The FFVII Mobile Game Initiative (2004-2008 Era)

Shademp · Nov 9, 2017

Thanks Radigar and hito!

The game is playable. I've played up to the end of Stage 2 so far. No voice clips yet, apart from the whining made by the guard hounds when you shoot them. The beginning cutscene with the helicopter was told in still images, so no real-time rendering of the 3D models in that case. The gameplay of you shooting the gargoyles was skipped entirely. This truly is the incomplete version.

- Story Intro

- Stage 1 Gameplay

I will try to find a way to create a backup of the game. I suspect the only way is to pick apart the phone and dump the memory straight from the chip but I'll look for other, less intrusive solutions first and foremost.

The Twilight Mexican · Nov 9, 2017

Jesus Christ XD

The Twilight Mexican · Nov 9, 2017

Seriously, though, who would have thought even this much of that artifact would be recovered? You're something else, Shad.

Radigar · Nov 9, 2017

I found several videos about P900iV, they show Final Fantasy I port and Advent Children avatars.

Shademp · Nov 9, 2017

I have the unfortunate news that the demo is not as long as I thought. I mixed up "stages" and "chapters". The demo ends after you clear Stage 5, which is the equivalent of clearing Chapter 3. Ergo, Chapters 4-7 are not available to us. Going by the Japanese recordings, there are in total 19 stages. So rather than a demo that contains 71% of the game it "only" contains 26% (and technically less than that due to there being no voiced cutscenes etc).

Keep in mind that this whole "Chapter" convention appears to be completely a thing made up by Shinra Employee #080729. I haven't spotted the game numbering game sections this way. Ergo I will stick to "Stages" from now on.

The demo has us exploring the Junon outskirts, Under Junon and the elevator. Stage 5 (and the demo) ends with an epilogue previewing Rosso appearing in Lower Junon, the next stage. This cutscene, like all others, are without voice clips. The only voice clips are the grunts made by Vincent and enemies when they are injured.

So how was it to play? The quickest description I can think of is "like playing Dirge of Cerberus with one hand". The controls, while a bit awkward, were adjusted to fit a one-hand scheme. Had the developers only copied the controls of the PS2 counterpart it would have been an unplayable mobile title.

ポーズ

目的
スコア
アイテム
アクセサリー
オプション
ＱＵＩＴ

**Google Translate**

Pause

Objective
Score
Items
Accessories
Option
QUIT

Vincent moves in four directions. When Vincent stands facing a direction, the camera will after one second switch to facing that perspective. You can also manipulate the camera in four directions with the phone keys and this way you don't have to face the same way as Vincent.

In the PS2 game, chains were built up by performing consecutive kills. In the mobile game, chains are acquired by timing your shot in the right millisecond interval shortly after the auto-aim first takes sight on an enemy. One time I got a high kill chain which led to the camera briefly zooming back to third person in a "cutscene" showing Vincent flipping his cape slightly, just in case it wasn't clear how cool he is. :wacky:

I find this unexpected bonus from timing consecutive shots to be amusing. :lol:

I will also give the game points for giving you the option to skip cutscenes and dialogue at any time! Honestly, I am surprised they went the extra quality mile and gave us that option. 'Tis more than I expected from this mobile title. The convenience increases replayability for me.

The camera continuously circles around the fallen Vincent even after the Game Over music has stopped playing. When you click OK you can then resume from the stage you died in.

Ｇａｍｅ　Ｏｖｅｒ
決定キーを押して
下さい

**Google Translate**

Game Over
Please press Action key

As far as performance, the game *mostly* plays smoothly. Loading times can be a bit long at times, but it is honestly more annoying when the game temporarily freezes because it gets too overloaded with enemies and gun shots. Whenever you clear a machine gun clip or when you are using the gun turret in Stage 5, you are likely to experience these hic-ups where the framerate briefly drops to zero. It makes me wonder how much better the P903iX HIGH-SPEED is in performance when it comes to playing Lost Episode.

The cell phone battery is stronger than anticipated. I'm sure the full version drains your battery many times faster, but with this demo I am yet to see the battery bar drop a unit even after roughly forty minutes of gameplay + testing out the various phone features.

In the start menu, clicking on "Credits" will let you watch the credits while the camera moves around in the Junon outskirts area. Yes, this is the area used for these credits no matter where in the game you are.

Shademp · Nov 11, 2017

- Demo Ending

When you start a new game, all items and accessories available in the demo are listed in the menus but they are greyed out.

Items:
- Potion: Restores 250 HP. *Item cap: 3*
- Hi-Potion: Restored 500 HP.
- Dazer: When used, for a period gun shots will paralyze enemies.

"Dazer" was the official English name, but the Japanese name seems a bit different when run through auto-translators.
目くらまし = 'Blind Astray' or 'Smoke Screen'

The original FFVII calls these Dazers (or "Numbness Needles") しびれ針 in the Japanese game.

The first and only Dazer in the demo is picked up in Stage 4.

Accessories:
- Chocobo Feather: Increases player speed by 10%.
- Champion Belt: Increases ammunition gain by 25%.

You only get to see the benefit from the Champion Belt once in the demo. When you pick up Machine Gun ammo, you gain 44 bullets instead of only 35.

Chocobo Feather is in Stage 2 and Champion Belt is in Stage 5. The accessories get auto-equipped and there is no way to un-equip them.

The question this poses is if the full game also has the menu show every available item from the very start. There may be multiple differences in the menus of the demo and the full version.

^Chocobo Feather [チョコボフェザー] auto-equipped. Champion Belt [チャンピオンベルト] greyed out because not yet picked up.

I look forward to the day when we get to dig around in the demo files and see if the rest of the items and accessories are in there, despite them not being available or even listed in the menus.

The number to the top left of the screen, right next to Vincent's HP bar, indicates Vincent's level. I have only managed to reach Level 2 and I highly doubt that it's possible to reach Level 3 within the stages available in the demo. Thus far I've always reached Level 2 by Stage 4, but I will try to GIT GUD and see if it's possible to level up by Stage 3.

Observing the recorded playthrough of the full Japanese version of Lost Episode, this is the Level-maxHP chart I get.

Level 1 = 1000 HP
Level 2 = 1500 HP
Level 3 = 2000 HP
Level 4 = 2500 HP
Level 5 = 3000 HP

The recordings have edited out the EXP bonus screens that occur at the end of each stage, so we can't write a complete Level-EXP chart (yet).

In the PS2 game, this upper left spot in the UI was used to indicate equipped materia. A curious detail is that Square Enix press releases (see here and here) AND the official North American page (which copies text STRAIGHT from the old press releases) for Lost Episode refers to materia being available.

