Front Mission development In an update on the offical Front Mission website, Toshirou Tsuchida, head of Square Enix's sixth production team, talked about the development of Front Mission 5. The team behind Front Mission 4 will be developing this new project with the addition of a few new members. The team in charge of Front Mission Mobile, however, is the same one who developed the PlayStation One version of Front Mission 1st. Both titles will be hitting the shelves in Japan somtime next year. RPG Fan
Dragon Quest VIII developer announces upcoming PSP RPG Unrelated to anything Square Enix is putting out, Sony confirmed that the company responsible for Dragon Quest VIII, whichwill undoubtedly be the biggest selling Christmas title in Japan, Level 5, is developing a new RPG for the PSP, tying back to last year's curious FFXII-ish image of a lush, vibrant aerial city. Dark Cloud 3? CHRONO BREAK?!?!?!
Hori releasing slime PS2 controller in time for Dragon Quest VIII Japanese peripheral developer Hori will release a PS2 controller in the form of a blue slime in time for the Japanese release of Dragon Quest VIII on November 27. The controller features dual shock vibrations, while the face of the controller is located on the slime's ass. 1UP
Cover art, release date for Black Mages II: ~The Skies Above~ Uematsu's Black Mages homepage has updated with a short flash intro, cover art and release date for the upcoming second album in the series. Black Mages II: ~The Skies Above~ will be released on December 22nd in Japan, and feature at least renditions of FFX's Skies Above and FFVIII's Man with a Machine Gun, though whether it will be received as enthusiastically as the original with such dodgy operatic vocals remains to be seen... TBM2 @ Square Enix.co.jp
Uematsu leaves Square Enix (updated) Nobuo Uematsu has ended his nearly 20 year position at Square Enix in favour of a career where he can define his own deadlines and not work by such strict schedules. The power is going to his head! Nevertheless, Yasunori Mitsuda opted for the same direction and is now fated to make music for second rate anime, crappy RPGs, and irrelevant Mario Party games. Uematsu will be founding his own company to support his compositions and his band The Black Mages, but leaving Square Enix doesn't mean he won't be working with them in the future as a freelancer: indeed, some of the Final Fantasy soundtracks are his personal favourites. SquareDream
Dragon Quest VIII footage comes as release date nears SquareEnix has graced us with a superb Dragon Quest VIII trailer featuring an overview of the main characters as well as in-battle abilities and other cinematics. The trailer, which is currently being aired in several Japanese gameshops, arrives in anticipation of the 7 A.M. November 27th release. Specific, ain't they? SquareNet