'Bout time.

After offering little more than hints and a single shot of a cityscape, Square has released more images of Final Fantasy XII and introduced two main characters, Ashie and Van. GamesAreFun has a nice scan of the magazine preview, and 1up.com has a helpful analysis of it, though I wonder if "Ashie" is the official name. The katakana suggests "Ashe" or "Arshe."

Anyway, this initial look at Final Fantasy XII seems rather close to the aesthetics of Final Fantasy X, odd when one considers that the FFXII staff features character designer Akihiko Yoshida and director Yasumi Matsuno, both of whom are known for the darker tones of Final Fantasy Tactics and Vagrant Story. Still, some of the background shots imply a medieval setting bleaker than previous Final Fantasies.

Of course, the real question is this: Who's the pirate in the lower right corner?

Edit: Just for comparison, here's the promotional shot that Square released nearly a year ago.

http://www.gameforms.com/games/ps2/f.../media1/01.jpg