May 12-13, 2007
Makuhari Messe
Convention Center
Square Enix
Party 2007
SQUARE ENIX PARTY 2007 was a two-day event held on May 12-13, 2007 at the Makuhari Messe Convention Center in Chiba prefecture, Japan, returning after a one-year break, last held in 2005. The event was opened to the public and free for all attendees. The official press release states: “Attendees will be among the first to experience the newest games from Square Enix and discover exciting announcements from the company. They will also have the chance to experience other Square Enix products including mobile content, manga, merchandise, music and more.”
The centerpiece of the festivities was a showcase of Square Enix's wares, in playable and trailer form, although it also served as a one-stop shop for game-related goods. The event was complete with massive lines, stage shows, swag at each of the game-specific booths, a variety of different stages and theaters showing trailers and hosting live events, and cosplay. Upon entry, Chocobo and Cactuar mascots greeted attendees, allowing for photo ops. The attendance numbers were 39,750 people on the first day, 36,812 people on the second day, and a total of 76,562 people on both days.
A limited edition DS case, emblazoned with the Square Enix Members club logo, was gifted to media on the first day.
FINAL FANTASY 20TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL BOOTH
FINAL FANTASY I-II
At the beginning of the venue just by the entrance was a special exhibition title "Experience FINAL FANTASY 20th", divided into three corners.
The first section was the "History" corner, a long display case featuring the Japanese versions of every Final Fantasy title and its derivatives ever released, showcased in front of a long timeline. Original game footage and valuable related products were also showcased.
In the "Anniversary Commemorative Work Exhibition" corner, the upcoming PSP remakes of Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy II released as the first 20th anniversary project were exhibited.
In the "Communications" corner, a special board was set up for fans to leave messages via post it notes for the producers and developers of Final Fantasy. A majority of the notes seen were requests for a Chrono Trigger sequel and a Final Fantasy VII remake.
CLOSED MEGA THEATER
Taking up a great deal of the event was the Closed Mega Theater. Playing inside the massive enclosed theater, which eventually had lines forming outside of it that took more than two hours to get through, were forty minutes of exclusive videos and trailers from upcoming games, including Square Enix's most anticipated titles as well as sneak peaks of newly announced titles. Videos and photography were prohibited inside this theater. The games in the video are listed below:
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Dissidia Final Fantasy (PSP)
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Monotone (Mobile)
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The World Ends With You [Subarashiki Kono Sekai] (DS)
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Parasite Eve: The 3rd Birthday (originally announced for mobile)
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New Kingdom Hearts Project
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Fabula Nova Crystallis titles, including Final Fantasy XIII (PS3), Final Fantasy Agito XIII (Mobile), Final Fantasy Versus XIII (PS3)
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Final Fantasy VII 10th Anniversay titles, including Advent Children Complete (Blu Ray film), Final Fantasy VII: Before Crisis (Mobile), Dirge of Cerberus Lost Episode (Mobile), Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (originally announced for PS3)
OPEN MEGA THEATER & STAGE
The Open Mega Theater & Stage was a combination event stage theater housing a massive 400-inch screen. It alternated between a looped 45-minute collection of trailers for upcoming titles and hosting game-specific stage shows. A schedule of the stage shows were included in the event's pamphlet.
Star Ocean Special Stage (Day 1 at 11AM)
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Game announcement for remakes of Star Ocean and Star Ocean II.
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Announcement and live performance of Star Ocean First Departure's theme song "Heart" by Asunaro, a rock number with a sense of speed, suitable for the new beginning of the series.
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Screening of promotional footage of the Star Ocean series.
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A live chat with the game's voice actors. Guests from Star Ocean First Departure included: Mamoru Miyano (Lattice Farren), Hitomi Nabatame (Millie Kirito), Houko Kuwashima (Marvel Frozen), and Megumi Toyoguchi (Fia Mel). Guests from Star Ocean II Second Evolution included: Daisuke Namikawa (Claude C. Kenny), Nana Mizuki (Lena Ranford), Tomokazu Sugita (Diaz Flack), and Rie Kugimiya (Prisis F. Neumann).
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Live performance of Star Ocean II Second Evolution's theme song "Start" by female rock group, SCANDAL, a medium tempo song.
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Photo session with the cast.
Dragon Quest Monsters Battle Road Premium Stage (Day 1 at 1PM)
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Showcase of the card-based arcade game aimed at youngsters.
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Special guest Eiji Wentz appeared as the host.
The World Ends With You Live Special (Day 1 at 2PM)
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Announcement and live performance of The World Ends With You's theme song "Lullaby For You" by JYONGRI.
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Screening of promotional footage of The World Ends With You.
Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors Special Talk Show (Day 2 at 11AM)
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Screening of promotional footage and story details of Dragon Quest Swords.
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A live chat with the game's voices actors, Ayumi Kinoshita (Fleurette) and Kenji Matsuda (Claymore).
Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker Great Masters’ GP Champion Rally (Day 2 at 2PM)
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Square Enix official tournament "Great Masters' GP" championship with the top three players in Japan.
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Special guest judges/commentators include Taichi Inuzuka (producer of Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker) and Yuuji Horii (creator of the Dragon Quest series).
Nagasarete Airantō Special Stage (Day 2 at 4PM)
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Live performance of Nagasarete Airantō's theme song, "Days" by Yui Horie, voice actress of the character Yuzu.
