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Final Fantasy XIII Announced At E3 123

Thought it's not terribly surprising, it's nice to hear. Final Fantasy XIII has been announced for the PlayStation 3. It actually sounds like there will be three separate titles: A traditional RPG, a mobile game, and a 'versus' title. From the article: "FINAL FANTASY XIII. They pulled a serious bait-and-switch on us. Sword-and-gun-wielding heroine who looks like Yuna, flipping her way around a high-tech, futuristic world ... Motomu Toriyama will direct the game. And apparently FFXIII isn't the only game coming out of this universe--there's a, uh, mobile game too. Oh. It's Final Fantasy Agito XIII ... Final Fantasy Versus XIII?" Additional announcements include a new Crystal Chronicles and Dragon Quest for the Wii, and a Final Fantasy VII universe title for the PSP.
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Final Fantasy XIII Announced At E3

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  • by Crimsane ( 815761 ) <clarke@nullfs.com> on Monday May 08, 2006 @05:36PM (#15288576) Homepage
    Does anyone else feel a little ripped off every time they buy a new sequel to a game called "final fantasy"?
  • by Sinryc ( 834433 )
    Yay for 13 being official. I can't wait to see somre more screenies.
  • They were working on FFXIII? Shock of all shocks! I'm curious if this game will deviate from the horribly cliche route of FFXII and give us something unique and compelling like FFVI, FFVII, FFX, etc. If there is a versus mode, I hope the gameplay is akin to something like Final Fantasy Tactics as opposed to the "I play myself while you watch" FFXII.
    • If there is a versus mode, I hope the gameplay is akin to something like Final Fantasy Tactics as opposed to the "I play myself while you watch" FFXII.

      That comment could have been made much funnier with the proper insertion of a "with."
  • Thirteen? (Score:1, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward
    What happened to the "There will only be Twelve" statement?
  • Not to troll, but are there any other game "series" where every (well, almost every) installment features a completely new plot and new characters?

    Sure, I've played FF7 and FFX, and they were quite good, but honestly, how does this stuff get marketed so successfully? It seems like nothing but hype to me...

    I really can't see kids getting excited about ALL new characters.
    • Not to troll, but are there any other game "series" where every (well, almost every) installment features a completely new plot and new characters?

      The Dragon Quest series.
      The Tales series.
      The Grandia series.
      The SaGa series.
      The Wild Arms series.
      The Shining Force series.
      The Atelier series.
      The Breath of Fire series (even if there's always a Nina).

      In fact, I'm hard pressed to think of console RPG series that has had more than 2 games where the games actually are sequels: The Arc the Lad, Lunar, and Ys series a
      • Good point. It's the fact of the matter that sequels are actually harder to make than completely new plotlines, because there's no easy way to deal with all the equipment/experience/magic/statistics/etc. gathered by the end of the first game at the start of the sequel.
        • Good point. It's the fact of the matter that sequels are actually harder to make than completely new plotlines, because there's no easy way to deal with all the equipment/experience/magic/statistics/etc. gathered by the end of the first game at the start of the sequel.

          I dunno. I was annoyed at first that Yuna in FFX-2 didn't have any of the l33t skills I got for her in FFX, but I quickly forgot about that as I realized it sucked in many other ways.
      • I want to say The Legend of Zelda series, but even then only a few act like sequels from a previous episode. I'm not sure if someone can put 3 or more of those games in one coherent in-game timeline or not. Link to the past acted as if the NES games didn't exist, story wise, and Ocarina of Time seemed to ignore the NES and SNES games. Majora's Mask seemed a bit like a sequel to Ocarina, but almost more by chance. I haven't played any iterations for handhelds or GameCube, so I can't say there.

        I think w

        • I want to say The Legend of Zelda series, but even then only a few act like sequels from a previous episode. I'm not sure if someone can put 3 or more of those games in one coherent in-game timeline or not. Link to the past acted as if the NES games didn't exist, story wise, and Ocarina of Time seemed to ignore the NES and SNES games. Majora's Mask seemed a bit like a sequel to Ocarina, but almost more by chance. I haven't played any iterations for handhelds or GameCube, so I can't say there.

