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Square Enix announces PAL date for Ring of Fates
by Chris Greenhough 
{ Jan 17th 2008 at 3:00PM }
Last week, we clambered onto our soapboxes to rant about the ridonkulous delay between the U.S. and European release of Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker. "No more, Square Enix!" we cried, shaking our fists and jabbing our rusty pitchforks skywards. "No more neglecting Europe!"Despite the fact that we did this while at our desk in another country with nobody else in the room, Square Enix seems to have listened. The company just announced a PAL date for Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates, and it's not in 2013 or anything. It's on March 21st THIS YEAR, just ten days after the U.S. release. Square Enix had promised a spring release for PAL gamers all along, but we had no idea whether it would hold, much less that it would be so close to the North American release. Oh, happy days!
[Via press release]
TGS07: Joystiq chronicles some crystals
by JC Fletcher { Oct 1st 2007 at 11:30AM }
Even though the game is already out in Japan, Square Enix was happy to show off Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates at this year's TGS. Joystiq's TGS contingent happened upon the game and engaged in a multiplayer session with Square Enix booth staff, for our edification, and found the experience "very shallow".The game hews closely to the Gamecube original, without the restrictive hardware requirements, of course, Your team picks character classes and explores a dungeon together, finding magic in the form of powerup items along the way. The magic is equippable from a menu on the touchscreen. Players have the ability to "boost" each other in order to make difficult jumps, which sounds fun, but could lead to split parties very easily (how does the last guy get up?)
What the Joystiq team saw as "shallow," we see as "intriguing." They decry the lack of anything to do other than defeat wave after wave of enemies, but that sounds quite like bliss to us, especially when the movement is "quite free" as described. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles sounds like it might be unexpectedly action-oriented.
DS releases for the week of August 20th
by Alisha Karabinus { Aug 20th 2007 at 3:40PM }
At last, it's Brain Age 2 time. Who's picking up the bundle? Inquiring fan-minds want to know (and can we touch it? for a dollar?). Of course, that's not all that's available this week, but it's certainly the most well-known title. Anything else tickle your particular fancy?- Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day
- I SPY Fun House
- Operation: Vietnam
- The Settlers
- Turn It Around
FFCC: Ring of Fates media, constipated face
by Eric Caoili { Aug 14th 2007 at 1:10PM }
Square Enix's much anticipated -- at least on our end -- cooperative ARPG hits Japanese stores next week, half a year before we see it here in North America. New commercials advertising Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates have already started to air, featuring music from Japanese pop star Aiko Yanai. Aiko even appears in one of the TV spots, making some strange faces while playing the game in her dressing room with several friends. We usually doubt the authenticity of these scenes of celebrities enjoying the products they're paid to push, but ever since we saw Utada Hikaru demolishing opponents in Tetris DS, we've been a lot more open-minded about the phenomenon.
As usual, we've got the commercials embedded past the jump, but if you've got an acute fear of Japanese women with strained expressions and would rather avoid Aiko's grimace, you can check out the Ring of Fates screenshots that Famitsu posted at its website instead.
Massive Ring of Fates trailer, miserable WiFi feature
by Eric Caoili { Jul 27th 2007 at 11:30AM }
Square Enix's newest Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates trailer is packed with nearly six minutes of boisterous combat scenes, dungeon-roaming recklessness, and much more! The clips that show everyone working together to put out a spreading fire with water barrels are definitely our favorite parts; it makes our hearts ache knowing that we'll never find more than one other person to play with, if even that many, when the game finally comes to North American next spring. The brief preview of the cooperative ARPG's online component is nothing to get excited about -- players can trade their painted and personalized moogles. Yep, Square Enix actually managed to come up with something worse than MogNet.
Being able to customize your character's appearance (ninjas!), though, as you can see from the screen grab above, is the dog's bollocks. The extended movie also demonstrates that you'll be able to flip the action from the top window onto the bottom screen, using your stylus to direct spells and ranged weapons. Jump past the post break for the embedded video.
Fresh Ring of Fates screens
by David Hinkle { Jul 25th 2007 at 11:40AM }
[Via Go Nintendo]
New Crystal Chronicles screens just make the wait seem longer
by Alisha Karabinus { Jul 10th 2007 at 2:01PM }
Next spring is starting to feel so far away, especially since we've seen so much media on Ring of Fates already. It's starting to feel as though we can cobble everything together and just pretend we have the full game ... and we're not sure if that makes the waiting easier or harder. But we'll take what we can get and pretend to be happy. Just ignore our twiddling thumbs.
