Prospective Previews: Silent Hill: Shattered Memories

The two most recent entries into the Silent Hill universe haven’t quite matched the brilliance and terror of the original Japanese-developed titles, I must admit. Much in the same way Western horror movies make little impact with me nowadays, Climax and Double Helix’s takes on the series is missing that extra something that the first four games delivered (it certainly isn’t Pyramid Head, since he’s now been whored to an almost comedic degree. Give the big guy a break already). Origins was a decent effort, but rode the coattails of the previous games a little too hard without trying anything new. Homecoming, meanwhile, did a few things a little too different, and removed much of the tension and dread of the previous games by making the main character a capable demon-slayer, and a ho-hum story and overall noisy setting that felt more like Hostel: The Game than a Silent Hill title.

And yet, I’ve got my hopes up for the third time in a row for the upcoming Wiimagining (I’m sorry) of the original Silent Hil, coming this year under the name of Silent Hill: Shattered Memories. Developed by Climax (the same folks behind the aforementioned Origins), the more previews and trailers I see for this game, the more it becomes my most anticipated title of the year. Before, I criticized them for sticking too close to the series formula, but with Shattered Memories they seem to be borrowing their ideas from other classic horror games.

They just so happen to be good ideas, to the point that Shattered Memories seems to contain everything I’ve ever wanted in a survival horror game. Such features include….

So wait, my inner psyche is a guy wearing a red triangle head while raping and butchering women with a huge knife? That's awesome.

1. I’m sane and so are you.

Don’t call it a Wiimake (please). The original SH was a trippy but still straightforward story about an everyday father looking for his missing daughter in a (not very) deserted town. Shattered Memories thankfully avoids telling the same story thrice (the second time being the live movie) and starts things from scratch. Harry is as dull looking as ever, but now he’s apparently out of his mind.

Taking a scenario that Team Silent was rumored to use at one point for one of the games, the entirety of SM is told in past tense, with Harry already admitted into a psyche ward, where he’s being interviewed by a therapist who routinely asks him questions about both the town of Silent Hill as well as reaching deep into his troubled(?) mind. This isn’t just for dramatic effect, but also has an impact on the game itself.

Thank you officer, but I've already got a loaded gun firmly tucked away. I'm referring to my penis, of course.

2. My subconscious is a genius. And horny.

During the start of the game (and later in subsequent intervals), the doctor will ask Harry some personal questions that can be answered in any number of ways by the player. Depending how you answer them, the events of Silent Hill can physically change in accordance with Harry’s inner turmoil. Come across as a womanizer, and Cybil can appear in a more relaxed, suggestive attire rather than her standard police uniform. Admit you’re a total drunk and other NPCs will find it hard to warm up to you. These changes can go as far as completely altering someone’s physical appearance (always gagged at the sight of Dahlia’s mummified face? How about imagining her as a goth teenager this time?). The monsters frequently change their appearance based on your answers as well. Speaking of whom…

Where's a cat in a locker when you need one?

3. Press X repeatedly followed by O to….oh wait.

To me, there wasn’t a more appealing gameplay mechanic to hear than the fact that Shattered Memories features no actual combat whatsoever. No breakable weapons, no dodging rolls and finishing attacks, and no motherloving QTEs to get in the way of the scares. There are no guns, samurai swords, chainsaws, or any other kind of weapon to dispatch monsters with, so you’re only option is to run and hide and hope to God those creatures don’t detect you by the stench of your crapped pants. This instantly brings back the fear and tension that was sorely missing from even the earliest SH games (as awesome as SH2’s monsters look, they were pretty darn easy to kill), and hopefully brings back the original game’s moments of running like a madman in the dark.

You ever notice how you can actually see more with your flashlight turned off while your eyes adjust to the dark? Fine, I'll shut up now.

4. Waggle in the Dark

In the Wii’s first tech video, the one  feature that got me excited was the concept of using the Wiimote like a flashlight for horror-themed games. It took some time, but there’s finally a game making use of this idea. Shattered Memories features many Wiimote applications that don’t feel merely tacked on. Steering Harry with the nunchuck while controlling his flashlight with the Wiimote is a basic but efficient control scheme, but the game does one better by also making use of the built-in speaker to deliver that extra level of creepy. You’ll also be needing the Wii-centric controls to solve the many puzzles of the game, which leads to…

Unlike the girls of Fatal Frame, my walking speed isn't as slow as a turtle on Ritalin.

5. We interrupt the nail-biting scariness and adrenaline-filled tension so you can read this long, boring document

I used to enjoy reading the written documents and files found in Silent Hill and Resident Evil, but not so much anymore. As games get louder and angrier, it feels like hitting a brick wall to stop and read some boring walls of text just to advance the plot (thanks Fallout 3, I totally love reading your incredibly long stories on a blurry computer monitor. I mean the one in the game). SM ditches the conveniently placed files and dossiers in favor of telling the story through its visuals. Certain puzzles require hearing a message from an answering machine, for example, or using Harry’s “pretty sure they didn’t have them in 1999″  palm pilot to snap pictures of cryptic messages or other strange oddities that may come to life in digital form.

The last person who answered was a monstrous hellspawn, but at least he spoke English.