          Link to the
        • I was under the impression that at the end of the original, Link was sent to a bunch of parallel universes. This was really apperent in the Oracle of Time and Oracle of Ages. They where very similar games, even with identical charaters. It's just a lot easier to say that Link (and possibly Gannon) are now timeless entities floating around and doing battle in any of a hundred alternate universise.
      • Ah, I had completely forgotten about the Breath of Fire series (probably because I don't follow handhelds, or play imports). Thanks
      • Comment removed based on user account deletion
        • I forgot how the early DQ games related since I've only played 1, 7, and 8. I didn't think that BoF 1-3 were related, but I haven't gotten all the way through 2 & 3 yet. The second game certainly feels very different in tone. I wasn't aware the Atelier games were connected -- I thought they were seperate.

          I also just plain forgot .hack, Xenosaga, and Suikoden which is a shame considering that I own them all. The Seiken Densetsu games all reuse themes, but I'm pretty sure they're not part of the same
      • console RPG series that has had more than 2 games where the games actually are sequels: The Arc the Lad, Lunar, and Ys
        Just to add one, Xenosaga has 3 parts or it will do once the 3rd is released.
        • And here I was just about to post this. :)

          I'm about 30 hours into the first game at the moment, and I plan to pick up the second soon after I'm done. Excellent console-style sci-fi RPG.

          • If you like Xenosaga, do consider seeking out a copy of Xenogears if you haven't already played it. I've enjoyed Xenosaga quite a bit, but I get the feeling that a great many of the plot points have been thrown out there just to please the Xenogears fanboys like me, and that none of it's gonna make a shred of sense in the end.

            Xenogears on the other hand, while it got horribly rushed in the end, it was at least created in a cohesive manner, and didn't undergo numerous plot rewrites like the Xenosaga series
      • Genso Suikoden 1-4 centered around 130 storied bandits.

        A core of them survive and stay around into the next sequel, and you can load the previous game's savegame so that those core characters would be more buffed up than usual either in characteristics or items.
      • One series (actually, an umbrella of media products) which has everything connected and happening to the same characters is, IIRC, PoPoLoCrois.

        You have some console RPGs (3 in sequece if I'm not mistaken), then a TV series that continues from where the last RPG left, then another RPG that continues from where the TV series left, and now a PSP game. But I'm not sure, it has been a while since I've seen the TV series and searched for info on it.
    • by Adriax ( 746043 ) on Monday May 08, 2006 @07:03PM (#15289065)
      You're complaining about this NOT being a cookie cutter sequel?
      Jesus, who do you work for, EA?
  • While I didn't really care much for Crystal Chronicles, the news of a Dragon Quest title intended for the Wii is awesome; not just because the DQ series has been good, but also because this means that some good RPGs will be available for Nintendo's new platform. Quite looking forward to that, actually--more so than yet another Final Fantasy title of any kind for any platform.

    Final Fantasy just hasn't been the same since Sakaguchi-san left Square. And Nobuo Uematsu, for that matter, but I'm glad to see the

    • I'm sure this makes Nintendo fans happy, but I didn't think the first Crystal Chronicles game was particularly great. I didn't get to play it proper-4-player style, but none of my friends own GBA's. Almost everyone I know has a PS2 and an XBox, but I'm the only one I know personally who has the Gamecube and GBA as well. Too bad they both gather dust.

      I think I'll pass on Crystal Chronicles 2.

      • It's hard to say what CC2 will be like based on the GC version. It may have a totally new control scheme, especially that it's an action game. We'll wait and see.
      • CC was supposedly pretty fun with four players. Either way, I'd expect CC2 to be a big improvement over CC1, which was prety much a tech demo with nice graphics. I'll wait for the reviews but I don't think it'll be as bad as CC.
    • I just hope that it is a real DQ game and not another offshoot from the regular series like the GBA/DS keep seeing.
    • I'm just sad that Sakaguchi's mistwalker studios has signed up with MS as I don't imagine it will have very many high quality eastern rpgs other then what they make.

      Ah the glory days of the snes, psx, and ps2... With a few exceptions most rpgs were made for these systems.
  • by cascino ( 454769 ) on Monday May 08, 2006 @05:52PM (#15288698) Homepage
    XIII could be exciting, but everyone in the US should be very excited about FFXII coming to these shores later this year. I have imported the Japanese version and it is one of the greatest games in the FF series. As an aside, I have played FF games since the first on the NES and, like many gamers, I was not very enthusiastic about the FFXII demo disc that was released here last November. Forget that. XII is a great game and you have a lot to look forward to.

