Nineteen new FFXIII scans for your viewing pleasure

Nineteen new scans of Final Fantasy XIII hit the internet today out of Weekly Famitsu, depicting some new scenes and some new in battle footage of Fang and her fal'Cie Bahamut. Also depicted are Sazh and his fal'Cie Brunhilde, and some new cutscenes that involve Fang and the rest of the party.

Check them out at Kotaku.

Four Warriors multiplayer details emerge...

The upcoming DS title "4 Warriors of Light: Final Fantasy Gaiden" looks to return to a simpler time in the franchise. But not so traditional is the addition of a multiplayer wi-fi option in which players will be able to traverse the overworld and spelunk into dungeons in turn-based random encounter deliciousness. It's not revealed yet if players will be able to trade in-game commodities but I'm more than willing to say it looks like a go.

The official site updated with this information, check it out here.

(Thanks to Athel of Kingdom Hearts Insider for the heads up!)

New FFXIII character revealed: Oerba Yun Fang "Fang"

In the new issue of Shonen Jump, the black-haired woman we saw in the TGS2009 trailer is given a name, and we see a glimpse of her summon. Is it Bahamut? Also, it's confirmed that she works for Sanctum, and that Sazh's summon is NOT named Ifrit.

View the scan.

SOURCES: Shonen Jump

Love SQ announced

Square Enix has announced a compilation soundtrack titled Love SQ (album art can be seen here). It will contain arrangements by various musicians from classic Square titles such as Final Fantasy and Chrono Trigger, and will be released on November 25th.

Tracklist

• Final Fantasy – Main Theme (PE'Z)
• Final Fantasy III – Yuukyuu no Kaze (De De Mouse)
• Chrono Trigger – Chrono Trigger & Toki no Kairo (Novoiski)
• Chrono Trigger – Harukanaru Toki no Kanata e (livetune)
• Chrono Trigger – Kaeru no Theme & Sentou Shori (Sexy-Synthesizer)
• Final Fantasy – Chocobo no Theme (Good Luck Heiwa)
• Romancing Saga – Medley (note native)
• Seiken Densetsu Legend of Mana – Medley (muZik)
• Final Fantasy – Battle Medley (Pia-no-ja)
• Final Fantasy – Prelude (no.9)

The official site for the upcoming album can be found here. There's a requirement to get in too, and I'm not talking about the Japanese!

SOURCE: andriasang.com

Engilsh FFXIII TGS trailer online

New today is the English dubbed trailer for Final Fantasy XIII, certainly up quicker than what we'd normally expect.

View the English trailer.

SOURCES: GameTrailers

Final Fantasy XIII TGS 2009 trailer goes live

On Square-Enix's website, they have made available the trailer that was shown at TGS this year.
Click here and go to the Trailers section to view.

Final Fantasy VIII hits Japan PSN

Like Final Fantasy VII at E3 before it, another PlayStation Final Fantasy was announced and made available during the press conference at Tokyo Game Show. It's Final Fantasy VIII's turn this time around, and by downloading the title from the store you can play it on your PlayStation 3 or transfer it to your PSP for mobile play. No word yet on when it will come to US and European PSN, but I'm more than willing to bet that it will eventually.

New 4WoL details

• Can be completed in 40 hours (originally 30 hours during development)
• Each character can only carry fifteen items
• Items don't stack (think Earthbound)
• Auto-targeting will make battles go by more quickly
• Lots and lots of optional sidequests not part of the main story
• Also like Earthbound, you can swap out items you're carrying with items from a previous inventory using hiding places

SOURCES: NeoGAF via GoNintendo (Dengeki Magazine)

TGS '09: Events as they unfold...

So at this point, I'll keep a little "liveblog" of stuff that comes out of E3. Keep refreshing and I'll post what I find as it happens.

9:31pm : Montage of games in Sony keynote, FFXIII present.
10:01pm : Final Fantasy IV: The After Years trailer.
10:10pm : New Crystal Bearers trailer, click the Multimedia section.
10:21pm : New Final Fantasy XIII floor footage.
10:26pm : Snow, Sazh, and Vanille battle in a the temple, Shiva is summoned.
11:01pm : FFXIII, summoning Odin and driving mode.
11:22pm : FFXIV TGS trailer.
12:01am : FFXIII special edition "Lightning" PS3 announced. It is pink and white with 250GB hard drive.
12:34am : FFXI expansion A Shantotto Ascension trailer.

Side note, we have six new in-game shots of FFXIII:
◆ #1: Lightning riding Sleipnir in Driving Mode.
◆ #2: Lightning and Odin in battle.
◆ #3: Snow and Serah.
◆ #4: A close-up.
◆ #5: Serah being engulfed.
◆ #6: Snow reaches out to Serah.

1:15am : Lightning and Hope battle underground.
1:20am : The official site will have the FFXIII TGS trailer in about 3 days, countdown was added.
2:20am : Snow party, first look at the menu system.
7:44am : Crystal Defenders heading to PSP.
12:23pm : Final Fantasy Versus XIII makes a secret appearance.
12:31pm : Hands on with Four Warriors of Light.
5:05pm : More footage from last night, Vanille is monsterbait. And the ensuing battle.
10:14pm : More escapades with Lightning.
1:03am : Snow nipplage. This is from the trailer that's coming out in a few days. (Hope for a leak.)
5:28am : Snow's party, seven minutes of gameplay and airship chase. Beautiful.
3:38am : The new "tattoo-girl" character?