So in closing, I’ve got real high hopes for Shattered Memories. Silent Hill still remains my favorite horror series of all time, and I know there’s a game developer out there who can do it justice. I have a few nagging doubts, of course; I’m hoping the story doesn’t end up another basic plot where we can see the twist coming a mile away like with Origins and Homecoming. I also haven’t seen any monster designs other than the pink teenage mutations of the first game’s baby monsters. Still, this game is primed to be the ultimate release to look forward to this Halloween.

….what’s that? It’s been delayed until November? Mother fu-

Prospective Previews: Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete Trailer

Welcome to the first Final Fantasy-related blog post of the new year. It was only a matter of time, especially considering the sweet new FFXIII trailer released just this week.

But I’m not talking about that just yet, because a last minute new trailer for Advent Children Complete was released today. Gotta focus on my priorities, you know.

Unfortunately, NA PCs may stutter in agony under Japan’s superior bandwith powers, but I’ve got you covered: Here is a direct download of the above trailer. You can also nab the trailer (along with the newest FFXIII trailer) in the PS3’s Japanese Store. If you need info on how to set up a Japanese account (a serious must for PS3 owners), just look here.

This was by far the best trailer for the movie, showcasing lots of new, action crazy scenes. You thought the last movie was overdone in that department? Nomura didn’t, that’s why he added motorcycle vs helicopter fights, or bazookas that can take out entire bridges, and buildings being effortlessly sliced in half like butter….being sliced in half.

Anyway, I took some screencaps as well, which you can check out below. I’ve sorted them about relating to the new scenes shown:

1. Elena POV (and FPS)

It isn't fair. North American players thought I was dead for ten years!

“Elena was in this movie?” That was a common question going around for people who didn’t understand the incredibly rushed opening to Advent Children, in which Elena and Tseng are investigating the Northern Crater where Cloud and company had their final battle with Sephiroth. Reno and Rude are hanging up top in a helicopter while their (apparently disposable) leader and rookie Turk are taken out by three gun-touting enemies….

Somebody watched Spider-Man 3.

When I heard that AC:C would have new, re-done footage, one of the first things I thought of was an extended version of the opening scene from Elena’s point of view. Maybe she had a portable camera that would get all shakey once the shooting started, followed by a quick shot of the three brothers being born from Sephiroth’s remains.

Well, look at that, they actually included it. If you can look past the swooning fangirls, the naked introduction of Kadaj and his bros is done rather well, and a bit creepy.

People will die, starting tonight. I'm a man of my word. Hoo Ha Ha Ha Ha!

2. Motorcycle vs Helicopter

Mortorcylces don't work that way!

As if the original motorcycle chase between Cloud and the clones wasn’t exaggerated enough, we now have an additional sequence where the Turks give spikey some air support. Unfortunately, the Seph brothers are now equipped with machine guns mounted on their bikes, something Nomura really, really, really wanted to have in the original movie.

3. More Tifa! Woo!

If she was in her old outfit, you'd totally be getting a panty shot right now.

As much as I’m hoping for new romantic, talkie moments between the two conflicted lovers, any new scenes of Tifa in general is only a plus for me. Tifa’s fight in the first movie quickly grabbed the attention of fans and newcomers alike for its beautifully choreographed martial arts, but unfortunately she took a backseat for the remainder of the film afterwards.

You think this'll stop me? I've taken on a bigger crowd in conventions! My hands are drenched in fanboy blood!!

No worries, because FFVII’s leading heroine (that’s right, I went there) has been given some extra fight scenes, holding off an army of Phantom Beasts to protect her adopted son. It’ll take a lot more than a single Mega Flare to bring this lady down.

Here's where I'll be testing the new ragdoll physics for the new sce-holy crap aaaaaaghhhhhh!

Two Mega Flares, on the other hand….

I usually don't get this lowbrow on the blog, but I couldn't resist.

Uh, moving on…

4. More of the Other Guys! Woo!

Why the hell ain't Square giving me my own game!? Aren't I appealing enough to a mass audience? What a load of &%$* and *@%$*, bunch of mother %*#@$ up the @#$

Another plus is some extended fighting with the other party members, who unfortunately had their screentime kept to a minimum in order to develop the most popular characters first. Here we can see some extra fight scenes, but it’s unknown just how much this will increase their total screentime in the new cut.

Looks like he ate some ice cream in a hurry. Anti-fans will probably substitute that with something more NSFW.

5. Case of Denzel?

And I find it kind of funny, I find it kind of sad. The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I ever had...

Most surprising for me in the new trailer is some new footage with Denzel, which I immediately recognized from the Case of Denzel short story, which was part of the “On The Way To A Smile” novel miniseries released alongside AC. Is this just a quick flashback to show how Denzel and Cloud first met (something sorely needed, considering the slight obscurity of the novels), or could it be a full fledged additional short film?

Wasn't there a movie with a name like this? It sucked, right? Pretty sure it sucked.

It is my sincere hope that it ends up being the latter, because it opens up the possibility of the wonderfully written Case of Tifa short story being included as a bonus short as well. Seriously, go read it if you haven’t yet.

6. Blowin’ Up Bridges

Self explanatory.

Remain calm, citizens. The Turks are here to protect you.

Uh...don't worry, that was Shelbyville.

7. Slicin’ Up Buildings

Also needs no explanation.

Take that, buildings! You think you're so hot, crashing and falling on my head! Suck it!

It is oddly similar to the final area in Kingdom Hearts II, in which Sora also dispatches of falling buildings at ease. And that was with a key.