    If you're interested in reading more specific details about XII, read my spoiler-free import impressions of the first 15 hours of gameplay over at ufck [ufck.org].
    • XIII could be exciting, but everyone in the US should be very excited about FFXII coming to these shores later this year.

      Err, no, I think only those who are Final Fantasy fans (and didn't think the demo was comparable to boning a wood chipper) should be excited by YAFF.
  • by ObligatoryUserName ( 126027 ) on Monday May 08, 2006 @06:04PM (#15288760) Journal
    Final Fantasy is a strong brand amongst the current gaming mainstream (different from the general population mainstream) because they have consistly been some of the most emotionally aware games (they actually try to have an emotional impact beyond surprising or scaring the player).

    For people who judge games solely on how fun they are to play minute to minute, the brand is weak. For people who have estabilished an emotional connection to Final Fantasy, the brand is strong and that's why they sell a lot of copies. They have established loyalty beyond reason. Good for them! It makes it easier for them to sell their games.

    I only bought FF 1 for the NES way back when and Tactics for the GBA; I would have gotten 7 but the PC demo scared me away with long boring animations. So this is an opinion based on how other people talk about the games rather than first hand experience.
    • Anyone who says this is a cookie cutter series clearly never liked playing Street Fighter / MK / Tekken / etc. when they were younger (or even now).

      I say more power to Square for finding something that at least many people think is great. Thats more productive than curmudgeioning (sp?) on Slashdot will ever be.

  • Where's the Plot! (Score:5, Insightful)

    by KefabiMe ( 730997 ) <garth@COBOLjhonor.com minus language> on Monday May 08, 2006 @06:08PM (#15288780) Journal

    Some buddies of mine were chilling around watching Advent Children the other day. We were lamenting about how Final Fantasy VII blew our minds early on in the game, and kept blowing our minds up until the end. That game instilled a sense of *wonder*, and many late nights were spent just wanting to play a little bit more to find out what the hell was going to happen next! The game before that, Final Fantasy III (or VI for you purists), had a great plot line as well.

    However, every single Final Fantasy since then has been good, but *not* the awe-inspiring series we remember. Even the Final Fantasy movies were more about being pretty than about the actual story. The last Final Fantasy I played through was Final Fantasy X, and I always had a feeling that Square was more focused on kick ass cutscenes than having a kick ass story. ='(

    Here's my wish list:

    • Final Fantasy III (VI) being redone with awesome graphics, but with the EXACT SAME CHARACTERS AND STORY LINE! I just want to see how that awesome game could look on the PS3, Wii, whatever...
    • Final Fantasy VII redone with updated graphics, but with the exact same characters and story line. I have almost no confidence that Square can make a truely AWESOME *story* anymore, rather than just a good story.
    • Fire their current writers, hire the old ones or some fresh talent, and focus on PLOT and CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. If someone starts talking about how cool some CG cutscene could look, CAN HIS ASS.

    I want *great* things for Final Fantasy, I really do. But it just seems it is past it's prime. It's become a money maker for an already rich Square rather than the epic story they used to make when they were a smaller company and closer to bankruptcy.

    • Final Fantasy III (or VI for you purists)

      I wouldn't call myself a "purist", but I gave up a long time ago trying to decide how to refer to that game. The only obvious choice was to call it VI. Why? Because there is only one game called Final Fantasy VI. If you say III, your audience has to decide whether you are talking about VI or III. You either have to shoulder the risk of them not knowing what the hell you are talking about or waste the time to explain to them which game you're actually talking

    • Re:Where's the Plot! (Score:3, Interesting)

      by 2nd Post! ( 213333 )
      If you want plot and storyline, try some of Square's other offerings. Having less brand weight, Square will take corresponding more risks in terms of emotional development. For example, I was quite impressed with:
      Threads of Fate
      Xenogears
      Chrono Trigger
      Kingdom Hearts Series
      • Just wanted to state...

        • Threads of Fate: Haven't played it.
        • Xenogears: GREAT game.
        • Chrono Trigger: Only the second greatest game on the SNES! (First greatest game being Secret of Mana)
        • Kingdom Hearts Series: Heard great things about it, but alas I haven't played it yet.
    • by njfuzzy ( 734116 ) <.ian. .at. .ian-x.com.> on Monday May 08, 2006 @06:47PM (#15288979) Homepage
      I actually think that your attitude come very close to the one at Square that is causing this problem. You don't tell a great story by trying to emulate past success. You tell a great story by doing something new and different. Doing it again, by its very nature, is going to be less unique.
    • Here's my wish list:
      Final Fantasy III (VI) being redone . . . but with the EXACT SAME CHARACTERS AND STORY LINE!
      Final Fantasy VII redone . . . but with the exact same characters and story line.
      So that Final Fantasy can become the next Mario Bros or Zelda? Doomed to remake hell?

