Archive for the ‘Agni’s Philosophy’ Category

Please Be Excited For E3…

Monday, May 20th, 2013

This year’s E3 is just a few weeks away, and there’s plenty to be excited for as a Final Fantasy fan. So with that in mind we’ve decided to take a moment to pause and scope out road ahead. We have several Final Fantasy titles that will be releasing throughout the year as soon as summer and into the autumn. Of course, there may be more to look forward to next year, but the details are currently a well-guarded secret! Here are our expectations for Square Enix Japan’s upcoming Final Fantasy projects at this juncture:

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn may as well be the polar opposite of Final Fantasy Versus XIII. A game that needs to prove everything to fans and fire on all cylinders; a game that needs to shed the stigma of the original failed release and deliver a Final Fantasy-worthy experience. In the run-up to E3 and beyond, you can bet your gil that this game will be at the forefront. That’s not only because it’s releasing this summer, but it needs a spotlight moment where it can proudly say: “look at me, look at how far we’ve come”. They say you never get two shots at a first impression, however, the team behind the game is doing their damnedest to try.

Led by Naoki “Yoshi-P” Yoshida as the new director, the team may be gaining some new eyes from the single-player Final Fantasy community with the inclusion of fan favorites such as Final Fantasy VI‘s Magitek armor units and classic locales as Final Fantasy III‘s Crystal Tower. While some may brush this aside as fanservice-y pandering, it’s important to the team to show many that these elements exist within the game. It’s understandable that their selective promotion of these elements has been a touch overstated. If it makes sense within the world of Eorzea, then they’ve done a good job incorporating it. Don’t expect the team to skimp on what makes Eorzea what it is — more trailers are incoming even before the show begins. The third phase of beta testing looks like it will coincide with the show itself, but an official start date has yet to be posted.

Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD is also a likely candidate for demo, along with Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD ReMix. Square Enix is kicking off two remastered collections of PlayStation 2 games for PlayStation 3, and they’ve come with quite a box. The latter of which will be releasing on September 13th this year, but it wouldn’t be unreasonable to think that a release date won’t come around E3 time.

Things have been quite quiet on the Lightning Returns front, and with the previously-scheduled autumn release just a summer away, it might seem like time is running short. Square Enix Japan’s fall release schedule in North America is also looking a bit more crowded than usual. Don’t count the game out just yet! While I may figure FFXIV as the E3 Final Fantasy breadwinner, Lightning Returns could sport a modest performance — but ramping up late in the game around Tokyo Game Show (September) or later. What better time to show off a brand new trailer or a decent chunk of brand-new information to keep you sated until its release? E3 is still very much likely!

The elephant in the room is the fate of Final Fantasy Versus XIII. After a long wait, the game’s director Tetsuya Nomura hinted that a “warm spring” was coming. Cryptic as it was, many began to speculate that E3 (technically in Spring) would be the grand re-reveal of the seven-year absent title. Later, on Square Enix’s MD Radio, Nomura divulged that we would know more about “Versus” soon. The turbulence around the game’s status only increased when previous reports of the game’s death were greatly exaggerated. In contrast to Final Fantasy XIV, even the smallest breadcrumbs of the game’s development generated buzz across the internet for days — most of them a fantasy based on reality.

However, the breadcrumbs have become a bit more substantial, with the re-surfacing of a new Noctis eau de toilette the very evening of this post. (Previously revealed in February.) Other bits include Roen’s “FINAL FANTASY 15″ entry on his website’s resume. Roen, you may remember, was chosen to design the new clothes Noctis & Co. wear and are seen in the most recent 2011 trailer.

At February’s PlayStation 4 reveal, Final Fantasy series executive producer Shinji Hashimoto teased an announcement of a brand-new title in development for Sony’s console before uttering the now famous “please be excited for E3″ line. In the following months, two large camps emerged. One camp that believes that Final Fantasy Versus XIII will be renamed to “Final Fantasy XV” and release on Sony’s next-gen console. Others place their eggs in the Agni’s Philosophy basket, despite Square Enix’s statement that it is Luminous’ tech demo solely. Rumors of “cross-generation” PlayStation 3 and 4 development have been more palatable to anxious Versus fans.

