Vincent to star in Final Fantasy VII spin-off

Square Enix is developing a Final Fantasy VII spin-off title with Vincent Valentine as the lead character, according to stories that reportedly originated in Japanese magazine Shonen Jump. The game is apparently called Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII ("Dirge of Cerberus" being one of the many enigmatic trademarks attributed to Square Enix this year), and will be released exclusively on PS2 in 2005.

The only information currently available on the game says that it picks up one year after the end of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, and has Vincent tackling a mysterious group called the DGs who have been attacking peaceful towns in Midgar. Advent Children, of course, is the computer generated movie spin-off Square Enix recently premiered at the Venice Film Festival, and plans to released on DVD and PlayStation Portable UMD in Japan next year, which is itself set two years after the events of PSX classic Final Fantasy VII.

For the moment though details on Vincent's return remain unsurprisingly scant. Square Enix has yet to confirm any details about it outside of the magazine, and apparently the report doesn't even clarify what genre of game the Japanese firm is developing - and early shots and artwork don't really clarify it either. It could be an RPG, it could be an action game, it could be just about anything.

We'll bring you more on Dirge of Cerberus, and any more on Square Enix's "polymorphic vision" for FFVII, as and when we hear about it.