With Dissidia, Square Enix's upcoming PSP-exclusive brawler, coming by year's end in Japan, the company has been quick to release tons of new videos for Final Fantasy fans everywhere. This new trailer shows a lot more CG, a lot more action, and even highlights Final Fantasy VI's Kefka -- a favorite character for many fans of the franchise.
SCEJ just dropped a ton of information concerning several major PSP titles for the remainder of 2008. Three huge games are now officially slated for this holiday season in Japan, and two of them are certainly games you probably won't want to miss importing. Dissidia: Final Fantasy is now set for a December 18 release, while Patapon 2 Donchaka and Mobile Suit Gundam: Gundam vs. Gundam will both be out November 27 and 20, respectively.
All three games will be sold alongside bundled packs that include the new bright-screened PSP-3000. Patapon 2 Donchaka not only dons a new subtitle, but will also be available as a PS Store download for those who want to save a couple of bucks over the UMD version. This is a similar strategy as seen by Yuusha no Kuse ni Namaikida or2 and Bleach Soul Carnival. Tax-inclusive prices for games and bundles are after the break ... just in case you wanted to know how much money will be leaving your wallet this holiday season.
The last Dissidia: Final Fantasy video showcase featured a set of not so beloved Final Fantasy characters -- a punk onion dude and the ultra sexy Cloud of Darkness. Yet, despite that fact, the gameplay footage was still awe-inspiring and kept you drooling for more. This time around, we've got more of the same; however, we're sure you're going enjoy watching these characters a whole lot more.
Final Fantasy X's daddy issues duo, Jecht and Tidus, show us how it's done in this here video clip. Not only are they dishing out mad skills as usual, they're taking the fight all around the fighting arena, giving us a sense of how large and dynamic the stages can get. It seems that every little glimpse of Dissidia that we get, it gets harder and harder to look away. Keep an eye on this one folks. This is looking to be the game to have for this year (in Japan anyway).
We're mostly used to seeing an amalgamation of different cut scenes in our Dissidia: Final Fantasy trailers; however, this time we're treated to over two minutes of pure gameplay. The battle you'll be witnessing is between Final Fantasy III light and dark reps, Onion Kid and The Cloud of Darkness.
One thing this blogger particularly took notice of was the short pause for the Onion Kid during his break status; he does a class change and then has to choose an ability from a drop down menu. It's interesting to see that while the game is a fast and fluid fisticuff, the developers could still incorporate some of the traditional turn-based Final Fantasy elements into the game. Are you not grasping that thought fully? Well, you will once you see the trailer.
Wowzers! So there is a lot more information out there on Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep than we anticipated. First we got some translated hands-on impressions gathered from various Japanese sites over at KHInsider, along with a trailer summary. Some of this information we know about already, so here are highlights of the new stuff:
Ven's level is the Castle of Dreams, Cinderella's world. Ven cooperates with Jaq the mouse to collect materials to make Cinderella's dress. After going through a maze and finding the necessary items, a boss fight ensues with Lucifer. No, not Lucifer the demon, but rather the cat from Cinderella.
Secondly, we have 3 pages of Famitsu scans courtesy of PSPHyper. Reading the hands-on impressions while looking at these scans, you can almost pretend you were playing the demo. Lastly, IGN has a few seconds of video footage of both Birth by Sleep and Dissidia from their Game Scoop show. Look for that after the jump.
We knew software support for the PSP was relatively dire but this chart says it all. According to Siliconera, who've compiled a comprehensive analysis of publisher support, 2006 was the peak while 2007 saw a huge decline. The top six contributing publishers to the PSP's software library have all taken a considerable dip in scheduled titles, but Siliconera also points out that 2008 is actually starting to curve upward.
Posted Aug 2nd 2008 11:55PM by Alan Tsang Filed under: News
Those who were lucky enough to get invited to Square Enix's DKΣ3713 Private Party had a chance to play a demo version of Dissidia: Final Fantasy. A release date of December 2008 was again confirmed for Japan, as well as a limited edition PSP bundle similar to the Crisis Core bundle released earlier in Japan and Europe. And like other Final Fantasy games released recently, Dissidia will also have its own Potion soft drink.
Even though 1UP reports that only 9 Final Fantasy games will be part of Dissidia, PSPHyper, NeoGAF and several Japanese blogs are reporting that in addition to Kefka of FFVI, Golbez of FFIV and Exdeath of FFV were also spotted in the trailer show at DKΣ3713. Meaning now there is at least one character from Final Fantasy I to X, resulting in a grand total of 10 titles. Unfortunately, the trailer was shown in a closed theater, making this difficult to verify. For your consideration: back in March we reported on the above poster which allegedly revealed all the villains for Dissidia -- so far the poster has been right about Cloud of Darkness of FFIII, Kefka of FFVI and Jecht of FFX. Could it be right about Golbez and Exdeath as well?
One of the most highly anticipated titles for the PSP is the FF mash-em-up brawler, Dissidia: Final Fantasy. We've previously known that one main hero and one villain will represent each game between FF's I through X; however, according to a preview from 1UP, there will only be nine Final Fantasy titles getting representatives.
