[General Discussion] FFVII Compilation Thread

The official release date and specs for the North American version of Advent Children was posted during the board's downtime IIRC, so here's the announcement plus the English voice cast:

Quote:

February 12, 2006 - On April 25, 2006, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will release the long-awaited sequel Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children on DVD and PSP in a two-disc special edition. Described by SPHE, the feature-length film is "brought to life through 100 minutes of beautifully crafted visual content," and "revisits the rich universe and memorable characters of Final Fantasy VII, one of the best selling video games of all time." The two-disc DVD set will be available for the MSRP (Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price) of $26.95, while the UMD will be offered for the MSRP of $28.95.

The DVD bonus features include the following extras:

* Story digest
* Deleted scenes
* Featurette: "Making Of Final Fantasy VII"
* Footage of Final Fantasy VII at the Venice Film Festival
* A sneak peek of the games in the upcoming "Compliation of Final Fantasy VII" series


Final Fantasy VII, which will be available in widescreen presentation, has a running time of 101 minutes and is rated PG-13. Check out the box art below:

English VO Cast:
[QUOTE]Cloud Strife: Steve Burton
Tifa Lockhart: Rachael Leigh Cook
Kadaj: Steve Staley
Reno: Quinton Flynn
Rude: Crispin Freeman
Yazoo: Dave Wittenberg
Loz: Fred Tatasciore
Vincent Valentine: Steve Blum
Barett Wallace: Beau Billingslea
Cid Highwind: Chris Edgerly
Yuffie Kisaragi: Christy Romano
Cait Sith: Gregg Ellis
Red XIII: Liam O'Brien
Reeve: Jamieson Price
Tseng: Ryun Yu
Elena: Bettina Bush
Marlene: Wallace Grace Rolek
Denzel: Benjamin Bryan
Girl: Andrea Bowen
Zack: Rick Gomez
Aerith Gainsborough: Mena Suvari
Sephiroth: George Newbern
The Man in the Wheelchair: Wally Wingert

So there you have it. No more speculation or rumours. April 25th is when the DVD will be released and in all honesty I don't see why it was delayed so much when the features are the same ones in the order announcement for the DVD's original November 29th date.:eyebrow:

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Enkidu

(Lets hope SOLDIER doesn't get back too soon, or he'll hijack this thread like the other one)

Finally it'll be released. I'm curious to see if it'll get a European release date, probably in a few months as usual. I'm not sure if I'll buy it though, having seen it already. I'm also a bit disappointed by the lack of extras. Sure, I knew that we wouldn't get Last Order, but still, they could have given us a bit more.

I don't think it'll be too long after the US release. Australian retailers have it listed for May 3rd so I'd expect Europe to get it around that time if not before.

Quote:

wanted to be the one to make the new thread, but my validation e-mail took a while. This really should be in media center you know, it's a movie after all.

Well the other 2 or 3 AC threads before the downtime were never moved so I don't see why this has to be in the Media Section considering it's a "sequel" to an RPG title?

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Hachifusa

They still haven't said if it will have a dual-audio feature.

I want to be able to watch it in Japanese, damn it.

Yeah there will be both audio tracks to choose from plus on the special features front there will be 11 deleted scenes in total.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I also forgot to mention that Kotobukiya, the company responsible for the AC figures, will be producing alot more FF products this year. On the AC front they'll be releasing smaller scaled versions of Fenrir and Kadaj's motorcycle that'll be apart of their "Mechanical Arts" line including Sister Ray, the Highwind and Continental Circus airship from FFX:








There are also plans to produce a Kadaj figure too. More AC products include miniature weapons from the FF series include Cloud and Sephiroth's swords from AC as well as Squall Leonhart's and Seifer Almasy's Gunblades from FFVIII and Vincent's weapon from Dirge of Cerberus. Lastly there will be 2 sculptures depicting the final battle from AC that can be joined to form the entire scene.

Other FF products from Koto aside from their FFVIII-X Play Arts line include the "Master Creatures" line that consists of summons from FFVII, VIII, IX & X as well as Kefka from FFVI...


