PSP owners and Square fans will be ecstatic to see that Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core is shaping up quite nicely. IGN pointed out that this game "looks better than most PS2 games out there," and looking at the scans from V-Jump, I'd have to agree. The character models look especially nice, considering how well-animated they appear. The gameplay looks fast, maybe even emulating the incredibly over-the-top anime-styled action sequences of Advent Children. I never had high hopes for Dirge of Cerberus, but Crisis Core seems to be nothing short of a must-have.

[Update 1: A ton of new scans are available on Jeux-France today. Look after the cut to see some shots.]

Final Fantasy geeks and their credit card-carrying parents should mark the 25th of April down as the day they finally get their hands on the much-awaited US launch of "Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children" on DVD and UMD. Assuming the hype hasn’t already completely died down thanks to one generous but unwitting benefactor (cough *Bittorrent* cough) and the intermittent launch red herrings, you may just want to start saving up the 30 or so dollars you’ll need to get a copy at the store.

As far as we’ve read, we can already tell that the great “DVD vs. UMD” battle will be hot and heavy this April. The DVD’s suggested retail price is a few dollars lower than the UMD, and also considering the fact that it comes in a two-disc set with a whole bunch of extras, what’s the point of getting the UMD? To offset the difference, we’re hoping that Sony will offer a bundle pack like the ones they planning to release in the next few months. Frankly though, that’s really just wishful thinking on our part.