None of the actual footage and no reviews refer to materia being part of the game's inventory. My assessment thus far is that the materia feature didn't/doesn't exist in the final game.

Btw, Guard Hounds will growl when they attack you so that's another kinda-sorta "voice clip" the demo has. :wacky:

raregamecollector.com · Nov 11, 2017

I have a 3-page printed press release for Dirge of Cerberus & Lost Episode that I kept from the time that I worked at USA Today and reviewed the game. I can sell it & ship it to somebody if you guys want it for preservation purposes.

Several parts of the press release are personally identifiable so I don't want to put the whole thing up.

Shademp · Nov 13, 2017

The press release has been promptly purchased by yours truly. :monster:

Thanks for the contribution, raregamecollector.com!

So... How do we extract the Japanese Lost Episode demo?

Most likely, I will have to break apart the P903i phone, get out the circuit board, try to reverse engineer it and dump the flash chip. Typically there exist "docks" one can place a chip inside to transfer data to another source, but these docks may cost anything from a few bucks to TENS OF THOUSANDS of dollars, assuming you can even get your hands on one that fits your chip model. Most likely I'll have to make do without a dock.

The task sounds overwhelming, and so it is, but the gist of it is the same as creating a ROM from an NES/SNES/N64/GB/GBA cartridge or any other non-disc-based system.

With Japanese phones, there is little to no public documentation available about their chips and circuit boards. I will be entering unknown territory.

In preparation for this forceful method, I will buy one or two additional P903i phones. Any P903i I buy is likely to have the Lost Episode demo on it and by having spares I will feel better about the risk of destroying one to extract the circuit board.

The user manual for the P903i goes into great detail on how to connect your phone to a PC. To do this you need a FOMA USB cable and the disc with the proper P903i drivers. Acquiring the USB cable is easy enough, but finding the CD that came with the original P903i package is a different story. There are no auctions selling this installation disc, so unless I get lucky I may have no way to proceed with this plan.

I just hope that if I get the chance to install the drivers, I can convince the software that I'm using a Japanese Windows operating system. The manual instructs that you need to have a Japanese Windows XP- or Windows 2000 OS. :wacky:

It *should* be easy enough to run a virtual environment where Japanese versions of these operating systems can be simulated.

Even if I can get the proper driver(s), there is the fact that it's extremely unlikely the system would be built so that you can easily copy over pre-installed data from your phone to your PC. Can't know for sure until you try though.

Apart from a FOMA USB cable and the driver installation disc, I will also get a microSD card. This is the external memory card used for the P903i. I doubt that I can transfer the pre-installed Lost Episode demo to a microSD card, but expanding my degrees of freedom with the software and trying all possible strategies before BREAKING the phone is still my preferred path.

Acquiring...

- Micro SD card(s)
- Additional P903i phones
- FOMA USB cable
- Installation disc for P903i mobile-to-PC connection

...is not where my list of wanted items end.

If I am to dump the flash chip, I will need AT LEAST a volt meter and soldering station. These exist in fairly cheap forms, but there is the risk that I might buy a cheap soldering station that doesn't reach high enough temperatures. I'm still too new at this stuff to know for sure, but additional tools might also be needed.

I also do NOT plan to have the P903i be my first attempt at dumping flash chips. I acquired four ancient phones from one of my brothers for that purpose:

- 2x Nokia 3310
- Nokia 6700s
- Sony Ericsson F500i

If I can't dump the flash chips from these phones which are sure to have a TON of documentation already done on them, there's no point in trying my hand at the undocumented P903i phone (or any Japanese phone for that matter). For these Nokia phones and the Sony Ericsson one I also need to buy chargers as currently I have none. If it turns out the batteries don't work I'll obviously need to buy that as well.

Channy was kind and sold me her P900iV phone. Thank you Channy! ^_^

Its contents are unconfirmed, as it has neither charger nor battery. Funny story: I was planning on postponing the P903i purchase, but when I lost an auction for a P900iV with battery and charger, I instead went for the P903i auction. :monster:

So in the context of the P900iV, I wish to buy...

- P900iV + battery + charger
- Mini SD card

Japanese shipping services (or at least the one used by my intermediary) will only ship lithium ion batteries if they are packed safely inside their assigned device, in this case the inside of the phone. So no matter what, I will end up acquiring yet another P900iV. The biggest challenge here is to actually find a proper charger. Phones and their batteries are in plenty supply. Chargers much less so.

The Mini SD card, the memory card used for the P900iV, is on my wishlist simply to expand my degrees of freedom with the software. :awesomonster:

Other expenses would be the payment of any additional cell phones, be they Japanese or American, and the unlikely but still always-up-in-the-air plan to pay a Japanese person to download old mobile games before the servers disappear (which will probably happen soon, if it hasn't already).

That brings us to another challenge. One that many of you have seen me whining about on multiple occasions already. That of ~~GIL~~ ~~MUNNY~~ MONEY.

The time will soon come when I literally can't afford money on more than survival. I am using up all my savings in order to fund projects (first the Dirge of Cerberus Multiplayer Archive and now the Mobile Game Initiative) and that time is coming to an end.

There is nothing in the horizon to indicate that I will find employment anytime soon and thusly fix my monetary situation.

What should I do? Have the first post of this thread begin with a link to my PayPal and then have a list of people who have contributed with X amount of money? (Similar to what I did with the Dirge Multiplayer Archive) Set up a Patreon? A GoFundMe?

None of these are appealing nor seem perfectly appropriate. I can't guarantee results from the money people spend. All I can guarantee is that I TRY to find, share and archive esoteric Final Fantasy VII content.

Any advice on the matter is appreciated. PM me if you feel so inclined to give me your thoughts on the matter of funding this research hobby of mine.

Shademp · Nov 15, 2017

Page 277 of the P903i manual informs us not only about download services related to the pre-installed i-αppli programs, but also about the limitations imposed on data downloaded to your microSD card.

P903i Manual said:
Pre-installed i-αppli Programs

● You can delete i-αppli programs pre-installed in your FOMA phone. You can re-download the deleted i-αppli programs from the "P-SQUARE" site. If you use the UIM other than the one used for downloading, the UIM restrictions are activated. (See page 39)

● The re-download service is scheduled to close on the end of December, 2009 for ... ダージュ オブ ケルベロス ロストエピソード -ファイナルファンタジーVII (DIRGE OF CERBERUS LOST EPISODE -FINAL FANTASY VII-)" ...

● The re-download service of additional data for i-αppli programs is scheduled to close on the end of December, 2009 for ダージュ オブ ケルベロス ロストエピソード -ファイナルファンタジーVII (DIRGE OF CERBERUS LOST EPISODE -FINAL FANTASY VII-)" ...

