SquareEnix's Been Busy Today

[Lightning Flik 0]

Square Enix has revealed information on two new Kingdom Hearts titles, as well as a new Final Fantasy movie that will be set in familiar surroundings.

 

The first Kingdom Hearts title is none other than Kingdom Hearts 2, which has been reported to be in development for some time now. No release date has been set yet, but no doubt we'll find out more about this sequel when the Tokyo Game Show opens its doors this week. The other Kingdom Hearts title is the big surprise, however; titled Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, it will see release on the Game Boy Advance. Like its PlayStation 2 big brother though, nothing else is known about the title, save for what will be revealed to the press at the Tokyo Game show.

 

Rumors of a Final Fantasy VII sequel can finally be put to rest, but the outcome is not quite what gamers would have expected. Instead of being a playable title, the sequel, subtitled Advent Children, will be released as a DVD movie. This epilogue will take us back to the world of Final Fantasy VII to find out what has happened to Cloud and his cohorts two years after saving the planet from Sephiroth and Meteor. Needless to say, countless thousands of fan fictions will be rendered obsolete with this movie. A release is scheduled to take place sometime next year.

 

For now, screenshots of the above titles can be found here.

 

YES! Kingdom Hearts 2 IS on it's way. But we also have a game called Kingdom Hearts: Chained Memories for the GBA. What could this game possibly have to do with Kingdom Hearts? Only time will tell.

 

Then we've got a movie about two years later for Cloud and the gang. Finally, we'll know more about the world of FFVII and what happens. But I get the sneaky suspicion that there's something more to this as remember the LAST time SquareEnix brought out a movie for one of it's games? Then again, this IS a movie (it's two hours long) so you never know.

 

DISCUSS~!

[Invictus 0]

I'm excited about the film, because they've already improved upon their cg techniques from the last film and I love the stuff, should be a treat. Kingdom Hearts 2 will be okay if they fix a lot of the niggling problems it had from the first game.

 

Personally, I think it's sad that they are doing a couple sequels to such a gimmicky title and then we still have no news on Chrono Break ( I think it's called) or an incarnation of Chrono Trigger for GBA.

[Lightning Flik 0]

Actually, no one knows if at TGS, if it'll be KH2 or not.

 

Rumor is, it's the next Chrono game.

[Guest hhheld_down]

*MARKS OUT LIKE A LITTLE SCHOOL GIRL JUST GETTING A NEW BARBIE*

 

 

 

sorry.. i think this is pretty awesome news. I love the idea of an FFVII movie to explain just what the hell happend. Should of done that instead of the first movie they put out. (I liked the first one but it was nothin special). And I loved Kingdom Hearts even though I was one of many that thought it was going to suck, and the game would bomb (fuck was I wrong). This is fuckin great, no matter what anyone says.

[AndrewTS 0]

Final Fantasy VII- D2V (Direct to Video): HA!!

 

Kingdom Hearts is good, though.

[Renegade 0]

Two KH games?

 

*faints*

[Jobber of the Week 0]

The game is over. Done. Finished in 1997.

 

Let it be.

 

 

This FF7 thing is going to be uglier than an nWo reunion.

[Renegade 0]

pics:

 

 

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

The game is over. Done. Finished in 1997.

 

Let it be.

 

 

This FF7 thing is going to be uglier than an nWo reunion.

Especially since it wouldn't make sense. Everybody except for Red XIII died at the end of the game.

[AndrewTS 0]

The game is over. Done. Finished in 1997.

 

Let it be.

 

 

This FF7 thing is going to be uglier than an nWo reunion.

Especially since it wouldn't make sense. Everybody except for Red XIII died at the end of the game.

That's what revisionist history is for.

[Jobber of the Week 0]

Especially since it wouldn't make sense.  Everybody except for Red XIII died at the end of the game.

Everybody but Red XIII was dead after hundreds of years, actually.

 

Doesn't make this any less stupid though. There is a creative bankruptcy over at Square, and their answer is to market specifically to the guy with all the action figures and the 12 foot "Sephiroth walking through fire" poster on his bedroom wall.

