Site translator hitoshura has been kind enough to provide us with a chapter-by-chapter summary of the newest official FFVII novel. Released on December 15th, the book was written by Kazushige Nojima, writer of the original FFVII, as well as Crisis Core, Advent Children and the On the Way to a Smile novellas. As such, The Kids Are Alright is an authentic entry in the world of Final Fantasy VII.

Sadly, however, it had no official release outside of Japan. So, while you could still import it if you lived elsewhere, you novel, FINAL FANTASY VII Lateral Biography TURKS -The Kids Are Alright-. Released on December 15th, the book was written by wouldn’t be able to read it without some knowledge of the Japanese language.

Were the contents of this newest tale in Cloud Strife’s world, then, to be kept from us indefinitely? Blessedly, no. TheLifestream.net’s hitoshura has already stepped forward to provide his fellow fans with a rundown of the book’s main events.

This is to tide us over until he is able to provide a complete translation of the 354-page novel — an endeavour that is already under way, so be sure to check back in the future for updates about that.

What you’ll also find in this article: scans I’ve made of all the book’s artwork (illustrations by Shou Tajima), and my translation of a page from the beginning of the book that introduces several of the characters featured in the story. Additional thanks go to hito, by the way, for correcting me on a word I had mistranslated on that page.

So, if you’re ready to get caught up on the latest events in this world we all love, click upon “Read the rest of this entry” below.

(more…)

The much anticipated third On the Way to a Smile Novella has finally been released: On the Way to a Smile: Case of Denzel. The Audiobook is available for you to be able to download in MP3 format for easy listening and transportation at the link below.

As before, you can listen to the video through the site, by clicking on the Streampad banner at the bottom of the screen or in segments via the embedded YouTube clips. The first of the YouTube segments can be found at the bottom of the news post, and the rest of them can be viewed by clicking “Read the rest of this entry” at the bottom of the article. As always, we are very proud of all the hard work by the individuals that went into making this. We hope that you enjoy this latest presentation and look forward to your comments.

Length – 65 minutes 08 seconds

Written by Kazushige Nojima
Produced and Narrated by Joseph Knight
Featuring music by HypochondriacPiano and Roy Todd

Starring
DemeterLinDavis as Denzel
Cettoto as Johnny
ConVito as Reeve
Jonathan Waters as Abel
Mizuna as Chloe
ForceStealer as Arkham
Tomoyo Ichijouji as Ruvie
TheNationMaker as Gaskin
RhapsodyDusk as Rix
Christina McBride as Tifa

Extras
Sienna as News Reporter/Automated Phone Message
Chris Sekhanan as Soldier
Jonathan Waters as Man On Tracks
Tim Jewett as Man On Tracks
Tennyo as Woman On Tracks
Pi_Face314 as Woman On Tracks
Daglot Alta as Angry Man/Man Searching For Iron Pipes
lightofhop​e18 as Sick Mother
Rinrinorikuriku as Young Girl
TwilightKeyblade928 as Triple S Boy

Music
‘Main Theme of Final Fantasy VII – ACC Orchestra Version’ by Kazuhiko Toyama
‘Under The Stars’ by HypochondriacPiano
‘Locked Heart’ by HypochondriacPiano
‘Sunshine’ by Takeharu Ishimoto
‘Main Theme of Final Fantasy VII – ACC Piano Version’ by Kazuhiko Toyama
‘Blue Sky’ by Takeharu Ishimoto
‘Sad Reflections’ by Roy Todd
‘Tinge Of Sadness’ by Roy Todd

All characters and scenarios copyright © SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

(more…)

HypochondriacPiano has put together a fan tribute album, “Final Fantasy VII: Pulse of Life.” This music has been featured on the TheLifestream’s On the Way to a Smile Audiobooks, and if you’ve wanted to get your hands on it, and listen to it on your portable mp3 player of choice, now’s your chance! Click Here to Download the Album in .RAR and here as a .ZIP and be sure to let us know what you think in the comments!

It would appear that the completed version of On The Way To A Smile is getting its first Western release in Germany this summer. Earlier the Germans received a localization of the Final Fantasy XIII novella Episode Zero and that release prompted a user of cetraconnection.de to contact the publisher about the Compilation’s novella collection and received a confirmation for a summer release in response.

North America received Cases of Tifa, Denzel, and then-exclusive Barret back with the release of the Limited Edition of Advent Children. But this will be the first Western release of the full version since the additions and alterations that accompanied the release of Advent Children Complete.

You can of course obtain the fan translated texts of these stories all here on TheLifestream as well as listen to some in audiobook form, but here’s hoping this release tells of things to come in other languages and territories.

Thanks to our German liason Tetsujin for the heads-up.

Over the years, it’s become hard work for FFVII fans to keep up with what’s supposed to be canon and what isn’t. Amidst all the games, movies, novellas, guide books, and alternate universe titles, what’s a FFVII fan to do?

Read this article, that’s what!

I’m going to take all the work out of it on your end and lay everything out for you, the fans, to digest in a simple, easy-to-follow manner. So, the next time you’re in a debate about FFVII with HeartlessAngel527 or FlowerGoddess777 and they begin to reference Cloud’s wing, Aerith waiting around for a certain spikey-haired emo kid, or other stuff you know doesn’t belong, you can go all Phoenix Wright on them.