With FFI, II, III, VIII, IX, and X's rosters fully confirmed, there's only room for three more games. FFVII's Sephiroth has been teased in trailers for the longest time, and 1UP's preview also mentions that FFVI's Kefka had been spotted in a new trailer at the recent Square Enix party. This basically points to both VI and VII being confirmed for two of the final three slots. That leaves either IV or V to be cut from the game. Seeing as V is the worst title in the series (feel free to send us your hate mail), most likely it'll be the one to be cut.
After reading that tricky tricky headline, you might be thinking to yourself: "ZOMG, it's Cloud! It's Cloud! It's Cloud! It's Cloud" Then proceed to run around the room overjoyed, plotting out your latest FFVII Yaoi fanfics. As much as we would enjoy allowing you such revelry, we unfortunately will have to break your heart, tear it in two, and then cast Ultima on it. You see, as the picture above suggests, the "cloudy" reference refers to The Cloud of Darkness, the final boss of Final Fantasy III and not our self-loathing, blond hero.
Lady Cloud of Darkness is a great choice over Xande (another FFIII final boss) as there is a serious need of more femininity injected in the sausagefest known as Dissidia: Final Fantasy. Hopefully, when FFVI gets added, we'll be seeing Terra with complementary morph skills. Anyway, aside from Cloud of Darkness, a generic Onion Knight will be representing FFIII's heroes. While none of the four Onion Kids are specifically mentioned, the character design, however, looks very similar to the DS remake's Ingus. Now all that's left is to see who's coming from FFs IV, V, and VI.
Not much of an update, but since we are going to have to wait till at least the end of the year for Dissidia: Final Fantasy, assuming the Japanese version and no delays, we are going to take what we can get.
The update adds the characters of Final Fantasy X, the father and son duo Jecht and Tidus, into the game. With them comes new screenshots, as well a wallpaper of the Warrior of Light. Final Fantasy VII is still missing, though Sephiroth is confirmed to be in the game. No word yet on who the hero is, but it is most likely Cloud, or possibly Zack Fair. Or Vincent. Or Lucrecia. Or ...
Another Japanese magazine, Dengeki Playstation, published yet another interview with the Dissdia: Final Fantasy team. The gang consisting of producer Tetsuya Normura, senior director Takeshi Arakawa and planning director Mitsunori Takahashi were present to answer some burning questions fans had about the game.
Takahashi started off by stating only 20% of the game has been shown thus far and a "solid release date" will be announced at an event in August. He asserts that fans who are comfortable with the original RPGs should be a-okay with Dissidia, which is labeled an "Action-RPG plus competitive fighting." Storywise, Nomura said he made Tidus' counterpart Jecht rather than Seymour because Seymour lacked a "proper connection" with Tidus. Arakawa then assured us they are still in the process of "fine tuning the original story details behind the characters' births, relationships, interactions."
Arakawa also mentioned an online feature tentatively named "Battling Community" where the focus is "being connected to others trying to discover their own merits" and less focus on "things like battle strength/ranking." Finally, he disclosed a rather startling fact: "the script is double the length of Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII." Read the entire translated interview here.
Earlier in the month, Tidus and Jecht were revealed via Famitsu to be part of the roster of Dissidia: Final Fantasy. PSPHyper now has more details from that same issue of Famitsu. A battle system with HP and Brave points, which is the determinant of your character's power, is elaborated upon. Brave points are used to make HP Attacks, depleting your opponent's HP. Special moves can also be used this way and are earned by leveling up and they are unique to each character. An indicator that helps the player time each press of the button will appear during these special moves.
When your EX gauge becomes full, you enter EX mode, which is a Limit Break-esque state that will power up your character and perform up to four types of transformations. Gil, the currency of the Final Fantasy world, has also been revealed as part of the game but what it does is currently unknown. Gliding has also been shown as a means of movement. Despite its RPG roots, Dissdia's RPG elements are limited to leveling up and choices regarding treasure chests and enemies.
Nomura also assures us the reason the game is taking so long simply because each character has many moves and transformations, and their team wants to make them look perfect. As reported before, there will be 20 characters in the final cast and currently 50% of the game is done. To learn more, the entire article is available here.
In addition to this morning's Dissidia: Final Fantasy website update, there's also a new trailer up on the good old internet. The trailer mashes up some old CG footage with some all new in-game looks at Squall, Firion, and Ultimecia. After that, there is even more CG with Tidus running around and a Squall-Sephiroth duel. Quality isn't that superb, but it sure beats seeing nothing at all.
The Japanese website of Dissidia: Final Fantasy has just been updated with new material. The story, characters, screenshots, credits, and general game information are now available for viewing. Clicking on Story will lead you to a short scene of the Warrior of Light from the original Final Fantasy readying his sword followed by a synopsis of the story. Under Characters you can view characters from Final FantasyI, II, VII VIII, and IX and their corresponding screenshots. Noticeably absent are the most popular characters, those from Final Fantasy VII and X. Under Info you will find credits and general information about the game. Come check out everything here.
Finally! It seems like we're inching ever closer to the releases of Dissidia and Kingdom Hearts on PSP. Dissidia has been playable before, so we're excited to hear that Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep is in a state where it can be played as well. Unlike the other Kingdom Hearts spin-off titles, Birth by Sleep looks to most closely resemble the PS2 games -- not just graphically, but in terms of gameplay as well. For many, that's exactly what they're looking for.
Invitations to this closed party are incredibly limited, so we're hoping that someone will be fortunate enough to attend the show and report on how both of these games play.