8. Cloud vs That Other Guy

To the surprise of no one, the final, epic one on one battle between Cloud and Sephiroth will be further extended to include more…

Feathers!

Blood!

Cat Eyes!

Despair!

Limit Breaks!

Anyway, the movie’s due out in April, and supposedly the English cast has already recorded the new lines. Given that knowledge, it’s inconceivable for Sony and Square to take an 8 month long gap between the Japanese and American releases like they did with the original DVD. I can’t claim to know all the stupid decisions they make, though, so all I can do is hope it doesn’t take as long.

In closing, take a look at this final picture.

Take a look at Cloud's right eye. His right, not yours.

Prospective Previews: Jump Festa’s Final Fantasy XIII Preview

Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.

Despite claiming twice already that the Japanese surge of FFXIII info was over, details from this year’s Jump Festa quickly emerged online.

Unfortunately, as the newest trailer was shown behind closed doors, there won’t be any new video footage that I can share. If it’s any consolation, someone did manage to record the audio from both trailers (a lengthy seven minute trailer and a shorter summarising of the same trailer), which you can download from these two links, provided by Kagari from NeoGAF.

http://kagari.zerox20.net/GAF/no_1.wav

http://kagari.zerox20.net/GAF/no_2.wav

The links may take some time to load, so you might be better off just right clicking and saving the files.

So what can you make out with just the audio? A lot of screaming for one, including what I believe to be the Wilhelm Scream in the no_2 link. You can also hear the main theme on more than one occasion. Obviously, this is no substitute for the lack of footage, which not only showed a seamless transition from field to battle, but was apparently so impressive it had the entire Japanese audience cheering wildly.

There are write-ups from people who were lucky enough to witness the footage firsthand, so rather than steal their detailed posts, I’ll just link you to them.

I wouldn’t make this post without a few pictures for you to look at, though. The Jump scans have been released, showcasing a few screens from the trailer, and offering a clear look at how the battle sequences look. I’ll be commenting on the notable features of each scan, which you can view in larger detail by clicking on them.

So it seems that “Sera” may not be the name for the Pigtailed Girl, and may in fact either be an alias she uses, or the name used to classify her race (of which she is reportedly the last of. I’m getting shades of FFVI’s Esper girl Terra, which is a positive sign in my book). Either way, it looks like her official name (assuming that Jump’s romanization is accurate) is Oerba Dia Vanille. It’s a handful of a name no matter how you say it, so I hope they stick with calling her Sera (much like how FFIX’s Garnet keeps the alias “Dagger”, although in this case I’ll take the alias over the real name).

Also shown is a fully armored guy that looks very similar to FFXII’s Judge Bergan. Hopefully he’ll get more exposure than the brief screen-time each of the Judges got (Drace, the only female Judge in the game, gets exactly two scenes, rounding up around six minutes of total screen-time). There’s some sci-fi looking monsters as well, reminding me of the Gnosis from Xenosaga.

Just some new shots of Lightning. In the trailer, there’s a part where she decks out Snow for losing Sera (or “The” Sera, whatever), and showcases further sweet maneuvers during the battle screens. Doe she legitimately want to protect Sera, or is she only doing it out of her duty to the crystals?

Here you can get a brief look at how the field looks along with the battle sequences. As promised, you’ll be able to see enemies on the screen before engaging them, but rather than switching to a separate screen for battling, the camera just adjusts a bit while you fight on the spot. It’s said to be very similar to Chrono Trigger’s enemy encounters, which is a very, very good thing. The command window now opens up multiple tabs instead of just overlapping when you switch to Magic or Items, which is another nice touch. Gotta love streamlining.

Unfortunately, what is lacking in these new scans are the new characters shown during the Jump trailer, of which there are three in total. Some attendees were kind enough to offer sketches of their appearances, despite not having the best drawing skills out there. At least they outdo most of Deviantart.

The first character is said to be a young male character, looking like an easygoing male in the vein of FFX’s Tidus or FFXII’s Vaan. In this sketch he looks disturbingly similar to Chrono Trigger’s Lucca, but I did say that any resemblances to CT could only be a good thing, didn’t I.

Next there’s a guy with an afro, or a “half-afro” anyway. Not much I can say about him, so moving on.

And third, we’ve got…the third girl, shown below in much better detail from a 2ch member.

Looks like we’ve got our third girl in the group, described as giving off a Rikku vibe in personality. If that’s the case, then maybe this one is the token cute, young female party member instead of Sera (who is starting to sound more like the kind healer type character in the vein of FFIV’s Rosa and FFVII’s Aerith). She’s also mentioned to have the skimpiest outfit of the three, which raises an eyebrow from me considering that Sera is already comfortably dressed.

We’ve also got some shots of Lightning’s PlayArts figure, previously shown uncolored way back during E3’s first trailer. It’s coming along mostly well, but the face is looking a bit cheap and plastic. Hopefully it’ll get touched up before release, but considering how long these PlayArts take to come out, it darn well better be.

Also on the horizon is a replica of the infamous “Shiva-Bike”, in which these shots give us a much clearer look on how the two Summon siblings transform and fuse into a vehicle for Snow to ride across (both in cutscenes as well as in battle). You can clearly see where Snow is supposed to sit, and well…looks like the Fetish Fuel page on TV Tropes is going to need an update soon….

