Welcome to Digitally Downloaded’s weekly news feature, Catch-up coffee Monday. Each Monday we will bring you the best news from the previous week that you may have missed. Grab the biggest mug you’ve got, fill it with your favourite brew, and catch up with us!
Final Fantasy XIII hero becomes the new face of Louis Vuitton
Well folks, our editor Matt is clearly clairvoyant: a few weeks ago he discussed how digital celebrities could be models, and now it’s happened (and outside of Japan to boot!). It’s been announced that Lightning, the star of Final Fantasy XIII, is the new face for French fashion designer Louis Vuitton in its latest ad campaign. And why not? She has just as much personality as a real person, and requires no photoshopping!
Final Fantasy XV is confirmed to release this year
More Final Fantasy news! The official release date (or an estimate) of FFXV isn’t expected until later this month, but game director Hajime Tabata confirmed in a blog post on New Year’s Day that the game will release sometime in 2016. The post discusses the work that remains to be done in the coming months, stating, “I vow to you all that every member in the team will do their best to the very last possible moment taking responsibility and pride in their craft. We will do everything we can do to finish FFXV to create an experience we are incredibly proud of and one that you will enjoy and treasure.”
Sidescroller/“Bullet-Hell” Rabi-Ribi coming to Steam this month
I am pretty sure all games Sekai Project gets its hands on are pure gold (Clannad!), especially following this trailer for the upcoming Rabi-Rabi from Taiwanese development circle CreSprit. Rabi-Rabi is described as “a 2D side-scrolling platformer with bullet-hell style boss battles.” The adorable sprites drew me in, but the colourful game seems to have a solid story as well: rabbit Erina is mysterious transformed into a human girl with bunny parts (ears and a fluffy tail), and she meets a fairy while searching for her Master.
Previously unreleased 1991 Studio Ghibli features gets an English-dubbed release
Until this point, Only Yesterday has been an anomaly in the Studio Ghibli library: it was one of the few films from the studio to never have an English-language release. Disney and GKids have helped Studio Ghibli bring titles such as Spirited Away and My Neighbour Totoro to Western audiences in the past, but for some reason Only Yesterday remained limited to Japanese audiences. The new release is in New York theatres now, and will expand to the rest of the United States on February 26. The studio has chosen a stellar cast for the new dub, as it features Daisy Ridley (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) and Dev Patel (best known for Slumdog Millionaire, but I much preferred him in Skins).
Does any of this news tickle your fancy or make you steaming mad? Let us know in the comments! And meet us again next week for a new edition of Catch-up coffee Monday.
– Lindsay M.
News Editor
