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Game developers just love their countdown sites. Today, Square Enix’s official website was updated with this new page:

Whatever could it be? We’ll find out in about 10 days, but in the meantime you can visit the teaser page by clicking the image.

The Last Remnant was originally pitched as a multiplatform title. Then it became a timed 360 exclusive. Then the PC version came out. So where’s the PS3 version? During a recent shareholder meeting, that very question was asked.

Wada responded that although it’s tough on the development side of things to say that you’ll release a game on multiple platforms but end up not doing so, Square Enix has to think about profitability. If there’s a gap in the release of multiple versions of a game, and if the first version didn’t necessarily see such great success, they have to think that there won’t be a change in performance on a new platform. - AndriaSang

So yeah, Debbie Downer Day for all you Playstation devotees. PS3 owners will also be happy to know that there’s still no plans to release Star Ocean: The Last Hope on their system either. But at least you’re still getting Final Fantasy XIII, right? Right?

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete is out now in North America, and to celebrate, here’s some treats from the director’s cut. First is the remastered version of the Advent: One Winged Angel theme (which sounds more balanced and cleaner, plus has about 45 seconds of new material), second is Omnislash Version 6, an even more awesome update from Version 5 in the original Advent Children.

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YouTube Direkt

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The newest issue of Famitsu features a lot of new information on Final Fantasy XIII and IGN has done a lengthy write-up on what new information was revealed.

Among the new details:

The only gameplay area the magazine provides new solid facts about is the Driving Mode — the new form of summon where you get to ride your summon beasts.

Sounds interesting and new for a Final Fantasy battle feature… tell us more IGN:

Driving Mode apparently turns FFXIII into somewhat of an action game. You can freely control the motorcycle with the analogue pad, and attack by inputting commands. You won’t be able to use this mode forever, though. Eventually, you’ll have to execute a finish move, bringing an end to Driving Mode. Shiva will also disappear here, leaving Snow with his more mortal battle members.

I, for one, am sold.  Spring 2010 can’t arrive soon enough.  Go to IGN to read the rest of the article, it’s a very lengthy piece and includes a number of new details on the game.

Not letting the announcement of Final Fantasy XIV phase them, the Final Fantasy XI team is preparing the release of a new content pack in July.

We’re pleased to inform you that the upcoming version update is on track for a late July release! The development and quality assurance teams are hard at work cooking up a whole slew of exciting new content that will feature the continuation of the Wings of the Goddess missions, new areas in past Vana’diel, job adjustments, additions and refinements for Campaign and Moblin Maze Mongers, and much, much more.

We’ll post more information as Square makes the details of the July update known through PlayOnline.com.

This is old news, but it is news that we haven’t posted yet.

A week before E3, we found out about NIER, a multi-platform action-adventure game  catered to Western game audiences.  Square Enix also has a website for the game up, feel free to check it out.

Also, here is the debut trailer:

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YouTube DirektNIER E3 2009 Trailer

This is apparently what Japanese executives think Americans want to play, because the term “Western audiences” is getting tossed around a lot when describing this game.  Me, I think I’ll wait around for FFXIII.

Final Fantasy VII on PlayStation 3?  You betcha.  The original, classic, game has been made available through the PlayStation Network as a PlayStation classic purchased.  Meaning it’s the original game, and can be purchased and played that way.  If you have bought it, post in the comments and let us know what you think.

Via Kotaku Japanese sales charts, we learn that Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days has sold very well in Japan in it’s first week of availability for the Nintendo DS.  The Roxas side-story title sold 295,000 copies to secure it the top spot for all video games sales in Japan.

The game covers Roxas’ existence between the events of Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II and answers a few questions about the mysterious Organization III.  Nintendo announces at their E3 press conference this week that the title is due for North American release on September 29, 2009.

So I picked up the prologue chapter for the game, which is actually turning out to be fairly lengthy.

I’ve logged about four hours, and it’s pretty darn good so far. Much of the gameplay is, as expected, ripped almost entirely from the original FFIV (read: turn-based, ATB driven combat). However, there are a couple of new wrinkles that have an impact. The first are “Bands”; co-op attacks by two or more party members. You acquire some bands automatically as the story progresses, but the vast majority are there for you to discover on your own by combining different actions from each member of the desired band. For example, combining “Attack” with Cecil and “White Magic” with Rosa will activate the “Holy Blade” attack. Most offensive bands do more damage to a particular enemy type, so it maintains an element of strategy. Another addition is the effect of moon phases, which shift after a period of time or whenever your party sleeps. Each of the four phases significantly powers up one of the four primary attributes (physical attack, white/black magic, and techs) and weakens another.

As story goes, the plot is pretty intriguing so far, if a little nonsensical occasionally. While you do control the old guard characters like Cecil and Rosa on occasion, the majority of the game is played as Ceodore, Cecil’s son. He’s a pretty solid character all around, though he tends toward the melodramtic.

One other thing worth noting is that this game gets hard in a hurry. At my point, I’m already having to level grind to keep standard mobs from slicing off nearly half of my HP every time they attack.

But anyway, I’m interested to keep exploring the story to see what surprises Square has in store. Definitely worth the download so far.

While we’re drooling over the marvels of FFXIII and FFXIV, let’s not forget that there are actually other Square Enix games on display at E3. And we have trailers for two of them: Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days (now confirmed for US release September 29) and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers. With English voicework, no less.

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