Over the course of the month of October, I’ve experienced how Final Fantasy XIV regressed thanks to the guy that pulled out his share of stocks in Square Enix’s value vault – the disgruntled player (identity remains withheld) obviously didn’t enjoy his time in Eorzea and severed his ties with Final Fantasy XIV definitely. Not a good start for the MMO, hope the developers behind the Eorzea Project gets serious in fixing the so-called glitches and technical hiccups found throughout the game.

Things could get worse from here as another Square Enix title gets another multi-platform issue: Final Fantasy Versus XIII has a long way to go before being declared as a playable title for the PS3. Still, no official release date had been issued by SE to the public and now, we’re getting juicy rumors about the game embracing the possibility of a(n) Xbox 360 development.

Tetsuya Nomura really wanted the game to remain as a PS3 exclusive and while he’s really into the idea, Yoichi Wada is perusing a possibility of a multi-platform release.

Back to square one? Perhaps.

What I think is this: Since the development of Final Fantasy Versus XIII has already taken shape and clarity for the PS3, this so-called “multi-platform” brew-ha-ha by Wada would cause a massive delay to other platforms hoping to receive the kind of treatment that even the term exclusive could not even par up with.

In an article released by Kotaku, development for the Xbox 360 may have already started. So much for the rumors, eh?

SE is currently on the lookout for a Battle Planner for the game who has extensive knowledge in level and battle design. The job description states that this person or group of game developers must have experience in “developing PS3 or Xbox 360 package titles.”

Technorati Tags: Final Fantasy Versus XIII

Dualshockers recently posted some updated scans from Square Enix’s latest PSP project, Dissidia Duodecim. As we all know, the game will be available in Japan on 2011 and a North American version has yet to be confirmed. But what are those white specks of dialogues? Are those English subtitles?

Hell yeah!

Finally, Dissidia Duodecim is picking up the pace with day-to-day updates and scans, if this PSP exclusive continues to keep up with localization in between weeks or months, the game  might overtake both Final Fantasy Versus XIII and Final Fantasy Agito XIII that have yet to confirm official release dates – both Square Enix titles have only appeared in complete trailers from the recently concluded TGS 2010 back in September.

Here’s some fresh Dissidia Duodecim thumbnails for you. Enjoy!

Technorati Tags: Dissidia Duodecim, Final Fantasy Agito XIII, Final Fantasy Versus XIII

Don’t get your hopes high for Final Fantasy Versus XIII as Square Enix admitted that they can’t commit in releasing the game this 2011. The trifecta, Fabula Nova Crystallis, includes Final Fantasy XIII, Agito XIII and Versus XIII in the line-up and it looks like both Agito and Versus XIII will have its own share of development issues and detrimental delays.

This was Yoshinori Kitase’s statement regarding the non-committal fiasco that Square Enix has for Final Fantasy Versus XIII‘s pace of development. I believe that we’re far from the situation where the production team is putting on the finishing touches to this eye-candy exclusive for the PS3.

“We have no release date information to update. Unfortunately we can’t say anything about that. We can’t commit ourselves to 2011 either.”

The game has been included in E3 2006 and will make another appearance at the Tokyo Game Show this September. I believe that only a handful of scenes will be shown at Japan’s largest gathering for gaming exhibitors and developers themselves. Expect to see numerous spliced CGI-rendered scenes showing Noctis’s red eyes and unknown characters which have been featured in fan-made previews as such.

Expect this game to make waves this 2012. Waves? (*gulps)

Technorati Tags: Final Fantasy Versus XIII, Tokyo Game Show

Amidst the silence and the taciturnity, Final Fantasy Versus XIII is slowly cracking its eggshell and is showing signs of progression as the game has been reported to have undergone voice casting. Names were not dropped as who would lend their voices for Noctis and Stella as the PS3 exclusive tries to cloak its development with veils of mystery as, Final Fantasy Versus XIII will not appear at Gamescom, a European version of E3.

Square Enix has purportedly denied Versus XIII entry at Gamescom. Kingdom Hearts and The 3rd Birthday are the two games which will be publicly unveiled at the event and perhaps, a live demonstration on how both next-gen role-playing games will play out.

According to Tetsuya Nomura, “Versus has had many difficulties, and past method of production have been completely inapplicable, but these are the difficulties of birth, so we are working hard. We have a lot to announce, but because we’re going in order, I can’t say too much yet.”

