PS2 Final Fantasy 7 Spinoff

Bagels writes "Square Enix is finally answering the prayers of thousands of FF7 fans with a side-story PS2 game called "Dirge of Cereberus: Final Fantasy VII." Not much is known yet - the game focuses on the character Vincent, it's set one year after the upcoming movie, Advent Children, and it's early in development as of now - but this is sure to be a hot topic amongst fans and critics of the series alike."

Comments

What's going on with Square?

[kmak]

First FFX-2, now this.. are they running of ideas? Or are they just more adversive to taking risks?

Re:What's going on with Square?

[gamgee5273]

No, I don't think that's it. I think FFX-2 was put out there to help calm the folks who didn't want to wait till FFXII but really didn't want to play FFXI Online. I really enjoyed the battle system in FFX-2, but was disappointed that so many of the backgrounds were recycled.

As for the sequels to VII: People have wanted one for a while. Then, added to that, was the response to the appearance of Cloud and Aeris in Kingdom Hearts. At that point, I think SE realized that they had to explore FFVII a bit more or risk alienating a ton of fans.

As for risk-taking: FFXI was a huge risk that has really paid off for them (the European service was just rolled out) and FFXII is supposedly going to feature quite a few changes that will continue to evolve the series.

I think SE are doing what any self-respecting company should do: find the popular product, continue to give the fans what they want, and continue evolving the product. If, at any point, SE releases an FF that just royally sucks (and I'm not talking mediocre, like some think of FFVIII and FFIX as being) then I'll be worried that they aren't pushing the envelope any longer...

final fantasy ports

[Speare]

My last two gaming system purchases were driven by "whatever platform the next Final Fantasy" would be delivered. And the game platform companies know this, which is why they hotly compete for Square's business.

I wish more of the older FFs were ported to newer platforms. (Heck, a generic SNES-on-PS2 emulator would be very cool.) I've never played FF7 but hear a lot about it. This could open a lot of past-their-prime games to a wider audience, much like the Atari classics movement.

Re:final fantasy ports

[the unbeliever]

erm.

most of them *have been*

Final Fantasy Origins = FF1 on the PSX
Final Fantasy Chronicles (FF4 (2 in the US) and Chrono Trigger)
Final Fantasy Anthology (FF5 and FF6 (3 in the US)

I own all three, gladly.

Re:final fantasy ports

[Neon Spiral Injector]

Exactly, every FF except the Japanese III is playable on the PS2. Most are PSone discs, but run fine. They are still being pressed today, so you shouldn't have much trouble finding them (online, most store don't get new PSone discs in anymore). Part I and II are actually the Wonder Swan Color remakes, which means the dialog is a better translation, the graphics are improved, and the music is quite a bit more resolute.

Times Have Changed

[Kobold Curry Chef]

Since the original FF designer (I believe his last name is Sakaguchi) left Square a couple years ago, things have definitely changed in the FF world. Now we're getting sequels (FF-X, this new one), MMORPG versions, cell phone games...all things that never happened with the original designer running things. Was he holding back the franchise, or was he being smart by not letting things go hog wild?

Release date

[StevenHenderson]

From TFA:

While Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII is slated for release on the PlayStation 2 in 2005, Square Enix lists the game's genre as "undetermined," which suggests that the game is still in the early stages of development.

If it is early in development, NO WAY it will see a release in 2005. FFXII is has been delayed until 2005 in Japan and even later here, so I doubt they will overlap the releases, and I have a tough time believing they will have the resources to devote to the game to get it out by then. They royally screwed up the sequel to FFX, so let's hope they get this one right...

Hrm interesting

[qazew82]

I'm not complaining about another FF game, but I'm starting to wonder something -- tell me what you think.

They talked about Advent Children coming out as a movie instead of a game, but now they have a game starting development. You think they decided to start the game development up because of the positive response from Advent Children? Or do you think that they are really just being that cool and pleasing us.

eor

The 'Final' in 'Final Fantasy"

[maiku]

I always wondered about the 'Final' thing. Thanks Wikipedia!

"The series' name comes from Square's brush with bankruptcy, and is an excellent example of gallows humor. Head designer Hironobu Sakaguchi decided to make the company's last project a fantasy role-playing game, as the name of Final Fantasy implies. The game's success brought the company to profitability, and the Final Fantasy video game franchise was born."

Re:If it's going to have the girls from the FF ser

[Dehumanizer]

Who plays ANY game wearing pants? :)