"Poor, put upon Europe. You either had to pay exorbitant prices to import a Japanese or North American version of Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII or simply wait patiently for the game's release on your continent on the 20th of this month. Well SCEE feels your pain, and they hope to ease it somewhat by offering a limited edition PSP Crisis Core game bundle, complete with the game and the silver engraved PSP the Japanese got when the game first launched there."

The official UK Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core website is finally up and running. If you have been living under a rock for the last few months, the website details everything a newcomer needs to know about the game...

http://www.crisiscoregame.co.uk/

Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core is set for release in PAL regions later this month.

"Square Enix, not one to sit one their hands, decided to try and give the Final Fantasy VII Compilation another shot of adrenaline, hoping not to appear to be beating it like a dead horse. They developed Crisis Core, and instead of try to mix it up with something totally new again, the developer designed the game fairly similar to the successful Kingdom Hearts series. Furthermore, they also strictly developed Crisis Core for the Playstation Portable, in an attempt to tap an otherwise quiet mar..."

"In a rather lengthy interview, Square Enix producers who crafted Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII had an interesting discussion now that they're able to just sit back and watch how fans react to a classic RPG's prequel on the Sony PlayStation Portable. What really caught our attention is the possibility of having another Final Fantasy VII title, which could easily be the remake we've all been clamoring for.

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII executive producer Yoshinori Kitase and Producer Hidek..."

"If you'd known the DS was going to be as popular as it is, would you have chosen to make Crisis Core for it instead?

The DS was already out at the time we came up with the concept of Crisis Core. It really wasn't an option to begin with and it wasn't something we regretted later because whereas, yes, there are a lot of DSs out there - but does that mean that our products sell in relation to that? That our sales grow with how many DSs or PSPs there are out there?

It's not really the case..."

"Square Enix has confirmed that announcements regarding European launch details for both the westernised version of Final Fantasy IV for DS and Crisis Core - Final Fantasy VII are imminent.

“Regarding both your questions, we should have some announcements being made public very soon”"

"1UP: Does Crisis Core mark the finale for the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII series?

HT: No, it does not. The Compilation's finale will take some other form."

"For all you San Francisco Bay Area Final Fantasy fans out there, Square Enix will be holding a Crisis Core - Final Fantasy VII launch party at the Sony Metreon Centre. The event will take place next Tuesday, March 25 from 6:00PM - 9:00PM and will celebrate the history of Final Fantasy VII as well as the launch of Crisis Core. The first 100 people in line will get a commemorative T-shirt as well as be eligible for some raffle prizes. Shinra company ID cards will also be made at the event that ..."

"Official Release:
Square Enix Ltd., the publisher of Square Enix® interactive entertainment products in Europe and other PAL territories, today announces that a limited special edition version of the game will be available with the forthcoming UK release of CRISIS CORE® -FINAL FANTASY® VII- exclusively on the PSP™ (PlayStation® Portable) system in Q2 2008.

The special edition version, with hard-backed artwork book and high-quality slipcase will be available exclusively with selected onlin..."

"Character profiles and teaser videos of our favorite Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 characters are good, but an English website is even better. In fact, Square Enix included some new stuff on the site that's worth checking out, at least till the game arrives on March 25, 2008.

For example, famous flower girl Aerith Gainsborough gets her own profile this time around, joining Zack and company on the character page. Of particular note is the battle between Sephiroth and Genesis, where the latte..."

"This month's edition of Official Playstation Magazine has a small follow-up to the interview they had last issue with the director of Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core; Hajime Tabata. Quite a lot of the questions actually revolved around the Final Fantasy VII franchise though, rather than Crisis Core itself.

It is worth noting that when asked again about the possibility of a Final Fantasy VII remake, he said:

"The possiblity for a remake may become greater if, for instance, the schedules o..."

"Crisis Core Pre-orders Can Net You Geeky Goodies. If you're willing to drop the cash on a copy of the PSP entry in the "Compilation of Final Fantasy VII", you could walk away with some attractive plastic. This Shin-Ra Electric Power Company UMD case is yours for the stuffing, should you pre-order Crisis Core from Amazon, GameCrazy, GameStop or EBGames. Surely limited in the tens of thousands, so act early."

