News Roundup: New FF For Keitai Phones & FFXIV Release Details
Sat, Jul 24th, 2010, 10:00 pm (EST) by Colin
I think we've had a fair bit of news this week. Although most of them concern FFXIV, but that's no real surprise since it is Square Enix's next major release. Don't forget that it's out September 30, at least on PC.
First bit of news this week, Square Enix revealed Final Fantasy Legends: Warrior of Light and Darkness. Now that's an IP that was trademarked a while ago, but we had no idea what it was until this week. Apparently it's a title that looks to bring the classic Final Fantasy experience to cell phones, at least in Japan. No word on any North American release.
Rumours about FFXIII being released on the Xbox 360 in Japan hit the webs too. Although to be honest it doesn't really make all that much sense from a business perspective. The 360 isn't exactly doing very well in Japan and most people looking to get it would've gotten the long since released PlayStation 3 version.
Hit the jump for more of this week's coverage.
Final Fantasy XIV To Launch With 18 Classes
Fri, Jul 23rd, 2010, 1:02 pm (EST) by Colin
Final Fantasy XIV will launch with 18 different classes that can be mixed and matched all in one character. This information is readily available on the official site but it's nice to have confirmation that all will be available at launch. The current beta only allows for a couple of these classes but Square Enix is looking to add more once the game hits retailers worldwide.
The classes are a good mix of combat, magic, gathering and crafting roles. Combatants are called the Disciples of War and include the Pugilist, Gladiator, Marauder, Archer and Lancer. The magi are aptly named the Disciples of Magic and there only two of them, the Conjurer and Thaumaturge. Gatherers, Disciples of The Land, include the Miner, Botanist and Fisherman. The real kicker are the crafters, dubbed the Disciples of The Hand, tallying up to a total of eight different branches: Carpenter, Blacksmith, Armourer, Goldsmith, Leather Worker, Weaver, Alchemist and Culinarian.
Seems like the crafters play a rather significant role in the world of Eorzea. With the use of Final Fantasy XIV's Armoury system, players are capable of specializing in either a single skill or mixing them up to suit their fancy. These 18 classes should be plenty to keep Eorzeans busy once the game releases, if not, director Hiromichi Tanaka does mention that they'll be adding even more after the PC release of September 30.
Final Fantasy XIV Recommended Specs Revealed
Wed, Jul 21st, 2010, 3:26 am (EST) by Colin
Square Enix has finally detailed the recommended system requirements needed to run Final Fantasy XIV at optimal settings on their official site. Compared to the beta requirements, the difference here is quite startling. Check out the system requirements "recommended for a smooth playing experience,"
OS: Windows 7 32/64 bit
CPU: Intel® Core™ i7 2.66GHz or higher
RAM: 4GB or more
HDD/SDD: Installation: 15GB of free space; Download: 6GB of free space on the drive containing "My Documents"
Graphics Card: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 460 or better with VRAM 768MB or more
Sound Card: DirectSound® compatible sound card (DirectX® 9.0c or higher)
Internet Connection: Broadband or better (always-on)
Resolution: 1280x720 (32-bit) or higher
DirectX®: DirectX® 9.0c
Others: Mouse, Keyboard, Gamepad
Looks like Final Fantasy XIV is going to be quite the game to run, what with an i7 or higher recommended among other requirements.
Final Fantasy Union: Episode 39
Tue, Jul 20th, 2010, 11:52 pm (EST) by Colin
The goods on Final Fantasy Versus XIII and Final Fantasy XIV are the stars of this episode, but this episode of Final Fantasy Union also marks host Kyle Wynen's last show. Alongside reminiscing like old times, the crew of Kyle, David and Darryl tackle word that Versus XIII's story is complete, news on Final Fantasy XIV's fees, release date, and a bit of controversy involving the game and Microsoft!
Also to mark the occasion, the crew brings an extended show, clocking in at nearly an hour, as they also tackle listener questions on Versus XIII's potential to fail, Tifa getting her own game, and more. Don't miss this episode as Kyle says his final good byes. To keep tabs on Kyle into the future, follow him on twitter at twitter.com/kylewynen.
Subscribe to the Final Fantasy Union on iTunes
Direct Link: Final Fantasy Union: Episode 39
RSS Feed
Podcast music "Ephitaph" is by Eiko Ishiwata of www.eikoishiwata.com and www.aycomusic.com.
News Roundup: FFXIV Beta And The Cause For The PS3 Delay
Sat, Jul 17th, 2010, 4:17 am (EST) by Colin
Another news week has past with a couple of updates on the Final Fantasy XIV front again. The first bit of news that came around on Monday was Square Enix turning on what they had initially said about FFXIV being PC and PS3 only. At first, director Hiromichi Tanaka said that it was their decision due to the nature of Xbox Live; however, he then said on Monday that it was Microsoft who turned down Final Fantasy XIV.
Anyway, moving on, Square Enix's Yoichi Wada acknowledged on Wednesday that not all was dandy with the launch of Final Fantasy XIII. While the game did move an exceptional number of units sales-wise, it wasn't exactly well received by all fans of the franchise. Some loved it, others not so much. Personally I think it's a pretty fun experience, what do you guys think?
Read on for more of this week's coverage.
The Emotes of Final Fantasy XIV
Fri, Jul 16th, 2010, 5:22 pm (EST) by Colin
Siliconera's posted a Youtube video showcasing the many different emotes of Final Fantasy XIV and let's just say that there is a ton of them for various occasions. See the female Hyuran smile, dance and even playfully boxing thin air in this five minute video.
Personally, I've always felt a certain attraction to the art direction of XI, XIV and even XII. There's a very classy look about it and while there is certainly a very distinct attention to detail, nothing's ever glaringly over-the-top.
Check out the video by clicking that Read More button.
Square Enix: FFXIV For PS3 Taking Longer Than They First Thought
Fri, Jul 16th, 2010, 2:49 pm (EST) by Colin
Hiromichi Tanaka has shed some light onto the technical problems that caused the delay of the PlayStation 3 version of Final Fantasy XIV. Speaking with NowGamer, the director explained that it's basically due to the memory limitations of the PlayStation 3.
"The PlayStation 3 has a limited amount of memory compared to the PCs we’re aiming at," he told NowGamer. "We have to optimise the data so that it will fit on the console and that’s taking a lot longer than we first thought…"
The PC version of Final Fantasy XIV was announced for a September 30 release and the beta is already underway, however the PlayStation 3 version has been pushed back to March 2011 due to technical problems.
Nevertherless, this sounds pretty unsurprising. Final Fantasy XIV was running on PCs at E3 and it looked pretty amazing. Dare I say even better than FFXIII. Hopefully Square Enix finds a solution and PS3 users won't have to experience a lesser experience compared to their PC brethren.
What are you thoughts on this precarious predicament?
LATEST FROM GAMING UNION