It’s quite understandable to expect the myriad rumors swirling about in the electric pre-E3 climate, with some having more credence than others. To those of you reading who have become distant with the Final Fantasy franchise or know someone who is, this E3 will be your time to take another look and keep your mind open. You are your own best salesman, and should you choose to buy into hype or deflect it, keep the merits of the game that appeal to you in mind rather than the buzz around it! To those who are greatly anticipating the upcoming announcements and fretting over every breadcrumb, what better time kick back and let it all wash over you? The eve of great Final Fantasy announcements are, for me, some of the most exciting times to be a fan of this series. It’s not going to last forever! In the case of Versus, well… I readily admit the amount patience required is more than a person has any right having!

Either way, the future of Final Fantasy will be revealed soon! Please be excited!

So, what I want to know is: how do you think this year’s E3 will play out? What are your expectations for appearances at the show and what must Square Enix show for you to be satisfied? What are your thoughts about the Final Fantasy Versus XIII project, Final Fantasy XIV’s upcoming relaunch, or the conclusion to the Final Fantasy XIII trilogy?

Share your thoughts by leaving us a comment below!

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Seven Minutes of Beard Never Looked So Good

Tuesday, January 29th, 2013

At this year’s E3, Final Fantasy fans got their first glimpse into the next generation of tech that will be incorporated into Square Enix titles via the Agni’s Philopsophy tech demo. It runs on Square Enix’s newly christened Luminous engine, and recently, the company has been taking it on tour through various presentations at CEDEC and GDC. Of course, everyone should be aware that tech demos typically do not represent the full graphical fidelity of a finished product — as many many more art assets need to be created and framed around an actual platform.

The above video shows off one of the characters seen in Agni’s Philosphy, particularly his beard. It displays many of the modifiable elements being tweaked in Luminous Studio, and shows off some of the collision detection and malleable elements on the model. Other videos feature the woman (our presumed protagonist) showing off her hair.

For Final Fantasy fans perhaps less enthused about the ins-and-outs of Luminous, it’s left a lingering question: is this the face of “Final Fantasy XV”? In light of a Square Enix survey asking fans if they felt that the world presented was appealing, some feel Square Enix may be entertaining the thought of turning what we’ve seen into the next Final Fantasy.

How about you? Do you feel the world presented in Agni’s Philosphy is one worthy to be explored in a new Final Fantasy for the next generation? Feel free to leave us a comment about this (or your general thoughts on Luminous) below!

Via: MMOCulture

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2012: The Year In Final Fantasy

Tuesday, January 1st, 2013

Happy New Year from Final Fantasy Network! I hope you’re not too hungover this fine Tuesday morning, because we’re recappin’! 2012 was a pretty exciting year of Final Fantasy announcements, news, and releases, and so we’ve compiled some of the biggest news-makers that made our eyes widen, our heads shake, or bodies seize uncontrollably with one emotion and then another. …Ok, that last one was just me.

Just to be frank, I was going to write you all a nice long poem, but I couldn’t find a decent word to rhyme with Theatrhythm amidst my “New Years reverie”. You’re going to have to settle with a few sub-par limericks interspersed in the article. If you think you can do better (you can’t), leave a merry Final Fantasy limerick of your own in the comments section.

For those less inclined to poetic expression, let’s hear your thoughts on this year’s events and the year that’s to come. What are you most excited to see this year? What were some of your biggest disappointments of 2012? Feel free to check out the video playlist below featuring some of the video highlights of the year, too.

