In the newest LEVEL Magazine issue, there were several interviews with Final Fantasy XIII employees talking about the direction the three new games were headed in. The main thing they confirmed, was that each of the FFXIII games they're working on will be mostly independent of each other:

Motomu Toriyama: "The development of the three games was started at the same time and we gathered to try and find a common platform to stand on and try to build from. But since then, we've been working completely independently of each other. Each game is evolving in its own direction and take place in separate worlds with their own main characters. There exists basically no cooperation between the different teams. I wouldn't even want to claim that we communicate with each other."

Tetsuya Nomura: "The only similarity between the games that you can find is in the vague crystal theme."

The other thing the interview finally addressed head-on, was how far Square Enix is willing to go with the futuristic setting. In the past, every Final Fantasy game nails down a visual theme, then staples a story to the graphics. Or maybe it's vice versa. When asked how far they would take the futuristic story, Square Enix answered with "we took the futuristic theme to its limit. FFXIII will truly define the term futurism. You've never seen anything like it." Nomura even elaborated a bit more:

"There's been times when I've wanted to take FF in a completely different direction than the game's producer has wanted. I'm not saying that his or mine opinions have been right or wrong, just different. One thing I've always wanted to explore deeper is human emotions. By going in that direction, you risk to make the target group for the game narrower, and FF is appreciated by a very large audience. But with Versus XIII, it feels like the right time to take that risk. Since the script isn't done yet, I still don't know exactly how far I dare to go, but I know I want to squeeze humanity out of these characters. I want Versus to feel in the entire body."

Me too, Nomura, me too. I want to feel Versus in my pants, we're all hoping your you'll fulfill our fantasies. Since we didn't see too much of FFXIII at the Square Enix Party, hopefully more will be revealed at E3 or other approaching events. You can read the other interview exerts here.

Last month we had a lot of Square Enix news, but very little video to go along with that was shown at the Square Enix Party. It wasn't until just a few days ago that we finally got to see the Final Fantasy IV cinematic DS trailer, and a week before that the Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Crystal Bearers Wii trailer. Spike TV has another video for us to finally get a peek at -- late tonight on Game Head, at 1AM, they'll be showing the video preview for The Last Remnant that was shown previously at the Square Enix Party.

With a combat system altogether different than what Square Enix has attempted before, it will be fun to see the battle tactics in action. The Last Remnant still doesn't have a target release date yet, although it will be released in America and Japan simultaneously when it's ready to be shipped.

Siliconera noticed that Square Enix updated their site with another video they showed exclusively at their recent Square Enix Party, letting us finally see it for the first time. Of all the Nintendo DS games I've ever played, this trailer for Final Fantasy IV contains some of the best handheld graphics I've ever seen. At the very end of the trailer it announces the Final Fantasy IV remake as coming out in 2007 in Japan, so hopefully we'll get this game by early 2008 at the latest.

Two weeks ago, the Square Enix Party event brought news that the Wii's Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Crystal Bearers would be more adventurous, with a Skies of Arcadia feel to it. The video they saw over in Japan is finally uploaded on the net for our pleasure, and the setting definitely has much more altitude to it. The trailer opens with music that reminds me of Titanic, and we're shown a large jewel and many ships, followed by someone falling off one of them, so I'm hoping for a much more hilarious Titanic ending, where we actually get to see the Leonardo DiCaprio hero fall off and go kersplat down below.

The video shows us many sky high brief battle scenes, including the use of the magic system, and even a few indoor cities. The graphics look just as good as the GameCube's Crystal Chronicles game, but not any noticeably better. It would be cool if the reason for flying is to avoid the miasma stream that drifts at lower altitudes, instead of constantly warding off the impending doom. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Crystal Bearers comes out this Winter in Japan, so we might not get it here in America until next Summer or even late 2008.

Four months ago I confirmed this unbelievably obvious news: Square Enix probably won't have Final Fantasy XIII ready for a release before the end of this year. It was friggin' January then, and we all knew it already, but apparently there's still a lot of gamers who can't cope with this possibility:

"In fact, Wada says investors shouldn't expect the epic RPG until after their coming fiscal year, which means no Final Fantasy XIII in Japan until at least May 2008. North America will probably receive the game sometime in the fall of 2008."

There's no Square Enix enigma to unravel, they've got a lot of projects right now and Final Fantasy XIII is easily the most anticipated one of them all. And while we're on the topic of PlayStation 3 games people really want, Metal Gear Solid 4 is likely to not come out until March next year, so you can stop hoping for that game soon as well. It's called waiting, Nintendo gamers can tell you all about it.

So far we've heard more of Final Fantasy Dissidia than we've seen of it, and now we've finally got gameplay details for the PSP game:

• Each character will have a special skill to inflict damage on his opponent
• Each skill will vary from short range to long range and will be executed as such
• Players are encouraged to destroy the level’s environments
• The "Brave" meter is filled by destroying environments or inflicting damage on your enemies  and allows for new attacks when filled
• Special move gauge, when filled, allows the player to unleash a special move that is "typical" of that character’s Final Fantasy special move (i.e. Zidane = Trance)
• EXP and equipment play a role in the game

The Square Enix Party in Japan is over, but the new information keeps coming to the rest of the world. Square Enix just sent out a press release confirming that Final Fantasy Tactics: The Lion War for PSP will be released in October for both America and Europe simultaneously. We'll get to enjoy these cinemas, and then a month or two later we'll get to enjoy these cinemas, when Square Enix plans to give us Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings on the Nintendo DS later this Winter.

