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Final Fantasy XIII's 'blond-haired bandana guy' named
Stop the presses! The latest issue of Famitsu (you know, the one that totally hated on LittleBigPlanet) has revealed the name of "blond-haired bandana dude" from Final Fantasy XIII. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Snow Villiers. We know you'll be able to sleep more soundly now. Snow will be joining described "female Cloud Strife" protagonist Lightning in taking the world by storm. Bad weather puns aside, we can't decide who'd be more proud of the nomenclature, Mega Man or Captain Planet.The magazine (via IGN) also delved a bit into Versus XIII but lacked any gameplay details. Instead, we're given hints about each of the two main characters' personalities, Noctis Lucis Caelum and Stella Nox Fleuret (latin words literally translated as "Night Light Sky" and "Star Darkness Sword," respectively). These two have the ability to "see light," which we guess is either some incomplete translation, a metaphor for something spiritual or a hint that Square Enix is taking a cue from the story Blindness.
New Final Fantasy Versus XIII details surface
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]
TGS 08: Joystiq's Final Fantasy XIII and Versus trailer impressions
Ah, the infamous Square Enix's Closed Theater strikes again. As usual, the theater is closed off to everyone except for members of the press. Luckily for us, our very own Majeb Athab is currently at TGS and was able to check out the newest Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Versus XIII trailers on our behalf. The FFXIII trailer introduces new characters (including a Sephiroth-esque female) who might be villains. The biggest highlight for the Versus XIII trailer is the inclusion of in-game footage for the first time, though it still lacking any sort of in-game battle footage. We won't spoil the rest of it for you, so check out the trailer impressions for FFXIII right here and Versus XIII right here.Source -- JoystiqSource -- Joystiq
Final Fantasy XIII and Versus screenshots in Shonen Jump
Japanese manga weekly Shonen Jump has some new screenshots of both Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Versus XIII for us to check out. Unfortunately, the screenshots are tiny but it does show the new locale of a crystallized lake. We also see Lighting, her blonde male companion and the girl with pigtails appear together in a screenshot for the very first time. Not much in terms of information here either, other than what we already know from DKΣ3713. Check out the scans here. PS3Hyper speculates the next issue of gaming bible Famitsu will reveal more about these Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy XIII titles, so stay tuned. [Via PS3Hyper]
Final Fantasy Versus XIII collaboration with clothing brand ROEN
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 ...
Final Fantasy Versus XIII trailer from Jump Festa leaked
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: Final Fantasy Versus XIII not on hold
In a statement issued to Eurogamer, Square Enix has denied a recent report which stated that Final Fantasy Versus XIII had been put on hold in order to prioritize completion of regular ol' Final Fantasy XIII. According to a translated Famitsu interview with Versus director, Tetsuya Nomura, work on the spin-off title had been temporarily suspended while staffers helped out on the next highly anticipated, and not even remotely final, Final Fantasy installment. "Reports that development for Final Fantasy Versus XIII is on hold are false," countered Square Enix. "The truth of the situation is that when free, some staff from the Versus team have been helping with the XIII team on development of Final Fantasy XIII. Development for both titles is continuing as originally scheduled."That almost sounds like good news, until you realize that the "originally scheduled" release date for either title is likely quite far off. And that makes us so very, very sad.
Square Enix Party announced for August
It appears that the Japanese side of Square Enix is going to hold an event promoting some of the company's upcoming software. The event, dubbed DKΣ3713, will take place on August 2 and 3 in Harajuku in Tokyo. It's invite-only which means there's a huge chance you won't be able to go (read: absolutely no chance if you don't live in Japan); however, SE is giving people the chance to sign up and be selected to receive an invite.Square Enix is giving away 2,400 invites to eager gamers waiting to see the latest on PS3 games: Final Fantasy XIII, Versus XIII, and PSP games: Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep and Dissidia. The application period starts this June 23 and will end July 13. Invites will be selected after those dates. Check out the full list of games here.We won't be in Japan for this, but we hope our (few) Japanese readers will be able to enjoy the festivities. As for the rest of you, let's just look forward to Secret Agent Clank and Space Invaders Extreme next week.
Nomura dishes some XIII and Versus XIII info in Famitsu
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?
Nomura spills info on FF Versus XIII in latest Dengeki
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.