● The re-download service might be halted or closed without notice even in the service period.

In other words, the option to upgrade to the complete version (aka "Full-voice Version") of Lost Episode was scheduled to cease at the end of December, 2009. *NOTE: This statement only tells us anything about the "upgrade" to the full version, not downloading the full game immediately as it later became available via Square's i-mode store.*

The P-SQUARE site was apparently used to make this upgrade. You could access it either via the i-mode store or by scanning a QR code.

From page 334 of the P903i user manual:

The URL spawned by scanning the QR code is "p-squarehttp://www.pana-site.com/i/" which is of course interpreted as an erroneous URL. Removing the "p-square" from the beginning makes the URL redirect to you to a "p-smart" site.

The P-SQUARE concept appears to have been upgraded to the P-SQUARE MARKET by May, 2010. This one, too, offered downloadable games.

The short of it is that we of course can't confirm if it's still possible to upgrade to the Full-voice Version of Lost Episode, but the odds are bleak.

^Our only existing photo of the "Full-voice Ver." menu, with the "Upgrade" selection naturally removed from the start menu options.

P903i Manual said:
● You can use the data saved on the microSD memory card only when you are using P903i and the same UIM as when you downloaded that data onto the microSD memory card. You cannot use the data on the microSD-memory-card-compatible mobile phones and devices other than P903i or by copying to personal computers owing to copyright protection technology.

These heavy restrictions are congruent with statements found in the Assembler Games thread about the preservation of Japanese mobile games.

In other words, even if I acquire a microSD card with Japanese game data on it, the data will be encrypted.

Of course, I would still be heavily interested in acquiring such a memory card, so long as I was certain of its contents. This is why I have tried to convince two people in Japan to download games for me, but one has declined (due to not wishing to sign a docomo contract to gain access to the i-mode store) and one has a too low reply frequency.

If anybody knows a Japanese citizen (I'm assuming you can't sign the proper contracts unless you are a citizen) who might be willing to help, let me know.

dr.slump from Assembler Games said:
You can back up downloaded apps to an sd card, but maybe not the preinstalled ones.
With my phone, apps I back up are then encrypted as .SB1 files, which are locked to my device.
I don't know if there are any phones that don't encrypt the files. Hopefully someone can crack the encryption, anyway!

Shademp · Nov 15, 2017

Apart from the promising example of sshin downloading and booting up Before Crisis last year, there is also the fact that docomo still offer plans for "feature phones" (i.e. "flip-phones" or "not-smartphones") and access to i-mode through these old phones.

- Docomo subscription

- Registering User Information

- Docomo Online Application for i-mode Version

I am yet to look up if Softbank Yahoo! and AU EZweb phones still offer access to the stores that held Before Crisis.

I got in contact with an old acquintance and got some input after discussing the Mobile Game Initiative with them. Their reply after I mentioned the Japanese person who denied my request to have them sign a docomo contract to gain access to old mobile games:

Signing the contract is without question the part that would be most difficult to get anyone to do, regardless of the money involved. Contracts are tied to people's credit scores and all that. And my wife tells me that, unlike in the US, if you do something to get blacklisted by one phone carrier in Japan, they ALL blacklist you.

That certainly sounds like Japanese strictness. If true, this helps explain why the pirating of Japanese mobile games has been so limited. It's not just a matter of the phone- and file encryptions being monstrous, but the penalty for breaking copyright (or the law in general) can be severe. They have plenty to lose.

I asked how one might know that a Japanese foreigner has enough of a citizenship to sign phone contracts like those I'm interested in:

If they have a work visa, they can do it
Can't do it on a tourist visa

Finding someone who lives in Japan is probably your best bet, I don't live in Japan ... There are hundreds of thousands of anime and game-loving foreigners who live in Japan too for various reasons, like study abroad or work, surely there has to be some way to find someone.

Meanwhile I'm also trying to find the original source to the rumor that the i-mode/EZWeb/Yahoo! Mobile services will go away in 2018. Thus far I've only found two examples of the claim.
1) Assembler Games post. Date: 2016-11-28
2) Private convo between Radigar and a Japanese person on Twitter. Date: 2016-09-01

Quote from private convo said:
There is information to which I say that "EZ application" ends in au in 2018. So it may end.

Shademp · Nov 16, 2017

BREAKING NEWS

sshin has uploaded a video, showing Before Crisis and FFVII Snowboarding listed among their apps, then boots up Before Crisis and stays at the start menu

I received a mail from sshin where they write the following.

まだBCFF7を遊ぶことはできます。

本体だけを購入しても遊ぶことはできません。
NTT Docomoで回線を契約し、毎月回線使用料を支払う必要があります。
また、ファイナルファンタジーモバイルというi-modeのサービスに加入する必要があります。
これは540yen/monthの料金が掛かります。
ただし、ファイナルファンタジーモバイルというサービスは2018/3/31に終了します。

Google translate:

You can still play BCFF7.

Even if you purchase only the main body you can not play.
You need to sign a line with NTT Docomo and pay a line usage fee every month.
Also, you need to subscribe to i-mode service called Final Fantasy Mobile.
This will cost 540yen / month.
However, the service called Final Fantasy Mobile will end on March 31, 2018.

We have a date for when Before Crisis, FFVII Snowboarding (and presumably Dirge of Cerberus: Lost Episode) will NO LONGER BE AVAILABLE. Less than 4 1/2 months away from today.

I will try to confirm the original source of this date.

Shademp · Nov 16, 2017

The_Kusabi, the person who provided the feedback written in this post and who helped make contact with sshin by translating my message to Japanese, found the official source referring to the end of Final Fantasy Mobile.

