Final Fantasy XIII English Theme Song

English version of the latest Final Fantasy XIII has been announced last Friday. The game will come out on 9th March 2010. Excited, definitely, but at the same time, a bit sad.

You see, the English Theme Song, titled 'My Hand', is sung by one Leona Lewis. I have nothing against the song or Leona herself, but what's unfortunate is that the western theme song is not Final Fantasy XIII exclusive. It is not written specific for the game. Instead, SquareEnix opted for something that is commercially available. Kind of like 'off the shelf' song. It will mark the first time that us western audience will not be hearing the work of FF's music father, the legendary Nobuo Uematsu.

Check out the English theme song at YouTube, then check out the Japanese theme song. Which one do you like better?

Final Fantasy XIII theme song

Final Fantasy XIII Theme Song is out! on radio at least. Titled Kimi Ga Iru Kara, it is composed by the famous Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu and sung by Sugawara Sayuri.

You can find the mp3 at Final Fantasy XIII.net, and the lyrics is here.

I like FFXIII already ^_^

Final Fantasy XIII is finally coming

I was just browsing Play-Asia, and found the Final Fantasy XIII English version is slated for June 2010 release! Yipee!, after such a long wait, it is finally making an appearance.

For those who can't wait for the English version, there Japanese version is coming on 17 December 2009. Why does it take so long in between the Japanese and the English?

Anyway, I watched a 7 minutes trailer of FFXIII, and I must say, it has damn good graphics, probably one of the better graphics on the PS3. The game play looks a little like FFXII. I just hope it will be as good as FFXII.

Finally, a PS3 game worth getting.

If I were the main protagonist in a H-Game turned Anime...

• I will only enroll in a co-ed school where the proportion of girl vs boy is 5 to 1.
• My best friend will be the only other male character in the series.
• I will make sure that I bump into and be introduced to no less than 3 girls in the first episode, and will continue to do so until midway through the series.
• If my parents are meant to be alive, I will check on them every day to make sure that it remains the case. If they are on an extended overseas trip, I will call them everyday just to say hi. Too often, parents are forgotten in anime such as the one I am in.
• My best female friend will be someone I have known since kindergarten.
• My best female friend will be living within five minutes walking distance from my place. Preferably, she will be living next door literally. Better still, we live in the same place.
• I will try my best to keep eye contact, rather than starring at my female friends' beasts, even though they are all more well developed than they should be at the age that they are in.
• Whenever I am feeling down, my best female friend will be the girl who knows my trouble. After all, she is the only one I can fully open up to.
• I don't need to impress anyone, there will be at least one girl in that group of girls that I met who is fond of whatever that I am good at.
• Even if I am good at nothing, I will not need to worry about not getting a girlfriend, because there will be at least one girl in that same group of girls that I met who will find me adorable, attractive and is willing to become my partner.
• I will get used to the complaints that I get from my best friend about how all the girls are flocking to me and not him.

Finally, I have a PSP, albeit phat

I was went window shopping yesterday when I spotted a PSP with Media Manager Pack selling for less than half price. Curiosity got the better of me because a) this particular department store that I went to is not known for cheap stuff, b) I don't really know what the Media Manager was, and c) the other PSPs were selling at retail price.

So I had a closer look at the box and discovered that the package contain the actual PSP + the value pack + media manager. The model number PSP-1000 printed on the box basically gave it away. This is the PSP phat. But I don't really care whether I have a phat PSP or the new slim PSP.

Excited, I went home and made sure that it is what I saw. With the good news confirmed, I happily went back today and bought the last one they had (there were two yesterday).

So now I am an excited owner of a PSP. I still love my DS. But now that love will have to be shared. Can anyone suggest any good 'must have' games on the PSP?

Old Games

Recently, I suddenly have the urge to play old games, like those made in the 90's. Indiana Jones and his Desktop Adventure being one of them. I still remembered playing that, but can't remember exactly what happened in the game.

