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Square-Enix, kindly throwing fans who are keenly awaiting the Nintendo DS remake of Final Fantasy III yet another bone, have unleashed a veritable miscellany of screenshots and concept art, as well as battle info and interviews (albeit in Japanese) packaged altogether in the humble form of brand new, piping hot scans. Among the screens featured are cinematic and gameplay stills which appear to push the handheld's graphical capabilities to the utmost limit, feasibly suggesting that the elongated amount of the title's time in development has been proficiently spent. But as such, future launch dates remain unconfirmed.

On a related note, additional information and content can now be viewed at the newly accessible Final Fantasy III DS official website.

Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2006 takes place in Los Angeles roughly two weeks from now. E3 is essentially a medium through which the world's largest video game companies can parade their upcoming releases and current projects, and is generally regarded as the biggest video games convention/exposition in the world. Square-Enix recently announced their lineup of games confirmed to be present at their booth on the show floor. And the games are... (thanks to rpgfan.com for the list)

The list format is [Game, system, release date (playable or unconfirmed playabiliy)]

Dawn of Mana (Seiken Densetsu IV), PlayStation 2, TBA
Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII, PlayStation 2, Summer 2006 (playable)
Final Fantasy XII, PlayStation 2, Fall 2006 (playable)
Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria, PlayStation 2, Fall 2006 (playable)
Valkyrie Profile Lenneth, PlayStation Portable, TBA 2006 (playable)
Final Fantasy XI Treasures of Aht Urhgan, PlayStation 2/PC/Xbox 360, Currently Available (playable)
Final Fantasy V Advance and Final Fantasy VI Advance, GameBoy Advance, TBA 2006
Children of Mana (Seiken Densetsu DS: Children of Mana), DS, TBA 2006 (playable)
Final Fantasy III, DS, TBA 2006 (playable)
Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII, cellphones, TBA (playable)
Final Fantasy I, cellphones, TBA (playable)

So that's what we'll be seeing in two weeks. This seems to be an especially exciting E3 for fans of Valkyrie Profile, the Seiken Densetsu series, and oldschool Final Fantasy games (which includes all of us). Let the hype begin.

Source: RPGFan

Namco Bandai has finally announced production of the long-awaited third chapter of their Xenosaga franchise, entitled Xenosaga Episode III: Also sprach Zarathustra (or Thus spoke Zarathustra), undoubtedly appeasing fervent fans worldwide. This final PlayStation 2 installment to the epic RPG series is currently due out in Japan the 6th of July; the game is then expected to hit North American shores at some point this coming fall.

The latest story, set a full year after the events of Episode II, finds Shion joined within the ranks of a secret organization called Scientia following her resignation from Vector Industries - a move instigated by her disclosure of their connection to the Gnosis. In addition, an updated battle system, further diversity in character customization, one massive minigame, and a handy, informative database feature aptly deemed the "Xeno Bible", among other draws, are sure to assemble a prodigious, memorable conclusion to the multipart, futuristic tale fans certainly won't want to miss.

For more info including an assortment of screenshots, head on over to Namco Bandai's official website.

Source: IGN

This past Monday marked the arrival of an eager, video game enthused audience packed within the walls of the ArcLight Cinerama Dome in Hollywood, California. The occasion, to the surprise of few, was the long-awaited North American premiere of the entirely CGI-constructed DVD movie Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, to be precise. An engaging event both for fans who'd already seen the Japanese version and those who hadn't alike.

Although the dubbed film won't be in stores until the 25th of this month, a one and only theatrical screening of the sequel to the hit RPG was taken in by an enormous 800 person crowd. Among those gathered at the scene were several big hands in the movie's development including the group of English voice actors, scenario writer Kazushige Nojima, co-directors Takeshi Nozue and Tetsuya Nomura, and producer Shinji Hashimoto.

In addition to the movie itself, the well received game trailers of the now available Kingdom Hearts II and the unspecific yet soon-to-be released Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII were shown preceding the feature presentation.

GAF's detailed overview of the screening

Announced at a Tokyo press conference Wednesday, Square-Enix and Gakushuukenkyuusha (aka Gakken) have teamed up to establish a new company, named SG Lab, designed to develop and publish "serious" game titles - that is, video games with teaching purposes such as educational research, government, medicine, and more.

As unappealing a move as this endeavor may sound, some of these so-called serious games will be unintended for regular gamers. According to the presidents of both companies, SG Lab will develop the educational software after receiving and accepting orders from various clients, a task they've only recently begun. Currently there's no telling just what sort of game themes SG Lab is likely to expect in the future, but they're already working on expanding their market to include topics ranging from health care to public relations dealt within private enterprises.

Due to the amount of expert knowledge required to tackle such a business, this is one field Square-Enix would not be able to handle alone being strictly an entertainment developer; therefore entailed the decision to partner-up. As Youichi Wada, president of Square-Enix explained, video games aimed at entertaining players and serious games are of two very different leagues. Gakken, in search of a skillful and influential company within the gaming industry, found the idea of an education-based joint effort by the two rather intriguing.

With an overall lack of competition in the genre as of now, it's extremely likely SG Lab's desire to be the global market leader will be well within reach.

Source: RPGFan

Famitsu Magazine, reputed to be the #1 gaming review magazine in Japan has recently reviewed and ranked Final Fantasy XII giving it a perfect score across the board, which apparently is a rare thing, when you consider that with this game included, they've only ever given 6 games a perfect 40 points.

The game looks, appears, and sounds better and better with every morsel of it I hear.

Source: Imgup (Thanks to Phunbaba for the link)