Famitsu has a new set of screenshots up, complete with a few details on the battle system -- racial factors contributing to attacks -- and all we can say is that it's a good thing we've got another Square Enix RPG coming to tide us over.
[Via 4cr]
Square Enix release dates: RoF due next spring?!
by Eric Caoili { Jul 9th 2007 at 12:20PM }
Square Enix spent the morning revealing its lineup of "fresh new faces and timeless classics" that the company plans to exhibit this week at E3, attaching US release dates to its upcoming titles:- Heroes of Mana - August 14
- Front Mission - October 23
- Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker - November 6
- Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings - November 20
- Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates - Spring 2008
[Via NeoGAF]
Square Enix in your pocket: DS edition
by Ross Miller { Jul 5th 2007 at 8:00AM }
Of the eight titles, we've got 4 Final Fantasy games, 3 strategy games, 2 remakes, and one surefire Japanese phenomenon by way of Dragon Quest IX. Have a look at the publisher's upcoming selection after the break.
New Ring of Fates video: Jumpin' Yuke Flash
by Eric Caoili { Jul 1st 2007 at 1:30PM }
Square Enix is keeping up its media push for Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates with yet another video, adding onto its bombardment of scans and screenshots to draw in anyone who hasn't already decided to pick up the game's special-edition DS Lite bundle.
This week's clip features Alhanarlem, one of the main characters from the ARPG's spellcasting tribe of Yukes, leaping from platform to platform in what looks like a competitive minigame in which players race through a stage to find a hidden blue switch. Power-ups are scattered around the field, but their effects aren't revealed until they're grabbed. Vault past the post break for the embedded movie.
DS Daily: Two limited editions enter ...
by Alisha Karabinus { Jun 23rd 2007 at 10:00AM }
Ring of Fates vs. Revenant Wings. There can be only one!
Oh, we can talk about the games, too. If you want.
Oh, we can talk about the games, too. If you want.
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates DS Lite
by JC Fletcher { Jun 22nd 2007 at 2:00PM }
This time, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates gets the special-edition treatment on a Crystal White DS Lite. For Japan, obviously. We like the pseudo-stained-glass look, which can be found in full color on the box. This new DS variant is great news for people who were holding out on a DS purchase until the Japanese Ring of Fates came out. It's probably a little irritating for Square Enix fans who already have a plain DS.
New Ring of Fates video: The whole is greater than the sum of its parts
by Eric Caoili { Jun 17th 2007 at 12:00PM }
We've been clamoring for a proper follow-up to the Seiken Densetsu series for over a decade now, and by the looks of the Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates videos we've seen so far, we might finally be getting one. The first Crystal Chronicles entry on the GameCube was by no means disappointing, at least in our opinion, but hardware and link cable requirements made getting a group together much harder than we would've liked. Its handheld sequel seems free of those problems without losing that multiplayer ARPG's cooperative fun. Square Enix's latest Ring of Fates clip demonstrates the teamwork involved in getting through the game's dungeon puzzles. Carrying around a huge block of wood can be difficult if someone isn't knocking back the enemies coming at you! Bring your crew past the post break for the short movie.
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates new scans and trailer
by John Bardinelli { May 28th 2007 at 1:28PM }
Square-Enix has uncorked the bottle and released new images and information from the upcoming DS title Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates. The latest scans come from Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu (of course) and show some gorgeous in-game scenes along with concept art sprinkled throughout. Watch the trailer after the jump, then check out all three scans on our sister site DS Fanboy.[Via DS Fanboy]
Ring of Fates updates just keep coming
by Alisha Karabinus { May 28th 2007 at 10:00AM }
What did we do to deserve all this recent news on Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates? Whatever it was, we should do it again ... a lot ... and with pretty much every other game ever. Square Enix has not been at all shy lately when it comes to Ring of Fates, and we're getting more and more interested in the story of fraternal twins Yuri and Cherinka. Now we're just hoping we can wrestle people into playing with us.The latest Famitsu was packed with Ring of Fates tidbits -- see for yourself after the jump!