 

Hey, it'll keep them afloat for 5 years, but I doubt much longer than that.

[AndrewTS 0]

Doesn't make this any less stupid though. There is a creative bankruptcy over at Square, and their answer is to market specifically to the guy with all the action figures and the 12 foot "Sephiroth walking through fire" poster on his bedroom wall.

 

You forgot the fangirls who mark over angsty bishonen. They market mainly to those.

[LaParkaYourCar 0]

Okay it never said or showed you that everyone died in the end of FF VII that's just something that people have gathered. The ending was left up to interpretation. From what I gathered Midgar was destroyed in the process by meteor and Holy. Not all of mankind just Midgar because it was the center of what was killing the planet.

 

They showed Red XIII like 500 years later so yeah the other characters would be dead at that point.

Edited September 25, 2003 by LaParkaYourCar

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

YES!!!!!!!!

[Jobber of the Week 0]

You forgot the fangirls who mark over angsty bishonen. They market mainly to those.

I don't know what bishonen means but whatever.

 

They generally don't have a lot of money, living in their parents basement and all that. But there are a huge number of college-age guys and stuff who have jobs but who's interests consist of video games and Japanese cartoons which are meant for children over in that country. I've seen enough of them.

 

Square is quickly becoming to RPGs what ClearChannel is to music. Could someone please make an RPG that's more complex than "watch movie, push X button" AND give it enough marketing so more than 5 people see it?

[Guest Sakura]

There's nothing wrong with trying to appeal to girls that like angsty bishonen. Game developers design characters with male fans in mind ALL THE TIME. Besides, more than girls like the FF character designs.

 

 

This will be the best movie ever!

 

 

And yeah, the FF VII ending didn't show anything. I always thought humanity survived, thanks to the Lifestream and Aeris. Happy ending!

[Lightning Flik 0]

Could someone please make an RPG that's more complex than "watch movie, push X button" AND give it enough marketing so more than 5 people see it?

Ah but you see the video gaming industry as a whole is in this mode of, video games are too difficult. So complexicity is getting tossed out the window.

 

Oh and here's a little propoganda for you... Quite interesting if you check it out Sora. He's got lighter hair color in KH2.

 

And if you'll notice the guy in the first picture near the Unknowns (he's in the second propoganda mostly) is clearly the guy (I'm assuming) who's in that secret ending to KH. So he's looking for Sora and I'm assuming he's probably the person whom is leading the game (he stars in it because he's apart of this or something). As why have him hidden throughout?

 

Just check it out here. Compliments of RPGAMER.COM~!

 

Edit: links died. Dammit.

Edited September 26, 2003 by Lightning Flik

[AndrewTS 0]

This will be the best movie ever!

 

I don't think I need to even attempt to attack the credibility of this statement. Yeah, just like The Spirits Within.

 

And yeah, the FF VII ending didn't show anything. I always thought humanity survived, thanks to the Lifestream and Aeris. Happy ending!

 

I thought the ending was that humanity was wiped out because it was the real danger to the planet (not that a giant meteor wasn't a danger...). Goodbye all people, they're all reincarnated as dumb fuzzy animals blah blah.

 

I don't know what bishonen means but whatever.

 

Skinny, feminine/effeminate, whiny, girly-men usually with long hair in unnatural styles or colors. Basically, stick a pair of boobs of them and they could pass for a hot girl.

 

I admit I actually like Ayami Kojima's character designs, even though she draws the modern Castlevania heroes that way.

 

There's nothing wrong with trying to appeal to girls that like angsty bishonen.

 

Not at all, provided the game doesn't suck and said bishonen don't piss a sizable amount of the players off.

 

For example, Konami did everything they possibly could have done wrong with Raiden in MGS2.

 

1. Replaced the badass original main character and tricked the players into getting the game and only getting to play as Snake for a half hour or so.

 

2. Made the replacement extremely annoying and wussy looking.

 

3. Gave said replacement a whiny bitch of a girlfriend to piss them off constantly.

 

4. Had the balls to not only leave him alive for the rest of the game, but attempt to segue into a game featuring him as the starring hero.