Square Enix is currently busy on Agito and The 3rd Birthday as well and, the game has become an intriguing part of the development that fans have questioned its availability for the time being; rumors have spread that Final Fantasy Versus XIII will become ‘partially-introduced’ at the Tokyo Game Show this September, but details remain cloudy.

“There have been many questions regarding fields. It’s not a completely open world. It’s like the 2D FF games in HD. Although, in terms of looks, it’s not a top-down view, it’s like the screenshots that have been released. You’ll move through the world from that view,” Nomura explained as to what fans should expect about the game’s environmental limitations.

In addition, Nomura has tweeted that, “There are a number of unannounced titles. These will come before Agito and Versus. Some have finished voice recording. Announcements will take place in Japan.” He has his hands-full overseeing other projects outside the Final Fantasy Versus XIII anticipation and, we all understand the crisis, don’t we?

Source: Andriasang

Technorati Tags: Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy Versus XIII, Gamescom

This week, another Deviant with a nickname of RinoaMao will grace the page of Final Fantasy Girls and, this weekly has been kind of inspiring because of the sheer number of female cosplayers willing to pose as their favorite Final Fantasy female character.

Week 2 features RinoaMao as Stella Nox Fleuret. She perfectly captures a shot that has appeared only in the official trailer of Final Fantasy Versus XIII and, according to her, the costume actually took three months to be completed. Here is 4-way image reflecting on how hard it is to capture a female Final Fantasy character, considering the fact that Stella Nox Fleuret has only appeared in trailers and screenshots.

Photos by Sai-Kit Chu and Henry Cheung

I have now in my database both Noctis and Stella Nox Fleuret cosplayers.

I have yet to receive an friend invitation from a Filipina who, is a Lightning cosplay fanatic. Will be back for more next week.

Source: Final Fantasy Union

Technorati Tags: Final Fantasy Girls, Final Fantasy Versus XIII, Stella Nox Fleuret

Much like Final Fantasy XII, Final Fantasy Versus XIII will also have free-roaming monsters in a modern Shinjuku atmosphere of this mystery-clad role-playing game for the PlayStation 3. Although the story had been already finalized, FF Versus XIII’s development has become a step-by-step announcement from developers who would like to shock players with untold, and most certainly, unleaked updates of this year’s most anticipated RPG.

According to rumors, players will have a leverage when fighting certain monsters and, I don’t want to give it out yet – it’ll spoil the surprise and we’re not 100 percent sure if director Tetsuya Nomura is misleading us with information and features NOT present in Final Fantasy Versus XIII.

What I know is this, monsters from the game are going to be more superior and aggressive and since the game will be categorized under role-playing’s seventh generation of gameplay, expect that half of the bestiary would pose a threat to Noctis and the others. It’s like experiencing old-school back attacks but this time, every ambush must be worked out according to strategy.

Imagine fighting a Behemoth (if there is one) under surprised circumstances – this is the kind of disadvantage which I don’t want to encounter.

More updates coming soon.

Technorati Tags: Final Fantasy Versus XIII

Unveiled at E3 2006, Final Fantasy Versus XIII still remains a mystery and, continues to stir the kind of anticipation which many Final Fantasy fans have been drooling over for years. Director Tetsuya Nomura has personally stated the game is undergoing various QA testings especially on the lighting effects of this PlayStation 3 exclusive.

Final Fantasy Versus XIII, as what the trailers have shown us, steers away from traditional Final Fantasy gaming; the steampunk setting of the game lives up to the hype of Versus and, with no clear and definitive trailers to support this transition, Final Fantasy Versus XIII still stays as a question mark to the industry…

Not until September 2010, that is.

Square Enix will unveil the game in this year’s Tokyo Game Show, a gaming conference equivalent to the E3 but, expect to see more nation-brew games in the said event.

Another thing that Nomura said is that Final Fantasy Versus XIII’s story has already been finalized – other developments include the characters’ clothing design. With all of the short and not-so-detailed messages that we’ve been receiving from headquarters, FF Versus XIII is shaping up to be one of the year’s most anticipated role-playing games.

Final Fantasy XIII, a member of the Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy XIII compilation, has already been shipped worldwide last May 9, 2010 and along with Final Fantasy XIII Agito, both games (Agito and Versus XIII) are slated to make the FF franchise more alive than it was during failed attempts with X-2 and XII.

Note: The Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy XIII compilation consists of Final Fantasy XIII, Agito and Final Fantasy Versus XIII and all three have nothing to do with each other in terms of character relationship and story.

Technorati Tags: Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy Versus XIII