Source

重要なお知らせ
2017/11/01 12:15 from ファイナルファンタジーモバイル[iモード]
｢ﾌｧｲﾅﾙﾌｧﾝﾀｼﾞｰ ﾓﾊﾞｲﾙ｣ ｻｰﾋﾞｽ終了のお知らせ(3/31)

平素より｢ﾌｧｲﾅﾙﾌｧﾝﾀｼﾞｰ ﾓﾊﾞｲﾙ｣をご利用いただき誠にありがとうございます｡
本ｻｰﾋﾞｽをご利用のお客様へ重要なお知らせがございます｡

ｻｰﾋﾞｽ開始より多くのお客様にご利用､ご愛顧いただきました｢ﾌｧｲﾅﾙﾌｧﾝﾀｼﾞｰ ﾓﾊﾞｲﾙ｣ですが､2018年3月31日(&#22303 23:59をもちまして､すべてのｻｰﾋﾞｽの提供を終了させていただくこととなりました｡

ｻｰﾋﾞｽ終了までのｽｹｼﾞｭｰﾙは以下のとおりです｡

■2018年2月28日(&#27700 23:59頃
新規入会受付停止
※既存会員様につきましては2018年3月31日(&#22303 23:59までｻｰﾋﾞｽをご利用いただけます｡

■2018年3月31日(&#22303 23:59
全てのｻｰﾋﾞｽを終了
※ｻｰﾋﾞｽ終了後､ﾏｲﾒﾆｭｰ登録されているお客様は自動的に登録削除となります｡
※翌月以降はﾏｲﾒﾆｭｰに表示されなくなります｡

<終了後の注意事項>
2018年4月1日(&#26085以降､会員情報(所得ﾎﾟｲﾝﾄや購入履歴な&#12393およびｲﾝｽﾄｰﾙされているｱﾌﾟﾘはご利用いただけなくなります｡
ﾀﾞｳﾝﾛｰﾄﾞ済み一部ｺﾝﾃﾝﾂ(ﾃﾞｺﾒｰﾙ､待受､着うた&#31561はｻｰﾋﾞｽ終了後も引き続きご利用いただけますが､すべてのｺﾝﾃﾝﾂにおいて動作保障はいたしかねます｡あらかじめご了承ください｡

<ﾏｲﾒﾆｭｰ引継ぎについて>
本ｻｰﾋﾞｽからSQUARE ENIX MARKETへのﾏｲﾒﾆｭｰ引継ぎにつきましては､2018年2月28日(&#27700にて受付終了いたします｡
2018年2月28日(&#27700までにｽﾏｰﾄﾌｫﾝへ機種変更をされた場合は､SQUARE ENIX MARKETにﾏｲﾒﾆｭｰが自動的に引き継がれ､SQUARE ENIX MARKETのｻｰﾋﾞｽをご利用いただけます｡ご利用いただかない場合はﾏｲﾒﾆｭｰ削除を行ってください｡

2018年3月1日(&#26408以降にｽﾏｰﾄﾌｫﾝへ機種変更された場合は､ﾏｲﾒﾆｭｰ引継ぎの対象となりません｡

<お問い合わせ窓口>
ｻｰﾋﾞｽ終了に伴うお問い合わせは以下のﾒｰﾙｱﾄﾞﾚｽ宛にお送りください｡
[email protected]
※ﾒｰﾙの件名に[ｻｲﾄ名]とお問い合わせの概要をご記入ください｡&#20363[ﾌｧｲﾅﾙﾌｧﾝﾀｼﾞｰ ﾓﾊﾞｲﾙ]ｻｰﾋﾞｽ終了に関して

ｻｰﾋﾞｽ開始から､多くのお客様にご愛顧いただき誠にありがとうございました｡
ｻｰﾋﾞｽ終了まで､残りわずかな期間となりますが､変わらぬご愛顧を賜りますよう､よろしくお願いいたします｡

Google translate:

Important Notices
2017/11/1 12:15 from Final Fantasy Mobile [i-mode]
Notice of "Final Fantasy Mobile" service termination (3/31)

Thank you very much for using "Final Fantasy Mobile" better than usual.
Important information is given to customers using this service.

Starting service It is "Final Fantasy Mobile" that you used and patronized by many customers, but we decided to end all service offering on Saturday, March 31, 2018 (Sat) 23:59 It was.

The schedule until the end of the service is as follows.

■ around 23:59 on Wednesday, February 28, 2018 (Wednesday)
Stop accepting new membership
* For existing members, you can use the service until March 31, 2018 (Sat) 23:59.

■ March 31, 2018 (Sat) 23:59
End all services
* After completing the service, customers who are registered as My Menu will be automatically deregistered.
※ It will not be displayed on My Menu after the next month.

<Precautions After Termination>
From April 1, 2018 (Sunday) membership information (such as income points and purchase history) and applications installed will no longer be available.
Although downloaded partial contents (deco mail, standby, ringtone, etc.) can be used continuously after the service is ended, it is not possible to guarantee the operation of all the contents beforehand.

<About my takeover handover>
Regarding the takeover of My Menu from this service to SQUARE ENIX MARKET, reception will be closed on Wednesday, February 28, 2018.
If you change the model to smartphones by Wednesday, 28th of February, 2018, My Menu will be automatically handed over to SQUARE ENIX MARKET and you can use the service of SQUARE ENIX MARKET If you do not use Please do delete My Menu.

If the model is changed to smartphone after March 1, 2018, it will not be handed over to my menus.

<Contact point of inquiries>
Please send inquiries due to service termination to the following e-mail address.
[email protected] [/ email]
* Please fill in [Subject line name] and the outline of the inquiry in the subject line of the mail Example: [Final Fantasy Mobile] About termination of service

Thank you very much for your patronage by many customers since the service started.
It will be a short period of time until the end of the service, but we look forward to your continued patronage, thank you.
[/quote]

EDIT: The above note is taken from the i-mode section, but the same service termination announcement (with the same dates) is present for Yahoo! Keitai and EZweb versions of Final Fantasy Mobile.

- [URL="http://support.jp.square-enix.com/news.php?id=347&la=0&n=2&drt=1509506100&tag=bbf29b4a275569560661c448d8fa105ce3de893b"]Yahoo! Keitai[/URL]
- [URL="http://support.jp.square-enix.com/news.php?id=326&la=0&n=2&drt=1509506100&tag=183833fd8b5ec371c8d14cde5f3ac468d5a910df"]EZweb[/URL]

Shademp · Nov 17, 2017

In the Option menu in Lost Episode you can adjust the volume and set the vibration to on or off. The volume has eleven increments, which I would dub 0 to 10 since the lowest volume means zero sound. Default volume is "5".

ボリューム = Volume
振動 = Vibration

The game isn't terribly clear though about which vibration setting is On and which one is Off. When pressing the OK/Action button on the vibration option, you switch between the "crossed" white box above and the completely white box.

I played through the game on both these settings but experienced no vibration. I left the game and checked the phone's menus.

Settings → i-αppli settings → αVibrator
- Depend on system
- Depend on software

"Depend on system" was the default selection. I changed to "Depend on software", booted up Lost Episode and found that vibration was ON when the white box was crossed (which is the default setting).

I only experienced vibration when Vincent was taking damage. Then again I wasn't looking hard to document every possible vibration scenario. Having the vibration on didn't really add anything. In fact when you're trying to achieve timed shots (chains) I'd rather not be distracted by vibrations.

