Archive for the ‘Everything Final Fantasy’ Category

The only thing that’s bad about it it that PS3 owners have wait till March 2011. But I guess that’s sooner than later with Square Enix, right!?!??!

There is something in all of us, that reaches for the “All Powerful”. The Legendary. The Heroic. Hero worship in all it’s various forms has always been a part of our society. For every race. For every age. For every culture.We all have our favorites. And we have all at one time wished of being one our selves. It doesn’t matter where you come from. What language you speak. Or how old you are. From the beginning of story telling in caves, there have been heroes.

Over here at From Heroes To Icons,we only want to have fun. To allow your imaginations to run free. To enjoy hero worship in all it’s glory. Here you can be who you really are. Love all those geeky, nerdy things that you know you love. You’re sitting in front of a computer. No one can bother us about our hobbies now. Sit back. Relax. Do you like super heroes? Cool! Do you like cartoons and anime? Great! Are you addicted to video games? Fantastic. All that and more is here and right at your finger tips. We the crew at FHTI are here to let you know about all that and more. All the things that keep us Old guys young. Super Heroes. Action Heroes. And we can’t forget any guys favorite. Heroines.

We are not building articles at this site to offend anyone. It’s all good clean fun. It’s for EVERYONE. Yes, including me. FHTI is made by the people. For the people. Just us non profit guys having a good old time, hashing it out about thew things we love the most. HEROES. Everything we post is for the knowledge and enjoyment of the different things we blog about. We let you know how it really is. We don’t do this because we’re paid for it. We don’t get paid for it. We do it, because we love it.

All my life I’ve been fascinated with nearly every type of adventuring hero. Old school stuff like, Sinbad, Jason and the Argonauts, Zorro and the Lone Ranger. Super heroes such as Spider-Man, Hulk, Batman and the Justice League. Video game characters; Samus from Metroid, Nathan Hale of Resistance and all the great characters of the Final Fantasy series. As I broaden my scope for entertainment, I discovered the wonder of martial arts films and anime. Following the adventures of Wing Chun and Ip Man. Watching young heroes fight for family and justice. The Elric brothers of Fullmetal Alchemist. Or the kids from Neon Genesis Evangelion. All these larger than life characters that are so human. The women my daughters can look to. Wonder Woman, Lara Croft and Storm. There are so many you can’t name them all.

I love this crazy world of Fantasy and Science Fiction. The world that we live in is crazy enough. We all need a break every so often. And that is why I have decided to create this little blog. Who can say that they didn’t cry when William Wallce screamed freedom as he lay dying? Whose heart didn’t bleed when Obiwan had to cut down Anakin? Who didn’t fell satisfied when Red XIII and his cubs ran to the mountain, after the credits of Final Fantasy VII? This is what FHTI is all about. This is what heroes are all about.

There is one thing binds these individuals together. They do not stand for just themselves. Not just one person. Not just one people. Or one country. Or one time period. But they stand for all of us. For anyone who has felt oppression and sought freedom. For all those who can not stand for themselves. That is what these heroes are about. And that is what we have forgotten. Regardless of Race. Culture. Or Origin. Heroes were meant to inspire. To give hope. And to have us look into ourselves, to find some of that hero in us. The books we read. The films and TV shows we watch. The anime and cartoons we enjoy. The hero is all compassing. He/She can be anyone. Anything.  Heroes are about sacrifice. About the struggle. About redemption. The heroes journey is what we love. The places they go. The friends the meet. The enemies they vanquish. The power of a hero is not in what nationality he/she is. But what they stand for. And what they accomplish. Only when a hero doubts himself. Makes mistakes. Fails. Only then, when they overcome all that has pushed them down. After the Crucible. Only at the precipice, when all is lost does a hero; a man/woman truly become a hero. And when they have done the impossible time and again. That is what makes them an Icon.

I hope that you will continue this journey with us. There are so many stories to be told. And so many to share. Thank you all.

Special Thanks To JPCDezines for doing what no one else could or would do. Put up with me. LOL

There are very few companies that have the power to enthrall the people that follow them as Square Enix. Throughout the years this company which started out as two distinct companies became a huge powerhouse in Japan. Enix know for it’s Dragon Quest series and Square for the Final Fantasy franchise.Today with the two companies merged as Square Enix they have published some truly great games. The latest of these hits have been Final Fantasy XIII and Dragon Quest IX. Gamers from all over love these titles and continue to show their undying support.

