Kitase: We'd like a downloadable demo for US/EU players

G4 recently interviewed Yoshinori Kitase at Gamescom, and he hinted that a FFXIII demo NA/EU audiences may be made available on PSN.

G4: So is there still a chance the Final Fantasy XIII demo will ever see the light of day here in the US?



Yoshinori Kitase: We haven't really confirmed anything yet, but we'd like to provide something in downloadable form for players overseas.

G4: Are you sick of people asking for it?

Kitase: (laughs) No, I'm happy to hear it.

As Kitase told us in our interview, the localized US version of the title is approximately 70% complete. Could Square-Enix deliver a little downloadable gift before the holidays? We'd sure trade a Chocobo for it!

Original article.

SOURCES: G4

IGN posts FFXIII Gamescom preview

A rather lengthy but nonetheless informative article was posted by IGN while FFXIII was shown at Gamescom.

GC 2009: Final Fantasy XIII Update
Our first look at Odin and the Waters Stilled.
by Ryan Clements

I've already covered Final Fantasy XIII a number of times in the past. Representing Square Enix's next massive entry in the RPG landscape, Final Fantasy XIII has already garnered an impressive following and looks to properly introduce the Final Fantasy franchise to current-gen consoles. At this year's E3, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Final Fantasy XIII's director Motomu Toriyama and producer Yoshinori Kitase in order to watch a brief demo that showed off hero Snow summoning an old Final Fantasy favorite, Shiva. At Gamescom here in Cologne, Toriyama and Kitase returned with a very similar demo that featured a brand new summon, as well as some intriguing new tidbits of information.

The demo took place in an icy area/mission called Lake Bilge -- The Waters Stilled. The party available for the demo was main character Lighting, the charming Vanille and always-enthusiastic Snow. Sazh was also along for the ride, but he wasn't being used in battle.

There wasn't much environmental exploration during the demo, as Toriyama (who was playing the preview build) jumped right into a battle with a group of blue winged creatures. These enemies once again illustrated just how detailed the character models are in Final Fantasy XIII. Everything from the textures to the layered clothing looks great, so I can't wait to see the full game up and running. The battles, as you likely already know, put you in control of one specific character and you can queue up attacks to create custom combos against your enemy. The specific system on display today was the Paradigm Shift system, which basically enables the player to change the "stance" or setting of the characters in his or her party to best suit the situation at hand. Possible settings include Overwhelm, Aggression and Peacemaker.

According to the developers, this system was added in later on in development, as the team thought more strategy and depth was needed in the original battle mechanics. Unfortunately, the demo given really didn't explain the Paradigm Shift system very well (it was a translated demo after all), so there's not much else I can say about it besides likening it to traditional AI behavioral settings.

The English VO recording was just completed recently, according to Toriyama, and he noted that the facial animations and lip synching would be redone for the English language version. The demo on display in Cologne, however, was still Japanese and subtitled in English, but everything still sounds great. After the initial battle, Snow runs ahead and begins a dialogue sequence as you (Lightning) are still running towards him. This creates more seamless transitions into cutscenes and smoothes out the narrative experience.

Following the heated conversation between Lightning and Snow, several masked soldiers appear and challenge our heroes to battle. This makes for a perfect setup for the next major part of the demonstration, which featured Lightning's summon. As was discussed in previous coverage, each character only has one summon to use during the game, which I still find quite disappointing. Nevertheless, Toriyama activated Lightning's summon and I was treated to a fantastic little cinematic where another Final Fantasy favorite appears: Odin. Yes, the powerful knight returns in Final Fantasy XIII and appears in battle after Lightning tosses up a rose-colored gem and slices it with her sword, which causes a massive red glyph to materialize in the air and along comes the imposing warrior.

As is the case with the other summons, Odin can transform and combine with Lighting in Gestalt mode, which changes the pacing of battle quite significantly. While Shiva turns into a rockin' motorcycle for Snow to drive around, Odin becomes an armored steed which Lightning gracefully mounts so she can take up Odin's own sword in battle. During Gestalt mode, players can input commands for direct actions, making the game feel more like an action title than anything else. I, unfortunately, wasn't able to go hands-on with the system, so I can't be sure how it feels... but it sure looks cool.

