Good news PSP owners – three Square Enix games are Amazon’s video game Deal of the Day today. If you stop by the site you can get Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions or Star Ocean: First Departure for $12.99. Or, pick up all three for $38.97! When each of those games were originally released, they each cost $39.99!

The discount isn’t too substantial now, since each game normally retails for $19.99. But still, $7 off is still a pretty nice discount…

Great news! If there’s an RPG loving DS or PSP owner on your wishlist this year, you can get them a really great gift at a fantastic price! Or, you could pick something up for yourself. Either way, you’ll want to take advantage of Amazon’s video game Deal of the Day today, December 16, 2009. All day, Amazon is going to be selling Crisis Core: Final Fantasy (PSP), Final Fantasy IV (DS) and The World Ends with You (DS) for $9.78 each. You can’t get those games used for that price.

Final Fantasy IV is a DS port of the classic game, with additional content, a new translation and voice acting. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII is a direct prequel to Final Fantasy VII, centering on the adventures of Zack Fair, an elite member of SOLDIER. The World Ends with You is the only non-Final Fantasy game of the three, and revolves around the adventure of a young man named Neku and his companions who are trapped in Shibuya for seven days and must find a way to keep passing missions to survive…

Sony confirmed and announced it’s new PSP-3000 model at Leipzig 2008 earlier this month which offers improvements including a brighter screen and a built-in microphone. One thing that has become quite troubling over the years, however, is the number of must-have PSP titles compared to the Nintendo DS. Even though the PSP continues to show strong hardware sales, Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Patcher thinks the new hardware changes are signs of a much larger problem.

Speaking with Das Gamer Patcher said:

“Sony over-engineered the PSP, and as a result, it’s become a no-man’s land. You can’t make a title of Playstation 3 or Xbox 360 quality for it, but you can…

As any Japanese video game fan knows, video games and popular music have very close ties in Japan. Singers will have their songs featured in the games. They will be used in advertising campaigns. They may even be called upon for character modeling.

Two weeks ago Important Importables talked about Hikaru Utada, one of the most popular female singers in Japan and her video game connections. This week Important Importables looks at yet another Japanese superstar, Gackt Camui. Gackt is well known for his music, his acting and his contributions to the gaming worldwide. (He’s also incredibly pretty, multilingual and one of my favorite singers.)

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII is a phenomenal game, but it is really more than that. It provides educational information about the culture and lives of people living around Midgar. There are profound truths revealed to those who take the time and effort to explore environments and become acquainted with the population. This quick list provides eight of the most essential Crisis Core facts. Be forewarned – there are some spoilers in this list. They’re minor, even minuscule, but they’re there.

Also, before anyone asks, I can hear you thinking, “But why eight? Why not narrow it down to five, or expand it to ten?” I’m 7/10ths of the way through the game. Perhaps if I waited until I finished, I’d have an additional three lessons. Well, I’m easily distracted by shiny things or new games, and if I waited until I completed the game, then I might forget previous lessons and the list would be down to three or five. So here, in no particular order, are eight things I’ve learned from Crisis Core.

Click through to attain enlightenment.

So if you’re playing Crisis Core, you’ve probably become acquainted with the unique manner in which limit breaks are triggered. Ah, the fickle DMW (digital mind wave) system – I alternate between loving and cursing its very existence. At times it can be a blessing and a curse.

While the boosts it provides are a nice tidbit, the DMW is at its best when it allows Zack to perform limit breaks. All are definitely useful, but there are some you pray hit more than others. So let’s look at Zack’s various limit breaks and rank them according to usefulness.

Title: Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VIIPrice: $39.99System(s): PSPRelease Date: 3/25/08Publisher (Developer): Square Enix (Square Enix)ESRB Rating: “T” for blood, mild language, mild suggestive themes and violencePros: Interesting storyline, gorgeous graphics, great FMVs, lots of character cameos, bonus missions for fun and profit, lots of spiffy summons, smooth battle commands and short loading times.Cons: For the first 2-3 hrs the path is too straightforward and the fixed camera in battle can screw you up.Overall Score: 9/10

Many people are of the mind that a classic video game shouldn’t have spin-offs which tarnish the memory of the original. These people might avoid Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII for fear that it can not compete with the original. The thing is, Crisis Core can stand on its own as an individual. It certainly helps if you played and loved the original Final Fantasy VII, but it isn’t necessary to enjoy this incredible PSP game.

The official Square Enix Member site is now open. So far the site is a bit sparse, but the content there is still something special. So far there are only sections online for Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, The World Ends with You and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates. There are wallpapers, contests, videos, a few little blog decorations, articles, a contest and a blog.

Europeans are going to be very lucky when it comes to Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII. Sure, it doesn’t have a set release date, with only a rumored Q2 2008 to comfort them, while Americans know it will be available March 25, 2008. However only the Europeans will get a special edition version of Crisis Core if they preorder. The special, European preorder version of Crisis Core will include a special case and a hardcover artbook. I am so seething with jealousy right now. If you saw me, there’d probably be steam or a cloud over my head or something.

In anticipation of Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, the Square Enix online shop is going to be updating with a slew of new jewelry items related to the game. All of the items silver and made of very high quality materials. Prices are not yet available for all of the items, however on March 7, 2008 all three will be available online in the store so be sure to check them out then. The three new additions are the “Loveless” locket, a SOLDIER keychain and a Sephiroth ring.