Pre-TGS festivities: Vanille and Serah scan

In leading up to Tokyo Game Show 2009 (which starts later tonight) we have a new scan of Vanille and Serah in an in-game cutscene (below). Hopefully, the new trailer we'll see at the event will be online for viewings relatively quickly. But stay tuned for updates!

◆ Scan

SOURCES: 2ch

Fortress not dead in the water after all?

Since Swedish developer GRIN kicked the bucket, a flood of development artwork has surfaced on the Linkedin profiles of the developers associated with the project. However, the game codenamed Fortress, has been picked up again by Square-Enix. This was actually done roughly six months in the past as GamesIndustry.biz reports. Square-Enix had some concerns about the quality of the project, and financial woes finally caught up with GRIN due to Swedish legislation that imposes penalties on companies "that go into debt", which I take for a bankruptcy.

So it looks like behind closed doors at Square-Enix, Fortress is still alive. However there are still many questions left unanswered. Will Square-Enix still have a western developer work on this project? Will newly acquired Eidos be a good candidate for such a title? Will it still have the same themes we have seen in the artwork?

SOURCES: GamesIndustry.biz, Thanks SuperEclipse for the heads up.

More Crystal Bearers gameplay videos

Some new gameplay videos from Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers were put up on the official Japanese website where you can also find a few new wallpapers. They feature a look at some minigames, as well as some different uses for Lyle's crystal power. Take a look:

◆ Sheep rescue mini-game.
◆ Many uses for balloons.

SOURCES: Mahypsy (NeoGAF), 23Makoto23 (YouTube)

HI-quality Serah scans, FFXIII novella in the works

So, a bit more news in the FFXIII department today. We have some higher quality scans from V-Jump of Serah, and we also learned that a web novella entitled "Final Fantasy XIII: Episode Zero" is in production for Final Fantasy XIII. It will be penned by Jun Eishima, and be up on the website sometime later on this month.

◆ Scan #1
◆ Scan #2

SOURCES: V-Jump

Four Warriors of Light site updates

http://www.square-enix.co.jp/hikarino4sensi/

As soon you bring up the main page, you'll notice that a banner linking to Square's TGS page has been added.

The World page now has a map featuring some of the game's locations, as well as new entries for three guest characters such as the previously mentioned mouse mage. Whether or not this will be it for the guest characters in 4WoL is unknown.

System has been updated with eight job profiles: (from left to right) Beast Tamer, Druid, Monk, Knight, Black Mage, White Mage, Alchemist, and Recorder.

SOURCES: Athel at KHInsider for the tip, duckroll at NeoGAF for the job titles.

Four Warriors of Light boxart

Truly, truly amazing! I really hope this comes with an artbook.



SOURCES: GoNintendo

Crystal Bearers to hit US shelves the day after Xmas

Courtesy of Klee Kuo's Twitter page, he reveals that the North American version of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers will be released on December 26th, 2009.

SOURCES: Klee Kuo (Twitter)

Distant Worlds headed to Canada, new songs

Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy is an orchestra tour headed by Arnie Roth that has made its rounds around the United States this year peforming classic themes for Final Fantasy fans. I was actually able to attend the Minneapolis performance earlier this year and I was nothing less than amazed. If you have the chance to attend, do it. You will not regret it.

This week, Square-Enix sent a newsletter involving new developments with the tour:

Distant Worlds: music from FINAL FANTASY will be in Chicago on December 12, 2009 at 8:00 PM! We hope you can make it out to our exciting show, featuring the Chicagoland Pops Orchestra, Elmhurst College Concert Choir, and Susan Calloway, conducted by maestro Arnie Roth. Best of all, Nobuo Uematsu will play the B3 organ with the Chicago Mages! There will be North American Premieres, World Premieres, and works never heard outside of Japan! New arrangements of Dancing Mad and J-E-N-O-V-A will be debuted at this show.

(What's fun about this is that at the Minneapolis show (in which Uematsu was in attendance) we got to pick these two new songs for the December Chicago performance. The other choices I believe where Battle with the Four Fiends, Clash on the Big Bridge, and Fight with Seymour all I would have loved.)

Also, the newsletter announces that they will have a Vancouver show on October 8th that will feature the first North American performance of Main Theme of Final Fantasy VII. (They played Ronafure from FFXI at our Minneapolis show as an exclusive.) Also, they will have a concert in South Korea.

For more information on performances and tickets, click here.

Serah Farron revealed

V-Jump has released a new scan featuring newly revealed character Serah Farron. In this scan, we see Serah being carried by Snow, and that she bears the mark of a L'Cie on her arm. We also see that at one point it looks as though she becomes completely frozen, but it's hard to discern from the quality of the scan. Serah will be voiced by Minako Kotobuki.

duckroll:
"She is Lightning's younger sister. A headstrong girl who believes in solving her own problems and not getting other people involved. She is always very concerned for her elder sister. She wears a necklace on her chest, a present from Snow. Lightning does not approve of her engagement with Snow. Like her sister, she is a L'Cie and is marked with a tattoo of two red spheres on her left arm."

◆ V-Jump scan.

