Recent information has surfaced which confirms that FF XIV will have 18 different classes to choose from.  The classes are a solid 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  named the Disciples of Magic and there only two of them, the Conjurer and Thaumaturge. Gatherers, Disciples of The Land, also consist of the Miner, Botanist and Fisherman. The crafters are also known as the Disciples of The Hand, adding up to a total of eight different branches: Carpenter, Blacksmith, Armourer, Goldsmith, Leather Worker, Weaver, Alchemist and Culinarian.  As of now, the beta version only allows usage of a few of these classes.

Final Fantasy XIV's Armoury system will enable players the ability to specialize in either a single skill or mixing them up to meet their desires. These 18 classes should be plenty to keep people occupied once the game releases on September 30.

There is also an interesting FF XIV blog to check out for additional information and stories about the game.  Go to Final Fantasy XIV Guide for more.

It looks like FF XIII Versus is back in the spotlight.  Tetsuya Nomura has recently revealed some interesting details about the game in Famitsu magazine.  New scans and images are shown in the issue, including a Behemoth battle.  All of this is captured in real-time and confirmed to be using the PlayStation 3 hardware.  Nomura revealed that battles are seamless transitions, battle encounters are both random and symbol-based (able to see enemies in advance), cloud effects use real physics calculations and the world will be an open field for freedom and exploration (except for mountains).  There should be more news on this anticipated title at this year's upcoming Tokyo Game Show.

There is an interesting concert entitled "Fantasy Comes Alive", which will feature live orchestrated performances from all of your favourite classic game series, including Super Mario Bros, Megaman, Final Fantasy and Chrono Cross.  The concert will also play pieces from critically acclaimed animation series such as Totoro, Evangelion and Howl's Moving Castle.  The special guest is none other than composer Hitoshi Sakimoto from Final Fantasy XII and Tactics fame.

See below for more information and details of this concert.  Don't miss out on this unforgettable experience in Singapore for two nights only!

FANTASY COMES ALIVE! celebrates the rich musical legacy of video games and anime, bringing the greatest soundtracks from console and screen into the concert hall for a ‘live’ performance by a symphonic chamber orchestra.

Experience your favourite soundtracks from classic 8-bit video game series to today's greatest, including music from Granado Espada, Final Fantasy, Echochrome, Chrono Cross, Super Mario Brothers, Tetris, Megaman as well as masterpieces from anime such as My Neighbour Totoro, Tsubasa Chronicle, Neon Genesis Evangelion and Howl's Moving Castle just to name a few! Accompanied by on screen footage from the games and anime, FANTASY COMES ALIVE! promises to be a nostalgic and unforgettable concert experience for the young and the young at heart.

Our special guest is renowned video game and anime composer HITOSHI SAKIMOTO, best known for scoring the games Final Fantasy XII, Final Fantasy Tactics, Valkyria Chronicles, Odin Sphere as well as the animes Romeo x Juliet and The Tower of Druaga.

For ticketing and more information please visit: www.fantasycomesalive.com

TWO SHOWS ONLY
April 30 & May 1 2010, 8:00pm
University Cultural Centre Hall (NUS Centre For The Arts)
Singapore

Relive the magic of video games and anime through the soul of music ... FANTASY COMES ALIVE!

Square-Enix has recently proclaimed that FFXIII is the fastest selling title in the entire history of the franchise.  The first five days of release alone has seen the title reach sales of 1 million copies in North America and the game has shipped 5 million copies thus far.  Then again, remember that this is the first simultaneous release of FF on multiple consoles (PS3 and Xbox360).  This is encouraging news of Square-Enix and they are no doubt quite impressed with overall sales.  However, the game still has a long ways yet to reach the record mark of total sales set by Final Fantasy VII's 10 million copies sold worldwide.

In a recent interview by the UK's Playstation community with FFXIII's producer and designer, Yoshinori Kitase and Motomu Toriyama, revealed some interesting information.  Kitase has expressed interest in a possible FFXIII release in 3D.  Kitase mentioned that there is already a FFXIII 3D trailer in Japanese cinemas, shown along with the smash-hit Avatar. With the great success of Avatar, we should expect to see the gaming industry embrace such technology in the near future.

Square-Enix released a video containing the features and contents for both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 version of their collector's edition.  You can check out the video below to see the box.  Additionally, the collector's edition comes with a selection of the game's soundtrack by composer Masashi Hamauzu, book featuring character artwork, CG and background artwork, collection art prints of the game's eidolons as well as an art decal featuring the brand of L'Cie.

Video link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzb5k1MzdHM

To begin the slew of FF XIII tidbits, Square-Enix has finally revealed the final Japanese trailer of FF XIII.  This video is five minutes long and features some excellent cut scenes.  Additionally, several new characters are shown throughout the trailer as well as some gameplay footage.  Enjoy the trailer here.

The European and North American versions of FFXIII's boxart has also been confirmed.  This is quite different as usually the European boxarts typically only feature the game's logo only.

Famitsu has released outstanding digital images of previous scans, including shots of new monsters, different landscapes and battle screens.

We will have more updates in regards to FF XIII as the Japanese release date of Dec 17th, 2009 gets closer.  In the meantime, there is another three months of waiting left!

(Past News)