It's a question that has plagued us for years: what exactly makes a Final Fantasy game? We've had countless discussions over whether the latest instalment is a "true" FF and tried to think about what we'd like to put in upcoming ones. But Square Enix has got the hint, and has given us the five must-haves for all Final Fantasy games.

The first, and most obvious of all, is Magic. It plays a vital role in the gameplay mechanics, as well as helping to shape each world into something unique. It's even an integral part of the traditional job system; you wouldn't get anywhere if your mages couldn't case magic! Even games taking a futuristic or science fiction approach (looking at you, VII, VIII and XIII) contain magic, so it really is a staple.

Second, and building on the first, is Summoning. This is an odd thing to include considering the original Final Fantasy lacked summoning. Indeed, it wasn't until Final Fantasy III (the Japanese version) that summoning and the summoner class even became A Thing^TM. But it has become a constant inclusion, even becoming one the core plot ...

The Final Fantasy XIII trilogy is set up like this: the first installment is story-driven, the second is player-driven, and the third - Lightning Returns - will be world-driven. It seems a little strange at first, but Motomu Toriyama, the director for Lightning Returns spoke with 4gamer and has given us a little more clarity and some fresh info to boot.

The concept behind the game is that Lightning, our heroine once more, has just 13 days to save the world. From what evil force, we're not sure yet, but with each "day" working out to be something like 1-2 hours real time, it seems like a hasty adventure. Except not so much. Or potentially. Lightning's actions can slow down the impending doom, or actually speed it up. It's going to be the core component; managing your time effectively is the only way to succeed. And what happens if you run out of time? Game over, man, game over.


The world will run to its schedule though, with NPCs going ...

We're all aware of the fact that Final Fantasy XIV bombed at release. It was catastrophic, up there with the crash caused by The Spirits Within. In fact, Naoki Yoshida says that another flop like it would probably destroy the company. With a mountain of pressure on Yoshida, it's comforting to see the constant updates through the Letters from the Producer as well as the new dev blog for A Realm Reborn. These updates are allaying fears and showing fans that the game is in good hands.

So what went wrong the first time? Yoshida puts it down to the lack of vision shown by the original development team. Their goal to just create a game that was different to Final Fantasy XI was a misstep, and one which put the team in a bad position. Despite the poor reception Final Fantasy XIV received during Beta testing, the game was pushed through to be released on time. All in all, it was a bit of a mess.

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Welcome back to another week. Ciddies Fever has struck, and it's put our usual updater Goldenboko in a bit of a tizzy! We apologise for the delay, but let's get straight to what's happening!

• Ciddies XXIII is under way, and we're currently in the voting stage! Go here to have your voice heard, and don't forget to look out for speeches and predictions as well!
• For the very first time, we're running the Final Fantasy Ciddies, which is as close to an official Final Fantasy Awards ceremony as you'll find. Join in the fun with Award Chocobo right here!
• Feeling artsy? Why not take part in our Fanart Competition and potentially have your work as EoFF's new bannering! Let your creative side lose in here.
• Christmas is coming! To get into the festive spirit, why not sign up for our annual Christmas card swap?
• Feeling like it's party time? We are too! Which Final Fantasy characters would you most like to party with? Discuss your top picks in here!
• Something about this time of year puts love in the

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North Americans can get excited as they've just scored a neat little Final Fantasy spinoff for iOS and Android. Time to live out those sky pirate fantasies as you take to the skies with your own airship and adventure with friends! Japan has already been enjoying this one for a while - they are pretty big on their social games after all - but interested NA folks can pre-register so they're alerted as soon as the game is available. You'll also score a free 3-month exclusive Cloud Strife in-game card! Goodies all around, that's what I'm talking about.

[Source: Square-Enix] ...

Square Enix hosted a live conference showcasing the power of its Luminous Engine, the tool behind the absolutely gorgeous Agni's Philosophy tech demo. While there are rumours that Agni's Philosophy might actually be a game, the engine itself is already proving to be super impressive. The video below shows parts of the tech demo being edited on the fly. I can't even comprehend how detailed all of this is. It's like playing with the Sims Creator except on steroids. Magical.

We'll be keeping our eyes on Agni's Philosophy and the Luminous Engine, because they're just too beautiful to look away!


[Source: siliconera] ...

