crystal citadel ◆

Nineteen new FFXIII scans for your viewing pleasure

2009-10-21T12:00:00.003-05:00

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...

2009-10-16T17:21:00.003-05:00

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"

2009-10-14T09:32:00.002-05:00

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

2009-10-04T13:58:00.015-05:00

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

2009-10-02T10:11:00.002-05:00

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

2009-09-27T21:54:00.002-05:00

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

2009-09-26T20:45:00.002-05:00

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

2009-09-26T18:03:00.006-05:00

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...

2009-09-23T21:29:00.032-05:00

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

2009-09-23T17:42:00.004-05:00

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?

2009-09-21T18:55:00.005-05:00

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.

HI-quality Serah scans, FFXIII novella in the works

2009-09-18T17:03:00.005-05:00

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

2009-09-18T16:54:00.009-05:00

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

2009-09-18T16:07:00.011-05:00

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

SOURCES: GoNintendo

Crystal Bearers to hit US shelves the day after Xmas

2009-09-15T18:24:00.003-05:00

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

2009-09-15T18:08:00.004-05:00

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

2009-09-15T15:05:00.008-05:00

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

2009-09-15T05:25:00.002-05:00

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?

2009-09-15T05:03:00.001-05:00

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

2009-09-13T21:21:00.000-05:00

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

2009-09-13T21:16:00.000-05:00

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

2009-09-13T15:53:00.000-05:00

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)

2009-09-12T18:52:00.000-05:00

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

2009-09-12T18:19:00.000-05:00

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!)

2009-09-11T09:50:00.000-05:00

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. >:

2009-09-10T17:57:00.000-05:00

(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

2009-09-09T13:32:00.000-05:00

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)

2009-09-08T22:26:00.000-05:00

Haha, adorable.

FF7AC Reunion, Famitsu

IGN posts hands preview with new FFXIII demo

2009-09-08T21:41:00.000-05:00

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

2009-09-08T21:28:00.000-05:00

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".

2009-09-08T17:54:00.000-05:00

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...

2009-09-08T09:16:00.000-05:00

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

2009-09-08T08:52:00.000-05:00

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

2009-09-08T08:45:00.000-05:00

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

2009-09-07T14:55:00.000-05:00

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?

2009-09-04T16:12:00.000-05:00

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

2009-09-04T15:57:00.000-05:00

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

2009-09-02T13:08:00.000-05:00

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

2009-09-01T21:27:00.000-05:00

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

2009-08-31T23:25:00.000-05:00

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?

2009-08-29T22:55:00.000-05:00

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

2009-08-29T22:48:00.000-05:00

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

2009-08-28T18:53:00.000-05:00

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

2009-08-28T16:04:00.001-05:00

Layle looking baller as fuck

Check out the rest of the screenshots!

SOURCE: GoNintendo

SaGa 2 (FFL2) remake soundtrack preview

2009-08-27T17:46:00.001-05:00

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

2009-08-26T20:13:00.001-05:00

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

SOURCES: Gamekyo

Symphonic Fantasies wraps up with Final Fantasy themed concert

2009-08-26T19:52:00.000-05:00

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."

2009-08-26T19:35:00.000-05:00

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"

2009-08-26T19:25:00.000-05:00

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

2009-08-26T19:17:00.000-05:00

Take a look:

SOURCES: Hwoaranga (YouTube)

A peek at Play Arts' Snow figurine in detail

2009-08-26T18:20:00.000-05:00

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

Crystal Bearers fankit now available for download

2009-08-25T20:36:00.000-05:00

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

2009-08-25T20:27:00.001-05:00

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

2009-08-25T20:12:00.000-05:00

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"

2009-08-25T19:59:00.001-05:00

SOURCES: FF7ac Reunion, Famitsu

Dissidia: Final Fantasy Universal Tuning website up

2009-08-24T03:18:00.000-05:00

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

2009-08-24T01:49:00.000-05:00

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!)

