Thanks to Hitoshura’s heads up, we now know both the book’s cover (image to the right) as well as more details on the book’s storyline.

The product info of the book, also from Square Enix’s e-shop, translated by Hitoshura, reveals the following:

Reno and Rude. The universally loved Shinra Company is back!

2 years since that fateful day.
Evan and Kyrie are two young people among a group running a detective agency in Edge, a city that has sprung up in the wastelands.
Following these two, Reno and Rude from the Turks as well as the heroes from FFVII such as Cloud and Tifa return in a new story!

(*dialogue by unspecified speaker*)
Well that doesn’t look too safe.
Guys like him die for some real stupid reasons.
Remember when we used to be like that?
Hey, partner?

The young staff of the Mireille Detective Agency advertise their business with a particular gimmick: “We Read the Lifestream”
During a certain case, they come into contact with the Shinra Company’s Investigation Sector of the General Affairs Department, commonly known as the Turks.
A brand-new full-length novel focusing on the Turks, as they aim to restore their company in order to repay a debt to the world, and a group of young people living in a world in ruins.

So this book definitely takes place after the original game. What will this book reveal?! Is the guy on the cover Evan? Stay tuned.

Source:
Square Enix’s Gamebooks Info Site

The drought of official FFVII Compilation news has been replaced with a surprising rainfall, by the appearance of a book on Square Enix’s e-store. The book will focus on the Turks, but in what manner is as of yet unknown.
Source: SE e-store

The product details give us these stats on the book:

Release Date: December 15th, 2011
Cost: 1,470 yen
Page Count: 338
Genre: Novel

It is written by veteran Final Fantasy scenario writer, Kazushige Nojima. Illustrations are done by Shou Tajima, whose previous work related to FFVII seems limited to a drawing of Cloud for Square Enix’s manga magazine, Shonen Gangan.
Source: FF7citadel

What role will this play in the expanded universe of Final Fantasy VII? When will it take place? Expect TLS to analyse the contents of this book once it has been released.

Thanks to forum member Suzaku for bringing this book to our attention!

TLS was mentioned in the new digital magazine put out by Square Enix.

One of their favorite fansites? D’awwww, tanks Square. :3

Thanks to Arianna for the heads up.

Well, it certainly looks like Square-Enix was indeed holding back at TGS for this, as there is a veritable flood of tiny snippets and bigger trailers and the like. I’m going to make an attempt at consolidating some of this for you. I may not have all the sources as stuff is literally coming in from all over, but pictures and trailers are almost assuredly legitimate. I’ll stuff it all after the break.

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In case you haven’t been following the discussion on our forums, I’ll cut right to the chase and present you with the good (or not so good?) stuff.

It has been confirmed: there will be a direct sequel to FFXIII, and we’re not talking the Fabula Nova Crystallis spin-offs like VersusXIII and AgitoXIII.  This appears to be more in the vein of FFX-2 (but hopefully a bit lower on the Charlie’s Angels scale).

Official Logo

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In this episode of Japanese gamers getting all the cool stuff: a new Dissidia-themed PSP-3000 has been announced for release on March 3 to be bundled with the game for a price of ¥22,890 (USD$275). It features Amano depictions of Chaos and Cosmos on the front, and the game’s logo on the reverse.

Overall saccharine content is considerably less than this image would suggest

Tis the season folks. No, not that silly stuff with the trees and the lights and the what have you, but the season of FF7! Today marks the beginning of the story of Final Fantasy 7. It started on December 9th, and lasted until the sometime near the end of January. Don’t believe me? Check out our FF7 timeline, it’ll set you straight.

So, to commemorate the season, Tennyo, Forcestealer, and myself, Ryushikaze, naturally decided to ignore the game entirely and skip two years into the future for Advent Children Complete!

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Final Fantasy VII: Northern Crater

Remember how I marveled at FFIV’s dungeon? I asked you to remember (or imagine) seeing it from the first time coming off the dungeons of Final Fantasies I-III. It was an impressive leap, it felt solid, it had some depth to it. The first three games almost felt like a board game. Impressive in their own rights, don’t misunderstand, but the SNES era games just added so much to the presentation.

Well as much as a leap as that was – remember or imagine, if you will, coming off the SNES Final Fantasies and coming across a final dungeon that looked like this:

I’ll give you a moment to pick yourselves up off the floor, because if you imagined/remembered properly, that’s exactly where you should be.

…

Ready? Okay.

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If you give an Onion Knight a Keyblade,  will he unlock the door to Disney?

I vote yes

I’ve said this many times before, often jokingly, but not without a truth to the matter. Final Fantasy 3 and the Kingdom Hearts series are amazingly similar, and the more of the series I play, the more I am convinced that Kingdom Hearts is Final Fantasy 3 with Disney added, that the two games, when you get right down to it, are telling the same story, not that this is a bad thing. Akira Kurosawa’s Hidden Fortress and George Lucas’s Star Wars: A New Hope are the same story, but each is told in a way that makes each telling unique and worthwhile.

Final Fantasy VI: Kefka’s Tower

Ever since he torched the world, Kefka has been sitting atop his tower blasting cities that show any hint of opposition with the conservatively named “Light of Judgment.” What does he intend to do? Why is he just sitting up there? Why did he stop where he did? Well it is probably not a good idea to just wait and see, so we’re just gonna have to go up and find out.

Which is to say, kick his ass. 
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Final Fantasy V: The Interdimensional Rift

Welcome to the planar existence that presumably connects all the Final Fantasy worlds (and perhaps others), the Rift. This is FFV’s rug under which the people swept any problem the couldn’t figure out how to solve. That gives an unfair impression of it, admittedly, but that essentially what it is. It is where Enuo and his powers of the Void were sealed 1000 years ago and where Exdeath was banished to 30 years ago by the Warriors of Dawn. And now its up to the last group of Warriors of Light to take him out again.

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Here comes the moon.

Final Fantasy IV: The Lunar Subterrane

Now we’re gettin’ somewhere. This is a final dungeon. Its almost amazing this followed the World of Darkness in III. Even if you include the Crystal Tower in III’s ending I get the impression that this is much longer, much harder, and much more packed with loot. All things a final dungeon should be.

This dungeon just feels big and complex. The jump to the 16 bits really enhance things here as you can see several layers/floors of the dungeon at once, contributing to the sense of size. Also, there are secret passages everywhere, but they’re done right. There’s a little flaw in the wall when denoting the entrance. Its easy to miss but also makes it feasible for you to find them without a guide. Most of these passages lead to treasures (guarded by bosses) and you’ll want just about all of them. Cecil, Edge and Kain will both come away with their best setups (barring optional side stuff) and the ladies make out pretty well also. Loot should always be aplenty in final dungeons, its half your motivation, honestly.

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