So, click “Read the rest of this entry” and let’s get started.

(more…)

The third TLS Audiobook, our second release of an On the Way to a Smile Novella has finally been released: On the Way to a Smile: Case of Tifa. The Audiobook is availble for you to be able to download in MP3 format for easy listening and transportation at the link below.

You can listen to the video directly on the site, by clicking on the Streampad banner at the bottom of the screen, or for those who prefer to go through the story in segments, we have also uploaded the video on YouTube. The first of the YouTube segments can be found at the bottom of the news post, and the rest of them can be viewed by clicking “Read the rest of this entry” at the bottom of the article. As always, we hope that you enjoy this presentation, and all the hard work that went into bringing it to you, and look forward to your comments.

Length – 50 minutes 32 seconds

Written by Kazushige Nojima
Original Translation by XComp
Produced and Narrated by Joseph Purdy
Featuring Music by HypochondriacPiano and Roy Todd

Starring
Christina McBride as Tifa Lockhart
Strykinglight as Cloud Strife
Rinrinorikuriku as Marlene Wallace/Aerith Gainsborough
PsylentKnight as Barret Wallace
Elephantologist as Elmyra Gainsborough
Michael Lloyd as Sephiroth

‘Tifa’s Theme’ – Piano Arrangement by HypochondriacPiano
‘The Promised Land’ – Piano Arrangement by HypochondriacPiano
‘Main Theme of Final Fantasy VII’ – ACC Piano Version by Kazuhiko Toyama
‘Anxious Heart’ – Piano Arrangement by Matt Wilson
‘Cloud and Tifa’s Love Theme’ by HypochondriacPiano
‘Heart Cry’ by Roy Todd
‘Beyond Midgar’ by BogusRed at OC Remix
‘Serenity’ by Roy Todd
‘A Path Most Lonely’ by Roy Todd
‘Cloud Smiles’ – Piano Arrangement by HypochondriacPiano
‘The Maiden Who Travels The Planet’ by HypochondriacPiano
‘Child of the Troubles’ by Roy Todd
‘Song of the Heart’ by Roy Todd
‘Sunshine’ by Takeharu Ishimoto

All characters and scenarios copyright © SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

(more…)

Hokuto no Den

Not to take away Forcestealer’s Thunder with his final dungeon retrospective, but he, Tennyo, and I (Ryushikaze) have recorded another fan commentary track for Case of Denzel, which you can download after the break.

(more…)

Long-time community member and visual designer Pixel released a trailer for his On the Way to a Smile Audiobook project, a fan project based on the On the Way to a Smile book translations by XComp. The books have largely been translated, but now, with this project underway and currently being edited, they have also been spoken out loud.
Of course, we’ll keep you updated on the progress of this project. You can also follow it yourself by keeping up with the project on the forums.

Credits where credits are due:

On the Way to a Smile Audiobooks

Written by Kazushige Nojima
Original Translations, LH Yeung “Xcomp”
Narrated by Ryushikaze

Aerith - rinrin0rikuriku
Cloud - strykinglight
Tifa – Christina McBride / AnimazingGamerGirl
Barret - psylentknight
Sephiroth - RemovableAspirations
Cid – Twistedpuppet
Yuffie - Mizura
Vincent - danyetman
Red XIII/Nanaki – Joseph Vitaliano
Reeve – ConVito

(Temporary Note: This is NOT an April Fool’s Day joke).

Just in time for the holidays, XComp/LH Yeung has finished translating the final, and, perhaps, most anticipated “On The Way To A Smile” title: Case of ShinRa. This story begins during the events of FFVII, detailing Tseng and Rufus’ survival, as well as the Turk’s actions during the final night of the Meteor crisis in Midgar.

After that, it focuses on various ordeals that Rufus experiences, the construction of Edge, and what initiated the Turks to search for JENOVA at the beginning of Advent Children.

You can read the full story either by clicking the “Read the rest of this entry” link below, or at XComp’s site. Also, remember you can find links to all the other OtWtaS entries at the Advent Children Complete link under “Coverage” on the left hand side of our site (or by clicking the link in this very sentence). Thanks again to XComp for putting all his hard work into this.

(more…)

Another big thanks to Xcomp who has translated another entry from the On the Way to a Smile collection. Case of Yuffie. You can read the story below and find the rest of his translation work here and also his accompanying thoughts on Yuffie’s novella here. Enjoy!

(more…)

A big thanks to Xcomp who has translated the next entry from the On the Way to a Smile collection. You can see the rest of his work and thoughts on his blog here and also his accompanying thoughts on the story here.

Once again, thanks for your hard work Xcomp! Below you’ll find his translation of the story.

(more…)

A big thanks to Hitoshura who has now finished translating the new installment from the On the Way to a Smile book; the Lifestream White and Lifestream Black chapters. Each of these chapters were at the end of each On the Way to a Smile story of the book, for a total of 6 chapters. Three for Lifestream White, and three for Lifestream Black. Enjoy reading these new entries, they’re quite interesting.

(more…)