Hi-quality FFXIII scans from V-Jump and info

2009-08-23T16:42:00.000-05:00

We get a better picture of Lightning riding Odin/Sleipnir in Gestalt Mode and of the newly Yaag Rosch. Enjoy!

And from TSA at NeoGAF comes some new information gleaned from Kitase at Gamescom.

Eh, Kitase and Toriyma told us in our session they are considering DLC since everyone at E3 and now apparently GamesCom is asking / requesting DLC. They had no intention to do it since Japan has no demand for it according to them, but they are rethinking that decision. So the "NO" confirmed isn't exactly right.

The only NO I got confirmed was a NO to the Japanese language tracks in the NA / EU versions, even though the demo we was was in Japanese with English subtitles ... I'll let you guys enjoy their explanation ...

Also whoever said Yaag Rosch is Lightning's rival is wrong. Toriyama said he was Lightning's former superior in the military, and he's the defender of Cocoon who will stop anyone who goes against it. So since Lightning is now out to destroy Cocoon, his mission is to stop her.

Serah was the name of the new girl artwork. She looked a bit like Sephorina, but I got a no comment to my personal question of if they had any relation. Serah is the chic Snow keeps metioning - which I think is Pulse's Fal'Cie , but that's a guess.

Paradigm shifts ... in addition to switching the mode, you assign jobs to each character. Commando and Ravenger were two of the names I saw. It also looked like the weapons / outfits they had slightly changed (Vanille drew a bow instead of that club / horn thing).

Focus ability was described as a "vision" ability given to people with its power. Literally said it's like being given part of a sentence, and you have to complete it. It's how those given its power carry out the mission of the L'cie . In the demo, the "ice" area was actually frozen over by somebody turned to crystal due to their Focus ability. That area was inside Cocoon, too.

Toriyama likened it to the JOB system in past FFs, but it is only TEMPORARY (during the battle and for each Paradigm). Also, for those wondering about characters not used in the battle, you earn "points" to spend on characters, and you can spend them on any character to "level" them up.

One other nugget I remember is the benefit of getting a better rank in a battle. You can earn bonus TP that's needed to perform summons, and the star ranking will influence the game's AI - if you do poorly, the game gets easier. If you do great, it gets harder. Adaptive AI.

SOURCES: V-Jump, FF7ac Reunion, TSA (NeoGAF)

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

2009-08-21T22:54:00.000-05:00

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

2009-08-21T22:30:00.000-05:00

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

2009-08-20T22:52:00.000-05:00

Zidane

Kuja

SOURCES: IGN, Gamespy, Gamespot DrakeClawfang (YouTube)

Four Warriors of Light - Famitsu scans

2009-08-20T19:02:00.001-05:00

SOURCES: True Gaming (via GoNintendo)

FFXIII @ Gamescom, new information pours in

2009-08-20T15:22:00.000-05:00

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

2009-08-19T17:26:00.000-05:00

SOURCES: Gamespot

Some more gameplay vids for FFXIV

2009-08-19T08:15:00.000-05:00

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...

2009-08-19T07:13:00.000-05:00

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

2009-08-19T06:54:00.000-05:00

At last, our first look!

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

"Reunion Tracks" soundtrack for Advent Children Complete

2009-08-19T06:10:00.001-05:00

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"

2009-08-19T05:19:00.000-05:00

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

2009-08-19T05:12:00.000-05:00

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

2009-08-18T16:15:00.000-05:00

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

2009-08-18T15:39:00.000-05:00

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

2009-08-18T15:07:00.000-05:00

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

Georgia Van Cuylenburg (Vanille)

2009-08-15T19:43:00.000-05:00

Recently Georgia Van Cuylenburg was interviewed on her voice acting career in the midst of voice recording the part of Vanille in Final Fantasy XIII.