 

5. Even less gametime was spent on play than in MGS1, and even more cinemas were used. Yech.

 

I wonder just how far into development Metal Gear Raiden got...

[Guest Sakura]

I thought the ending was that humanity was wiped out because it was the real danger to the planet (not that a giant meteor wasn't a danger...). Goodbye all people, they're all reincarnated as dumb fuzzy animals blah blah.

 

 

Bugenhagan brings up the possibility that Holy could choose to kill humanity. When the time comes it looks as though that may be the case, as it doesn't stop Meteor from destroying Midgar, either because it wanted people to die or maybe just because it was too late. Right before the end the Lifestream comes out of the Earth and begins to head for Holy/Meteor. It all comes together around it and then it fades to a shot of Aeris and then rolls the credits. You don't know what happens for sure.

 

 

I thought Raiden was cool. Well, not so much him(though he didn't bother me) but Snake working with a rookie was cool.

 

 

Square should make a game specifically in mind for girls(or guys that like that stuff). They could load it up with lots of bishonen heroes and villains, hours of CG cutscenes, a female lead who actually wears appropriate clothes, tons of melodrama and teen angst. So basically a mix of FF VIII and FF X-2...

[chaosrage 0]

Okay it never said or showed you that everyone died in the end of FF VII that's just something that people have gathered.  The ending was left up to interpretation.  From what I gathered Midgar was destroyed in the process by meteor and Holy.  Not all of mankind just Midgar because it was the center of what was killing the planet.

 

They showed Red XIII like 500 years later so yeah the other characters would be dead at that point.

The whole point to that scene was to show that people were wiped out. If not, then there would've been some people around. They were trying to say that the planet could only survive without the human race.

 

Bugenhagen hinted that it would happen. I remember him saying something like he wondered whether humans would be judged as bad or good by the planet. That was like the theme of the game, the whole extremely environmentalist message of... we're destroying the planet.

[Lil' Bitch 0]

Mickey in a hood = badass

[chaosrage 0]

Bah, why couldn't they have the movie about Red? They wouldn't have to change anything. Maybe Sephirath could be in it too since he was almost a God and all.

[Guest Sakura]

The whole point to that scene was to show that people were wiped out. If not, then there would've been some people around. They were trying to say that the planet could only survive without the human race.

 

Bugenhagen hinted that it would happen. I remember him saying something like he wondered whether humans would be judged as bad or good by the planet. That was like the theme of the game, the whole extremely environmentalist message of... we're destroying the planet.

The point of the last scene could have just been to show that nature had returned. The laughing children heard at the end was to show that humanity survived. The fact that there's no people seen in a 10 second shot of the ruins of Midgar doesn't prove or disprove anything.

 

Shinra and the reactors were destroying the planet and at the end Midgar and Shinra are in ruins, so that's taken care of. Did the rest of the humans deserve to die? It doesn't say for sure. Bugenhagen was talking about Holy deciding to kill everyone and Holy is not what ended up saving the day...

[AndrewTS 0]

I thought Raiden was cool. Well, not so much him(though he didn't bother me) but Snake working with a rookie was cool.

 

That much I agree with. If they had made a different character, it might be different.

 

Granted, any punk kid is going to look like a gigantic puss compared to the battle-scarred vet Snake. I wouldn't have even minded if Raiden were simply a bit of a pretty boy. However, as a rookie he would of course have to earn his stripes.

 

Yet, Raiden was too much. He looked like he was straight out of a Final Fantasy game, was too whiny and annoying, and screamed "we're abandoning Snake for some one with potentionally broader appeal." It was an extremely transparent attempt by H. Kojima, and I'm glad it blew up in his face.

 

However, apparently this is forcing them to rethink a true sequel, and in the meantime we're getting a prequel of sorts.

