Tetsuya Nomura, director of the Fabula Nova Crystallis project, Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days and Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, recently suggested that the FFXIII demo could be released separately after first shipping with AC Complete (he also wondered “When we’ll be able to sleep” before being silenced by a voice known only as “The Mouse”).

Granted the size of the demo makes it impossible to include on the Playstation Network, but paying for a demo? Not really something new, according to some poor souls, but definitely so for Square-Enix.

Final Fantasy XIII is set in the realm of the conflicting worlds Cocoon, a floating mechanized city of crystals in the sky, and Pulse, a more naturalistic world stocked with considerably less shiny resources. The Farsi are the creators of Cocoon while the Lusi are agents who carry out their orders. Lightning (not her real name) is a Lusi and has been chosen as, “the enemy of humanity who will bring about the downfall of the world” by the crystals. Surprise, surprise, as her blonde, bandana-wearing comrade may also be a Lusi. Not much has been revealed, aside from the summons Ifrit and Carbuncle; as of now, it’s still being speculated if they transform into vehicles like initially revealed Shiva (capable of becoming a motorcycle).

The game will focus heavily on action, but what’s even more telling is that the third game in the Fabula Nova project, Final Fantasy Agito XIII for the PSP, will release after both FFXIII and FF Versus XIII. Either this means we’ll be getting Agito XIII much later than initially thought or Versus XIII will be arriving much sooner.

One thing is for sure though: Square-Enix is looking to make this project the pinnacle of this decade’s portfolio. Previous Final Fantasy games haven’t been even half the grand premieres that FFXIII is shaping up to become.

However, the question still remains: Will you pick up the FFXIII demo for the price of a full game?

Time will tell just how far the company’s profit-garnering hole can go. Meanwhile, we’ll get back to wrestling with the absurd number of thirteens SE has made us keep track of lately.

However, the shining spot of the event came when Square-Enix announced the first ever Final Fantasy XIII demo to be shipped with Blu-Ray disc of the CG flick Advent Children Complete for the PS3 later this year. Though according to Japan-based Famitsu Magazine, which recently published a special report on DKS3713, this sneak peek of the company’s next magnum opus is looking more and more like a big-budget private screening — bigger, better and lasting more than 90 minutes. Yes, you heard right: The FFXIII demo will be even longer than Advent Children. Of course, that still leaves the question of how much is actually gameplay and how much is just pre-rendered CG cut-scenes.

The demo will ship on a separate Blu-Ray disc altogether. As most Sony discs avoid region encoding protection, those looking to import the disc and dive in quickly (brush up on your Japanese while you’re at it) will be in luck. What are the chances of Playstation Magazine picking up this baby and offering it free in the future along with their magazine? Not so much perhaps, but hey, hoping is something that Final Fantasy fans are famous for.

As gamers all around the world waited with bated breath, Square-Enix has finally released their big announcement. A Final Fantasy XIII demo will be officially released with FFVII: Advent Children Complete on Blu-ray in Japan. The chances of such a demo being ported state-side is very high but not as high as the disappointment that fans are about to feel. The “big FFVII-related announcement”? Read the above few lines again. Yes, that’s right, and now that the event is officially over, we would now like to say with full confidence what was said nearly a month ago: There is no Final Fantasy VII remake or sequel or anything remotely continuing the mythos present in epic saga. Nope, zip, nada.

Square-Enix kicked the hype machine into overdrive for this private party, and despite the disappointment, the remaining titles announced look pretty sizzling. Parasite Eve 3 aka The 3rd Birthday will also be coming to the PSP next year. Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep and 358/2 days were available for play, and according to those able to play the latter, such as 1up.com’s Jeff Haynes, Square-Enix will finally let you go head-up alongside friends in multi-player, with different players choosing different characters from Organization XIII. Final Fantasy XIII has been confirmed for release in 2009, but Xbox 360 fans will have to wait longer as Square-Enix has stated that development for the 360 version has not yet begun. Intriguingly, Final Fantasy Versus XIII gameplay footage was available to the audience, but as of yet, no impressions have been offered.

Many rumours floated about, some stating that DKS3713 translated to Remake 7. However, the anagram was merely a contraction of D — Dissidia, K — Kingdom Hearts, S — Sigma Harmonic, 3 — The 3rd Birthday, 7 — FFVII ACC and 13 — FF XIII and FF Versus XIII, all the franchises on display, thus forming DKS3713.