UPDATE: Looks like the owner of the video "TNC/thursdaynightcombo" got butthurt and privatized the video. So instead, I'll show you another video of Miss Cuylenberg that I stumbled across. I was particularly surprised that she suffers from a condition called allopecia, in which your hair falls out.

SOURCES: LewMarklinShow (YouTube)

Maybe I'm A Poser

2009-08-15T18:28:00.001-05:00

SOURCES: Gamespot, Klee Kuo (Square-Enix)

The Making of Dissidia - Direction

2009-08-15T18:23:00.000-05:00

Yoshinori Kitase's developer's blog at 1up was updated with a message from Takeshi Arakawa, the director of Dissidia: Final Fantasy.

Hi this is Takeshi Arakawa, director of DISSIDIA FINAL FANTASY.

I joined the DISSIDIA FINAL FANTASY team right after completing development of the overseas version of THE WORLD ENDS WITH YOU. The staff members of the DISSIDIA FINAL FANTASY team were all very young, so producer Kitase-san brought me on board as the organizer to get things moving. There are many aspects of DISSIDIA FINAL FANTASY’s system that were influenced by THE WORLD ENDS WITH YOU.

During development we played all the FINAL FANTASY games and a selection of action games from a variety of publishers. Much like the players we were making the game for, we were influenced by things that intrigued us personally. The process was sort of like gathering inspiration from a historical art piece and reflecting it in your own work.

As a rule we were extremely careful to treat DISSIDIA FINAL FANTASY as a genuine entry in the FINAL FANTASY series. FINAL FANTASY is an RPG series, and we were very aware that transitioning to the action genre would be a risk for the development team and fans alike. But at the same time, being the team that brought the action in KINGDOM HEARTS II to life, they were very eager to take on the challenge. As mentioned above, this game was developed by a very young team; so many staff members were big fans of the FINAL FANTASY series and had grown up playing the games. I think everyone had a lot of fun making DISSIDIA FINAL FANTASY, since they were able to bring all of their gaming experience to life.

The Battles

Planning director Takahashi was head of the battle department that created the battle system for this game. Rather than working off of an existing fighting game system, they wanted to build upon the KINGDOM HEARTS II team’s idea for an action-fighter game. In that sense, the resulting system has a very distinctive feel to it. I think one of the reasons why the genre was set as “Fighting Action” in Japan was because it couldn’t be defined otherwise.

One of the great things about this game is that it has a feature that enables players to export and save their battles as a movie file (AVI) to their memory stick, making it easier to upload the footage to video sites. You can also edit camera data in your replays, and we’ve been surprised by the quality of some of the videos created by dedicated fans, including (but not limited to) the FINAL FANTASY VII: ADVENT CHILDREN battle between Sephiroth and Cloud, or a reenactment of the last scene from FINAL FANTASY IX.

Characters

Every character has a unique style, and each one will give you a different gameplay experience. There are some characters that can attack through a series of speedy combos, and others that require a very strategic approach much like a game of chess. Each character will level and evolve differently depending on how players customize them, so in the end victory depends on your skill and determination! I would recommend working with a character you can most relate to.

Preparing for North American Release

We felt that bringing over the Japanese version as-is would not be exciting enough for audiences in North America, where action games are very popular. Since the RPG genre is much more popular in Japan, it became a central aspect in developing DISSIDIA FINAL FANTASY. With the sheer volume of story, localizing posed a great challenge, but with the help of the North American and European marketing and QA teams we were able to include the Arcade mode.

The Arcade mode was created for all the hard-core action gamers in North America.

With this mode, there’s no need to level the characters, and you can jump right into the action from the get-go. All characters are available from the start, so there is no need to unlock content either. The characters’ actions and system details have also been balanced so that overall, the gameplay is smoother compared to the Japanese release. I think the North American version can be considered the “complete” version.

You can actually try out the Arcade mode through the Playstation Network downloadable demo that is currently available! It would be great if you could give it a try!

