THAT's called milking a franchise.

Reply

So a polished up version of what we got a couple of years ago on the GBA for $30 *combined* is going to cost $60?!?! Unbelievable ... this is true FF fanboy fodder only ... you can pick up the GBA version and a clearance GBA Micro combined for that price ...

Reply

Y'know, I wasn't even -that- impressed by the notion of polishing up the same old elementary 2-d setup, but whatever! Now, the collection is to cost sixty dollars?! Dude, I'm just fine with the GBA version! Thanks, but Crisis Core might have to do it for me.

Reply

These aren't quite the same as getting a GBA edition. The graphics are being retooled for widescreen, polished up more than before, plus the CG intros from the PS1 Anniversary editions. Also being added are galleries featuring Yoshitaka Amano artwork.

Perhaps a lot borrowed and very little new, but not exactly the same as buying the GBA edition, nor will this game in spruced up widescreen be as painful as squinting at that tiny Micro screen.

I think $30 for both would've been fair, or $20 each, but $30 isn't exactly the end of the world. I'll probably get them both (especially since both games are new to me, anyway - this is like getting two kickass new RPG titles back to back).

Reply

Of course it isn't the same, but those peanuts aren't enough for me to shill out that much. It's trivial stuff to me.

Honestly, I am not that kind of fanboy who appreciates related artwork, and behind the scenes footage. It's all meaningless stuff to me. I want the game, and a widescreen version is hardly going to get me to shill out thirty. Of course, such a price tag isn't the end of the world - but neither is this game such a ground-breaker that I'd reserve the impulse to channel the same money elsewhere.

GBA version it is for me.

Valhalla Knights - now that's something that I'm anticipating. Oh, and Crisis Core, when it comes out.

Reply

That's messed up. Though, I'm not surprised by Squenix's greediness, since they chose not to put both games on 1 umd...which we know is MORE than possible.

I'll still get them both, since I've yet to play either of them, and these will be the best versions.

Reply

They could fit everything from 1-6 (PSx versions, polished, etc.) onto one UMD (that would so rock!), but since the videogame industry has now adopted the convention of milking vintage titles from older consoles, such a thing will never happen.

Reply

I say everyone that owns a PSP boycotts both FF games until the price drops to $15. And a nationwide download of one copy of each game. That would send Square a message

Reply

pixelator - all of that stuff is less than you get in a 'special edition' box set, which is only $10 more than the full game. And they pretty much *have* to do it up for widescreen and do something with the graphics to make it even saleable!

I'm sorry, but this is pretty objectively a massive overpricing, hoping to screw the loyal PSP owners ... heck, they didn't even toss in a FF VII CC demo as an enticement!

Reply

Wow. Overpriced UMDs? I seem to remember hearing about something similar a while back. I wonder how that turned out? :-)

Seriously, though, considering the UMD movie fiasco, you'd think Square would have learned something from Sony.

Reply

@ Kade Storm

hell, they could probably put all of FF7 on 1 UMD, with minimal compression

It was 3 discs, right? 2.1 GB vs. UMD's 1.8...

Reply

You want to play your crappy GBA for these games, go right ahead. PSP players are starved for a good RPG, and Square is finally going to deliver this year. Bring it.

Reply

To be fair, this is a massive graphical overhaul...and still MSRPs less than the GBA ports. Although one could argue Dawn of Souls costs half as much as both of these ultimately will. The dumb shits at Squeenix should have bundled them onto one UMD.

Reply

PSP users are straved for 'a' good RPG. Oh lawl! Well, let me be the first user to say that you need to get out there, and play some PSP games. And if you're still starved, then don't expect FF1 and 2 to be the titles that'll curb your hunger pangs! Although I do agree that these will be decent purchases for those that never got to play the games.

From Square, thus far, I only see Crisis Core as the title that'll (hopefully) break ground!

But as for the general RPG scene on the PSP, aren't we expecting a solid number of decent RPGs from other publishers?

Reply

Whiteeyebrow, didn't I just find you trolling in the crazy taxi post?