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Originally Posted by SOLDIER

Yeah, I forgot about that as well. That Kefka statue in particular looks very nice. I'm also hearing rumors of a Kadaj and Cid figure being made, the former making sense if they're working on his bike. I hope this is the case.

I also wanted to ask you, Simo, about the US Cloud figurine (the one with the good head). I'm browsing around online, trying to find a good deal on the Cloud w/Fenrir package, but I want to make sure that I'm ordering the US edition and not the Japanese one. Is there a seriel number or lettering on the packaging that I could look up to confirm that I'm purchasing the right Cloud? Also, if you find a link that sells it for less than $60, I'd like to see that as well.

The Japanese one isn't available outside of the Advent Pieces boxset to my knoweldge and even in there it's packaged in an all black box with the wolf insignia on it and the name of the item. The US release packaging looks like this:


The cheapest I've seen it for though is $59.99 and they're now sold out.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Tequila

Yeah, that airship was simply nameless... But now that they are naming the model, I wonder why they didn't mention that particular thing in FFX itself.

About the models: The thing that impressed me the most was Cloud's custom-made sword with all its parts. =o Pretty amazing how many cheese knives that thing can suck up... When I watched the film a few months back, I thought that was near impossible to do.

Did they actually call the "Ragnarok" by it's name in FFVIII too? It's been so long since I played the game that I can't remember.

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Okay, thanks. Yeah, even the ones that are $50 end up 60 after $10 shipping. I'm not sure if the price will go down if I wait a while, or the toy will only get scarce.

I can only see it being the latter in all honesty especially with the Cloud only figure coming out soon. The online retailer that had the Fenrir set for $60 sold out pretty quick too.

I'm hoping Hantei comes back soon. I'm hoping he picked up the rest of the AC merchendise like the Sierra.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Hantei

Haven't seen any, but it'd be cool if some of their sculptors could mass produce their work. Ahhh, I really hope Kotobukiya will consider doing an extra pieces back, where it'll come with the 6 swords plus the neat sword holster pack.

I hope so too. If they had done that with the Fenrir boxset then I would of dropped the $60+ no problem.

I just hope, and probably will, they'll produce some FFXII products. I'd love for a Play Arts of Judge Master Gabranth.

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by hikarub

Will they be including the Reminisence of FFVII which was included in the Japanese DVD? Somehow I doubt it......

Yep it'll be on the first disc.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Originally Posted by Hantei

I dunno, I kinda having doubts on a FFXII Play Arts line, as so far all the FF Play Arts figures have been from games where Tetsuya Nomura had been the character designer.

Oh and to follow up on I said about the other AC figures (Shadow Creeper, Bahamut Sin, Sierra) I'd say the packaging dimensions were about 11"x10"x10", so you can probably get an idea as how big these figs are. Not sure was the exact scale is for Sierra or Bahamut (he was about as tall as Sephiroth) is, but I'd say the Shadow Creeper's are on the one as the cast (Tifa, Cloud, etc.). With Sierra costing about $50, Bahamut Sin $40, and I think Shadow Creeper was $35. The quality is pretty good, the paint job on Bahamut and Shadow Creeper were really well done. Bahamut looked to be pretty well articulated and Sierra looks like any other model airship with rotatable propellers. Though, those prices are way too high for me, so I doubt think I'll be getting these any time soon (I mean the cast figures were cheaper than these, and you get more out of them).

Well Koto have a wide array of FF products including some FFVI & IX items. I can't see them passing up an ideal opportunity for FFXII merchendise though.

$50 for Sierra? Where's that listed because 2 online retailers carry it for $26-27 which is why I thought you might of picked one up.

I'll probably place an order myself but I'm still trying to find out if the preorder for the FFXII OST actually deducts payment for preorders there and then before dropping cash for more FF products.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Hantei

Ah, no worries. I'm not hell-bent on getting them, as my real interest is with the character figures. Boosting for that Kadaj! Hopefully Kotobukiya has made the commitment to go through with it.