I’d also like all fans of the series to try out the Story mode at least once -- it is one of the best parts of DISSIDIA FINAL FANTASY. With a rich storyline that’s sure to satisfy fans of the main series, this mode comes complete with elements like leveling and experience points for the characters. I think both RPG fans and casual players that aren’t familiar with the action genre will be able to play through to the end of the game, enjoying the story as well as the shopping and ability systems. It wouldn’t be an understatement to say that the DISSIDIA FINAL FANTASY experience is on par with that of a numbered FINAL FANTASY title.

Closing comments

Even people who have never played a FINAL FANTASY game are sure to have a good time with DISSIDA FINAL FANTASY. We’ve taken the best of what FINAL FANTASY I~XII had to offer, and I think the amount of customization that can be brought to each battle makes this such a great game. Even though you be defeated one day, the summons, character level or customization options of the next day could lead you right to victory. Playing DISSIDIA FINAL FANTASY before getting into the upcoming FINAL FANTASY XIII (or even playing both at the same time) might be a good way to get a feel for the FINAL FANTASY universe!

SOURCES: 1UP

FFXIII character revealed: "Yaag Rosch"

2009-08-15T17:56:00.000-05:00

Some early news ahead of GamesCom: the male character pictured in the FFXIII trailer is named "Yaag Rosch". He is also detailed to be a Lieutenant Colonel of the Cocoon's forces. He is dedicated to justice and protecting Cocoon, but it is revealed he has doubts about Sanctum's handling of affairs. According to the scan he'll play a rival's role to Lightning & Co., and functions somewhat reminiscent of the Turks from FFVII.

Also of note is that Lightning's summon Odin will feature a "DRIVING MODE" like Snow in which Odin transforms in to a white horse (Sleipnir) and Lightning rides him around the battlefield picking off enemies. A command list also appears for her as well, with such (roughly translated) attacks as "Roaring Sword", "Vacuum Breaker", "Iron Sword", etc.

SOURCES: FF7ac Reunion, FFU, V-Jump, mini-memo

Staff list revealed for Four Warriors

2009-08-15T17:45:00.000-05:00

Recently, the official website for Four Warriors of Light was updated with a more detailed listing of the staff taking part.

The game is being developed by

Production: Tomoya Asano
Director: Takashi Tokita and Hiroaki Yabuta
Main Program: Shimpei Takayanagi
Scenario: Kougyoku Iduki
Design and Art Direction characters: Akihiko Yoshida
Direction Chart: Jin Tamura
Illustrations: Yuka Miyamoto, Masao Tsubasa and Tomomi Fujino
Sound Direction: Tomohiro Kamiya
Music composition: Naoshi Mizuta
Arrangements and synthesizer programming: Mitsuto Suzuki

SOUCRES: Final Fantasy Union

1UP's Game Night with Dissidia

2009-08-15T14:39:00.000-05:00

SOURCES: 1UP

IGN Video Review : Dissidia + gallery

2009-08-14T21:38:00.000-05:00

IGN has uploaded a video review of Dissidia: Final Fantasy; take a look!

Also a gallery of screenshots from the English version has also been uploaded.
View them here!

SOURCES: IGN

I'm back and time for a recap

2009-08-13T20:01:00.000-05:00

Alrighty, now that I'm back I might as well post a bit of news that's happened in this little gap since I last wrote. (Also thx steve<3) So, a list of the major news stories in the lsat few weeks:

IGN Posts Dissidia character exhibitions for Bartz, Terra, Cloud and Squall.
Gamespy Posts Dissidia character exhibitions for Exdeath, Kefka, Sephiroth and Ultimecia
Dissidia demo for PSP releases on PSN.
New screenshots for Four Warriors of Light.
Direct feed FFXIII screenshots.
Final Fantasy XIII to get release date in the coming weeks.

