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Final Fantasy III and VIII seem to use the same world. Here's more info: http://www.rpgamer.com/editor/2005/q2/050205gm.html

Actually Everquest has upgraded their graphics engine a few times now. They've revamped all the Player models at least once. And they've even gone back and revamped several old zones to USE the new features of the new engine(s).

And it goes without saying that the new zones use the new features.

Here's a shot from 2001..
http://www.rpgamer.com/games/everquest/eq/screens/eq_35.jpg

And one today...
http://www.rpgamer.com/games/other/pc/eq/screens/eq57.jpg

Blurry green texture vs tufts of grass, flat ground with vertex joins clearly defined vs smooth rolling terrain. Trees with branches on two planes vs much more complicated geometry for trees. Much more shading/shadow in the 2nd version... etc, etc...

You'll also note that the resolution of the two pictures is quite different. Everquest orginally only ran in 800x600...

Actually Everquest has upgraded their graphics engine a few times now. They've revamped all the Player models at least once. And they've even gone back and revamped several old zones to USE the new features of the new engine(s).

And it goes without saying that the new zones use the new features.

Here's a shot from 2001..
http://www.rpgamer.com/games/everquest/eq/screens/eq_35.jpg

And one today...
http://www.rpgamer.com/games/other/pc/eq/screens/eq57.jpg

Blurry green texture vs tufts of grass, flat ground with vertex joins clearly defined vs smooth rolling terrain. Trees with branches on two planes vs much more complicated geometry for trees. Much more shading/shadow in the 2nd version... etc, etc...

You'll also note that the resolution of the two pictures is quite different. Everquest orginally only ran in 800x600...

What? Talk about naive. Zelda has NEVER been an RPG and has ALWAYS been an action adventure.

Apparently you never played Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link, which, despite the ironic name, is the only game in the series to be an RPG, featuring experience and levelling. Given that it's that early in the series though, that's definite precedent. Of course, it was still an action/RPG, so no menu battles please. :)

Er... 2007 will also have D&D Tactics and Disgaea for the PSP off the top of my head. More from IGN's release list:

• Legend of Heroes 3
• Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure
• Monster Kingdom: Jewel Summoner
• Valhalla Knights
• Elder Scrolls: Travels

All of these are Q1 releases, including D&D Tactics, so that's six RPGs before April. Check the above list or RPGamer's list for more.

Not that I dislike Square, far from it, but I think everyone should play Panzer Dragoon Saga and learn a very different style. Whereas Square makes very long and detailed RPGs, Team Andromeda made a short but absurdely intense one.

There's a difference between bad graphics and bad art.

Diablo running on a much less powerful system than the reqs for the Spiderware games. Much less. Lower res.

You can see what everything is in this. There's no interface around the edge that's five times brighter than the actual game. The brightnesses of the characters are matched to the backgrounds they'll be on.

This isn't a matter of paying thousands of dollars to expensive designers to do thousands of pictures. These are simple layout mistakes that make the Spider games very hard to see.

I love retro gaming. Nothing wrong with 320x200 in my book... but you have to make your interface useably clear.

Ultima Underworld

Same deal. In this case they didn't even have a full 256 colours for the interface because they had to reserve most of the colourspace for 3-D shading. Still clear and well designed. The interface frame is just *one picture*. Not expensive to make... but it's critical that it be done right.

If you were playing your text MUD with green text on a hot pink background, you'd see that even with brilliant gameplay and *no* graphics the visual design matters.

"[Ward's] most challenging days may be ahead. The videogame industry has been in the doldrums for months; video game sales are lagging as consumers wait to buy the next generation of consoles, including the PlayStation 3.

This statement has made the rounds from CNN to MaximumPC to Slashdot to probably Fox News.

Video game sales have decreased in retail markets. This is not an industry crisis; it is a paradigm shift. What hasn't been decreasing are revenues in areas which here-to-fore did not exist. Steam is not making less money than it did in 2000. People are willing to buy games online and download them. Even if CS:S turns your brain to mush and is addictive as sweet, sweet heroin. But, guess who didn't get a sale. Best Buy.

