Japan Expo

[01habbo]

So much juicy info I just literally stumbled upon it this thread will get updated as more comes up , should expect more kh news to come out in the coming days, but for now here's some juicy news on ffx/ffx-2 remaster and LR.

Square Enix was present at today’s Japan Expo in Paris, and they had quite a bit of new announcements and content to show off. Starting with Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD, the team revealed that you will be able to use Cross Save to play the same file whether you’re playing on PlayStation 3 or PlayStation Vita. An English sample from the 30-minute epilogue recorded by the voice cast, which will be audio only, was also revealed.

Next, Lightning Returns director Motomu Toriyama revealed a new gameplay segment in the Dead Dunes where Lightning encounters the bandit gang Monoculus, and one of its members: Adonis. Their leader, kept secret until now, is Oerba Yun Fang. More gameplay sequences including a fight against a boss and disabling a sandstorm were shown, as well as customizing Lightning’s abilities and outfit.

A Miqo’te costume will also be available for Lightning from Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, and that’s when Naoki Yoshida (director) took the stage to announce that Lightning costumes for females and Snow costumes for males will be available in Final Fantasy XIV. Weapons from the Final Fantasy XIII series and even a Lightning cameo are in the works.

Yoshida went on to show more content from the game, including a French-voiced trailer and a new Tour of Eorzea which includes our first look at the Coerthas and Mor Dhona regions. Eagle-eyed fans will notice job-based barding for their chocobo mounts and the coeurl mount that will be included in the Collector’s Edition.

Also here's the link to the video containing the 30 minute drama preview and LR gameplay both are <3. http://www.finalfantasy.net/xiv/fina...pan-expo-2013/

First the preview I was like omg, it was so strange hearing tidus's voice so calm and collected, was there a hint of sadness? Maybe he was sad because he was away for so long, but yes I did a girly scream, and the new characters, I'm intrigued by them why would square introduce new characters for the ending? Is this setting up for a sequel? OMG so many questions.

The gameplay was amazing for LR I saw my favourite enemy, and Lightning slides down the hill, that was awesome . And although Fang was revealed in a trailer, it was great to see her again, I simply love her voice, she certainly hasn't changed one bit <3.

The rest I didn't look at because I don't speak french, damn you square!

[KoFF]

(I think SE finally found the way to kill me off. I need a few more months to rub off the E3 and the avalanche of SE goodness that has ensued since ;_; )

Gonna watch the whole expo... And oh the lolz at the cosplayers you could see in the background a few times. Can't really mock them though, as they only could be seen from a distance and kinda seemed neat from there o.o.
- - - -

So my first theory was right o_O. A musical drama. And if it didn't look like voices were implied as a possibility, at the very least it was in my mind. It honestly wasn't the option I leaned towards the most though, but the original article did call it a "drama", hence my thought.
Really though, I think this is the third or 4th time in just a month or 2 where I've said something as a jest or without serious intensions, and then it turns out to be what they actually do. I'll keep that in mind the next time something calls for a theory, LOL.

About the drama anyway; I think the change in Tidus's voice has a little to do with James to be completely honest. It's something to be expected from any familiar voices in that drama. It's been so many years since they did their characters, and their voices change a little bit over time, even if not much, and the experiences they have had through the years has developed their abilities and/or voicing personality as voice actors as well. While I don't like to say it, it's really very hard to get the exact same kind of voice after so long.
That aside, it's still Tidus and the scene he is doing definitely has most to do with why he sounds as he does as it's clearly Tidus.
And on that note, my head was done in (again) over his words. He said that it's been 2 years since the Eternal Calm started, which means we're most likely at the point where X-2 starts, although depending on the time span of X-2 it could also mean the end of X-2... But here's the thing:
-If Tidus is talking about the beginning of X-2, where is he talking from? In Dream Zanarkand he wouldn't know or relate to the time in Spira as he wouldn't be there. What does make sense is that he talks about the 1 year he had with Yuna, which supposedly is the year of FFX? But then again, it would mean he was talking from "somewhere", looking into the past 2 years ago. Now the other thing:
-if Tidus is talking from after X-2, it makes sense that he knows all about the Eternal Calm and what happened, and he is with Yuna... But it would maybe also mean that he had 1 year with her afterwards. This is exactly where it gets interesting. What happened after that 1 year? Did he really fade away once more and is this why he sounds so sad? is this why he sounds hesitant when he says it really was great, because he knew he might have to go again (as we already know from the X-2 perfect ending).
-Ooooor is he simply at the end of X-2 and for some reason referring to the 1 year he had with Yuna in FFX, but while he's already back together with Yuna? oO. Wtf. It could be a mixture of all of these things. Most of it boils down to whether we hear this fragment in the X or X-2 credits. However, notice the CG background of X-2 during the sample. Does it hint that this is after X-2 or is it simply to symbolize the love of Tidus and Yuna. Gooooooh, it's like it's all there but there are so many variants depending on how it's interpreted. Damn you SE for complicating simple things! (<3)... And me for complicating it even further 8D.