And finally, some shots of the upcoming Dissidia line from Trading Arts. I was never a fan of the Trading Arts brand of FF toys at first, as their figurines are much smaller than PlayArts, and look more cheaply made, as evidenced by how some of the famous FF heroines look like men in drag, as well as having misshapen bosoms floating in mid-air. They’ve improved substantially with their SD lineup, however, so I’m quite interested in this Dissidia line, although I’ll continue to hope that Warrior of Light and Garland get the fully poseable PA treatment.

Also, it seems that Cloud and Sephiroth are getting yet another pair of highly overpriced statues. How about giving some of the other characters more due? That Advent Children look for Tifa is going to waste, you know.

And to make sure I don’t make a Musical Musings page that brings up Final Fantasy yet again, here is the song “Cosmos” from the Dissidia soundtrack, of which I’ve really taken a liking to.

You can also grab the mp3 here.

And that should finally, finally cover all FF posts.

At least until next year.

Prospective Previews: Even More Final Fantasy Madness

Looks like I spoke too soon about giving the Final Fantasy posts a break; Just when I thought the media surge was over, even more trailers and scans have popped up on the internet, covering nearly all of Square Enix’s upcoming blockbuster hits.

Count yourself lucky, fans, because I’m going to collect all that info, including a nice big avi file that collects all the Re: DVD trailers into one 600mb movie. And yes, you can play it on your Playstation 3.

So let’s get that link out of the way so you can read the rest of my post while you download. Grab the Re: Collection trailer here. For those preferring a torrent, you can grab one here. Thanks to Kagari of NeoGAF for the ripping and uploading of this file.

Now, as Kefka would say, let’s get this party started.

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete:

Streaming Trailer

With the exception of this year’s The Dark Knight, Final Fantasy VII’s epic return as 90 minute CG movie was the last time I truly became excited for something. I’m talking  Nintendo Sixty-Fouuuuuuuuuur excited. Not only was it a proper return for the characters and setting that left so abruptly in 1997, but it also served as an introduction to an independent series of FFVII-related spinoffs and sequels.

Many people shared my sentiment, but then soon scoffed at the film for being essentially a 90 minute FMV of nonstop fighting and little development. I was fine with the film, knowing that above all else it was supposed to be a fanservice movie, but it certainly could have slowed down a bit and added more expositional dialogue.

Which is why I can’t help but get excited again at the Blu Ray version of the film, which adds brand new and extended scenes (reportedly around 30 minutes more). This trailer is the first confirmation that there will be new dialog scenes in addition to the extended fights. For fans fresh off of Crisis Core, there will also be an extended flashback sequence with Zack (and I can only hope we’ll get some highlights of his final battle in that game). For people who scratched their heads at the origins of Geostigma and Kadaj, both plot points will also be addressed in full during the added conversation.

But will we be getting any extra scenes not involving Cloud? Could the rest of the party get their due in some new encounters? Aside from a new sequence where Denzel dispatches an enemy, that has yet to be revealed. It sure would be cool if Tifa’s fight with Loz would get changed so the battle ends in her favor.

Fabula Nova Crystallis:

The videos for both games are still available in my previous post, or you can just watch the ones included in the Replay file above. Some new scans have appeared for both games, including one from this week’s Jump magazine, showcasing a pretty picture of Sera along with some official shots of the game’s battle mode. It also reveals that “Sera” may just be an alias, as the character’s official name is listed in the scan, to the confusion of translators; The best they can decode from the Kanji is “Wolva Dia Vanilla”, with alternate translations of the first name as “Vova” or “Wova”. I’m certain I’m not the only one to be reminded of an old Seinfeld joke (that’s two for FFXIII).

Regardless, they are certain her last name is indeed “Vanilla”. Make of that what you will.

Some new scans of Versus have been included as well, with no new information aside from the full names of Noctis and Stella (which I won’t attempt to replicate in this post), along with a couple Agito pics for good measure. All scans can be found below (click for bigger size):

And to top things off, here’s a simple but effective fan-art of Sera (or Vanilla, rather) by GAF member KurowaSan:

Kingdom Hearts Portable Series:

Birth By Sleep Streaming Trailer

Birth By Sleep Gameplay Trailer

358/2 Days Streaming Trailler (subtitled)

358/2 Days Gameplay Trailer

358/2 Days Gameplay Trailer 2

Coded Streaming Trailer

The Square Enix love didn’t stop with Final Fantasy, though. Also included in the Re: DVD were new trailers for the three upcoming Kingdom Hearts spinoffs. Obviously, this is Square’s biggest moneymaker right now, so it’s only natural that these titles not only get a near-simultaneous release worldwide, but also push the portable systems to the limit with big budget graphics.

Birth By Sleep is the most impressive looking of the three titles, showing graphics practically on par with KHII on the PS2…so much so that it could be mistaken as a legitimate sequel instead of a prequel, set 14 years prior to the first game, and starring three new characters (one of them, Ven, having an obnoxiously obvious connection to Roxas, including the same VA) who venture into previously unseen worlds, including Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella’s worlds. The latter level looks quite entertaining, with a large path leading to her castle (the same one you’d take in the theme park), and an encounter with Lucifer (the cat, not the devil). Sleeping Beauty’s level features an encounter with an enchanted boss version of the spindle that pricked her finger, which is amusing considering how far Square must have reached to decide on a boss like that.

