List of Square Enix companion books

This is a list of companion books relating to games developed and published by Square Enix. Starting with Final Fantasy III, Square began publishing guide books for its games which traditionally include additional content such as developer interviews and expanded plot and setting information. Studio BentStuff wrote the first Ultimania book for Final Fantasy VIII in 1999, though the company had been contracted to write Final Fantasy VII True Script Dissection for the previous game. Since then, Ultimania books have been written for every major Final Fantasy title, including Battle Ultimania, Scenario Ultimania, and Ultimania Omega editions for some games.[1] Square experimented with online content delivery with Final Fantasy IX Online Ultimania, but the move was unsuccessful.[2] Another online Ultimania was planned for Final Fantasy XI, but it was dropped during development.[3] In addition to the standard releases, Square Enix has produced a few expanded editions, such as Final Fantasy VII 10th Anniversary Ultimania Revised Edition.[4]

Contents

History

Before the branding of "Ultimania", Square had released a number of guide books with a similar focus on expanding backstory and including developer interviews and concept artwork. This concept evolved into Perfect Works by DigiCube. The company was then contracted to create Final Fantasy VII True Script Dissection and then Final Fantasy VIII Ultimania, the first Ultimania book. Since then, Ultimania books have been written for every major Final Fantasy title, including Battle Ultimania, Scenario Ultimania, and Ultimania Omega editions for some games.

List of works

Title Publisher Date ISBN
Final Fantasy III [Volume 1] Fundamental Knowledge Book NTT Publishing 1990 ISBN 9784871880794
Final Fantasy III [Volume 2] Complete Walkthrough Book Part One NTT Publishing 1990 ISBN 9784871880800
Final Fantasy III [Volume 3] Complete Walkthrough Book Part Two NTT Publishing 1990 ISBN 9784871880817
Final Fantasy IV Setting Data Book NTT Publishing 1991 ISBN 4871881288
Final Fantasy IV Fundamental Knowledge Book NTT Publishing 1991 ISBN 4871881318
Final Fantasy IV Battle Analysis Book NTT Publishing 1991 ISBN 4871881369
Final Fantasy IV Complete Walkthrough Book NTT Publishing 1991 ISBN 4871881385
Final Fantasy IV Easytype NTT Publishing 1991 ISBN 4871881482
Final Fantasy IV Guide Book DigiCube 1997 ISBN 4925075047
Final Fantasy IV Master's Guide DigiCube 2002 ISBN 4925075454
Final Fantasy IV Wonderswan Color Version - Square Official Guide Book Shueisha 2002 ISBN 4087791610
Final Fantasy IV Advance Perfect Guide Shueisha 2005 ISBN 4087793516
Final Fantasy IV Advance Official Complete Guide Square Enix 2006 ISBN 4757516002
Final Fantasy IV Official Final Guide Enterbrain 2008 ISBN 4757740042
Final Fantasy IV Official Complete Guide Square Enix 2008 ISBN 4757522053
Final Fantasy V Fundamental Knowledge Book NTT Publishing 1992 ISBN 487188192X
Final Fantasy V Battle Analysis Book NTT Publishing 1992 ISBN 4871882047
Final Fantasy V Adventure Guidebook NTT Publishing 1993 ISBN 4871882063
Final Fantasy V Complete Walkthrough Book NTT Publishing 1993 ISBN 4871882055
Final Fantasy V Advance Master Guide Shueisha 2006 ISBN 4087793877
Final Fantasy V Advance Official Complete Guide Square Enix 2006 ISBN 4757518226
Final Fantasy VI Adventure Guidebook NTT Publishing 1994 ISBN 4871883025
Final Fantasy VI Setting Data Book NTT Publishing 1994 ISBN 4871882993
Final Fantasy VI Fundamental Knowledge Book NTT Publishing 1994 ISBN 4871883000
Final Fantasy VI Complete Walkthrough Book NTT Publishing 1994 ISBN 4871883019
Final Fantasy VI The Complete NTT Publishing 1994 ISBN 4871883035
Final Fantasy VI Character Collections NTT Publishing 1994 ISBN 4871882853
Final Fantasy VI Advance Master Guide Shueisha 2006 ISBN 4087793931
Final Fantasy VI Advance Official Complete Guide Square Enix 2006 ISBN 4757518463
Final Fantasy VII True Script Dissection - The Complete Studio BentStuff
Final Fantasy VII True Script Dissection - The Complete (Revised Edition) Studio BentStuff
Final Fantasy Complete Works [First Half] DigiCube 1997 ISBN 9784925075008
Final Fantasy Complete Works [Second Half] DigiCube 1997 ISBN 9784925075015
Square Official - Final Fantasy Collection - Fantasy World Walkthrough Book DigiCube 1999 ISBN 4925075454
Final Fantasy Complete Works 1 through 6 Vol. 1 Revised Edition DigiCube 2002 ISBN 4887870442
Final Fantasy Complete Works 1 through 6 Vol. 2 Revised Edition DigiCube 2002 ISBN 4887870450

