- For those who missed the Dear Friends tour
 Monday saw the announcement of the newest Final Fantasy concert tour, "Distant Worlds: music from FINAL FANTASY." The tour is in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the release of the original Final Fantasy title. Full Article
- Voices of the Lifestream; 4 discs of remix goodness
 If you ever thought the track "Heart of Anxiety" needed vocals or just wanted a coherent collection of Final Fantasy VII remixes, then OC Remix has answered your prayers. Final Fantasy VII: Voices of the Lifesteam is a four disc collection of some of the best VGM remixers on the web paying tribute to the FFVII soundtrack. Nearly half of the original soundtrack is featured on this monster of an album, including fan favorites such as "Opening - Bombing Mission", "Tifa's Theme", and the ever popular "One-Winged Angel." The release is available as a free download from their website as both a torrent (including WAV and MP3) or as individual tracks. The discs themselves are named for the spin-off titles centered around FFVII, namely "Crisis", "Dirge", "Advent", and "Order." Since the album is being distributed for free, there should be no excuse for not at least giving it a try. Download the Album
- Near Death Experience: an interview with Yoshitaka Hirota
 Yoshitaka Hirota began his career in music as a sound designer for Square. He worked as a synthesizer operater and sound arranger, contributing to such classic titles as Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VII, and Parasite Eve. As a composer, he has undertaken the musical scores for Sacnoth's trilogy of Shadow Hearts games and the arrange album titled "near death experience." His newest album is a collaboration with vocalist Rekka Kitakiri called Kinema in the Hall. Today Square Haven talks with the composer on the subject of his career in game music. Square Haven Interview
- Final Fantasy potion in collectible tin can form
About a year and a half ago, Square Enix graced us with the Final Fantasy Potion, a mixture of fantastic chemicals all summing to a reportedly horrendous taste. The bottle itself was nothing to gawk at, either. Now Square Enix has different ideas: as part of its Final Fantasy VII 10th Anniversary celebration, beverage maker Suntory will once again join hands with our favorite Final Fantasy overlords to produce...the same exact thing. Only this time the delicious drink has found its way into collectible tin cans featuring Final Fantasy VII character artwork and others bundled with TRADING ARTS mini figures and minutely different art. Do you want to own a piece of history? Behold
- Game Trailers now schooling gamers on Final Fantasy history
 A little over a month ago, GameTrailers.com began its "Final Fantasy Retrospective", a survey of the Final Fantasy series, beginning with its humble origins some twenty years ago. Aside from being extremely well put-together and informative, it features references to some of our favorite embarrassing Square titles, from Alpha to 3-D Worldrunner. Now in its sixth installment featuring Final Fantasy VIII and Final Fantasy XI, it is a comprehensive look at one of Square Enix's flagship series and a definite must-watch for any fan or historian. Now that G4 has hit rock bottom, GameTrailers.com appears to be a source for thoughtful programming woefully unavailable elsewhere. Watch Now
- Spiral out: Final Fantasy VII 10th Anniversary Gallery
 Final Fantasy VII's 10th anniversary made for some eye-bulging bonuses, as you may remember from some weeks ago. Evidently, these nifty extras weren't enough presents for ten-year-old Final Fantasy VII - a game that is perhaps Square's most popular entry into their staple series. Thus, in addition to the aforementioned extras, Square Enix has plans to roll out a Final Fantasy VII 10th Anniversary Gallery in Spiral (a cornerstone of Tokyo's Aoyama district). Running from August 31 to September 2, the gallery is slated to boast a range of artwork from each Compilation of Final Fantasy VII denizen. In addition to classic artwork in the vein of Tetsuya Nomura's (in)famous character designs, never-before-seen art will also line the gallery, ensuring a visual feast for fanatics. Have your eyes popped out of their sockets? If so, you'll want to start reserving those flight tickets to Tokyo; this gallery certainly isn't traveling to the West. Kotaku
- Piano Squall brings tempest of music
 Various have tried, many have failed. But one, Michael Gluck, has made success out of video game music performance and recently released his album GAME--Game and Animé Music Emotions--to the delight of connoisseurs and convention goers everywhere. Square Haven recently talked to Gluck, who frequently takes on the guise of "Piano Squall", to talk with him about his musical career and his most recent accomplishment. His Story and a Review
- Final Fantasy VII's 10th Anniversary means eye-bulging bonuses
 Square Enix recently unveiled its plan for promoting the latest entry into the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core. Why? While the company is indeed one of the craftiest money-grubbing groups around, and each handheld FF title seems to require its own customized portable system, there is actually another reason behind this announcement. Everyone's favorite (overrated?) Playstation RPG, Final Fantasy VII, is turning ten years old. A slew of collectibles has been announced to celebrate the game's 10th anniversary, one of which is a limited edition Slim PSP with a Crisis Core facade (gasp!). Die-hard fans of all things Square and/or FFVII should take note of this upcoming special offer, because it won't be available for very long. What are you waiting for? See the goods
- E3 2007 - Square Enix to bring online store stateside
 In addition to its E3 lineup announcement, Square Enix has revealed its scheme to open a North American online store. Square Enix, as a self-described "premiere [maker] of high end-collectibles" plans to stock a multitude of "popular and hard-to-find items" including Master Arms, Play Arts, and Mechanical Arts spanning various series, from Final Fantasy to Kingdom Hearts. Clearly, Square Enix has seen that someone, somewhere is making money selling its products. The immediate consequence will likely find many third-party vendors competing for profits with Square Enix itself. The Online Store
- Nomura: "We're absolutely not making a FFVII remake"
 Look, I've been telling you guys for years and you just won't listen. Now even Tetsuya Nomura confirms the truth: Square Enix doesn't give a rat's ass about your misguided desire to force the company's employees into a money-losing slavish effort of reproducing a 10 year old game simply because you think Sephiroth in HD will give you a raging hard-on.
