It's not uncommon for Square Enix to alter aspects of their games when they are released overseas, with Final Fantasy VII being probably the most prominent example. It's been noted that Dissidia will have a timely delay between its Japanese and Western releases and when Arakawa was quizzed about why it's so long, he replied:
"There are two reasons [for the delay]. The main reason is that it took time to localise the game (the story part) and the second reason is less direct. We wanted to adjust the original Japanese version to create the overseas version by adding on Arcade, battle balance and also additional events."
So, it seems as though the game isn't just going to be a simple localisation. Like Dirge of Cerberus, they are going to take into consideration feedback from gamers and implement it directly into the Western version. In fact, Square Enix have used their local teams to get a good understanding of what's necessary to engage Western audiences.
"Yes, they did [influence the western version]. We actually managed to get some analysis from our localisation team as well as our subsidiary companies like the one in London and Los Angeles. So we actually did adjust the original Japanese version, as I said before the Arcade mode has been added and also the game balance has been re-adjusted. For example, the tutorial in the Japanese version it takes about one hour, which we thought would be too long for western games, so it has been squashed down to 10 minutes."
In addition to the extra game modes, re-adjusting the characters strengths and weaknesses, and the shortened tutorial, there will also be other extra content. The first of which is new moves for characters, and the second is the addition of extra cutscenes in the story, which will feature characters not seen in the Japanese version.
Final Fantasy Union: You’ve mentioned there are some differences between the Japanese and Western versions; will there be any other differences?
Takeshi Arakawa: You can see new abilities for the characters, which are only available in the overseas version. Also there are some characters which don’t appear in any events in the Japanese version but they do in the western version.
FFU: So there will be a few more cameos?
TA: Yes, that’s right.
Source: Final Fantasy Union
"There are two reasons [for the delay]. The main reason is that it took time to localise the game (the story part) and the second reason is less direct. We wanted to adjust the original Japanese version to create the overseas version by adding on Arcade, battle balance and also additional events."
So, it seems as though the game isn't just going to be a simple localisation. Like Dirge of Cerberus, they are going to take into consideration feedback from gamers and implement it directly into the Western version. In fact, Square Enix have used their local teams to get a good understanding of what's necessary to engage Western audiences.
"Yes, they did [influence the western version]. We actually managed to get some analysis from our localisation team as well as our subsidiary companies like the one in London and Los Angeles. So we actually did adjust the original Japanese version, as I said before the Arcade mode has been added and also the game balance has been re-adjusted. For example, the tutorial in the Japanese version it takes about one hour, which we thought would be too long for western games, so it has been squashed down to 10 minutes."
In addition to the extra game modes, re-adjusting the characters strengths and weaknesses, and the shortened tutorial, there will also be other extra content. The first of which is new moves for characters, and the second is the addition of extra cutscenes in the story, which will feature characters not seen in the Japanese version.
Final Fantasy Union: You’ve mentioned there are some differences between the Japanese and Western versions; will there be any other differences?
Takeshi Arakawa: You can see new abilities for the characters, which are only available in the overseas version. Also there are some characters which don’t appear in any events in the Japanese version but they do in the western version.
FFU: So there will be a few more cameos?
TA: Yes, that’s right.
Source: Final Fantasy Union
