Final Fantasy 20th Anniversary [JPN]

Way back in 1987, Final Fantasy was supposed to be a one time game. Final. Fantasy. As in, it's the last one, buddy. However, destiny had other plans for Hirobonubu Sakaguchi and his seminal creation. Twenty years and twelve canonical games later, the franchise is still going strong and reaping the rewards of a property that pays big dividends.

Booting up the game this morning, we enjoyed the cinematic introduction which features a blue-armored warrior fighting a massive red dragon. Upon starting an adventure, players may select the language - Japanese or English. The game also features improved graphics, the bonus dungeons from the Gameboy/Wonderswan versions of the game, and an entirely new dungeon dubbed "The Labyrinth of Time" which enforces a time limit within which you can explore its dank depths. Another bonus is an unlockable Yoshitaka Amano Art Gallery which contains beautiful color work from the artist who has provided the illustrations for the series. A bestiary and a BGM music player (unlockable) rounds out the feature set in the game.

Since we've played through the game a few times through the years, we're not going to play this one again this week but we'll give it a go in the near future so we can check out the updated sights and sounds. Early impressions are favorable - the graphics are delightfully crisp and bright on the PSP screen and the music is rich and resonant. One downside is the lack of analog control - only the d-pad is usable for movement. «more»