Following in the tradition of previous incarnations of the SQ series, Cafe SQ takes classic music from some of Square’s franchises and remixes them with Japan’s trending talent. Cafe SQ includes music from the Final Fantasy series, including “Suteki Da Ne”, “Main Theme of Final Fantasy VII” and “Johnny C. Bad”. Square-Enix has provided a sample of the new album, which you can hear below.
Cafe SQ will available November 23rd for ¥2100.
Available now, the SQ Chips album takes classic music from the Squaresoft games of the past, remixing them with a new (or modern, rather) chiptune flavor. This includes music from the Final Fantasy series, SaGa series, Chrono Trigger, and more. Sample some of the music in the video below, courtesy of Square-Enix!
The very first episode of Final Fantasy Network is here, and hosts Kyle, Francesca, and Jamie are joined by special guest, Kenley Kristofferson! Naturally the new crew kick things off with Final Fantasy Type-0 demo impressions, then jump all over recent news of Final Fantasy XIII-2 rumours, Moogles, Tokyo Game Show 2011, and more! Following up news the discussion turns to debate over new generation portables influencing the future of Final Fantasy, and turn again with “While We Wait” where the crew make their games recommendations to all us impatient Final Fantasy fans.
Of course that’s not it, everyone from FinalFantasy.net that called in before the show was recorded made it onto this episode for the show’s final segment, “Listener Call-ins!” At a whopping two hours long, the show is absolutely packed with debate, discussion, and wild speculation, just how we like it.
Listen / Subscribe to Final Fantasy Network on iTunes
RSS Feed | Direct Link: Final Fantasy Network E01
If you’d like to hear yourself on the show, again the phone number is 1-888-361-7770. Podcast music, “Vessel of the Void” by Zircon can be found at OCRemix. Kenley’s podcast series, Into the Score can be found at IntotheScore.com, check it out!
FinalFantasy.net is proud to announce the development of our very own iTunes podcast series, self-titled, Final Fantasy Network! I’m Kyle, the latest addition to the FFN staff – very happy to be here – and I’ll be hosting this new show! In fact, I’ve prepared a nice meaty teaser for the show, which will be debuting this Friday, August 19th. Just click play below! Or click here for the MP3.
Update: We’re now on the iTunes Store, click here to subscribe through iTunes. You can find the RSS feed here: RSS
Jamie, Francesca and myself will be joined by guest co-host, Kenley Kristofferson for the first episode, and we couldn’t be more excited! Again, we need tons of questions and FinalFantasy.net reader-input for our debut episode, which we’re recording in roughly 16 hours from now! The number to call is 1-888-361-7770, just call that and leave a voicemail message, and if you’re from outside the USA/Canada, you can call us on Skype and leave your input, just call “FinalFantasyNetwork” in Skype.
We hope you’re looking forward to the new show, we’ve been working hard to put it together. You can also follow the podcast series on Twitter, @FFNcast. The remix featured in this teaser is ‘Dirt Devil‘ by Zircon.
Wow! It’s already been a year since we launched FinalFantasy.net! I want to personally thank all of our readers for making our humble site a source for their Final Fantasy series news and information. I’ll be the first to admit we’re not the most glamorous site, but we hope we’ve done a good job at keeping you updated with what you want to know. I like to think of us as that exclusive hipster club you can only get into with connections–okay not really. In the coming year, we plan to expand more from news and information into thoughtful editorials and have a spotlight on our growing community. We still desire to bring you the latest Final Fantasy news and updates, and we’ll keep you updated around the clock especially with major Square-Enix events scheduled for the second half of this year.
Tell us what you’d like to see from a Final Fantasy fansite!
We thank you and hope you will continue to make Final Fantasy Network your choice for the next year and beyond! Huzzah!
~ The Final Fantasy Network Staff
The August edition of Dengeki PlayStation, the well known game news magazine in Japan, will feature the ‘Tetsuya Nomura Allstars’ on the front cover.
Mr. Nishioka, one of the editorial team tweeted on twitter: “The proofreading of the 500th PS Dengeki has finished and has received high reviews. I won’t say too much because I want you to be surprised when you see the finished product but the cover is amazing. It is really mind-blowing… You may or may not have a tear in your eye, but when I first saw the cover I was overwhelmed. Hope you all like the magazine!”
The August 25th edition of Playstation Dengeki will be on sale from August the 11th in Japan.
Recently Famitsu had a chance to speak with several Square-Enix alum about their feelings about the future of the Final Fantasy series. They were asked about what they would see Final Fantasy XX being like many (probably), many years in the future. The responses were mostly light-hearted with Final Fantasy Legends producer Takashi Tokita referring to a Smell-O-Vision type mechanic where players would be able to smell the scent of a heroine’s fragrance or the stench of a Malboro. Final Fantasy XIV director/producer Naoki Yoshida (aka Yoshi-P) commented that Final Fantasy XX “will be the second open world FF and will have a main character who can cross time and travel through the worlds of the previous nineteen FF games.”
What do you think is possible for Final Fantasy XX? Let us know by leaving a comment below or joining the discussion in our forum.
Attending this year’s E3, Square-Enix super producer Yoshinori Kitase had a few comments for the crowd anticipating HD remastered collections for the Final Fantasy series. When addressed by PS3Trophies if fans should expect them coming down the pipe, Kitase responded:
“We haven’t made up our mind about that yet,” said Kitase, “but if there was a strong voice coming through from the users asking for such porting, then obviously we would seriously consider it, but no actual plans yet.”
So what can you do to let Square-Enix know you want these games? Perhaps a good start would be using the power of social media such as Facebook and Twitter! Tell Square-Enix why you want Final Fantasy games in HD and share with them some of your favorite games and memories!
■ Square-Enix North America on Facebook
■ Square-Enix Members (North America) on Twitter
SQChips is the newest installment of the SQ album series. This time around, the music from classic Squaresoft franchises (including many Final Fantasy titles) get a chiptune makeover. With some of the PS1 and PS2-era Final Fantasy games in tow, it should be interesting to hear chiptune remixes. The official website for the album is up today, with a sample playing in the background from SaGa 2: Hihō Densetsu/Final Fantasy Legend II. The soundtrack will be available in Japan on September 7th, 2011 for ¥1980. ($23.50-ish)
If you aren’t familiar with The Returners, they are a group of dedicated gamers who stream marathons of storied franchises in an effort to raise money for various charities. Next, they’ve set their eyes on the Final Fantasy franchise to raise money for Doctors Without Borders who bring medical relief to those devastated by war, natural disasters, famine, and poverty across the globe. The event begins on June 9th @ 6:00pm CST (12:00am GMT) and will stretch until June 14th. During the stream, you will be able to donate to the effort starting at $1.00 USD. So here’s your chance to catch a Final Fantasy series stream for a great cause!
■ For more information about The Returners and the stream, click here.
■ For more information about Doctors Without Borders, click here.
