Final_Fantasy_VIII_Ultimania

List of Square Enix companion books

List of Square Enix companion books

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Dozens of Square Enix companion books have been produced since 1998, when video game developer Square began to produce books that focused on artwork, developer interviews, and background information on the fictional worlds and characters in its games rather than on gameplay details.[1][2] The first series of these books was the Perfect Works series, written and published by Square subsidiary DigiCube. They produced three books between 1998 and 1999 before the line was stopped in favor of the Ultimania (アルティマニア, Arutimania) series, a portmanteau of ultimate and mania.[3] This series of books is written by Studio BentStuff, which had previously written game guides for Square for Final Fantasy VII. They were published by DigiCube until the company was dissolved in 2003. Square merged with video game publisher Enix on April 1, 2003, to form Square Enix,[4] which resumed publication of the companion books.

Various Ultimania books at a Books Kinokuniya in San Francisco, California

Both the Perfect Works and Ultimania books have focused primarily on Square and Square Enix's role-playing video game franchises, such as the Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts series; over half of the more than 75 books are for games related to the Final Fantasy series. Sometimes, multiple books have been written per game or revised editions have been published years afterwards. One of the books, Final Fantasy IX Ultimania Online, was solely published online as part of an experiment by Square Enix with online content delivery; another for Final Fantasy XI was planned, but the idea was abandoned as unsuccessful and all subsequent books have been published traditionally.[5][6]

The books are written and edited by Studio BentStuff. The Ultimania series had sold over 10 million books by July 2007,[7] increasing to over 12 million copies sold as of 2017.[8] The highest selling Square Enix companion books are Final Fantasy VIII Ultimania (over 2.2 million copies) and Final Fantasy X Scenario Ultimania (over 1 million copies).[9] All of the books have been released solely in Japanese, but Dark Horse Books published English translations of the three-volume 2012 Final Fantasy 25th Memorial Ultimania as Final Fantasy Ultimania Archive in June 2018.[10]

