PS3 Fanboy

The Cloud Message mag isn't even out on Japanese store shelves yet, and the internet is already blazing with sneaking peeks on the Fabula Nova Crystallis coverage within its pages. All three announced titles in the series: Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy Versus XIII and Final Fantasy Agito XIII (PSP) are all featured in the mag and there's juicy new info on each one.

For the two PS3 games, the new reveal on Versus XIII is a pretty big one. It's the first time anyone has seen gameplay images of the game. The images themselves are tiny (pictured above), but it is clearly seen (in the larger version) that numerous pictures show off in-game scenes as hinted by the visible HUD and map. As for the Main FFXIII title, the images don't reveal as much. It's interesting to note that a character design from the title's drawing board has been semi-blurred. It is possible that this design may be a new playable character, though that is not certain. If any of this has you interested, check out the larger sized images here and see the fine details.

[Via Final Fantasy-XIII.net]

Famitsu has a four-page spread in their latest issue all about the PS3-exclusive Final Fantasy Versus XIII. You've probably seen some of it in the scans earlier this morning. In the magazine, the full name of Versus' sleepy protagonist prince is revealed to be Noctis Lucis Caelum -- which is Latin for "night, light and sky." The blonde-haired female friend of his is named Stella Nox Fleuret. Her name is Latin for "star, darkness and sword" and she appears to be a princess from another country. It is interesting to note that their respective appearances reflect each other's names.

The game's director, Tetsuya Nomura, points out that part of the plot was revealed in the TGS Closed Theater trailer. He notes that the discussion seen between these two characters in that trailer focused on their abilities to "see light." Noctis seems afraid to talk about these abilities, while Stella is very frank and opens up the dialogue by asking Noctis about how he obtained his ability.

It's rather funny to think that we now know slightly more about Versus XIII than we do of the main XIII title. That's especially harrowing after knowing Versus XIII isn't expected until after XIII is out.

[Via IGN]

If you've read about our Square Enix Closed Mega Theater trailer impressions during our coverage of TGS, then you may have been left wanting to have seen those trailers for yourself. While you can't anymore see them the way we did, we've got the next best thing: pictures. New scans for both Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Versus XIII show off images which debuted in the Closed Theater.

In the image above, we see the two most prominent Versus characters engaged in their voiceless conversation. While in the FF XIII image posted after the break, you'll (hardly) see the new Sephiroth-like female character; you'll just see the back of her head. She's the image second from the bottom in the lower left corner. Wait a minute. Sephiroth-like female character? Voiceless conversation? What are you talking about, dude? If you don't know, then you better read those trailer impressions. Also, check out larger versions of the scans here.

Click for full Final Fantasy Versus XIII trailer impression
Click for full Final Fantasy XIII trailer impression

Motomu Toriyama, the director of Final Fantasy XIII, divulged bits of information about the upcoming RPG in an interview with Famitsu PS3. We already know the demo is lengthy, but now we also know that it will allow players "to play from the opening through the prologue," similar to the Final Fantasy VII demo. Besides Lighting, players will also be able to play as the blonde male (shown above) in the demo. He remains nameless, but whatever his name is, it will be weather-related as well.

Toriyama then talks about a "new style" where FFXIII will not have an actual main character. Instead, players will experience the story from the viewpoints of different characters. One of the main focuses of the demo will be to allow players to try out this "new style." The battle system also allows you to switch characters; it will be party-based and the player will switch between each character during combat.

As a bonus, Forever Fantasy has scans of the screenshots from the FFXIII story. There are even a few Versus XIII pictures as well. Take a look here.

[Via PS3Hyper]

See the stylish clothes all the boys are wearing in Final Fantasy Versus XIII? Apparently, they come from the designs of the Japanese label ROEN. Their collaboration with Square Enix means they are designing clothing worn by the characters in the game. Additionally, you will be able to purchase some of the designs. Looking at ROEN's official website though, we see a leather blazer costing a jaw-dropping 346,500 yen (about $3,223 USD)!! This collaboration is certainly taking the cost of cosplay to a whole new level.

The concept to their autumn/winter 2008-09 collection is Play Boy -- "The theme of this imaginative story is set with men, who have shed-off their hippy image and are invited to a high society party ... ROEN is reborn to a mature, gorgeous and classy style." We couldn't make this stuff up if we tried.

Also of interest is that the trailer of Versus XIII shown earlier today at DKΣ3713 contains the words "PlayStation 3 only Worldwide" at the end. This appears to again confirm Versus XIII's PS3 exclusivity worldwide. But then again, Final Fantasy XIII had very similar words at the end of its trailers ...

Not really news per se, but the Final Fantasy Versus XIII trailer shown at the DKS3713 party in Tokyo ended with the words "PlayStation 3 only worldwide." So it's nice to know for certain that we have at least one part of the FFXIII series to our greedy little selves. Not to mention Agito coming to PSP. Versus XIII's release date is still very much up in the air, while XIII will be out in Japan next year sometime and a demo will be made available with Advent Children: Complete in March 2009.

The FFXIII series is finally starting to look like a collection of real games, as opposed to concept work, with actual gameplay being shown off at the event. If any sneaky attendees managed to video any of the footage shown, hopefully we'll be able to see it with our own eyes soon.

