StlthRiot and I worked overtime for a dual-update today of both our Fanart and Remixes section. In Fanart you'll find 6 new images, and in Remixes you'll find a whopping 18 new mp3's for your downloading enjoyment. Although the site focusses on Square material, please visit the webpages of the Remixers featured here to listen to their wonderful non-Square remixes as well original material and arrangements. Also visit http://www.vgmix.com or http://remix.overclocked.org to be smothered in many video game related remixes and arrangements!!

   source | N/A

   SquareSoft has announced World Fantasista, its first soccer game for the Japanese PlayStation 2. Since it has the Japan Football Association license, the game will feature actual players from the national team, and players will be able to choose from 35 different countries including Brazil and France. In addition, the production staff of the Final Fantasy series will create the opening CG movie.
   World Fantasista is scheduled for release in Japan on May 30, for 6800 yen.

   source | The Magicbox, Gamespot VG

   Further details have come to light regarding the new relationship between Square and Quest, the developers of the Ogre Battle Saga series of games.
   First, the Game Boy Advance remake of Final Fantasy Tactics is being developed by ex-Quest staff, who are now working for Square. It seems this is different staff from the exodus from Quest a few years ago in which Yasumi Matsuno and others joined Square -- Matsuno mentions that these staffers had previously worked on Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis for the GBA.
   Furthermore, Square has acquired the full rights to the Ogre Battle Saga and all future installments in the series will be published by Square. Matsuno mentioned that he would like to work on the series again, but his current duties as director of Final Fantasy XII means that this won't happen for some time.

   source | The GIA

   The Wednesday issue of Weekly Famitsu contains an interview, reposted on the Japanese message board 2ch, with Square producer Yasumi Matsuno. In it, the ex-Quest staffer and director of Square titles such as Final Fantasy Tactics and Vagrant Story, comments on his upcoming projects.
   A Game Boy Advance version of Final Fantasy Tactics is indeed underway. Matsuno, the director of the original game, will oversee the GBA version as well, and the game is currently about 30% complete. However, it will not be a simple port of the PlayStation original -- Masutno spoke of the GBA version as more of a "remix" than a port.
   The producer stated that the game is "not just a transplant of the PlayStation version, but a new arrangement." He was also quick to make it clear that FFT GBA will not be a true FFT2 or a continuation of the first game. The development team is also in the process of working out a new quicksave feature to allow players to save the game at any time.
   However, the more interesting comments were about a possible collaboration between Square and his former employer Quest. Apparently, at some point last year, Quest approached Square about co-developing a joint project. While the time wasn't right then, Matsuno indicated that circumstances had changed to allow a collaboration to be possible, and planning for the new project began in February. The exact nature of the collaboration isn't known, but it does give rise to the possibility that Matsuno could once again direct the Ogre Battle Saga he began during his time at Quest.
   Also revealed was the somewhat less earth-shattering news that Final Fantasy XII would be finished sometime in 2003.

   source | The GIA

   Though Square has been releasing a steady stream of Kingdom Hearts information, it seems that the game may still have a few surprises in store for Final Fantasy fans. The latest issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly reveals that Square will be resurrecting Final Fantasy VII's Aeris Gainsborough for a guest appearance in Kingdom Hearts.
   Naturally, Aeris' exact role, if any, in the story is totally unknown at this point, but hopefully gamers won't need a GameShark or the Underwater Materia to encounter her.

   source | The GIA, Electronic Gaming Monthly

   It looks like European Square fans are going to see a release of their favorite SNES classic FF4 and 5 released as a collection for the PSone. This follows a PAL release of Final Fantasy VI that just completed over there.

   source | The GIA

   The GIA has managed to gather some screenshots of the upcoming toy merchandise from the Square-Disney RPG Kingdom Hearts. Please head here to see the toy goodness, for both Japanese and American gamers.

   source | The GIA

   Square's TV Anime show, Final Fantasy : Unlimited, will apparently end after 26 episodes. Originally scheduled to run for 52 episodes, the TV series will finish airing in 3/26. Square and TV series production company Gonzo Co. plans to extend the FF:U title in varieties of media in the future.
   The continuation of the TV series story will be released as a mook (magazine-length book) titled "Final Fantasy : Unlimited - After" in late April. Other products to be released include trading cards of FF:U in late March, a novel in April 1st, and an art book of the anime series "Official Visual Guidebook FF:U" in 4/25, priced 1900 Yen
   While the public statements in FF:U's official site and Gonzo Production both refer to the current TV series as the "first period" of the anime, it is unstated if there will be a future broadcast or an OVA continuation release.

