Hard to believe that three years on, news and information about Final Fantasy XIII is still ridiculously hard to come by. Square Enix seems to be content with drip feeding its legions of fans, teasing and tantalising. It's all fun and games till someone gets hurt, right?

Fret not Fantasti-fans, Japanese gaming mag Famitsu's got some info for ya. Details on the highly anticipated FFXIII demo disc, as well as story and gameplay information lie just a click away. Go! Go! Bionic!

Wired Life managed to snag a short interview with games producer Hironobu Sakaguchi during the Lost Odyssey E3 2007 presentation. The Final Fantasy creator talked about some particulars about his Mistwalker Studio's latest opus, Lost Odyssey, as well as the direction his well-renowned Final Fantasy series is taking in its quest to conquer next-gen consoles. Wired asked Sakaguchi about what made Lost Odyssey different from Blue Dragon, another one of his projects. He answered,

The world is different -- in Blue Dragon the characters are designed by [Akira] Toriyama, so the style is adjusted to his work. In this one, it's designed by [Takehiko] Inoue, so the taste is more realistic and the story itself is deeper and heavier. And the theme is more humanistic.

Sakaguchi also delves into the reason why he chose to adapt a turn-based game engine on a next-gen console game, where he can put to use the more spontaneous and modern real-time based battle system.

There are pros and cons for both sides, whether it's turn-based or action-oriented video games. For this theme and this design, turn-based is better than action-oriented, so I chose that. I'm trying to evolve turn-based games to the next generation.

Judging by the whole slew of trailers out for Lost Odyssey, Sakaguchi was right in making the action for Lost Odyssey turn-based. With its old school game system mixed with such deliciously rich HD graphics, Mistwalker's newest title is sure to draw a following from both veteran and newer players alike.

One of the more interesting highlights in the interview, however, is Sakaguchi's off-hand mention of the possibility that Yoshitaka Amano, the first Final Fantasy character designer (and still designing all Final Fantasy logos) will work alongside Sakaguchi and his game designing company, Mistwalker.

You may recall seeing a medieval-style art in the earlier Final Fantasy titles, such as Final Fantasy VI. Those are drawn by Yoshitaka Amano, who also created the ethereal Vampire Hunter D.

It will be quite interesting to see an FF installment featuring Amano's uniquely medieval designs in the future, and it's a good thing that it may become more than a possibility. Stay tuned here at QJ as we get more updates!

Read the full interview in the Read link!

Christian Lorenz Scheurer, the artist who designed the conceptual artwork for Lost Odyssey, draws characters like he was a mix of Yoshitaka Amano (early Final Fantasy games) and Peter Chung ("Aeon Flux"). The characters are beautiful, and you know which one is male, and which one is female, but you can't help but think, "What if...?"

Such questions aren't so important once you get into the world of Mistwalker's Lost Odyssey though. When you're cursed to live 1000 years without the ability to die, sex changes don't seem as impossible when you have the time.

Kaim and Seth are both cursed with the 1000-year life span, yet they each have different ways of viewing the world and their lives. Both have had to deal with the pain of living for so long, and the memories of horrible and tragic things, yet they are motivated to find meaning in life. While Kaim lives in the wars of the past, accepting his role as a warrior and the horrors that come with it, Seth wants to look for the meaning behind her immortality, and look ahead towards what can be done with that power.

You can't help but wonder when they'll meet in their lifetimes, or how often. I personally wonder if this is going to end up as a n epic love story set across the boundless seas of time. But then again, that's the romantic in me. Keep checking QJ for more on these two undying characters as they make their own way in the world, and on when we'll be able to live their lives with them.