Update: A trailer and two gameplay videos taken from the stream have been added to the bottom of the post.

The wait is over! We finally have details on the next Dragon Quest game and things have certainly gone an interesting direction. It’s titled Dragon Quest X Mezameshi Itsutsu no Shuzoku Online which already seems to have translations ranging from Andriasang’s The Five Awakening Races to 1up’s Rise of the Five Tribes.

The important word, though, is “online”. Dragon Quest X will evolve the ideas established in the previous game by allowing you to play with a customized character teamed up with several friends online. This includes cross-platform multiplayer between players on both the Wii and the freshly announced Wii U version. In addition to this, there will also be some kind of 3DS connectivity which seems to be in the brainstorming phase.

(more…)

Final Fantasy XIII was a highly divisive game when it released last year. I found myself enjoying its finer points, but also finding fault in some of its design leading me to write a rather mixed review. With a sequel on the way, the opportunity for a more consistent experience has been opened.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 takes place three years after the first. Lightning has disappeared and Serah (her previously unplayable little sister) is out to find her with the help of a new character named Noel. The demo wasn’t heavy on exposition, but there was enough talk of “points in time” and “anomalies between dimensions” to pique my interest.

(more…)

Sure, Square-Enix might be concentrating its North American focus on Final Fantasy XIII-2, but Japan will soon get a far more interesting looking game in the series. Final Fantasy Type-0 is a fast paced action RPG and is part of the same Fabula Nova Crystallis mythology. While it may not be confirmed to come overseas, a Japanese demo has been released that will work just fine if your firmware is up to date.

Having played through the demo myself, I left quite impressed. The large number of characters you can play as with their varying weapons and abilities have a nice sense of variety. And each of the demo’s levels have a lot going on, some even involving multiple miniboss monsters. I’ve pieced together some highlights from each demo stage below for your viewing pleasure. (more…)

Thinking of picking up the Augmented Edition of Deus Ex: Human Revolution on the PlayStation 3? Here’s a fun fact I found out the hard way so you don’t have to! The bonus “DVD” that’s included, despite having “DVD” printed on the disc itself (and the back of the box), is actually a Blu-ray disc.

“But my PS3 is a Blu-ray player! What’s the big deal?” you might ask. Well, gentle reader, you may be annoyed to find out that while you can access the videos included using your PS3, the soundtrack will not work. You can attempt to select it from your PS3, but it will promptly tell you to put the Blu-ray disc in your computer to retrieve the files.

Like many people out there, my computer has no Blu-ray drive. Considering I personally only went with the Augmented Edition for the soundtrack which is currently inaccessible to me on a Blu-ray disc with “DVD” printed on it, I’m a bit annoyed to put it nicely.

I’m sure in time we will all have Blu-ray drives, or perhaps even Green-ray drives, installed right into our heads that will allow us to download soundtracks right into our brains, but until that time you better have one in your computer or it’s no soundtracks for you!

Update: The support forum thread on EidosGames.com is full of people having this same issue

Not satisfied with only a single NieR arrange album, Square-Enix has put together another titled NieR Tribute Album -echo-. Who can blame them? Afterall, I gave NieR the number one spot in my 2010 soundtrack roundup.

The album will feature 12 tracks arranged by a variety of artists. While many of the names may seem unfamiliar, you might recognize Sexy-Synthesizer who just had 3 tracks confirmed for the upcoming SQ Chips album we reported on earlier.

NieR Tribute Album -echo- is set to release on September 14th for 2,100 yen (roughly $26.75)

Source: Square-Enix Buy the Album: Amazon, Play-Asia, Square-Enix eStore

Following in the footsteps of albums like Chip Tuned Rockman, Square Enix is taking some of its beloved music from the post-8bit era and rearranging it into new chiptune remixes for its latest album SQ Chips.

Love SQ (the first album in the series) has already shown us how great 8bit remixes of Chrono Trigger can be thanks to the talents of Sexy Synthesizer. And while we don’t know which artists are contributing to SQ Chips, we do know most of the games it will feature. Aside from more Chrono Trigger, expect to hear music from Secret of Mana and its Japan-only sequel Seiken Densetsu 3, Einhänder, Threads of Fate, Brave Fencer Musashi, Saga 2 and Unlimited Saga, Project Sylpheed and of course, the Final Fantasy series.

SQ Chips will available on September 7th for ¥1890 (approximately $23.50) from Amazon Japan, the Sony Music Shop and the Square Enix eStore. Until then, you can check out a sample by listening to the background music on the official site.

Source: Square Enix (via GamePro)

Of all the games I checked out at E3, perhaps of all the games I’ve played ever, Heroes of Ruin by far wins the award for having the worst name. It just sounds dumb, and I can’t really wrap my head around what it’s supposed to mean. Nevertheless, I’d taken an early interest in the game upon learning about its focus on multiplayer cooperative adventuring. If the only real bad thing I can say about the game is that its name sucks, that’s not such a big deal after all.

(more…)

Poor Square-Enix music collector. Try as you might, you’ll never be able to keep up with all the soundtracks and remix albums raining down on you. Today is no exception as SE unleashes More SQ on us.

More SQ is the third album in the SQ series of remix albums following Love SQ and the more downtempo Chill SQ. The new album doesn’t stick to any genre in particular and features a completely different artist for each of its 13 tracks.

Interestingly enough, More SQ doesn’t stick to one era either. Featuring remixes from various Final Fantasy games, Chrono Trigger, and even Nier (aka 2010 Soundtrack of the Year), there’s a lot to love in SE’s latest. (more…)

On a very special one-hundred-and-second episode of ‘Barrel Roll! A Video Game Podcast’, Jonah is still here with no babies to show us at all. Is he making the whole thing up? How long can he keep up this charade? You’ll have to listen to find out!

Oh, and I guess we also talk about video games. Square-Enix released a whole bunch of Final Fantasy stuff and Nintendo dropped a metric crap-ton of Nintendo 3DS details. Also, Wes returns with his take on Little Big Planet 2 and The Last Express, Jesse writes about himself in the third person while playing more Monster Hunter Portable 3rd and Dragon Quest IX, Jonah tries to convince us he’s having a baby while playing Assassin’s Creed and Mass Effect 2, and Adam… well… he just listens.

All this and more on our fantastical podtacular showstravaganza.

Download

RSS

iTunes (Subscribe and Rate the show!)

"How does it hold up to the hype?"

Final Fantasy XIII has been a long time coming. To give you a little perspective, the game started its initial development on the PS2. Here we are in 2010, about three and a half years into the PS3′s lifespan, and the game has finally dropped. With teaser videos shown as early as they were, the game has been anticipated for so long that its release onto store shelves seems almost awkward.

The first thing you’ll notice upon booting up FFXIII is that it is an extremely pretty game. While some argue that there are more technically impressive looking games (have gamers really become this joyless?), FFXIII stands above most thanks to its superb art direction. Every enemy, character, and environment looks beautiful. Colors are vibrant, designs are ornate, and everything is a real treat to look at.

(more…)