Another factor in Video Game sales is persistant subscription sales models. It is completely inexplicable that these people don't mention MMO profits. At 5 million subscriptions times $15/month each, and this warrants italics, Blizzard will make $900,000,000 [NINE HUNDRED MILLION] gross this year on WoW. That a nine, with 8 zeros behind it. That's a license to print money. And that's not counting EQ2, AO, DAoC, Eve, and others.

Yes, there is a slump in video game purchases right now. There aren't any must have games; everyone is waiting for X, Y, or Z. But THAT'S HOW IT'S ALWAYS BEEN. It's not the automobile industry; there's not a new model released every year. NES = 1985, SNES = 1992. Ish. What happened in the interum? A falloff of game sales. It goes in cycles. IT'S NORMAL. You know what happens when a Must Have Game comes out? People buy it.*

When you couple that with the fact that ONE IN 45 AMERICANS PLAYS WOW, you start to see what people are doing with their time. And most of the infants and nursing home patrons aren't playing. It's the coveted 18-34 demographic.

So, STFU & GBTW.

~W

*"Dragon Quest VIII was released in Japan in November 27, 2004 and sold more then three million units in its opening weekend. Shipments in North America have topped 430,000 since its release on November 17, 2005. European gamers can look forward to the game arriving in April." (Jan 30 2006). I have this game. It's great.

"[Ward's] most challenging days may be ahead. The videogame industry has been in the doldrums for months; video game sales are lagging as consumers wait to buy the next generation of consoles, including the PlayStation 3.

This statement has made the rounds from CNN to MaximumPC to Slashdot to probably Fox News.

Video game sales have decreased in retail markets. This is not an industry crisis; it is a paradigm shift. What hasn't been decreasing are revenues in areas which here-to-fore did not exist. Steam is not making less money than it did in 2000. People are willing to buy games online and download them. Even if CS:S turns your brain to mush and is addictive as sweet, sweet heroin. But, guess who didn't get a sale. Best Buy.

Another factor in Video Game sales is persistant subscription sales models. It is completely inexplicable that these people don't mention MMO profits. At 5 million subscriptions times $15/month each, and this warrants italics, Blizzard will make $900,000,000 [NINE HUNDRED MILLION] gross this year on WoW. That a nine, with 8 zeros behind it. That's a license to print money. And that's not counting EQ2, AO, DAoC, Eve, and others.

Yes, there is a slump in video game purchases right now. There aren't any must have games; everyone is waiting for X, Y, or Z. But THAT'S HOW IT'S ALWAYS BEEN. It's not the automobile industry; there's not a new model released every year. NES = 1985, SNES = 1992. Ish. What happened in the interum? A falloff of game sales. It goes in cycles. IT'S NORMAL. You know what happens when a Must Have Game comes out? People buy it.*

When you couple that with the fact that ONE IN 45 AMERICANS PLAYS WOW, you start to see what people are doing with their time. And most of the infants and nursing home patrons aren't playing. It's the coveted 18-34 demographic.

So, STFU & GBTW.

~W

*"Dragon Quest VIII was released in Japan in November 27, 2004 and sold more then three million units in its opening weekend. Shipments in North America have topped 430,000 since its release on November 17, 2005. European gamers can look forward to the game arriving in April." (Jan 30 2006). I have this game. It's great.

I've always thought that if True Fantasy Online was actually finished and released, that the XBox would have done a lot better in Japan and so would have the 360. They don't seem to have any sort of grip there.

FFX was released on 12-18-01

RPGs and graphical adventures were likely left out of the survey for their low-impact nature.

Correct 2 is available on the playstation with ff1.
FF3 (the real one not 6 renamed like we got on the snes) is coming soon to a gameboy DS near you.
http://rpgamer.com/games/ff/ff3ds/ff3ds.html is where I read about it first. I'm sure a google for "final fantasy 3 ds" would turn up more.

I am a LONG time fan of square, from back in the days of the original nes final fantasy games up though the "Secret of XXXXXXX" games and even up to FF7, but recently they have been pissing off a lot of long time fans such as myself by implementing dumb ideas like this. It seems that they are running out of ideas. Crystal Chronicals when compared to such gems as Chrono Trigger looks like they arent even trying anymore. There is no more story, there is no more feeling for the characters, there is no more fun. Just empty shells of what could have been really great games.