New Final Fantasy XIII Screenshots

2009-08-11T09:13:00.002-05:00

Greetings, folks! Sorry for the long delay, but our good buddy Shamdeo has suddenly gone AWOL, and has left me in charge of presenting you folks with news on his behalf!

As for today, I present to you some fresh new screenshots from Final Fantasy XIII!

Click here to view them!

SOURCES: finalfantasy-xiii.net

A-ha... not that this coincides with anything

2009-07-22T12:56:00.000-05:00

SOURCES: kunan9 (YouTube)

Final Fantasy marathon raising money for autism

2009-07-22T00:08:00.000-05:00

Currently, TheSpeedGamers are playing a marathon of Final Fantasy games for charity. Their goal: $50,000

You can catch the marathon here.

FFXIII: Foley sound effects production

2009-07-21T21:32:00.000-05:00

Today the Japanese official site updated with a special report on the development of Final Fantasy XIII. This feature shows the production of the sound effects used in the game. A small video accompanied by a series of pictures shows the different materials used to produce the intended effects:

SOURCES: Final Fantasy XIII Official, Hwoaranga [YouTube]

New scans for Final Fantasy XIII

2009-07-21T21:16:00.000-05:00

New scans surfaced today ahead of the leak of FFXIII's newest addition: Hope Estheim.

SOURCES: FF7ac Reunion, Fox of the Week

Four Warriors site update, new screenshots

2009-07-21T10:59:00.000-05:00

Another site update for 4 Warriors of Light, that includes new screenshots of the status screen including some new jobs and equipment. Also, Square-Enix made available some new wallpapers for your desktoppy. Visit the official site's Download section to get one.

SOURCE: Official site.

The Making of Dissidia: Final Fantasy's battle system

2009-07-19T22:50:00.000-05:00

1up's blog bage for Yoshinori Kitase was updated today, with a new interview on the creation of Dissidia's battle system:

This is Mitsunori Takahashi, the planning director for DISSIDIA FINAL FANTASY. Now it's my turn to shed a little light on the process behind putting the battle system together!

My involvement with DISSIDIA FINAL FANTASY began when my team and I approached creative producer Tetsuya Nomura, expressing our desire to create an entire game on our own. He then put us in charge of a concept he had been developing for years: a fighting game that brings all the FINAL FANTASY characters together.

The question, "how do we replicate the original?" was a focal point for us in shaping each character. Our stance was to remain as true to the original character designs as possible, so when we ran into issues realizing anything in action, careful adjustments were made to ensure that the final product would be believable to existing fans. As a result, we were able to maintain the great qualities of the original, while also infusing some innovation to give each character attributes that make them uniquely "DISSIDIA."

We ran into completely unexpected situations on a daily basis, dealing with one-of-a-kind gameplay elements like the "bravery" system that causes shifts in a character's strength, or the fact that two characters of completely different levels can engage in battle . It would be pointless if players couldn't establish a battle with whatever combination of characters they liked, so we tackled the issues one at a time through an endless process of trial and error. Thanks to all this hard work, I think we were able to create a battle system that is rich with possibilities.

I personally recommend all the characters, since I've grown attached to each one! In this game, each and every character has a clear-cut concept, guaranteed to give player sa fresh experience with every character they chose to play as. I think every player will be able to find a character that they can relate to. One suggestion: be open to trying a variety of characters. I think it will likely lead to new discoveries and definitely enrich the gameplay experience.

I'm very glad that so many people have responded well to this game, especially considering the new and challenging elements like the bravery system, which make this game very different. For a game, there's no greater compliment than "it's fun!" So every time I hear that it fills me with happiness. I hope that North American fans will have as much fun with the game!

Read the original posting here.

