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Final Fantasy XV got a lot of big updates out of Jump Fiesta this weekend. A new trailer was aired at the event, featuring a new female character, a new town, a new summon, and assorted other new things: you can see the trailer in English (French subs) here. What’s even more exciting, however, is the series of comments on the trailer provided by its (still fairly new) director, Hajime Tabata.

The trailer features a new character, Cindy, who had been revealed in some screenshots earlier this week. Don't get too excited though, as she (sadly) won't have much of a role in the game's story.

The massive, uh, thing towards the end of the trailer is Titan - taking up his accustomed role as summoned monster in a truly titanic proportions. Tabata clarified that this is indeed the same size Titan will take when you summon him. Apparently, Titan will also play a big part in the story.

There is a new town featured in the trailer, a semi-tropical locale called Lestarg. This video shows a bit exploring around the new town, which is evidently quite big - but not the biggest that will be accessible within the game. There's also a "Dog Cam." I'm not really sure what's going on there, but it's cute so I'll approve for now.

Speaking to technical matters, Tabata pointed out that the clips in the trailer are seamless. Tabata said that the aim is to make the entire game transition seamlessly, but that loading time will likely be required in some places, particularly leading up to big plot cinematics.

Tabata also shared some interesting details on the game's use of time. One day is equal to an hour of gameplay, with daytime lasting some 40-45 minutes. Tabata pointed out that this means some battles will last multiple days. Eating and sleeping will be important in the game, providing stat bonuses and maintaining those bonuses, respectively. If you neglect sleep for three days, you'll start to see negative effects, and you won't be able to level up unless you take time to rest. The team appears quite excited about these elements of the game: Tabata said they hope it'll not only make the world more realistic but make the characters feel more human.

If you were unimpressed with the range of battle moves, the FFXV agrees with you: they're working to add more variety to physical battle, and look to make some big improvements to what they consider a currently-lackluster magic system (for this reason it was not shown in the trailer). Tabata stressed that while the trailer is indeed meant for advertisement (and not merely 'this is where we're at'), the team is hoping to continue improving just about everything featured in it.

Source: Square Enix Youtube, Youtube, Siliconera

Square Enix has just provided the first taste of what Final Fantasy XV's voice acting will sound like in English. You can view the clip here, at Square Enix's official UK YouTube channel.

The trailer, originally shown in Japanese at Tokyo Game Show 2014, occasions dialogue from several protagonists ranging from trivial to epic to a hearty helping of battle-grunting.

Two new SaGa games were announced at Square Enix's SaGa 25th Anniversary show earlier today, both slated for 2015 release. The first, for browsers, will be titled Imperial SaGa; the second, exclusively for the PSP, has only been given the working title SaGa 2015. A few screenshots of the former and a few sketches relating to the later are just about all we have to go by so far. Series composer Kenji Ito has been confirmed as returning for the PSP title, if not for Imperial SaGa.

Series creator Akitoshi Kawazu had said earlier this year that a new title was in development, but the announcement had been delayed more than once. With none of the preceding SaGa titles available in digital formats in western markets, fans of the series are sure to be excited. Right? If any of you are still around, out of the woodworks with ye!

Source: Siliconera, Gematsu

Yesterday the long-awaited Patch 2.45 launched for Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. The biggest addition is the new Eternal Bonding ceremony, or, um, marriage. As announced at E3 this past summer, gay Eternal Bonding will indeed be an available option. Most of the rest of the content is minor, so if you're interested check out the source link below. This will likely be the last significant update prior to the massive Heavensward expansion due out next spring.

In addition to the ongoing PC free trial offer, a Playstation free trial is set to become available at the end of the month.

Source: Official FFXIV Site, Siliconera

For a brief period yesterday / this morning (depending on where you're reading this from), Square Enix's official French store website prematurely listed a version of the HD remastered Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2 combo for PS4. This hasn't been officially announced yet - hence the "likely" in this story's title - but the fact that it showed up on an official company webpage makes it seem a pretty safe bet. That and, of course, the fact that it isn't a particularly surprising move.

In the meantime, I'll just go back to pining for a FFX-3 (cue my topic on the audio drama "Will" included with the HD re-release.)

Source: IGN

Warning: these snippets are very snippety. Also, they do not include a FFVII remake.

In a recent interview, Kingdom Hearts 3 co-director Tai Yasue said that Marvel and Star Wars are available for use in the game. Everything in the Disney stable is on the table, Yasue says, and that the team is having a hard time deciding what to and what not to include. It's really busting my brain to imagine Darth Vader in KH, but we've already seen Disney's liberal employment of their franchises in the pursuit of cash-money, so perhaps it isn't so crazy as it sounds.

This next news is already a week old, but worth throwing in: a new trailer has been released for Final Fantasy Type-0, which will be released in March of 2015. It's safe to say that Square Enix is entering the pre-release build-up phase with this one. Hajime Tabata, the game's director and recently-appointed director has expressed the desire to make them into a series in their own right ('Type-1,' 'Type-2,' and 'Type-3' have all been trademarked for several years now), so there's a fair bit hinging on the upcoming title - aside from the oft-alluded-to financial pressure on Square Enix. Perhaps to encourage early purchases, this trailer says for the first time that the afore-promised FFXV demos will be included with Type-0 "while supplies last."

Finally, Square Enix has done a soft-release of a new, free-to-play, mobile PvP strategy RPG, Heavenstrike Rivals. As part of its soft-release, the title isn't available at all in the US; it is available on iOS in Canada, however, and I *think* on Android in the UK. At any rate: not available in US, currently exists in English, and will eventually be available for both mobile platforms. The art style is quite pleasant (check the third link below) and it boasts "over 230 units." Early reviews seem mixed, many agreeing that the game doesn't seem finished yet - no surprises there! - but seem to be positive enough that it's worth keeping an eye on. For our members in territories / with the appropriate platforms, see if you can check it out and let us hear your thoughts!

Source: Kotaku, Siliconera, Google Store