was displayed at the bottom of an in-store advertisement. While many believed that these photos were taken at a Best Buy store, there is no way to be certain as no store logo can be seen. taken from Best Buy store. Square Enix through their representative said that they have no idea why such an odd advertisement would pop up in the first place. Best Buy stores across America also said that they didn't know such thing. So any Final Fantasy fans out there, hoping that this is some sort of a "sign" is again out of luck. At least for now.