FINAL FANTASY XIII-2 RELEASES
On January 31st, Final Fantasy XIII-2 released in North America for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. A sequel to the original Final Fantasy XIII, XIII-2 featured Lightning’s younger sister Serah Farron and time-travelling behemoth hunter Noel Kreiss. The game itself was built on feedback and concerns from players not entirely smitten with the first outing, resulting in a game that had less corridor-esque level design and encouraged more exploration.

Despite this, Final Fantasy XIII-2 wasn’t without controversy, as when players finally reached the end credits, they were greeted with a “To Be Continued…” message. At first, fans speculated that post-release scenario DLC would be the ending to this tale, but over the year as more DLC released, a full-on threequel became plausible. Lo and behold, at the end of a long summer, Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII was announced as the finale in the Lighting Saga trilogy.

A duo named Serah and Noel,
throughout time and space on a stroll,
    met a bad guy named Caius
    and a Yeul very pious.
They messed up the world as a toll.

THEATRHYTHM: FINAL FANTASY RELEASES
On July 3rd, Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy landed on 3DS handhelds in North America, toting with it the vast repertoire of Final Fantasy music preserved as it originally appeared. The rhythm-based RPG let you select four heroes from the Final Fantasy franchse, designed by Monster Octopus, and level them up by completing various stages that put players back in classic Final Fantasy locales and cutscenes. Later this year, a mobile version of Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy released on iOS, with additional paid content.

10 YEARS OF FINAL FANTASY XI & SEEKERS OF ADOULIN ANNOUNCED
At the Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary Event in August, the 5th expansion for Final Fantasy XI was announced: Seekers of Adoulin. Launching in 2013, the expansion will send adventurers to the continent of Ulbuka where the great city of Adoulin awaits. In addition to brand new Player-vs-Environment content, two new jobs will join the roster — Geomancer and Rune Fencer. The expansion will be available for PC and Xbox 360 users, but if you are a PS2 subscriber, note that support will be limited to Japan. Final Fantasy XI director Akihiko Matsui unveiled some ambitious new projects for the MMO, including revisions to major gameplay systems based on player feedback as well as a hefty update to the game’s user interface.

Tetsuya Nomura’s rendition of Prishe, Shantotto, Kam’lanaut, and Eald’narche from Final Fantasy XI. (@bKvEBVAvUq)Tetsuya Nomura's rendition of Prishe, Shantotto, Kam'lanaut, and Eald'narche from Final Fantasy XI

15 YEARS OF FINAL FANTASY VII & PC VERSION RE-RELEASE
Previously published under Eidos back in the 90s, Final Fantasy VII is no stranger to the PC — well, if you’re not old and decrepit like most of us that remember it’s release. We first got a hint of the project back when Steam registry files uncovered a port of Final Fantasy VII and VIII’s original PC version, but things remained silent for upwards of a year. Square Enix updated the PC version with achievement support as well as cloud saving this year for release on it’s official e-Store.

Ten years have gone by for Eleven,
fifteen if you count our dear Seven.
    Keep HD remakes at bay,
    remember them this way.
Surely this is true F.F. heaven.

FINAL FANTASY XIV: THE END OF AN ERA & A REALM REBORN
It’s been a long, tough road for Final Fantasy XIV, and with Version 1.0 coming to an indefinite close, Square Enix decided to treat its remaining subscribers to an end-of-the-world party. While the final in-game event was mired with lag and disconnected players, it ultimately paid a fitting farewell to a game that had stumbled out of the gate and fell flat on its face. When all was said and done, Square Enix released the End of an Era trailer the night servers shut down, portraying the aftermath of the clash between the Eorzean Alliance and the forces of Garlemald as expertly as Square Enix Visual Works could muster.

Over the next several months, we learned more about Final Fantasy XIV’s encroaching rebirth under director Naoki “Yoshi-P” Yoshida. With each system that brought Version 1.0 its failures being scrapped and built from the ground up, a new vision of the game has begun to emerge. Recently the alpha testing phase concluded, with beta scheduled to commence mid-February. According to the new road map, Final Fantasy XIV should release closer to summer — behind schedule, but director Yoshida assures fans that this time they want to take the time to deliver. They insist that this time they will provide an experience worthy of the franchise caliber.

