Ready for the impending Jump Festa, and can't wait to get your hands on the playable demos of Final Fantasy Dissidia and Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days? Then take a gander at this update, as we have both games' control schemes ready and translated for your perusal. Whether you're going into a keyblade-clashing fest or simply a brawl between legends, you HAVE to know your moves. Check out the control schemes in the full article.

Not long after announcing Final Fantasy Dissidia's playable demo available at Jump Festa 2008, Square Enix just revealed that Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days will also join the event in demo form. Details await at the full article!

Well, it's confirmed. If any of you guys have a convenient ticket going to Japan, now would be a good time to book it so you can catch the Jump Festa 2008 event. That's where Square Enix will be previewing the closed door trailer of its upcoming Final Fantasy Fabula Nova Crystallis games, as well as its other highly anticipated titles for next year.

For more information, read more it in the full article!

It's another year, another Jump Festa! This year, gamers will be treated to another deluge of Japanese culture, and that includes the games we know and love. Nintendo already unveiled the list of games that will be presented in this year's Jump Festa, which will take place on November 10 to 11 in Osaka and November 24 to 25 in Makuhari Messe.

Check out the full article for Nintendo's game line-up!

 

It is reported that Square Enix will be holding a spring gaming pavilion (eherm... otaku party) this coming May 12 and 13 – just in time for the Japanese launch of Final Fantasy Tactics: The Lion War.

The previous "conference" last 2005, attracted well over 45,000 visitors.

No reports yet as to what exactly Square Enix will be showcasing, but if 2005's gathering is to be considered, then it is likely that they'll host playable demos, and show previews of upcoming games, and probably do a lot of explaining. Most noteworthy from the 2005 event was the announcement of the street date of Final Fantasy XII in Japan. This time around, word on Final Fantasy XIII is most likely.

The event will be held at Makuhari Messe, a venue well known for being the home of the Tokyo Game Show and Jump Festa.  Admission is free, the plane ticket though, isn't.

While scouring the internet for goodies on the upcoming SRP (strategy role playing, and not suggested retail price fellas) DS gameHeroes of Mana, we stumbled upon this trailer of the Japanese version straight from the recently held Jump Festa Event.

As you know, Heroes of Mana is currently in development over at Brownie Brown's labs and players will get to take on the role of Roger, an intelligent and diplomatic youth from Pedan who pilots a military airship used to send out monsters. However, you'll also get to create monsters of your own by collecting the materials needed. Pedan's diplomacy will be put to good use here since you'll be going against someone who intends on gathering the same materials you're after.

The trailer gives us insights on gameplay, weapons, the characters we'll encounter, and the enemies we'll be facing against once we get our hands on the game. So while we wait for the announcement of the release date, have an ogle-fest with this trailer, why don'tcha?

This weekend, the Jump Festa event in Tokyo will be the place for the debut of Square Enix's Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates. This sequel to the GameCube-original title will be ported to Nintendo's much-raved about handheld in Japan, the DS.

There's still not much details known about this game. But what we did get our grubby hands on is the fact that this four-player battling game is set in a time when "The red moon shone, and people feared the crystal." Hmmm...intriguing, eh. What's to fear about the crystal? Well, just the possibility that it would destroy all. The lead characters for this installment are the star twins Yulie and Julinka.

Back to the Jump Festa, you can catch more than just trailers of the game as Square Enix is actually delivering a playable version of the game. At least we'll get to see if it could live up to the franchise, right? Anyway, the teaser site is now open for Crystal Chronicles, so you can go check it out for more infos. And we expect the full website to open just in time for the December 16 Jump Festa event, so expect more updates coming in on this game.

Jump Festa is an annual event in Japan that features anime and manga. The event is sponsored by Shueisha which created various Jump anthologies. Jump Festa has become the launching pad for new movies, manga, games and merchandise. The Jump Festa has become so popular many companies prepare special item or produce episodes specifically to be presented at the convention. Participation in the Jump Festa is often seen as proof that companies aren't out of ideas.

One company that is out to prove it has not run out of steam is Square Enix. In fact the famous Japanese game developer and publisher is expanding its horizon to include Europe. According to NeoGAF, SE has released its line-up of of titles  to showcase for the upcoming Jump Festa. These are:

• Final Fantasy XIII (PS3)
• Final Fantasy Versus XIII (PS3)
• Seiken Densetsu: Heroes of Mana (NDS)
• Chocobo to Mahou no Ehon (NDS)
• It's a Wonderful World (NDS)
• Final Fantasy XII Revenant Wings (NDS)
• Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker (NDS)
• Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors (Wii)
• Seiken Densetsu 4 [Dawn of Mana] (PS2)
• Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix+ (PS2)
• Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Complete (Blu-ray Disc/Film)

The Jump Festa will be held on December 16 and 17. And if these SE titles are any indication of what it's going to be like, the Jump Festa looks like one hot red, red hot fiesta!