Oh yeah, IGN reports on an interview with Dorimaga in which Nomura and Kitase proclaim the abovementioned. Best part of the interview? Apparently Sakaguchi's original script for FF7 included "a character called Hot Blooded Detective Joe." IGN
- Final Fantasy on AOL Radio: It's Back
 After a long hiatus, Square Enix and AOL Radio have announced the return of Final Fantasy to the ears of AOL mongers everywhere. Daishiro Okada, Chief Operating Officer of Square Enix, was very excited: "We feel so fortunate to have such a loyal following and want to give a huge 'thank you' for their efforts to bring back FINAL FANTASY radio," he said on Monday. Apparently, someone had to be listening. AOL Music
- Ultimate Hits a hit
 Five hundred thousand. That is the number of copies that Square Enix's Ultimate Hits budget series has sold since its inception in September 2005. Since then, it has been a remarkable tool for the company to curb the high prices associated with the sales of used titles and personally pocket the popularity of their classics. To accompany this tremendous success, Square Enix will be releasing no fewer than sixteen more titles into the Ultimate Hits line on July 20, including Valkyrie Profile and Final Fantasy Tactics. Are you listening, Konami? I want my Suikoden II. Full List
- More Final Fantasy VII remake blab
 The editors at EGM magazine (June 2006, issue 204) have taken it upon themselves to confirm the existence of a Final Fantasy VII remake, due exclusively for the PS3 next year. This is in light of Yoshinori Kitasi's commments, explicitly to EGM mind you, that a remake would take five years to complete, as well as a direct assertion from Square Enix that "there will be no Final Fantasy VII remake".
- Project G - Life imitates Nomura
 As the first of the 2006 Square Haven Editorial Prose of Doom series, affiliate homeboy duckroll's expos? muses on Japanese rockpimpstar Gackt's "contribution" to Compilation of Final Fantasy VII. Note: Dirge of Cerberus spoilers abound Read it and cringe
- Kitase: Final Fantasy VII remake will take 5 years
 Speaking in an interview with American magazine EGM, Final Fantasy director Yoshinori Kitase spoke out about a potential Final Fantasy VII remake, saying that if Square Enix were to seriously pursue such a project, it would require a staff of 300 and take 5 years. Nomura commented as well, stating that even if the team were to come together to produce a new version of the game, the various members are currently too caught up in their own projects to be able to reserve any time for it. EGM speculated that the possibility of a FF7 remake lies out of reach as long as the next PS3 game to be created is Final Fantasy XIII. 1up
- Square Enix gauges public response to potential Final Fantasy VII PS3 overhaul
It would appear that the Square Enix Party 2005's compilation trailer featuring clips from all the upcoming titles also showed the same "Final Fantasy VII Technical Demonstration" that we saw at E3. This of course means absolutely nothing, and certainly not that the company is in fact considering actually developing a remake of the title for the Playstation 3. Right? IGN
- Advent Children's Japanese UMD
 For fans of the PSP in Japan, good news has come their way from Square Enix. With little word up until recently about the UMD release of its upcoming FFVII movie, Advent Children, Square Enix has finally announced a release date, and it's the same as the DVD; September 14th of this year. It will cost the same as the DVD, but there are no plans on a limited edition version. However, the UMD will include battle themes from the soundtrack to Advent Children. Game Spot
- E3: Playstation 3 demo of Final Fantasy VII intro sequence raises eyebrows
 During the Playstation 3 unveiling at E3, Square Enix showed a realtime demo of a remade Final Fantasy VII intro sequence (with the overview of Midgar and Cloud somersaulting off the train) running in-game (supposedly), and visually styled like Advent Children. This obviously leads to speculation that there may be a Final Fantasy VII remake in the works for PS3, as fans have eagerly demanded for the past several years. Don't expect any confirmation at this point though.