358/2 Days, which is probably the most confounding RPG subtitle ever, looks to really rev up the drama with an all-too serious look into Roxas and Organization XIII, filling in the one year gap from Chain of Memories to KHII. The cutscenes are quite marvelous to look at, and the only way they could have outdone the sympathy factor with soft-speaking cutie Xion is by making her a puppy (which would make about as much sense as her very existence as Organization XIII’s fourteenth member. And if they’re trying to imply that she’s the Nobody of Kairi, I was under the impression that role was filled by Namine). The actual gameplay looks pretty fun too, allowing four players to play as any of the Organization members (I call Xaldin!), but the DS graphics really sting compared to the beefier PSP hardware.

It still looks better than Coded, which admittedly looks impressive for a cellphone game, but I have doubts if our phones will even be able to run it; We still haven’t gotten Before Crisis, after all.

Parasite Eve: The Third Birthday:

Streaming Trailer

There really isn’t much that can be gathered from this brief teaser, but the underlying message is clear enough: We’re finally getting a Parasite Eve sequel, and Square wised up by moving it from the cellphone to PSP. One of these days I’ll have to try the second game, despite the many criticisms against it. I’ve also forgotten how sweet that main theme is.

Dissidia: Final Fantasy Impressions:

Before I wrap this post up, I’d like to offer my impressions on Dissidia after playing a few battles. Now that the game is officially out in Japan, I decided to “sample” it on my American PSP. I won’t get into the details, since you can easily find out yourself with just a little bit of searching, but I wanted to see how much of the game I could figure out without using any guides.

For my first playthrough, I stuck to Player vs CPU battles, instead of trying the main story. From the outset, you’re able to choose all the heroes from the Cosmos side, with none of the Chaos villains or extra characters available yet. I first decided to use Warrior of Light against Firion. After selecting an opponent, you get to pick a stage, set some parameters on the CPU, choose a BGM of your choice, and equip one out of a pair of items, each offering different stat boosts (extra HP, DEF+, etc).

The fights are just as entertaining as they look in the trailer. You’re primarily locked on to your opponent, with the camera doing a respectable job of displaying both characters no matter how far apart they get (with a few minor instances of your view becoming obstructed by levels with ceilings, such as the Magitek Research Facility). Battles can vary in length depending how much you’ll want to play tag with your opponent, or vice versa. All characters have the ability to climb up walls and pillars, as well as double jumping and dodging indefinitely. It can be a quest in itself to catch up to a speedy opponent who climbs up three walls and zooms away, but supposedly there’s a button command to let you instantly catch up to them, but I haven’t found it yet.

The O button is the primary attack (likely to get mapped to X for NA), which in WoL’s case is a series of slashes, while the Square button is a magic attack (beams of light, natch) that can be charged. X is for jumping, and R1 is for blocking. Push X and R1 and you can dodge, which is essential to avoid some of the big attacks. You can launch opponents into the air, push X to zoom up to them, and O to give them a hard hit that launches them further into the air, or right into a wall. The opponent can counter the launch and put you on the receiving end to a chunk of granite, or the two of you can keep slashing and dodging  each other in midair. This is the highlight of the game, as it reeks of cool to watch two fighters climb walls (and in one case, on top of a ceiling, in which the camera rotates to both of them as they’re upside down), launching one person into the air and then engaging in an aerial battle for supremacy. It reeks of Advent Children, but it also works effectively.

What I can’t figure out is the HP system, in which under certain combinations, attacks can deal far more damage than normal, to the point that a losing character can quickly turn the tide with a devastating attack. The game rewards counterattacks, at the very least, as well as hitting an opponent from behind or during a failed dodge maneuver. There’s also a bar that fills up for the EX-mode, but it can fill up instantly if you collect a glowing bell that materializes in the field, much like the Smash Ball in Super Smash Bros Brawl. Whoever mad dashes it to the bell can then perform the EX-mode by hitting the opponent with a Square+R1 attack, which then results in different commands for each character; For Cloud, it’s tapping the Circle button for Omnislash, for Terra it’s a directional pad+button combination, and Squall’s depends on the correct timing of R1, just like in his own game. For people on the receiving end of an EX attack, pressing Circle rapidly will fill up a gauge to the left which I assume is to reduce damage, but that won’t do you a lick of good if you’re already at low health.

The AI is vicious in this game, at least for someone inexperienced as me. In my battle of Warrior of Light against Firion, it took four attempts to barely subdue him, as he always managed to get off an EX-mode finish. My next play of Cloud vs Squall fared a bit better, as the two were about evenly matched. The next battle of Cloud vs Zidane was a lot tougher, due to his speedy moves and small size. As for Terra vs Cecil, the Dark Knight/Paladin whooped the living crap out of the poor half-Esper. Terra’s regular attacks do very little damage, in which it falls upon you to use her more advanced spells. She certainly has a lot of variety, with each attack mapped to a particular element (Ice, Fire, Wind, Water, Earth), but she must have very low defense considering how Cecil pummeled her with his Dark Wave and lance attacks. His EX-mode is particularly painful, in which he attacks you as both a Paladin and a Dark Knight, chaining attacks from both jobs. At least I was able to pull an EX-mode of my own, in which she morphs into her Esper form and charges up for a big magic spell. I particularly liked that finishing an opponent off in Esper mode has her do an exclusive victory pose under that very form.

