This is mostly unsurprising, but exciting nonetheless. It looks like Square Enix is one of the host of developers taking Nintendo’s Wii U very seriously.
Yoshinori Kitase, head producer of Square Enix Product Development Division One (responsible for Final Fantasy XIII, and XIII-2), stated the following, “After seeing Wii U revealed at Nintendo’s conference, we are now considering the possibilities of bringing the Final Fantasy series to the format.”
Personally, I think the Wii U could be put to great use when it comes to the Final Fantasy series. The controller could be used to display the battle menus, clearing up space on our television sets to enjoy the action without the clutter of menu elements.
Accompanying the new information on the Final Fantasy XIII-2 official Japanese website, Square-Enix announced that the “Easy Mode” included with the Xbox 360 version in Japan will be coming to the PS3 version in the form of a free content update. It will be available July 21st to coincide with the Ultimate Hits budget line of Square-Enix titles. There is no word yet of this feature coming overseas.
Both the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 will be getting budget version re-releases of Final Fantasy XIII in Japan under Square-Enix’s “Ultimate Hits” label. They will retail for 3990 yen (roughly $50 USD). Since launch, Final Fantasy XIII has sold close to five million copies, which is now the franchise’s new record for sales.
Final Fantasy action figures were spotted at the 2011 Toy Fair underway in New York City. Square-Enix’s Play Arts line of action figures and merchandise manufactures many videogame franchises beyond their own intellectual property. In the pictures linked below, we can see action figures from Dissidia: Final Fantasy including Cloud Strife, Squall Leonhart, and Gabranth. The Final Fantasy XIII Creatures Vol. 3 line also features action figures based off of monster and Eidolon designs seen in-game. Shiva is seen at the forefront. The figures will be available for purchase in the summer of this year.
Howdy, folks! I’ll be covering all of the events tonight and into the morning when Square-Enix’s conference will begin. Most of the developments will take place early tomorrow morning, but I expect we will get a few tidbits of information over the course of the evening and into the early morning hours before things start. In terms of accuracy of information, we will try to verify all incoming reports to the best of our ability, and if there is a change or retraction of information, we will post that as well. Keep checking back on this post and we’ll be doing our best to keep you updated as events transpire! And thank you for visiting FinalFantasy.net!
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17|7:22P – Directors Hajime Tabata (Agito) expects Square-Enix fans will have fun at the event whether they show up in person or watch on the exclusive stream. Director Tetsuya Nomura (Versus) has finished the rehearsal process for the promotional videos that will be shown at the event. Aibo from FF-Reunion will be attending the first press/invite-only portion of the conference, he is reporting speculating that there may be a new Fabula Nova Crystallis-related game revealed as two non-FNC-related titles.
18|2:19A – Shinji Hashimoto, Yoshinori Kitase, and Hajime Tabata are in attendance. (Pic.)
18|03:01A – Looks like things are starting to get underway. (Pic.)
18|3:14A – Shinji Hashimoto currently has the podium and is opening with a bit about the 1st Production Development Department. Kenichi Suzumura and Takahiro Sakurai are also MCs. The latter is the Japanese voice actor for Cloud Strife…
18|3:21A – KH: BBS Final Mix director Hiroshi Yasue is talking about Kingdom Hearts 3D. It seems the full title is called: KINGDOM HEARTS DREAM DROP DISTANCE. That’s KH3D’s official title. It will make use of the stereoscopic 3D in gameplay. You will play as Sora and Riku. It seems this game will use verticality more than it’s predecessors with the 3D technology.
18|3:32A – Dissidia 012 is up. They are showing footage and Mayuko Aoki is back as Yuna’s Japanese VA.
18|3:37A – Prishe from FFXI is the newest character to be revealed… Someone has seen Aerith as an assist character! Something perhaps to do with Duodecim Prologus.