Kazuya Takahashi illustrates the Wandering Minstrel (Yoshi-P) with his Final Fantasy XIV baby-monster friends.8263_2

Eorzea returns in Version Two,
where I’ll get back my slimy goobbue.
    I miss my idlin’
    In splendid Hydaelyn
But my desk chair will just have to do.

LIGHTNING RETURNS: FINAL FANTASY XIII ANNOUNCED
After Final Fantasy XIII-2′s cliffhanger ending and “To Be Continued…” message, many fans saw the writing on the wall — a third Final Fantasy XIII game was incoming. Officially announced as part of the Lightning Saga New Developments panel at the Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary Event, Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII will serve as the epilogue to the XIII trilogy with heroine Lightning at its forefront.

A markedly different approach than XIII-2, players will control only Lightning as she traverses the world of Novus Partus, a broken realm distorted by the flood of Chaos five hundred years prior. However, time is working against Lightning, as she has thirteen days before the end of the world to complete Bhunivelze’s mission: to guide the souls of humanity to a new world. Lightning’s journey will be a highly malleable one; with each play-through potentially yielding experience based on Lightning’s actions. Lightning herself is highly customizable through her equipment and abilities, and combat has been changed significantly — where timing abilities to break apart enemy weak spots will be your advantage.

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII is expected to release for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in the latter half of 2013.

A woman returned named Lightning,
whose outfit was rather frightening.
    Not a belt or a zipper,
    now towels are hipper,
surely this game will be enlightening.

THE YEAR OF FINAL FANTASY MOBILE
This year saw a multitude of releases for iPhone and Android-powered smartphones, including Final Fantasy Dimensions (Final Fantasy Legends: Warriors of Light and Darkness). The game itself is a throwback to the SNES-era Final Fantasy games, but told in an episodic fashion, and a cast of two bands of warriors. Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade (Final Fantasy Brigade) also made the localization cut, a gachapon-style Final Fantasy game aimed at those who play games on their smartphone sparingly. Titles like these weren’t expected to make the jump, what with titles like Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII never making the cut, but many fans were surprised when these titles were announced for localization.

Final Fantasy IV recently made the jump to iOS, with more on the way. Accompanying the official iOS trailer for the game, Square Enix revealed Final Fantasy V (and more, presumably Final Fantasy VI) will make their way to smartphones in some form.

TO BE DETERMINED…
Of course, there are three titles that have yet to reach North American shores (one of which is still six years in limbo and still going). Final Fantasy Type-0 for PlayStation Portable has yet to release overseas, despite involved personnel citing the game’s localization as near complete. The reasoning behind Type-0′s stalled fate may be due to weakness in the portable handheld market (minus smartphones and tablets) with regard to PSP and its successor the PlayStation Vita. This may also be the reason behind Bravely Default: Flying Fairy’s lack of a localization after shallow sales of Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light on the DS and with 3DS on shaky ground outside Japan.

A small shoutout must be paid to Final Fantasy X HD, announced over a year ago at Tokyo Game Show 2011. In the time that has elapsed, not a single screenshot nor trailer has made it online, spurring many to believe the game had entered development hell or had been dealt a quiet death. Speculation over problems with the game’s pre-rendered backgrounds being an uphill battle to convert to HD often dominate the discussion amongst anxious fans, though no official announcement nor update regarding the PS3 and Vita-bound title has enlightened us with its development status.

Alas, we’re still without Type-0.
We’re in need of some sort of hero.
    Those kids clad in red,
    we hope they aren’t dead,
but waiting for our hard-earned DeNiro.