[Via Forever Fantasy]

The Square Enix party is underway, and what possible megaton news could come out of it? Oh, how about a Final Fantasy XIII demo? Yeah, that might be megaton enough. Just maybe. We guess that would be something meaningful to you PS3 owners, seeing as it is a demo on the Blu-ray version of Advent Children, which seems to scream PS3-exclusive.

Advent Children Complete will not only include an FFXIII demo, but also new trailers and possibly info on other Fabula Nova Crystallis titles such as Versus XIII and the mobile game Agito. Advent Children Complete is expected to hit Japan in March 2009, but it's not entirely clear if other regions will get the exact same treatment. So, are you still bitter over lost exclusivity?

[Thanks Hanson Y.!]

Square Enix has a habit of showing trailers of their latest masterpieces in closed theaters at events most of us will never get to attend. So what's a fan like you to do? Why, you can send a spy to the event! User ryaris over at Photobucket has a recorded version of the Final Fantasy Versus XIII trailer from Jump Festa 2007. The video quality of this PlayStation 3 exclusive clip isn't bad at all, and it is definitely worth a look. We won't spoil anything else for you, so take a look for yourself -- trailer after the jump!

[Via FinalFantasyXIII.net -- thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

Square Enix has announced their E3 lineup and, sadly, it's slim pickings for PS3 owners. With seemingly no sign of Final Fantasy XIII or Versus XIII, the only PS3 title Square Enix will be showing at the show is The Last Remnant -- and that's multiplatform. Even then, the game won't be playable at the show. Star Ocean IV is also listed on the press release and is lacking an "exclusive on Xbox 360" label, which bodes potentially well for the game reaching the PS3 at some point in the future.

It's all a bit disappointing really. We know PS3 fans are excited for anything Square Enix related, particularly Final Fantasy XIII and Versus XIII. Who knows, maybe they'll announce something special for PS3 owners at the show. Or maybe they're keeping their PS3 titles quiet because they're reserved for Sony's Press Conference and won't be available to see on the show floor. Fingers crossed.

From the pages of Famitsu, translated kindly by the folk over at the PS3 Forums, we've gained a little bit of insight regarding the character design process for the female lead of XIII, Lightning, and some information regarding the mysterious prince of Versus XIII courtesy of Tetsuya Nomura.

As far as Lightning goes, Nomura describes her as having muscular (read: sexy) legs, "isn't sweet", very strict to herself and others, and despises those who whine. She's a lot like a military soldier. He says the scenario writer for FFXIII, Motomu Toriyama, wanted Lightning to be even more muscular and macho, but Nomura thought people wouldn't be fond of her as a main character if she was built that way. She's a little less feminine than Aya Brea from Parasite Eve, apparently.

The hero's clothes from Versus XIII will probably be revised from what we've seen so far. He's not like Cloud or Squall -- Nomura admits that when people hear him speak, a lot of people may not like him. Who knows, maybe he's really whiny. Like Tidus on whiny-steroids. His name will be related to weather as well, but Nomura is bored of this tradition so perhaps it will change, or be a surname of some kind. The next time he talks about Versus XIII information, Nomura says, he will reveal the character's name. It's probably something lame like Snow. What do you guys think?

The latest issue of popular Japanese gaming magazine Dengeki includes an intriguing interview with Final Fantasy Versus XIII director Tetsuya Nomura. During the interview Nomura lets slip a number of interesting things regarding the development of FF Versus XIII. He mentions seeing an early build of an airship traversing the world map, a feature of the Final Fantasy franchise which we haven't seen since Final Fantasy IX. Nomura feels the game is coming along nicely and it is finally looking like a Final Fantasy.

There's still a long way to go and FFXIII will be ready first, but we're looking forward to seeing more of the game in action. Square Enix will be revealing some footage in December - probably from the closed mega theater at the Tokyo Game Show. Nomura also mentions that during a meeting a programmer for FF Versus XIII asked whether they could program with PS3 exclusivity in mind, to which Nomura replied "Of course, Versus is PS3 exclusive." Just in case you had any doubts.

Nope, not a direct quote, but worth slapping up nonetheless. Tetsuya Nomura gets yet another Famitsu interview and he once again remains as silent as ever on Final Fantasy Versus XIII, but that's okay. We generally like surprises so long as they don't end up severing one of our limbs. Still, he talked a little about his involvement in the game and some about the PS3.

Nomura claims he's never been so deeply involved in the development of a game and enjoys the freedom to take FF Versus XIII wherever he wants. He reminded everyone also that this game is exclusively and only for the PlayStation 3, as the end of the TGS trailer (which we're not allowed to see yet) the phrase "on PS3 ONLY" appears. He says despite some fan disappointment, there are huge advantages to focusing on only one console.

About the PS3, Nomura seemed to gush a little bit. The hardware plays a huge part in both XIII titles, and by using it properly "all visions can come true". The visuals, he says, are above anything else seen in the franchise and are very close to perfection in his eyes. But really, if the graphics were worse than XII, we'd have a problem anyway. We're glad the Square Enix developers are finally screaming PlayStation 3 exclusivity for the big FInal Fantasy titles, as not having those exclusive was a source of fuel for those who wished failure upon Sony.

[via PS3Forums]