And that was just the first part of the drama sample... The second one, I don't think introducing new characters signifies anything like a sequel. For instance, the On the Way to a Smile novellas had characters you never saw or heard of before or since.
Anyway, Chuami says that they are at Bevelle Stadium Road(?), formerly known as Mika Road. This might suggest it's taking place in Spira, and Tidus was never famous in Spira during FFX. This COULD be the deciding clue in figuring when/where this drama plays out... And that points to X-2's credits, meaning there indeed is a slight potential for a sequel with the notes above combined! Naturally the story could also just conclude itself but... There seems to be a lot to be had here. I'll die - in the best possible way - if it turns out there's some sort of sequel, but I'm still psyched about an expansion and extra conclusion to the story, especially when it's none other than Kazushige Nojima returning to write it.

Oh and one last note on the X-biz. They fucking finally did it! They said his name in the game! "Him" became Tidus! Not only does it mean that it's now been spoken in the game it originated from, it also means we have a confirmed pronunciation, even though it's always been said this way outside the game by voice actors and such xD. I can still accept "taidus" as Wakka's pet-name for him in KH though, lol. But I hope this will help a lot of english speaking countries getting it right, lol xD.



Now for Lightning Returns. have to say the first thing that really caught my eye was Lightning's cape and sword animation while walking or running in the field xD. Does look like the cape goes right through the sword in a glitchy way, but it's probably to be expected with so many costume to choose between and some having unique capes. Still looks great the way it flies in the air.
Monoculus? My first thought was that it was a play on Homonculus and that it might play a part of the plot, but then I looked it up on google... Theory burried. Then again, what did I just say about having unlikely theories! X_x
And Adonis? Oh you, SE, I get his namesake, lol.
Sliding in the sand looks cool. Wonder if it's one of those things where you can't take the same way back up a slope? = |. But I never complained about some extra running in FF settings! But speaking of the sand, that must be some very special sand they have in that world, for her to be able to slide on it at such a low angle and for so long xD. Desert sand is rarely ever as constantly slippery as it looks xD.
Costume swap in battle, wooo! Makes even more sense how costumes can be advantageous then. Looks like it could be this game's answer to Paradigm Shift?
Love the way Lightning poses when choosing equipment to wear. Pretty nice detail!

Cutting the post here and will continue tomorrow. Got too much to do.

[KoFF]

Okay, so it wasn't exactly "tomorrow" but I'm back on watching it now, lol. And it would seem I cut it right at the pinnacle when Fang shows up. Darn it!

I'm amazed and thrilled at seeing Fang again (although she was in the The Divine Task trailer and I saw that before the expo), but more than anything my mind is thrown into turmoil yet again. Wtf is she doing there? Is it the same Fang we know or is it some version of her from a different time, somehow brought forth when Valhalla swallowed up Pulse? In this world, we've already gotten the impression anything can happen, like with Hope being younger again etc, but I didn't anticipate seeing Fang out of her crystal stasis like this xD. And if she is free and she is the same Fang that slept in crystal, is Vanille now revived too? Makes me think twice about the CG artwork of Lightning with crystal Cocoon in the background. It does look very altered and I suppose it can look like the ball itself is open now and some sort of clock disc has taken its place. Mysterious stuff is going in. TIME AND SPACE, TIME AND SPACE.
The classic bet is that Fang is free but Vanille is not or somehow in a different place, and Fang is trying to save her etc. But Vanille could still be just another person you meet during the story, like with Vanille. Questions!

Lolololol, Yoshida breaking onto the stage is awesome xD. He seems so loved by the XIV community and the crowd at the expo loved it too. And interrupting someone like Kitase, wow. I'm certain it was scripted to happen of course, but it still goes to show that Kitase is a lot more down to earth than one easily can think. At E3 he also showed his goofy side. Gotta love him.
So now they went into the stuff that was talked about during the E3 live feed. It seems the XIV costume for Lightning was taken to the game and not just as a prank on Kitase, which is what it was supposed to be at first, because he loves the Miqo'te race in XIV. It was already styled and programmed for Light, so it was inevitable that it would be included in the actual game. The image shown in this video looks different from the one shown at E3 though, unless I remember incorrectly.

Now the real surprise is that the Lightning cameo is now official. Kitase joked about this in reponse to the Miqo'te outfit at E3, saying that now he'd probably have to make something like a Light cameo in XIV. I did keep it in mind in case they actually did it, but it's another one of those things where I was slightly inclined to think it wouldn't happen and then it did... I really wonder how they are going to make this work for Eorzea, lol!
Light and Snow costumes though? Hadn't heard of that. Cool! And other character weapons to boot. Delicious.

They showed the last XIV trailer again. Only thing new is it's in french, but boy is that hilarious to watch nontheless. Mmm and that music track never gets old. It's so good >_<.
Ugh, the villain at the end of the trailer though... Horrible french voice X_x.

OH! A new XIV trailer afterwards. One showing the new environments that the summary talked about. Holy batshit >_<... I enjoyed watching that so much. So beautiful and there are types of landscapes never before seen in Final Fantasy (or any game if you ask me). Truly creative and visually stunning ranges. This video needs to be here.





OMG! FFVII REMAKE! Not.

The rest of the video is just repetitions of already shown gaming & recording footage (kinda weird...)


A final note, regarding LR. I'm getting the impression Noel is going to be encountered a few times in the game. Looks like there'll be more than one battle, although it's not yet clear.