Square Enix has announced that Final Fantasy XIII-2 will be on North American shores sometime in January next year so "be excited!" What of Europe? No mention of an EU retail date yet. Final Fantasy XIII-2 is the very first direct sequel in the very long running JRPG franchise. It was revealed early this year.
The latest financial reports from Square Enix have narrowed down the release for Final Fantasy XIII-2, which retails this December in their native Japan. North America gets the sequel in January but Europe is left with an "early 2012" window, which hopefully means no later than February. Time can be so cruel.
Less than two weeks after the recent 1.18 patch, Square-Enix has announced that a new 1.18a update for Final Fantasy XIV is now available. The chief update will focus on 20-30th level players, as well as melee-style players.
Faux Shakespearean internal monologues, dramatic posturing, pseudo-intellectual early 20somethings with weapons, dripping with angst? It must be a Final Fantasy game. Indeed, here is Square-Enix's "Reach for the Future" trailer for Final Fantasy XIII-2, which was shown off at PAX Prime 2011.
Actress Ali Hillis has revealed they've "wrapped recording" for English voice-overs to Square Enix's Final Fantasy XIII-2, where she voices Lightning Farron. She also spills that recording for BioWare's Mass Effect 3 is still ongoing as well as other titles Hillis "can't talk about". Final Fantasy XIII-2 is due early 2012.
Some new information regarding Final Fantasy XIII-2 has been revealed: the game is 90 percent complete and the official release date will be announced at Tokyo Game Show 2011, which will be held at the end of this week.
During their Tokyo Game Show press conference, Square Enix producer Shinji Hashimoto revealed they're updating Final Fantasy X in HD for PS3 and Vita. It's an anniversary celebration for the PS2 title which is almost a decade old, releasing in July 2001 in Japan and staggered in 2002 for North America and Europe.
Square-Enix has officially announced the release date for Final Fantasy XIII-2 in Western countries. The JRPG will be released in North America on January 31, 2012, while European territories will be getting it a few days later on Feburary 3.
Square Enix producer Yoshinori Kitase revealed at the Tokyo Game Show that Final Fantasy XIII-2, the first ever direct sequel in the series, will get DLC. It'll be in the form of new character costumes, new weapons and introduce new monsters. Some of it will be reserved as pre-order bonuses for retailers.
Japanese videogame magazine Famitsu has revealed that the Xbox 360 version of Final Fantasy XIII-2 will only require one disc, unlike XIII's three discs.
There'll be fancy next generation lighting in Final Fantasy Versus XIII, reveals Tetsuya Nomura. They're aiming for 'photo realism' so used Luminous. It's Square Enix's own next generation engine. Nomura-san also revealed that the action sequences in FF Versus XIII uses their own action-focused engine.
Square-Enix has announced that the 1.19 update to their troubled MMO Final Fantasy XIV will finally add quick travel options in the form of mounts and airships. And, of course, the mounts will be the iconic Chocobos - it's astonishing that this birds weren't already mounts in the MMO.
Square Enix CEO Yoichi Wada has said that Final Fantasy XIV has "greatly damaged" the franchise with all its problems, but they won't rest until it's fixed. They'll continue their "reform work" of the MMO which is essentially "redoing the game," and hope it will reflect the FFXIV that "should have been released."
The major Final Fantasy XIV 1.19 update is now live, and it adds a tremendous amount of content and bug fixes, including a number of new quests, dungeons and monsters, as well as chocobo mounts and rental chocobos. There's also an airship for quick travel between Eorzea's cities.
Square-Enix producer Yoshinori Kitase has announced that Final Fantasy XIII-2 will be receiving regularly downloadable content, roughly one or two updates a month. However, the price of the DLC has not been announced yet.
Square Enix has announced a total overhaul for Final Fantasy XIV, which it acknowledges has tarnished the series. Billing will start near December for v2.0. Since its launch last September the MMO has been free-to-play because of problems. They offer a "theme of a story" during the transition. PS3 dated late 2012.
The disastrous launch of Final Fantasy XIV on the PC has led to a delay of the PlayStation 3 version, but in a way, it's allowed publisher Square-Enix to continue its negotiations with Microsoft over the Xbox 360 version while the game is in console hiatus.
Producer Yoshinori Kitase of Final Fantasy XIII-2 hints that big change may be on the Final Fantasy horizon as gamers are "moving away" from turn-based systems toward more action. It's what you "might term an action-RPG." XIII and XIII-2 have already begun a transition he says, as they "have those elements of speed and action" which are "key words for us".
Producer Yoshinori Kitase of Final Fantasy says the studio "took a little too long" getting FFXIII out the door, unlike "Western triple A titles" that have "a lot shorter turnaround". Being able to make a new game in "one to two years" like Western studios is "something we need to follow up," said Kitase-san, as it's the best way to keep fans "interested and attracted".
The story is worth between 30 to 40 hours in Final Fantasy XIII-2, reveals the development team. Once completed you can revisit areas to replay as your more powerful selves. Your taken to the Historia Crux which lets you rewind time. Paradox Endings are only available at this point. The Japanese version is done so the team are all on the international copy.