Perfect Works

Perfect Works is a series of video game-related books published by DigiCube. Only four books were published: the first was dedicated to Xenogears and printed in October 1998 in Japan. One book dedicated to SaGa Frontier 2 and another one dedicated to Front Mission 3 were released in 1999. The last book was dedicated to The Bouncer and was released in 2001.

These books contain artwork, timelines and detailed descriptions of events of the related games. The Xenogears Perfect Works notably contains detailed information of the world where the game is set, giving indepth descriptions of the characters, creatures, geographical and historical settings, covering all the intended six episodes of Xenogears.

Title Publisher Date ISBN
Xenogears Perfect Works DigiCube 1998
SaGa Frontier 2 Perfect Works DigiCube 1999
Front Mission 3 Perfect Works DigiCube 1999
The Bouncer Perfect Works DigiCube 2001

Ultimania

Ultimania (アルティマニア Arutimania?) is a series of comprehensive video game information books written by Studio BentStuff and published by Square Enix (formerly under the title of their now-disbanded publishing subsidiary, DigiCube) in Japan. The name "Ultimania" is a portmanteau of ultimate and mania.[5] The series recorded a cumulative circulation of over 10 million copies at the end of 2007.[6]

Title Publisher Date ISBN
Final Fantasy VIII Ultimania Studio BentStuff 1999 ISBN 4925075497
*Contains the short story, "A Day of Instruction at Garden" 
SaGa Frontier II Ultimania Studio BentStuff 1999
Legend of Mana Ultimania Studio BentStuff 1999
Chrono Cross Ultimania Studio BentStuff 1999
Vagrant Story Ultimania Studio BentStuff 2000
Final Fantasy IX Online Ultimania Studio BentStuff 2000
*Internet-accessed 
Final Fantasy IX Ultimania Studio BentStuff 2000 ISBN 4-7575-1244-9
Final Fantasy X Scenario Ultimania Studio BentStuff 2001 ISBN 4-7575-1215-5
Final Fantasy X Battle Ultimania Studio BentStuff 2001 ISBN 4-7575-1216-3
Final Fantasy X Ultimania Ω Studio BentStuff 2001 ISBN 4-7575-1214-7
Kingdom Hearts Ultimania Studio BentStuff 2002
Kingdom Hearts Ultimania Revised Edition Studio BentStuff 2002
Final Fantasy X-2 Ultimania Studio BentStuff 2003 ISBN 4-7575-1205-8
Final Fantasy X-2 Ultimania Ω Studio BentStuff 2003 ISBN 4-7575-1161-2
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles World Ultimania Studio BentStuff 2003 ISBN 4-7575-1162-0
Final Fantasy X-2 International+Last Mission Ultimania Studio BentStuff 2004 ISBN 4-7575-1163-9
Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song Ultimania Studio BentStuff 2005
Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories Ultimania Studio BentStuff 2005
Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Ω Studio BentStuff September 9, 2005[7] ISBN 4-7575-1520-0
*Contains the short story, "Hoshi o Meguru Otome", which roughly translates to "The Maiden Who Travels the Planet" 
Kingdom Hearts Series Ultimania α ~Introduction of Kingdom Hearts II~ Studio BentStuff 2005
Kingdom Hearts II Ultimania Studio BentStuff 2005
Final Fantasy XII Scenario Ultimania Studio BentStuff 2006[8] ISBN 4-7575-1696-7
Final Fantasy XII Battle Ultimania Studio BentStuff 2006[9] ISBN 4-7575-1697-5
Final Fantasy XII Ultimania Ω Studio BentStuff November 24, 2006[10] ISBN 4-7575-1821-8
Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix+ Ultimania Studio BentStuff 2007
Final Fantasy Tactics Official Complete Guide Studio BentStuff 2007-06-07[11] ISBN 978-4-7575-2038-7
Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings Ultimania Studio BentStuff 2007-06-14[12] ISBN 978-4-7575-2024-0
Final Fantasy XII International Zodiac Job System Ultimania Studio BentStuff 2007-09-06[13] ISBN 978-4-7575-2100-1
Final Fantasy VII 10th Anniversary Ultimania Studio BentStuff 2007
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Studio BentStuff 2007
Final Fantasy 20th Anniversary Ultimania File 1: Character Studio BentStuff 2008
Final Fantasy 20th Anniversary Ultimania File 2: Scenario Studio BentStuff 2008
Final Fantasy 20th Anniversary Ultimania File 3: Battle Studio BentStuff 2008
Dissidia Final Fantasy Ultimania α Studio BentStuff 2008
Chrono Trigger Ultimania Studio BentStuff 2009
Dissidia Final Fantasy Ultimania Studio BentStuff 2009
Final Fantasy VII 10th Anniversary Ultimania Revised Edition Studio BentStuff 2009
Final Fantasy XI Story Ultimania Ver.090409 Studio BentStuff 2009
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days Ultimania Studio BentStuff 2009
Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep Ultimania Studio BentStuff 2010
Final Fantasy XIII Scenario Ultimania Studio BentStuff 2010
Final Fantasy XIII Battle Ultimania Studio BentStuff 2010
Final Fantasy XIII Ultimania Ω Studio BentStuff 2010
Kingdom Hearts Re:coded Ultimania Studio BentStuff 2010