Well if that is really the truth, then why is Final Fantasy seeing so many changes within the franchise. Square Enix has kept Dragon Quest quite intact concerning the all around structure of the game. Even retaining it’s famous theme sound throughout the series. My only complaint is “Where is the PS3 Dragon Quest?” Which is probably many gamers question. The creators of D.Q are infatuated with Nintendo. Guess we’ll have to wait for that indefinitely.

Anyway, Square Enix is set on making Final Fantasy into a modern western RPG. Continuing to adopt western game mechanics and story telling techniques,  instead of sticking to formula. They believe the fast paced gameplay over a more controlled game mechanic will help more gamers to like and buy Final Fantasy. Games such as Bioware’s Mass has been an influence in Square Enixs’ thinking. I beg to differ. Going back to the original F.F. and the first Nintendo. Final Fantasy has always been a world exploring, dungeon crawler. Final Fantasy which was /is a JRPG (Japanese Role Playing Game) has always been a niche franchise, just like Dragon Quest. It catered to, in America to the Dungeon and Dragon players. And the Anime geeks. It always has. These titles are known for certain things that made the fans go wild. The worlds created for exploring. The strategic and even pacing of the battles. And Limit Breaks.. It always had a bigger, stronger and more epic feel to it than most games. That’s what made it stand out. That is what made it seem FINAL!!!!!!!! Not this new ultra fast paced gunslinger feel gameplay. It’s a RPG not a shooter or and action.

Final Fantasy has always been about scale. Huge exploring worlds. Taking time to perfect your characters and weapons before the final battle. Characters that are so huge they stay with you for years after. Memories that made it joyous just waiting for the next one. JRPG’s are just what the initials mean,. “Japanese” RPG. Games such as these have forever been in a class by themselves. They were made that way. And the D&D guys and the anime fans are the ones that supported the titles from the beginning. It was made for the Japanese culture. We have embraced that. And that is why we love it. Don’t transform it into some fast paced condensed quasi western game for the masses. Truly, after the big hurrah only the real fan of F.F. will be there  anticipating the next installment.

The creators that have made F.F the monster that it is. Are the ones that we hold in such esteem. They are the ones who help craft the masterpieces we have played.

Hironobu Sakaguchi whom is the father of Final Fantasy. He has been a continuing influence of the series until 2006, when he departed to create Mistwalker. I for one miss what he contributed to the F.F franchise. His Mistwalker game Lost Odyssey should have been on the Ps3. He was heard to have said that development for Sony was too difficult. But that title was meant for the PS3. Most Xbox 360 owners don’t play JRP’s. But PlayStation owners do. He is set to retire after the release of what is to be his last game. Entitled The Last Story for the Nintendo Wii. How delightful.

Yoshitaka Amano one of Japan’s most famous artist. And one of the most renown modern artist n the world. He has done conceptual art and design for the entire F.F series. He is still doing work for Square Enix. I look forward to his work in some of the upcoming titles to be released.

Nobuo Uematsu who is just the majesty of the Final Fantasy franchise. Creating the music for nearly all the games. his work is what help give life to the unique worlds we explored. He even named his band The Black Mages.

Tetsuya Nomora who has really worked his way up the ranks to become a real influential role at Square Enix. Starting as a debugger. Then getting to design characters for various F.F games. Even directing Final Fantasy VII Advent Children. He is currently working on several projects including a Kingdom Hearts title and the remaining titles for the Fabula Nova Crystallis: Final Fantasy XIII.

