New Dissidia: Final Fantasy scans arrive today from Famitsu. In it, three characters take the limelight: newly confirmed Cecil and Golbez finally take the stand, while Onion Knight gets a rather fishy looking new "costume".

Tidus versus Jecht. That's all I need to say about this new gameplay video for Dissidia: Final Fantasy, isn't it? What are you waiting for? Video after the link!

Guess who's a happy camper today? The Onion Knight and Cloud of Darkness are back (and this time, you can see for sure that it really isn't her nipple)! A new video has been updated to the official Dissidia: Final Fantasy website, showing the gameplay footage they screened at their DKS3713 private party. Check out the nipple-less battle gameplay video in the full article.

Cloud of Darkness and the Onion Knight from Final Fantasy III pull out all the stops in the latest Famitsu scans for Square Enix's Dissidia: Final Fantasy. In our full article, you can take a look at some of the flashier moves both characters have when they shift into EX Mode and literally bring down the house.

Sweet! We haven't heard of any new characters for Dissidia since Tidus and Jecht were officially revealed, but now, we got a scan from Shonen Jump that shows the hero and villain representing the Final Fantasy III world. Sorry, guys, still no Lenneth Valkyrie confirmed. Check out the scan and an updated list of confirmed characters for Dissidia so far in the full article. (And no, that's not a nipple.)

Sony PSP owners awaiting the release of Final Fantasy Tactics: The Lion War in the U.S. will be happy to know that much of the technical issues reported from the Japanese release have been fixed in the American version due out soon.

This comes in the aftermath of much whining and moaning over the Japanese iteration's rampant slowdown that plagued the experience, marring what would have been another masterpiece.

Hiccups and crawls were observed in the previous offering, especially during spell-casting, but Square Enix says most of it is gone now. More features were also added for a richer experience.

The pace of the action is now in acceptable levels, reports 1UP, but the sound quality of Hitoshi Sakimoto and Masaharu Iwata's score still doesn't pack the same oomph that the original PlayStation version had.

Still, there's no doubt that the voice-overs in the animated sequences are a killer addition which should add a lot more personality to an already involving cast.

Two new job classes, the Onion Knight and the Dark Knight have also been added for more gameplay depth. Whether or not some classes have been nerfed remains to be seen.

While we're all still waiting for the US release of the highly anticipated Final Fantasy Tactics: The Lion War, here's a sneak peek at the secret characters you'll be able to recruit in the game - Balthier from Final Fantasy XII, and Luso from Final Fantasy Tactics A2.

Of course, we all know Cloud's a secret character too, what with his Limit Break attacks, but the two newcomers are definitely something to look forward to. We explain why.

First up is Balthier of the Sky Pirate class, and of Final Fantasy XII fame. He's actually quite powerful, but not as gamebreaking as someone we all know (cough, Orlandu, cough). His class is pretty much an amalgam of Mustadio's engineer class and the thief class, giving him quite a very interesting move-list. His target command lets him either aim at opponents' legs or arms to keep them from moving or attacking, which could very well lead to one-sided beatdowns pretty quickly.

Let's also not forget that being part thief class, he has all the good thief abilities, including the ever-so-useful Steal Weapon. Add to that an unlockable original ability called Marideuchi which lets Balthier dole out twice the damage in one attack, and you have yourself a mainstay in your troops.

Luso on the other hand isn't too good. Unlike Balthier, he doesn't have any new abilities carried over from FFT: A2 - which is sort of disappointing, considering that Balthier and Cloud have their own exclusives. But it's not to say he's not worth keeping as all his abilities are the same as Ramza's fourth special Squire class - and another Ultima caster in your party is always necessary.

There's also the Onion Knight class one can unlock by leveling the squire and chemist job classes past level six - but so far, it's not that useful yet. Making Onion Knights out of your characters pretty much strips them of all combat utility, and that includes abilities, reaction skills or bonuses - but there's a rumor out that once you find Onion Equipment, then you've got yourself a tank.

It'll be fun to see just how effective the secret characters are in battle, and frankly, we can't wait to get our hands on the NA version to do just that. In the meantime, we can only cross off another day in the calendar, and dream of all things Final Fantasy Tactics. October can't arrive any quicker.

 

The Official Site of Square Enix's much hyped Final Fantasy Tactics: The Lion War for the PSP has been updated with a new preview video. Just head to the site via our "read" link below, click on "enter", and then click on the "movie and download" section. The new trailer is to be had if you click on the third clip form the top.

Yes, it's filled with more of the pretty, pretty FMV sequences, but do note that it also has some extra info about the game. Nothing breaking, just a few tidbits for fans to chew on until May.

There's a small preview of the Onion Knight class, as well as what the "new" job ring looks like when updated with two new jobs. Also, the video also reveals that FFT: The Lion War has a new timed button pressing microgame built into the battles. There are also frames that feature the crossover characters you can acquire. They are Luso from Final Fantasy Tactics A2, and Balthear from Final Fantasy XII.

A few screens of the new trailer can be had below, thanks to the folks of Siliconera, as for the trailer itself, again, click on our read link below, and follow the instructions we've mentioned. Enjoy!

 

The revamped Job Ring, after the jump!

It was a long-running rumor but it's time to stamp out a bit red CONFIRMED mark on it. Square Enix has just unveiled that Final Fantasy Tactics: The Lion War will have multiplayer functions as supported by the PSP's wireless feature. Both Versus and Co-op modes will now be available in the game.

Another new feature that's exclusive to the port. While you can emulate the game onto your PSP, this game release looks like it's actually worth getting. Your emulated version can only go so far, but for The Lion War, you get new stuff. Let's round up all the features we now know are going to be exclusive in the release:

• cel-shaded cutscenes
• new job classes Onion Knight and Dark Knight from FFIII
• new character Balthier from FFXII (PS2)
• Versus and Co-op mode

Now. Who dare says that this is "just" a port? The game comes out in Japan on May 10.

 

Clicking on the cute chocobo icon on the latest update on the official site of Square Enix's Final Fantasy Tactics: Lion Wars should lead to a fun flash based mini-game. Now although the game might not be that deep - it's just a FF Tactics themed memory game – the artwork packages that are awarded to folks with exceptional information recall make playing the game worth it.

The images below are part of the package we've won so far. We're not entirely sure how many packages are available, but here they are anyway – just so you folks get an idea of what's up for grabs in the game. Behold, the Onion Knight and the Dark Knight:

  

You can download the whole package we've won via our link below. If you want to play the game and try to win some art yourself, feel free to click on our "read" link, it should lead to the Official Site. Remember, just click on the cute chocobo.

Download [Final Fantasy Tactics: Lion War Artwork Package]