This game hasn't even gotten a score yet. :/

Retard...go play with your cute yellow birdies, and stop waisting your life trolling here.

Reply

Dude, I don't always care about the ratings IGN or GameSpot give to certain titles. Valhalla Knights still serves as a solid, good looking dungeon crawler at the least.

Even IF Valhalla Knights was abysmal in every conceivable way, I'd much rather take it over some pathetic card game that revolves around a giant, chicken-to-ostritch hybrid from the Final Fantasy mythos.

Reply

Re: #14 "But as for the general RPG scene on the PSP, aren't we expecting a solid number of decent RPGs from other publishers?"

I would say there are plenty of 'good' PSP RPG's but not yet a 'great' one! As for what is coming, many held hope for 'Joan of Arc' or 'Valhalla Knights' ... and based on early reviews or import reviews we know both are mediocre.

Then we have the FF games, which we're debating here.

Then there is D&D Tactics, which I have heard has terrible load times and other issues of serious concern ...

In short, I don't see anything on the horizon (except Crisis Core) that will rise above 'good'.

Reply

Whats really upsetting is that Square knows people will buy these due to the lack of a good RPG experience on PSP so they split them up into individual packages and make a killing. Whats even more upsetting is that people who never played these will buy them expecting something up to par with current standards when in reality they're getting an archaic turn-based RPG from 20 years ago. FF I and II are a fun trip to the past but they really aren't much better than other PSP RPGs like Legend of Heroes. These games are NOT up to current standards and were just barely worth the $35 you payed for both of them when they were on the GBA.

Reply

Agreed, Txa. We haven't had an 'epic' RPG on the PSP just yet. Valkyrie Profile sorta' got us there, but I think the game had several issues. I was looking for something much more free like Final Fantasy 7, 8 or 9 or Chrono Cross.

Anyway, I don't think FF1 and FF2 are ground breaking by any measure. Hell, they're the weaker, generic RPGs out of the Final Fantasy legacy. The real solid legacy titles from the 16-bit are are FF3, FF5, and FF6. It would've rocked if we had those games coming out on the PSP, because they would've given us that 'epic' RPG experience.

But really, a console should have its own distinct title, rather than a remake. So I'll bank most of that killer-RPG impact on Crisis Core.

Reply

"Even IF Valhalla Knights was abysmal in every conceivable way, I'd much rather take it over some pathetic card game that revolves around a giant, chicken-to-ostritch hybrid from the Final Fantasy mythos."

Amen, brother. When I spied Chocobo Tales on the shelves I cringed. As if the 3D visual nightmare that was FFIII wasn't cutesy enough, they had to go one further and make it a Yu-Gi-Oh! style kinderfest. I'm all for a game being good even if it's cute (like Kirby Canvas Curse or, let's face it, every Mario, Yoshi, Peach, etc. game), but from the reviews I'd say this game didn't quite hit the mark.

But as for the FF Anniversary titles being weak and so forth, I have to disagree. Let me quote IGN, if I may:

"Of all the remakes, the PSP version seems like it could be the ultimate. Square Enix has redone the sprites and 2D visual elements so that they look sharp and distinct on the PSP's screen. The overworld map also looks nice and clean compared to what we're used to seeing of the SNES-style psuedo-3D effect. On the whole, the game's visuals look like they were designed specifically for the PSP, without attempting to hide the retro nature of the material."

"You can't really expect the complexities of a modern day RPG, but that may be a good thing, especially for a portable system like the PSP."

I mean, if you've gone through this game in one of the other remakes this probably isn't worth your time and certainly not the admittedly steep pricing. But if you haven't, like me, it's one of the most anticipated RPG titles on the PSP this year.

I'm still going to Gamefly Valhalla and check that out, hopefully better than its similarly Nordic-themed cousin Valkyrie Profile, which I was totally disappointed in. I'm still holding out hope, since I've seen more than a few PSP games I really liked get really mediocre reviews.

Let's hope Wild Arms XF is good.

Reply