It's not much of a secret that in Japan, people like playing games on their cellular phones. Hell, we've known that for years, since before Final Fantasy VII: Before Crisis was released on multiple mobile platforms. However, without a reliable mobile phone gaming platform outside of the iPhone (which is littered with literally thousands of shovelware titles), is there any way in which us silly Americans will ever be able to play lost gems like the episodic Final Fantasy IV The After: Tsuki no Kikan, the direct sequel to Final Fantasy IV that takes place 17 years after Cecil's adventure? (On a completely unrelated note, the white mage Porom got totally hot) There may yet still be hope for Americans to enjoy such a title. On the ESRB's website, a simple search for "Final Fantasy" will reveal the following listing:

TitlePublisherRatingContentPlatformsFINAL FANTASY IV: The After YearsSquare Enix, IncEveryoneAlcohol Reference, Mild Fantasy ViolenceWii

All signs point to the sequel to Final Fantasy IV being released as a WiiWare title, which would make sense given the game's episodic nature and diminutive download size. Furthermore, on March 5th, the Super Famicom title Romancing SaGa was ported to mobile phones in Japan. Does this mean we'll eventually see the original version of a game that only reached American shores as a PS2 remake?

For now, it seems only time will tell...

Other notable releases in Japan:
-Phantom Brave (Wii) 3/12/09--Was originally released on PS2 several years ago.
-Musou Orochi Z (PS3) 3/12/09--Called Warriors Orochi Z in America.
-Brandish: Dark Revenant (PSP) 3/19/09--It's a Falcom game, so it has to be good!
-Idolmaster SHINES (Xbox 360) 3/12/09--A popular music game series in Japan; considering how popular the music genre is here, it's surprising that Idolmaster has never made it over.

EDIT: A gift for Genjuro.

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	Genj - March 09, 2009 (09:54 PM) Barusamikosu