Vibration was even worse when I played PuyoPuyon & COLUMNS, the other pre-installed game on the phone. Feeling a vibration for every time you lined up four of a color was super distracting!

リーブ：「発電機の
周りには、バリケード
と同じロックがかかっ
てるようです。まず
は、カードキーを使っ
て解除してください」

Reeve: "It seems that the same
lock as the barricade is applied
around the generator, please
release with the cardkey first."

You pick up cardkeys in Lost Episode, but they are not added to a browsable inventory menu. You just have to remember that you picked it up and then use the card.

Random detail: The ammo you pick up all use the same model with the same red color, regardless of the ammo type. This is probably one of many tricks to keep the game's file size low. Though not at all related to this fact, the beta testing phase of the Dirge of Cerberus (PS2) online mode initially only used the one red model for all three ammo types. This was then changed in a version update so that machine gun ammo was green and rifle ammo was blue.

I was able to GIT GUD and get Vincent to Level 2 by Stage 3! Damage done on enemies is counted and equated into EXP gain. By performing chains (timed shots) the damage you perform is greatly increased, thereby boosting your EXP gain.

The Crimson Hound "boss" at the end of Stage 2 provides massive amounts of EXP if you can shoot it with timed shots, so that's what made me reach Level 2 right before getting to Stage 3.

Level and Total EXP when reaching level

Level 1: -
Level 2: 50000
Level 3: 150000
Level 4: 250000

I can reach Level 3 by the time Stage 5 ends, but I (still) seriously doubt it's possible to get to Level 3 by the beginning of Stage 5.

Like the recording of the Japanese playthrough shows us, Vincent's max HP is 3000 at Level 5. In the PS2 game, LV50 is Vincent's max level and this also caps his HP at 3000. I'm betting that Level 5 is the max in Lost Episode, but we can't know for certain until we dig in the game data or get the full version of Lost Episode.

Cthulhu · Nov 18, 2017

Do you like put this stuff up on a website or blog anywhere? Mostly beacause idk if this forum page is getting indexed by google or whether it's archived by archive.org or whether it'll last the aeons. You're doing the kinda thing that a future Shademp II will be very grateful for.

I mean I can help you set up a blog or website, you can slap some ads or patreon wossname on there to make some monies, idk.

Shademp · Nov 18, 2017

Cthulhu said:
Do you like put this stuff up on a website or blog anywhere?

The bulk of my work is on TLS, much of it on the frontpage and (probably) more of it in my forum threads.

My platforms are...
- The Lifestream
- YouTube
- Facebook
- Twitter
- ...and now Patreon

Hopefully the Patreon can motivate me to compile more of my knowledge into frontpage articles.

Cthulhu said:
idk if this forum page is getting indexed by google or whether it's archived by archive.org

When checking "Who's Online" I find that Google Spiders are often about. As for archive.org, I manually archive multiple research threads and pages (though not all) using a Wayback Machine add-on to quick-save. Though that's mostly useful for me since anybody digging through The Lifestream graveyard decades from now will have to navigate tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of saved links.

Cthulhu said:
I mean I can help you set up a blog or website, you can slap some ads or patreon wossname on there to make some monies, idk.

Thanks for the offer, but I feel that TLS is my home.

What I can do to improve exposure is to share stuff with more news outlets: I just tweeted the news of Final Fantasy Mobile ending to the Twitter accounts of RPG Site, Nova Chrystallis and Gematsu. RPG Site, which has over 58300 followers, immediately posted the news. Though I doubt the news will get much of a reaction, that's still plenty of exposure (albeit not to my own personal projects :monster:

).

I have omitted until now to mention that I bought the "dummy" P903i phones at the same time that I bought the real, functional phone I have played the Lost Episode demo on.

ヴィンセント：「リーブ、神羅屋敷への、
代わりの移動手段を

*Google Translate*

Vincent: "Reeve, alternative means of travel to the Shinra mansion

When looking at the full gameplay recording, I spot that the exact phrasing seen above was not used in the final game. The gist of Vincent needing to get to Nibelheim remains the same, but Shinra Manor is not specifically mentioned in this conversation in the final game.

The screenshot of Lost Episode is nothing but either a sticker or piece of paper beneath the glass. The phones don't have any removable parts and you can't gain access to any slots/docks.

These phones were official store displays and were never intended to be functional phones. I am pleased with this purchase because it means owning another piece of DoC: Lost Episode history.

Shademp · Nov 18, 2017

Three of Square's old mobile services will go down at the end of March 31, 2018. These services are...

- Final Fantasy Mobile
- Dragon Quest Mobile
- Sueni Mobile

Each of these are hosted on the i-mode (docomo), Yahoo! Keitai (Softbank) and EZweb (au) networks. The selection of games and media vary somewhat between these networks, though with plenty common titles between them.

I have copied the list of apps from Square Enix's JP support site and run them through google translate so that you can get an idea of just how much media will no longer be available to Japanese citizens.

BEFORE CRISIS - FINAL FANTASY VII -
Final Fantasy Mobile Movie
Final Fantasy IV THE AFTER - Return of the Moon -
Final Fantasy IV
Final Fantasy II
Final Fantasy I
Final Fantasy Mobile Sound
Final Fantasy Mobile Gallery
FINAL FANTASY VII Snowboarding
DIRGE of CERBERUS LOST EPISODE-FINAL FANTASY VII-
CRYSTAL GUARDIANS
Final Fantasy Legends Light and Dark Warrior

BEFORE CRISIS - FINAL FANTASY VII -
CRYSTAL GUARDIANS
Final Fantasy Mobile Gallery
Final Fantasy Mobile Sound
Final Fantasy II
Final Fantasy IV THE AFTER - Return of the Moon -
Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy Mobile Movie
Final Fantasy IV

BEFORE CRISIS - FINAL FANTASY VII -
Final Fantasy IV
Final Fantasy Mobile Movie
Final Fantasy IV THE AFTER - Return of the Moon -
Final Fantasy II
Final Fantasy I
Final Fantasy Mobile Sound
Final Fantasy Mobile Gallery
CRYSTAL GUARDIANS
Final Fantasy Legends Light and Dark Warrior

Dragon Quest Standby
Dragon Quest Monster Battle Road V exclusive color code scanner for MOBILE
Dragon Quest III
Dragon Quest Starry Night companions
Dragon Quest Monster Friends
Dragon Quest Monsters MOBILE
Dragon Quest melody ♪
Dragon Quest Battle Road (paid version)
Dragon Quest Battle Road (Free Trial Version)
Dragon Quest I Complete Edition
Dragon Quest II
Dragon Quest Casino DX
Dragon Quest Monsters Wonted!