It never seemed possible that Square-Enix would ever seriously consider revisiting or remaking FFVII with the number of AAA-list releases planned. Though hope was kept alive, this event proves once and for all that hopes for a next-gen Final Fantasy VII will remain just that: hopes, and maybe a few currently shattered ones to boot.

Just recently, we’ve had more blockbuster Final Fantasy-related news from the head honchos of Square-Enix. The rumour mill has been working overtime, but as with most recent snippets of information revealed by companies (I still haven’t forgiven Blizzard. Diablo 3 has me drooling, but the torture of waiting!) this one is highly unenlightening too.

The company annouced that, in their oddly titled DKS3713 private party after E3, they will make a major “Final Fantasy VII” announcement. Is it a remake of the legendary RPG, which some people bought into because of the pretty pre-rendered cut-scenes used as promotion material? Is it a sequel to Dirge of Cerberus, the broken and lampooned sequel to Advent Children, the cinematic CG extravaganza that threw away any semblance of a plot in the second half in favour of “Cloud Saves the Day… Somehow”? Or is it a Crisis Core-like prequel to FF7 that occurs after the former but before the latter (Devil May Cry could use a friend in the “prequel-sequel” department)?

Given that most people hope for the first option, let’s dispense with the pleasantries: Why would there be a Final Fantasy VII remake from Squaresoft at this crucial juncture for the company?

Okay, yes. I admit it. Just a simple graphical update to the game would be a win-win solution for Square-Enix. And these are the same people who decided to completely overhaul Final Fantasy IV for the DS, so there’s no fear the company will simply provide a new graphical shell alone. We’ll see some gameplay updates, new features, voice-acting maybe. Those who didn’t play the game but buy into the fact that it was a stellar title will no doubt go for this. New audience satisfied. Old audience satisfied. Recover that investment on Spirits Within?

When it was still known as Square-soft, the announcement came as far back as 2001 that we’d be seeing a remake of the game on the PS2.

Seven years, and one PS3 “tech demo” later, and we even haven’t gotten Duke Nukem Forever, forget FFVII Redux. Why does Square-Enix now feel the need for it? To build hype. Why would they possibly want to create such immense hype?

So they could do the same thing they’ve always done: Attract enough attention so that when the actual title, which is usually an off-shoot of the main game as history has proved, is announced enough publicity can be generated. Outrage and shock attract more attention in this highly digitized age of news. Then, there’s the reams of speculation over which FFVII characters appear and in what way. New audience curious. Old audience begrudgingly accepting. Cycle repeats. Earn enough to make another Spirits Within?When you look at the number of projects Square-Enix currently has on its hands, with Final Fantasy XIII and Versus XIII consuming the lion’s share of resources, could the company possibly allocate enough manpower towards a full-fledged remake? This is discounting other projects for the PS3, X-Box 360, DS, PSP and Wii, rumours of a Kingdom Hearts 3, and ping ponging rumours of all Versus XIII resources being concentrated towards finishing FFXIII first. Updating Final Fantasy VII for the PS3 on a true remake scale is no child’s play, and to say that we’d expect one by 2010 is to assume three things.

Firstly, Final Fantasy Versus XIII will be out before then.

Secondly, FF Versus XIII will not be a venerable juggernaut on the Square-Enix marketing menu.

Finally, to discount the shelf-life of Final Fantasy XIII which seems to be heading for an early 2009 release.

Could Square-Enix be so eager to throw attention away from it’s Fabula Novela Crystallis project? Could it possibly pull off this many A-List offerings and then throw in a PS3 FFVII remake for good measure? Wouldn’t it be safer and more rational to offer some kind of alternate franchise in its place?

Simply put, will there be a Final Fantasy VII remake announced next month by Square-Enix? No.No disrespect to Final Fantasy VII (opening humorous banter about the franchise’s past offerings aside) but while we wait and see until this August at DKS3713, all factors point towards anything but a PS3 remake at this point.

Final Fantasy, however, is still the flagship brand. The maximum number of prequels, spin-offs and remakes from the company in the past 12 months have borne the FF insignia in some form or the other.