After a brief transition into a story segment, the demo quickly concluded and Toriyama and Kitase fielded some questions. This was a great opportunity to get more details on the game that I'm still uncertain about. For example, I can confirm that there is still no dual-language option planned for the English version of the game -- which is a sad fact for Japanese nuts like myself.

I also asked Toriyama if he could further explain the setting of Final Fantasy XIII, as I imagine the English-speaking audience has been a bit confused about what was going on in all the various trailers and gameplay clips thus far. Toriyama joked, firstly, that even the Japanese audience is confused, so we shouldn't feel bad. But the director continued on to answer some questions I've had about the plot. According to Toriyama, the Fal'cie (a name we've heard several times before) are like gods that built the shielded world of Cocoon to protect humans from the wilderness of Pulse, the outer world. The Fal'cie selected certain humans to be their servants and subsequently granted them incredible powers. These servants are knows as L'cie. Final Fantasy XIII revolves around the relationships between these various peoples, and the results of the Fal'cie's mysterious works.

Hopefully that clears some things up...

As for the technical side of things, Kitase explained that the Japanese PS3 version of the game is 90 percent complete, while the 360 version is approximately 70 percent complete. This seems like good news for PS3 owners, but I hope that Square Enix can do just as good of a job on the 360 version.

Right before the demo was complete, I asked the developers if there were any other new characters they could discuss that have not yet been revealed. As a matter of fact, there are! As a special treat, they showed me art for two characters that have been completely unknown and will only be revealed in Japan in the coming months. The first character, a young girl with silvery blonde hair tied in a ponytail, was wearing what looked like a sci-fi schoolgirl outfit -- complete with pink pleated skirt and a lavish white top. The developers described the girl to be the "cutest character" in Final Fantasy XIII, and I'd have to agree.

The final character revealed was Sazh's little son: a child with an adorable afro and extremely innocent smile. This was especially pleasing to me, as I think it's great that Square Enix is including more black characters in its game (despite the internet controversy). It's a sadly rare choice for JRPGs and one that needs to change.

So all in all, Final Fantasy XIII is still looking superb. I hope it lives up to all my expectations.

Original article.

SOURCES: IGN

Dissidia exhibition for FFIX characters online

Zidane


Kuja




SOURCES: IGN, Gamespy, Gamespot DrakeClawfang (YouTube)

Four Warriors of Light - Famitsu scans

SOURCES: True Gaming (via GoNintendo)

FFXIII @ Gamescom, new information pours in

A lot of new information has come out of Gamescom recently on Final Fantasy XIII, through a multitude of articles I have summarized the biggest updates in news. If you want to read the source articles in entirety, the links are below as well.

+ FFXIII will have a 50-hour main story regardless of sidequests.
+ A new character was revealed, wears a dress and pink attire, and a pink braid.
+ Klee Kuo: "Hint: Name of new female character in FFXIII was mentioned in past trailers" Sham: "SERAH"
+ A new character was revealed, Sazh's son.
+ We'll know more about these two characters at TGS2009.
+ Aiming for Spring 2010 release date for US and Europe.
+ English and Japanese voice acting will be available, subtitles as well. (This has been debunked.)
+ The lip and facial animations will be redone for the English version to fit the words.
+ Square-Enix is trying to get the 360 version to fit on three discs.
+ The team is being very careful to have each console's version look the same, yet there may be "subtle differences".
+ Final Fantasy XIII's game world is relative to the size of Final Fantasy X's Spira.
+ The 'Paradigm' system in FFXIII is designed to give characters a focused role and can be changed in battle.
+ The system is designed to add strategy to entering in commands and comboing moves.

You can read the articles this information came from here:
NowGamer: Interview With Yoshinori Kitase
VG247: FFXIII Story To Last Around 50 Hours New Characters Announced
VG247: Confirmed: Kitaste Aiming For FFXIII 360 To Ship On 3 DVDs
Square-Enix Klee Kluo on Twitter

SOURCES: VG247, NowGamer, Klee Kuo (Square-Enix)

My muscles, let me show you them

SOURCES: Gamespot

Some more gameplay vids for FFXIV

GameTrailers recently put up a new batch of videos from Gamescom for Final Fantasy XIV.