BTW, there's a counter on AC's official english page (which means they're commited to the release date). Looks like the site's set up went through a slight change, though information wise it appears to be same (except the news page). They really should update it through.

http://na.square-enix.com/dvd/ff7ac/

Yeah the April 25th date is as solid as it can be. We actually received all the listing and pricing details for the UMD version on Friday.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

So we got another promo/order sheet for AC again today. It pretty much looks exactly like the one we got from Sony back in September for the November 29th release with all the listing and pricing details except the cover art has been revised so that the red border at the top is now silver. It also lists all of the features for the DVD which is pretty much the same as those back in September and include...

Disc 1

• Feature Film
• Reminiscence of Final Fantasy VII Feature

Disc 2

• Deleted Scenes
• The Distance: Making Of Advent Children Featurette
• Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Venice Film Festival Footage
• Final Fantasy VII Videogame Trailers [Dirge of Cerberus etc]
• Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Trailers

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Hantei

Meh, they really could have done more with the bonus section. They could have added something like a feature with the english VA cast or localization. They really should give some sort of compensation for the 7 month wait.

Oh well, at least that dumb looking red bar is gone now.

Yeah but now it's been replaced with a silver/grayish one that says "2 Disc Special Edition"....=/

I'm disappointed overall. Given what looks like an un-necessary 5 month, 7 if you count September '06, wait there's nothing spectacular on the DVD that wasn't already there for the scheduled for the November 29th release.

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Originally Posted by SOLDIER

-ac.net

The burning renmants of the original plan to show the movie in select theaters.

Fuck you, Square Enix.

That actually wasn't confirmed though was it? This idea to screen the film for a limited time or one off pretty much coincides with the Japanese screening they did prior to the DVD release there.

Reunion Files cover art:


144 page book featuring interviews with the development team and voice actors along with previously released and unreleased CG artwork, design materials and more. It'll be released in Japan on May 2nd for 2,520 yen.

I was speaking idiomatically.

EBgames and GameStop are offering up a bonus 3rd disc if you preorder...


Exclusive bonus DVD contents:

Quote:

* 1.5 hours of bonus footage, including interviews with primary voicing talent: Mena Suvari, Steve Burton, and Rachael Leigh Cook.

* Special trailers for:
- Ringers: Lord of the Fans
- Stargate: Atlantis
- Underworld: Evolution

* 4-color Final Fantasy Label on disc.

* Disc enclosed in a see-through jewel case!

Nothing major but if you're going to buy the DVD anyways then slapping down $5 to preorder the DVD and net the bonus DVD ain't all bad.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Amanda

So essentially the special features are:
* Interviews that should have been a special feature anyway, considering we left out Last Order!
* Ads for shit you don't care about!
* HOLY FUCKING SHIT PACKAGING!!!!!!!!!!!

Geez. This is as bad as those DVDs that still list "interactive menus" as a special feature.

Keep in mind those are the features on the bonus DVD not the actual special features on the 2nd disc, though they're nothing much either.

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by SOLDIER

I thought the 2 disc DVD did have a commentary?

I'm still going to stay ignorant and not count Last Order out until it's absolutely confirmed not to be included.

Nope and there is no "Last Order". We got the order sheet and specifications about a week or so ago with the list of special features and Last Order isn't there.

Like I've said earlier, the special features on the DVD are near on identical to those for the November 29th,2005 release which only adds more confusion on why the 5 month wait if nothing significant has been added in that time period?

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Look what we got in today...


Considering we're not actually getting any for rent I was able to swipe the poster.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Save from starting a new thread and on a related note, the Square-Enix conference had some true real-time footage of Crisis Core for the PSP:

Quote:

Here's our first real footage of FFVII Crisis Core for the PSP. Stars Zack of Soldier fame, apparently, and there's a ton of Sephiroth in here (down, boys 'n girls). No gameplay footage, only real-time cutscenes, but it looks amazing for a PSP game.

Hopefully the footage will find it's way online before the day is over.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

So my copy of the Reunion Files arrived today:


A worthy companion to the film, if a little late, that covers everything from the character designs and VOs to an extensive detailed timeline of the production of the film from when the idea first came about to the first ever test done screened to around 4-5 people, production sketches, the soundtrack and then onwards culminating in the premiere and Venice screening.