18|3:45A – A title is being described on stage: “About to film the myth of La Pfaff s more of the following”, “God governs all of the world = Buniberuze.”, “Buniberuze is killing the mother goddess Muin, got the world. Muin, the invisible world – invisible to the world disappear.” Yoshinori Kitase is taking the stage to announce a possible Fabula Nova Crystallis-related title.
18|3:49A – Kitase is talking about how they want to continue the lore of the Fabula Nova Crystallis series… and apparently we are seeing Lightning in armor. Yes. It’s FFXIII-2. Motomu Toriyama is directing. Here’s the game’s logo: (Pic) They are aiming for a 2011 release date for FFXIII-2. It will be on PS3 and 360. A blogger at Famitsu comments the world seems a bit darker than the original game.
18|3:57A – Final Fantasy Agito XIII is up at bat. There’s a video that displays a few of the characters and a summon sequence with Ifrit…
18|4:04A – Some chatter about “Final Fantasy Type-0″ now… Ok bear with me. It seems as if Final Fantasy Agito XIII has been renamed to Final Fantasy Type 0 and that it is coming out in 2011, it will be on 2 UMDs. The director, Tabata, said that they changed the title because he felt that they were not making a game which had anything to do with FFXIII. Here’s the new logo with the same Amano artwork. (Pic.)
18|4:14A – Versus time. A new trailer is being shown. The footage is voiced and includes some rapidly moving battle scenes… Final Fantasy Versus XIII is still named as such. Also it is still a PS3 exclusive. Worldwide 2012 release. In the footage: “a whole lot of gameplay footage, including combat scenes with swords and guns, a scene where you control a tank-like vehicle, a scene where you climb aboard a bipedal robot, a battle with a massive creature (this may be the combat scene from the TGS trailer), and a battle where Noctis wields his sword against a group of soldiers.”
18|4:32A – I believe the first part of the conference concludes here. “The Final Fantasy XIII-2 trailer will be available for viewing at the official site on the 20th. The other trailers will be available on the 27th. They will all be in HD”.
18|4:37 -
Final Fantasy XIII-2 website: http://www.square-enix.co.jp/fabula/ff13-2/
Final Fantasy Type-0 website: http://www.square-enix.co.jp/fabula/0/
Kingdom Hearts 3D Dream Drop Distance website: http://www.square-enix.co.jp/kingdom/3d/
Final Fantasy Versus XIII website: http://www.square-enix.co.jp/fabula/versus13/
With the Square-Enix 1st Production Department Premiere just around the corner next week, we’ve seen a few domain registries for new titles pop up inconspicuously around the interwebs. Just a few weeks ago, we saw that finalfantasytype0.com had been registered as well as a logo. Brace yourselves, there’s a domain filing for: finalfantasy13-2.com filed just yesterday by a registrar that Square-Enix supposedly uses. Could this be a routine filing to protect the IP or is more going on here? Something tells me we’ll definitely find out next week.
This year’s winners of the PlayStation were chosen by fans, rather than wholly based off of sales in years’ past. Yoshinori Kitase was present to accept Final Fantasy XIII‘s platinum trophy for player’s choice for games that have sold over one million units domestically. Within the first half year of release, Final Fantasy XIII has sold 5.75 million [May 2010] copies worldwide and 1.6 million copies domestically in Japan.
A partial transcript of an interview with Yoshinori Kitase was posted on FF-Reunion about the Final Fantasy XIII Ultimania Omega, a guide that provides many insightful informations on the development process of the game as well as developer comments. It turns out that Square-Enix did originally plan to release DLC for Final Fantasy XIII, in the form of new quests and weapons and areas including an expansion of the Seventh Ark area. He cites that quality concerns and the differences between PSN and XBL caused the team to scrap their plans. Kitase stated that in future projects he would include the ability to include online DLC from the get-go rather than after the fact.
He was also asked about a “Final Fantasy XIII-2″, and while he was mum about the prospects of a direct sequel, he enthused fans that the lore established in Final Fantasy XIII would continue through to Versus and Agito. It looks as if the concepts that will be established in the two upcoming titles will shed further light on some of the mysteries buried in the lore of Final Fantasy XIII. However, the team that worked on Final Fantasy XIII is already deep in development on their next game.
