FinalFantasyVersusXiii
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'Final Fantasy XV' tricked me into buying Cup Noodles
I should have been turned off by the commercial advertising casually strewn throughout Final Fantasy XV. Coleman logos are plainly visible when the game's heroes set up camp for the night. Billboards for Nissin Cup Noodles line the highways of Eos. It's product placement so obvious it's almost laughable -- and yet, I now have an eight-pack of instant ramen on my kitchen counter. What happened? A beautiful, devious combination of empathy and nostalgia.
Everything hinges on 'Final Fantasy XV'
Final Fantasy XV has to be perfect. After a decade of development hell, a name change from Versus XIII to XV, a complete mechanical overhaul and a director swap, die-hard series fans aren't just hungry for the game; they're reeling. Many players who were excited about Final Fantasy Versus XIII as teenagers remain interested in Final Fantasy XV as adults. After all, the Final Fantasy series debuted in 1987 and played a pivotal role in plenty of fans' young lives. But as the years have dragged on, a ripple of discontent has nudged against this fierce loyalty. In the decade of delays, some longtime players have simply declared the franchise dead.
Kingdom Hearts composer Yoko Shimomura talks PS3 musical freedom
While video game music is no longer simply the series of 'beeps' and 'boops' it was in the past, it has nonetheless remained one of game design's -- groan -- unsung heroes. This isn't lost on tune-focused Music4Games, and in a recent interview with Kingdom Hearts composer Yoko Shimomura, she spoke out on a number of topics, including her thoughts on creating music for the PlayStation 3.According to Shimomura, who is responsible for the tunes we'll be humming along to in Square Enix's upcoming Final Fantasy Versus XIII for the PS3, composing on Sony's current platform is much less limiting than it was in previous generations. "With the PlayStation 2, sound production...was a constant battle with memory and limitations," she recalled, adding that "with the PlayStation 3, I'm expecting to have it sound the way I please, without limitations." It's encouraging to hear someone at any level talk about creating content on the PS3 that doesn't involve the words "difficult" or "costly." However, with Square Enix continuing to play coy with regards to when its decade of Final Fantasy will actually kick off, it may be some time before our ears ring with the fruits of Yoko Shimomura's musical labor.
Final Fantasy XIII interview makes us want it ASAP - as if we didn't before
Fed up of interviews? Then I have some bad news for you because a user over on the NeoGAF forums has put together a collection of quotes from interviews with Square Enix developers from the latest issue of LEVEL magazine. The excerpts include discussion by the interviewees, Motomu Toriyama, Tetsuya Nomura and Hajime Tabata, of Crisis Core, Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Versus XIII. Whilst generally an exciting collection of quotes from some of the top names at Square Enix it is hard not to be disappointed by Toriyama's statement that the games in the Fabula Nova Crystallis series will be kept largely separate. We had harboured hopes of cross-game cameos. Imagine two Final Fantasies where the main characters from each game meet up and help each other get through a problem before going on their separate ways again. Sadly this doesn't look likely, though the games will link with each other through a "vague crystal theme," as Nomura puts it. Same as all the previous FF games then?Nomura's thoughts on the tone and style of Final Fantasy Versus is a particularly interesting read. For those of you who suffer from fears that the series will be moving over to other consoles, then let me put them to rest. Both Nomura and Toriyama make it clear that they couldn't do the things they're doing without the power of the PlayStation 3. Make sure you check out all of the quotes over at the NeoGAF forums for more info.
Today's hottest game video: SMB3 in Lego
Today's most-watched YouTube game video is a trailer for Final Fantasy Versus XIII. This upcoming PS3 title ... okay, we just can't do it. Final Fantasy fans, follow the link to get your fix. We're sure you'll love the game; Final Fantasy just seems to come up a lot on YouTube, and we want something different tonight.For the rest of you, we offer the second-most-watched video of the day -- with nearly as many views as the Final Fantasy trailer -- a Lego animation of Super Mario Bros. 3. This brilliant video shows what SMB3 would look like if your TV rendered 2D images in Lego. The animation looks like a pixel-to-brick translation, recasting Mario in bright Lego colors.It's unclear if the animation is literally the labor-intensive process of animating each brick, but it looks great regardless. (Originating site, BitFlicks says that some videos use software effects.) See the video after the break.
3 Final Fantasy XIII games; 2 just for PS3
Final Fantasy XII won't be out for the PS2 in the States until October, but we now have a glimpse of Final Fantasy XIII thanks to Square Enix's pre-E3 press event -- and this installment in the series won't be coming alone.Like the different titles in the Compilation of FFVII collection of games and movies, the initially announced installments in the FFXIII universe will span multiple platforms which, in this case, include both the PS3 and sufficiently advanced mobile handsets. Not much is known about the mobile-bound Final Fantasy Agito XIII, but the subtitle-less version of FFXIII will concern a gun-and-sword-toting heroine in a futuristic world, while Final Fantasy Versus XIII will focus on "a spiky-haired character," "extreme action elements," and a primary theme of "bonding" (whatever that means). Anybody ready to "resist the world"?The multiple titles might explain the earlier rumor reported in March that FFXIII was "practically close to being finished" (maybe only one of these games was nearing completion). Whatever the case may be, we're just happy that more than one not-so-Final-Fantasy will be hitting the next PlayStation in relatively rapid succession. RPG feasting: on the way.[Via Joystiq]