There has been much anticipated talk of a remake of the world famous Final Fantasy VII. It was first started with the tech demo of the intro of F.F VII at the 2005 E3. This has since caused a buzz within the video game world like non other. His Emperial Hotness, Yoichi Wada says the the game is not in development . And that it would take nearly 30 years to finish. That just seems stupid. The company needs money. You know you have the man power. They also have all the characters rendered from the Advent Children film. Also they have the voice actors. The White Engine used to create F.F XIII is more than powerful enough for the remake. Why keep leading fans on when you know the remake will never be made!?!? Let it go. All Square Enix s doing is pissing the game world off. Instead the company should look into a full reboot. 14 is high enough. The Final Fantasy name is powerful.And people will continue to purchase the game just for the name alone. But why not make a product that is worth the legacy behind it. You want to sell a game for $100!??! Make a game worth that. Without all the extra incentive crap. It’s a special edition because the game is just that great. Start from the beginning. Not a remake. But using just the title FINAL FANTASY. Not Even the number 1. Go back to the basics. Epic story. Reluctant hero or not. Every character has a job class. Side quests before the last boss. Awesome music score.  And over 100 hours of gameplay. One more thing would be the icing on the cake. No cut backs if the title is going to be on both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. If the Xbox owners really want the title they’ll switch out 10 disc’s and download the world map onto the hard drive, right!?!? Well maybe they won’t. But it could always be and exclusive.

The next numerical edition for the Final Fantasy franchise, which is only an online game is set to release on the PC on September 30th. Those who will get the collectors edition will have the pleasure of being able to play eight days earlier. On September 22nd. This is for the U.S release. As of n ow there is no date for the PlayStation 3 version outside of the 2010 date. Let us hope whatever day it comes out the title will get the same collector’s treatment. The standard edition will cost $50. And the collector’s will cost $75. The monthly rate will be $12.99 a month.  This is what you’ll get in the collector’s edition.

In-Game Item – Collector’s Edition preorders will include a reward code to receive an exclusive in-game item, the Onion Helm.*

Early Access– Play 8 days prior to the release of the Windows PC Standard Edition (timing of access subject to initial server capacity).

Behind the Scenes DVD – Get an insider look at the making of FINAL FANTASY XIV, with exclusive video content, interviews and more in this special documentary DVD.

Security Token – A FINAL FANTASY XIV–branded Security Token for use with your regular password.

Travel Journal – Record your travels in this beautifully bound journal filled with pages of never-before-seen concept art.

Right of Passage – Redeem a voucher to receive your fully-personalized Right of Passage Certificate, each stamped with a unique serial number.

Amano Cover – Special PC Collector’s Edition illustration by renowned artist Yoshitaka Amano.

Beggars can’t be choosers right. After a big no show at E3 we should be glad that we “Finally” got these pics. And it looking nice. I guess we can hope for a sneak peek at the games progress at the Tokyo Game Show in September. I for one am pleased. You know Square Enix has to show off.

They say time flies when you’re having fun. I can attest to that. Out of everyone that knew or helped with my blog, I was the most pessimistic. From day one I had no idea what this would become. Or even if I’d be around for another year. Day after day I tried to make sense of what I’d write or post. You can say that I was pretty lost when it came to internet journalism. but after awhile I became a bit more comfortable. Things to seem to just fall into place. With every little victory came more questions as to how to keep this place cool to the people that visit it. Because lets face it…without you guys I’d be writing and posting to the digital air. My first E3. And I wasn’t even in California to cover it. And man, oh man did I mess up so much. Through all that you the people of the web showed support. For every video, picture and sentence. You were there. All my little mistakes and blunders. You guys came to see what I’d do next. That is what kept me going. knowing that someone was actually looking to hear and see what I posted.  Thank you guys so much for just taking a chance. Spending just a few precious minutes to poke around. It makes it all worth while.

My wife was the best support. Although she didn’t get it at first. She began to see exactly what was going on. And showed alot of interest in what I put up as well as what you guys wrote back. Time really does move too fast. I can still remember blogging so many nights while rocking my baby to sleep. What a struggle that was. But always worth it.

And really who can forget the guy who is responsible for the birth of From Heroes To Icons. Johnathan Paul. My close and dear friend. He said that this is what I should to. He alone designed the logo. And the site itself. All the stuff you see on the side bars. The build of the site and maintenance of the site I owe all to him. Thanks JPCDezines. Your the best.

I’ll review some of the cool things we covered this year. But I want you to look forward to much more. As Jim Lee said when he worked on X-Men with Chris Clarmont. “The Best Is Yet To Come”.