I'm not saying you're a troll, but I wonder exactly what you're talking about here. Specifically, what "dumb idea like this" you're referring to. Also the sanity of the article in question.

First, assuming you're referring to FFXI when you mean either "dumb ideas like this" or "there is no more story," this is far from true. FFXI has a very deep and long-running storyline; the fact it takes a lot of work to experience may turn off a lot of people, but no one is demanding they play it, either. In fact, I warn most people away from FFXI unless they have time to dedicate.

But the story is just about as Final-Fantasy-esque as they come. (There is even Cid!) I will not spoil it (and indeed I don't know a good bit of it, having not yet played all the way through it), but there is far, far more than your typical MMO, involving multiple large story arcs. Both current expansions (Rise of the Zilart and Chains of Promathia), as well as the upcoming Treasures of Aht Urhgan, are for the most part story additions, consisting of a large number of new missions.

While the game is obviously adapted toward a large multiplayer world, you still have all the typical Final Fantasy bits you'd expect, like riding chocobos, fighting large critters, summoning familiar faces, and going to weird magical worlds to save the planet. But you do it with your friends, and you are the characters that experience the story. (Given the fact FF1 and FF3 had "you" as the characters, not predefined roles, this not something unusual to the series.)

But it takes a major time dedication. This is not something you will finish in 50-100 hours. This is for people who want to have the time they spend now still paying off after a year, two years, three years down the road. (Although you will be "into" the game in a much shorter period of time.) It's not for everyone.

On the issue of PlayOnline, having used POL on a regular basis (being a FFXI player since the PS2 release), I can say (along with many who have played it since the PC beta) that POL is very nice. This is one benefit of "some companies" to leave the online handling to publishers; when they need an integrated multiplatform framework, they're not locked in by the platform.

The article basically boils down to "waah, this UI is just like the PS2 version!" What do they expect? The interface provides uniform features to two other platforms. Unless Microsoft wants to provide its Live functionality to other platforms, only exclusive titles are going to use it. This is something XBOX fans had better get used to.

Additionally, it's somewhat humorous to note the complaint about 6GB of space taken up for the hdd image. The X360 drive is suprisingly small... even the PS2 HDD is 40GB, and the FFXI image there (which loads completely and requires no disc) is 12-16GB now with all the expansions loaded. Yes, this is a big game. Don't complain to Square about having a lot of content, complain to Microsoft about having restrictively small media.

I am a LONG time fan of square, from back in the days of the original nes final fantasy games up though the "Secret of XXXXXXX" games and even up to FF7, but recently they have been pissing off a lot of long time fans such as myself by implementing dumb ideas like this. It seems that they are running out of ideas. Crystal Chronicals when compared to such gems as Chrono Trigger looks like they arent even trying anymore. There is no more story, there is no more feeling for the characters, there is no more fun. Just empty shells of what could have been really great games.

I'm not saying you're a troll, but I wonder exactly what you're talking about here. Specifically, what "dumb idea like this" you're referring to. Also the sanity of the article in question.

First, assuming you're referring to FFXI when you mean either "dumb ideas like this" or "there is no more story," this is far from true. FFXI has a very deep and long-running storyline; the fact it takes a lot of work to experience may turn off a lot of people, but no one is demanding they play it, either. In fact, I warn most people away from FFXI unless they have time to dedicate.

But the story is just about as Final-Fantasy-esque as they come. (There is even Cid!) I will not spoil it (and indeed I don't know a good bit of it, having not yet played all the way through it), but there is far, far more than your typical MMO, involving multiple large story arcs. Both current expansions (Rise of the Zilart and Chains of Promathia), as well as the upcoming Treasures of Aht Urhgan, are for the most part story additions, consisting of a large number of new missions.

While the game is obviously adapted toward a large multiplayer world, you still have all the typical Final Fantasy bits you'd expect, like riding chocobos, fighting large critters, summoning familiar faces, and going to weird magical worlds to save the planet. But you do it with your friends, and you are the characters that experience the story. (Given the fact FF1 and FF3 had "you" as the characters, not predefined roles, this not something unusual to the series.)

But it takes a major time dedication. This is not something you will finish in 50-100 hours. This is for people who want to have the time they spend now still paying off after a year, two years, three years down the road. (Although you will be "into" the game in a much shorter period of time.) It's not for everyone.