SOURCES: 1up.com

GiantBomb posts 12-minute Dissidia preview

2009-07-19T14:10:00.001-05:00

Warning: These guys don't really know how to play. ;3

SOURCES: GiantBomb

Smoke like a fal'Cie with l'Cie zippos

2009-07-17T21:12:00.000-05:00

Just a bit of an update on the merchandising side of FFXIII, Square-Enix has added lighters to it's repertoire of stuff for the upcoming title. It sure is sexy, but I don't see much use out of it if you're willing on picking up a few nasty habits.

Not picured: Gunblade-shaped spoon to melt your heroin, buster sword syringe, and one of Squall's belt's to tourniquet your arm.

SOURCES: FF7ac Reunion, SquareEnixShop

IGN posts Dissidia review with video

2009-07-17T13:48:00.000-05:00

Dissidia Final Fantasy Preview
We fight the battle to end all battles.
by Ryan Clements

July 17, 2009 - When Super Smash Bros. was originally released on the N64, the only thing I could think about was how awesome it would be if characters like Cecil, Cloud and other Final Fantasy greats could also partake in a universe-spanning battle for the ages. Square Enix has made dreams come true in the form of Dissidia Final Fantasy for the PSP -- an RPG fighting game that plucks heroes and villains from throughout the Final Fantasy franchise and plants them onto one intriguing UMD. Although I've played Dissidia at tradeshows in the past, I recently invested much more time in a preview build of the game, and I've very pleased with the experience thus far. This is a PSP exclusive that Final Fantasy fans should be very excited about.

Dissidia combines the stat-based, item-heavy, story-driven experience of an RPG with the mechanics of an arena fighter. This is not a traditional 2D fighting game that follows in the footsteps of Street Fighter or Guilty Gear -- it's not even similar to 3D fighters of the Soulcalibur variety. Dissidia actually feels more like Virtual On and other free-roaming affairs. This might not appeal to gamers looking for a hardcore fighting game experience, but the RPG elements definitely add enough depth to the Dissidia mechanics to keep it fresh.

IGN Video: Dissidia Final Fantasy Sony PSP Preview - Video Preview

In the world of Dissidia, two divine beings have battled for eons: Cosmos, the goddess of harmony, and Chaos, the god of discord. These two deities have always maintained a violent balance of sorts, but the war between light and darkness has recently escalated. Both Cosmos and Chaos summoned warriors from across a host of different worlds to participate in this grand conflict and now the balance is tipping in Chaos' favor. Yes -- the bad guys are winning at the start of Dissidia Final Fantasy, which is very cool (albeit depressing).

The battle system in Dissidia, which had previously been very confusing to me, is actually much simpler than you might initially imagine. Every character has a set of Bravery Attacks and a separate set of HP Attacks (these two categories, in turn, are divided into ground attacks and aerial attacks). During combat, players must balance the usage of these two types of attacks as they affect either a character's health or a character's bravery. Players use Bravery Attacks to increase their own bravery while simultaneously decreasing their opponent's bravery. When bravery is high, a player can execute an HP attack that will cause physical damage (in the amount equal to the player's current bravery) to his or her opponent's health. If an HP attack is successful, the player's bravery drops back down to zero and must be built up again through usage of more Bravery Attacks.

In other words, you continuously pound away on your enemy with Bravery Attacks and finish them off with an HP Attack. Simple.

At its core, this battle system is what Dissidia is all about. You'll be running, dashing, flying, grinding and flipping across several arenas inspired by different Final Fantasy locales, tapping into a roster that features more than twenty FF heroes and villains. These battles are made even sweeter when coupled with the remixed versions of classic Final Fantasy songs, like One Winged Angel and the boss anthem from Final Fantasy IV.

Dissidia also boasts a tremendously high production value. There are so many modes and sub-systems in this game, it's almost impossible for me to cover them all in one simple preview. But to touch on the basics, you'll find a full multi-level story for every hero, an Arcade Mode, Quick Battles, ad-hoc multiplayer, a Museum for viewing cinematics and more. Almost everything in Dissidia can be tweaked and customized to your liking, including three differently sized installs for speeding up the load times (which are already quite tolerable). This massive amount of customization extends into each character, as you can level up as you fight, buy items, accessorize, remap abilities and even equip summons.