The stages I tried were Garland’s Castle from FFI, the dimensional castle from FFV, the Lifestream from FFVII, and the Magitek Resarch Facility from FFVI. Many of these areas have no floors, but it isn’t hard to maintain yourself in the air. Even if you do fall, you’ll just pop up on solid ground with a small deduction of HP. Of the areas I tried, the Lifestream was the most entertaining, as there’s nearly no limit to where you can climb; Watching two characters running up the walls of life energy, then dashing toward each other in the air was a thing of beauty. The Magitek factory was a bit confusing with its multiple paths, but has an interesting aesthetic where you can get a boost in energy by standing under certain patches of glowing particles (Magitek energy, or leaked Esper energy? I suppose they’re one and the same, regardless).

Much of the music is either classic tracks taken from an existing arrangement (such as the Black Mages or the Orchestral performances), but there’s some brand new arrangements too, including, finally, an arrangement of my favorite boss theme, The Fierce Battle from FFVI. The arrangement of FFIX’s standard battle theme was quite entertaining as well.

While it still isn’t confirmed if there are any unannounced characters, the game doesn’t lack in extras; more than once after a battle, I would be greeted by a tiny sprite Chocobo, kweh kwehing about while a tiny icon appeared above its head (such as a music note or a sword icon), no doubt indicating that I’ve unlocked a new item or BGM. There’s also greyed out icons in the main menu, possibly extra modes that require unlocking. It seems that you also automatically receive a new item when playing the game at a certain day or time.

All in all, Dissidia delivers, even though the paltry list of characters is highly unfortunate. The actual game itself can be played just fine without knowing any kanji (but you might require a guide for the more complex commands), but I’ll only be playing a few brief sessions before shutting down for good and waiting for the official NA release.

Tune in when my Mirror’s Edge review will go up, which should be around Friday. That should also conclude any further Final Fantasy posts for a while. Maybe. Probably.

*All images taken from FFXIII-net.

*Re:DVD Trailer ripped and encoded by Kagari of NeoGAF.

*Sera fan-art provided by KurowaSan of NeoGAF.

Prospective Previews: Final Fantasy XIII: Fabula Nova Crystallis

That’s three Final Fantasy posts in a row. Well, I did warn you about such an outcome in my About page, but considering that the last few days have seen an increase in FF related news and releases, I can’t be held entirely in fault. If you have no interest in the series, I urge you to check back later this week, when my Mirror’s Edge review will go up, and another three weeks when my Persona 4 review will be due.

If you want an early synopsis without checking back, I’ll assure you that “they’re both great” and bid you adieu. Moving on, today’s preview looks at the newest media released for the Fabula Nova Crystallis series (New Crystal Story), making up Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy Versus XIII, and Final Fantasy Agito XIII.

Yep, the guy's so popular they've got a magazine named after him. There's also a soda called "Sephiroth Flavor". Now that's whoring with style.

Last week saw the release of Japan’s CLOUD magazine, releasing brief but new information on the FNC series. That same week saw the release of a new DVD magazine, called Re: (for Replay):

They sure are being pretentious with the naming schemes.

The “Re:” magazine was the real meat and potatoes, as it came with a DVD showcasing the trailers from TGS2008, previously only shown behind closed curtains to the dismay of cellphone users everywhere.

Remember when PSM magazine used to include DVDs with Japanese trailers? Yeah, DVDs used to be so cool.

It didn’t take long for importers to rip the trailers from the DVD and put them up, but it took some searching to find high quality rips that weren’t horribly compressed for streaming sites like Youtube (another reason I miss Stage 6).

In this blog post you will find, as of this writing, the best quality rips of the trailers, downloadable and fully playable on your Playstation 3. It’s the next best thing to playing a demo of the game (which will be out in March). If you just want to watch a streaming link, you’ll find them here too. Read on for those links along with a short preview for all three FFXIII games.

Logo Theory: It's either two people riding a dragon, or a transformation sequence of the girl turning into said dragon.

Streaming Trailer

Downloadable Trailer

Synopsis: The primary entry of the Fabula Nova Crystallis compilation, Final Fantasy XIII features the return of many of the key players behind Final Fantasy X. For fans of Final Fantasy XII, this news comes as a bit of a disappointment, as it potentially decreases the chances of many of the new ideas set forth by FFXII. For me, I couldn’t be happier, having thouroughly enjoyed FFX. Also, while the story may not hold a candle to the mature and expertly written scenario from FFXII, it’ll definitely end up as a more heartwarming tale with more character interaction than the entirety of the previous FF (which felt like the Cliff Notes version of what should have been an epic narrative).

The story itself sounds pretty familiar: We’ve got two sides of the world, Coccon and Pulse, the former a futuristic city featuring clean streets and a tight government running things (i.e. Evil Empire) and the latter a barren wasteland resting below the peaceful city, where those who possess an inkling of magic are considered unclean and immediately banished to the hellhole below.

Except (surprise!) Pulse is actually a pretty nice hellhole, teeming with lush forests and animals. Chosen by the Crystal (FFs I through V), Lightning and her cohorts venture forth to free the people of Cocoon (get it? it’s a metaphor.) from their oppressors and show them the truth of the world outside.

It basically borrows plot details from several FF games and mixes them all up into one, but the info is still sparse at this point, but even if that’s the gist of it, the real appeal is the cast of characters, namely the protagonist.