On the issue of PlayOnline, having used POL on a regular basis (being a FFXI player since the PS2 release), I can say (along with many who have played it since the PC beta) that POL is very nice. This is one benefit of "some companies" to leave the online handling to publishers; when they need an integrated multiplatform framework, they're not locked in by the platform.

The article basically boils down to "waah, this UI is just like the PS2 version!" What do they expect? The interface provides uniform features to two other platforms. Unless Microsoft wants to provide its Live functionality to other platforms, only exclusive titles are going to use it. This is something XBOX fans had better get used to.

Additionally, it's somewhat humorous to note the complaint about 6GB of space taken up for the hdd image. The X360 drive is suprisingly small... even the PS2 HDD is 40GB, and the FFXI image there (which loads completely and requires no disc) is 12-16GB now with all the expansions loaded. Yes, this is a big game. Don't complain to Square about having a lot of content, complain to Microsoft about having restrictively small media.

I am a LONG time fan of square, from back in the days of the original nes final fantasy games up though the "Secret of XXXXXXX" games and even up to FF7, but recently they have been pissing off a lot of long time fans such as myself by implementing dumb ideas like this. It seems that they are running out of ideas. Crystal Chronicals when compared to such gems as Chrono Trigger looks like they arent even trying anymore. There is no more story, there is no more feeling for the characters, there is no more fun. Just empty shells of what could have been really great games.

I'm not saying you're a troll, but I wonder exactly what you're talking about here. Specifically, what "dumb idea like this" you're referring to. Also the sanity of the article in question.

First, assuming you're referring to FFXI when you mean either "dumb ideas like this" or "there is no more story," this is far from true. FFXI has a very deep and long-running storyline; the fact it takes a lot of work to experience may turn off a lot of people, but no one is demanding they play it, either. In fact, I warn most people away from FFXI unless they have time to dedicate.

But the story is just about as Final-Fantasy-esque as they come. (There is even Cid!) I will not spoil it (and indeed I don't know a good bit of it, having not yet played all the way through it), but there is far, far more than your typical MMO, involving multiple large story arcs. Both current expansions (Rise of the Zilart and Chains of Promathia), as well as the upcoming Treasures of Aht Urhgan, are for the most part story additions, consisting of a large number of new missions.

While the game is obviously adapted toward a large multiplayer world, you still have all the typical Final Fantasy bits you'd expect, like riding chocobos, fighting large critters, summoning familiar faces, and going to weird magical worlds to save the planet. But you do it with your friends, and you are the characters that experience the story. (Given the fact FF1 and FF3 had "you" as the characters, not predefined roles, this not something unusual to the series.)

But it takes a major time dedication. This is not something you will finish in 50-100 hours. This is for people who want to have the time they spend now still paying off after a year, two years, three years down the road. (Although you will be "into" the game in a much shorter period of time.) It's not for everyone.

On the issue of PlayOnline, having used POL on a regular basis (being a FFXI player since the PS2 release), I can say (along with many who have played it since the PC beta) that POL is very nice. This is one benefit of "some companies" to leave the online handling to publishers; when they need an integrated multiplatform framework, they're not locked in by the platform.

The article basically boils down to "waah, this UI is just like the PS2 version!" What do they expect? The interface provides uniform features to two other platforms. Unless Microsoft wants to provide its Live functionality to other platforms, only exclusive titles are going to use it. This is something XBOX fans had better get used to.

Additionally, it's somewhat humorous to note the complaint about 6GB of space taken up for the hdd image. The X360 drive is suprisingly small... even the PS2 HDD is 40GB, and the FFXI image there (which loads completely and requires no disc) is 12-16GB now with all the expansions loaded. Yes, this is a big game. Don't complain to Square about having a lot of content, complain to Microsoft about having restrictively small media.

I am a LONG time fan of square, from back in the days of the original nes final fantasy games up though the "Secret of XXXXXXX" games and even up to FF7, but recently they have been pissing off a lot of long time fans such as myself by implementing dumb ideas like this. It seems that they are running out of ideas. Crystal Chronicals when compared to such gems as Chrono Trigger looks like they arent even trying anymore. There is no more story, there is no more feeling for the characters, there is no more fun. Just empty shells of what could have been really great games.

