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Character Spotlight: Lightning

PS3X360 Sat, Jan 28th, 2012, 12:55am EST by Colin

The final character spotlight of the week is here, and it's on one of the most important characters of Final Fantasy XIII-2: Lightning.

Character Spotlight: Caius Ballad & Paddra Nsu-Yeul

PS3X360 Tue, Jan 24th, 2012, 2:55pm EST by Colin

We're back with another character spotlight, now featuring Final Fantasy XIII-2's ominous antagonist Caius Ballad and his travelling companion, a mysterious young girl that bears a familiar name, Paddra Nsu-Yeul.

Character Spotlight: Meet Serah Farron, Noel Kreiss & Mog

PS3X360 Mon, Jan 23rd, 2012, 1:27pm EST by Colin

Final Fantasy XIII-2 is just over the horizon and so it's time to meet your heroes and villains. Starting today and leading up to the game's release, we'll be presenting a brief synopsis of key characters and their roles in FFXIII-2.

First up are Serah Farron, Noel Kreiss and their furry little companion Mog. Don't worry, there are no spoilers here. Make the jump to read more about the trio.

Burning Question: Is Releasing Final Fantasy XIII-2 In January A Good Idea?

PS3X360 Sun, Aug 14th, 2011, 1:27pm EDT by Darryl

Howdy folks! It's time for this week's Burning Question and we've got a bit of a corker for all of you - especially after the last Burning Question, which was quite lethargic.

This week we're asking the following question: Is Releasing Final Fantasy XIII-2 In January A Good Idea?

Originally a Winter 2011 release was touted and that's when the game will now be releasing in Japan, whereas Final Fantasy XIII released in March of 2009.

Don't forget, you may just get your answers read out on the next episode of Final Fantasy Union.

Square Enix & Microsoft: The Honeymoon Period Is Over

FFXIVMusingsPS3X360 Thu, Jul 15th, 2010, 8:27pm EDT by Colin

Square Enix and Microsoft have a rather strange relationship quite akin to that of a roller coaster. Early on in the current generation's life, Square Enix was happy to offer their games on Microsoft's system, distributing exclusive titles like The Last Remnant, Infinite Undiscovery, Star Ocean: The Last Hope - now also on the PlayStation 3 - and just recently Final Fantasy XIII was released on both major consoles. Square Enix CEO Yoichi Wada explained it as a way of expanding their audience. So then why isn't Final Fantasy XIV heading down the same route as well?

Originally codenamed Rapture, it was a brand new MMO being developed by Hiromichi Tanaka and the team behind FFXI. It was announced way back in August 2005. Since then, statements about what platform it would be on went back and forth with Tanaka first stating it was being made for the PlayStation 3 and PC in 2006. However, it was later said that Rapture was being made for the Xbox 360 and PC, with the possibility of a PS3 version being brought out at a later stage. Square Enix then reaffirmed that the game would be for all consoles at GDC 2008.

Fast forward to June of last year, E3 2009, Sony's Press Conference where Square Enix unveiled the debut trailer of Final Fantasy XIV - only for the PlayStation 3 and PC.

Just what the hell is going on here?

Final Fantasy Offers Countless Opportunities For Multiplayer

MusingsVersus XIIIPS3WiiDS Thu, Jul 8th, 2010, 7:27pm EDT by Johnny

The Final Fantasy games, like most RPGs, have upheld the tradition of immersing that one person, the player, into the game entirely. Trying to sink two people into the sixty hour plots simultaneously might be spreading themselves too thin, surely.

But multiplayer in the series stems ten years now, since 2000 when Final Fantasy IX was released. Sure, it wasn't advertised at all and it wasn't a well-developed feature, but it was a step in the right direction. You can assign characters to controllers port 1 or 2 through the configuration menu so that a second player can share your party. It's a basic system, but it latches onto an idea that is synonymous with the new-age Final Fantasy fans. A lot of them grew up watching the games being played by an older sibling. The same story over and over:

"I never played Final Fantasy VII at first, I just watched my big brother play it."

Continue reading the full article after the jump.

Square Enix Have Destroyed Final Fantasy Tradition

FFXIIIMusingsPS3X360 Fri, Nov 13th, 2009, 12:00am EST by Darryl

Today is a day of mixed emotions. Square Enix announced that Final Fantasy XIII would be seeing its Western release on the 9th of March, 2010 (good news), but they also announced that pop sensation Leona Lewis would be lending her song 'My Hands' to the Western version as its theme song (bad news).

Why is this bad news? Well, not only is Final Fantasy XIII the first game that Western gamers won't be able to hear any music composed by the legendary Nobuo Uematsu, but it's also the first time that Square Enix have featured licensed music from an artist in a main Final Fantasy game. Uematsu was originally hired to compose the theme tune for Final Fantasy XIII, but decided to hand off the responsibility to Masashi Hamauzu, who composed the rest of the soundtrack. The result was Kimi Ga Iru Kara, which is unlikely to be present in the Western version.

Continue reading the article to find out more.

Versus XIII Gameplay: Why Did Square Enix Even Bother?

Versus XIIIMusingsPS3 Sun, Oct 4th, 2009, 12:00am EDT by Darryl

Final Fantasy Versus XIII has been in Final Fantasy XIII's shadow for quite some time now, as Square Enix have expectedly diverted all their attention towards their biggest asset. People had been hoping to see something new at TGS, but following Square Enix's announcement that Final Fantasy Versus XIII wasn't going to be shown there wasn't any real surprise.

However, there was surprise when reports surfaced that it was actually being shown, and of course Final Fantasy Union had to investigate. It turned out that gameplay footage was being shown in what was essentially their very toned down "Closed Mega Theatre".

Read the full article to find out what exactly was shown, and why Square Enix were wrong to display the footage at this year's Tokyo Game Show.