The Characters:

Lightning: True story; A couple of days before FFXIII’s unveiling at E3, I had thought to myself, “It’s about time for the next FF hero to be a woman”. After the last (and until now, only) female protagonist in FFVI, we’ve had two unfriendly, emotionally unstable protagonists, two goofy, fun-loving protagonists, and whatever the hell Vaan was supposed to be. For Final Fantasy XIII, we have a female protagonist, and I think that’s just rad.

Lightning (a code name given to her, as she has no recollection of her true past) has been given the task of keeping people interested in FFXIII’s slow development by being the sole star of the first couple of trailers, but she certainly has left quite an impression: This one-woman army has demonstrated acrobatic maneuvers mixed with deadly spell combinations that almost makes it seem like she’ll be soloing the entire adventure without a party. Considering the fast paced nature of the battles shown along with the amount of property damage caused to the surroundings, it’ll be interesting to see how two or more party members will fit into the chaos.

Nomura has described Lightning as being a real “macho” type of character, originally going to be much more buff until Square demanded she meet the feminist preferences of Japan. She is also known to “hate crybabies”, and will rally her party members like a Drill Sergeant whenever they have one of their cliched moments of depression. She’s also mentioned to be the oldest protagonist in FF history, although that isn’t much of an innovation when the previous characters were, at the most, in their early 20’s.

Regardless, Lightning sounds like a very promising lead character, especially if her personality closely matches fan favorite MGS3 character The Boss. Just try to block out the claim that she was initially designed as “a female Cloud”.

Sera/Sarah: Called “Pigtailed Girl” by casual observers and “NomChan” by psychopaths, Sera serves up the requisite cute girl portion of FFXIII’s party. The difference between previous characters like Penelo and Yuffie is that Sera seems to actually be integral to the story. One of the aforementioned magic users (called “Luci/Lusi”), Sera was kicked out of Cocoon and banished to Pulse, being one of the first to discover its true beauty. She is seen acquiring the Carbuncle summon from a CD-shaped disc, and also escorted by soldiers along with the game’s possible main villain.

I haven’t met a variation of the “cute girl” party member that I didn’t like, so Sera should be no different. Her design is quite sweet, looking like a young Aerith. Usually the cute girl character comes in two types: pure and innocent, or hyper and bratty. Sera’s probably the former, and it’ll be interesting how she’ll interact with “Crybaby Hater” Lightning. Personally I’m hoping they form the main relationship of the game (ala Final Fantasy XI’s Prishe and Ulmia), rather than turning Lightning into a hopeless romantic.

Snow Villiers: Called “Mr 33cm” by the staff, in reference to his shoe size, Snow was the second FFXIII character to be unveiled with mixed results. People were intrigued by the character due to the simple fact that he has facial hair (and is thus far manlier compared to characters like Vaan), but they were also put off by the rather ridiculous “Shiva Bike”, a summon of two Shivas that transform into a mortorcycle. I’ll just go on record by saying that I would really love a transforming Bahamut Airship and leave it at that.

Snow is classified to be Lightning’s “bodyguard”, to her annoyance; His carefree, joking attitude is said to get on her nerves, but she still ends up giving him a pep talk when he is seen doubting his abilities in one of the latest trailers. Snow vows to Lightning that he will “Finish the mission, and protect Sera”, but it’s unclear if protecting Sera is the mission, or if one objective conflicts with the other. His desire to protect both girls give me the feeling he’ll fulfill the Big Brother role seen in other hulking characters like Barret, Steiner, and Wakka.

Mysterious Woman: Shown in the newest trailer, this female soldier is seen during Sera’s escorting. Based on her outfit and affiliation with the other soldiers, she’s likely an enemy, but it remains to be seen if she’ll end up the main villain of the game. The odds are good though based on her design; If Lightning was modeled as a female Cloud (again, try to suppress your discomfort), it only makes sense that her rival would be a female Sephiroth. She’s got the coat and long hair down, but her sword is noticably shorter, almost like a dagger.

Regardless, I would love a swordswoman adversary to quarrel with Lightning, so I hope Sephirotica here delivers.

Battle System: Gameplay is said to utilize the popular but not-quite-perfect Gambit System from Final Fantasy XII, with more control given to the player. All enemies will appear onscreen, and some are said to vary in size (with large enemies said to be “very large”). Multiple party members are confirmed, but there will be many occasions where the group will split up into one or more teams, ala Final Fantasy IX. This time, however, you’ll be given a realtime look on all the characters via split screens.

The battles are also said to be quite frantic and furious, as the teams behind both this and Versus are competing to see who can recreate Advent Children’s fight scenes more accurately.

Artwork and Concepts (click for bigger size):

On the top left, you'll see a blurred out image of a new character. Is he a party member? An enemy?

Logo Confirmation: It's a Shinigami, an integral figure to the story. Uncomfirmed: If it likes apples.

Streaming Trailer

Downloadable Trailer

Synopsis: Tetsuya Nomura gets a lot of flack from westerners for his overuse by Square (he’s mentioned to currently be working on over five games at once) as well as his affinity for dressing characters in black, and inserting accessories in any part of their body that he so chooses, even if he is well aware that zippers do not belong on hats, nor are belts to be worn as armbands. But the majority must clearly favor him if he continues to work on most of Square’s projects, and Square clearly loves the guy so much that they’ve given him free reign to develop his own Final Fantasy XIII title alongside the main game (although keep in mind that’s not what the “Versus” in the title refers to, but rather to symbolize it as an extra chapter alongside FFXIII).