SOURCES: FF7AC Reunion, duckroll (NeoGAF)

FFXIV's Tanaka and Komoto chat with Dengeki

Recently after the hub-bub Final Fantasy XIV had at GamesCom with the alpha build already playable and a wellspring of new information about the MMORPG available to the public, FFXIV producer Hiromichi Tanaka and Director Nobuaki Komoto were interviewed by Dengeki about the status of their upcoming project.

They mention a wide gambit of updates and changes to what gamers can expect from a Square-Enix MMORPG. With a good technological generation down the line from FFXI, they elaborate that they were able to produce a better detailed player character and environment. While they didn't specifically say that the world of Eorzea would be seamless, they note that there has been an improvement compared to FFXI.

Dengeki also asks about Guildleves, something I have found interesting since the unveiling of the project. Guildleves are essentially the game's questing system. Now, FFXI's questing was rather sparse in comparison to WoW, and required the player to eke out a challenging(?) grind. Now, since the days of FFXI, FFXIV has implemented something that could make questing more of a dynamic and fun process. In essence, the guildleves that you collect have a wide variety of tasks that you must complete; this in turn can be rewarded with better skills and other rewards. The guildleves that you choose are designed around how much time you want to play. Only have an hour? Pick up the according Guildleve and you're off.

ZAM was awesome enough to translate the full interview; I'd highly recommend checking it out.

One more FFXIII party character to reveal?

You can find relevant information in the unlikeliest of places. So, recently, if you've been following the news out of the Final Fantasy XIII Premiere Party, you may have caught the announcement of "Elixir", a Final Fantasy XIII take on the Final Fantasy Potion from the Final Fantasy XII release. (See: crazy Japan.) Suntory, the manufacturer of both Potion and the new Elixir, has been updating their online listings for the beverage. Now, in one of these pics that Suntory provided we see five characters that have been revealed thus far: Lightning, Snow, Vanille, Sazh, and Hope. However a sixth slot has a question mark. Will this be the sixth and final party member to be playable as a part of the main team?

SOURCES: FF7AC Reunion, country food

Famitsu Dissidia Universal Tuning scan

From Famitsu, we have a new scan of Dissidia Final Fantasy: Universal Tuning. This, as Square-Enix explains, is the Japanese version of the North American version of the game. Confusing? Well, it's just a re-release in Japan with all they changes they gave us in the North American version. However, we have reason to suspect that more will be added given Square-Enix's track record, and some suggestive boxes on the game's official page. Take a look:

◆ Famitsu scan.

SOURCES: FF7AC Reunion, ENDLESS.

Another FFXIII Premiere Party video and Famitsu scans

Another video detailing a battle against a dragon boss in the demo of Final Fantasy XIII has surfaced. This boss is actually Premiere Party exclusive, as Square-Enix has said that this boss was cut from the final version. Of note, is a screen that looks like the "Scan/Libra" screen to view enemy vitals.

◆ YouTube video.

In the new Famitsu China scans, in one scene we see Lightning and Hope are surrounded by Sanctum's PSICOM force. I have reason to believe we'll be seeing a little bit more of this scene in the Tokyo Game Show trailer later this month.

◆ #1: First page, new FMV pose for Vanille plus JPN release date.
◆ #2: Lightning and Hope surrounded by PSICOM.
◆ #3: Snow with a firearm and standing in front of a monolith.
◆ #4: Dodge/Dahj (Sazh Jr.) makes an appearance.
◆ #5: Adorable.
◆ #6: Optima Change in combat.
◆ #7: Vanille uses Optima Change.
◆ #8: Battling a Cie Corpse.
◆ #9: Optima Change roles explained.
◆ #10: Snow and Sazh display different roles in combat.
◆ #11: Production overview.

SOURCES: FF7AC Reunion, ENDLESS

Western dev'd Final Fantasy project scrapped

As of late, artwork and other materials have been floating onto the internet from now defunct GRIN studio. This artwork reveals that Square-Enix had contacted them to make a game, and they started to develop what was going to become a purely western Final Fantasy action game. However, since GRIN has now gone bankrupt, the project has been unfortunately scrapped. And since the project has no longer been in development, the artists involved have been posting their work on their Linkedin portfolios.

You can view most of the artwork in this thread at Kingdom Hearts Insider here. There are quite a few pieces to post at once, so browse at your leisure.

I think a western take on Final Fantasy would be an excellent venture and I am also very excited that Square-Enix is allowing western developers to take a crack at one of their babies. I think it's a good sign of what's to come, AND, I hope that another western developer can pick up Fortress. I would play the shit out of that game.

New 4WoL artwork, fresh squeezed (from the site)

A new piece of artwork for Four Warriors of Light was found on the official website today. This picture of the chibi warriors taking on a monster is one of many conceptual artwork pieces from Akihiko Yoshida made public since the announcement of the DS game. Japan is still expecting to have the game release this year.

◆ New piece of artwork.

SOURCES: Gilgamesh (NeoGAF)

A smidge of new FFXIII pics

Thinking of new topic titles is a little hard when you have new pics coming in at least once a day. IGN posted a few new high quality screenshots of Final Fantasy XIII post it's Premiere Party. The first screenshot should be reminiscent of something I've posted here before: an in-battle look of the Optima Change/Paradigm Shift system. Here, LiSnVa (haha) have particular roles matched up to their function in battle. In this screen we'll be able to switch those roles per what battle conditions exist. The second screenshot is the Optima Change/Paradigm Shift in progress. I've happened to note that each role has a color associated with it (see the text in the first pic) and the color of the OC/PS is what you are changing to. The third pic shows a huge monolith in the sky in the scene I posted earlier with Serah. This huge structure is reminiscent of the large object that is being transported through Cocoon. (Vanille watches.) Would this hint at the demo scenes being later on in the game?

