]- Final Fantasy X - News -[

Since the PlayStation 2 was announced by Sony, gamers have been largely disappointed by Square's offerings for the new console. Wrestling, fighting, and baseball games were all well and good, but many wondered where the RPGs--Square's trademark genre--had gone.

Fortunately, Square's recent announcement was just what people wanted to hear: that development has begun for a Final Fantasy title on PlayStation 2, the tenth in the series. Gameplay will be entirely one-player, with online hints and strategy available through Square's new PlayOnline broadband network. The graphics will be highly realistic, making full use of the PlayStation 2's graphical prowess.

Not much concrete news has been revealed about the game yet, and even some that is out doesn't say much. (The menus, for example, are more likely mockups rather than any source of accurate information.) All that's really known is two characters' names, Tida and Yuna. Still, the most important information on the title, to many, is that it exists and it's coming in 2001. Everything else is just details.

Final Fantasy XI's slogan was, "Online Another World." The title will be online only and massively multiplayer. No footage was shown, only several sketches. In Final Fantasy XI, you can "choose to be any sort of player," and Square presented several sketches of the monsters, ogres, humans, and other characters as which you could role-play. The logo was an oceanic world, no doubt symbolic of Square's intent to create a world of united RPG fans.

An action-packed Final Fantasy Movie trailer was also shown. While details are still sketchy, the story seems to revolve around an alien threat that looks similar to Starcraft's Protoss. The female protagonist is "infected" by an alien, and could now be a traitor to Earth's cause. The movie, as previously seen, is photorealistic and very lifelike. Square further mentioned that the film's official website will launch in March, with more information and media.

It should be noted that these slogans were only to sell the games to the visitors at Square Millennium, and are not necessarily the final "taglines" of the games. The GIA will bring you more details throughout the evening as they arrive. Thanks to our agent in Japan for his assistance in covering the show.