Luminous is something you’ll probably be seeing a lot of with regard to Square Enix games in the future, starting with Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn and next in Final Fantasy Versus XIII. When the engine itself was unveiled at this year’s E3 in the form of the Agni’s Philosophy tech demo, a lot of rumors swirled that this was the emerging face of a next-generation Final Fantasy XV. Square Enix themselves asked for fan feedback on the main character and world displayed in this tech demo, leading some to believe they were weighing their options — that Agni’s Philosophy could in fact become the next mainline Final Fantasy installment.

One other title we heard bits and pieces about this year was the never-ending saga of Final Fantasy Versus XIII. The current buzz has Versus delayed so that Square Enix can focus the bulk of its developer manpower on finishing Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn — which is quite possible. Aside from all this, many cryptic hints were dropped by Square Enix staff, including Final Fantasy series executive producer Shinji Hashimoto and director Tetsuya Nomura himself. While the amalgamation of teasing and vague hints have yet to produce any scrapings of Versus’s ongoing development (other than CEO Yoichi Wada’s confirmation that the project is not dead) 2013 may be the year where we see Versus again.

Final Fantasy Versus XIII is still hidden in the sleep, after overdosing on a bottle of Ambien.noctis

There once was a game called Versus
that now causes fans to spit curses.
    How long must we will wait,
    for the new release date?
‘Fore the dev team are laid in their hearses?

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Posted in Agni's Philosophy, Bravely Default, Final Fantasy IV + Comp., Final Fantasy Mobile + DLG, Final Fantasy Type-0, Final Fantasy Versus XIII, Final Fantasy VII + Comp., Final Fantasy X + X-2, Final Fantasy XIII-2, Final Fantasy XIV, Lightning Returns: FFXIII, Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy | 12 Comments »

Square Enix CTO comments on Japan’s projects

Saturday, November 3rd, 2012

Square Enix’s Chief Technical Officer Julien Merceron was the willful subject of a fascinating new interview conducted by French Final Fantasy fansite FFDream about some of the Japan’s upcoming titles and projects. In the following article, we paraphrase Merceron’s comments from the original French language article that appears on FFDream.

Though Merceron admitted his background is in technology and not localization announcements, he echoed the company’s recent statments about Final Fantasy Type-0: they do want to localize the title for fans — but are looking for opportunities to get it done amidst a tough handheld gaming market. Merceron has played the Japanese version of the game and personally enjoyed it.

Having worked closely with Naoki Yoshida on Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, Merceron had high praise for Yoshida and the team’s new vision of the MMORPG — going as far to say that few at Square Enix could have done what he did in the director’s chair. Thus, he’s drawn admiration from staff around the globe at Square Enix and not just Japan. (Paraphrasing: “His leadership comforts me a lot”, Merceron added, “The Final Fantasy XIV experience Yoshida and the team want to deliver will be very different from the original.”)

Moving on to projects farther in the future, Merceron commented that Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII will borrow some tech (and technical skill) from Final Fantasy Versus XIII. Versus has borrowed technology from the company’s new Luminous Engine, such as lighting, but still operates on a highly-modified version of Crystal Tools. This previous engine brought us Final Fantasy XIII and XIII-2. Lightning Returns will be significantly different from its predecessors, and currently the game is being focus grouped to bring out what fans want to see in the final act of the trilogy.

Merceron commented on the ongoing development of Final Fantasy Versus XIII, stating that there is a lot of ambition behind the game — with CEO Yoichi Wada supervising the game very closely and wanting to push the development team very hard. This reflects a comment Final Fantasy producer Shinji Hashimoto made at the 25th Anniversary Event in Japan, where he said the team desires to make a “nostalgic” Final Fantasy experience. From my own deductions, I think Hashimoto implies that Versus will be an experience that will create nostalgic memories — and a Final Fantasy that is an achievement on all fronts, much like the games in the “Golden Era” of the series.

On the subject of Agni’s Philosophy, Merceron let it slip that we can expect to see the engine running on different platforms other than PC around June (E3 alert) next year. What those platforms are hasn’t been revealed yet, but you could make a safe bet he is alluding to next-generation consoles.