◆ #1: Party roles in Optima Change.
◆ #2: Lightning uses Optima Change.
◆ #3: Snow stans before a monolith.

SOURCES: IGN

New FFXIII screens and video (moar Serah!)

Courtesy of Famitsu and footage caputred on TV by Japanese fans, new images and a video show even more of Final Fantasy XIII. The video (below) shows us an in-game FMV depicting Serah calling out to Snow for help as she enveloped by a mysterious forces with Yaag Rosch in pursuit. Could this be the fate Serah succumbs to as nuanced in previous footage? In the new pics, we have a clearer shot of Sazh Jr. (whom I think we still know as Dodge, the jury's still out on the real translation) sporting just as impressive 'fro as Sr. We also see a few battle shots that highliht the Optima Change (Paradigm Shift) system unique to FFXIII that will allow different characters AI to perform different critical roles in combat.

◆ YouTube video.

◆ #1: Lightning uses the Optima Change system.
◆ #2: Lightning buffs Vanille as an ENH (Enhancer).
◆ #3: Snow hurls spells as a BLA (Blaster).
◆ #4: Optima Change overview.
◆ #5: Dodge/Dahj gives daddy an unexpected hug.
◆ #6: Dodge/Dahj and chocochick point out something off-camera.

SOURCES: Famitsu, agfr3795 (YouTube)

Sure was lack of 4WoL news around here. >:

(Right?)

The Famitsu site has posted more 4WoL eyecandy, showing more job classes such as the Bard class shown above. Also featured is the Knight, Monk, Beast Tamer classes. Click here to check 'em out~ Furthermore, the magazine has confirmed another class called the "Recorder," which uses the party's stats (number of battles fought, enemies defeated, times escaped, etc.) to modify battle circumstances.

The recent Jump has also confirmed that guest party members (a la FFXII) will be featured in 4WoL, one of them being a mouse who dreams of becoming a great sage one day (hehe).

Lastly, the OST for 4WoL has been announced, and will be on sale November 4th. If you're Japanese-savvy, click on the album art for more info.

SOURCES: duckroll@NeoGAF (via GoNintendo)

UPDATE:
New Famitsu scans:

◆ #1: 4WoL's available jobs.
◆ #2: 4WoL's available jobs. (cont)

SOURCES: True Gaming (via GoNintendo)

FFXIII Shiva and Odin summoning videos

Gamepro was able to attend the Final Fantasy XIII Premiere Party, and they brought a gambit of new videos with them. In these, we see the orchestra perform some signature pieces from the soundtrack as well as gameplay footage. This footage shows Lighnting summon Odin and Snow summon Shiva as well as combat against a party-exclusive boss.









Original videos can be found here.

SOURCES: GamePro

New FFXIII character revealed: Dodge (Sazh's son)

Haha, adorable.



FF7AC Reunion, Famitsu

IGN posts hands preview with new FFXIII demo

IGN had a chance to check out a new demo of Final Fantasy XIII at it's premiere party yesterday. Under the light of Cocoon (see festive picture above) they were able to get a good hands-on of this newest build.

Pre-TGS 09: Hands-on with Final Fantasy XIII
A pair of enticing new missions joins a phenomenal trailer.
by Ryan Clements

September 8, 2009 - Tonight (or yesterday, depending on your current location in the world), Square Enix held its Final Fantasy XIII Premiere Party, which delivered a number of exciting bits of news to Final Fantasy fans across the globe. As covered in my live blog of the event, Square Enix officially unveiled the release date and price point for the game, as well as the news that Japan will be bestowed with a Final Fantasy XIII PS3 Slim bundle. Unfortunately, no details were given on whether or not this bundle would make it to the United States, but I imagine there's at least a slight possibility that it will.

But there were even more intriguing things on display at the party than these formal announcements. Shortly after the event began, curtains were pulled back to reveal playable builds of the game, which I had the pleasure of trying out. The last two events I attended (E3 and Gamescom) both had Final Fantasy XIII sessions, but neither session was playable. This was the first time I had played the game since my initial impressions of the Advent Children Blu-ray demo, so it was great to finally get my hands on the controller again.

The demo on display was actually divided into two separate missions that occur at different points in the game. The first mission places you in control of Lightning, the fierce main character, with silver-haired boy Hope along for the ride. Set in Palumpolum, the Capital of Commerce, this short mission finds Lighting and Hope sneaking through a government-controlled area in a massive harbor town. Before the demo began, I was treated to a stunning cinematic that depicted the government soldiers and ships deployed at the capital and on a mission to hunt down the L'Cie. The forces were being controlled by the oddly named Yaag Rosch, who can be seen shouting out orders into a sleek headset.

At the start of the playable section, players must guide Lightning and Hope through the dangerous territory towards some sort of drainage pipe they can covertly crawl through. Of course, seeing as how my time with the game was incredibly short, I opted to charge into battle head-first and kick ass as loudly and flamboyantly as possible. To hell with stealth -- that's what Metal Gear Solid is for.


I was glad to play this portion of the demo because the environment was not only stellar looking for an RPG, but also much more open than the bridge environment used in previous demos. Although the path was ultimately linear (I didn't have much time to explore), there were a lot of different smaller paths you could take towards your goal, which is hopefully a recurring trend with the rest of the game.