Video Games | Final Fantasy XIV Online | GC 09: Lalafell Gameplay (Cam) HD

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

Video Games | Final Fantasy XIV Online | GC 09: Character Animations (Cam)

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

SOURCES: GameTrailers

And new FFXIV scans to boot...

These are two of nine new scans that appeared in Famitsu involving Final Fantasy XIV; many of these scans are pieces that have been updated to the official site as well.




View ALL THE SCANS here.
View the OFFICIAL SITE here.

SOURCES: e3.endless.com

Gamescom gameplay of Final Fantasy XIV

At last, our first look!


SOURCES: capnsmak (GameVideos), Thanks Hokage for the heads up!

"Reunion Tracks" soundtrack for Advent Children Complete

Square-Enix Music has opened a website for a new soundtrack entitled "Reunion Tracks", a compilation of music from Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete. The soundtrack will be available to consumers on September 16th in Japan. The music included is from the film itself, and includes compositions for the full length "On The Way To A Smile: Episode Denzel".

You can check out the site here.

And the following image is a tracklist:



SOURCES: Square Enix Music, FF7ac Reunion

FFXIII character revealed: "Jill Nabato"

Another preview of next week's V-Jump reveals that the name of the blonde with glasses in FFXIII is "Jill NABATO". The surname is a direct translation, so it may change a bit.

She is said to be a rival of the party alike Yaag, and is also a part of Sanctum. Jill also has the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

UPDATE: Also, it is said that behind her beautiful face lies a ruthless brutatlity. She is also apparently following Lightning specifically. It is also detailed in the scan that during Lightning's Gestalt Mode, Odin's sword splits in half and Lightning dual-weilds it as she rides Sleipnir.

SOURCES: FF7ac Reunion, mini-memo

Dissidia: Final Fantasy - Universal Tuning (International) confirmed

Next week's issue of V-Jump will detail the announcement of Dissidia: Final Fantasy International to be released in Japan later this year in November. Some details thusfar include that Japanese players will be able to use their old save files for the International version plus it will include English voice acting and the changed and rebalanced American characters. Nothing is mentioned about additional characters or content beyond that.

SOURCES: FF7ac Reunion

SaGa 2 ( Final Fantasy Legend II ) remake goodies

With the upcoming remake of SaGa 2 coming to Japan (and hopefully the US), Square-Enix is pimping the game with a Limited Edition and Limited Edition soundtrack. Also monster plushes... I want a pink one... kinda.

A better look at the new FFXIII scans

Some new scans (not the highest quality) were uploaded of the new Final Fantasy XIII article in Famitsu. This, in my previous report was the article that revealed the name of the silver-haired rival Yaag Rosch and detailed a bit how Lighting's summon Odin transforms into a horse (Gestalt Mode?) of which she rides around the battlefield killing enemies. Have a look:





SOURCES: FF7ac Reunion

FFXIV site updates with interesting details

The Final Fantasy XIV website updated with a swell of new and interesting information about the MMORPG's world and job system. In which explains that Eorzea is just a region in the entire world in which several city-states have through trial forged a mutual alliance. New regions have been detailed, and the races have been renamed from those in Final Fantasy XI (Humes are now Hyur, etc.)

City-states in Eorzea are revealed to be a desert city with plenty of domes called Ul'dah; a castle skycity called Limsa Lominsa, and a forest city named Gridania.

Also elaborated is a "job" system annotated by an armoury of different weapons and tools. Will it be as simple as equipping a sword for a combat-heavy class and switching to a staff for a magic-heavy class? Also, it's revealed that there will be jobs (blacksmithing, like of that nature) and harvesting jobs. For a further (and better explanation) refer to the site.

Also, a new concept comes up in FFXIV; guildleves. It seems that these crystal plates are bestowed to the player when they are to complete a certain quest or objective. It seems as if they will be crucial in completion of these tasks, and I'm thinking they'll be a way to use a teleportation crystal to reach your destination far quicker than map travel. It leaves a question open that begs to be answered: "If you don't have a guildleve to say harvest in an area to complete a quest will the player be punished for this action in some form?"

Check out the official site for more.

FINAL FANTASY XIV | SQUARE ENIX