Developed by Media Vision, Chaos Rings will be Square Enix’s first RPG developed specifically for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The trailer above shows off Chaos Rings’ exploration elements and team-based battle system.
Producer Takehiro Ando claims in a Facebook update that the game is “almost fully developed,” pending final testing and bugfixes. The trailer notes that an App Store release will arrive “soon.”
1UP.com reports that Final Fantasy series publisher Square Enix is readying an exclusive RPG for the iPhone and iPod Touch.
Developed in cooperation with Wild Arms creator Media Vision, the upcoming Chaos Rings puts players in the middle of a team-based battle tournament to the death. The game features five selectable teams of two characters each, with each team boasting a unique storyline that ties into the main narrative.
In combat, players will choose between “solo” and “pair” attacks. Combined attacks are more powerful, but will leave both team members open to enemy counters. Battles require strategy and planning, and are said to be more intense than the genre’s typical encounters.
The game’s staff includes Yusuke Naora, art director for Final Fantasy VII, VIII, and X, and graphic designer for Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger. No release date for Chaos Rings has been announced.
In this weekly feature, FingerGaming rounds up the top-grossing iPhone and iPod Touch applications, as current that day on the iTunes App Store. This week’s top titles are:
EA’s Monopoly finishes as this week’s highest-grossing game in the App Store, boosted by a recent television advertisement highlighting popular iPhone titles. Square Enix’s former chart leader Final Fantasy drops to second place, while Backflip Studios’ physics puzzler Ragdoll Blaster 2 takes third in its debut week.
Activision’s Call of Duty: World at War Zombies holds steady at fourth place, though Gameloft’s competing title Brothers in Arms 2 has fallen out of the top ten after a strong performance last week. Plants vs. Zombies also sees a drop in popularity after placing third last week, and finishes behind Triniti’s app compilation All-in-1 Gamebox and PopCap’s Bejeweled 2 in today’s chart results.
EA’s Rock Band moves up to eighth place this week, as Gameloft’s recently released iPhone version of the classic 3D platformer Rayman 2 closes out today’s chart.
Every Thursday, FingerGaming rounds up the most popular free iPhone and iPod Touch applications, as current that day on the iTunes App Store. This week’s top titles are:
A free points promotion for Storm8’s online RPG iMobsters lands the top spot in today’s chart. Donut Games’ penguin platformer Icy Escort premieres at second place, as the stick figure strategy title iGraveDigger finishes third.
Puzzler Line Up 2 and Solitaire follow at fourth and fifth, while Glenn Corpes’ land-skimming racer Ground Effect leads over LetsTans and Doodle Army Boot Camp after becoming a free download for a day.
In this weekly feature, FingerGaming rounds up the top-grossing iPhone and iPod Touch applications, as current that day on the iTunes App Store. This week’s top titles are:
PopCap’s Plants vs. Zombies ends its two-week run as the App Store’s biggest-grossing game title this week. Square Enix’s port of Final Fantasy rises to the top of the charts in its first week of release, as EA’s Monopoly climbs up to second place after recently being featured in an iPhone television advertisement.
Activision’s Call of Duty: World at War Zombies overtakes Gameloft’s recently released Brothers in Arms 2 in today’s sales rankings. Triniti’s compilation All-in-1 Gamebox follows at sixth place, while Bejeweled 2 remains a steady seller at seventh.
Newtoy’s Words With Friends, Final Fantasy II, and EA’s Rock Band close out this week’s results, pushing former chart contenders The Sims 3 and Tetris out of the top ten.
I have fond memories of finishing the original NES version of Final Fantasy. I played through the Dawn of Souls remake for the Game Boy Advance as recently as last year. Suffice to say, I enjoy the game a lot.
The source material holds up surprisingly well, I’ve found. Despite being more than 20 years old, the original Final Fantasy remains very playable. It’s very well-paced, it keeps up a satisfying sense of progression throughout, and it contains very few points where the player is left wondering what to do, especially when compared to other games of its vintage.
In terms of visuals and content, the iPhone and iPod Touch version of Final Fantasy is largely identical to the Anniversary Edition remake released for the PlayStation Portable. This particular version has its quirks — the challenge level has taken a significant hit, and the shift in graphic style is questionable — but it otherwise remains a solid recreation of the original Final Fantasy experience.
Unfortunately, Final Fantasy arrives in the App Store with all the grace and splendor of a bad mobile phone port. The controls are inconsistent. The framerate jerks and stutters unpredictably. Worst of all, a major oversight in the overhauled battle interface destroys the game’s key sense of pacing.
To promote the release of Final Fantasy I and II, Square Enix has discounted every other title in its App Store catalog. Recent releases like Hills and Rivers Remain and Song Summoner get a little cheaper, and the company’s accelerometer-controlled Sliding Heroes is now available for only 99 cents.
Other discounts for this weekend include the classic platformer Giana Sisters, FMV action game Cobra Command, and Gamevil’s action-RPG Vanquish.
Square Enix has launched its classic console RPGs Final Fantasy ($8.99) and Final Fantasy II ($8.99) for the iPhone and iPod Touch.
Originally released for Nintendo’s 8-bit Famicom in the late ’80s, the first two entries in the Final Fantasy series redefined expectations for the RPG genre. Final Fantasy allows players to construct their own custom character parties, while Final Fantasy II places great focus on narrative and character development.
Both games feature updated graphics and bonus content from the previously released Anniversary Edition remakes for the PlayStation Portable. The new iPhone editions also boast an all-new gameplay interface, enabling players to sort through menus and target enemies in battle using the iPhone’s touch screen.
There it is — video proof that Square Enix’s classic console RPGs Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy II are coming to the iPhone “soon.”
Last we heard, the “Anniversary Edition” PSP remakes of the first two entries of the Final Fantasy franchise were due for an App Store release. The new iPhone versions of Final Fantasy I and II will will feature all-new gameplay interfaces optimized for touch screens.
A small selection of new screenshots can be viewed in the gallery below.
Baseball Superstars series publisher Gamevil has announced comprehensive sales figures for 2009, revealing record high product sales and net income.
For the year of 2009, Gamevil earned 24.4 billion KRW ($21.0 million USD) in worldwide product sales across all platforms. Operating income was 13.6 billion KRW ($11.7M USD), with a net income of 11.8 billion KRW ($10.2M USD).
Gamevil is the first mobile game company in Korea to earn more than 10 billion KRW in annual net income.
2009 was Gamevil’s best sales year in the company’s corporate history. Product sales increased 59 percent over the company’s 2008 earnings. Its operating income saw an increase of 118 percent compared to last year’s results, while net income grew by 124 percent.
Gamevil expanded its presence in North America throughout last year with a string of well-received titles for Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch. The company’s iTunes App Store lineup includes the popular sports sim Baseball Superstars 2010 and the critically praised role-playing games Zenonia and Hybrid: Eternal Whisper.
“We are happy to announce that our sales increased significantly in 2009 after our best year in 2008. And we’re especially proud of the high profit level we were able to achieve, even on a global standard,” said Gamevil Chief Financial Officer Yong Kuk Lee. “Through the adoption of smartphones and increased usage of mobile internet, we are confident that the mobile gaming industry will continue to thrive in 2010.”
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