Square Enix to publish Final Fantasy III on Ouya game console

Ouya isn’t finished raising money through the crowdfunding site Kickstarter, but it is gaining momentum as a viable alternative game platform. Today, the startup announced that giant Japanese game publisher Square Enix will offer Final Fantasy III as a launch title on the Ouya console, which is scheduled to launch in the first quarter of 2013.

Ouya also recently got support from cloud gaming service OnLive and startup leader Robert Bowling. Ouya has raised $5.8 million from more than 45,000 backers so far, and it has eight days to go until its fundraising campaign ends.

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“We will kick this off with Final Fantasy III, which will be a launch title on OUYA,” said Julie Uhrman, chief executive of Ouya. “This will be the first time gamers outside of Japan can play FFIII on their televisions through a console.”

The game will have better graphics than the original title, which was created by star designer Hironobu Sakaguchi. Ouya will offer a free game demo for players.

Previously unreleased in the U.S. for home game consoles (although it appeared as a 3D remake for the Nintendo DS in 2006), Final Fantasy III is considered a missing link in the series.

“Ouya players can now proudly claim this piece of the puzzle,” Uhrman said.