Gamertell

Guys using videogames to propose to their girlfriends is nothing new but this story officially raises the bar for nerdy romantics everywhere. 1UP is reporting that a man on YouTube, who goes by the username “TheRealPfhreak,“ recently decided to use the Square-Enix classic Chrono Trigger as the vehicle for his marriage proposal.

Only he didn’t just hack the game to make it display a special message but created an entire new area in the game for his girlfriend to explore, filled with references to their memories together. Said the groom-to-be:

“On October 17, 2008, I proposed to my (now) fiance. Originally I wanted to return to the site of our first date, Mount Baker, near Bellingham, Washington. Sadly, there was no discrete way to get her out there. So I turned to the next best thing, digitally recreating the mountain!

But why stop there?...

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In what could be considered another case of a large multi-million dollar company picking on the little guy, Square Enix has announced it has filed a federal lawsuit against several California-based defendants. Square Enix claims that the defendants have infringed on its intellectual property, namely Final Fantasy.

The lawsuit is focused on four wholesale retailers who have allegedly sold unlicensed replica weapons based on several Final Fantasy games. Square Enix is expected to file more…

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In a recent press release, Square-Enix announced that it’s exciting new game Subarashiki Kono Sekai: It’s a Wonderful World will be receiving a European release as The World Ends with You. The game is scheduled to be released for the DS in the spring of 2008. A North American release date has not yet been set for this modern day RPG from the creators of Kingdom Hearts, but now that an English translation has been confirmed it is only a matter of time.

The World Ends with You is set in modern day Shibuya, Japan, and follows the adventures of a young boy named Neku. He finds himself in Shibuya one day with a skull shaped badge and a text message on his phone that informs him that he only has seven days left in this world. By playing the shinigami’s game, he may be able to validate his existance and survive. He is aided in this endeavor by Shiki, Joshua, Beat and Rhyme, others also trapped in this cruel game. Using his telepathic powers, he must read people’s minds to find the enemy noize and find a way to make it through the week.

The most intriguing part is the way the world works. Battle takes place on both screens, with Neku on the bottom controlled with the stylus and one of his partners on the top controlled with the directional pad. Fashion also effects the way things work, as different districts have different styles. Certain clothes are more effective in one area than another. Another interesting prospect is that the badges Neku uses to fight level up even when you aren’t playing.

This game looks amazing, and could be another winner for Square-Enix. Its good to see that the company is capable of more than remakes.

Read [Kotaku] Also Read [The Wii Effect]

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Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings is now flying to stores for the Nintendo DS, and should be available for purchase sometime later today (November 20, 2007). This real-time strategic RPG from Square-Enix picks up the story of Final Fantasy XII one year after all the fun stuff happened. The game is suitable for Everyone ages 10 and older and costs $39.99.

While the price may seem a bit steep for a DS game, players should bear in mind that the game will feature CG movie sequences. The game has also been tweaked a bit for the North American version, as Square-Enix has added a new dungeon, brought back a boss from FFXII, and increased the overall difficulty of the game.

It is a bit hard to sum up the plot without spoiling FFXII for people who still haven’t finished that game. Let’s just say that Vaan and Penelo make it through FFXII alive, become sky pirates, find a floating continent, make friends with the winged citizens of said continent, and then decide to help protect the place from bad sky pirates. A lot of characters from FFXII return, but now some that were NPCs before are playable, and playable characters have become NPCs.

The only thing that worries me about FFXII: Revenant Wings is that the gameplay is supposed to be similar to Heroes of Mana for the DS. As most people are aware, the AI for the troops in that game was clearly defective ("Run around the rock! Not into it! No, THAT way!!!") so let’s hope that issue has been fixed here. If it is successful, it could mean that this style of strategic rpg could work on a portable system. If not, well, then Heroes of Mana will have some company on the used game rack.

Site [Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings]

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The Square-Enix online store has been updated (November 19, 2007) with some new items that previously were only available at the Final Fantasy XI Fan Festival.

The new items include rings and keychains from the three major nations in Vana’diel and an absolutely adorable stuffed baby chocobo, all of which are immediately available for purchase. As always a purchase from the online store must be greater than $23 in order to be processed and a single purchase cannot contain more than three units of a single item.

The priciest items in the update are the nation rings which are made of silver and cost $99.99 each. The rings for each nation are available, so you can purchase one to match the in-game ring you received when you first created your character. The Windurst, Bastok, and San D’oria rings are all immediately available on the site. The sizes are based on Japanese ring sizes, though, so you need to check the chart to determine which one is appropriate for your finger. Despite the price, the jewelry is going fast, as the Bastok size 19 rings (which are roughly a size 9) are already sold out.

The keychains offer a cheaper way to show your allegiance to your in-game nation. Each metal keychain bears the national emblem of Windurst, Bastok, or San D’oria and a metal bear with the words ”Final Fantasy XI”. These items were originally offered at the Japanese Final Fantasy XI Fan Festival with an in-game item code. The ones now available at the shop are identical to the originals, but do not come with an item code. Each one costs $13.99

The baby chocobo chick is by far the most reasonable and precious of all the latest releases. It is designed to look more realistic, like the FFXI birds, than the cartoony characters found in the chocobo dungeon series. This sweet, little baby is five inches tall, is made of cotton and polyester and costs $10.99. It really is just too cute for words.

The baby chocobo chick can steal your breath with it’s cuteness through the computer monitor, so please avoid prolonged exposure. Those big, marmalade eyes and that soft fluffy fur is just too much. It looks like it is just the perfect size to cuddle. Forget about declaring allegiance to some mythical video game nation, give a home to a soft plush pet. Adopt one, name him Chirpy-Boy and love him up.

Site [Square-Enix Official Online Merchandise Store]

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Yoichi Wada, President of Square-Enix, is not happy with the marketing strategies used for the PlayStation 3 console and said that Sony really needs to rethink its strategy if it plans to make the PS3 a success.

Wada, who has been a big supporter of the PlayStation brand, explained the confusion to Reuters that trouble began when Sony started promoting the PS3 as a home entertainment hub instead of a pure game console…

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