If only we could read Japanese then the language barrier would not have delayed the info and we could've gotten them sooner. Caught the Famitsu scans for Final Fantasy XIII (Xbox 360, PS3) we posted yesterday? Now we know what those Japanese text walls have been trying to tell us.

Japanese gaming mag, Famitsu, comes up big again in their latest issue, where they managed to get hold of more info on the characters that we'll be meeting next year in Final Fantasy XIII (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3), as well as a few other gameplay elements. For now, we're stuck with getting details when they come, and come they just did, so read up and stay updated.

Apart from the Metal Gear feature I posted about earlier, Famitsu also scored an interview with Square Enix's Tetsuya Nomura. The Final Fantasy Versus XIII director shared a few bits of info about the new Final Fantasy games currently in development.

The upcoming demo for Final Fantasy XIII packaged with Advent Children Complete will only be 50% of what you'll see in the final game, according to new info from the Japanese mag, Dengeki PlayStation 3. That and more after the link.

Talk about "adding some volume" to the stringy cast of Final Fantasy XIII. The latest issue of V-Jump reveals a new character to join Lightning, Snow, and Vanille's party: Sazh Kalzroy. And for once, we can finally recognize a Square Enix character as being most definitely male! (Oh my, a non-androgynous SE character - has hell frozen over?) Check out the full article for the scan introducing this odd-ball character!

Heads up, Square Enix fans! News has trickled in for all three entries to the Fabula Nova Crystallis series. The biggest news? We'll finally get to watch a battle scene from Final Fantasy XIII by the end of the year. Looks like we'll finally get to see how the gameplay system works. More after the link.

In a recent interview, Square Enix producer Yoshinori Kitase, talks on some of the specifics for the command systems of the three games that comprise Final Fantasy XIII. Now if you've been following news on the Fabula Nova Crystallis series, then most of what Kitase says will already be familiar to you, but let this serve as a refresher course. Fabula Nova Crystallis 101.

It ain't over till it's over. Yes, fanboys and fangirls. The whole brouhaha over the Xbox 360 version of FFXIII is still abuzz, and yet there really seems to be no rest for the wicked (no pun intended). Producers Shinji Hashimoto and Yoshinori Kitase have finally opened up about the Xbox 360 version, as well as a confirmation on the FFVII announcement that's sure to "shock the fans." *Gasp!*

 Is there any truth that there's a bitter rivalry between Square Enix icons Yoshinori Kitase and Tetsuya Nomura? Is this the reason why they're supposedly working on separate Final Fantasy Versus XIII games? What does he think of former boss Hironobu Sakaguchi's work with the Final Fantasy franchise? All the answers in the full article.

Most of us are heating up with the impending release of Grand Theft Auto 4, but there's no need to lose your cool. Just like last week, a modest batch of titles will hit shelves as prelude to April's main act. Square Enix is ready to make some noise in The World Ends With You, while Nintendo is letting the Pokemon loose with Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness and Explorers of Time. The rest are waiting at the full article.

* Article originally posted Apr 21, 2008 at 12:48AM