The official Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Complete Guide is now available on Play-Asia and Amazon.jp.

Although the guide itself isn't much use to people who can't read Japanese, the artwork alone is worth taking a look at.

"Square Enix also promises that the PAL version of the game will feature "additional gameplay challenges not included in the original Japanese version." Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII will come to all PAL territories in spring 2008."

"Specifically, Japanese gaming giant Square Enix has this week confirmed that Crisis Core - Final Fantasy VII will be released exclusively across all PAL territories this coming spring on Sony’s slick and sexy handheld.

Set to arrive as the fourth entrant in the hugely popular Final Fantasy VII series - and also a direct prequel to the original PlayStation classic - Crisis Core will likely provide all the trademark excitement, grandeur, and exhilaration of the Final Fantasy franchise while ..."

"The game that sold hundreds of thousands of PSP systems in Japan and is poised to do the same when it hits U.S. soil in late March has been officially, if somewhat vaguely, dated for Europe! Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII has been officially granted a Spring 2008 release by Square Enix, which means anywhere between March 21st and June 21st, giving them a nice little three-month window to cram all of those extra languages into that tiny little UMD. Here's hoping it's closer to the beginning of..."

"Square Enix's epic Final Fantasy VII prequel is coming to the US at last! Square Enix confirmed today that the PSP exclusive will arrive on March 25th. The game follows the adventures of Zack and his life as part of SOLDIER. Along the way, he'll meet familiar faces, like Cloud, Sephiroth and more. Crisis Core has been rated T by the ESRB for Blood, Mild Language, Mild Suggestive Themes and Violence."

"Cheesemeister

01. [PS2] Dragon Ball Z: Sparking! Meteor (Bandai-Namco) - 204,000 / NEW
02. [PSP] Gundam Battle Chronicle (Bandai-Namco) - 86,000 / NEW
03. [NDS] Archaic Sealed Heat (Nintendo) - 50,000 / NEW
04. [WII] Dragon Ball Z: Sparking! Meteor (Bandai-Namco) - 40,000 / NEW
05. [PS2] Jikkyou Powerful Major League 2 (Konami) - 35,000 / NEW
06. [NDS] Pokémon Mysterious Dungeon: Time Expedition Party (Pokémon) - 34,000 / 475,000
07. [PSP] Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (Square-Enix)..."

"It is now October 10th in Japan, meaning that the Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- Original Soundtrack has now been officially released. Thanks to poster #124 of the Crisis Core 2ch thread, we have some photographs of the CDs and jewel case."

"It's the Xbox 360 title that has become the fastest-selling game ever in the US and already made developer Bungie a cool $300 million. It's everywhere, and it even has its own drink. It's Halo 3, of course, and even the Japanese, it seems, can't resist.

The game was released on September 27 in the region and burst straight into the Japanese charts at number one, according to figures released by Media Create for the week of September 24 to 30. Halo 3 sold 58,672 units in its first week on ..."

"Square-Enix has recently released the cover image for the Crisis Core Ultimania as well as announced a release date of October 18th, 2007.

The cover features a fully CGed image of Cloud, Angeal, and Zack grasping the Buster Sword. The Ultimania is to be 592 pages long and featuring a wide variety of content, such as images, interviews, and character explanations.

Thank you to forum member Sephiria for the update."

"Story: Crisis Core focuses on Zack Fair, who's part of a military organization called SOLDIER, trying to earn a First Class ranking. He's joined by the world famous Cloud Strife, the main character in the original Final Fantasy VII title, the blond character being an average Shinra Guard. The Shinra Electric Power Company rules all of the world's continents by force and with the aid of their technological superiority. Shinra uses Mako energy to fuel all of its gear, power plants and buildings..."

"If this year's Square Enix party was any indication, Japanese gamers are clamoring for a remake of Final Fantasy VII as much as anyone else, but unfortunately that hasn't come to fruition just yet. In the meantime, the company has seen fit to release a series of games that have more to do with the events before and after Final Fantasy VII than during it. Crisis Core is the newest part of the "compliation," and tells the story of Zack before he felt the cold steel of Sephiroth's blade.

In c..."

