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Japanese Final Fantasy XIII includes 'secret in-game item' for FFXIV

by Ben Gilbert { Nov 11th 2009 at 4:00PM }

When Shonen Jump recently revealed Square Enix's intention to include a "campaign code" for something in Final Fantasy XIV with the first printing of Final Fantasy XIII, we weren't sure what to make of it. Thankfully, Famitsu's latest issue (translated by Andriasang) details the inter-franchise crossover content a bit more, calling it a "secret in-game item" and reporting it can be input before the upcoming MMO opens up to the public for a "limited edition item" of some type. It's unclear if the item will be available for use in the PC beta.

Apparently, Famitsu also notes that the item is exclusive to Japan and, though limited, will be included with all FFXIII PS3 bundles (also Japan-exclusive). Since we're certain that someone reading this is currently weighing the import costs of one of those bundles against the value of an exclusive virtual goody, we hope for you and your family's sake that a friend is by your side, calling in an intervention right now. It's really for the best.

Gallery: Final Fantasy XIV

Final Fantasy XIII character progression system explained

by Griffin McElroy { Nov 1st 2009 at 1:30PM }

Though the effeminate hairstyles have managed to stay in tact as the Final Fantasy franchise has evolved, one element seems to change from game to game: The character progression system. From Materia to Guardian Forces to the Sphere Grid and plain ol' leveling up, the series has introduced some novel forms of strengthening your characters. It sounds like Final Fantasy XIII will be no different -- according to the latest issue of Shonen Jump, the RPG introduces a new progression system called "Crystalium."

Andriasang laid out the gist of how the system operates -- instead of gaining experience from battles, players earn "Crystal Points," which they can then spend on new abilities and stat boosts which are arranged on a circular chart. As you progress down one of the chart's specialization trees, you unlock stronger abilities; Fire leads to Fira, and so on. Sounds a lot like the aforementioned Sphere Grid -- but we suppose we'll have to wait until we get our hands on the game before we can make a more insightful assessment.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers: The Pre-order Bonuses

by JC Fletcher { Oct 27th 2009 at 5:45PM }

Click to My Life as a King-sizeFinal Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers will be released in North America on the day after Christmas. If you're daring enough to pledge your money in advance to Square Enix's bold experiment in Final Fantasy action games, you face a choice: which store -- and which pre-order bonus -- will you choose? Square Enix sent out a list of retailers offering bonuses.

If you purchase the game from Amazon (current price: $44.99), you'll get a 2010 calendar. If you opt for Best Buy, you'll get a soundtrack sampler, which probably has tracks from the game, rather than Bon Jovi singles. GameStop's offer is $5 off of reservations, but that's not terribly appealing, given that the reduced price is the same as what Amazon is offering, with no extra stuff.

Gallery: FFCC: Crystal Bearers Pre-order Bonuses

New Final Fantasy XIII screenshots reintroduce Oerba

by Andrew Yoon { Oct 23rd 2009 at 4:30PM }

Click to summon bigger pictures.

We're still dumbfounded by the fact that -- after years of endless CG teases and countdowns -- Final Fantasy XIII is actually coming out. While still pegged with a vague "Spring 2010" release, Square Enix has made good on its promise of a hastened localization. Already, the HUD sports English text, and the characters have been dubbed in English.

The latest batch of screenshots released by Square Enix focus on Oerba Yun Fang, a character introduced at Tokyo Game Show as a traitor working for the government. She may start out as a villain, but it seems one way or another, she's bound to join your party: these screens show her (and her summon) in actual gameplay screens, proving there will be some interactivity between the hours of cutscenes FF13 is bound to have.

Gallery: Final Fantasy XIII (10/23)

No install for Final Fantasy XIII on PS3

by Richard Mitchell { Oct 22nd 2009 at 3:45PM }

If you were planning on making yourself a nice sandwich for your first session of Final Fantasy XIII, it looks like you'll have to make it before you pop the disc in your PS3. According to IGN, director Motomu Toriyama told Famitsu that FFXIII will not require an install on PS3. Furthermore, other than the transition between town and field segments, the game won't feature any loading screens at all. Toriyama stated that loading time was one of the biggest concerns from the beginning of development.

We're sure there were at least a few folks out there looking forward to watching a Chocobo take a smoke break. Alas, it just wasn't meant to be.

New Kingdom Hearts character is Sakaguchi's doppelganger

by Griffin McElroy { Oct 15th 2009 at 2:15PM }

Exhibit A: Image, left. The creator of the Final Fantasy franchise, Hironobu Sakaguchi. Observe the slightly arched brow. The dark, even surfer's tan. The exquisite mustache and soul patch combo. The look of general disinterest.

Exhibit B: Image, right. The recently revealed character from Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep, Master Eraquis. Observe the similarly bowed eyebrows. The sun-kissed skin tone. The Guy Fawkes-esque facial hair. The expression of consternation.

What do you think, dearest readers? Is it a cameo, or pure coincidence? We're leaning towards the former. We mean, just look at those eyebrows. Look at them! At the very least, they're identical eyebrow twins.

[Via Andriasang]

Final Fantasy XI Ultimate Collection coming in November

by Griffin McElroy { Oct 14th 2009 at 1:44PM }

With ostentatiously lengthy titles such as A Shantotto Ascension - The Legend Torn, Her Empire Born, we can't blame you for not being able to keep track of the expansions for Final Fantasy XI. By the end of this year, the game will have received seven content additions in the form of retail expansion packs and downloadable add-ons. Fortunately, Square Enix has decided to bundle all of these together in the Final Fantasy XI Ultimate Collection for PC and 360, which is set to hit North American store shelves on November 10 with a slim $20 price tag.