So here I am, playing it all over again on my 2 years old PC. There are plenty of old ones I wanted to re-visit as well:

- Gangsters
- Theme Park
- Theme Hospital
- Syndicates
- SimAnt
- SimTower
- Indy and the Fate of Atlantis
- ...

Man, I can't believe I've actually played that many games. Even more unbelievable that I wanted to play them AGAIN.

PlayAsia 15% off till Friday

PlayAsia is having another one of their irregular sales. This time it is their 15% off sales. Looks like with the economic crisis everywhere in the world, everyone is in a bit of a pinch here. PlayAsia seems to be feeling the crunch too, I'd say.

But someone's loss is another one's gain. Maybe I can finally get Metal Solid Gear 4 Special Edition.

Wii Fit, We Fit.

So I went to a friend's place yesterday to play the Wii Fit on his Wii, and boy, was it fun. Besides exercises, there are many mini-games. Two stood out. The first one is a Soccer head butt game. Basically you shift your weight from left to right in order to hit the incoming soccer ball, or dodge incoming shoes or panda head that looks like soccer balls. It was hilarious to see players getting hit by the shoes or panda heads.

The second one is Ski Jumping. Just like the real thing, you have to lean forward going down the hill, and then stand up on to 'jump' in the air, keep in balance and land. Absolute fun, especially when someone else fail some epically rolling down the hill instead.

2 days to go in the Play Asia sales

With only 2 days left in the Play-Asia 25% sales, what did you get? I've scored myself a Wii Remote, a Nunchuck. Both the Ghost Squad Zapper pack and House of the Dead Zapper pack unforunately sold out. The price is back to the normal price.

But I did manage to get Mario Strikers Charged, a DS Pouch and a DS screen protector before they went back to normal price. Now my DS (or what's left of it) is finally protected.

Hurry, only 2 days left in the sale. Grab whatever is left to get.

Animal Crossing on the Wii

Yep, Animal Crossing is coming out on the Wii. The DS version is the first game I've got on my DS. And I loved every second of it. Wii version is probably more of the same, but now comes with a city that you can actually visit, a chat room and an auction site. Interesting.

Looking forward to it.

GTA coming to the DS

So the extremely popular GTA series is making its round to the handheld. It's coming out on the DS. I thought it's a bit strange to release GTA: Chinatown Wars on the DS. Maybe it's because of its wide install base. But I thought over 50% of DS owners are females?

I thought PSP would have been more appropriate. Strange, that. But I guess whatever float the boat.

Sony replacing 40GB with 80GB, nothing else change

At the E3 event, Sony announced that the 40GB PS3 is going to be phased out with the 80GB SKU. What's interesting is that the price pointer will stay at the 40GB. So basically, you will get an PS3 for the same price with double the storage. Hardly anything exciting, if you ask me.

What I'd like to know is if it includes the Dual Shock 3 controller.

In other news, Sony is going to sell a "Family Value Pack" PS2. Yes, PS2. For a cent shy of $150, you get a PS2, Lego Batman and Justice League: New Frontier on DVD. It seems like Sony is the only company still selling an old Gen console. Good thing? Bad thing? Hard to tell. But with the price of PS3 still somewhere north of $1,000. $150 is a very attractive price pointer indeed.

Who would like to play Final Fantasy XIII on the Xbox360? Now you can.

Sony's exclusivity reign on argubaly the most famous JRPG that came out of Japan is seemingly over. Final Fantasy XIII is coming to Xbox 360, or so says Yoshinori Kitase, producer of FFXIII.

Maybe it's because of the lack of install base for the PS3 or to make recoup as much money as possible, Sqaure Enix has decided to release FFXIII on the Xbox 360, alongside with the PS3 version. It is still going to be a PS3 game, with the XB360 version being a port of the PS3 version.

But still, I don't know if I should laugh at Sony for losing the exclusivity, or cry over Microsoft's gain.

Either way, no doubt PS3 fanboys are going to cry foul upon hearing the news (much like they did when Capcom annouced DMC4 is coming to XB360).

