What are the lowly denizens of QJ looking forward to in 2009? We highlight the games coming next year (hopefully) that get us all hot under the collar.

Do you agree? Think we're raving loonies? Got suggestions of your own? Sally forth good readers, and let us know what you think.

Well, it's confirmed. If any of you guys have a convenient ticket going to Japan, now would be a good time to book it so you can catch the Jump Festa 2008 event. That's where Square Enix will be previewing the closed door trailer of its upcoming Final Fantasy Fabula Nova Crystallis games, as well as its other highly anticipated titles for next year.

For more information, read more it in the full article!

Shinji Hashimoto of Square Enix gave quite a meaty lump of information to Japanese magazine "Nintendo Dream". The whole interview focused much on the whole concept of the Final Fantasy franchise. We know that the epic RPGs stand alone with each installment, but how come there are other spin-offs for certain games?

In a nutshell, you can basically subdivide the FF franchise into four different developing groups: a) Fabula Nova Crystallis (FFXIII), b) the Ivalice Alliance (Tactics, FFXII, Revenant Wings), c) Crystal Chronicles (Nintendo-exlusives), and d) FFXI. Each of these major groups develop their own sub-installments. Like how the FFVII team further developed other spin-offs like Crisis Core for the PSP, the Advent Children movie, etc.

But as for specifics on the more current games being developed, Hashimoto had quite a bold (albeit reassuring) statement about how they created FFXIII:

Different from something like VII, which we expanded upon afterwards, with Fabula Nova Crystallis FFXIII, we've thought about an expansive world setting from the start. Under the idea of wanting everyone to be sucked into the world for 10 years, we're preparing a number of categories.

So they have further plans eh? After giving that statement, he even compared FFXIII to other series like Harry Potter, Star Wars, or LOTR. Seems like there's nothing that'll stop Final Fantasy from being final. Or is there? On the subject of bringing the early FF games onto services such as Virtual Console, it seems as if that idea is being set aside to the back burner:

We feel that the Japanese game market still requires [physical] media. Also, FF and Dragon Quest are played by a wide range of users, from children to adults, so there are limitations when you consider the problems that we would have with billing systems.

Physical media huh? In short, they won't make the previous games available as downloads, but something physical. Like... The UMD. Final Fantasy I & II are being released for the PSP, after all, and not ported onto an online service.

There's lots of big stuff in the full interview, which IGN had kindly translated for everyone. More talk about chocobos, potions, Dragon Quest, Square Enix parties, and "a Final Fantasy not known by anyone." Take a look, just right behind the Read link below!

Could there be a fifth installment in the Square Enix's series of games under the FF XII label">Fabula Nova Crystallis franchise? We're leaning towards thinking there might actually be one. Over at the French website, Final Fantasy World, word has been reported that Square Enix has registered the title Dissidia in the United Sates Patent and Trademark Office on April 6. And as it is Latin, then it probably makes sense to put it alongside other Latin-named installments... right?

Square Enix has been telling everyone that they will be announcing a new title come the Square Enix Party 2007. Could Dissidia be the mystery title we're all waiting for? We don't know for sure yet, so this would have to be tagged as a rumor, although it's been confirmed by the site Forever Fantasy that the registration of the title did occur at the patent office.

If that may be the case, then Dissidia just could prove to be yet another great addition to the saga that is Fabula Nova. Currently included in the franchise are Final Fantasy XIII, Versus XIII, Agito XIII and Haeresis XIII.

There is still no clue as to which platform this title may be headed to. But if you want to be assured that the registration did in fact happen, just click on the image inset.