All DS Previews

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer)

Mar 14, 2007

The last outing for Marvel's fab four, published by Activision, not 2K Games, was a mediocre affair with predictable button-bashing action that barely tested your skills. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer benefits from PS3's bolder, crisper graphics, while the gameplay's been enhanced to test your wit as well as your rapid-finger ...

Review: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates [import] (Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates)

Jan 23, 2008

Like the original Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles on GameCube, Ring of Fates is a dungeon-crawling adventure that plays a little bit like a faster-paced Phantasy Star Online. You control one plucky young warrior, accompanied ideally by three like-minded friends with whom youll combine magic attacks and take specialised roles in the relentless combat that forms the bulk of the game. The D-pad makes your bloke scamper around, and every other button is used for picking things up, attacking with ...

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates (Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates)

May 30, 2007

There have been two brand new Japanese trailers of FFCC which makes us very excited indeed. The graphical style is in keeping with the recent Final Fantasy III on DS, which is one of the prettiest DS games ever seen. One trailer shows a little cutscene of the two main characters examining a crystal, while the other one (surely the shortest trailer in the world) shows a teeny bit of fighting gameplay. The fighting looks very free, with impressive-looking Matrix-jumps and moves designed to kill ...

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates - hands on (Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates)

May 13, 2007

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles on the GameCube was, well, a bit problematic. Some great ideas - making an action-based, cooperative Final Fantasy - worked well. Others... like keeping your characters chained together by forcing them to stay in a tiny circle of light or take damage, or making everyone use a GBA to control the game, were not so great. Fortunately, the developers have learned from user feedback and are making changes to FFCC: Ring of Fates for the DS. Since each player has his ...

Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales - first hands-on (Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales)

Feb 22, 2007

We recently got our first hands-on look at Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales, the latest FF spin-off featuring one of our favorite icons of the series. Our time with the game was divided into three sections: minigames, microgames, and card battles. First off, the art style of the game is unapologetically cute. Drawing inspirations from Aesop's Fables and other children's stories (hence the name Final Fantasy Fables), each minigame has a theme from a classic children's story. To go along with ...

Final Fantasy III - updated hands-on (Final Fantasy III)

Nov 7, 2006

We're in the middle of an old-school Final Fantasy renaissance. This time last year FFIV appeared on the Game Boy Advance, and this very week we'll see FFV make its GBA debut - but next week, the only Fantasy to never make the leap across the Pacific arrives with a totally new look, sound and presentation. Originally released on the Famicom in 1990 (that's the Japanese NES, just so you know), FFIII comes to DS with completely redone graphics that put in on par with Final Fantasy VII - maybe ...

Final Fantasy III (Final Fantasy III)

May 23, 2006

Monday 22 May 2006 Final Fantasy III, the last game in the series to finally make it out of Japan, is being remade from scratch for Nintendo DS. Featuring full 3D graphics and tweaked gameplay, this is another adventure that fans who loved the GBA remakes will gobble up. According to the team behind the game, the idea was not to give a whole new experience, but instead to offer the original classic experience in a new way. The result is a game that's about as traditional as can be. But if ...

E3 06: Final Fantasy III hands-on (Final Fantasy III)

May 10, 2006

The history of the Final Fantasy series is notoriously spotty in the US. But we all know the series is a mega-hit, now, too. The last game to make its journey to the U.S. is Final Fantasy III, which is being remade from scratch for the Nintendo DS. Featuring full 3D graphics and tweaked gameplay, this is another adventure that fans who loved the GBA remakes will gobble up. According to the team behind the game, the idea was not to give a whole new experienced but instead to offer the original ...

Final Fantasy III (Final Fantasy III)

Mar 1, 2006

By the end of this year, the Game Boy Advance should be home to all the classic Final Fantasy games in their original forms. All but one, that is. Final Fantasy III has been singled out for a DS-sized upgrade, gaining a brand new face and other as yet unnamed features. The original FFIII was only released for the Japanese NES in 1990, and has never been officially translated into English. The fact it's coming out at all is enough to make Fantasy fanatics run for their stash of Phoenix Downs. ...

DS-only games coming this year (Final Fantasy IV (DS))

Jan 15, 2008

Jan 15, 2008 Final Fantasy IV Lost your bearings? FFIV is the one that introduced the ‘Active Time Battle System - the same time-meter-based attack system thats been used in pretty much all Final Fantasy games since. You might have seen IV before on GBA or maybe even PSOne - but never like this. You get the same 3D refit as the recent FFIII remake. You get voices. You get animated cutscenes. And you get one of historys greatest traditional RPGs, playable on the ...