There's plenty going on here. Take notes.
After sinking several hours into the Dissidia experience, I can already say that it's one of the better PSP games I've played -- especially in terms of presentation and production value. I do have a few concerns though that I feel compelled to note. First, the voice acting isn't as nice as I was hoping. With no option for switching over to the Japanese language track, players are stuck with hearing a few genuinely good actors mix with some not-so-awesome talent.

More troubling is the repetition found in the game's Story Mode. So far, every hero's story involves walking through bland landscapes while spewing cliche monologues about destiny, fate, personal burden and other typical RPG topics. I need a bit more normal human interaction to actually care about these characters, but I fear that the developers assumed no character development was needed, as all these warriors have pre-established stories. This could very well just be a problem with the initial story arcs, so I'll hold my final judgment.

Besides the aforementioned issues, Dissidia is a very fun game and one that I think deserves a lot of attention. As we approach the game's launch date, don't forget to check out our continued coverage of the game's heroes every Thursday.

Original article.

SOURCES: IGN

Terra vs Ultimecia, courtesy Gamespot

2009-07-16T23:43:00.001-05:00

SOURCES: GameSpot

Dissidia demo coming to PSN July 23

2009-07-16T21:24:00.000-05:00

A bit of an unexpected move one month before release, I'll say. From PlayStation Pulse courtesy of PlayStation.com, a news blurb fit with a banner announcing that a demo for Dissidia will be released one week from today over the PSN network. And yes, this will be the English version of the game.

You can view the original announcement here.

SOURCES: PlayStation Pulse

FFXIII character revealed: "Hope Estheim"

2009-07-16T20:59:00.000-05:00

The silver-haired boy that we've seen in Final Fantasy XIII trailers as of late has been revelaed in the newest edition of V-Jump. Also, a new skeletal type figure is shown, is it a fal'Cie?

Preliminary translations of the scan by RPGMonkey of NeoGAF:

Hope Estheim
-The silver-haired boy
-Uses a boomerang
-Hates Snow for getting his mother involved in the battle
-New Monster, "Cie Corpse (Husk?)"
-The eventual fate of a l'Cie
-Vanille's weapon is a fishing rod
-Lightning's great skill, "Air Blast"
-A l'Cie becomes a Cie Corpse when there's an unclear objective and they exceed their time limit, or something like that.

"I don't know if it's exactly a fishing rod or it's just the most accurate description, but apparently she attacks with a needle attached to a wire, so it's at least the easiest thing to describe it with.

I think the concept is that the fal'Cie mark normal humans as l'Cie, and give those people a task. The task given isn't clear and simple to figure out, but the l'Cie have a time limit, so if they just give up they'll eventually become one of the monster things. Don't really know if you become a monster whether you finish your task or not, but the way they talk about being a l'Cie so negatively, either the objectives given are so hard to understand no one (or almost no one) manages to actually complete them, or you're doomed whether you manage to do it or not."

SOURCES: FF7ac Reunion, 2chan, RPGMonkey (NeoGAF)

Dissidia exhibition for FFIV characters online

2009-07-16T20:43:00.000-05:00

Another Thursday, another exhibition: this week Final Fantasy IV's Cecil and Golbez. Behold!

SOURCES: Xyrsk (Youtube), IGN, Gamespy.

Gamespot posts Dissidia: Final Fantasy preview

2009-07-15T16:22:00.000-05:00

SOURCE: Gamespot

New screenshots for Four Warriors of Light

2009-07-15T14:58:00.000-05:00

Impress Watch uploaded some new screenshots of Four Warriors of Light were made public today.

Courtesy andreasang.com:

SOURCES: Silconeria, Impress Watch, andreasang.com, Silh for the heads up.

