June 28th, 2000 - As last week, Final Fantasy IX news has been trickling out, so as ever, Final Fantasy: Worlds Apart is here for a summary of the goings-on.

With that thing on his head, he wouldn't look out of place in Chicken Run.

Character Re-Named For Western Release
According to the American gaming magazine Electronic Gaming Monthly, Salamander Coral - the hardened ninja-styled warrior - has been renamed to Amarant Coral for the North American and subsequent European releases of Final Fantasy IX. Quite why Square have come to this decision is unknown - or even if the information is one hundred percent reliable (Electronic Gaming Monthly haven't let us down in the past).

The decision is likely to have been made so as to make the name more suitable for western audiences - much in the same way the Japanese Aerith was renamed to Aeris for the western release of Final Fantasy VII. After all, 'Salamander' does sound a bit like 'salmonella' (^_^) - Armanent does make one appreciate the warrior image the character is meant to give out a lot more.

Be sure to watch this space for more information in the future.

Square Not To Release Official Strategy Guide
In a surprise move, Square have opted not to officially release, or endorse, any strategy guides for Final Fantasy IX - both in Japan and in the west. This includes any walkthroughs, tips or secrets.

Square say that they want the player to experience the game without assistance, so they can 'discover the true enjoyment of playing an RPG'.

This seems to compliment their decision not to promote Final Fantasy IX to the extent Final Fantasy VIII was last year - Square feel that VIII was ruined somewhat by too much hype and media coverage in the run up to its release.

Not to worry, though - if you're stuck, just come to your favourite Final Fantasy site! ~_^

Final Fantasy IX OSV Release Date And Information
Final Fantasy IX's OSV (Original Sound Version) has been announced by DigiCube (Square Japan's distributor) to be hitting the shelves on August 30th, priced at 3689 yen (about 35 U.S. dollars).

Of course, the OSV will be composed, arranged and produced by Nobuo Uematsu, and will also include the following features:

• One hundred and ten tracks spanning four compact discs.
  
• Limited edition Final Fantasy IX special casing and Yoshitaka Amano illustration cards.
  
• Two bonus tracks (variations of the main theme "Melodies Of Life").
  
• "Melodies Of Life" lyrics packaged.

FF IX OSV front casing, with silhouettes of the eight main characters - from left to right Steiner, VIVI, Zidane, Garnet, Freija, Quina, Eiko and Amarant. Yoshitaka Amano illustration cards of the eight main characters.