The Ultimania Omega was also dedicated to Yoshinori Kanada, the game’s storyboard artist who tragically died from a heart attack in July of last year. He was also involved with Final Fantasy: The Legend of the Crystals as an animator and on Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within as an animator and layout artist.
Ahh, nothing beats the edge off of three energy drinks like five cups of coffee. But before I suffer a coronary, I’ll be making updates out of the events at Tokyo Game Show 2010 this week! Stay tuned to this post for more news!
DISSIDIA 012 [DUODECIM]: FINAL FANTASY 04:23p: More gameplay of Duodecim from the TGS floor. Player is using Lightning against Terra! Check it out below. (Video #1) [Thanks Tuna Rum!] 06:01p: Here’s a bit of a blurry video of the Duodecim trailer, check it out below. (Methinks the stage that the Emperor is standing on is his final battle area from Final Fantasy II.) (Video #2) 08:37p: Square-Enix TGS pamphlet scans featuring Duodecim! (View: [1][2][3][4]) [FF-REUNION] 12:32a: Famitsu has posted their impressions from playing the game at TGS, here’s the translation by the lovely Lissar! 03:23a: Cam footage of the Duodecim trailer! Check it out in the fourth video down! Tifa, Balamb Garden stage confirmed! 05:43a: Check below the trailer for translated dialogue!
When you start playing you get to choose from one of three difficulty settings, and then choose from either Action Style or RPG style command input. With the former you input commands by yourself, this is the default mode. With the latter you get to choose from options such as “Fight”, “Special”, etc., and the character will perform the appropriate action. The characters you can choose from in the demo are Warrior of Light, Firion, Terra, Cloud, Kuja, and the two newest characters Kain and Lightning (the characters you can choose changes depending on which difficulty you’ve chosen.) First we’ll talk about the two newest characters, Lightning and Kain.Kain, the Aerial Fighter
Kain, from FFIV, is a Dragoon who’s specialty is the “Jump”. With the Jump command, he jumps into the air and quickly falls back down attacking with his lance. With the square button you can increase the length of your jump, and after you’ve jumped you can still cancel the attack. While you’re in the air there are other decisions you can make, and many quite good aerial moves you can do. You can evade magic that your enemy has cast and then counter attack. Aside from the Jump command, after you’ve attacked you can press triangle to cancel your move, and use air dash to run after your enemy and attack them even more. Combine this with the new Assist ability and you’ve got dangerous attack move. But this won’t always work out. Your enemy can evade the attack or defend at the right time. The correct way to use Kain seems to be aerial Brave attacks from above or below, putting your enemies off balance. He is easy to use, and would probably be best for people who are good at strategizing.
Technical Lightning
Next up is Lightning from FFXIII. She can change between three Roles, Commando, Ravager and Medic. Commando uses physical attacks, Ravager uses magical attacks, and Medic uses healing moves. To change Roles (Paradigm Shift) you must press the R and L buttons at the same time. If you rush and only press the L button you turn off Lock On, so you have to be careful with it. Commando is easy to use for basic attacking moves. You can shoot your enemy from the air, and then follow up with a sword attack. Ravager can use magic like Thundaga and Watera, as well as an aerial sword attack called “Scene Drive” (Army of One) that can hit your enemy multiple times. But the most interesting is Medic, which can heal your Brave with Cure. While it doesn’t heal much, it looks as though it can be used to increase your Assist Gauge. If your press circle at the right time, you’ll cast Curaga rather than Cure, healing you for more. To use Lightning well, you have to learn to change Roles depending on your opponent and the situation.
The new Assist System will change everything!