My first video post: It’s crazy. You have no idea how long it took me to actually have thing running correctly. I didn’t have a clue. Thankfully John Paul was there to pull my but out of the fire. Frustrating, but well worth it. Sherlock Holmes was on of the best films in 2009.

Most Anticipated Games of E3 2009: This post was the first to give me more than just the hits from my friends. Here was my first real chance to see how viewers saw me and my sight. I great moment for me and my followers. I got to dig in and they could finally feel me out.

E3 2009: It was the best and worst week of my life. The amount of information coming out of that place is out of control. After the initial shock I was able to stream line the info into post that made sense. I got my feet wet. And it wasn’t a bad experience at all.

My Big Final Fantasy Post: I am one of the BIG fans of Final Fantasy. I wrote the article to just to see how people would react.So many people love the franchise that questioning if it is the greatest RPG is bound to ruffle some feathers. But it is good point. Thoughts on Final Fantasy XIII?!?!?

Dead Fantasy: What can anyone say when a fan takes two of the biggest franchises and makes his own miniseries with them? When it comes to Dead Fantasy’s creator Monty Oum….OMG!!!!!!!!! is all you’ll get to say. The guy is a genius.

PlayStation Slim: Sporting a sleeker look no backward compatibility, a bigger HDD and a cheaper price. It’s just what the doctor ordered for Sony. Buy it Play it. Love it.

GamesCom 2K9: More video games. More of the best stuff shown at E3. Gotta love those game trailers.

PSP Go!!!:Smaller, bigger hard drive and just plain cool.

ExSleepyInk Coming aboard: This guy is a beast. You have love him. He puts forth such zeal into his articles. And most of all he has fun with it.

Sick Pavarotti Coming aboard: My long time friend Nolan. You haven’t heard to much from him. He’s working on the Masters Degree. We won’t penalize him for that. Someone has to be the Master. lol

PlayStation Move: More than just Wii HD.

Welcome Our New Blogger Vicious: Me and this guy go way back. I’m so glad to have another one of the guys that love all this stuff come aboard.

There is just so much to talk about that has transpired. I would love to go into it all but that would be overkill. Truly I have been blessed with some cool people to work with this past year. I got a new computer to work on. And things over here at FHTI is perfect as independent blogging goes. For me this time of the year is great as an anniversary time in blogging. E3 is just around the corner and I can’t wait to see how this new computer is going to treat me. Once again Thank you so much for giving From Heroes To Icons a chance. We will continue to do our best to keep thing interesting around here. Maybe even as interesting as this video.

My Thoughts On A FF VII Remake: The greatest trick the Devil ever did. Was making the world believe he didn’t exist. Is Square Enix doing the same thing. To say that it will never be made. And yet it is in development right now. Well that may be a bit too much. Guess that was the fan boy in me talking. See ya in the funny papers.

It seems that Microsoft has all the answers. I knew this was coming. But I didn’t think they would beat Sony to the punch. A game that really shouldn’t even be running on the Xbox now has it’s own bundle. Well for all of you who have been waiting for that one good reason to buy an Xbox 360. Here it is. One of the greatest games to appear on both consoles this year. It will come nicely decorated with a decal on the hard drive, which happens to be 250gb. And an awesome face plate. All yours for $399. Lands in stores March 9th.

This is exactly what I’ve been saying in the last two articles. Now Square Enix is being bias as regions go. They are saying that this collection is worth $100 in U.S dollars. But as always it seems. As of right now only Europe will be getting this lovely Collectors Edition. Let me show you what is inside of maybe the most anticipated RPG of this generation.

Obviously the game itself

A hard bound art book, titled “The world of Final Fantasy XIII”

Art prints of the Eidolons

L’Cie Decal

FF XIII Soundtrack

That is well worth the money don’t you think. Let us hope Square Enix likes us over here in America. And will bless us with our own Collectors Edition.

Everyone that is waiting foe this game should know that the only reason I’m posting this is because of the emotion that is given off from watching this. Someone once said that playing video games is an emotional commitment for just a few hours. And we judge a game on how it makes us feel. Well just looking at the trailer for FF XIII makes me want to cry with joy. You’ll see what I mean. Oh, and the Theme song is pure fire.