Welcome to our brand new network site, The Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy Net’s brand new affiliate! The site is to be run by myself, Alex, Kota (a content writer for Kingdom Hearts 3), Endless, Xaldin (of KH-Vids.net fame), and Brad. It will cover Kingdom Hearts news and content for all the Kingdom Hearts series.

The website will also provide access to brand new forums, which will be launched in the near future. If you’d like to read the site, go ahead and visit www.TheKingdomHearts.com.

For those who own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy sites, please feel free to email us after reading the affiliation information!

So, we here at the Panic Network hope you full enjoy your time on The Kingdom Hearts.com - your number one KH2, KH3, and CoM source!

A lot of time has recently been spent on KH3, rather than FFNet, and as such, I feel particularly guilty. FFNet has lost it’s status on the top of the Google searches, and is now on the second page. This annoys me greatly! Moreover, the lack of real care going into the site is awful. It deserves more attention, and so when I return from Paris on Wednesday, expect to see new changes.

We’re going to change the design at some point in the near future, change the integration of the news, and add more content. Exciting stuff, eh?

If you’d like to help out with the new content, add me to MSN: alex_sains@hotmail.com, and we can talk it out.

I will fill you in on more Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy Net news soon.

Of course! It would be foolish to think that there was no possibility of a game which is one of the most successful titles of all time. This is particularly true in light of the recent announcement by Square Enix that they will continue with their current trend to re-release the older, less graphically advanced games on to more capable consoles. With Final Fantasy 1 and 2 being re-released on the PSP having already been ported to the original PlayStation 1, it seems entirely possible that the best selling game of the series will get a second chance to shine. Whether that time is coming soon, or reserved for a later console is unknown. However, the PlayStation 3 has hardly had a very successful beginning to its life; way behind the rivals from Microsoft and Nintendo, for the first time. Lack of success will make Sony want to get the best games back, which will make people buy their products. Final Fantasy VII was one of the best-selling PlayStation games of all time; chances are they might want to reproduce it to make life easier for them.

Should there be a PlayStation 3 remake of FF7?!

Arguably not. A lot of people would say that the games remains a fine standard in video game history, and needs little improvement. Frankly, the releases of Advent Children (on DVD) and Dirge of Cerberus were greeted by mixed reactions. Yes, they were pretty beautiful to look at, but various commentators suggested that the movie and game both lacked the depth one would expect as the sequel to the best game ever (excuse the lack of journalistic objectivity on this occasion, please!). On the other hand, the bulk of the re-releases to date have been of a satisfactory standard, and have allowed younger gamers the chance to enjoy some of the cream of the crop from yester-year.

I think it is pretentious to talk about the ethics of whether or not there should be a FF7 remake. That is unrealistic. To back-up this assertion, I will say this: Square only re-produce video games because there is demand for them. If people didn’t buy them, Square-Enix would say good-bye to that series. Also, most of the people pleading against a re-release have a shallow arguement. Certainly it may not better or even equal the original, but if that is the case, they can read reviews, and decide not to buy it. I might not buy it. I love FF7 very much; I am not sure I want a distorted image of it, even if it is aesthetically amazing. That is the individuals decision, there is no need to spoil the fun for others.

To conclude…

From my experience with Square Enix, I would say that there will be a Final Fantasy VII remake. I just do not know when that will be. I would not be surprised if they were secretly making it now, ready for the 20th anniversary of Final Fantasy. If that time comes, you will be free to say “thanks, but no thanks” and that’s just fine. I may just join you.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake page.

Here is the Final Fantasy 2 PSP box art:

Sure, it’s pretty, but is it worth the import?

That is, of course, assuming you are one of the few owners of a PSP.

Click the link for many, many more Kingdom Hearts videos!

Other news is that there may be an exciting surprise at the Square Enix Party for 2007 which will take place at Makuhari Messe near Tokyo, which will presumably pertain to future Square Enix titles. As our spectacular Kingdom Hearts III site points out, it may well be Kingdom Hearts related, rather than Final Fantasy.

Tetsuya Nomura announced that the next Kingdom Hearts project would not be revealed at the Square-Enix Party 2007, but a surprise is prepared.

Square-Enix has yet to announce a list of titles set to be exhibited. That being said, with at least 13 games scheduled to go on sale in Japan before the end of the year, there probably will be more than enough reasons for fans to head for Chiba come May. - Riku, Kingdom Hearts 3

Regardless, we are looking forward to the Square Enix party, and check out the the above link and this link featuring a Square Enix manager interview for more information.

It seems us Europeans always have to wait the longest, which really isn’t great, but hey; waiting is almost over. Final Fantasy 12 will be released on the 23rd of February. That is, for those of you who do not wish to work it out, just over a month away. Woo-hoo!

More soon, FF12 fans.