Square Enix Party 2007 - Live from Tokyo! (Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift)

May 13, 2007

We're live, in Tokyo, to bring you reports from Square Enix Party 2007, a public event that showcases the latest in the Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, and Dragon Quest publisher's massive lineup of games for all of your favorite next generation consoles and handhelds. We're bring in up-to-the-minute information as fast as we can over the course of the weekend. Check back to this page for updates as they happen. Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions interview: many missed it on the ...

Final Fantasy Tactics A2 - interview (Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift)

May 12, 2007

The original Final Fantasy Tactics Advance was an extremely successful and engaging game. While it had some quirks that fans of the PS1 FFT game didn't necessarily enjoy, its strategic battles hooked plenty of hardcore gamers in for hundreds of hours. Now, Final Fantasy Tactics A2 (the A is kept, but the 'dvance' is dropped) is heading toward the Nintendo DS. Visually, it looks almost identical to the original in many ways - the character designs are from the same artist, Ryoma Ito, and the ...

Final Fantasy VI Advance - hands-on (Final Fantasy VI Advance (GBA))

Dec 6, 2006

Late 1994 saw the release of the Japanese Final Fantasy VI (as Final Fantasy III, don't ask) on the Super Nintendo. It was so far ahead of what players were used to getting in their RPGs in terms of story, scope, and customization that it became the definitive role-playing title of the generation. It didn't achieve the phenomenal success of Final Fantasy VII, but FFIII gained a devout fanbase - something that wasn't too common for games before the popularity of the Internet. Twelve years and ...

Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings - hands-on (Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings)

Oct 19, 2007

Although it's full of familiar faces, Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings is unlike any Final Fantasy you've ever played. Say goodbye to turn-based battles, isometric grids, and almost everything else you've come to expect from Final Fantasy gameplay. While Revenant Wings retains the flavor of FFXII in its story and characters, fans of the series may find themselves taken out of their comfort ...

Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings - interview (Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings)

May 12, 2007

We were lucky enough to be able to sit down and talk to the staff that recently completed the Japanese version of Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, a DS RTS-spinoff of last year's popular PS2 RPG. Producer Eisuke Yokoyama and Writer / Director Motomu Toriyama were happy to answer GamesRadar's questions. GamesRadar: What's the inspiration to bring Final Fantasy XII to the DS, in this new lighthearted style? Eisuke Yokoyama: We wanted to preserve the heavy history of Ivalice from the PS2 ...

Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings (Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings)

Feb 26, 2007

Traditionally, Final Fantasy is something youve got to work at to get the best out of it. The most effective battle strategies come from lots of practice and experimentation. The strongest moves require hours of leveling up. The best weapons are hidden so effectively, the average player wont even know they exist. But times are changing for Squares monster RPG series, and following the simplified, semi-automatic battle system of the acclaimed Final Fantasy XII for PS2, this DS side-story sees ...

Tingle RPG (Freshly Picked: Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland [import])

Oct 5, 2006

Wednesday 4 October 2006 The idiot's guide to the dynamics of the last generation went as follows: Sony had the brand, Microsoft had the muscle and Nintendo had the content. By content, people usually meant character roster, and the rehabilitation of Tingle is the proof of exactly that strength. An entirely minor, and mostly loathed, character from Majora's Mask, Tingle didn't seem to have much to offer. Like Wario, what he needed was a game that embraced his oddness and unpleasantness, and ...

From the Abyss - hands-on (From the Abyss)

Apr 24, 2008

That's right! We've actually played From the Abyss. You don't know what that is? Well, you must not be up to date on your recently announced Nintendo DS action RPGs published by Aksys. Luckily for you, we can tell you all about it. From the Abyss takes one of five customizable heroes through a 2D fantasy world. You'll arm yourself with whatever spells, skills and weapons suit your playing style and set out to unleash the hurt on areas full ...

Fullmetal Alchemist: Dual Sympathy - hands-on (Fullmetal Alchemist: Dual Sympathy)

Nov 16, 2006

If you're not familiar with the Fullmetal Alchemist world, understand that it's 1910, and alchemy, the science-magic of turning stuff into other stuff: super hot. Want a necklace? Just find something of similar size, like a loop of rope, draw some runes on it, ...