Me? I love the man’s work. Even if he does get a bit repetitive with his designs (as many game artists do), they still reek of coolness and otherworldly fashions. And if nothing else, he knows how to grab players emotionally; Kingdom Hearts I and II (his first gig as main director) resulted in several tear-inducing moments (in the latter’s case, just under 2 hours from the starting point). And the ever praised ending of Final Fantasy VII’s first disc? It was his idea.

That is why Final Fantasy Versus XIII, his first directed FF title, and the first game where he’s allowed full control over the story, gets my full attention. The game’s first trailer was one of the best teasers I’ve ever seen, showcasing a gritty, moody setting full of Shakespherian quotes, beautifully tragic music, and a main character who doesn’t look like the heroic type.  Versus has been referred to as “the darkest entry in the FF series”, full of characters neither good nor evil, but forced into opposing sides due to a war of terrotories and beliefs, and a plot that draws upon Shakesphere’s stories to create a branching cast of characters that may, inevitably, fall into tragedy.

It’s going to be awesome. So awesome.

Characters:

Noctis: The “hero” of the story, Noctis is described as the prince of a forgotten aristocrity, fighting off invaders from claiming his kingdom’s crystal. Despite the uncanny resemblance to Naruto’s Sasuke, Noctis has showcased moves and abilities even more impressive than Lightning’s. He has ten swords levitating around him, and frequently switches between the weapons during combat. He also has a teleporting ability that lets him instantly warp to whever his swords are thrown, and is shown to be utterly mercilous with whoever he fights (he is shown snapping the arms and necks of several of his attackers).

For people who couldn’t stand Cloud or Squall’s depressing personalities, Nomura has stated that Noctis has a personality completely different from the two of them. Just how different is unclear, but he’s also said to be rather arrogant, as well as somewhat shy. His chance meeting with Stella proves he makes a bigger effort to chat it up with pretty ladies.

Stella: Looking like a cross between Celes and Rinoa (I can only hope she shares more traits with the former rather than the latter), Stella is seen as a sword wielding girl with magical powers, and will undoubtedly form a relationship with Noctis. The two meet for the first time in a banquest hall, with Stella fully aware of Noctis’ royal heritage, as well as knowing that he has made contact with a Shinigami (displayed in the painting behind them), a sort of God revered by the citizens of the game, and ultimately having a greater role in the destinies of the two characters. The two characters have been shown engaging one another, their eyes filled with sadness rather than hatred. Undoubtedly, their “lover’s quarrell” will make up the bulk of the game’s promised tragedy. Just try not to make the obvious joke about her name.

Noctis’ Posse: Consisting of a wisecracking shotgun guy, an upbeat mullet guy, and a coolheaded glasses guy, these three guys are only confirmed to be “old friends” with Noctis, and apparently work with him to resolve whatever conflict is plaguing his kingdom. Noctis is shown to have a softer side when Shotgun Guy gives him a noogie embrace, whereas Cloud or Squall would instead make a face and push the guy off. It was confirmed that Noctis would have AI party members assisting him, just like Goofy and Donald in Kingdom Hearts, so it’ll probably be these guys.

My guess to their role in the story? They die. Yeah, all three of them. Calling it.

White Robed Character: There’s next to no details on this guy…assuming it is a guy (I won’t dismiss the possibility that it’s Stella), other than it seems that Noctis hates this person to death. Without a word, he unleashes his swords on the White Robed Person, who in turn summons up a magic circle, putting the two into a magical John Woo standoff.

Gameplay: Described as an action game similar to Kingdom Hearts, but with more emphasis on weapons, Nomura promises that players will be able to perform all the cool moves Noctis uses in the trailer…except that he might then lose all those abilities after the opening level, in a nod to Metroid Prime. There will also be firearms in the game, requring a switch from third person to first (likely for sniping). The two Kingdom Hearts games feature a very fun and exciting battle system, but lacks somewhat in challenge. If Versus can replicate that with more dynamic spells and abilities, along with battles that are more challenging (and undoubtedly, more violent), then Versus will no doubt be as fun to play as it’ll be to watch.

Artwork and Concepts (click for bigger size):

You can make out a concept pic of how in-game fighting should look on the lower left.

Logo Theory: Uh....

Streaming Trailer

Downloadable Trailer

Synopsis: So originally the third title in the FNC series was meant to be a cellphone game, so I was all “oh”. But now it’s going to be a PSP title, and now I’m all “whoa!”.

This game probably has the least information out of the three titles, but what is shown looks promising; Having a somewhat MMO feel like FFXI, you pick a character class of your choice and work with a group inside a magic training school, similar with the Gardens from FFVIII. I’ve said before that a FFVIII MMO where you can join the school of your choice and engage in missions would be entertaining, so Agito has my attention.

Also, its characters wear scarfs. Scarfs are awesome.

Characters:

As mentioned before, players choose whatever character and class they want. You’ve got gunslingers, martial artists, swordsmen and swordswomen. The one trait they share aside from the kickass scarfs is that they all use cards, though it’s unknown what the cards are for (magic, no doubt).

Gameplay: It’s an MMO. With Cards. Right then.

Artwork and Concepts (click for bigger size):

* All images taken from Final Fantasy-XIII.Net Downloadable trailers taken from NeoGAF. Stay angry, guys.