   source | Madman's Cafe

   DigiCube has finally announced the recorded CD version of the 20020202 Music from Final Fantasy concert that was performed last month. The 2-CD set will feature all of the songs performed at the show, as well as extra CD-ROM content including thoughts from FF series composer Nobuo Uematsu and backstage footage. The set will be released on May 9 in Japan, with a price tag of 3364 yen (around $26 USD).

   source | The GIA

   Square recently announced the final pricing structure for the Japanese release of Final Fantasy XI. When released in May, the game will require a monthly fee of 1,280 yen and an additional 100 yen a month for each new character that the player creates. First-time players can play free for the first month of use, but will still incur the monthly new-character fee.

   source | The GIA

   Square Europe announced that PAL version of Final Fantasy X, to be released on May 31st, will be based on the recent International version of the game and will contain all the extra gameplay modes and bosses. In addition, the game will ship with a bonus DVD, "Beyond Final Fantasy," which will feature interviews with the game's creators and the English voice actors, as well as a preview of the upcoming Square / Disney action RPG Kingdom Hearts.

   source | The GIA

   Squaresoft will be bringing Final Fantasy XI beta testing in Japan to a close on April 24th. Once the retail version of the game ships, former beta testers will be able to transfer their PlayOnline accounts as well as one character of their choice from the beta over to the final game. Testers will be allowed to alter their characters' name, race, sex, facial type, hair color, height, main job, faction, and host server when FFXI debuts in Japan on May 16th.

   source | The GIA

   We moved to a new server and the changes caused some unexpected hiccups. As a result we've been down most of the week. Now that we are back up, the only difference is our forums are now up at http://www.squareamp.com/forum. Ok - We got the subdomain system working again and the forums are now at http://forums.squareamp.com where they used to be all along. Please head there and continue to post again :) thanks. And yes, please feel free to bookmark that URL, as that is where they are going to stay. On-going news coverage will continue again as of today, and we should have a good 10+ mp3's to add into our Remixes section. Sorry for the delay we had all this time.

   source | N/A

   The day has arrived that Square announced their intentions to re-develop for the various platforms of Nintendo. Gamespot reports that the Saturday edition of Nihon Keizai Shimbun states that Nintendo and Square reached an agreement to bring the Final Fantasy series to the GameCube and GameBoy Advance. Although only the Final Fantasy series was announced, one could assume this will lead to bigger and better things.
   Under the agreement, Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi will allocate money from Fund Q--a fund Yamauchi set up in January to help encourage software development--to a new Square-affiliated development house. In return, Square will establish the new development house with help from Akitoshi Kawazu, a director from the Final Fantasy development team, by the end of this month.
   Get the full details here.

   source | GameSpot VG

   New information regarding Final Fantasy XI's available job classes has been reported among other aspects of the game. Players can choose from at least fifteen job classes, including Warrior, Thief, Monk, White Mage, Red Mage, Black Mage, Knight, Summoner, Bard, Ninja, Samurai, Gunner, Hunter, Dark Knight and Tamer.
   FFXI will also employ a Mission Ranking System designed to reward players by increasing their reputations as specific events are completed. Over time, a player's position in his or her own country may advance to Team Leader, or even General. A Link Shell system will also be implemented, allowing players to form clans or circle of friends by distributing their club or organization's own unique decorated shell. After purchasing a Link Shell and adorning it with the name and symbol of your club, you may hand it out to anyone whom you would like to add to your names list.
   Perhaps the most promising new development is the game's usage of crystals. Representing the eight elements of fire, water, earth, wind, ice, thunder, light, and dark, FFXI's crystals allow players to use their respective flavors to cook meals, fuse metals, and combine plants. Specific skills are needed to harness the crystals' energy, and players will not be able to activate higher-level effects unless they meet the prerequisite for that ability.
   Cid fans will be disheartened to learn that the recurring Final Fantasy character is far-removed from the action, stuck running a weapons shop in one of the game's towns.

   source | The GIA