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Earlier this week, the Playstation version of Chrono Trigger arrived on the Japanese Playstation Network, "on schedule," according to andriasang. While that's good news in and of itself for Chrono Trigger fans, the official North American Playstation blog announced the very next day that the English-language version would be available on PSN next Tuesday, as well.

Of course, since this is a PSN release, you are in fact getting the Playstation version of the game - while this adds the quality animated cutscenes from that version, there's also a chance that it will come with the gameplay lag common to Square's PSX port from the original SNES version. It also will lack any of the bonus content added to the Nintendo DS version.

In related news, the author of the Playstation blog post also hints very heavily down in the comments at Chrono Cross joining Trigger on the PSN in the very near future.

Source: Playstation Blog, andriasang

I feel like the Square Enix fanbase has probably been waiting a while for TGS this year, after the performance at E3 which this author was underwhelmed. The Tokyo Game Show, though, is right in Squenix' wheelhouse - it's the best chance the company has to get its core properties out in front of a group of gamers who remain enamored of everything the company does.

They did not disappoint.

We'll start first with Final Fantasy XIII-2, which naturally was the largest individual game on display this year. It's being released on 15 December in Japan, with a near-obligatory-in-Japan PS3 bundle. It will have post-launch DLC. It will have not one, but two theme songs in Japan, sharing a melody but with different arrangements and lyrics. One of the performers is Charice, who might be known to some American readers from her three-episode arc on "Glee" last year; the gist of the news seems to imply that Charice's track will be present on virtually all non-Japan copies of the game for both consoles. There were also two trailers at TGS, one for each console, which debuted a couple of new characters named Yaru and Kaias. The trailers also appear to reinforce the notion of time travel as a gameplay and plot mechanic. One trailer was also Kotaku did one better by actually grabbing some gameplay footage from the Xbox demo kiosk. The second video even shows off the giant Megatron hand from earlier screenshots - in battle!

Squenix are also supporting the new Playstation Vita with a few games; announced at TGS this year were both Lord of Apocalypse and the fantastically-named Army Corps of Hell. Both appear to be action RPGs from first blush.

On the MMO front, the company showed off a long-form video for Dragon Quest X, the recently-announced foray into online multiplayer for the DQ franchise. Reaction is decidedly mixed, possibly even more so than when Final Fantasy XI was first announced; however, some people are likening the game more to Phantasy Star Online than FFXI or WoW, and that might be enough to find the game a niche when it's released.

Oh, and do you like Kingdom Hearts? Have you been wanting more information about Dream Drop Distance for the 3DS? Well, there isn't that much. However, it is slated for a "Spring" 2012 release in Japan, which means we might yet get it over here next year. Not only that, it even gets a crossover character from The World Ends With You, which I'm told is one of the best reasons to ever pick up a Nintendo DS.

The "business days" of TGS have wrapped up already, thanks to the time difference between most of us and Japan, so that will probably do it for the big news for Squenix fans from the conference. It's open to the public for the weekend, though, so perhaps some more leaked video or other media will emerge - just don't bet on any further groundbreaking news.

Note: Seems like andriasang is having some issues today - the links work, I promise, just keep trying.

Source: andriasang, Kotaku

OK, maybe it's not the remake fans were waiting for, but it's something, right? Square-Enix's 2001 megahit will receive a high-definition makeover and be available as a PS3 game and a PS Vita download. Final Fantasy X follows hot on the heels of several other PS2 games receiving HD remakes on the PS3, including God of War I and II, ICO, Shadow of the Colossus, and the entire Sly Cooper Series.

This continues a trend of PS Vita games and PS3 games receiving near-identical ports. Multiplayer Vita games can play online against PS3 players and include many other connectivity features. Presumably, Final Fantasy X HD will have trophy support and scale up to 1080p, just like the other HD remakes mentioned above.

There is no release date yet for Final Fantasy X on the PS3 or PS Vita, but you can bet your memory card Caves of Narshe will report it as soon as it's made public.

Source: Kotaku

The Tokyo Game Show for 2011 is coming in a little over a week, and as such the big Japanese publishers are starting to give details about what they will (and by omission, won't) be showing this year. Of course, given our focus, we're not going to give much time to the Konamis and Capcoms of the world - but, hey, here's the brief rundown of Square Enix!

The big Final Fantasy games to make an appearance this year are Type-0, XIII-2, and Theatrythym, with playable demos available for all three. Naturally, Versus is not listed in any form whatsoever, though it's possible that Squenix are keeping its presence secret for a nice surprise at showtime.

Dragon Quest will be represented by the new 3DS sequel to Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime, and also by the Dragon Quest compilation for Wii. Other RPG franchises include a sequel to Chaos Rings for the iOS, and (what I believe to be) the first real look at a playable Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance for the 3DS.

Finally, given that Square Enix is the publisher of note for many other series in Japan, there will be some other games in their booth, like Modern Warfare 3, that wouldn't be represented in a similar show in the West. Hit the link below to see more of those games, and look for more news coming from TGS next week.

Source: andriasang

Square-Enix held a press conference yesterday in Japan (very early this morning for Europe or North America) detailing the much-anticipated Dragon Quest X. Turns out it's been structured as an multiplayer online RPG, complete with selectable races and subscription fees.

Dragon Quest X: The Wake of the Five Tribes: Online will have Wii and WiiU versions made, very similar to the GameCube and Wii versions made of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess soon after the Wii's launch. Players will create their own character, choosing from one of five different races, and can choose to play either entirely offline (with other online players replaced by NPCs) or pay a subscription fee to play online with others. The game will retain the series' trademark turn-based combat and menus, but will take the limited online features of Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies several steps further.

DQX still has no formal release date (neither does the Wii U, for that matter), but lead designer Yuuji Horii is hopeful that it will come out in 2012. There is no word on a release outside of Japan, but Square-Enix and Nintendo have been pushing the DQ brand somewhat recently, so an eventual English-language release is likely.

Source: Kotaku

Despite the game just coming to light last week, details have already started to appear for the new Final Fantasy beat-tapping game for the Nintendo 3DS. First off, for those who feel that Square stretches themselves too thin, note that the game isn't being developed by Square at all; indieszero, the team behind the well-reviewed Electroplankton, will be at the helm of the actual game development.

It looks like the game will be split into worlds dedicated to some, most, or all of the main numbered series (that part's not quite clear, yet), and that some, most, or all of the games represented will also contribute a character to your roster, from which you will choose four for your party. Each game has three phases, "Field," "Battle," and "Event," and each of those phases will have a different gameplay type. There are, of course, some RPG aspects too around character building, but the details around just what that means remain murky too. What Square has said is that the game takes place in a world in between Chaos and Cosmos, so it seems that there may be some effort to append this game to the side universe that also contains Dissidia.

Of course, the main thing that seems to get people fired up about this game is the potential for awesome music. We know these songs are in, with announcements of more surely on the way soon:

• Clash on the Big Bridge
• One-Winged Angel
• To Zanarkand
• The Sunleth Waterscape
• Final Fantasy Main Theme

The tracks are indeed remixes from the originals, so they may or may not be to your liking.

For my money, it seems like this game might be a no-brainer. The art style is super-cute, the music is consistently one of the things the fans like best about the games, and Squenix have had very good success with portable games recently, more so than their big AAA console titles. I even like the official Japanese site, and that pains me to say since it's all in Flash.

Source: Kotaku, andriasang, THEATRHYTHM FINAL FANTASY