This afternoon in Japan, Square-Enix held a brief press conferance, shortly after the final episode of Before Crisis was made available for download. The conferance was private and only available to members of the news media, though some information has leaked in the last couple of hours on the Japanese 2ch message boards.
During the meeting, Yoichi Wada showcased several trailers for the FFVII Compilation, including the Crisis Core trailer that was first shown at the SE Party last year, telling the audience to look forward to this year's E3.
The primary focus, however, was was Before Crisis. Several staff members apparantly spoke about the success of the game, and briefly discussed how they went about designing the game on a monthly basis. The director also mentioned that he wished they had spent more time designing Azul, after it was decided that he would be featured in Dirge of Cerberus.
However, before the conferance ended, the Before Crisis team premiered an interesting piece of news, which nobody expected. Due to the popularity of Before Crisis, they announced a follow up title to Before Crisis, which will once again be for the mobile platform.
The tentative title of the next game in the Compilation is
"Era Clash -Final Fantasy VII-", and development is already underway. The game is being developed for the latest generation of iMode phones, such as the p902i, which are capable of displaying detailed 3D graphics.
The game will feature 3D graphics, using an engine similair to the recent Code Age: Brawls, which unfortunately means that it likely won't be seen stateside for quite some time.
Many of these details are difficult to confirm at this time, but what we do know is that, like BC, the game will be a prequel,
starting more than 14 years before FFVII. The title specifically reflects that the game takes place before the 'era' in which most of the Compilation is set.
In Era Clash, the player will take the role of a recent SOLDIER recruit, as the Shinra Company prepares to go to war with the world. Throughout Shinra's campaign, you will be able to meet and fight alongside legends like Zack and Sephiroth, as well as learn more about the pasts of characters such as Restrictor, Weiss, and even Johnny.
The premise of the game is very similair to Before Crisis, in that you select one of several pre-made characters which have different gameplay styles, weapons, personalities, and stories, and then play through various episodes which will be released on a monthly basis.
They mentioned having greater varieties in weapons and materia, and that characters will now be able to learn special attacks by leveling up, in the form of Limit Breaks, though how they will be implemented is not yet known.
More details, as well as a full-length trailer, are planned for E3. It was also hinted that
this and Crisis Core may not be the only big announcements concerning FFVII for E3. These new developments are surely exciting, and we will be keeping you up to date as best as possible, so check back later for any new developments.
Credits: Posts #416, 432, and 434 in the Comp of FFVII thread at 2ch, and #768 and 773 in the Before Crisis thread at 2ch.
Thanks to Suzie-chan at ACF for the info!EDIT : Some screenshots:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v417/WtW...ku/eraclash.jpghttp://img436.imageshack.us/img436/1125/up02847mn.jpg---
What do you guys think? I don't think this will end the compilation, seeing that it showcases events 14 years before FF7. What with the new major announcement coming up at E3, I think most likely we'll see either a remake or yet another new title in the compilation. <_<
I say, ENOUGH SE ENOOOUUUGGGHHHH. No more nibelheim event, PLZ.