RandomNPC – Video Game RPG Reviews, Editorials, and Features

Coming straight from Final Fantasy XIV‘s Twitter feed is the announcement that the beta will open up to the public starting Wednesday, September 1 at 2:00 GMT. As a reminder, the full game will be available September 30 for the PC, with the PS3 version expected early in March.

Does more need to be said? Go on, go check it out. And if you happen to see an axe-wielding Miqo’te and her stalwart Hyuran manservant running around, by all means, stop and say howdy.

Is it the shoes? Yes, it is, now that Square Enix has announced three perks for players who subscribe to both Final Fantasy XI and XIV. The first perk is a discount for Final Fantasy XI that reduces the basic monthly fee from $12.95 to $7.00. The second perk gives every newly-created character in Final Fantasy XIV a pair of Hermes Shoes, special footwear that increase movement speed. The third perk lets players transfer their character names from Final Fantasy XI to XIV.

You can find all the details at the official site.

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Square Enix announced today that the PC version of Final Fantasy XIV will be available September 30 in both standard and Collector’s Edition bundles.  Standard will retail at $49.99, Collector’s at $74.99; the CE bundle includes various goodies – a unique in-game Onion Helm, behind-the-scenes DVD, security token, a friend invitation (Buddy Pass), and a notebook featuring concept art from the game, among other items – but most notably an eight-day early access over the standard version.  Standard subscription rates apply at $12.99/month following the free 30-day trial period.  The PS3 release is scheduled for early March, 2011, but no exact date has been set.

Additionally, the system requirements were listed alongside the release date: Continue reading ‘Final Fantasy XIV PC Release Date, Details Revealed’ »

One of the understated bits of E3 news was the announcement of an iPhone port for Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions, the PSP re-release of the original Tactics. Square Enix has just announced that the title will be available via the App Store on September 15, though no price has been set.

Source: 1UP

Final Fantasy XIV‘s director, Hiromichi Tanaka, has stated that the upcoming MMORPG will not be released on the 360. He singled out the Xbox Live service, claiming the “closed” nature of Live limited multiplatform development in sync with the PC and PS3 versions. Although it’s unclear whether talks are ongoing, Tanaka did say that they “couldn’t come to an agreement on Xbox Live.”

Considering Final Fantasy XI eventually shipped to the 360, and that XIV is still in beta testing, it’s impossible to say whether this will remain the case.

Source: Eurogamer

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Square Enix’s support of the iPhone continues unabated, as the company announces the release of two classic games for the App Store. The first, Final Fantasy Tactics, is actually a release of the updated PSP version, and has a projected release date of September 15th. The second is Secret of Mana, the classic multiplayer Super NES title, which unfortunately has no release date as of yet.

THQ doesn’t publish RPGs. Thus, I can accept this XBox 360 I just won at their booth with no question to my jounalistic integrity. Here’s a super-cute Final Fantasy game. Continue reading ‘E3 Impressions – Final Fantasy: 4 Warriors of Light’ »

Square Enix has launched a website listing their titles to be on display at E3 this year. Of particular note: Final Fantasy XIV, The Third Birthday, Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, Kingdom Hearts: Recoded, Final Fantasy: The Four Heroes of Light, Front Mission Evolved, Dungeon Siege 3, and Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

Further details and further titles can found at the site, located here.

Square Enix unveiled the official North American website for Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light along with its North American release date of October 5. For now, the site is just a simple page with artwork and some screenshots, but a full site is coming soon.

More information about Final Fantasy XIV‘s world has been revealed through the official website.  Of particular note are new details about the city-state of Limsa-Lominsa with sections detailing how grounded ships became major landmarks and improvised centers of government.  Guild information for the city has also been added, covering pursuits from the culinary to the criminal.  Lastly, a world map is now available, appropriately enough, under the “World” section.

Still waiting on the ability to feed a moogle some kupo nuts, Square-Enix.  Just throwing that out there.

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The official Final Fantasy XIV website has just been updated with more detailed descriptions and sample character assets for the five races. Additionally, information about racial clan options is now available; each race is subdivided into two clans depending on regional origin. Continue reading ‘Final Fantasy XIV Races, Clans Detailed’ »

Confirmed via their Members Twitter feed, Square Enix has just announced that Final Fantasy IX will be released on the Playstation Network, though a date was not specified. In the same vein, a PR email courtesy of Nintendo confirmed that Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber is now available on the Virtual Console.

Since its announcement in 2006, fans of the series have eagerly anticipated Final Fantasy XIII. It was arguably one of the biggest stories to come out of E3 that year, and considering all of the announcements that year, that’s saying something.  And then in 2008, Microsoft finally dropped the bombshell that people had been expecting for years; Final Fantasy XIII was coming to PS3 and 360.  The net result has been four years of almost nonstop hype, which made the wait for the game all the longer.  So now, the question remains; was it worth the wait?  I can say without a shadow of a doubt, that it was. Continue reading ‘Final Fantasy XIII – Staff Review’ »

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