Final Fantasy XIV, artwork of

2009-07-14T17:40:00.000-05:00

Today, Square-Enix sent out a new mail with a link to the Final Fantasy XIV website, where the E3 trailer is viewable, followed by a link into the site where a large mural created by Kazuya Takahashi was available.

FINAL FANTASY XIV Official Website NA

SOURCES: Square-Enix

New FFXIII scans from OPM

2009-07-13T22:26:00.000-05:00

SOURCES: OPM, finalfantasy-xiii.net

crystal citadel ◆

Nineteen new FFXIII scans for your viewing pleasure

Four Warriors multiplayer details emerge...

New FFXIII character revealed: Oerba Yun Fang "Fang"

Love SQ announced

Engilsh FFXIII TGS trailer online

Final Fantasy XIII TGS 2009 trailer goes live

Final Fantasy VIII hits Japan PSN

New 4WoL details

TGS '09: Events as they unfold...

Pre-TGS festivities: Vanille and Serah scan

Fortress not dead in the water after all?

More Crystal Bearers gameplay videos

HI-quality Serah scans, FFXIII novella in the works

Four Warriors of Light site updates

Four Warriors of Light boxart

Crystal Bearers to hit US shelves the day after Xmas

Distant Worlds headed to Canada, new songs

Serah Farron revealed

FFXIV's Tanaka and Komoto chat with Dengeki

One more FFXIII party character to reveal?

Famitsu Dissidia Universal Tuning scan

Another FFXIII Premiere Party video and Famitsu scans

Western dev'd Final Fantasy project scrapped

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

A smidge of new FFXIII pics

New FFXIII screens and video (moar Serah!)

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

FFXIII Shiva and Odin summoning videos

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

IGN posts hands preview with new FFXIII demo

IGN posts news video, more snippets of FFXIII footage

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

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

More details emerge from FFXIII premiere party

Sayuri Sugawara "Eternal Love" official song for FFXIII

FFXIII Japanese release date announced

Universal Tuning to be more than just tuning?

New Crystal Bearers gameplay videos

New Final Fantasy XIII scan shows paradigm system

Excuse me but your Serah is showing

Square-Enix unveils official TGS2009 lineup

FFXIII Premiere Party to showcase new characters and release date?

Play Arts' Hope Estheim figure

GameTrailers posts FFXIII GamesCom interviews

Crystal Bearers - Japanese boxart + new screens

SaGa 2 (FFL2) remake soundtrack preview

More screenshots of Four Warriors of Light

Symphonic Fantasies wraps up with Final Fantasy themed concert

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

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

New Crystal Bearers gameplay videos

A peek at Play Arts' Snow figurine in detail

Crystal Bearers fankit now available for download

FFIV The After Years' producer Takashi Tokita

Dissidia: Final Fantasy released in North America

New FFXIII scans with "Jihl Nabaat"

Dissidia: Final Fantasy Universal Tuning website up

Four Warriors of Light - monster art

Hi-quality FFXIII scans from V-Jump and info

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

IGN posts FFXIII Gamescom preview

Dissidia exhibition for FFIX characters online

Four Warriors of Light - Famitsu scans

FFXIII @ Gamescom, new information pours in

My muscles, let me show you them

Some more gameplay vids for FFXIV

And new FFXIV scans to boot...

Gamescom gameplay of Final Fantasy XIV

"Reunion Tracks" soundtrack for Advent Children Complete

FFXIII character revealed: "Jill Nabato"

Dissidia: Final Fantasy - Universal Tuning (International) confirmed

SaGa 2 ( Final Fantasy Legend II ) remake goodies

A better look at the new FFXIII scans

FFXIV site updates with interesting details

Georgia Van Cuylenburg (Vanille)

Maybe I'm A Poser

The Making of Dissidia - Direction

FFXIII character revealed: "Yaag Rosch"

Staff list revealed for Four Warriors