That said, FFXIII will still be a PS3 exclusive in Japan, seeing that the Xbox 360 install base is anything but big. Each and every Xbox 360 owner might have buy the game twice to justify the cost to port the game over (Shenmue on the Dreamcast, anyone?).

So the timetable is Japan get it first on PS3. US is going to get it on PS3 and XB360 in near simultaneously, and Europe (and whoever else in the PAL region) is going to get it last.

It's still unclear if it will affect the other FFXIII games.

PlayAsia 25% off all stock

PlayAsia is have 25% off sales from now till Sunday 20 July.

Better get in quick in you want some cheap stuff.

I just bought a Wiimote ($33.67US) and Nunchuck ($14.93US). That's much cheaper than if I buy them locally. Even without discount, it's still cheaper.

Next purchase, a Wii Zapper. Can't decide which one to get yet, the Link's Crossbow Training, House of the Dead 2 & 3, Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicle, or Ghost Squad. Maybe RE:UC. Killing zombies is fun.

Finally getting mii-self a Wii

It took me 4 years after the PlayStation 2 first appeared to get my hands on one. But in the seventh generation console, it took me just one and a half years to achieve the same feat. A Nintendo Wii is now a permanent fixture in the house. It has been 16 years since I last saw a Nintendo logo on the TV screen, and the TV is not even mine.

Now here is the delimma. I still have so many games on the PS2 that I haven't played yet. And with the Wii looming in the background (or rather, on top of the PS2 in a strange colour combination of white on black), I am tempted to play the Wii, even though I only have a handful of games. The cut between PS1 and PS2 was so clear. Once I bought the PS2, the PS1 is thrown into storage (to be fair, it's mostly because the PS2 can play PS1 games). But I can see that the PS2 will still reign for the time being.

In all honesty, there are not that many games that I really, desparately, hungrily want to get on the Wii. Well, maybe RE4, Okami, Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Meteroid 3. But seeing that I still have so many PS2 games (mostly RPGs, that just made the matter worse due to its long game time), I will probably wait for the aforementioned games to drop in price before buying them. Afterall, I am a very patient person.

Still, I want MGS4. So it's not a matter of if, but when, the PS3 will become part of the household furniture as well. Another 4 years, I'd say.

Finally a game worth getting a PS3 for

Finally, the three words that will make a lot of people buy a PlayStation 3. Metal Gear Solid. Actually, to be more precise, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. The game is to be the final chapter of the Solid Snake arc of the Metal Gear series.

Having played the first three MGS games, it is something that I would like to finish. There are just too many questions left unanswered in the first three. But it still hasn't quite convince me to get a PS3 yet. MGS4 is one of my '3 must have games on the PS3', the others being GT5 and Final Fantasy XIII. So until at least one of the other one comes out (most likely to be GT5), I'll still hold on to my money.

Meanwhile, I am still looking for a Wii.

Dead Fantasy II, Dead Gorgeous

Some of you might remembered there's a popular Dead or Alive mixed with Final Fantasy fan made fighting video on the web. Well, here is the second installment - Dead Fantasy II.

It is still as awesome as ever. Word has it that there will be 5 more in the works. So stay tune for more.

Sales Chart JPN: Everyone is getting in a brawl.

Week 28 January - 03 February 2008

Everyone is getting a brawl this week, as Super Smash Bros Brawl takes over the lead with 819,647. Wii Fit has been demoted down to 5th. In fact, the first 4 are all new games, with PS3 version of Devil May Cry 4 a very far behind 2nd (205,390). The Xbox 360 version taking 7th place (40,023), some 5 times less.

Only World Soccer Winning Eleven: Ubiquitous Evolution 2008 on the PSP and Mario and Sonic Olympics on the DS survived this week's new game onslaught, both 10th and 8th this week respectively.