Perfect Works

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Ultimania

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References

  1. [1]
    "Final Fantasy X Ultimania Guide". IGN. 2001-08-20. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
  2. [2]
    Ashcraft, Brian (2009-04-01). "Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Book Getting Revision". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 2011-03-03. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
  3. [3]
    Studio BentStuff, ed. (1999-03-31). Final Fantasy VIII Ultimania (in Japanese). DigiCube. p. 3. ISBN 978-4-925075-49-7.
  4. [4]
    "Consolidated Financial Results for the Six Months Ended September 30, 2004" (PDF). Square Enix. 2004-11-18. p. 1. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2006-05-06. Retrieved 2011-08-12.
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    Ultimania シリーズ［6］ [Ultimania Series [6]] (in Japanese). Studio BentStuff. Archived from the original on 2012-05-05. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
  6. [6]
    "Final Fantasy XI Playtest". IGN. 2002-04-05. p. 3. Archived from the original on 2013-06-25. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
  7. [7]
    アルティマニアシリーズの累計発行部数が1,000万部を突破！ [The cumulative circulation of the Ultimania series has exceeded 10 million!] (in Japanese). Studio BentStuff. 2007-12-29. Archived from the original on 2011-10-04. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
  8. [8]
    "会社情報" [Company Information]. Studio BentStuff (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2017-01-12. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  9. [9]
    "会社沿革" [Company History]. Studio BentStuff (in Japanese). 15 June 2016. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  10. [10]
    "NYCC 2017: Summon the Superlative Final Fantasy Reading Experience!". Dark Horse Comics. 2017-10-03. Retrieved 2017-10-03.
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    Xenogears Perfect Works the Real thing―スクウェア公式ゼノギアス設定資料集 [ペーパーバック] (in Japanese). Retrieved 2013-03-02.
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    スクウェア公式 サガフロンティア2設定資料集 [大型本] [Square Official Saga Frontier 2 Setting Documents Collection [Large Book]] (in Japanese). 1999-07-15. ISBN 978-4-925075-54-1.
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    Front Mission 3 Perfect Works―スクウェア公式フロントミッションサード設定資料集 [大型本] [Front Mission 3 Perfect Works―Square Official Front Mission Third Setting Document Collection [Large Book]] (in Japanese). 1999-11-20. ISBN 978-4-925075-66-4.
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    Ultimania シリーズ［1］ [Ultimania Series [1]] (in Japanese). Studio BentStuff. Archived from the original on 2012-04-21. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
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    =Ultimania シリーズ［2］ [Ultimania Series [2]] (in Japanese). Studio BentStuff. Archived from the original on 2012-04-21. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
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    Ultimania シリーズ［3］ [Ultimania Series [3]] (in Japanese). Studio BentStuff. Archived from the original on 2012-05-18. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
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    Ultimania シリーズ［4］ [Ultimania Series [4]] (in Japanese). Studio BentStuff. Archived from the original on 2012-03-07. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
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    Ultimania シリーズ［5］ [Ultimania Series [5]] (in Japanese). Studio BentStuff. Archived from the original on 2012-05-05. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
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    Ultimania シリーズ［7］ [Ultimania Series [7]] (in Japanese). Studio BentStuff. Archived from the original on 2012-05-18. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
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    Ultimania シリーズ［8］ [Ultimania Series [8]] (in Japanese). Studio BentStuff. Archived from the original on 2010-04-09. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
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    Ultimania シリーズ［9］ [Ultimania Series [9]] (in Japanese). Studio BentStuff. Archived from the original on 2010-04-09. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
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    Ultimania シリーズ［10］ [Ultimania Series [10]] (in Japanese). Studio BentStuff. Archived from the original on 2012-05-05. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
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    Ultimania シリーズ［11］ [Ultimania Series [11]] (in Japanese). Studio BentStuff. Archived from the original on 2010-04-09. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
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    Ultimania シリーズ［12］ [Ultimania Series [12]] (in Japanese). Studio BentStuff. Archived from the original on 2010-04-09. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
  25. [25]
    Ultimania シリーズ［13］ [Ultimania Series [13]] (in Japanese). Studio BentStuff. Archived from the original on 2012-03-07. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
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    "アルティマニアシリーズ 公式ページ | Square Enix Game Books Online" [Ultimania series official page | Square Enix Game Books Online] (in Japanese). Square Enix. Archived from the original on 2020-10-03. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
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    Ultimania シリーズ［15］ [Ultimania Series [15]] (in Japanese). Studio BentStuff. Archived from the original on 2010-04-09. Retrieved 2020-06-21.
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    大判でフルカラー208ページの豪華仕様！「ファイナルファンタジーVII 10thアニバーサリー アルティマニア」 [Large format, full-color, 208-page luxurious specification! "Final Fantasy VII 10th Anniversary Ultimania"] (in Japanese). Studio BentStuff. 2007-07-31. Archived from the original on 2012-03-07. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
  29. [29]
    「ディシディア ファイナルファンタジー アルティマニアα」大判サイズで12月4日に発売！ ["Dissidia Final Fantasy Ultimania α" will be released on December 4 in large format!] (in Japanese). Studio BentStuff. Archived from the original on 2010-01-04. Retrieved 2020-06-21.
  30. [30]
    「ディシディア デュオデシム ファイナルファンタジーアルティマニア -アクションSIDE-」3月10日発売！ ["Dissidia Duodecim Final Fantasy Ultimania -Action SIDE-" will be released on March 10!] (in Japanese). Studio BentStuff. 2011-03-02. Archived from the original on 2013-05-01. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
  31. [31]
    「ディシディア デュオデシム ファイナルファンタジーアルティマニア -RPG SIDE-」DLCコード付きで3月31日発売！ ["Dissidia Duodecim Final Fantasy Ultimania -RPG SIDE-" Released with DLC code on March 31st!] (in Japanese). Studio BentStuff. 2011-03-25. Archived from the original on 2012-04-04. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
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    ファイナルファンタジーVII リメイク マテリアル アルティマニア [Final Fantasy VII Remake Material Ultimania] (in Japanese). Studio BentStuff. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
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    ファイナルファンタジーVII リメイク マテリアル アルティマニア プラス [Final Fantasy VII Remake Material Ultimania Plus]. Square Enix Game Books Store (in Japanese). Square Enix. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
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