When asked what type of game he would like to see Square Enix dive into, Merceron was openly enthusiastic about large sandbox-style games. He feels some of Square Enix’s intellectual property (franchises) could definitely benefit, having been more traditionally linear and narrative-driven. The level of technology to facilitate that is a type of development Merceron would be excited to pursue.

Should you want to read the entirety of the article (it is in French), you can do so at FFDream!

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Posted in Agni's Philosophy, Final Fantasy Type-0, Final Fantasy Versus XIII, Final Fantasy XIV, Lightning Returns: FFXIII | 16 Comments »

Behind the N. America 25th Anniversary Event

Monday, October 8th, 2012

While a lot of eyes and ears were focused towards Japan for the Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary Event, Square Enix North America held their own get-together at this year’s Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle on August 31st. Entitled Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary: The Experience, the event toted along each numbered Final Fantasy game and the original platform it appeared on to let players experience the games as they did years ago.

In addition to Final Fantasy games from the “Old School”, “Golden Age”, and “Modern Age” eras — Square Enix showed off what’s to come. The Agni’s Philosophy tech demo for the Luminous Engine, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, and announcing Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII.

The video above, produced by iam8bit, gives us a behind the scenes look.

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Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary Event:
Final Fantasy XIV Special Show

Saturday, September 1st, 2012

We’re just a few minutes away from the start of the Final Fantasy XIV presentation at the Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary Event! For those of you with a NicoNico account, you can watch the stream here — but for those of you who don’t we’ll be covering the step by step details in this post like we did with the XIII New Developments presentation.

So without further adieu ado (lol), we’ll start things off here:

+ We start with a new trailer showing off combat and exploration in the new Eorzea. The game’s graphic engine has been completely redone. The party at the end of the trailer uses the new Limit Break system to down a boss.

+ Yoshi-P, director and producer, takes the stage to a round of applause. Assistant director is on stage briefly to talk about the new version. Yoshihisa Hashimoto is introduced, he helped direct XIV’s new’s graphics engine and works on the new Luminous engine as well.

+ The area from the Gamescom demo is being shown. The user interface has been rebuilt. You can customize it to your liking — resize any part of it. Drag and drop items — very streamlined.

+ Showing a bit of the Agni’s Philosophy demo — but back to FFXIV, characters are riding chocobos. Mounted combat will come to Eorzea, and you’ll be able to fight on chocoboback.

+ A lot of quest content will appear in A Realm Reborn, and a feature they’re implementing is “level sync” which will allow you to lower your level to match a friend’s so that you can experience the same content together and feel like you’re making progress experience-wise.

+ Environments in zones look very detailed and give the game a lived-in personality.

+ Some banter about voicing characters in FFXIV — Akio Ohtsuka is involved. He voiced Gabranth in FFXII, and will play Gaius van Baelsar in FFXIV. He thought he was playing a Judge again by the similar armor. *Laughter*

+ Showing off some combat now. Weaponskills rely more on cooldowns than TP now. That system has been reworked.

+ New class Arcanist is being shown. Carbuncle is the Arcanist’s familiar. Disciple of Magic class. They are able to apply DoTs (Damage over Time abilities) and debuff enemies.

+ New Class Summoner is being shown. You spec into this like a Paladin, Black Mage, with Artifact armor and quests.

+ Cosplayers show off the default outfits each race and gender.

+ “Eorzean Frontiers” Original Soundtrack for Final Fantasy XIV announced. Update: Now available on iTunes!

+ Alpha test phase will begin soon.

+ And that’s a wrap! Stick around, we’ll have some more FFXIV stuff in about an hour.

+ The Final Fantasy XIV Alpha test phase application page has opened! Click here to apply!

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Agni’s Philosophy demo at CEDEC 2012

Monday, August 20th, 2012

At this year’s Computer Entertaintment Developers Conference (CEDEC) in Japan, Square Enix showed off a longer look at their new engine called Luminous. While its known for its largely impressive graphical output, the engine’s ability to handle complex AI programming for example, is said to be just as impressive. The Agni’s Philosophy tech demo was the focal point of the presentation, showcasing the many tools to get it done.

