FF VII: Crisis Core Release Date Pegged

The first half of 2008 will land Square Enix fans two Final Fantasy titles, a Dragon Quest game, as well as a reworked Japanese action RPG.

Fans of the Final Fantasy series and other titles from Square Enix had reason to celebrate on Tuesday when the Japanese developer unveiled firm North American release dates for three new games, along with additional information on a fourth.

Dragon Quest Swords will be the first title to hit the ground on Feb. 26. The latest installment in the Dragon Quest series has been developed exclusively for Nintendo Wii to make use of the unique motion-sensing Wiimote, and will pit players against all the traditional monsters of the Dragon Quest world.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates will follow on March 11. Originally released for the Nintendo Gamecube in 2004, the Crystal Chronicles series will be making its debut on the DS this time around with both single-player and multi-player gaming experiences.

Perhaps the most anticipated of the upcoming releases, Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core, will be hitting North American shores on March 25. The game will revisit the original story of the 1997 PlayStation release in a reworked game that has been developed for the Sony PSP.

Finally, Square Enix announced that the Japanese action RPG Subarashiki Kono Sekai would be making its North American debut as The World Ends with You. Although no firm release date was announced, it is expected to be released some time in spring 2008.