- Three more soundtracks to be re-released
 Three more albums are joining the list of soundtrack to be re-released by SquareEnix. The newest entries include Xenogears Original Soundtrack, Final Fantasy VII: Reunion and Chrono Trigger Original Soundtrack. The Chrono Trigger album is the one-disk version released that included not only some original tracks but also some arranged versions. All three albums will be 2000 yen when they are released on February 23rd. RPG Fan
- Kitase, Japanese magazines elusively hint at further implementation of milking, er, polymorphism? with the Final Fantasy VII brand
 Yoshinori Kitase (FF6, FF7), producer of Advent Children, commented some more on the possibility of a Final Fantasy VII sequel in game form, but didn't reveal any actual details. Yet, the fact that they are even considering it, as he says, should be worth noting - there may be another surprise yet to be added to the upcoming Compilation of Final Fantasy VII. Additionally, Japanese game mag V-Jump seems to know more, printing a silhouette of Vincent alongside text stating that we could expect an upcoming title involving him that may or may not involve gunslinging action. Errrr.
- E3: Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII unveiled
 Square Enix has revealed the upcoming cellphone title Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII, a game set 6 years before the events of Final Fantasy VII and featuring the Turks as main characters. Full Article
- Additionally, Square Enix also unveils new mobile phone line-up
Alongside its E3 announcement today, Squenix also mentioned that it would be showing several new mobile phone games, presumably to further deploy its mobile phone operation in North America. Three of the four titles announced are unspectacular - Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and top-down shooter Brave Shot - while the fourth is more intriguing: Before Crisis - Final Fantasy VII. It seems we now have our Final Fantasy VII sequel, although any more info will have to wait until the showfloor two weeks from now.
- More Final Fantasy on Gamecube?
 CubeEurope's Q&A section has some speculation on a possible new Final Fantasy title for Gamecube, which connects to Nintendo Official Magazine UK's earlier suggestion that a new title would be revealed at E3: "Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles was the first of Square and Nintendo being back on good terms. Their next game on Cube will remain a mystery until E3 but we've heard a brilliant rumour. Specifically that the new game will bring Nintendo gamers up to speed in the Final Fantasy universe, taking story elements from the seventh, eighth and ninth in the series, previously only seen on Playstation". Cube Europe
- Our favourite fanboy-pleasing company to yet be working on a Final Fantasy VII-2?
 EGM's rumor mill mentioned a Devil May Cry-style action game featuring Final Fantasy VII's Cloud may be appearing for PS2 later this year. Gamefront
- "There will be no Final Fantasy VII remake", says Square Enix
At a TGS press conference, Square Enix officially stated that they will not be making a remake of Final Fantasy VII. Gamespot reported that the company would only consider such an endeavour once the original were no longer available on current hardware, but since the PS2 (and PS3?) has backwards compatibility, anyone can still play the original, making a remake pointless in their eyes. Gamefront
- Square deletes Final Fantasy VII link from homepage, OMFGWTFOMG!!!!11111111
The Final Fantasy archives page on the Square Enix homepage no longer links to the ancient homepage of Final Fantasy VII, allowing some half-cooked folk to believe that maybe they're gearing up for the unveiling of a new homepage, like for a remake, or a sequel.
I'm not going to say anything. Square Enix Final Fantasy Archives
- More fucking Final Fantasy VII-2 rumors
The vapid Final Fantasy VII-2 rumors continue to appear in the news, this time suggesting a sequel or remake to be revealed at this month's Tokyo Games Show, as reported by an unreliable Japanese website.
- IGN rouses stupid fans with inane rumor
PS2IGN seems to be out to make a mess out of every Square fansite on the net with its supposed mention of "Final Fantasy VII-2" as a possible PSP title. We haven't even seen the handheld itself, though. "Professional" gaming site
- Square considering Final Fantasy VII sequel
 According to Japanese site Quiter and the upcoming issue of Famitsu, Final Fantasy producer Yoshinori Kitase is interested in making a direct sequel to Final Fantasy VII, which is often cited as the most popular installment of the series. Tetsuya Nomura also expresses such interests. Although there are no plans yet and the title is still under consideration, Final Fantasy VII-2 could very well become a reality in light of Final Fantasy X-2.
- Final Fantasy Adventure Bible in the lap of the Gods
Square is planning a three-disc DVD collecting data, information, and media of Final Fantasy I through XI. The Adventure Bible will be released in Japan on July 25 for 13,000 yen (about $104 US). Gameforms
- Final Fantasy VII, VIII, IX see PS2 re-release
(Please note that the plans for said re-releases have been dissolved since this article's publication. read: IT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN) Bloomerang Japan reports that in addition to the load of previous reported Final Fanasy news, Square also has plans to re-release Final Fantasy VII, VIII, and IX for the PlayStation 2 platform sometime in the near future. Want more details? Too bad :)
- The Best of Final Fantasy soundtrack
DCC Compact Classics shipped The Best of Final Fantasy 1994 - 1999: A Musical Tribute nationwide as of September 26th. The CD contains remixes of selected songs from Final Fantasy VI, VII, and VIII. Sold through major music distribution chains, one should run to the store and pick up a copy.
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18 Oct 2007 by 
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