      Pass.
      • My point is that I fondly remember those old Final Fantasies because they had great stories.

        Of course I would rather have all new stories and be blown away by Final Fantasy again, I just don't think Square has the ability to write awe-inpiring plots anymore.

        • You know, I replayed VI awhile back and the story certainly didn't wow me like it did you. It seemed pretty average to me. Maybe I'm just jaded now. The only one that really stuck out to me was Chrono Trigger, but that was mostly because I really liked the characters.
    • I hate to break it to you, but no FF game since VI has even had any sort of interesting story. It's all the same "great evil rising up to destroy generic fantasy and/or steampunk world that a reluctant hero has to stop" crap. The difference is that, in VI, the world actually *was* destroyed, and you had to pick up the pieces. (I could also go on for a while about how Kefka was the best FF villain in the series' history, but I digress.)

      In fact, the only FF game after VI that sticks out in my mind is X-2 for

      • Too bad it's maligned by sexually-insecure fanbois who can't bear anything that looks even remotely girly.

        What about those who malign it because it "turns the fscking series on its head?" Freeform gameplay? A story that dodges the 7+ "Baseline" but is still inane? A direct sequel?

        There are plenty of reasons for an FF fan, especially an old school FF fan, to dislike that game other than being an overengineered Kisekae set.
      • I'm not sure that I really agree with your statement. I think that there may have been some people who thought FF X-2 was too "girly", but I think that there are a lot of valid complaints regarding the gameplay that really made it one of the low points of the series. Specifically, the game to me felt too disjointed, more like a series of sidequests than an actual game. The Dress Grid system too was problematic at times. While the idea of requiring strategic planning to lay out spheres on the dress grid
    • We were lamenting about how Final Fantasy VII blew our minds early on in the game, and kept blowing our minds up until the end.

      I've tried to get into FF7, but I just can't. The flaws keep getting in the way.

      • Barrett's stupid lines
      • All the other lousy dialogue
      • The inconsistent art style.
      • Poorly told story (which was also cliche)
      • other, smaller annoyances

      I was able to go on and enjoy FF8, 9, and 10. I also enjoyed the older Final Fantasies. I'm able to forgive a lot in a game, but could never get past the f

    • I don't want remakes.
      I already played the game, and I enjoyed the game in the past.

      I'd prefer to spend my time seeing what someone else can come up with!

      One of the greatest things about Final Fantasy, is that everytime you buy a new Final Fantasy (major version), you will get a totally new game.

      Sure, some ideas and gameplay is rehashed.
      But I'm satisfied with the combination of character, story and gameplay changes to buy a new final fantasy.

      It's certainly better than Dragon Quest, or sports games, or many F
    • However, every single Final Fantasy since then has been good, but *not* the awe-inspiring series we remember. Even the Final Fantasy movies were more about being pretty than about the actual story. The last Final Fantasy I played through was Final Fantasy X, and I always had a feeling that Square was more focused on kick ass cutscenes than having a kick ass story. ='(

      Honestly, part of this is probably just that you have grown older and more jaded. Another is probably that you may no longer be as open-mind
      • FFVII is my favorite game of all time, and to me it was a truly religious experience as well.

        Dude. You have got to get out more.

      • I also think it had the tightest gameplay of any FF since VII - not just the best story. There were a half-dozen boss battles right at the end and all of them were amazing. And I grew to love the sphere grid system (though it did take a while).

        Having to rotate each character into each fight just to get one hit in, to get the XP, got really tedious, really fast.

        I've been spoiled by Knights of the Old Republic/Jade Empire, where inactive party members still get XP.

    • No, no, no, no, no! Don't do "re-makes" of old games. Why? Because it will never be the wonderful first time you played it again, no matter how hard you try. Remember Star Wars, and the absolute fuck-up job revamping those turned out to be.

