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Given that Square Enix recently vowed they’d be making an effort to release their games worldwide simultaneously, I think we should take a look at the games we hope we’ll be getting around the same time as Japan. Starting with Fabula nova crystallis.

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This game is old by our standards (and those who picked up the game in Japan 7 months ago), but only now have Square Enix given the game a North American and European release date. Known as It’s a wonderful world in Japan, the game will release in North America and Europe as The world ends with you in April.

The game is an RPG produced by Tetsuya Nomura and centers around a hip young boy named Neku who finds himself in the mi?{???m1dShibuya and the sudden ability to read the hearts and minds of those around him. He also finds out that he’s part of some twisted game that prevents him leaving Shibuya and will have him removed from existence if he doesn’t play along. )Bummer. And I thought I having a shit day). During his ‘game playing’ he will team up with other young Shibuya dwellers: Shiki, Joshua, Beat and Rhyme - who undoubtedly will have some ties to the ‘death game’ and aid in convoluting the plot something chronic. Players will be able to take control of these characters during battles (all of whom are have unique attacks) and utilize the DS’s touch screen to lay the hurt on enemies.

The world ends with you is different to many of Square Enix’s past efforts in that it seems to not only be set in a real life location, but is very much saturated in current pop culture. The characters are all dressed in hip casual wear and the game trades Hitoshi Sakimoto and Yoko Shimamura soundtracks for funky Hip-hop and Techno numbers, along with tracks contributed by vocal artists. The game also looks as though it draws many parallels to Kingdom Hearts, undoubtedly because of Nomura’s involvement. Neku’s style is quite similar to Sora’s and the enemies in the game could pass as heartless with their floaty blackness and hostility. Enough words. Check out the trippy intro to the game below…

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Square Enix chose to keep trailers of their forthcoming Final Fantasy XIII and Kingdom Hearts games private at this year’s Tokyo game show. I doubt anybody cared. I sure as hell didn’t. But an extended trailer for Final Fantasy versus XIII has now been released. By released I mean ripped from a DVD. Some bonus DVD got released in Japan and this trailer was on it. So of course it got ripped and uploaded to the Internets. Thank God for the Internet and embeddable videos!

As is always with Square Enix, the quality of the FMV is astounding from a visual standpoint. But I couldn’t help but think “Meh” as I watched this. There’s a resounding sense of deja vu about the whole thing. The main guy looks like a member of Kingdom Hearts II’s Organization XIII and the scene itself easily could’ve been a deleted one from Advent children. It probably was and then Square Enix decided to spin it off into another game.

For those who don’t know, Final Fantasy versus XIII is one of three Final Fantasy XIII games which will collectively form Fabula nova crystallis, which translates roughly as Tale of the new crystal. Final Fantasy XIII is the main game and some mobile phone bullshit is the other. All 3 of these games are set in their own universes, but are unified by their central themes, which I’m assuming will be a crystal and a love interest.

Final Fantasy Versus XIII is being directed by Advent children and Kingdom Hearts director Tetsuya ‘I make men look effeminate and draw kids with huge feet’ Nomura. This of course means Versus XIII will have FMV sequence and cut scenes that look like they were jacked straight out of Advent children and the game will play just like Kingdom Hearts II and probably feature Bahamut and a character named Cid for good measure.

Despite my cynicism, I’m looking forward to this game. I just find it hard to get excited about it when Square Enix’s past few efforts have been so lackluster, there is such little information on this game, the scene above looks so unoriginal and the game probably won’t release in North America or Europe until 2009.

[JeuxFrance]