Almost a month ago we caught wind of a remake of the seventh installment in the Dragon Quest series. The game was being remade from the ground up, with a complete graphical overhaul. The first screens from this 3DS remake have been released, showcasing the player characters, enemies and locations. And, honestly, they look much better than the original Dragon Warrior VII.
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Final Fantasy is a diverse series. Each game has its own fans, its own flavour, its own strengths. If there was ever going to be a single, uniting factor though, the soundtracks to Final Fantasy are definitely it. You could listen exclusively to video game tracks or you might throw them on to relax or even to rock out with some nostalgia, but no matter the reason, the FF music is something memorable.

One group of FF fans have combined their passion for music and passion for FF into something great: a Square-Enix tribute band called The World Is Square. The Boston five-piece have put out their first tribute album - No Phoenix Down Can Save You Now - and have been playing live shows all over the place, so you just know they're good.


I had a quick chat with them to find out a little bit more about how the band came to be, what makes them tick and some other quirky facts along the way!

Q: What came first: a love of music or a love of Final Fantasy?
Lauren: Definitely a love of music. We all have pretty varied tastes in music, I'd say music was our all around first passion.

Q: What were the first FFs you guys played?
Josh: The first ones I played were FFVII & Tactics.
Dave: I love Tactics, but mine was FFVI.
Lauren: FFIX, I still love ...

Sephex has been on a live streaming binge lately, playing countless retro games for our enjoyment. Today he starts one of our favourites - Final Fantasy IV. Things are about to kick off, so click here to join him and watch things unfold.

Cecil will be renamed Sephex, but all the other character names will be up for grabs. Join us in #eoff chat and see yourself as one of your favourite characters! Join us on this magical journey, and don't forget to pack some cheese!

EDIT: The live stream has finished for today! If you couldn't make it, you missed the travels of Sephex, his dragoon pal Futan!, the summoner girl Jiri (that's me!), the wise wizard fOa, the cowardly bard Laddy, and the sexy white mage love interest Proto!

If we're lucky, Sephex might be doing a second session tomorrow, so watch this space!

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And I feel fine.

It finally happened. The moon of Dalamud has come crashing down, signalling the end of Final Fantasy XIV 1.x. If you weren't there to witness the of the game yourself, then you're not quite out of luck - I have a video showing the epic climax to 1.x right here. Almost as good as being there, right?
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Things have been started looking pretty grim for Square Enix in the past few weeks. Dampening the successful updates coming out of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn are reports that the company posted a half-yearly loss of around US$68 million.

And now, a former Square head honcho has hit them hard.


Hisashi Suzuki, former Square Enix president, slammed the 2003 merger via twitter and said the company lacked vision for the future. Pretty harsh words; will they prove true?

[Sources: Kotaku, siliconera] ...

The Distant Worlds show has been making the rounds, bringing the wonder of Final Fantasy music to fans around the world. On November 2 it stopped in London. Psychotic was lucky enough to go along, and has this personal account of the event to share. Enjoy!

There was a real buzz around the Royal Albert Hall, everybody was excited and expectant about what they were going to see. Cosplayers milled around; Rinoa was accompanied by a pair of SeeDs, a Cid Highwind cosplayer had somehow managed to bring in a huge spear, but perhaps the highlight was a man dressed in golden spandex with a chocobo hat.


Arnie Roth burst upon the stage to the crowd's excitement. The excitement reached fever pitch when he introduced Masashi Hamauzu and of course, Nobuo Uematsu. Uematsu was his typical eccentric self, wearing white socks with sandals. The crowd went even crazier when Roth declared that the previously unannounced Hironobu Sakaguchi was in attendance, although the spotlight failed to find him so who knows if the great man himself was really there.

The London Philharmonic ...

This is the result of many hours of tireless work by a dedicated team of voice actors with a simple goal: dub the greatest fanfic ever written. Born of Del Murder's mind, this project out grew him and soon came to be the love child of numerous EoFFers. I present the fruits of Project Lovehurts...




Join in this thread to see your work brought to life in the next instalment, and keep an eye out for sign ups for Chapter 2. ...

Do you remember the charm of the 2D sprite based Final Fantasy games? Well Kasuko Shibuya, an artist on the original Famicom games, has whipped up a mock cover for the Final Fantasy Tribute ~Thanks~ album. Will it be the final product? Who knows, I'm just enjoying the sight of our 2D heroes and villains!


[Sources: Crunchyroll, siliconera] ...