Palumpolum immediately reminded me of Junon from Final Fantasy VII, which brought back quite a few fond memories. Perhaps more striking then the vistas, however, are the game's character models, which really do look phenomenal. When the camera gets up close and personal, a huge amount of detail comes out in those models, like the intricate textures of the clothing to the superbly detailed hair. Regardless of how you feel about Final Fantasy XIII's gameplay, there's no getting around the fact that this is a very pretty RPG.

Nothing overly dramatic took place during my play time, but the few short battles I participated in ran smoothly. Players can queue up a number of actions (depending on how many action points are available) and then can execute these custom combos all at once. Although I've been pleased with the battle system so far, I worry about only being able to directly control one character at a time, which I found a bit disappointing. In fact, it sounds like players will have little choice about the characters they use, as certain portions of the game must be played through as one particular character.

After a few uneventful battles, I personally used Lightning's summon, Odin, for the first time. I must say I've always been a big fan of Final Fantasy summons and Final Fantasy XIII is no exception. The incredible summoning sequences are only outdone by the grand spectacle of seeing Odin stomp into battle alongside Lighting and lay waste to dozens of soldiers. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to give Odin's Gestalt mode a try, so I made it a special point to give it a go during the Snow mission. This was met with hilarious results.

But before I describe those hilarious results to you, let's set the stage. Snow was joined by Sazh and Vanille during the demo, and the three characters were fighting their way through what looked to be ancient stone ruins. I didn't have nearly as much context for this portion of the demo as I did for Lightning's portion, but all you need to know is that Snow and Co. are seriously invested in roughing up the masked soldiers of the government.

It was during the first few Snow battles that I took notice of the "Optima Change" system, or "Paradigm Shift" system here in the United States. This allows you to set the AI routines of your teammates on the fly in combat, which is a nice little layer of strategy to consider. In the Japanese build at the event, some of the classes included Healer, Enhancer and Blaster. Women have called me all three of those things on various occasions.

But as I mentioned before, I wanted to experiment with the Gestalt system for at least one of the summons, so my only chance was with Snow, as my time with the demo was running short. After summoning Snow's semi-robotic version of Shiva onto the screen, I activated Gestalt mode. This essentially combines the summoned creature with the character in question, increasing their powers and making them a formidable force overall. So after sitting through two incredibly elaborate cutscenes (one depicting the initial Shiva summon and the other showcasing the flashy transformation) and eagerly awaiting my chance to ride around on the Shiva motorcycle, the battle instantly ended.

Yes, I never got the chance to drive the Shiva-cycle. Apparently, one of my teammates landed a killing blow on the last remaining enemy right as I pressed the Gestalt mode button. So close, yet so far...

Following my session with Final Fantasy XIII, the event ended with the premier of the newest trailer, which was one of the most spectacular trailers I've seen in a long time (I'm sure the dizzyingly massive HD screen and reverberating sound system helped the viewing experience quite a bit). As taking video or pictures of the trailer was strictly prohibited, the best I can do is describe the surprisingly long video for those interested.

The trailer began with an extended CG sequence following Snow and newly announced Serah, the vibrant, schoolgirl-esque beauty that apparently has a romantic connection with the bandanna-wearing brawler. In the scene, the two rode a small hover ship around a spectacular egg-shaped structure, the walls of which were clear enough to see the dazzling fireworks show going on inside. Snow and Serah talked for a time as they drifted through the night sky, showered in the glow of the lights, before leaning in to give each other a gentle kiss. When they pull apart, Serah's face was definitely colored with a certain amount of melancholy. Could this foreshadow the character's untimely death, which seems to be hinted at throughout the trailer? Am I just being overly sensitive again?

The scene eventually transitioned to a lengthy mix of CG cutscenes and in-game footage, most of which was entirely new. Highlights include a colorful festival environment (which could be connected to the egg structure), a green field populated by lumbering stone creatures, Serah and Snow talking on a dock that's bathed in the light of a sunset, the bespectacled villain Jihl tormenting Sazh with what appeared to be disturbing news (perhaps a threat against Sazh's son, or worse), Vanille falling to her knees in front of Serah on what appears to be the same dock (Foreshadowing!), and Sazh frantically pointing a gun at Vanille. This assortment of scenes shows just how dialogue-heavy the trailer was, but the emotional payload was still very noticeable. On top of all the excellent direction of these segments, the Final Fantasy XIII's engine still continues to amaze me.

There were two other notable sections of the trailer. The first was a gameplay clip that revealed Sazh's summon: a creature whose fiery skin could only be Ifrit. The level of "badass" is exponentially raised when Ifrit transforms into a ridiculous hotrod with side-mounted machine guns. This leads me to believe that Sazh has the most over-the-top Gestalt summon yet.

The last section worthy of note introduced a new character, though there was little context surrounding her appearance. Sporting dark brown/black hair and a number of tattoos, this woman was definitely on the "cool looking" side, though she might be working against our heroes in some capacity.

So, to summarize: enjoyable demo and an amazingly sweet trailer. I'd call that a "successful event."

Original article.

SOURCES: IGN

IGN posts news video, more snippets of FFXIII footage

Here, we can see Lightning in DRIVING MODE as well as Snow. Check it out:



And another video with more cinematics and battle footage:



SOURCES: IGN

Some new FFXIII footage with "Kimi Ga Iru Kara".