I'm not saying you're a troll, but I wonder exactly what you're talking about here. Specifically, what "dumb idea like this" you're referring to. Also the sanity of the article in question.

First, assuming you're referring to FFXI when you mean either "dumb ideas like this" or "there is no more story," this is far from true. FFXI has a very deep and long-running storyline; the fact it takes a lot of work to experience may turn off a lot of people, but no one is demanding they play it, either. In fact, I warn most people away from FFXI unless they have time to dedicate.

But the story is just about as Final-Fantasy-esque as they come. (There is even Cid!) I will not spoil it (and indeed I don't know a good bit of it, having not yet played all the way through it), but there is far, far more than your typical MMO, involving multiple large story arcs. Both current expansions (Rise of the Zilart and Chains of Promathia), as well as the upcoming Treasures of Aht Urhgan, are for the most part story additions, consisting of a large number of new missions.

While the game is obviously adapted toward a large multiplayer world, you still have all the typical Final Fantasy bits you'd expect, like riding chocobos, fighting large critters, summoning familiar faces, and going to weird magical worlds to save the planet. But you do it with your friends, and you are the characters that experience the story. (Given the fact FF1 and FF3 had "you" as the characters, not predefined roles, this not something unusual to the series.)

But it takes a major time dedication. This is not something you will finish in 50-100 hours. This is for people who want to have the time they spend now still paying off after a year, two years, three years down the road. (Although you will be "into" the game in a much shorter period of time.) It's not for everyone.

On the issue of PlayOnline, having used POL on a regular basis (being a FFXI player since the PS2 release), I can say (along with many who have played it since the PC beta) that POL is very nice. This is one benefit of "some companies" to leave the online handling to publishers; when they need an integrated multiplatform framework, they're not locked in by the platform.

The article basically boils down to "waah, this UI is just like the PS2 version!" What do they expect? The interface provides uniform features to two other platforms. Unless Microsoft wants to provide its Live functionality to other platforms, only exclusive titles are going to use it. This is something XBOX fans had better get used to.

Additionally, it's somewhat humorous to note the complaint about 6GB of space taken up for the hdd image. The X360 drive is suprisingly small... even the PS2 HDD is 40GB, and the FFXI image there (which loads completely and requires no disc) is 12-16GB now with all the expansions loaded. Yes, this is a big game. Don't complain to Square about having a lot of content, complain to Microsoft about having restrictively small media.

I have thought about this recently and I've determined we're willing to give Sony the benefit of the doubt, simply because they have delivered with their consoles recently. The PSX had a massive library. The PS2 started out very very slowly, but now it has a massive library. The PS3 already has a ton of games lined up.

Contrast this with recent Nintendo; I don't give them the benefit of the doubt. Not because I don't like Nintendo. I love Nintendo. I have a Gamecube, a GBA SP, original GBA, an N64, a SNES, and a NES. But recently, starting with the N64, they simply haven't delivered the killer lineup they should be. So they will have to build it before I buy into it.

However, I haven't bought into the PSP with no games; I've been playing far too much THUG2: Remix, HSG2, and Metal Gear: Acid recently. Maybe these aren't your cup of tea; maybe none of the games are. That's too bad: there are some good ones. But if you don't like them, and you don't want the video/music features, don't buy one.

But while we're listing current and upcoming games, let's try the following, to name a few:

• X-Men Legends 2
• Popolocrois
• Legend of Heroes (probably better known as The Gagharv)
• The Con
• Kingdom of Paradise
• Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories

Four of those are RPGs, the only thing the PSP has been really lacking to this point. There are some interesting things; I'm curious as to what you're after if none of these or any other titles are to your liking.

I have thought about this recently and I've determined we're willing to give Sony the benefit of the doubt, simply because they have delivered with their consoles recently. The PSX had a massive library. The PS2 started out very very slowly, but now it has a massive library. The PS3 already has a ton of games lined up.

Contrast this with recent Nintendo; I don't give them the benefit of the doubt. Not because I don't like Nintendo. I love Nintendo. I have a Gamecube, a GBA SP, original GBA, an N64, a SNES, and a NES. But recently, starting with the N64, they simply haven't delivered the killer lineup they should be. So they will have to build it before I buy into it.