"Square's big budget fan service film, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, is heading to Blu-ray and it's going to provide much more than an HD transfer. A new trailer showcased at TGS shows a few new scenes that expand upon the film's storyline. One scene took place in the alleys of Midgar as children afflicted with Geostigma appear to be melting goo. Another sequence shows Sephiroth stabbing Cloud through the chest, skewering him and swinging him like a piece of dead meat. Not only will the ..."

"From our oh-so-short play session with the game, the long wait for Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII was most definitely worth it.

While I'm sure my words are riveting you right out of your seat, there's no way they're as cool as the actual cinematic looked on the PSP in my hands. After the opening train sequence was over it was time to actually take control of our main character.

Gone are the days of pre-rendered backdrops and loading times in between fights. As Zack moved around the tra..."

"

Japan first Day Sales:

Crisis Core FF7 (PSP) : approx 350000"

"With the Tokyo Game Show approaching, Square Enix have flooded the fans with yet more remake rumours.

A new "secret video" from the FFVII prequel "Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core" has sparked fan's interests, showing a message saying "To be continued in Final Fantasy VII". Could this simply mean that fans should seek out the PSone game to continue the FFVII story? Or is it yet another hint at a possible remake?

But this "secret video" is not the only thing that has got fans talking. Squ..."

"Crisis Core was given a rating of 8.75 by a currently unknown gaming magazine. Current 'scans' (actually digital photos) are a bit too small for proper translations but better quality scans should surface soon enough. Along with the review the 'scans' show scenes of the Nibelheim escape and Bahamut Retsu.



From the article:
- Crisis Core is "being strong, as well as having a New Game + option".
- Each reviewer's scores were: " 9, 9, 8 and 9 ".
- There is New Game + with stronger leve..."

"From the interview:

The Potion Concept is "Sephiroth Flavor"
Supposedly it’s more delicious than the last one.
"We ordered a fresh citrus flavor. Soon after we announced a second edition we wanted a completely different flavor, and I was really surprised by the result." (Nomura)

"The greatest secret of the DMW will be revealed in the last battle"
(Nomura)
"We'll know the true meaning of the DMW's existence".

"We feel that the DMW as a system that is connected to deep emotion..."

"Get out your hairgel! To mark ten years of Final Fantasy VII, Square Enix is rolling out a special exhibition for all to gape at.

Take note Tokyo readers, the FINAL FANTSY VII 10th ANNIVERSARY Gallery will run from August 31 to September 2nd at Aoyama's Spiral Garden.

It will feature illustrations and original images from Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-, Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- and Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII.

..."

"The Complete Dismantling and Ultimania Omega commemorates the 10th anniversary of Final Fantasy VII, thoroughly detailing the entire Final Fantasy VII Compilation from every angle, as well as including updated information regarding the Compilation.
Differing from previous Final Fantasy VII books, this book will be a memorial to the ten years of Final Fantasy VII.

It will be sold in Japan on September 13th."

"Sony and Square Enix are celebrating 10 years of Final Fantasy VII with a special edition FFVII Sony PSP console and game bundle, which we have to say, looks quite damn snazzy.

The FFVII Sony PSP bundle features a lovely custom FFVII silver PSP, which currently can be pre-ordered in Japan for 25,889 Yen (approx £108), with a shipping date of Sept 13th, but no European date has been announced.

The FFVII package features the new slim silver PSP with Final Fantasy logo and graphics on the..."

"Tabata: Up until now it wasn't possible to really depict Sephiroth as a more human character. In order to help Angeal he will have to take actions to deceive Shinra to ensure that Shinra commands fall through, and this leads into an unintentional give and take with Zack. Thus Sephiroth's true self will be a big highlight.

The voice acting has been improved again. While the seiyuu have been bringing Aerith, Zack, and Sephiroth to life from the outset, they've had to spend time under a lot ..."

"About Crisis Core:

Hajime Tabata: "There's a reason why this game is released last [note: what about the 20 years of FFVII?]. This is one of Square Enix's most important moments, when we're about to tell the story that leads up to maybe the most beloved RPG of them all. So we've taken our time and prepared us well."

Q: "How much do you listen to the opinions of the fans?"

A: "All I can say is that you encounter characters from the original game in Crisis Core. But you have to have in..."