Want Some Early Playable Final Fantasy XII?
Course ya do! Read on to find out how you can get your fix.
Published: September 21, 2005
Someone at Square-Enix has a raise that's come due. The idea to pack in a playable demo of Square's Final Fantasy XII in with copies of Enix's upcoming RPG juggernaut Dragon Quest VIII was pure genius. Sure the DQ games sell like their purchase conjures up three personal sex slaves for every owner in Japan, but here in the West, the response is a decidedly stoic "meh" most of the time.
That may finally change, though. Excusing the fact that the series has taken a very obvious turn towards the high production values and expansive worlds offered in Square's RPGs, but keeps with the characters and storytelling that Enix is known for, the whole idea that gamers will finally have a playable taste of FFXII outside of an E3 kiosk is just pure awesome.
If you're not all geeked over the FFXII demo, you may be happy to know that the American conversion of DQVIII arrives with a few extras that the Japanese audience didn't get. Specifically, we'll get voice-overs, new battle abilities, better animations, a tweaked and refined GUI menu system, and a full orchestral soundtrack from composer Koichi Sugiyama.
This complements the game's existing storyline by DQ creator Yuji Horii, character designs by Astro Boy artist Akira Toriyama and actual game coding by developers Level-5 (of Dark Cloud fame). Now in full free-roaming 3D, and backed by a storyline involving the lone survivor of a kingdom ensnared by enchanted vines, the game will be available on shelves at the tail end of November for the usual price of about $50.
That may finally change, though. Excusing the fact that the series has taken a very obvious turn towards the high production values and expansive worlds offered in Square's RPGs, but keeps with the characters and storytelling that Enix is known for, the whole idea that gamers will finally have a playable taste of FFXII outside of an E3 kiosk is just pure awesome.
If you're not all geeked over the FFXII demo, you may be happy to know that the American conversion of DQVIII arrives with a few extras that the Japanese audience didn't get. Specifically, we'll get voice-overs, new battle abilities, better animations, a tweaked and refined GUI menu system, and a full orchestral soundtrack from composer Koichi Sugiyama.
This complements the game's existing storyline by DQ creator Yuji Horii, character designs by Astro Boy artist Akira Toriyama and actual game coding by developers Level-5 (of Dark Cloud fame). Now in full free-roaming 3D, and backed by a storyline involving the lone survivor of a kingdom ensnared by enchanted vines, the game will be available on shelves at the tail end of November for the usual price of about $50.
