Does anyone have a list of all the different demo discs / samplers / collector volumes Square released in the NA market?
I can hardly find any info about them on the net.
I know one came with Brave Fencer Musashi, and another with Vagrant Story, but I dont even know which ones those were.
No idea, sorry. I’ve never been much for paraphernalia.
If you look on GameFAQs, most games which have had demos for them will have at least one “Demo FAQ” where there’ll usually be information about it.
A bit of research reveals as far as I can see - 6 demo discs, all during the Playstation 1 era:
-Final Fantasy VII Interactive Sampler CD SCUS-94961 1996 (included with Tobal No. 1)
-Final Fantasy VII: SquareSoft On PlayStation Previews SCUS-94179 1997
-SquareSoft On PlayStation Collector’s CD SCUS-94256 1997
-Squaresoft on PlayStation 1998 Collector’s CD Vol.1 SLUS-90028 1998 Squaresoft (included with Parasite Eve)
-SquareSoft on PlayStation 1998 Collector’s CD Vol.2 SLUS-90029 1998 SquareSoft (included with Brave Fencer Musashi)
-SquareSoft on PlayStation 2000 Collector’s CD Vol.3 SLUS-90075 2000 SquareSoft (included with Vagrant Story)
I don’t have any information on how someone could obtain the 2nd or 3rd ones though.
I think it would be prudent to include info on this site about the ones with FF demos though - as often the demos contain exclusive or differing material from what the final games did.
I don’t think there’s much value in it, though. They aren’t publicly available, and they wouldn’t really fit in anywhere. Also, I have no way of confirming any of the information about those demos since I don’t own any of them and can’t get hold of them without much trouble. I just don’t really see the use in talking about things which the vast majority of people don’t and can’t own - especially considering every one of them was “superceded” by the full version when it came out.
Well 4/6 come inside the jewel cases for other games… they can be obtained by buying those games.
You have information on things like the never released FFIV for NES - nobody can obtain that either.
I’m with you on being against including non-video game material on this site, but I think these demos are relevant.
For the record, these came out since the PS1 generation:
-Final Fantasy XI - Online [PS2 Beta Version] [Disc1of2] SCUS-97271
-Final Fantasy XI - Online [PS2 Beta Version] [Disc2of2] SCUS-97272
-Final Fantasy XI Online PS2 demo SCUS-97380 2004
-Square Enix Sampler Disc - Volume One SLUS-29087 2004 Square Enix
(exclusive giveaway for pre-ordering Drakengard at Electronics Boutique and Gamestop in January and February 2004)
-Square Enix Sampler Disc - Volume Two SLUS-29098 200 Square Enix
(ordered online from official webstie - Front Mission 4 demo only)
-Final Fantasy XI Demo Beta (Xbox 360) February issue of Official Xbox Magazine 2006
-Final Fantasy XII Demo (included with Dragon Quest VIII)
The difference is that “FFIV” was never released and the only information I have on it is a single screenshot. The full games for these demos were released and they are all covered on my site. I simply don’t see the point in covering demos which were superseded by the full version of the game in question.
And no, I’m not going to go searching on eBay to buy four games I have no interest in playing so I can play through the demo of a game I’ve already finished three times.
-Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine Demo Disc 75 SCUS-97250 (Final Fantasy X-2) December 2003 issue of Official Playstation Magazine
has the 12 minute Eternal Calm video on it, otherwise not released in North America (it appeared on FFX International).
It bridges the stories between X and X-2. That is a significant chunk of FF material, and you don’t want to mention it because it’s from a demo disc?
Why do YOU have verify the demos 1st hand before adding any information to the site about them? The information and photos found on the net isn’t good enough? You’re making it sound like its going to cost you a lot of money or effort to make your website more informative.
When I come to a website called Final Fantasy Compendium (noun - a concise but comprehensive summary of a larger work) I expect to be able to see everything about the subject at hand. I can understand not including every work tangentially related to the principle work, but since the video games are the main focus and demos are a form of those video games containing (as I said before) EXCLUSIVE (not found in the full game) and differing material from the full releases, I think people coming to the site would appreciate their inclusion.
Also your loss on not wanting to play a game like Vagrant Story (which again, by the way, ties into the world of Ivalice, another major FF reference) .
I already own Vagrant Story, and have finished it twice; it’s mentioned several times in the crossover pages. I bought it used, though, and it didn’t come with any demo discs.
It bridges the stories between X and X-2. That is a significant chunk of FF material, and you don’t want to mention it because it’s from a demo disc?
If I would mention it, it would be because it’s in FFX International. We already cover FFX International (e.g. Penance). No, if it would be on a demo disc I would not cover it. I also don’t cover what’s in Ultimania guides. I have to limit the scope of my site somewhat or I’d never be able to meet the high demands such a scope would provide, or the accuracy guidelines I’ve given myself.
Why do YOU have verify the demos 1st hand before adding any information to the site about them?
Because that’s the difference between my site and Wikipedia. If I would post anything on the net, there would be no need for verification or factual analysis. One of the main raison d’etres of this site is the fact that it is fact-checked, sometimes with actual Square Enix staff. I hold accuracy to be a higher standard than breadth of information.
Wow, deusfaux…I can’t help but wonder - why are you so concerned about the content on FF compendium? You’re being surprisingly rude and pushy for someone who allegedly has nothing vested in the site.
Nothing vested? I have 43/44 NA released Final Fantasy titles. I need a website to come to for information.
I’ve been to THIS site now and then since day ONE. I like the site and want it to do well and I think this is part of scope the site should cover. It’s also something no other site currently offers in the way of information.
There’s a reason for that: It’s damn hard to get that information and even harder to confirm it.
As for you “needing” a website, you’re welcome to start your own. This one belongs to me, and its scope will be whatever I decide it is.
Of course I welcome suggestions, and I hope you’ll feel comfortable providing more - but that’s all they are, suggestions, and I expect those giving the suggestions to act maturely if I decide not that they’re not what I want in the site.
Apparently it’s immature behaviour to pursue a request over more than a single post and see if further discussion would perhaps sway the decision maker’s decision one way or another or enlighten me as to their reasoning for a given decision?
Maybe I should have sworn and insulted people and made threats instead of simply debating the issue and presenting information as I did? Would that have been more mature in your opinion?
Regardless, you seem very set in your ways and your dogged insistence on gathering this information all by yourself (should you ever want to obtain it) instead of accepting help from other means it will probably never be included on the site. Whatever, mang. Do your thing.
No, pursuing a request is fine. But doing so with an attitude of deserving the results of said request, and implying that not agreeing with your request is somehow self-serving, backwards, or contrary to “what should be”, is arrogant and rude.
I am indeed “very set in my ways” when presented with an idea I think is bad and whose disadvantages overwhelm the advantages. There are many ideas in the past I have initially been dead set against but which I eventually adopted. This isn’t one of them.
The problem with accuracy is only one of the issues with your request (I don’t require to have personally seen every single piece of info on the site, but I do have a very high standard of sources of information, and stuff sent in by someone or gleaned from an FAQ is not one of them). A more important problem is that of scope. I don’t see demo discs as being important or interesting. They’re essentially unfinished versions of games which were later released. Nothing on those discs can possibly be considered canon. This information is simply not relevant to the mandate of the site. It doesn’t belong here.
I could swear FF8 game with a Demo disc that had Vagrant story and Threads of Fate as playable demos and Legend of Mana as a video demo.