A promotional video showcasing some new footage of the trailer shown at the FFXIII Premiere Party has our first look at Serah (amongst other things). The song featured is called "Kimi Ga Iru Kara" (Because I Have You) by Sayuri Sugawara.

Take a look:





SOURCES: FF7AC Reunion, homme0640 (Youtube)

Introducing "Elixir"! ...a new softdrink...

In the vein of "Potion" before it, a promotional new softdrink called "Elixir" after the Final Fantasy item was revealed at the FFXIII premiere party. Take a look:



SOURCES: FF7AC Reunion

More details emerge from FFXIII premiere party

A wellspring of new information has come out of the Final Fantasy XIII Premiere Party. I can provide a rough translation of what was shown in a new trailer, but we were also told that we will be seeing it later this month at Tokyo Game Show 2009.

+ Serah is Lightning's sister, also a l'Cie.
+ Serah's fiancee is an acquaintance of Lightning and Snow.
+ "Eternal Love" played in the background.
+ Pulse and Cocoon are cut off from each other as far as travel is concerned.
+ If a l'Cie is unable to complete a Focus they are turned into "monsters" or what was referred to as a "Cie Corpse", something alike an undead.
+ There is a scene where Serah and Snow watch some fireworks. They kiss.
+ Sazh's patron summon is Ifrit.
+ Ifrit's DRIVING MODE is a sports car. (haha win)
+ As we've already known Lightning is not Lightning's real name; she apparently abandoned her name. It is said that her parents died when she was young so she became a surrogate parent for her sister Serah.
+ An unclear moment of dialogue between Sazh and Jihl, referencing his son and the "will of the Crystal".
+ Snow apparently makes somewhat of a speech against PSICOM (shirtless) to which Rosch interjects.
+ There is somewhat of a startling scene involving Vanille and Serah in which she asks someone to shoot her(may or may not be the literal translation, take with a grain of salt); she then apologizes frantically.
+ A new l'Cie (playable character) was shown. She is from Pulse and has tribal tatoos. Designed by Nomura.
+ Apparently Snow and Hope have a battle at some point.
+ December 17th was confirmed as the official launch date.

Kotaku writer Brian Ashcroft was also there first-hand to view the new trailer. On which, he posted a light review of what he saw:

The climax of tonight's Final Fantasy XIII party was the game's brand new trailer. It will be shown at this year's Tokyo Game Show, so all attending will be able to check it out.

Tonight, however, only a hundred or so individuals were able to see it. The trailer is so new that many Square Enix staffers hadn't even seen it yet.

During our liveblog, I wrote about the trailer. Fact: it's hard to type and watch something at the same time. But I did my best, trying to pull images or scenes that convey what exactly was going on.

If you didn't read the liveblog, here is my description of the trailer. It doesn't do it justice. It's not supposed to. What it is supposed to do is hopefully clue in those who weren't able to see it, but wanted to.

The trailer opens with a voice over. A young girl says something like "The future is scary because you cannot see it." Character Snow Villiers is on some sort of bike craft with teenage girl Serah. Fireworks are exploding around — it's beautiful. Even though, she's considerably smaller than Snow and younger looking, they lean in for a romantic kiss.

Cut to an airshift, which is descending. PSICOM soldiers deploy. Silver-haired Yaag Rosch orders the troops forward.

This is followed by a montage of game play scenes, complete with boss battles and footage of characters Hope and Snow running through the field. It gives a taste of what it's like to play FFXIIII. Sazh Katzroy's Summon appears and goes into Gestalt Mode — which is a race car. Very surprising transformation and Sazh hopes into the vehicle.

Quick scene of Lightning talking with Serah. Cut to Jihl Nabatt interrogating Sazh Katzroy.

Another quick cut to orange-haired girl Oerba, who drops to her knees and holds onto Serah's skirt saying, "I'm so sorry."

We get a scene of an aircraft flying through electric bolts.

Another scene. It's day time, and we're up in the clouds. Serah falls out of an aircraft, and Snow calls out after her.

Cut to Snow with his shirt off. His chest appears to be bandaged. There is male nipple action. He is surrounded by the Cocoon army. The troops have their weapons draw, laser sights pointed at Snow's chest. Yaag steps forward as Snow begins to talk them down.

Series of quick scenes: Sazh and Oerba having an argument. Hope pissed off. Snow pissed off. An explosion. Snow is carried by troops past a lady with brown hair and a tattoo.

Serah collapses onto the ground, saying "Protect me."

During the mid-point of the trailer, the game's theme song, "Kimi ga iru kara" (sung by Sayuri Sugawara) kicks in and plays throughout the trailer.

Full article.

SOURCES: FF7AC Reunion, Famitsu, Kotaku

Sayuri Sugawara "Eternal Love" official song for FFXIII

Announced at the FFXIII premiere party, a song that will appear in FFXII: "Eternal Love" by Sayuri Sugawara. It's not specifically mentioned if Nobuo Uematsu composed this theme (as we were led to believe) but it is official.

You can check out the music video here.

SOURCES: FF7AC Reunion

FFXIII Japanese release date announced

The official Japanese release date for Final Fantasy XIII is December 17th 2009! This flash reveals the official date ahead of the FFXIII release party. Square-Enix is still on schedule to have a Spring 2010 release date for North America.