However, I haven't bought into the PSP with no games; I've been playing far too much THUG2: Remix, HSG2, and Metal Gear: Acid recently. Maybe these aren't your cup of tea; maybe none of the games are. That's too bad: there are some good ones. But if you don't like them, and you don't want the video/music features, don't buy one.

But while we're listing current and upcoming games, let's try the following, to name a few:

• X-Men Legends 2
• Popolocrois
• Legend of Heroes (probably better known as The Gagharv)
• The Con
• Kingdom of Paradise
• Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories

Four of those are RPGs, the only thing the PSP has been really lacking to this point. There are some interesting things; I'm curious as to what you're after if none of these or any other titles are to your liking.

I have thought about this recently and I've determined we're willing to give Sony the benefit of the doubt, simply because they have delivered with their consoles recently. The PSX had a massive library. The PS2 started out very very slowly, but now it has a massive library. The PS3 already has a ton of games lined up.

Contrast this with recent Nintendo; I don't give them the benefit of the doubt. Not because I don't like Nintendo. I love Nintendo. I have a Gamecube, a GBA SP, original GBA, an N64, a SNES, and a NES. But recently, starting with the N64, they simply haven't delivered the killer lineup they should be. So they will have to build it before I buy into it.

However, I haven't bought into the PSP with no games; I've been playing far too much THUG2: Remix, HSG2, and Metal Gear: Acid recently. Maybe these aren't your cup of tea; maybe none of the games are. That's too bad: there are some good ones. But if you don't like them, and you don't want the video/music features, don't buy one.

But while we're listing current and upcoming games, let's try the following, to name a few:

• X-Men Legends 2
• Popolocrois
• Legend of Heroes (probably better known as The Gagharv)
• The Con
• Kingdom of Paradise
• Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories

Four of those are RPGs, the only thing the PSP has been really lacking to this point. There are some interesting things; I'm curious as to what you're after if none of these or any other titles are to your liking.

I have thought about this recently and I've determined we're willing to give Sony the benefit of the doubt, simply because they have delivered with their consoles recently. The PSX had a massive library. The PS2 started out very very slowly, but now it has a massive library. The PS3 already has a ton of games lined up.

Contrast this with recent Nintendo; I don't give them the benefit of the doubt. Not because I don't like Nintendo. I love Nintendo. I have a Gamecube, a GBA SP, original GBA, an N64, a SNES, and a NES. But recently, starting with the N64, they simply haven't delivered the killer lineup they should be. So they will have to build it before I buy into it.

However, I haven't bought into the PSP with no games; I've been playing far too much THUG2: Remix, HSG2, and Metal Gear: Acid recently. Maybe these aren't your cup of tea; maybe none of the games are. That's too bad: there are some good ones. But if you don't like them, and you don't want the video/music features, don't buy one.

But while we're listing current and upcoming games, let's try the following, to name a few:

• X-Men Legends 2
• Popolocrois
• Legend of Heroes (probably better known as The Gagharv)
• The Con
• Kingdom of Paradise
• Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories

Four of those are RPGs, the only thing the PSP has been really lacking to this point. There are some interesting things; I'm curious as to what you're after if none of these or any other titles are to your liking.

Cell phone gaming HAS taken off. Just not in the US. Take a look at some of the stuff they get over in Japan. I think a large part of it is the fact that US phones basically suck. The only good game I ever played on one was before the advent of color screens and it was a Roguelike. Over there they have Final Fantasy 7: Before Crisis, Shining Force, and, although I don't have links for them, Dragon Quest/Warrior and a bunch of other REAL games. Many of them are sold in chapters or installments, typically for around 500 yen. When I see crappy half-assed pinball games going on US phones for $5, the distance between the two standards really starts to show. I'D pay $5 for a FF7 prequel I could play on my phone when I'm not busy doing anything else. I'd pay $5 for Shining Force! But we don't have those. I really wish we did, or at least things LIKE them. Not until then will cell gaming really take off.