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A live chat with the voice actors of the currently airing anime adaptation of Shonen Gangan's Nagasarete Airantō: Hiro Shimono (Ikuto Tohoin), Mikako Takahashi (Machi), Yui Horie (Suzu), and Saeko Chiba (Ayane).
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Photo session with the cast.
FINAL FANTASY XI STAGE
In celebration of the game's 5th anniversary, the Final Fantasy XI stage, nestled inside the massive booth dedicated to the massively multiplayer online role-playing game, featured a mix of events that ranged from competitions to developer presentations, cosplays and live piano music.
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About 24 works were displayed outside the booth as part of the "Fan Art Contest" where attendees could vote for their favourite entries.
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A Boss Battle Bash event was held where teams of players registered to show off their skills in front of a live audience and battle bosses from Final Fantasy XI. Prizes were handed out to successful contestants.
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In game chocobo racing competitions were held with special guest Yoji Fujito (director).
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Another competition was "Live Quest" where teams of 6-8 attendees cleared mini quests, a bit like a scavenger hunt, around the booth. Examples of quests include taking a photo of a "crystal" or a "fur" using your mobile phone somewhere in the booth.
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Gashapon machines were available at the booth, where prizes ranged from moogle pin badges (20 variations), mouse, keyboards, and lottery tickets to go into a draw to win a high performance custom Final Fantasy XI PC signed by the game's art director, Ryosuke Aiba. The winner was announced on the second day.
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Talk session with developer Hiromichi Tanaka.
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A cosplay contest was held where prizes were given to contestants. A cosplayer dressed as a Land Worm took out the top prize.
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Talk session and mini piano concert with three of the game's composers: Nobuo Uematsu, Kumi Tanioka and Naoshi Mizuta.
GAME BOOTHS: IVALICE ALLIANCE
Demo kiosks of unreleased games drew massive crowds wanting to experience the new titles, with most booths requiring up to 2 hours in wait time. Booths with recently released games offered an exclusive gift to attendees who made the rounds to play games.
Those in attendance at the game booths featuring Ivalice Alliance titles received a stamp rally booklet that contained slots for stamps that could be received after playing Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift, Final Fantasy Tactics Advanced, Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, and Final Fantasy XII International. A limited Ivalice Alliance LCD clock was gifted upon completion.
The Final Fantasy XII International game booth featured a life size replica of Gabranth's Judge armour.
The Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift game booth was modelled after the library in the game's opening scenes, which provided a cool gaming atmosphere for attendees.
GAME BOOTHS: DRAGON QUEST
Game booths featuring Dragon Quest titles included Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors (Wii), Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker (DS), and Dragon Quest: Monster Battle Road (Arcade).
Freebies were gifted when attendees played the demo titles at their respective booths. A red pin of a shield with a dragon emblem can be collected after playing Dragon Quest Swords.
An exhibition corner was also featured, where a 1:1 replica of the Sword of Kings was displayed.
GAME BOOTHS: OTHER TITLES
Several game booths featuring Square Enix's other titles were scattered across the venue. More than 500 demo game stands were available at the event. These included:
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Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII.
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The World Ends With You (DS).
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Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Rings of Fate (DS). A stained glass Moogle keychain freebie was handed out after playing the demo. A large replica of the stained glass featured on the game's box cover art is displayed.
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Itadaki Street featuring Super Mario (DS). The booth was lined with gold bars.
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A mini "Star Ocean Museum" booth.
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A large booth dedicated to numerous mobile titles, which were very popular in Japan.
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A DS: Style booth, featuring a series of educational software products like travel guides, reference guides and study guides.
A silver CD box set gift required attendees to visit the theater, play Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, and play The World Ends With You. Soundtrack CD samplers for the games played and tickets were collected afterwards. Tickets were then used to exchange for a box with a soundtrack sampler for Dissidia Final Fantasy. The three CDs combined into the box made up the collectible item.
MERCHANDISE SALE
The show floor also featured areas dedicated to magazines, comics, music CDs, and the character goods shop. The official pamphlet of "SQUARE ENIX PARTY 2007" was available for ¥1,000 as a venue-limited product.
In the magazine & comics area, the special project "Square Enix Party 2007 Commemorative Original Stamp Sheet" by the company's five comic magazines was sold for ¥2,500, and an original postcard set (10 cards) was included as a bonus.
At the Character Goods Shop, "FINAL FANTASY XI 5th Anniversary Keychain" was sold for ¥1,000, and "DRAGON QUEST SWORDS SILVER RING ~ Ring of Courage ~" for ¥14,000. Other items such as pins, lighters, action figures and plush toys were also available.
At the Music CD Shop, all purchasers received a "SQUARE ENIX MUSIC Original Sampler CD" as a gift. Further special events included a handshake event with Yoko Shimomura (composer of the Kingdom Hearts series and Legend of Mana) on Day 1, and Masashi Hamauzu (composer of Final Fantasy X and Saga Frontier 2) on Day 2.
A booth for Chocobo and the Magical Picture Book rare card download was available adjacent to the Music CD Shop.
In addition to the game experience play, comic booths such as the publishing department and the video department was set up in the venue, and the original picture exhibition of popular serialized manga, trial reading corner, screening and goods sales corner was available, appealing to comic fans as well as video game fans.
