It’s the weekend of the Penny Arcade Expo, and that means a lot of stuff is happening in the video game world. Earlier today, Square-Enix released a new trailer of gameplay footage for Final Fantasy XIV that shows off a new ability: Limit Breaks!



Did you see the mage at the end summoning the massive rock to drop on the dragon? How incredibly badass was that?

Limit Breaks are just one of the many planned new abilities and features for A Realm Reborn. This is not just an individual ability, but an entirely new feature that emphasizes group dynamics. A party can build up a shared group limit break by their collective actions, and utilize them for devastating results.

This video was first shown live at the 25th Anniversary event last night, where an SE rep held a brief content presentation on changes to FFXIV. This was supposed to be streamed, but I can only find this recording of it. It’s fairly long, so I’ll break down some highlights of the changes discussed (minus the Limit Break info discussed above):

• Reworking combat ...

Following on from a few weeks of rumours and speculation, Square Enix has announced Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII which as you may suspect from the title, stars none other than Lightning in a whole new quest.


From what little we know, it sounds as though Lightning will be something of a lone wolf in this game, and it will be the final installment in her story. Players will have a lot more control to shape Lightning the way they want, in terms of appearance, fighting and movement style.

This particular episode will take place several hundreds of years after what happened in FFXIII-2. The game is set in a world called Novus Partus, a Latin name which can be very roughly translated to "New Birth". It consists of four islands, all interlinked with a monorail system.

A very intriguing gameplay element that has been made known is the Doomsday Countdown. The world of Novus Partus is destined to come to a screeching halt after 13 days (Final Fantasy THIRTEEN... see what they did ...

Final Fantasy XIV Producer Naoki Yoshida released another letter today to discuss the game, focusing on the upcoming alpha test and “grand finale” for this version of FFXIV. For starters, Yoshida has assured us that this time, they plan to get things right:

The development team will be looking for alpha testers soon, and they will put up a tester recruitment site with all of the details. We’ll be sure to update you when that goes live.

As for the grand finale of FFXIV 1.x, Yoshida informs us that the last save maintenance for current character data is scheduled for November 1, 2012, with the downtime of all Worlds starting ...

Final Fantasy XIV got a rocky start but has recently made waves on the 2.0 version or what they are calling " A Realm Reborn." Who knew they really did plan on ditching all the old to bring in the new.



A retailer posted on the NeoGaf forums that he was issued a field destroy on the original Final fantasy XIV games. They say the Rep for Square Enix told them they'd credit $16 for each game. If you don't know, Field Destroy means to physically get rid of the games in retail stores. When questioned, Square had this to say originally ignoring the rumor.

When pressed further they released this statement:

...

Square Enix is trying to go back to it's roots with Final Fantasy Dimensions. Originally released two years ago in Japan as Final Fantasy Legends, Dimensions will finally be available for English speaking markets.

It will have a similar look to Final Fantasy IV: The After Years and a job changing system like Final Fantasy V. If you were a fan of the older games in the series you'll be fans of this one. It'll be available August 31st, 2012 for Android and iOS. ...

You may have noticed we have a lot going on right now on the forums. So much so you may have missed some of it! Here's a recap of some notable threads you might want to check out.

• Do you have a rockin' screen name? Are there others that have awesome screen names that you just can't help but weep in admiration? Come toss in your votes in the Summer Screen Name Tournament. Make sure your favorite stays in there.

• The Events Committee has just started Eyes on Plays Final Fantasy X for the first game in a celebration of the most popular of the series from several generations in preparation for the 25th anniversary. They have various challenges but if you haven't played the game in a while it's the perfect time to run through it with your fellow EoFFers.

• Eyes on You is current investigating our resident Swedish staffer. If you have a question for him, head over and ask!
• What happens when the FFX cast isn't fighting giant monsters and saving the known world? Don't Quit your Day Job FFX Cast!

• You want to be a Cid's Knight? Well so do

...

Final Fantasy VII for the PC has now been officially released on the PC. Unfortunately it's still having some problems. There have been various problems. Some people are having issues with the sound, others with the achievements. Mostly though it's another DRM problem. Many users haven't been getting their serial codes.

The game itself isn't really updated. The graphics are a little stretched on most screens these days. Square-Enix may have missed a perfect opportunity to even just slightly tweak the classic for a whole new audience.

Square-Enix has at least apologized about the DRM by releasing this statement.

...