SOURCES: FF7AC Reunion

Universal Tuning to be more than just tuning?

I have to say, it's been a question that's been circulating around for quite a bit since the initial announcement of Dissidia: Final Fantasy Universal Tuning. Now up to this point Square-Enix has told it's Japanese audience that Universal Tuning is basically the same game that Western audiences got. However, Square-Enix released this enigmatic chart on Universal Tuning's official website:

Click to enlarge.


Now, from left to right starting with the first column. It lists the different story structure that the American version had (quicker), 100 tuning options to characters (bascially the tweaks they made for us for balance, etc.), English voice option, Arcade Mode, changes to the Duel Coliseum, and the ability for players to import their original Dissidia save.

However, of most interest are the three boxes of question marks below. The only particular thing I can think of at the moment are the moogle cutscenes, but there's obviously more to this than that. What changes await? We'll probably know at TGS next week.

SOURCES: Dissidia: Final Fantasy Universal Tuning - Official Japanese Site

New Crystal Bearers gameplay videos

New gameplay videos of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers were uploaded to GameTrailers today. The first video shows the protagonist Layle navigating a field with a large behemoth and using various traps to trigger different reactions. It seems a large chunk of gameplay is devoted to trial-and-error escapades with classic Final Fantasy monsters. The second video shows us some random gameplay with Layle using his crystal powers to tease some children. I really hope that the game keeps this sort of charm consistently, because it's really got my eye.

Video Games | Final Fantasy CC: The Crystal Bearers | Japanese Behemoth Trap Gameplay

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

Video Games | Final Fantasy CC: The Crystal Bearers | Japanese Soccer Bully Gameplay

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

SOURCES: GameTrailers

New Final Fantasy XIII scan shows paradigm system

Newly released from Shonen Jump, a new scan that shows us a little bit more of the Paradigm system. Here, we see that Lightning, Snow, and Vanille have different roles in battle and can be switched easily. Also we see Sazh holding a different kind of weapon for his role.

Attacker: Attack and magic power up, character assaults enemies.
Blaster: Good at chanining together attacks.
Defender: (Not specifically mentioned, but likely a defensive role.)

(Click to enlarge.)


SOURCES: FF7AC Reunion, Shonen Jump

Excuse me but your Serah is showing

This photo (click to zoom) is a picture of Motomu Toriyama at the recent Gamescom conference in Cologne, Germany. We've heard that Serah will be revealed at TGS this year, but it seems like a little bit slipped. Toriyama holds up a picture of Serah towards him to explain a bit what she looks like as a teaser but we can see through the paper! Whoopsie~

SOURCES: FF7AC Reunion

Square-Enix unveils official TGS2009 lineup

Tokyo Game Show 2009 is right around the bend, and today Square Enix listed the Final Fantasy games games that will make an appearance:

Four Warriors of Light (playable+trailer)
Dissidia: Final Fantasy UNIVERSAL TUNING (trailer)
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers (playable+trailer)
Final Fantasy XIII (playable+trailer)
Final Fantasy XIV (trailer)
Final Fantasy IV: The After Years (trailer)
Final Fantasy XI: Vana'diel Collection 2 (trailer)

To view the entire list head over this way.

FFXIII Premiere Party to showcase new characters and release date?

We've known for a good bit of time that Square-Enix's plans for a release date for Final Fantasy XIII has fallen within the realm of Winter 2009 for Japan and Spring 2010 for North America and Europe. However we may just be getting an official date (at least the Japanese version anyway), as well as some new information of the new characters that were hinted at at the recent Gamescom conference in Cologne, Germany.

The FFXIII Premiere Party location (as shown in pic) has been finalized and will take place on September 8th. Stay tuned for more information!

Play Arts' Hope Estheim figure

Play Arts has revealed a new figurine for FFXIII character Hope Estheim, take a look:






SOURCES: Please put Play Arts into my coffin

GameTrailers posts FFXIII GamesCom interviews

Video Games | Final Fantasy XIII | GC 09: Interview Part I HD

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

Video Games | Final Fantasy XIII | GC 09: Interview Part II HD

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

Video Games | Final Fantasy XIII | GC 09: Demo Walkthrough HD

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

SOURCES: GameTrailers

Crystal Bearers - Japanese boxart + new screens

Layle looking baller as fuck

Check out the rest of the screenshots!

SOURCE: GoNintendo

SaGa 2 (FFL2) remake soundtrack preview

Square-Enix uploaded a new soundtrack preview for SaGa 2: Goddess of Destiny.

You can view the promotional trailer here, as well as listen to samples of tracks on the album.

SaGa 2: Goddess of Destiny is a remake of the original Gameboy game released as Final Fantasy Legend II here in the United States in 1991.

SOURCES: SQUARE ENIX MUSIC (Japan)

More screenshots of Four Warriors of Light

You can full the new screenshot gallery here, courtesy of Gamekyo.

SOURCES: Gamekyo

Symphonic Fantasies wraps up with Final Fantasy themed concert

Today, the official website for Symphonic Fantasies (a concert tour involving music from videogames) updated with a message from Arnie Roth. I know Arnie Roth specifically from the Distant Worlds concert tour he conducted throughout the US earlier this year. I was able to attend the performance in Minneapolis, and it was nothing short of breathtaking. (I also got to see Uematsu in person!) Now they are performing in Germany with Uematsu in attendance.

