While being interviewed at GDC 2010 regarding Final Fantasy XIII, Motomu Toriyama shared some interesting facts about the future of the Final Fantasy series.

What may be the most interesting piece of the interview was when Toriyama was asked which Final Fantasy game he would like to remake.

“That would be Final Fantasy VII! If we had the manpower and the time to work on a project, if we were to remake Final Fantasy VII with the quality of Final Fantasy XIII it would become a tremendous project. If we can get the number of people we need by all means that would be the one I would really want to remake.”

As if anybody expected any other answer.

Read the rest of this entry »

Saying people are excited about Final Fantasy XIII would probably be an understatement. And it looks like players might have more content to enjoy on top of the 50+ hour experience when the game hits down in March, according to producer Yoshinori Kitase.

“At first we had plans to release the game simultaneously worldwide, so we had the intention to deliver identical version between the regions. When we noticed that we wouldn’t make it, we decided to release the game as fast as possible in the west after its release in Japan,” said Kitase.

“We initially had doubts to add extra content to the western version but then it would have taken the international version more months of delay. We did prepare a DLC but it will arrive a little later in the west.”

The accessible availability of DLC makes re-releases of RPG a little redundant, doesn’t it? It should be worth keeping an eye on what they release.

Unofficial Final Fantasy Site has just reported that what appears to be the back of FFXII’s box-art has been leaked onto the internet.

The back of the box states that the game has no optional or mandatory installation and will only use up to 500kb of hard drive space for a game save. This is great news for PS3 owners who’ve had to endure long installations before being able to play their games.

FFXII also features full 1080p for all FMVs, as well as lossless audio. These features definitely sets the PS3 version as superior to the 360′s, something the PS3 fans who cried out in infamy are sure to enjoy.

Hit the link for more details.

The Final Fantasy series may never be true to its title, but this trailer is – Square Enix has released the final Final Fantasy XIII trailer before the game’s release in Japan in less than three weeks time.

Us gamers in the west still have to wait until March 9th, 2010 to get our hands on this game, but that’s definitely a huge improvement on the almost year long wait we had to endure for past Final Fantasy games.

Hopefully this will tide you over until then. Enjoy!

This is the one everyone has been waiting for. Square Enix has just announced that Final Fantasy XIII will hit US and European shelves March 9, 2010.

In a uniquely inventive twist, Square has stated that it will announce new information on the game on the 13th of every month as part of its “Lucky Number 13″ campaign.

The announcement was made in an official video. I dare you to watch this and not feel at least remotely excited.

Square Enix has just released the seven minute trailer of Final Fantasy XIII, that was showcased at the Tokyo Game Show over the weekend.

Check it out below. It’s rather nice.

Still waiting desperately for the release of FFXIII? Join the club. If it’s any conciliation, Square Enix has just informed us (along with half the internet) that we should be getting a solid release date for the title in Europe really, really soon.

“We plan to announce the PAL release timing of Final Fantasy XIII in the very near future,” a rep informed us.

This comes in wake of the news that the game will hit stores in Japan on December 17th.

Yoshinori Kitase is hoping that Square Enix will have a playable demo of Final Fantasy XIII at this September’s Tokyo Games Show.

“Well, because we’re aiming for a winter release date, we’d like to have users play the game before then,” he informed Dengeki recently. “Timing-wise, since there’s only TGS, we’d definitely like to shoot for that.”

Final Fantasy XIII is will hit store shelves in Japan at the end of the this year, and due for release in US and Europe early 2010.

As recently promised, FFXIII’s PS3 and 360 versions will release simultaneously next spring in Europe and the US, producer Yoshinori Kitase told VG247 at GamesCom today.

“We don’t have the actual month down yet, but in Japan it’s scheduled for a winter release, and in Europe and North American territoriers it’s spring 2010,” said the developer.

“For Europe and North America, the PS3 and 360 versions are going to be released simultaneously.”

“For previous titles it took usually about a year to localise each version and bring it over to Europe, but for this title there should be a considerably shorter gap and [we'll] bring it to European territories as close to the North American release as possible,” he said.

Square Enix president Yoichi Wada has stated in a recent Tokyo Q&A session with IT Media that a release date for FFXIII will be announced in the next few weeks.

“We’ll be making an announcement in a few weeks,” said Wada.

It should be noted that the Tokyo Game Show is also “in a few weeks”, so we can pretty much expect to hear this announced there. It’s already know that the game will be be at the event, in some form.

FFXIII will hits Japan on PS3 this winter, and the US on PS3 and 360 in sometime next spring.

Talking to Edge today, FFXIII producer Yoshinori Kitase has claimed that the game isn’t a JRPG. It “straddles genres”, whatever that’s supposed to mean.

“There’s a trend these days to strictly categorize games as western RPGs or Japanese RPGs, but Final Fantasy is something that we don’t try to categorize as either/or,” the developer told the website. “For us, the game straddles genre.”

Call me cynical, but Kitase sounds like he’s suffering from denial. Final Fantasy XIII looks like a JRPG, has all the stereotypes of a JRPG, and plays very much like a JRPG.

How is it not a JRPG?

Do you have the answer, readers?

The official countdown is finally over, and the new Final Fantasy XIII trailer is finally available to watch on the official FFXIII site!

You can watch the new gameplay by clicking here.

What makes this trailer different to the ones we’ve seen already? Well, this trailer is the first to actually show some gameplay footage. and to say it looks impressive would be an understatement.

Enjoy, It’s pretty sweet.

Accompanied by some very pretty music and a plethora of screenshots, the official Final Fantasy XIII website was updated earlier today with the promise and a count-down to a new trailer… tomorrow!

The first playable demo of FFXIII is due out in Japan in April, shipping with the Blu-ray only Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete movie.

We’ll be posting the trailer here as soon as its revealed tomorrow, so keep your eyes posted!

Square Enix is at it again. They did it with Blood of Bahamut, as well as Chrono Trigger

The official Final Fantasy XIII site is now sporting a timer. Obviously something exciting is on the way and Squeenix knows how to get the fans worked up.

A heading reads: “The countdown has begun. A new vision will sonn be revealed to the world. Register now to ensure you’re there for the unveiling”

There are a lot of European flags at the top of the page, so fingers crossed for a European release date.

This is the kind of news story that you will either be entirely unsurprised by, or completely disappointed with; Square Enix has confirmed that the west probably won’t be seeing FFXIII until well into 2010.

“Overseas launches of the latest “Final Fantasy” game will come in the business year from April 2010 or later,” Wada said. “The launch dates of FFXIII are still to be determined and will be revealed in due course. Please wait for future announcements.”

It’s the “later” part of that announcement which is the most worrisome. Here’s hoping we won’t have to wait until 2011…