Best selling games for each platform (that is on the chart) this week

Wii - Super Smash Bros Brawl
PS3 - Devil May Cry 4
PS2 - Tales of Destiny: Director's Cut
PS2 - Haruhi Suzumiya's Wonderment
Wii - Wii Fit

Number of titles in the top 50 for each platform this week:

DS - 24
Wii - 9
PS2 - 7
PS3 - 5
PSP - 4
360 - 1

Console War VII: Battle for Nippon

Has PSP taken over the DS? This week saw the PSP overtaken DS by about 5K. Quite a feat. Super Smash Bros Brawl taking the Wii to new heights, more than twice of the PS3. Not a bad week for PS3, either, selling over 40K. PS2 is still selling in the 10 thousands.

Wii - 94,473
PSP - 72,528
DS Lite - 67,472
PS3 - 41,796
PS2 - 12,115
Xbox 360 - 6,060

Market share this week

DSL vs PSP
48.19% vs 51.81%

Wii vs PS3 vs XBox 360
66.38% vs 29.37% vs 4.26%

Source: Media Create

Sales Chart JPN: Fit to go... still.

Week 21 January - 27 January 2008

Looks like the Wii is getting back into the grove, with Wii Fit still ruling the Earth, well, at least in Japan. It sold yet another 89,248 this week. World Soccer Winning Eleven: Ubiquitous Evolution 2008 on the PSP came second kicking the goal... post with 76,669, more than 10,000 behind. A PS2 game still dominates. Lucky Star is getting lucky with 71,512. PSP has another game, Yggdra Union, in the top 10, albeit only selling 17,304 copies.

All the Mario franchise is still doing well. Mario and Sonic Olympics on the DS is at 4th (50,169) and Mario Party DS is at 6th (21,840). Xbox 360's Call of Duty 4 survived two weeks and has now dropped out of the chart.

Best selling games for each platform (that is on the chart) this week

Wii - Wii Fit
PSP - World Soccer Winning Eleven: Ubiquitous Evolution 2008
PS2 - Lucky Star: Misasagi Sakura Gakuen Sakura Fuji Festival
DS - Mario and Sonic Olympics
Wii - Wii Sport

Number of titles in the top 50 for each platform this week:

DS - 27
Wii - 8
PSP - 6
PS3 - 5
PS2 - 4

Console War VII: Battle for Nippon

The PSP is much closer to the DS now, less than 2,000 between them. The DS, PSP and the Wii are doing in the range of 70,000's while the rest is, well, lacking way behind, but at least the PS3 is continuing to outrun the PS2 as it should be.

DS - 79,370
PSP - 77,933
Wii - 74,544
PS3 - 34,363
PS2 - 11,364
Xbox 360 - 4,296

Market share this week

DSL vs PSP
50.46% vs 49.54%

Wii vs PS3 vs XBox 360
65.85% vs 30.36% vs 3.80%

Source: Media Create

Sales Chart JPN: Nintendo still Fit to rule

Week 14 January - 20 January 2008

The Wii is still fit to rule as Wii Fit continued to take control (92,471). Behind it is the DS version of Mario and Sonic Olympics (89,909). Third place belongs to Mario Party DS (33,003), while Wii Sport is at number four (30,458). PSP's Monster Hunter Portable 2nd remain fifth (23,614). Xbox 360's Call of Duty 4 dropped to 29th this week.

Best selling games for each platform (that is on the chart) this week

Wii - Wii Fit
DS - Mario and Sonic Olympics
DS - Mario Party DS
Wii - Wii Sport
PSP - Monster Hunter Portable 2nd

Number of titles in the top 50 for each platform this week:

DS - 26
Wii - 9
PS2 - 5
PSP - 5
PS3 - 4
360 - 1

Console War VII: Battle for Nippon

DS continues to lead ahead of Wii and PSP. As usual, PS3 and Xbox bring up the rear. PS3 has selling a lot more than PS2 lately, so maybe it is finally time for the PS3 to shine. Who knows? Maybe GT5, MGS4, etc will make the PS3 a dominant force once again.

DS - 88,575
Wii - 81,638
PSP - 79,923
PS3 - 38,117
PS2 - 13,539
Xbox 360 - 4,552

Market share this week

DSL vs PSP
52.57% vs 47.43%

Wii vs PS3 vs XBox 360
65.67% vs 30.66% vs 3.66%

Source: Media Create