Final Fantasy IV was first released in 1991 on the Super Famicom in Japan and the SNES in North America (though, being the second FF to be officially released in the States, it was renamed Final Fantasy II). Packaged along with Chrono Trigger in the Final Fantasy Chronicles compilation on the Playstation, Final Fantasy IV saw another reiteration on the Gameboy Advance with a few gameplay changes and translational updates. How, then, does one explain Final Fantasy re-re-reappearing on the Nintendo DS handheld, only two years after the GBA edition?

Hands-on time with the actual game seems to have dissipated the more nagging doubts. Final Fantasy IV has been called the “greatest RPG of all time” by some critics, with its revolutionary Active Time Based battle system and memorable story. This time, Square-Enix has done the unthinkable: They’ve tossed out nearly three-fourths of the original game’s script, crafted a brand-new presentation, added a hefty amount of voice work, added CG animated cut-scenes, revamped the battle system… and if that’s not enough, how about new touch screen exclusive mini-games along with that rudimentary graphical make-over that surprisingly rivals Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles DS?

Square-Enix hasn’t just re-released a Final Fantasy game. For probably the first time, the developer has created each and every aspect of Final Fantasy IV from scratch, employing a more mature and classy approach to story-telling and design. The winds of change finally descending upon the cold corridors of remake-land? You bet.

The tale begins with Cecil, a Dark Knight of the Baron Empire, as he goes about collecting powerful magical crystals on His Majesty’s orders. His conflicting ideals lead him to question the king on the carnage being wrought for the sake of the crystals. As a result, Cecil is demoted and along with his long-time friend Kain, a Dragoon, is asked to deliver a special package to Mist Village. As Cecil and Kain defeat the Mist Dragon blocking their way to the village, they discover the package to actually be a bomb that lays waste the village. A young girl, Rydia, is found next to the body of her mother, who was connected to the dragon and died when it did. Saddened by her mother’s loss, Rydia summons an unknown beast, splitting the ground in half and separating Cecil and Kain. With no clue to what’s going on, Cecil takes Rydia into custody and begins the search for Kain.

If you’ve played any of the console based Final Fantasy games like FFVII, you’ll be familiar with the system here. Battles are random and employ an “Active Time Based” meter, where your characters receive commands in a battle playing out in real-time (meaning, you can get more than one attack per character on an enemy). The graphics during the battle sequences are nicely done, and several techniques like camera panning and close-ups are used to give a more cinematic flair. As with every Final Fantasy these days, a new battle system has been thrown into the mix. This one is known as the Decant Ability System, and besides letting you take on abilities from temporary party members (upto three at a time), you can customize your battle menu and hot-key frequently used commands to the main command selection for speedy combat.

As many as eight enemies can attack you in a single battle. Sadly, it seems the grinding bits of all other RPGs are present. If you don’t take the chance to level up early (by beating down waves of random monsters), you’ll find yourself overwhelmed when Cecil is all alone after the destruction of Mist village. Each character has their own class, with Cecil specialising in swords and Kai with lances (thus enabling for the famous “Jump” ability). Other characters that join you later on, besides Kain and Rydia, include Rosa Farrell, a white mage and archer who strives to protect Cecil just as her mother protected her father. There are a total of 12 party members in the entire game, the largest in any Final Fantasy series, and each one of them is an interesting, unique and useful addition to the roster with ninjas, monks, and mages all striving to help Cecil in his quest.

The intro to the game is a pre-rendered FMV, and as you move along the story, you’ll encounter a good amount of voice acting. Yuri Lowenthal (Rex from Final Fantasy XII) as Cecil and Karen Strasman (Karen Stadtfield from the anime Code Geass) as Rosa are exceptionally well-done as they handle one of the more emotional beginning scenes with abject professionalism. Thankfully, the music is just as good, if not better, with Nobuo Uematsu’s sweeping tunes evoking majestic tones and tragic notes alike. All of this contributes to creating an experience similar to Final Fantasy XII (Playstation 2), and it’s great to play a handheld game that captures that epic feeling in both essence and execution.

While still a few months away from release in the US, Final Fantasy IV has already seen release and success in Japan, with about 590,000 copies sold so far. Only time will tell if the full product is as worth all the effort put in to remaking it. So far though, we’d be hard-pressed to say that Square-Enix is not on the right track.