We’ve already looked at the new Assist System before, but now we are going to look at how you can use it. The basic way to use it is after you’ve smashed your opponent into a wall and want to do an extra attack. Attack -> Assist Brave Attack -> Then the player character does an HP attack. If you use Assist while your opponent is releasing a multi-hit attack, the Assist character will act as a sacrifice while you escape. If you’ve pressed L + Circle using one Assist Gauge they’ll take the force of the attack, if you press L + Square using two, you’ll use guard and be able to run away to safety. But if you’ve used the Assist to escape, a key mark will appear and you won’t be able to use Assist for awhile. In the demo you couldn’t change the Assist character, but normally you would be able to choose whoever you liked. Any of the controllable characters. It seems there will be a lot more rules that go along with the Assist System in the actual game. The new Assist System makes the battles go even faster, and will make things even more fun.
Dialogue translated from the trailer! (Thanks krexia!) Narrarator: “Two gods, that preordained the battle. With those powers of harmony and chaos, which will never to disappear or merge, the world becomes a stage for the eternally continuing conflict, hovering on the precipice between stability and collapse…” Warrior of Light: “We are warriors who were called to this land to lead the goddess of harmony to victory.” Cecil: “The crystals are the power Cosmos has entrusted to everyone. Therefore, to protect everyone is to uphold the will of Cosmos.” Kuja: “It would be best if we got away from here soon. Zidane: “Why is that?” Bartz: “Zidane, is this the warrior of Cosmos who is said to rarely show himself? Emperor: “Among these warriors of Cosmos who have suffered many defeats, there is not one with memories of battle.” Lightning: “The figures called Manikins are getting agitated in large numbers. They are all our enemies.” Garland: “Lots of your friends have already begun their journey. You should also enjoy your final moments.” Lightning: “What did you say?!” Kain: “If Chaos triumphs, the world will collapse. Is that what you wish for?” Golbez: “The world won’t disappear or collapse. Because the battle will not end.” Lightning: “Bartz hang in there!” Bartz: “Kain… why?” (Bartz refering to what Kain has done to him.) Cloud: “Kuja.” Kuja: “What is it?” Cloud: “It’d be good if you could consider your own memories precious.” Ultimecia: ” I’m not stupid enough to obey an unfamiliar god.” Cloud of Darkness: “…” Kain: “I’ll show you a thing that’s called the power of being a real person!” (Referring to the manikins.) Warrior of Light: “It’s as you said. We will lose.” Lightning: “What are you planning, you traitor?!” Warrior of Light: “That’s not something for you to know now.” Warrior of Light: “It’s possible that I already no longer meet the qualifications to fight for light. But I swear that here, I will protect you until the end.” Tifa: “Who are you?” (Referring to Sephiroth.) Sephiroth: “Your enemy. There’s no need to know more than that.” Tifa: “So, a warrior of Chaos.”
OTHER NEWS: 02:41a: The Final Fantasy XIV TGS trailer is online! Check it out in the third video below!
We’ll be getting all sorts of great updates tonight as Tokyo Game Show 2010 has kicked off. Stay tuned to hear more from your favorite upcoming titles! Want to discuss all of the upcoming information and announcements? Head on over to the official thread in our forums!
Items in blue are rumor and have yet to be confirmed!
