The games Final Fantasy III and Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales (Chocobo to Mahou no Ehon) will be released in Australia and New Zealand by Ubisoft this May. Both titles have a lot to offer offer Final Fantasy fans from both areas.

Final Fantasy III is much more than a remake of the original that graced the NES 17 years ago.The game has undergone many changes, and if you want to read up on it you can check the previous article we did on it.

In Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales you play a chocobo who must compete in a variety of mini-games and microgames. You will have to do this to save lost friends and restore peace to the land. A pretty strange storyline but that's ok since it's Final Fantasy. The game will have a card-based combat system. In addition, Nintendo's Wi-Fi allows multiplayer with 2-4 players where you can play cooperatively to finish the game or play mini games against each other.

Final Fantasy III will be released on May 4 this year in both Australia and New Zealand with Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales following sometime the end of the month to both regions as well. Check out the screenshots of the PAL version and see if it's your cup of tea.

Finally, Final Fantasy III for the Nintendo DS now has a release date for Europe. This game by Square Enix is not just a port of the original (how many fans would be disappointed if that were the case), but a remake of the game. Hiromichi Tanaka, Director and Executive Producer of Final Fantasy III, had this to say about the game:

FINAL FANTASY III has been made anew on the Nintendo DS platform, including new graphics in 3D, rebalanced jobs, and brand new characterisation for the four young heroes. We hope that not only FINAL FANTASY fans, but a wide variety of players in Europe, enjoy the new FINAL FANTASY III.

So what can we expect from this iteration of Final Fantasy. The storyline is an FF classic: The land your character inhabits was protected by the crystals of light. This all changed when an earthquake pulled the crystals into the earth, upsetting the world’s fragile balance. In this time of darkness, the people found hope in a Gulgan prophecy: four souls blessed with the light shall once again restore balance to the world.

Near the small village of Ur, fate guides Luneth (your initial character) to a sentient crystal. As the light of the crystal fades, Luneth embarks on a journey to seek three others who will fulfil the prophesy.

In addition to this interesting storyline, the game itself has features that will appeal to FF fans everywhere.

Features:

• The missing link in the evolution of Final Fantasy is unveiled.
• A job-changing system that allows for more than 279,000 party variations
• The Touch Screen interface can be used to explore dungeons, dispatch foes and cast spells.
• A complete visual overhaul with 3D graphics
• Use both DS Wireless Communications and Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection to access the Mognet and communicate with other players as well as NPCs to uncover hidden dungeons, quests and items
• Character designer Akihiko Yoshida (from Final Fantasy XII) lends his talents by designing the four main character

The game will be released May 4, 2007 in Europe and other PAL territories.

This is one of those things that makes a lot of people sing the chorus to Turning Japanese by the Vapors. We got this from a Japanese website so you know our translation may be a little bit off but here goes...

Looks like a new DS Lite package sporting a Final fantasy III theme will be available in Japan starting August 24. The special DS LIte package will be available in two editions.  One is the "usually only edition and the software" (about $52.00). The other is the “Crystal Edition bundled DS Lite of the special specification which is done" and that costs a whopping $200!

The special Crrystal Edition features the illustration of Akihiko Yoshida's design drawn in crystal white with serial number to guarantee its authenticity. Both will be available starting August 24 but they suggested making reservations on the Crystal Edition because that is available in limited numbers only. Looks like we got our facts straight. Too bad we're not in Japan.