I'll start with the pretty stuff rather than a wall of text, because if you're anything like me, you want the goodies.



Screenshots: ƒXƒNƒGƒj�AGamescom 2012‚É‚Ä�uFFXIV: �V�¶ƒGƒIƒ‹ƒ[ƒA�v�Å�VSS‚ðŒöŠJ - GAME Watch

For those who don't know, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn (aka Final Fantasy XIV 2.0) is basically a sequel to Final Fantasy XIV, but your character from Final Fantasy XIV (the original/current one) gets imported into the game and Final Fantasy XIV (original/current) will cease to exist. It is, in effect, a completely new game. It has a new graphics engine, new server system, new features, new battle system, new gathering system... all the stuff from the current game, such as storyline and maps? The story will be 'in the past', the maps will be completely redesigned.

Something big and bad is coming to Eorzea, and it will involve all characters being sent to a 'timeless zone' and then dropped back into the game in A Realm Reborn, to explore the new maps, the new storyline, ...

Outside of the whole screenshots and gameplay footage found in the other thread, there is a lot being said on the internets about what is being said at Gamescom. Expect some things to be lost in translation (Japanese to German to English to Occasional Poor Journalist Putting Words In People's Mouths to ...me!)...

- It is likely that FFXIV's existing players will be given priority placement in the beta for A Realm Reborn.
- It is likely that, eventually, FFXIV's existing players will be given the ability to transfer their current character into the beta.
- A Golden Saucer-like place is being worked on where people can gamble away all their gil (economy impact sounds high for that one!). This will not likely be available at launch.
- The new story will be "very Final Fantasy".
- They are continuing to work on how best to implement FFVI-styled Magitek Armour (and FFIII's Crystal Tower).
- The graphics are apparently "the best in MMORPG history" - something that I can imagine some people will put to the test...
- Summons ...

Over the past weekend a little early gem popped up for fans. Final Fantasy VII for the PC went up for sale for $12.70. There was no hype, no news of this releasing so early. It was just a sudden release so fans were ecstatic.

Unfortunately for those people who went ahead and purchased it, it didn't work! Square Enix was testing their new site for the FF7 PC re-release. They uploaded an unfinished version of the PC game for testing. Being the internet, people found their testing before they were able to appropriately assess it. This is what customers bought though, the unfinished version. There was a DRM issue and a lot of frustration.

If you were one of these eager fans, SE is offering a full refund as well as the download for the game when it officially arrives for free!

Square Enix released a statement:

...

Destructoid has an exclusive interview with the three composers behind the soundtrack to Dream Drop Distance. They talk about how things like what their favourite songs are and how they felt about reuniting after all this time. ...

Just a few days ago, a rumor that Final Fantasy Versus XIII had been canceled was flying around the internet and picked up by several sites. Eventually this rumor found its way to Square Enix's Yoichi Wada, who tweeted that, contrary to popular belief, the game is still very much alive!

Happy to hear it? Come talk about it in our subforum! ...

Hironobu Sakaguchi, creator of Final Fantasy, may finally see his newest game out in English speaking countries! His company Mistwalker developed The Last Story but XSEED picked it up for English translations. Earlier today they announced the release date and a preorder incentive via Twitter.

Originally Posted by XSEED on Twitter

[The Last Story Unveil of Awesomeness!] TLS is set to release 8/14! AND we're including the soundtrack as pre-order incentive bonus!

The music seems amazing already from the trailers. Some fans may even recognize the composer. Nobuo Uematsu joins Sakaguchi in bringing back the very roots of Final Fantasy to a new series. If you have yet to see an English trailer, check it out!


The game comes out August 14th. Pre-order it for the soundtrack! ...

Do you want to be cool? Do you want to have your name written in the history pages of EoFF? Do you have far too much free time on your hands? Do you like Final Fantasy XIII-2? If you answered any of those, you can help out!

Turns out our Final Fantasy XIII-2 section needs some work. Who best to help write things about the series we love than those who love it? With the game only having been out for a few months we haven't been able to get that section all nice and polished! Any little bit helps. We want to keep having awesome info for all who visit our site so if you can help, go take a gander at the FFXIII-2 Site Content section and see what you can do! *Free cookies to all those who help!

Look through the Section!

Specifically the to-do list!

If you've played the game and don't feel comfortable in writing detailed walkthroughs and the like, we even need reviews. Just tell us what you thought about the game in a review and it'll help! If you plan on doing something and forget, don't ...