Jeux-France recently interviewed Hiromichi Tanaka, the producer of Chrono Cross, concerning several projects at Square Enix. To summarize, the news is that it’s currently too difficult to reunite key personnel involved with the Chrono series to try and develop a new game. Here’s hoping to Masato Kato and buddies getting back together (and getting the hell away from Mana) to make something new. Please click read more for Tanaka’s comments on the Chrono series.

Q: I know you’ve worked on Chrono Cross. There are a lot of fans of
this game even here in France where it wasn’t released, so could we
expect to see a sequel, one day?

(Tanaka takes a huge breath when he hears the translation, then he
laughs a little bit, as if he had been expecting the question or
something…)

A: Well, the problem with Chrono Cross and Chrono Trigger is that, the
Chrono series is what it is because we always had a very particular
team to develop it. Chrono Trigger is kind of the “game of the miracle”
because it was a period when great creators like Akira Toriyama and
others were available at that moment, and that’s how the game could be
made. And for Chrono Cross it’s the same thing. The producer for Chrono
Cross who is now the scenario writer for Secret of Mana 4[see note 1],
the producer for Chrono Cross who was Mr Kitase[see note 2] who is now
very busy on the Final Fantasy games since the VII or VIII… And so
this means that it’s very difficult to be able to reunite the original
team, to be able to make a sequel to the Chrono series… Simply
because if we don’t try to reunite these people but take other people
instead, we will find ourselves at that point with a game which will
feel different, since there would be different persons in charge and we
would possibly lose the Chrono spirit, if we make a sequel that way.

Q: So for the moment it’s a no?

A: As of now, there is no sequel planned.

[Note 1] Unless Tanaka slipped and accidentally revealed the name of a
new, still top-secret project or something, the interpreter is probably
referring to Seiken Densetsu 4 alias Dawn of Mana, which has just been
released in Japan. And of course, the scenario writer referred to is
Masato Kato, who was not producer for Chrono Cross (that’s Tanaka right
here!) but director.
[Note 2] Yes, the interpreter says “producer for Chrono Cross” twice,
he made a little mix-up. Kitase was co-producer for Chrono Trigger, not
Cross. I think Tanaka also mentioned in Japanese the name of one of the
other co-producers for Trigger, Tokita, but the translator just said
Kitase. Don’t criticize him, it’s hard to translate Japanese to French
orally with all those names and functions!

~

Well, if you have ideas for supporting the development of a new Chrono game without resorting to
the “WTF SE SUX, WARE IS CRONO I MAEK PETITION” attitude, give the Compendium a ring.

Thanks to MasamuneCyrus for bringing this to attention and Chrono’99 for translating.

Many nights have I dreamt of the day I may finally ascend to the top of the World Tree to defeat the dwarven hoard, only to wake up the next morning wishing I hadn’t spent the last of my gold on the Death spell. While maybe not everyone has enjoyed this fun, although somewhat clichéd platformer, it is one that shouldn’t be totally “forgotten.”
Faxanadu was liscenced by Falcom, as a side-game in their Xanadu series, and was developed and released by Hudson Soft. In the game, the unnamed Hero returns to his home village to find that the dwarves have invaded, and nearly everyone has already either attempted to ascend the World Tree or had fled. Upon his return, the King of the Elves grants him 1500 golds to prepare for his journey to save the world from certain doom.

As our hero, you must defeat hideous dwarven monsters, solve riddles involving keys, mattocks, and pegasi boots, and buy an impressive arsenal of weapons, armours and magics! You are our final hope!

Buy the game from an auctioneer at eBay!

Hudson Soft Wikipedia Entry!
Falcom Wikipedia Entry!
Faxanadu WIkipedia Entry!

With Black Friday out of the way, game releases are a bit dry this week, but there’s still a few games that might catch someone’s eye.

Star Trek: Legacy

One game that caught my eye was Star Trek: Legacy. A PC ($39.99) and XBOX 360 ($59.99) release (which was originally due to come out November 7, and then November 21), finally hits shelves on Tuesday, the 5th. This strategy game by the makers of Oblivion features ships from all five live-action TV series, with a massive single-player campaign as well as several multiplayer modes.

Source: GameSpot

Star Wars: Lethal Alliance

There’s some “Star” action for portables this week as well. An action-packed game taking place between the two trilogies, you take on the role of a blaster-wielding mercenary who “acts more like Han Solo than Luke Skywalker”. It comes out this Tuesday for the PSP and next Tuesday (December 12th) for the DS.

Source: GameSpot

Also check out this complete list (once again from GameSpot).

That’s all for this week, but stay tuned because next week is packed with big releases.

From the Dethklok MySpace Blog:

DETHKLOK ON GUITAR HERO II?

You will be able to play Guitar HERO II (available in NOVEMBER) with DETHKLOK.
It will be in the ‘unlocks’ section along with some other secret music from other bands.