Dragon Quest Standby
Dragon Quest I
Dragon Quest II
Dragon Quest Battle Road MOBILE
Dragon Quest Melody ♪
Dragon Quest Monsters MOBILE
Dragon Quest starry friend's friends
Dragon Quest Monster Battle Road V exclusive color code scanner for MOBILE

Dragon Quest Standby
Dragon Quest Monster Battle Road V exclusive color code scanner for MOBILE
Dragon Quest III
Dragon Quest starry friend 's friends
Dragon Quest Monsters MOBILE
Dragon Quest melody ♪
Dragon Quest Battle Road MOBILE
Dragon Quest I Complete Edition
Dragon Quest II
Dragon Quest Monsters Wonted!

Sueni mobile FLASH game
Seiken Densetsu - Final Fantasy Gaiden -
Guin · Saga mobile
Seiken Legend 2
Longorongo
Sigma harmonics coder
Wonder Project J 2 Josette in the forest of Korro
Country broken mountains River 2
Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy in Iki Street MOBILE (Final Fantasy in Itagi Street MOBILE)
Legendary Ogre Battle
Romancing SaGa 2
Makai Tower Sa Sa
A country breaks and there is a mountain river
Former ancestral hero
It's NEW FRONTIER
MONOTONE
We have a street MOBILE
Disappear in Okhotsk
Sukoba item
Star Ocean Blue Sphere
Chocobo de Mobile
Portopia serial murder case
Romancing SaGa
Karuizawa kidnapping guide
Chrono Trigger

Sueni Mobile FLASH game
Sigma Harmonics Coder
Star Ocean Blue Sphere
Seiken Densetsu - Final Fantasy Gaiden -
The Devil Tower Sa Sa
Hero's hero half-heart
Karuizawa kidnapping guide
Romancing SaGa
Portopia serial murder case
Chocobo de Mobile
Sukoba item
Disappear to Okhotsk
We have a street MOBILE
Guin · Saga mobile

Sueni Mobile FLASH game
Star Ocean Blue Sphere
Sigma Harmonics Coder
Guin · Saga mobile
Country broken mountains River 2
Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy in Itagi Street MOBILE (Final Fantasy in Weekly Street MOBILE)
Seiken Densetsu 2
Romancing SaGa 2
Chrono Trigger
Seiken Densetsu - Final Fantasy Gaiden -
Magical Warrior Sa Ga
The country is torn and there is a mountain river
We have a street MOBILE
Extinguish to Okhotsk
Sukhba items
Chocobo de Mobile
Portopia serial murder case
Romancing SaGa
Karuizawa kidnapping guide
Hero's hero half-hero
Legendary Ogre Battle

Links to all end-of-service announcements for each service and their network:

- Final Fantasy Mobile [i-mode]
- Final Fantasy Mobile [Yahoo! Keitai]
- Final Fantasy Mobile [EZweb]

- Dragon Quest Mobile [i-mode]
- Dragon Quest Mobile [Yahoo! Keitai]
- Dragon Quest Mobile [EZweb]

- Sueni Mobile [i-mode]
- Sueni Mobile [Yahoo! Keitai]
- Sueni Mobile [EZweb]

Many thanks to dr.slump of Assembler Games for informing me of Dragon Quest Mobile and Sueni Mobile, as well as for providing relevant links.

Cthulhu · Nov 19, 2017

I think you should still compile this into frontpage articles instead of or in addition to forum poasts, :monster:

. I think you can even just copy / paste the posts themselves into the WYSIWIG editor, should keep all the links and most formatting intact without too much effort.

Kingdom Hearts530 · Nov 19, 2017

Shad, as I told you on Discord, you're a miracle worker and the entire FF7 community owes you a debt of gratitude. The work you've done with this project alone is absolutely amazing, to say the least.

I wish you tons of luck with the rest of your project and I can't wait to see your progress <3

Shademp · Nov 21, 2017

The press release from raregamecollector.com has arrived. Thanks again for the item! With this I own two press release documents for Dirge of Cerberus (PS2) and Dirge of Cerberus: Lost Episode. Though this newly acquired press release is special because it mentions the preview handset that the journalist was lent to play Lost Episode.

Here is my scan of the document, with all contact info blacked out.

- Lost Episode Press Release document

As another curiosity, raregamecollector linked me this archived adventchildren.net forum thread about the release of Lost Episode. Comments in threads about the release of Lost Episode usually exhibit this range of emotions: Indifference, confusion, frustration or angry disappointment. This reminds us why the game is lost in the first place. The same reactions hold true in threads about the FFVII Snowboarding port.

I may write a lengthier post about this one day, but FFVII Snowboarding and Lost Episode aren't the only lost mobile games published by Square's old English mobile department. In fact, it seems none of their games were ever pirated. Browsing the archived Square Enix Mobile site, here are the games I've listed:

- Brave Shot
- Brave Shot 2
- Destiny's Child Groove
- Dirge of Cerberus: Lost Episode
- Final Fantasy VII Snowboarding
- HEXCITE Fusion
- Megatouch Mobile Arcade
- Megatouch Mobile Arcade II
- Musashi: Mobile Samurai

*Note: There could be a few more games under their umbrella, I am not 100% sure.

Most of these games look entertaining enough, but one title fills me with a deep dread evoking associations to Lovecraftian horror...

Destiny's Child Groove

Available Now on AT&T;, Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile!

Do you have what it takes to be a Destiny’s Child backup dancer? Show them you do by competing in dance contests featuring hits by multi-platinum artists Destiny’s Child. This addicting dance-battle game synchronizes music and game play on your mobile phone, so you can groove to your favorite hits anytime, anywhere! Feel the beat and dance your way to the top!

Visit the official Destiny's Child website here! Also check out the official Beyonce website here!

Key Features

Features favorite songs from award-winning megagroup Destiny's Child

Dance-battle style gameplay

Easy to pick up, yet provides good challenge for experienced "Groovers"

Destiny's Child Groove is an addicting dance game, with easy-to-learn controls. There are four commands for every beat of the music. Enter the dance commands (either directions of number keys) displayed on the screen. Beats one through three can be entered at any time. However, you must enter the OK button on the fourth beat. Try to perform combos by correctly entering successive commands. Your dancer will pull off some cool moves!

Each move you do will add more to your "Groove Gauge." Win the dance battle by having more "Groove Gauge" than your opponent at the end of the song.

......

Featured in this game are the hits, "Survivor," "Bug A Boo," "Say My Name," and "Lose My Breath."

I exaggerate my negative reaction for comedic effect and I should note that I am indifferent to Beyoncé. It is even possible that this might have been a decent enough game.