Seems like an odd move, considering one of these add-ons isn't even out yet. Still, with a new bundle of joy on its way, Squeenix is probably getting antsy about last year's model.

Bon Jovi wants you to live on prayer, buy Final Fantasy

by Justin McElroy { Oct 13th 2009 at 10:30PM }

Seeing as no fewer than three of Bon Jovi's four members are sporting bad cases of Final Fantasy hair, it makes perfect sense that Square would tap the band to promote Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers in Japan.

According to Siliconera, ads for the game will begin airing later this month featuring the song "We Weren't Born to Follow." If you recognize the song, it's likely because it made headlines as Bon Jovi's record-setting 100th title that sounds like a douchey high school's senior class motto.

Swag Saturday: Final Fantasy spinoff pack (PSP)

by Ben Gilbert { Oct 10th 2009 at 7:00PM }

If you're like us, you're ready for The Future of Digital Entertainment™ and want to get rid of all that silly, antiquated physical media still laying around the house. We're using some for coasters (something's gotta hold our Zima!), some for Halloween treats later this month, and some for Swag Saturday giveaways.

We're hoping that you're not like us and are instead hungrily searching for your chance to win a copy of both Dissidia Final Fantasy and Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (on UMD, of course). Leave a comment below letting us what you're going to do with your physical media when the future is upon us and there's no turning back. We'll choose one winner at random after the comments are closed 24 hours from now. See you in the future!

Leave a comment letting us what you're going to do with your physical media when the future is upon us and there's no turning back.
You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec, presumably based on the longstanding feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys)
Limit 1 entry per person per day
This entry period ends at 7:01PM ET on Sunday, October 11
At that time, we'll randomly select one winner to receive Dissidia Final Fantasy ($40 ARV) and Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII ($20 ARV)
For a list of complete rules, click here

Gallery: Final Fantasy Dissidia

Gallery: Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core - March 08

ESRB describes Crystal Bearers pool minigame

by JC Fletcher { Oct 9th 2009 at 5:45PM }

You may have spotted the particularly surreal moment in the latest Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers trailer: suddenly, we're not seeing a psychic teen telekinetically lifting stones and monsters; rather, we're seeing two girls in swimsuits engaging in a Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball-style competition, trying to knock each other off of a pool float.

Good news (or not): it's playable! The ESRB revealed it as a minigame in its content description: "In one mini-game, two women in bikinis try to knock each other off a floating platform using only their hips." The ratings organization also warns buyers that "If players wish to, they may pick up steaming manure and toss it at enemies or the bucolic surroundings." But you knew that!

[Via Siliconera]

Final Fantasy XIV's North American website gets massive update

by Ben Gilbert { Oct 8th 2009 at 8:40PM }

Final Fantasy XIV has gotten a steady stream of information since its announcement at Sony's E3 press conference earlier this year. And now, the game's official website has loosed a flood of information on its classes, enemies, how the classes break down into "disciplines," and much more. Aside from all the new text, the site also got a handful of new screens (including the fancifully bearded, screaming face you see above).

Rather than waiting for us to poorly contextualize the nitty gritty details on a genre we don't always focus on, head over to our MMO-centric sister site Massively for more.

Gallery: Final Fantasy XIV

[Via Massively]

Bear witness to these Crystal Bearers images

by JC Fletcher { Oct 6th 2009 at 2:30PM }

GAME Watch has rounded up the known details of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers's story and setting, including the disappearance of the Yukes and the existence of the Crystal Bearers, a few people with mysterious psychic powers. There's also apparently one crystal "idol" for each species. There's a lot more in the writeup, but after TGS, we're hoping to take a short break from squinting at Japanese text really hard.

Luckily, the really relevant part of the article is the huge assortment of screenshots, along with concept art like the piece seen here. Crystal Bearers is out November 12 in Japan and December 26 in North America.

VC in Brief: Final Fantasy (NES)

by David Hinkle { Oct 5th 2009 at 10:45PM }

Final Fantasy (NES, 1 player, 500 Wii Points)
We say: A classic that everyone should at least try once

The first Final Fantasy needs no introduction. It's a timeless classic and influential in countless ways, so it definitely deserves a playthrough. We'd say more, but there isn't really much else to say about one of the most important games ever.

Every week, we like to check out what's new on the Virtual Console. We offer these videos as a sort of taste to help you decide whether or not you would want the game in question. We also toss in our own two cents because we're pushy jerks.

NintendoWare Weekly: Thorium Wars and a Word about Final Fantasy

by David Hinkle { Oct 5th 2009 at 10:58AM }

It's a light load this week for Nintendo aficionados. With only a trio of new downloads available, this week's offerings pale in comparison to the robust lineup of last week, but, alas, we must soldier on. Despite a lack of quantity this week, quality is here, as Nintendo and Square Enix have finally made good on their promise to bring Final Fantasy to the Virtual Console.

See the full release details after the break.

Continued →

Final Fantasy XIV beta will be PC-only

by Ben Gilbert { Oct 2nd 2009 at 1:01PM }

For those of you holding fast to the hope that you'll get your hands on Square Enix's next MMO, Final Fantasy XIV, before the game's eventual release, it appears as though you'll need to get your hands on a Windows PC first. In a recent interview with Game Watch, FFXIV director Hiromichi Tanaka said the game's beta release will be on PC only.

Starting with a closed population of 10,000 people and eventually opening up to the public, the beta could be running at full capacity by as early as Summer 2010, according to Tanaka. Hopefully, by that point we'll be playing Final Fantasy XIII -- in English -- and no longer cracking jokes about FFXIV releasing before XIII ... Hopefully.