Metal.

I suppose there are good things to having a MySpace. Anyhow, I got this bulletin, and this is what it said. I think I posted something similar on the OCR boards, but it probably got drowned in the wastes known as General.
The bulletin read as follows:

***SIMS SOUNDTRACK REMIX CONTEST***

Hi Folks,

EARS and Nettwerk are running a contest where you can create your own Sims Soundtrack Remix!

We have included 4 downloadable MP3s on our Myspace page
(www.myspace.com/thesimsoundtrack): piano, bass, xylo, and strings. A
5th MP3 is available on the official contest website:
http://nettwerk.com/simsoundtrack/

Simply download them to your computer and start remixing!

Once you have created your own track, send it to us and we’ll
choose one winning track that will be included on the new Sims
soundtrack! Imagine…your own track on a Sims Soundtrack! Cool, huh?

Please send all eligible entries to: [email protected]

So, here is all the information you’ll need to get started: (For
more detailed directions check out the blog: Sims Soundtrack Remix
Contest!)

1. Download the mp3’s

2. Transfer to your favorite audio software (we suggest:
garageband. not on a mac? you can try finding a similar program at
www.download.com)

3. Follow their directions for manipulating the song parts

4. GO NUTS!

To be Eligible:

1. Send your remix to [email protected] with the subject heading “Sims Soundtrack Contest”

2. Include your full name, e-mail, and phone number so we can get in touch with you if you win

3. Contest deadline is: November 30, 2006

Check out the official contest page at: http://nettwerk.com/simsoundtrack/

“So, um. Yeah.

“Project 51 will be setting up a production blog for CASTLEVANIA in the near future.”

The BAFTA [ed: British Academy of Film and Television Arts] has
announced the winners of this years BAVGA [ed: British Academy Video
Game Awards].

The following is directly quoted from http://www.bafta.org

“All games shortlisted for The British Academy Video Games Awards
should demonstrate excellence in the selected categories across the
broad criteria. Titles which do not excel should not be put forward for
consideration. When judging the Awards, the platform for which the game
has been made will be taken into account.

“When
entering a game for BAFTA consideration, key individuals involved in
the development of each game must be credited, alongside the Publisher
and Developer of that game.”

The winners were announced in a ceremony held at a ceremony Thursday, October 5th, and include Shadow of the Collosus for Artistic Acheivement and Action and Aventure, and Tomb Raider: Legend for Original Score.

The entire list is at http://www.bafta.org/site/page413.html and you can read more at http://www.gamesarefun.com/news.php?newsid=7021

EA pumps out yet another sports game,
while Taito releases Bubble Bobble Revolution for the NDS. In
other, saddening news, Desperate Housewives is now a PC game.
EA is notorious for releasing sports games as though they were a fast
food chain. While not necessarily a bad thing, Fifa ’07 is
shipping this week into a market which has already been inundated with
other EA hits such as Madden NFL ’07, Nascar ’07, NCAA Foootball ’07,
and NHL ’07. The graphics are going to be on the same level as
these other games, and the rosters will more than likely be as accurate
as possible. May not hit the mainstream as hard as Madden, but as
it is being released on every platform imaginable, it is hard to
conceive that this game will not do well.

Taito Corporation is rereleasing its classic Bubble Bobble games on the
Nintendo DS, with what looks to be a new game designed to take
advantage of Nintendo’s Dual Screen technology. Unfortunately,
Bubble Bobble Revolution does not appear very revolutionary, and seems to be relying
solely on the strength of nostalgia to bear the burden of sales.

Also being released this week is Beuna Vista Games’ Desperate
Housewives PC game, which is labeled as a Virtual Life game. It
should appeal to who watch the television show, which means all of you
young gentlemen who have computers must lock your doors, for there is
reason to fear that your mother/girlfriend/sister may install the game
and suddenly pre-empt you from your own business. At least until
Desperate Housewives coems on next week.

For a comprehensive list of games being released this week, check here: gamespot.com

Notorious(ly bad) film director Uwe Boll recently challenged and fought several of his “harshest” critics, including Richard “Lowtax” Kyanka of somethingawful.com, in an amateur boxing match in Vancouver.
The director invited 5 of his critics to Vancouver for the fight, and
actually fought 4 of them in the ring. He refused to fight the 5th
contender, however, for reasons unknown (some sources cite the fact
that the 5th critic had recieved professional boxing training, others
that the 5th was in fact a minor and Boll refused to fight him on those
grounds).

You can read more about it HERE, or see a clip of the fight (along with some of Lowtax’s commentary) HERE.

-sz

The first CD will go on sale September 30 exclusively at Tanomi.com, while the second will be available for purchase at the Capcom merchandise booth at this month’s Tokyo Game Show. It will then be released to the general Japanese public in November.

No stateside release is expected, so the only way to get these domestically will be via import.