But there is something just so...BIZARRE about a game published by Square Enix where you compete to become Beyoncé's backup dancer. :wacky:

The Twilight Mexican · Nov 22, 2017

Shademp said:
Comments in threads about the release of Lost Episode usually exhibit this range of emotions: Indifference, confusion, frustration or angry disappointment. This reminds us why the game is lost in the first place. The same reactions hold true in threads about the FFVII Snowboarding port.

Sounds right.

The matter wasn't helped any by how inaccessible the games were -- i.e. needing to be with the right carrier, in the right coverage areas, with the right phones. That certainly added to the indifference, confusion, frustration and angry disappointment, to say nothing of contributing to the lack of ~~pirating~~ archiving.

I doubt many people switched carriers, upgraded their phones or moved for these games.

Shademp · Nov 25, 2017

I have saved the official FAQ sections for the three i-mode games relevant to this thread. All I've got left now is to save the FAQ sections for the EZweb and Yahoo! Keitai versions of Before Crisis.

i-mode
- Before Crisis
- DC: Lost Episode
- FFVII Snowboarding

Some juicy knowledge in here.

FFVII Snowboarding - FAQ Number: 43662 said:
Q: スピンジャンプについて教えてください。

A: スピンジャンプに設定すると、ジャンプ中は障害物にぶつかりません。

なおジャンプの設定は、コースプレイ中「メニュー」→「オプション」にて変更することができます。

(Google Translate)

Q: Please tell me about spin jump.

A: If set to spin jump, you will not hit any obstacles while jumping.

You can change the setting of jumping in "Course Play" menu "Options".

FFVII Snowboarding - FAQ Number: 43663 said:
Q: スピンジャンプに設定していますが、スピンジャンプをしないことがあります。

A: スピンジャンプに設定していても、低速時はノーマルジャンプとなります。

(Google Translate)

Q: Although it is set to spin jump, it may not do spin jump.

A: Even if it is set to spin jump, it will be a normal jump at low speed.

The spin jump is a feature exclusive to the mobile port (so far). You select in the Options menu whether to use the "Normal" jump or the "Spin" jump.

Reviews of the 2005 US version mention the spin and indeed it is listed in Marcelo X's guide, but nobody writes that it somehow changed/changes gameplay.

Gamespot said:
You can enable a spin-jump mode on the options screen, but it doesn't appear to do much of anything besides make him spin around like a helicopter.

The facts from the official support site for the 2008 JP version is the first we've heard of the spin having an effect, in this case making you phase through obstacles. Though you need a high enough speed to perform the helicopter spin in the first place. Presumably you need to be doing the spin in order to negate obstacles, so a low-speed jump (even with "Spin" selected) would not work. Or so I assume.

It sounds like the spin makes the game a bit easier. Hopefully we can one day confirm if the feature made you phase through obstacles (or however it is supposed to work) in the 2005 US version too.

...Kinda funny. A spin-off title that introduces a "spin" move. :monster:

FFVII Snowboarding - FAQ Number: 43635 said:
Q: FFVII SBのダウンロードにはどれくらいの空き容量が必要ですか？

A: FFVII SBのダウンロードには、約500KBの空き容量が必要です。

(Google Translate)

Q: How much free space is required to download FFVII SB?

A: Approximately 500 KB of free space is required to download FFVII SB.

The 2005 US port was 429 KB in size, as written in Marcelo's guide. After having downloaded and played a great number of java-based mobile games, I can say it is very conceivable that the entire snowboarding minigame fit into those 429 kilobytes. There are no signs, as of yet, of the port having been played and downloaded in packets.

The 2008 JP version being approximately 500 KB in size also sounds about right. The two versions are almost identical, after all.

More from the Japanese FAQ section to come in my next post.

Cloud_S · Nov 26, 2017

Always find myself incredibly impressed by the lengths you go through to uncover and document all this.

Shademp · Nov 26, 2017

The W51H phone, released in February 2007 and with au as its carrier, came pre-installed with a Before Crisis trial version.

- W51H Japanese wiki page
- Twitter post

I only just stumbled upon this. I expect to read more about this trial version as I check the FAQ section for the EZweb version of Before Crisis.

Don't get your hopes up on there being anything playable (or even basic game data) here. When I read (on the JP FAQ section) about the trial version for the FF Itadaki Street Mobile game it implied some limitations, so the same might apply to the trial version of Before Crisis.

FAQ Number: 55941 said:
Q: ファイナルファンタジー in いただきストリートMOBILEおためし版をダウンロードしたあと、ファイナルファンタジーモバイルを退会しても、おためし版は利用できますか？

A: ファイナルファンタジーモバイルでおためし版をダウンロードしたあと、ファイナルファンタジーモバイルを退会しても、おためし版はご利用いただけます。

※お試し版のプレイ可能回数は10回です。

(Google Translate)

Q: Final Fantasy in Iki Street MOBILE After downloading the Oshiki version, can you use the Omakase version even if you cancel Final Fantasy Mobile?

Even if you cancel Final Fantasy Mobile after downloading the fun version with Final Fantasy Mobile, you can use the fruit version.

※ The trial version can be played 10 times.

There are currently no W51H phones on Yahoo Auctions JP.

EDIT:

- User manuals for the W51H and other old au phones

- W51H instruction manual: Includes references to Before Crisis

There is no English version of this manual.

体験版 = Trial Version
最初から = From the beginning (Before Crisis version of "New Game")

EDIT #2:
From Page 253 of the manual:

体験版では冒頭の第1章を楽しむことができます。

(Google Translate)

In the trial version you can enjoy the first Chapter of the beginning.

I like the sound of this.

Thanks to Radigar for making it possible to copy and paste the manual text!

Radigar · Nov 26, 2017

Good findings Shad.

Here more official info of Hitachi document for W51H:
http://www.hitachi.co.jp/New/cnews/month/2007/01/0116b.pdf

Page 7 point 15, reference first chapter of Before Crisis:

15.『BEFORE CRISIS –FINAL FANTASY Ⅶ- (体験版)』を搭載
ファイナルファンタジーⅦへと続く影の歴史。ケータイのネットワークを駆使した、アク
ション RPG です。プリセットの体験版では、第 1 章を楽しめます。
===================================================================

*Google translate*

15. "BEFORE CRISIS - FINAL FANTASY Ⅶ - (trial version)" loaded
The history of the shadow leading to Final Fantasy VII. Using the network of mobile phones, Aku
This is RPG. In the trial version of the preset, you can enjoy Chapter 1.