DISSIDIA 012 [DUODECIM]: FINAL FANTASY 08:37p: Tifa Lockhart is the third newest Dissidia Duodecim character being revealed at TGS. (11:10p: We’ve now had multiple sources confirm this, so we’re calling it true.) [Source] 09:04p: Booth where Dissidia Duodecim will be displayed. (View.) [Kotaku] 09:51p: Lightning and Kain Highwind screenshots from Dissidia Duodecim. (View.) [AndriaSang] 10:19p: Another shot of the Square-Enix booth, Dissidia Duodecim on the left-hand side. (View.) 10:50p: Cloud Strife’s third alternate outfit in Duodecim is his ShinRa grunt uniform. 10:51p: Cloud’s outfit changes slightly in event scenes, also the Assist System will allow the other character to take a finishing blow in place of the main character fighting. 10:53p: Dissidia Duodecim will release Spring 2011 in Japan. 11:55p: Dissidia Duodecim trailer being shown, Celes from Final Fantasy VI was spotted! (It was Cecil. 1up, learn your FF characters! ;p) Also Kingdom Hearts outfit for Cloud as downloadable content. [Source.] 01:10a: Cam footage of Warrior of Light taking on Squall! [And yes this is Duodecim, GameVideos is wrong.] Looks like he’s got some new moves! Check it out below! 01:31a: While the trailer for Dissidia Duodecim has yet to surface (and it was blocked on the Sony press conference) we have a translation available from Famitsu who was there to witness the trailer! “As with the previous game, the narrator describes a world where the two gods Cosmos and Chaos fight. There is a scene where the new fighter Lightning goes against the Warrior of Light, as well as a scene where Kain attacks Bartz, as well as other interesting scenes. A scene with Kuja talking to Zidane, and another with Cloud and Kuja having a conversation. Are they on different sides than they were in the first game? Or is it because they’ve lost their memories? Also, Cecil and the Onion Knight are talking on what looks like an airship, and Cloud wears a new costume. You can also see the Emperor and Golbez, as well as Kefka among other characters from the previous game. At the end you can see Tifa say to Sephiroth ‘Who are you?’” [Source.] 01:53a: Kain gameplay video! Check it you below! 02:06a: Since Aya Brea gets a Lightning costume in The 3rd Birthday, I guess it would be fair to… (View pic!) 03:05a: And here’s Cloud in his Kingdom Hearts garb. (View pic!)
FINAL FANTASY VERSUS XIII +FINAL FANTASY AGITO XIII 08:38p: Footage of Final Fantasy Versus XIII is being shown on the floor, it looks similar to Kingdom Hearts. 08:38p: The car that Noctis rides in has been changed from before. 09:28p: Apparently, a press conference concerning the Fabula Nova Crystallis series (Versus/Agito), will happen on January 11, 2011. [Thanks, Lissar!] 10:46p: Agito XIII footage shown of characters riding on chocobos on a large field. [Source] 10:46p: Versus XIII footage shows Noctis running around a wasteland, and he comes to a ruined city and fights a Behemoth. [Source] 11:17p: “The field in Versus is beautiful, and there was even a scene with him jumping of a cliff. In the fighting scene Noct was walking around and a Behemoth appeared in front of him. He pulled out his sword and sliced it. The action was seamless.” [Source.] 11:21p: “Agito was too short. Mostly fighting. There are now people wearing red school uniforms that are different from what we’ve seen before. You can probably change characters’ costumes.” [Source.] 01:41a: We have a summary of the Agito XIII footage shown as well from Famitsu: “In Agito, the Byakko Army is marching (they have a tiger, so this is probably who it is.) They seem to be going to war. A spider-legged war machine clings to the wall of a building, and you can see the character(s?) you control on the ground casting magic, giving you the impression of both technology and fantasy. In battle they show the status bars of three characters at a time, and it shows that you can cast Fire or Wall with different button presses, like in the last trailer. You can also see a chocobo running across a field.” [Source.] 01:46a: And in Versus the scene that was shown during E3’10 with the main character Noctis fighting a Behemoth is now revealed in movie form. The battle is played out on a road that looks like Shinjuku, and the quality is so high that it makes you wonder if you’ll actually be able to control this battle. The blood spurting from the Behemoth and Noctis’s movements are very fantastic and yet realistic at the same time. In battle it looks as though Noctis disappears for a moment (but it was too fast and the details are as yet unknown.)[Source.]
OTHER NEWS 08:51p: The TGS trailer for Final Fantasy Legends: Warriors of Light and Darkness is here! Check it out below! 09:12p: Square-Enix Play Arts on display. (View picture.) [FF-REUNION] 09:27p: Square-Enix TGS site has a compilaton of some trailers available. Video but no sound. (View.) 10:25p: Final Fantasy XIII 360 Japanese version also has a corner of it’s own. (View.)