From there you get a "Story Digest" with stills and descriptions of each scene complete with notes from Nomura and Co along with a section on the "Compilation of Final Fantasy VII" and finally the Play Arts figures and merchendise.

The book is also in both Japanese AND English making it very import friendly and an ideal book for FFVII and AC fans.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Hantei

Oh, and this is rather off topic, but the FF8 figs came in on Wednesday. Picked up a set at my local comic shop yesterday.




Disappointed that they didn't include Rinoa's weapon, or her dog even. I was hoping to get her to do some battle poses with the others too. Heh, I also noticed that she has a black ribbon on her left arm. I'm guessing that's where Nomura got his idea/inspiration for FF7AC (just reusing old designs, I guess). Anyway, I'll post more pics of em if they're requested.

Please do.

According to the Reunion Files the whole ribbon idea was an after thought considering they didn't realise until late into production that none of the characters actually talked about or mentioned Aeris at all in AC so they gave the characters the pink ribbons to show they cared and remembered Aeris even if they don't say it.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by Jamma

I'll second that. Anyone knows the sales of AC to date worldwide? They'll soon find out if its worth it or not.

As of June 19th Square-Enix reported that over 2.4 million copies of AC had been sold worldwide. 1.3 million copies have also been shipped in North America and Square expects the 2.4 million number to continue to increase as AC hits the rest of Europe.

So some solid numbers overall.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Yeah there isn't a whole lot of original artwork in the Ultimania but the art for some of the Items/Key Items etc is pretty neat and the guide not only covers FFVII but also other Square titles that FFVII characters have appeared in like Ehergeiz, Kingdom Hearts etc.

I mean if you're a FFVII fan then the Ultimania Omega is a nice collectible to pick up.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Well I actually like to play my games and enjoy doing so which means I'll be avoiding Dirge of Cerberus. Pretty visuals aren't enough to cover the thin plot and broken gameplay.

Those $400 figures though....for $400 I expect them to be over 3 feet tall and the weapons to made out of steel and limited to about 50pcs at least. The Mechanical Arts line looks good though but I'm really impressed with the FFXII figures even compared to the $400 figures.

How ya doing, buddy?

Whatever changes to the game obviously didn't help fix things all that much according to EGM who review the title in their new issue and end the reviews with 5.0, 5.0, 4.0.

Can't say I'm surprised since the Japanese version was barely playable and to get any kind of game out of it would of meant Square Enix scrapping everything and rebuilding the game from the ground up.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Originally Posted by SouthJag

Of course, with you people torrenting the game (i.e. not buying it), I'm sure this'll encourage SE to remake FF7. >_>;

Exactly.

"WHERE IS MY FF7 REMAKE, SQUARE?! TRUE FF7 FANS DEMAND IT!....What? BUY a major FF7 cash-in title and not download it? I think NOT."

Although my personal opinion is that anyone who buys DoC supports terrorism. That or poorly made SE action titles that may or may not involve FF characters.

The roundout the review duo between IGN and GameSpot comes GameSpot's review...
http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/action/d...s&subj=6155471

Quote:

The Good: Dozens of extra missions to play after you beat the game; the story provides an interesting look at the origins of one of the secret characters from the original game; great prerendered cutscenes.

The Bad: The camera can be extremely awkward and frustrating in close quarters; frequent cutscenes and load times drag down the pace of the game; bland, rigidly linear level design; paltry weapon selection and unexciting gunplay.

Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII presents a difficult choice to Final Fantasy fans. On one hand, it's a generic shooter that simply doesn't measure up to the high standards for action games on the PlayStation 2. On the other hand, it's a new entry in the beloved Final Fantasy VII universe, so if you're a fan of that game you might feel almost obligated to play this one, even though the story contains very little of what made the original game so great. The end result is a game that does have a few interesting and even entertaining moments, but will ultimately leave action game fans and Final Fantasy fans feeling unfulfilled.

So I guess DoC went from complete shit to improved shit that's still broken. I mean if you really want to watch the slick CG Events then I could just post them and spare the wasted time and pain of playing the game?

Jam it back in, in the dark.