Final Fantasy XIII at TGS: What to Expect

With the game promised for a 2009 release over in Japan by the time the Tokyo Game Show rolls around on the 24th September, there'll barely be 3 months before the game is released unless - horror of horrors - it gets delayed. We don't think it will, though - here's our list of what to expect from Square Enix's Final Fantasy XIII at and in the run-up to the Tokyo Game Show.

A Release Date Announcement
With the game's promised release window looming, Square will almost certainly have to make an announcement sooner rather than later in order to begin what will undoubtedly be a multi-million dollar advertising campaign and aggressive preorder campaign.

We believe that the FF13's release date will be announced before the show, specifically at the Final Fantasy XIII Premiere Party, which is taking place on the 8th September at 7pm over at the Miraikan National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation.

The event will likely feature a press conference, meet-and-greet with the voice cast, a demo and the announcement of that magical date, price and information on any possible special edition.

All New Playable Demo
Square Enix confirmed to us that there will be a new segment of FF13 playable on the show floor at TGS in order to give eager fans a chance to experience exactly how the game plays. We'll finally get a non-confusing, hands-on look at the Paradigm Shift system that was talked about at GamesCom, and we'll also see a bunch of new areas.

We'll of course be giving our impressions of what we see and play, and hopefully those arguments about if the graphics in the final version have been changed from initial screenshots will finally be settled once and for all once we see a near-enough final version of the game running.

New Storyline Trailer
For those unlucky enough to not be at the show, Square Enix will release an all new trailer showcasing the new areas and characters introduced at TGS. Despite TGS being aimed at Japanese audiences, versions of this trailer with both Japanese and English voiceover will likely be released, as happened with the E3 2009 trailer.

New Characters Debut
At GamesCom we and other press were shown two new characters - a cute and bubbly female cast member and the son of gun-wielding Sazh. We weren't told their names and merely given a quick glimpse at their official artwork. We believe that these characters will be shown in detail at TGS.

Square Enix representatives also told us that the girl's name has been mentioned in previous trailers - fans have deducted that her name is likely Serah, who was mentioned in both the Western Announce and E3 trailers.

More Soundtrack Information
Music is a big part of any Square Enix game, and music actually has its own dedicated sales booth at TGS. Fans can pick up soundtracks to their favorite Square games there and sometimes grab special, rare TGS editions. This year anyone buying a Square Enix Music product at TGS - be it sheet music or a CD - will get a free sampler CD.

The sampler CD contains several tracks from Final Fantasy XIII's soundtrack, composed by Masashi Hamauzu who previously worked on Final Fantasy X and Dirge of Cerberus. In addition to these tracks, chances are we'll also hear information about when a soundtrack CD release is likely.

Chances are as with Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy XIII either the full soundtrack or a 'best of' collection will launch day-and-date with the game in Japan.

Teases for Versus and Agito
Tetsuya Nomura confirmed last week that Versus XIII and Agito XIII would not be present at TGS, with Square instead concentrating on games that are closer to release like FF13, The Crystal Bearers and Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep. While the games won't be present at the show proper, we do expect some tidbits of information, artwork and other teases to be shown around behind closed doors - just to keep the hype ticking over!

In all, TGS will undoubtedly be the largest information blow-out for Final Fantasy XIII yet. We fully expect TGS to end the secrecy surrounding Final Fantasy XIII and herald the start of an avalance of pre-launch information.

Whatever happens, we'll be there at the show to bring it to you - be sure to stick with us, and follow us on twitter for our TGS tweets!