[Jingus 0]

I didn't mind Raiden too much. Yeah, I liked Snake better, but hell, everyone does. I wish they would've gone farther with some of the hints about Raiden's physical abilities, as they seemed to be implying at times that he was actually a better fighter than Snake ever was. Unfortunately, that plot thread just got dropped. Meanwhile, I think much better criticism could be levelled at MSG2's pretty weak cast of villains (Vamp? Fortune? Solidus? laaaaame), which were so much more post-anime/Matrix over-the-top than the badass baddies in the original.

 

As for the FFVII debate, well, you could argue that the game hints at humanity being killed off, but there's certainly no proof of it. All you see is Meteor destroying Midgar, then Holy starting to do something, and then poof, game over. And the whole thing with Red XIII doesn't prove that humanity is dead; in fact, it supports the theory that some of them survived. Think about it: Red was on the airship with the rest of the heroes when the apocalypse came. If the humans had all died, who the hell was left to pilot the ship all the way back to Midgar's continent for a safe landing? Red sure as hell couldn't work the controls with his paws.

[El Psycho Diablo 0]

Ah, hell. MGS3 is going to be so overhyped it isn't funny..

[chaosrage 0]

The whole point to that scene was to show that people were wiped out.  If not, then there would've been some people around.  They were trying to say that the planet could only survive without the human race. 

 

Bugenhagen hinted that it would happen.  I remember him saying something like he wondered whether humans would be judged as bad or good by the planet.  That was like the theme of the game, the whole extremely environmentalist message of... we're destroying the planet.

The point of the last scene could have just been to show that nature had returned. The laughing children heard at the end was to show that humanity survived. The fact that there's no people seen in a 10 second shot of the ruins of Midgar doesn't prove or disprove anything.

 

Shinra and the reactors were destroying the planet and at the end Midgar and Shinra are in ruins, so that's taken care of. Did the rest of the humans deserve to die? It doesn't say for sure. Bugenhagen was talking about Holy deciding to kill everyone and Holy is not what ended up saving the day...

Well, that's the thing though, it did return back to nature because the civilization was gone. Yeah, I forgot about the children crying, however the part where Bugenhagen tells you that the planet might wipe out humanity is a pretty important part of the game. Then in the ending, you see 500 years later and there's no people. Right, no one knows for sure, but I think it's easy to see what they wanted everybody to think.

 

I don't know anybody who thought the children laughing meant people lived. That's kinda stretching.

 

Bugenhagen was talking about Holy but it was the planet he said that would make the final decision. And it would be all the way, either good or bad. I guess that comes from the thinking that if they only took out Shinra, then another evil company would just come up again to "hurt the planet". According to the game, the planet would only do what was best for itself. Stupid selfish planet.

[Guest Sakura]

Children are laughing, not crying. How is it stretching it to think that means humanity is still around? What else would the sound of children laughing mean? That everybody's dead?

 

 

What Bugenhagen is talking about is Holy. Holy fails. Holy isn't what destroys meteor. The game doesn't just cut when Holy is activated. If Holy kills humanity what's the point of the Lifestream coming, seemingly lead by Aeris?

[Vyce 0]

I agree with the earlier poster who suggested that the ending of FFVII is left up to the player. I share Yuna's view, but I can see how the other belief is valid.

 

Skinny, feminine/effeminate, whiny, girly-men usually with long hair in unnatural styles or colors. Basically, stick a pair of boobs of them and they could pass for a hot girl.

 

This is perhaps the best description of bisho that has ever been written, or ever will be.

[chaosrage 0]

Children are laughing, not crying. How is it stretching it to think that means humanity is still around? What else would the sound of children laughing mean? That everybody's dead?

 

Because you don't know what it means. It could mean anything. All you know for sure is that they weren't any people around in the end.

 

It could mean they're in the lifestream, or it could be the planet's memories, who knows?

 

What Bugenhagen is talking about is Holy. Holy fails. Holy isn't what destroys meteor. The game doesn't just cut when Holy is activated. If Holy kills humanity what's the point of the Lifestream coming, seemingly lead by Aeris?

 

Lifestream saved the planet from the meteor. Holy took out the people.