Confirmed pieces Roth lists:
Prelude (Final Fantasy series)
Opening - Bombing Mission (Final Fantasy VII)
Clash on the Big Bridge - (Final Fantasy V)

Roth also states that more pieces will be revealed September 1st.

Arnie Roth on Final Fantasy from Symphonic Fantasies on Vimeo.

SOURCES: Symphonic Fantasies

Wada: "Square-Enix stands to benefit from PS3 price drop in 2010."

Addressing the press in Tokyo this week, Yoichi Wada (president of Square-Enix), told the media that the company will benefit from the recent price point drop of the PlayStation 3 console in the next fiscal year. Several Square-Enix titles are being developed for the system, most notable of which: Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Versus XIII. Here's a full report from Gamasutra:

Square Enix To See 'Big Impact' From PS3 Price Cut Next Year
by Kris Graft
August 26, 2009

Square Enix head Yoichi Wada told reporters Wednesday that the PlayStation 3's recent price cut won't have a major impact on the company's current fiscal year, but expects "a big impact" next year.

Wada told media members in Tokyo the price cut and PS3 hardware redesign doesn't warrant an increase in sales and profit guidance for the current fiscal year ending March 2010.

"In terms of the impact (the PS3 cut) will have on this financial year's earnings, I don't think there will be a major difference. But I expect there to be a big impact from next year," he said in a Reuters report.

Square Enix's highly-anticipated Final Fantasy XIII is expected to launch on PS3 in Japan in calendar Q4 this year, and sometime in the next fiscal year (beginning in April) in the U.S. and Europe, where the game is also launching on Xbox 360.

Square Enix recently acquired U.K.-based publisher Eidos, which released the Rocksteady-developed Batman: Arkham Asylum this week, a game that is expected to be a strong seller, considering the brand recognition and strong reviews.

Earlier this year, Square Enix released Dragon Quest IX for Nintendo DS, a major hit for the firm that has sold 3.64 million units in Japan to date.

A week ago, Sony announced at the Cologne, Germany GamesCom convention that it would be dropping the price of the PS3 to $299 from $399, at the same time redesigning the hardware into a sleeker package.

SOURCES: Gamasutra, image from Kotaku

Kitase: "Development on Versus will be quicker than FFXIII"

Recently at the Gamescom conference at Cologne in Germany, FFXIII producer Yoshinori Kitase was asked by Gamekyo about the development of Final Fantasy Versus XIII since we haven't heard much about it in a good long while. Here's a translated answer:

Tommy Angelo
Gamekyo
-rough translation from French-

While media and information about Final Fantasy XIII abound on the web lately, we must admit that Versus XIII stands well back from the media spotlight for several months. Disturbing? Not really if we believe Yoshinori Kitase has affirmed during the 09 Gamescom that development for Final Fantasy Versus XIII will be "faster" than FF XIII.

While it is true that part of the team responsible for the action RPG that helped FF XIII lately for Kitase this will result in accelerating the development of first city. Thence to imagine a kind of FF Versus XIII for 2011 there is only one step. You cross it?

SOURCES: Gamekyo (Tommy Angelo)

New Crystal Bearers gameplay videos

Take a look:




SOURCES: Hwoaranga (YouTube)

A peek at Play Arts' Snow figurine in detail

SOURCES: FF7AC Reunion, Please put Play Arts into my coffin

Crystal Bearers fankit now available for download

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers is another offshoot of the Crystal Chronicles saga, and an exclusive for the Nintendo Wii. Square-Enix updated the official North American site with a fankit, bestowing the downloader with several different screenshots, artworks (one pictured above) and renders. You can download it yourself here. (Click on the yellow banner on the lower right.)

FFIV The After Years' producer Takashi Tokita

A new interview was added to the official North American website for Final Fantasy IV: The After Years, an episodic sequel to Final Fantasy IV. The producer, Tokita, talks about what had inspired him to make such a sequel remarking on how the several ports and remakes got an idea of a sequel into his head. Also playing a part in Live A Live (another SNES game with an episodic story), he felt that he would continue such a style with this WiiWare title.

You can listen to the full interview here. Click on Trailers section.

Dissidia: Final Fantasy released in North America

Today's the day! Dissidia: Final Fantasy has been released on North American shores for the PSP. I managed to get a copy today at GameStop with the shwag reversible cover and the game guide as well. (I have a habit of collecting game guides, not out of necessity, more of hobby.) If you manage to see me online here or there, see me under the "Shamdeo" friend card. Enjoy! :>

New FFXIII scans with "Jihl Nabaat"

SOURCES: FF7ac Reunion, Famitsu

Dissidia: Final Fantasy Universal Tuning website up

The official Japanese website for Dissidia: Final Fantasy - Universal Tuning opened today. Not much is shown except for the new logo and the game's release date of November 1st, 2009. Universal Tuning is somewhat alike the International versions of previous Final Fantasy games. It will feature both English and Japanese voice acting and feature all of the changes and tweaks that were made to the characters and abilities in the North American release. It will most likely be a Japanese release only.

Official website (JPN):
Dissidia: Final Fantasy - UNIVERSAL TUNING

SOURCE: FF7ac Reunion

Four Warriors of Light - monster art

More here…
A bear? Shit yeah a bear, nobody fucks with a bear!

More importantly though, when is the western release for this going to be announced? Make my day, Square.

(Thanks by the way, GoNintendo!)