A handful of details regarding the story and gameplay of Final Fantasy X-2 were revealed in a recent issue of the Japanese magazine V-Jump. Some of the details shed light on a few aspects of the game, while others only cast more mysterious shadows on this highly anticipated sequel to Final Fantasy X.

First of all, the cast of FFX-2 has expanded to include two mysterious characters: a singer named Lenne, who has been described as Yuna's "alter ego," and her counterpart, an unnamed man who strongly bears an uncanny resemblance to Tidus. Yuna will supposedly encounter this mysterious young man, and since she resembles Lenne and he resembles Tidus, their meeting will have a profound impact on the story of the game.

Another aspect of the story is that terrible fiends are appearing all over Spira, in spite of the fact that Sin has been defeated. This will tie in to a new mini-game called "Fiend Hunting" in which Yuna must eradicate as many fiends as she can within a certain amount of time.

Square has also incorporated a familiar feature into FFX-2. The "New Game+," as previously seen in Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross, will be featured in a Final Fantasy game for the first time. After completing FFX-2, players can start a new game and carry over all their statistics, abilities, and equipment from the previous one.

Final Fantasy X-2 will be released today in Japan, and possibly later this year in North America.