References

  1. ^ "Final Fantasy X Ultimania Guide". IGN. 2001-08-20. http://ps2.ign.com/articles/097/097559p1.html. Retrieved 2010-06-25. 
  2. ^ "The 25 Dumbest Moments in Gaming - Readers' Top 5". GameSpy. 2003-06-14. http://archive.gamespy.com/articles/june03/dumbestmoments/readers/. Retrieved 2010-06-25. 
  3. ^ "Final Fantasy XI Playtest". IGN. 2002-04-05. http://insider.ign.com/articles/356/356793p3.html. Retrieved 2010-06-25. 
  4. ^ "Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Book Getting Revision". Kotaku. 2009-04-01. Archived from the original on 2011-03-03. http://www.webcitation.org/5wud6gRLK. Retrieved 2010-06-25. 
  5. ^ Studio BentStuff, ed (1999) (in Japanese). Final Fantasy VIII Ultimania. DigiCube/Square Enix. p. 3. ISBN 4-925075-49-7. 
  6. ^ "Ultimania Series Cumulative Circulation Exceeds 10 Million" (in Japanese). Studio BentStuff. 2007-12-29. http://www.bent.co.jp/main/news/20071229B.htm. Retrieved 2008-12-06. 
  7. ^ "株式会社スタジオベントスタッフ" (in Japanese). Studio Bentstuff. http://www.bent.co.jp/main/works/um19/naiyo_fr.htm. Retrieved 2010-06-22. 
  8. ^ square-enix.co.jp Staff (N/A). "ファイナルファンタジー12 バトルアルティマニア (SE-MOOK) (単行本)". Square Enix Japan. Archived from the original on 2007-10-27. http://web.archive.org/web/20071027123157/http://www.square-enix.co.jp/magazine/gamebooks/ff12/index.html. Retrieved September 26, 2007. 
  9. ^ Amazon.com Japan staff (N/A). "ファイナルファンタジー12 バトルアルティマニア (SE-MOOK) (単行本)". Amazon Japan. http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/switch-language/product/4757516975/ref=dp_change_lang/249-0932400-0936363?ie=UTF8&language=en%5FJP. Retrieved September 24, 2007. 
  10. ^ "Final Fantasy XII Ultimania Omega" (in Japanese). Studio BentStuff. 2006-10-31. http://www.bent.co.jp/main/news/20061031.htm. Retrieved 2007-01-20. 
  11. ^ square-enix.co.jp Staff (N/A). "ファイナルファンタジータクティクス 獅子戦争 公式コンプリートガイド". Square Enix Japan. Archived from the original on 2007-11-22. http://web.archive.org/web/20071122025053/http://www.square-enix.co.jp/magazine/gamebooks/fft/. Retrieved September 26, 2007. 
  12. ^ Studio BentStuff (2007-05-24). "「ファイナルファンタジーXII レヴァナント・ウイング アルティマニア」表紙公開". bent.co.jp. http://www.bent.co.jp/main/news/20070524.htm. Retrieved 2007-09-26. 
  13. ^ Studio BentStuff (2007-08-06). "「ファイナルファンタジーXII インターナショナル ゾディアックジョブシステム アルティマニア」表紙公開". bent.co.jp. http://www.bent.co.jp/main/news/20070806.htm. Retrieved 2007-09-26. 

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