      Far better to let Square work hard to create a new, wonderful game than to chase the ghosts of RPGs past. In fact, it wouldn't even have to be Square; as long as *someone* does it, that will be good enough.
    • Want a game that isn't one giant cutscene, and actually focuses on character development and plot?

      I recommend, highly, the Grandia series, especially Grandia Two. Kinda hard to pick up, as it seems kinda rare, but it's well worth it. It's one of, in my opinion, the 'underdogs' of the game industry that should've been great, but wasn't (like the system it launched on, the Dreamcast).
      • It was also released later on the PS2 (might be easier to find).

        I definitely second the parent's post, with the warning to only go to Grandia III as a last resort.
      • Grandia 2 is pretty easy to find. Personally I've got the PC version, it's still sold for a tenner or so everywhere (at least in Germany). Biggest flaw of the game is the low difficulty. After I completed the game I asked a friend what the Game Over screen looked like because I didn't lose once.
        • IIRC the PC version is buggy as hell. I had problems with sound cutting in and out all the time, and maybe even a crash or two.

          Then again, it could've been just my pc.

          Me, I didn't mind the low difficulty. The story was good enough to keep it driving without me having to go-back-and-level-because-the-boss-kicked-my-ass, which I hate anyways.
  • I'm actually quite pleased to hear about Dragon Quest for the Wii. I'm a huge console RPG fan, and many years ago I lost complete faith in Nintendo to deliver the kind of gaming experience I wanted. DQ is a hallmark series on par with Final Fantasy, and since I am planning to purchase a Wii, I hope that more RPGs call that console home.
  • I think that, as far as Japan is concerned, the console war has just been settled.
  • by Castar ( 67188 ) on Monday May 08, 2006 @06:53PM (#15289008)
    Wow, if Dragon Quest Wii is the nex Dragon Quest, instead of a side-series like Crystal Chronicles, that's *huge*. Dragon Quest is the best-selling game series in Japan, and its presence on Wii pretty much assures it's going to be a success there.

    Dragon Quest isn't as big as FF in the states, but Dragon Quest 8 sold a lot of copies over here nonetheless. The GameCube had a shortage of good RPGs, so hopefully this helps turn Nintendo's fortunes around.

    Also, it sounds like a swordfighting title, which will fit the controller well.
  • For coherence in the future, they should switch to scientific notation now so people don't get confused.

    Not Final Fantasy XIII.

    Final Fantasy 1.3x10^1!

    It's bound to be more efficient in the long run.
  • "Final Fantasy Versus XIII"

    Ugh. Hopefully not another Ehrgeiz.
  • http://www.siliconera.com/2006/05/08/final-fantasy -xiii-images/ [siliconera.com] Final Fantasy XIII versus and XIII look sweet, but not much is known about Agito.
  • I'm a bit discouraged by the recent FF games, since there's no option to TURN OFF the voice acting. It sometimes feels more like watching a 60-hour movie than playing a game.

    If there's one thing I'd like to see in this new game, it's some good old-fasioned *Text*.

    • Unintentional 'progress' in game design. text was good for what? scrolling stories,but as medium it doesn't makes dialogue shine(emotions and intonation are left behind).
      Its like posting chatlogs.
      Though i always prefer text then to listen to NPCs for 1000th time about the evils of the world.

      The genre of modern games is dominated by 3d,Voice acting,elaborate rendering and atmosphere,realistic characters and film like detail.Text speech looks arhaic in the context.
  • FF13 is a collaboration between the Kingdom Hearts and the Advent Children teams. [gamasutra.com]

    It will be one big cutscene. If you press X during the game, you will get a Game Over screen, with the traditional ff music and stars flying around.
    • Funny, but it was Xenosaga that sandwiched a save point between two cutscenes.

      But Versus XIII... Visual style from the AC team, gameplay from the KH team to make it play in realtime like it used to look in the cutscenes. Hmmm. I'm already interested.
  • Here's the latest rumor from E3. Apparently Crystal Chronicles 2 will require 8 Gameboy DSs, since each player will have to use a touch screen in each hand. In addition, it will require the purchase of a Wii to DS connector, along with a dual DS to Wii to DS connector.
  • ...can we, like, have FF12 first? Some day?
  • From one side, we have a forever-going series named 'Final', and on the other hand we have a game called 'Forever' which is never going to be released.

    What irony!
  • I can't wait!!! Seriously though, these days the FF series sells pretty much because of the hype alone, not because of the story, or game, or even characters. It just plains sucks.

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