Cell phone gaming HAS taken off. Just not in the US. Take a look at some of the stuff they get over in Japan. I think a large part of it is the fact that US phones basically suck. The only good game I ever played on one was before the advent of color screens and it was a Roguelike. Over there they have Final Fantasy 7: Before Crisis, Shining Force, and, although I don't have links for them, Dragon Quest/Warrior and a bunch of other REAL games. Many of them are sold in chapters or installments, typically for around 500 yen. When I see crappy half-assed pinball games going on US phones for $5, the distance between the two standards really starts to show. I'D pay $5 for a FF7 prequel I could play on my phone when I'm not busy doing anything else. I'd pay $5 for Shining Force! But we don't have those. I really wish we did, or at least things LIKE them. Not until then will cell gaming really take off.

Sounds a lot like the name of the protagonist from "Final Fantasy: Spirits Within", which I believe was Dr. Aki Ross, and that Nokia phone/watch of the same name sure as heck looks a like hers. http://www.rpgamer.com/games/ff/affw/ffmov/propaga nda/watch1.jpg

I was looking at the game True Fantasy Live Online over the internet; I was looking at videos and screenshots and I got really interested in the game. Is there a game similar to this one out already? I mean, the game looks fantastic. It's not too serious, and not too childish. The videos on this page in particular caught my attention. Look at the end of this one (.mov file)... I like it because it looks like something Nintendo might have done (how ironic that it was set out for Xbox). Is there anything close to this game on the market right now?

I was looking at the game True Fantasy Live Online over the internet; I was looking at videos and screenshots and I got really interested in the game. Is there a game similar to this one out already? I mean, the game looks fantastic. It's not too serious, and not too childish. The videos on this page in particular caught my attention. Look at the end of this one (.mov file)... I like it because it looks like something Nintendo might have done (how ironic that it was set out for Xbox). Is there anything close to this game on the market right now?

Now everybody and their mom is only making MMORPGs. Don't expect to ever play an excellent RPG like Fallout or Planescape: Torment again. Check out the list of upcoming PC RPGs at http://www.rpgamer.com/games/upcoming.html There are 35 listed, and maybe 4 or 5 of them are not MMORPGs. It's much easier to drop you in a world infested with stupid 14 year olds than it is to create decent AI and interesting situations to put players in.

I did the same search and came up with this, which frankly is just as disturbing.

If anything, Wind Waker hit it right on the head. The new "photorealistic" Zelda doesn't really appeal to me. Yes, it's shiny. So what?

If anything, Wind Waker hit it right on the head. The new "photorealistic" Zelda doesn't really appeal to me. Yes, it's shiny. So what?

If anything, Wind Waker hit it right on the head. The new "photorealistic" Zelda doesn't really appeal to me. Yes, it's shiny. So what?

I play mostly RPGs, so I thought RPGamer.com's coverage of E3 was outstanding for a site that only covers RPGs (though they also covered console news during E3).

I play mostly RPGs, so I thought RPGamer.com's coverage of E3 was outstanding for a site that only covers RPGs (though they also covered console news during E3).

Still doesn't rule out the possibility of a UMD release later on. My understanding has always been that they'd do DVD before UMD anyways.

"The UMD Video version of the movie is expected to be announced shortly, though Square Enix has been, for the most part, keeping quiet about the version since the movie's announcement."

Which is taken from a recent news posting on rpgamer.com: http://www.rpgamer.com/news/Q2-2005/051105a.html

If it turns out that it won't be coming out on UMD (at this point, I'm wondering if there's going to be extra features in that version to make it worthwhile to people), that could make an interesting change in the Sony/S-E partnership... Especially considering S-E's talk lately of Nintendo's Wireless plan and the hints at multiple DS titles aside from Hanjukuu Hero (while PSP is only seeing FF7:Crisis Core to date).

FFXII: http://www.rpgamer.com/games/ff/ff12/ff12.html Kingdom Hearts II: http://www.rpgamer.com/games/kh/kh2/kh2.html ^_^

FFXII: http://www.rpgamer.com/games/ff/ff12/ff12.html Kingdom Hearts II: http://www.rpgamer.com/games/kh/kh2/kh2.html ^_^

Ailish/Alice (girl on the cover of sudeki) and Buki (in the red) 'grew' in proportion and lost more and more clothing as the game developed and different marketing people got hold of it :( Heres one of the original pieces of artwork for her :
http://www.rpgamer.com/games/other/ps2/sol/graphic s/art/alice.gif

It appears I missed the news back in June and True Fantasy Live Online was also cancelled. There is a response from Microsoft posted here.