After announcing Final Fantasy Dissidia for PSP, and The Last Remnant for Xbox 360 and PS3, and a remake of Final Fantasy IV, and even a few new Star Ocean games, Square Enix managed to steal most of their own thunder. Square Enix also announced Parasite Eve 3 . . . for mobile phones, ugh. Then they redeemed themselves and gave out hands-on time with Final Fantasy Tactics Advance 2, which has more forgiving judges and law card gameplay. FF Dissidia was up next, and it only showed a quick trailer to get people excited, where several famous Final Fantasy characters were flying around a 3D battleground fighting one another. The graphics were supposed to be great, and with an all star cast of FFIV's Kain and Cecil, FFIX's Zidane and Kuja, and FFVII's Sephiroth and more, this will definitely be a huge seller. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates for the DS ran smoothly with gameplay just like the original, although multiplayer doesn't support Internet connectivity.

Sadly no big updates were given for Final Fantasy XIII, Square Enix just showed an old CGI trailer with a few new short scenes spliced in. Quick glimpses of new alien landscapes and a few frames of Ifrit and Shiva summons was all that was new. It was the same with Final Fantasy Versus XIII, too, just a little more CGI footage stapled onto the end of old trailers. Before the party finished, Square Enix announced a new expansion for their five year old Final Fantasy XI MMORPG, and that pretty much it. FFXI's Wings of The Goddess expansion should be available this Winter. Square Enix hasn't mentioned when their next Party event will be, but with so many games in store for the next few years, I wouldn't be surprised if we get another one next year.

Before this weekend's Square Enix Party kicks off, they got the 2007 conference report out of the way, bringing us many early hints at what's to come soon.

First up is the Star Ocean series, Yoshinori Yamagishi revealed that a full remake of the first Super Famicom Star Ocean game will be coming to PSP as Star Ocean: First Departure, and a remake of the PS1 Star Ocean game will also come to the PSP as Star Ocean: Second Evolution. Damn. These last few months have been treating the PSP nicely, I might finally have to pick one up. Yoshinori also announced that a Star Ocean 4 is being developed by tri-Ace, although it wasn't said which consoles we might get it on. PS3 is the obvious bet, but it's too early to rule out other platforms.

Then Shinji Hashimoto mentioned that a new Chocobo Dungeon game was in development for the Wii, but nobody cared. A chocobo cosplayer fell down on their face, and the next speaker came to the stage. Next up was the Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles series, with Akitoshi Kawazu and Toshiyuki Itahana doing the talking. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates is coming to the DS, and to put fans' worries at ease, it will be more of a traditional RPG as far as gameplay and level progression goes. However, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers for the Wii will have more of an adventure feel to it, bringing thoughts of Skies of Arcadia to the minds of those who got to see the short video clip.

Last up was The Last Remnant. They showed a few short clips to go along with the pictures we've already seen, and then Hiroshi Takai gave a few early details. No target release date was mentioned, although it was confirmed as a title for both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Combat involves large scale battles and the ability to shout out orders combined with simple button combos to control the crowds fighting with you. Some of the scenes and graphics reminded people of Final Fantasy XII, although the timing aspect of gameplay is more along the lines of Shenmue.

It's still too early to tell exactly what kind of combat style The Last Remnant gameplay is shooting for, but it's high on the list of titles I'm looking forward to hearing about this weekend. No new news on Final Fantasy Dissidia yet, although this should be a great week of news for PSP owners. Expect some sporadic posts this weekend as the Party details trickle in from overseas.

You readers might start getting sick of all the Final Fantasy news this week and this weekend after the Square Enix Party. Squeenix refuses to abort any of their babies, even their clones are impervious to coat hangers. The new issue of Weekly Jump magazine brings news that Square Enix will be remaking Final Fantasy IV for the Nintendo DS in 3D graphics. It'll be handled by the same group of people who brought us Final Fantasy III on the DS, and even includes a few of the original Final Fantasy IV development team. That surprises me, I always thought you only worked on one Final Fantasy game and then quit into a rich retirement.

On top of the beefed up graphics, Square Enix will also be adding new "scenarios" to FFIV. FFIV isn't alone though, Square Enix decided they weren't going to wait to remake FFV-FFXI, and have also announced that they'll be re-releasing Final Fantasy XII in Japan on August 9th. All they plan to change is adding in twelve new License Boards, each pertaining to specific jobs, and to them that justifies this ridiculous gaudy title: Final Fantasy XII International: Zodiac Job System. And no, it won't be for the PS3 or PSP or Nintendo DS. Just a plain old PS2 clone. Lame.