____________________________________________________________

By the other hand, also I found that W51H's Before Crisis should be version "2.36" of the game with exact same content than the full version for chapter 1.

And a great info: ATTENTION TO THIS should exist another trial version that includes until chapter 3 with version "3.65". In this case have some variations in classifications rules for get grades at the end of mission for Chapter 2 and 3. These info was extracted from one of huge&best sites with a lot of info about Before Crisis called "FFQNET". We need to check this website in deep, it's pure gold.

※ 体験版ver2.36(第1章のみ)、及び体験版ver3.65(第1章～第3章)は通常版と同内容です。
※ ver3.65の第2章と第3章の任務遂行度判定基準のみは⇒(第2章)(第3章)

=============================================

*Google translate*

* The trial version ver 2.36 (chapter 1 only), and trial version ver 3.65 (chapter 1 to chapter 3) are the same contents as the regular version.
* Only the criteria for determining the degree of mission performance in Chapters 2 and 3 of ver 3.65 are ⇒ (Chapter 2) (Chapter 3)

But I don't know on which device is preinstalled this trial extended version with chapters 1,2 and 3.

Source: FFqnet Before Crisis Database

____________________________________________________________

Edit: I found related articles about DoC LE with images:

More gameplay images:

E3 2006 Lost Episode: http://www.square-enix.co.jp/e306/titles/dcff7_m/
E3 2007 Lost Episode: http://www.square-enix.co.jp/tgs07/titles/dcleff7/

Sources:
http://www.itmedia.co.jp/mobile/articles/0611/02/news009.html
http://www.itmedia.co.jp/mobile/articles/0611/07/news085.html
http://www.itmedia.co.jp/mobile/articles/0610/12/news096.html

Shademp · Nov 29, 2017

Official FAQ section for EZweb version of Before Crisis saved. All that remains now is the Yahoo! Keitai version (though I have already looked at some question-answers of interest).

I confirmed that the EZweb FAQ section says nothing about the trial version of Before Crisis that comes pre-installed with the W51H phone.

Anyway, some interesting questions and answers. Google translate as usual.

http://support.jp.square-enix.com/faqarticle.php?kid=35916&id=338

How much free space is needed to download DC LOST EPISODE -FFVII-?

To download DC LOST EPISODE -FFVII-, you need a microSD card with about 1 MB of free space on the mobile phone and the following free space.

· P type (P904i etc.), SH type (SH706i etc) Approximately 9MB
· N series (N904i etc.) About 11 MB

I believe that this download, phone + microSD card, contains the whole game. Just the same as I believe that the ≈500KB download of FFVII Snowboarding is the whole game.

First of all, the given file size is conceivably enough hold the whole game. The English download of Lost Episode was listed as 2.23MB. If our impression that the game was downloaded in three packets is correct, in line with the familiar V CAST model of providing the game in chunks while you played, then a very rough estimate would be that the full English game was around 6.7MB.

The primary difference between the English and the Japanese versions is that the latter has voice acting. With the impressive audio compressions of these mobile formats, my intuition tells me that the file sizes assigned above for the Japanese downloads is enough to contain the English content equivalents + JP voice clips.

The two extra megabytes required for the N series may be explained by compression differences and compatibility issues, compared to the P series which the Japanese game was (presumably) originally built for.

The three following Question-Answers I think speaks even more to the idea that the JP Lost Episode was downloaded all in one go, with no game content being limited to packet communications/downloads during gameplay.

http://support.jp.square-enix.com/faqarticle.php?kid=35921&id=338

Will not the application communication setting be activated unless it is set to "communicate"?

When activating DC LOST EPISODE -FFVII-, we will verify whether there is My Menu registration of Final Fantasy Mobile, so please set the communication setting of the application to "communicate". No communication will occur during gameplay.

※ The communication setting method of the application differs depending on the model, so please see the instruction manual of your mobile phone or NTT docomo.

http://support.jp.square-enix.com/faqarticle.php?kid=35920&id=338

Does DC LOST EPISODE -FFVII- cause communication during game?

When launching DC LOST EPISODE -FFVII-, it may communicate to authenticate whether there is My Menu registration of Final Fantasy Mobile. No communication will occur during gameplay.

http://support.jp.square-enix.com/faqarticle.php?kid=35919&id=338

In what scenes does DC LOST EPISODE -FFVII- communicate?

For DC LOST EPISODE -FFVII-, the following communication occurs when downloading an application.

【Application】 About 1 MB when downloading

◆ Initial startup
· P type (P904i etc) Approximately 9MB
· N series (N904i etc.) About 11 MB

* Packet communication charges vary depending on the rate plan for which you are contracted with docomo.

※ DC LOST EPISODE -FFVII- is Pake · hodai recommended content.

* Since there are cases where packet communication is redone in places where the radio wave condition is unstable, please download it in a place with good radio conditions.

My interpretation is that once the data has been downloaded to the microSD card, it stays there. Ergo, I believe that the whole game could be procured, unlike with Before Crisis which uses a download-content-temporarily-as-you-play model.

After all the on-and-behind-the-scenes work I've done with extending out hands to Japan, I have to report that my aim to preserve these games before the March 31, 2018 deadline is a pipe dream. The situation is bleak but I won't give up yet.

Regardless of game-preservation outcome, interesting facts are being gathered.

http://support.jp.square-enix.com/faqarticle.php?kid=35907&id=338

Is there a difference between the pre-installed version DC LOST EPISODE -FFVII- and the contents of the application?

It is the same as the contents of the upgraded version of the preinstalled version (built into P903i, P903iX HIGH-SPEED).

Mostly-correct. The full version downloaded from Final Fantasy Mobile does not have "Full-voice Ver." displayed at the start menu.

http://support.jp.square-enix.com/faqarticle.php?kid=35955&id=338

DC LOST EPISODE -FFVII- is downloaded on a cell phone preinstalled, it will be displayed as non-compatible model.

Applications can not be downloaded from Final Fantasy Mobile's DC LOST EPISODE -FFVII- if preinstalled on the mobile phone itself in advance. Please use the pre-installed application.

There is no difference between the contents of the pre-installed version and the download version.

I'm a bit uncertain on whether you can download the full game to a P903i via the Final Fantasy Mobile service/store, but it is intuitive enough that you can't have the pre-installed game on the phone at the same time as the FF-Mobile version.

The FFVII Mobile Game Initiative (2004-2008 Era)

420

Ex-SeeD-ingly good

Ex-SeeD-ingly good

Pro Adventurer

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Lv. 1 Adventurer

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Administrator

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Administrator

Pro Adventurer

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Ex-SeeD-ingly good

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Pro Adventurer

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Pro Adventurer

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