If you missed the stream on NicoNico last night, we recorded it below! Alternatively, you can download it directly by clicking here.

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Final Fantasy Network @ E3 2012

Saturday, June 9th, 2012

Final Fantasy Network was at this year’s E3 to follow all the developments for the Final Fantasy franchise as well as new information and announcements for it’s current games. Our floor report is finally here (and we thank you very much for your patience) so read on to hear more from the event!


THEATRHYTHM: FINAL FANTASY

Releasing on July 3rd, Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy celebrates twenty-five years of the Final Fantasy franchise by compiling music throughout the series into an addictive rhythm-based RPG. Through the use of three different types of stages: Field, Battle, and Event, players are able to amass Rythmia (a currency to unlock different parts of the game) as well as level up their characters and have them learn new abilities.

Songs are divided into categories corresponding to each numbered title, and when you complete each track you’ll be scored by several different factors that measure timing and efficacy. During more difficult stages, in-game icons will rotate as they approach, making timing even more of a challenging endeavor. Characters that have more Agility will be useful for Field stages in which you traverse a distance whereas characters with more Strength or Magic will be useful in Battle stages to take down more enemies.

Up close, Theatrhythm’s stages look good in 3D, and the jaggies present in many of the screenshots we’ve seen up until this point are barely tangible with the 3D cranked. Songs have several different difficulty settings, and even I had trouble keeping up with songs I’ve known and loved for years. For those of you who have inquired about if you can turn off the in-game chiming during stages — yes, you can.

Amongst the many tracks available in the box, an entire suite of DLC will be made available post-launch via the 3DS eShop.

(Large images, please open them in a new browser tab for best viewing!)


FINAL FANTASY XIV 2.0


Final Fantasy XIV was absent at the show floor, and even minus trailer — but that didn’t stop some information from coming out about the game’s roadmap to Version 2.0. New images surfaced showcasing the newly rebuilt Eorzea, as well as the newly rebuilt engine and interface. The trailer itself has been delayed until August, with the alpha beginning a month later. It’s safe to say that at the end of the summer, players will be seeing major changes to Eorzea.


FINAL FANTASY DIMENSIONS


Final Fantasy Dimensions, formerly Final Fantasy Legends: Warriors of Light and Darkness in Japan, is a game for iOS devices and Android handhelds that is largely a throwback to the Super Nintendo days of Final Fantasy. What makes this similar to those games is it’s art style and execution, as well as the turn-based ATB combat and job system.

What makes this title different is it’s episodic nature — new chapters will be sequentially released, each bringing a new job into play as the scenario goes on. You’ll be able to go back and play previous chapters with these unlocked jobs.

Final Fantasy Dimensions will be available this July.

 

AGNI’S PHILOSOPHY
FINAL FANTASY TECH DEMO


Perhaps the biggest surprise of E3 was the unveiling of a new tech demo featuring Square Enix’s Luminous engine. Entitled “Agni’s Philosophy — Final Fantasy Tech Demo” the video aims to visualize what a Final Fantasy game running on this engine would look like for the next generation of consoles. During a presentation of the following video, Square Enix staff were able to stop on a frame, rotate the camera around 360 degrees, as well as edit hair and facial features in real time.

While this is only a tech demo, and not indicative of a new game announcement — Square Enix is taking feedback on the video and it’s contents. You can voice your opinion here.


SQUARE ENIX PRODUCTS


In addition to Final Fantasy games at E3 2012, Square Enix also brought along the newest Final Fantasy merchandise including chibi Final Fantasy character statues, the newest round of Play Arts CREATURES Vol. 2, mascot tumblers, and Final Fantasy mugs. Take a look!

Posted in Agni's Philosophy, Final Fantasy Mobile + DLG, Final Fantasy XIV, Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy | 11 Comments »