Surprise!  While Weekly Famitsu and Dengeki PlayStation are the two biggest sources of information we have for FFXIV when it comes to magazines, there are a few other publications out there that cover FFXIV as well.  It is rare to see additional articles so close to some major announcements, but Dengeki Games decided to give everybody a little treat.

Dengeki Games is a relatively new monthly publication that started up last fall.  It runs gaming information for all platforms whether its handheld, console, arcade, or even your cell phone.  The 7th volume just came out with a 4-page summary of the information we’ve recently seen.  However, there are a few extra tidbits to enjoy that weren’t part of the other write-ups.  In this article, we’ll look at what Dengeki Games found out about the current user interface, different classes, and some interesting plans for transitioning from the beta to the official release.

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Like a lot of people, I like to listen to music while I study.  Today I was copying kanji into my kanji practice workbook and set my trusty green iPod (Watermelon) to shuffle.  I have a bunch of different songs on my iPod but it decided to play Distant Worlds from The Small Onions, Battle Scene by The Black Mages followed by Battle Theme, and then the Wajaom Wildin’ mix by DJplaeskool.  Clearly my iPod was telling me to put my workbooks away and focus on something FF related.

I can already hear Fusion laughing at me.

However!  My inability to concentrate on my test prep is your gain.  Here is part II of our Dengeki PlayStation article coverage.  In Part I, we learned a little about the upcoming alpha and beta tests.  Part II is about the individual classes and what the developers had to say about their abilities and weapon skills.

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When the community thinks of sources for the latest information on Square Enix titles, they typically turn to Japanese forums or Japanese magazines.  We may be seeing some forces at work trying to balance things out – or not.  The latest issue of Beckett Massive Online Gamer arrived at my door step today, and I admit I got excited when I saw 1st Look FINAL FANTASY XIV on the cover next to a smirking Mr Spock.  Opening to the table of contents revealed that not only was there an article on Final Fantasy XIV, but there was also a Final Fantasy XI Community Team interview.  Both articles were written by Juan Castro – maybe he is a new outlet for our Final Fantasy online fix.  The FFXIV article was a 2 page spread sporting some screen shots that have been around a while, at least to people already involved with the community.  There was no mention of an already bustling community across multiple popular sites however.  The article is titled “The Story So Far, Part 1 – Our First Look at Final Fantasy XIV”.  While the article is admittedly not chock full of information or very revealing, it is well written and gives the fans a new hope – a hope for a more diverse coverage of the most anticipated title we all await.  Juan mentions a bit of the game’s setting and races.  Are we seeing a change in the flow of information?  This sort of magazine is not as popular as it’s Japanese counterparts, but who knows, maybe Square Enix will continue to work with Beckett or other printing publishers to help feed their starving English speaking audience.

The write up on the Community Team is more in depth and longer.  It’s worth a read to learn more about the hard working community team at Square Enix.  If you’re looking for a Final Fantasy fix, pick up a copy of Beckett.  A subscription would save you some cash if you’re hopeful more will come from Square Enix and Massive Online Gamer.  Their last issue also featured a Final Fantasy XI article covering the 3 add on scenarios.  I am hopeful we will see more coming from this.  After all, the article is titled “Part 1″.

Did you enjoy all the new information this weekend?  We had an official NA and JP site update and people on the forums have been sifting through the information and finding all sorts of interesting things.  I know some people have been busy updating the wiki as well.  Starting it all off though was a lot of translated information from magazines like Weekly Famitsu and Dengeki PlayStation.

But wait!

We haven’t talked about the interesting stuff that was in Dengeki PlayStation yet.  This time we’ll be covering the long Q&A portion of their FFXIV coverage.  It covers general questions related to the upcoming alpha/beta test, character creation, and the various classes overall.  In another article, we’ll cover the shorter class-specific questions.

First, let’s talk beta.

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Just a quick update (with thanks to community member zenshiro) to point out that GameStop is now accepting preorders for Final Fantasy XIV – PS3 Version and PC Version .  Same prices (for now) as Amazon, but for those that told us they were waiting on GameStop to add FFXIV to their listings, wait no more.  We’ve updated our tracking and preorder page accordingly.  And no, we won’t announce when each retailer allows these preorders, but we know a lot of people were waiting for Amazon and GameStop.

One Siphon is for MP, One for TP

It’s time for a Lost in Translation check!  We have new official information in English but it doesn’t match up with everything that is out in Japanese.  Let’s do a quick comparison of abilities and weapon skills and see what’s changed.

Archer Ability Replenish:
[J] Use up all of your arrows to be able to fire off multiple arrows at once. 
[E] Consume MP to replenish your projectiles to capacity.

Marauder Ability Murderous Intent:
[J] Increases critical hit rate.
[E] Increases critical hit rate, reducing TP generation.

Marauder Ability Defender:
[J] Increases defense.
[E] Increases defense.  Increases enmity generation while in steadfast stance.
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We’ve been impatiently waiting for the update of the official Final Fantasy XIV website for North America ever since we received information about the newest Japanese Magazines, and even more so after the Japan site got their update a few days ago.

Have no fear! The NA site is finally updated with new content including screen shots, and a plethora of information about the disciplines! Make sure to check it out!

And for those who were lucky enough to receive first wave beta invites, the site has a notice that the test site is now open!

Official Final Fantasy XIV Website