Well, if you're going to quote the entire sketch, then you also need to link to the CG video (alternate, evil IFilm link) that the developers of Summoner crufted together just for the hell of it.

Note: Uttering, "Where's the Cheetos," with the same accent and inflection as in the sketch is grounds for forcible expulsion from many gaming rooms.

Schwab

• Advent Children - A movie which takes place a few years after the end of FF7. link
• Before Crisis - A cell phone game starring the Turks. link
• Dirge of Cerberus. A Devil May Cry (apparently) style PS2 game following Vincent. link
• Crisis Core. New RPG for the PSP. Basically nothing is known at this point.

Apparently, both WoW and SWG use the same data center. The writeup made it sound like two separate data centers were hit by hurricanes.

Once upon a time, Square (now Square Enix) was quite receptive to its fan community, and softly encouraged fan activity and fansites. I think that Advent Children shows that respect has disappeared from Square's vision.

Like any other mass entertainment company, today's Square -- without much of the original developers, and without the creator of Final Fantasy -- is out to milk every last drop of gil (or dollars, or euros) from each of their intellectual properties. Damn the fans, and the way they thought FFVII should have ended. Damn _their_ perceptions, thoughts, and extensions of the characters. Marketing uber alles.

Square is dead. Time to move on, people.

??? WTF? Never heard of that one... I was thinking more along the lines of that cool wrist computer from the final fantasy movie...
http://www.rpgamer.com/games/ff/affw/ffmov/screens /ffm3.jpg (Wrist shot)

Someone pointed out the MagiTek armor, complete with hood-ornament pilot, during the Zion scenes.

And, of course, once we got to the final fight scene, I just looked at my co-workers and said "Dragon Ball Z." I waited for Neo as Goku to go Super Saiyan and was disappointed that he instead fused with Smith at the end and then defeated him from the inside.

I do have to credit the third Matrix movie, though: before watching it, I thought a live-action Dragon Ball Z movie might look cool. After watching it I realized that it would be just as tedious using live action as it is in the cartoon.

(Another ancedote about the third movie involves my sister asking me if it was supposed to be a comedy. She figured they had to be trying for something that bad.)

Yes. As far as I'm concerned, Castlevania: SotN is the best platformer, and probably the best action game of any type, ever released. Wonderful graphics (for the time), exceptional music, great gameplay. It had so many little touches that fleshed it out. Want to use a useful equipment slot to make your character a couple of pixels taller, though it won't affect gameplay? Put on your Secret Boots.

I found Lament of Innocence, the PS2 Castlevania game, to be a huge disappointment. Several years ago, when Koji Igarashi (the man behind SotN) announced that he was working on a new Castlevania game, he basically said that he realized that making the gameplay 3D would detract from the game more than it would add to it. The closest quote I've been able to find, in my brief search, is:

The director went on to say that maintaining the Castlevania style of gameplay in 3D "would be impossible," and that the style for the next installment "is descended from Symphony of the Night."

Oh, and yes, I do know about the GBA Castlevanias, and I appreciate them. I just wish that Konami would harness the power of a modern day console (as opposed to an admittedly excellent portable system) while maintaining a similar style of gameplay. Just imagining the game that might be made if they chose to do so brightens my day.

Not actually for the N64, as I recall, but for SGI machines. You can download three clips from it, as well as get a bit of other info, at RPGamer's site.

Dan Aris

No release date, but a few lucky european people (I'm one of them =) got invited for the Beta-Testing of the European version (more on this at rpgamer). I think it will be released just after the summer.

Anyway, I imported the game, and I can tell you it's really worth the $60 I paid for it.

Final Fantasy XII is gay!

Without needing to register with ifilms and dealing with all that crap, go here instead and just download the .avi, or if you're really lazy then just direct download SummonerGeeks.avi this way.

Without needing to register with ifilms and dealing with all that crap, go here instead and just download the .avi, or if you're really lazy then just direct download SummonerGeeks.avi this way.