AKB48’s Yuko Oshima is the official test player for Final Fantasy XIII-2. A brief overview of the commercials is available here. Square-Enix has also opened the official test page for her commercials, which begin on October 15th. You can check out the test page here.
There currently isn’t much to see yet, but that should change soon.
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The recently released New York Comic Con trailer for Final Fantasy XIII-2 has been released for Japan, and has been dubbed the “Final Trailer”. The trailer is the same as the English counterpart, with the only difference being separate PS3 and Xbox 360 trailers.
You can check out the trailers in Japanese here!
Posted in Comic Con, Final Fantasy XIII-2
A couple weeks ago, Square-Enix released part 1 of 6 of the “Lost Episodes” of Final Fantasy XIII. These Lost Episodes recap the story of the first game.
Part 2 has been released today, continuing the story of how Lightning and company began their journey. Check it out below!
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Square-Enix has released a new seven minute trailer for New York Comic Con! Warning, if you haven’t finished the original game yet, it is a bit spoilerish for the ending of XIII.
Posted in Comic Con, Final Fantasy XIII-2
Dengeki has shared a few teaser pictures from its recent articles on two of Square-Enix’s games. This is most likely a preview of what will be an official update from Square-Enix later this week.
Check them out below! The images have been increased by some from their original size, so they may seem a bit blurry.
Also, a recent issue of Jump featured an artwork of Snow seen in the Dengeki article, along with one of the images showing Snow and Serah.
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The upcoming Final Fantasy XIII-2 was recently announced for release in China with Chinese/English subtitles and Japanese voices. The announcement comes from Sony Computer Entertainment Taiwan, who also mentioned that it would launch on January 31, 2012 – The same day as North America.
Something similar was announced last year for Final Fantasy XIII. This basically means that you will be able to use save data from other regions with this version, though DLC from outside regions may not be compatible with it.
SCET also said that the normal English version will also be available on January 31, 2012. They will also see the release of the Japanese version in South Asia on the proper release date, December 15, 2011.
A Chinese language version trailer will be available on the Playstation Store today as well.
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Dengeki Playstation recently covered a few bits of new information regarding Downloadable Content and new gameplay systems for the upcoming game.
Producer Yoshinori Kitase has confirmed that Final Fantasy XIII-2 will be receiving more add-on content than previously though. Speaking in an interview with Dengeki Playstation, Kitase outlined tentative DLC plans. They essentially hope to release at least two updates containing several pieces of content every month from release. Kitase couldn’t comment on price yet, but said that there will be a fair balance between quality and cost that will appeal to fans.
In addition to costumes and weapons, Kitase says there will also be cases where you purchase a monster that, once defeated, will net you a new item or weapon. In the sense, some “gameplay” DLC is involved.
We’ve already learned that DLC costumes will show up in the games real time cutscenes. Kitase elaborated on this even further, saying that weapons should as well. It’s something they’re currently finalizing as a team.
This interview applies to the Japanese market, though it will likely apply to the overseas versions as well.
As far as Gameplay systems go, they told us the names of two new systems being added: Summon Raid and Synchro Drive.
Summon Raid is basically the monster hunting/capturing component of the game. In battles, a certain percentage of defeated monsters will turn into crystals once you defeat them. This percentage is dependent on the type of monster.
Summon Raid can hold up to three monsters, each with a specific role (such as Commando, Ravager, Medic, etc). When you shift Paradigms in battle, monsters will automatically switch with you depending on said roles.
Synchro Drive is a special move set for captured monsters. When you build this gauge up in battle under certain conditions, it allows you to trigger a powerful attack. This is usually carried out by a sequence of quick time button presses.
Dengeki also touched on a couple of new story details. Snow and Serah haven’t gotten married yet, and since the end of Final Fantasy XIII, they’ve lived together for two years. Main antagonist Caius is said to be the strongest Final Fantasy villian in the series. The girl you see following him around in the recent trailers is Yeul.
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Awhile back, we reported that the sequel to 2010’s Final Fantasy XIII would be present at New York Comic Con, which takes place next week.
Square-Enix will be holding a panel to discuss the game’s art direction, which is entitled “East Meets West: Art Direction for a Worldwide Audience.” The panel will be hosted by the games art director Isamu Kamikokuryo, along with Jonathan Jacques-Belletête (art director on Dues Ex: Human Revolution). The event will take place Friday, October 14th from 10:45am until 11:45am, and will be moderated by N’Gai Croal of Newsweek fame.
The game will also have a demo playable on the floor, most likely the updated build present at both Tokyo Game Show and Eurogamer Expo.
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Posted in Comic Con, Final Fantasy XIII-2
Earlier today we reported on Amazon.com’s pre-order bonus for the upcoming game: A code to unlock a boss battle with Omega, which after you won would put him in your party. Well it seems information on Gamestop and Best Buy’s bonuses has been made available since.
If you pre-order at Gamestop you will receive an alternate costume for Serah, which will be available and visible throughout the game.
If you pre-order at Best Buy you just might be getting the most interesting one: A hardcover collectors book. The book is “Final Fantasy XIII -Episode i- novella, an original story which ties together the events of the two games.
These pre-order items are for North America only and may not reflect what is available in other territories.
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The first bonus for North America residents has been announced for Amazon.com.
Omega, which will also be a post-release DLC in Japan, will be your bonus if you pre-order the game on Amazon. The online retailer claims that by pre-ordering Final Fantasy XIII-2, you will get the Omega boss battle, a unique coliseum battle against boss enemy Omega. Omega will join the party after being defeated. Access code will be emailed within two business days after your order is shipped.
The code will be available for both the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 versions when it is released on January 31, 2012.
You can pre-order it here.
Also, as a note, Square-Enix will release some downloadable add-ons for the game. This includes the Omega boss battle, detailed above, as well as Additional/Original costume(s) for Noel and Serah. These are intended for the Japanese market, and more details on the North American and European versions will hopefully be announced soon.
Full price and release date for these items is still undetermined, but will come at a later date. More content will announced in the future, as this isn’t the full list of DLC yet.
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