Final Fantasy News

New images from Four Warriors of Light: Final Fantasy Gaiden New images have surfaced from the third DS Final Fantasy game by Matrix Software, the team behind the FF3 and FF4 remakes! The game, Four Warriors of Light: Final Fantasy Gaiden (or Hikari no Yon Senshi: Final Fantasy Gaiden) seems to depict new adventures in the world of the Final Fantasy I characters, which is an interesting leap for a team that have previously dealt with what were essentially direct remakes. Four Warriors of Light: Final Fantasy Gaiden is out today in Japan for Nintendo DS. No word as of yet on an English localisation. Sources: GAME Watch and The Magic Box.

30 Oct 2009

My New Obsession: katethegreat19 [Youtube] If you visit our site, I am very sure that you love at least one of the many Final Fantasy soundtracks that Square Enix has released over all these years. I am the same as you guys... and I found this gem during my free time while browsing around YouTube. Although her online nick is a typical YouTube nick, do not let that fool you, she is extremely talented. You all know tracks like "You're Not Alone", "Aeris' Theme" and "Rose of May / Loss of Me"? Have you ever imagined how these tracks would sound if someone with a beautiful voice was singing them? katethegreat19 is that beautiful voice, and not only that, but she also re-arranges all her own songs, performs all the instrumentals, and occasionally writes lyrics too! Her works will leave you wanting more. I liked her work so much that I decided to conduct this interview immediately on the same day that I found her channel (Thanks to Michael G for coming up with the questions :P). Please check out her YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/katethegreat19 and subscribe! If you like her songs, she offers mp3 downloads of every video that she has on her channel for your listening pleasure. You will like her work, I give you my word! There are around 12,000 to 13,000 of you that visit this site everyday, so if half of you subscribe, that will be around 6,000 new subscribers for her! Please spread the word about her around too, she deserves more exposure, she is that good! :D Below is the interview that I conducted with Michael's questions. 1. Firstly, the easier questions. How many languages are you able to speak? Your Japanese annunciation works very well. Sadly, English is the only language I can speak! But I pick up things like accents really easily, so if I’m going to sing in Japanese, Latin, or any other language, I try to really do my homework and listen a lot to the original if there is one. 2. Final Fantasy. Where did it begin for you? What does it mean to you now? When you play a game like Final Fantasy in your formative years, I think the games take on an importance that may be lost on someone who plays it when they’re much older. To me, the characters of the games, and the feelings that go with them, became the figureheads of various human traits that I truly understood for the first time while being so emotionally immersed in the stories. Sephiroth, became my first real look at just what the ‘descent into madness’ was; Tifa represented Devotion; Beatrix, Chivalry; Zidane, Optimism; Aerith, the fragility and preciousness of life. When I cover a character’s theme from one of the FFs, I am not only trying to capture the character in the lyrics, I also try to capture what the character represents to me. 3. You're obviously very multi-talented, judging by the amount of instruments you are able to integrate so flawlessly. Where did this talent originate? I started playing the violin when I was two years old! My mother taught private violin lessons in our home, and I picked up a lot before she even began teaching me. I played intensively all my childhood and early adulthood. Any musician will tell you that when you know one instrument very well, picking up another is a sort of ‘half battle’ because there are certain things you don’t need to learn twice. I picked up piano, recorder, drums and the harp on my own, and had two years of lessons in guitar. I hope to acquire more instruments in time to learn and use in my songs! 4. How long have you been a fan of videogame-based music? From the very first game I ever played, which was a little gameboy game called Final Fantasy Adventure. I marveled at the ‘loop’, a melody that was so catchy and revolved endlessly. I thought the way a simple little tune could shape a scene and make you feel things that just the game alone wouldn’t, was amazing. When Aerith died, and that gentle piano strain started playing, we were all lost in the power of the game and of its music. We all cried. And vice versa, when a game’s music is bad or emotionless, the game simply doesn’t move people the way it might under the work of someone like Nobuo Uematsu or Yasunori Mitsuda. 5. What inspires you the most in the creative procedure? Simple things. With my lyrics, it might be a feeling I had while playing, or a memory of my own that I want to express, the exquisite beauty of the melody line, or the beauty of the character. Once I start jotting down the very first verses, I find the fun of writing them to be self-fueling for the project. I really love words, finding the beauty in them and using them to their best advantage in the flow of the melodies. 6. You seem to have covered a few Final Fantasy IX pieces. Is this your favorite? If so, why? It’s the game I consider to be the best across all the boards, yes! Even when compared to games outside the series in a very broad way, this game is tops. The music was some of Uematsu’s best, and the melodies were some of the most singer-friendly. I will be moving on to the other FFs now, and try to give their soundtracks the same attention. 7. Where do you draw your lyrics from? Do you attempt to meld it into the already established lyrical style that the FF songs have, or do you just follow your own style? I definitely have my own style of writing. But I do try to keep with the game’s own style, whatever that may be. When writing for one of the more medieval games, I try to stay away from modern speech as much as I can, to hopefully reflect the game’s timelessness. It’s easier to write songs in that style for me. If I write lyrics for FFVIII in the future, I will have to integrate more of a modern feel into the lyrics to match, which will be harder to do and still keep the timeless quality that the game manages to still have.

26 Dec 2008

Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales 2 Were you a fan of Square's smash-hit DS game for all ages, Chocobo Tale? Well get ready, a sequel is in the wire. The game, currently untitled in English regions (but known as Chocobo and the Magic Storybook: The Witch, the Girl and the Five Heroes in Japan) will feature the same mix of adventuring and mini-game playing as the original title. New innovations have been included, most notably a better use of the technology's 3D gameplay. We'll update you with any new information on a localization. The game hits Japan later this year. Sources: Forever Fantasy, The Magic Box, NeoGAF and Square-Enix Members.

11 Jul 2008

Chocobo's Dungeon comes to DS Remember that Wii title from about a year ago? The one with the Chocobos... not too popular... well its back! Have a look at Cid & Chocobo's Dungeon: The Maze of Forgotten Memories DS, which has just been recently announced. The game is a DS-iteration of "Toki-Wasure no Meikyuu" from the Wii, except from the perspective of Cid. The game will be releasing in the Fall in Japan, although I don't know if we should expect an English localization. Sources: The Magic Box and Forever Fantasy.

10 Jul 2008

Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon for PAL This might not come as a surprise, but the recent Wii title, Chocobo's Dungeon, has been confirmed for a PAL release this year. Most of you will know by now that the North American version of Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon is just around the corner - July 8, 2008 to be precise. Well, you can now add a European/UK/Australian release to that, confirmed to be the Northern Hemisphere's Autumn 2008 (Spring in Australia). We'll update you when a finalised date is set, and when consumer and critical reviews are released within the coming weeks, rest assured you'll be the first to know whether this is worth a purchase or not. Source: Games Press.

30 Jun 2008

Scrollbar hosts Final Fantasy Night! The IT University of Copenhagen recently held a massive fan-based evening entitled 'Final Fantasy Night' - the main attraction? Drinks! Yep, that's right, fifteen original Final Fantasy-themed drinks created especially for the evening. From Waltz on the Moon to Moogle to the almighty Corrupted Lifestream, the selection was rather incredible. You can check out all the recipes here! All you'll ever need to hold your own Final Fantasy-based parties all on one convenient page! But please users, drink responsibly! Source: Thanks to "Magic" Mike Sjørslev Khamphoukeo for the tip-off, and for the evening itself!

4 Jun 2008

Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon site update At last, the website for Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon has been updated - viva la chocobo! You can check out the newly updated site here! The site includes new sections on story, characters, jobs, gameplay and information on the game software itself. Besides this, they are also hosting two whimsical official wallpapers, which you can see here. Don't forget to take a break and listen to the game's wonderful soundtrack! Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon is releasing across North America on June 8th, 2008 for the Nintendo Wii. Stay tuned for more updates! Source: Games Press.

21 May 2008

PAL players get Final Fantasy: Anniversary Edition I and II Both Final Fantasy: Anniversary Edition and Final Fantasy 2: Anniversary Edition are finally making their way to PAL territories! The games, which have been available since the 27th of August 2007 in the US, are remakes of the original 1987/1988 2D classics that were released on the NES (Famicon). They're brought to the PSP with added features and a new graphical engine reminiscent of the SNES-era Final Fantasy titles. As of February 7 in Australia and February 8 in the UK and Europe, both of these titles are available for purchase for the Sony PSP. Sources: Forever Fantasy and GamesPress.

8 Feb 2008

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII and Ring of Fates release dates! After much waiting, English release dates have been announced for two of Square's highly anticipated portable titles! First on the list is Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles - Ring of Fates for the Nintendo DS - the title will be launching on the 11th of March, 2008 in North America! Following exactly two weeks later, we will see the North American release of Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7, that is to say, March 25th 2008. We'll keep you updated any changes made in the English localisations of these titles, if any. Source: The Magic Box.

20 Dec 2007

Jump Festa update - the place for news! Sorry for a lack of news guys - Square has been tight-lipped recently, but it's for a reason! News is around the corner! Yes fans you've heard right - the Final Fantasy-related news you seek will all be revealed between December 22-23! Square will be showing the following Final Fantasy games there: Chocobo's Dungeon: Toki-Wasure no Meikyuu Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles - The Little King and the Promised Land Final Fantasy Agito 13 Dissidia: Final Fantasy Final Fantasy 4 DS Final Fantasy Versus 13 Final Fantasy 13 At the moment, we're unsure how many of these will be showing videos outside of the Closed Mega Theatre, but we'll be able to let you know confidently on the day(s)! Until then, get ready for a news overload here on Final Fantasy Insider! Source: Square-Enix at Jump Festa.

7 Dec 2007