What appears to be the back of the Final Fantasy XIII boxart over in Japan has leaked onto the web - and the image confirms some long-debated questions about the final release of the game.
How much do you love Final Fantasy? How big of a fan of Final Fantasy XIII are you before the game even comes out?
Have you been reading the forums, or paying attention to topics concerning the once PS3 exclusive franchise Final Fantasy? If not, you're missing out on the argument of the century. If you own a PS3 and Xbox 360, for which console will you purchase Final Fantasy XIII, the biggest RPG this generation?
As the Japanese release nears, we get some more info about one of the two worlds of this hotly anticipated RPG, the monsters that roam it, and the hunting missions
Continuing the ridiculous Japanese publisher trend of counting down to everything known to man, the official Final Fantasy XIII web site is counting down to the final trailer that will be released before the game hits shelves in December.
The Japanese Final Fantasy XIII website has been updated with a countdown for the "Final Trailer" - presumably the last trailer of the game we'll see before the game's Japanese release next month.
41 images of Final Fantasy XIII's Japanese version showcasing many of the elements recently announced including Hope's Summon Alexander, Chocobos and some more shots of the game's many environments have surfaced.
Final Fantasy XIII is too modern for "levels". It has a Final Fantasy X style character growth system where players spend Crystarium points to purchase abilities and stat boosts earned from encounters. As seen above, Lighting is playing the role of a blaster and can purchase HP +15 or the magic spell thunder. Snow, being an attacker, has different options like the ruin spell and HP +70.
New Final Fantasy XIII scans from Jump has revealed that the game will have a similar mini-game to the hunt system from FFXII. They will be in the forms of optional missions.
Ripten: "In a recent interview, Square Enix President, Yoichi Wada, was asked if he thought Final Fantasy XIII would be the best selling Final Fantasy ever, and considering the recent US & European announcement video touted Final Fantasy XIII as "possibly the most anticipated game of all time", his response may shock more than a few Final Fantasy fans..."
Split-Screen: "Final Fantasy XIII is only a month away, and it's already begun outpacing FFXII (Playstation 2) in pre-orders according to a retailer representative in Japan. He also predicted the game will easily cross the one million mark on release."
Vincent Martella (aka Greg from Everybody Hates Chris) has been confirmed to be doing a voice for a character in the English version of Final Fantasy XIII.
Final Fantasy Union writes, "In a keynote at the Montreal International Game Summit, Yoichi Wada, CEO and President of Square Enix, spoke to the possibility of Final Fantasy IP being exhausted, specifically Final Fantasy XIII's compilation Fabula Nova Crystallis, and how Square Enix keep the Final Fantasy series as a whole from becoming exhausted."
IGN: "Square Enix Ltd. today announced that Final Fantasy XIII will be available on both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in Australia and New Zealand on March 9, 2010. This is the same date that it will launch in the U.S., and shows that the age of long delays for European and Australian releases of RPGs are long gone. Huzzah!"
PlayStation LifeStyle writes:
GOONL!NE: Some new direct-feed shots of Final Fantasy XIII has been released by Square Enix.
Speaking to CVG in a recent interview, Kitase told us: "Unfortunately, it has been decided that no DL contents will be available for the Japanese version due out in December, while no decision has been made for the overseas versions."
Finally North American and European gamers know exactly when Final Fantasy 13 will be in store shelves in their respectful regions and they couldn't be happier. A lot of details were released today, including inside information on the visuals of the game. In fact Square-Enix believes lovers and new comers alike will be so impressed by how realistic the game looks that they'll be hooked by the visuals.
Antonio Marfuggi writes: