Final Fantasy XIII Announced At E3

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.

Comments

My first reaction

[Crimsane]

Does anyone else feel a little ripped off every time they buy a new sequel to a game called "final fantasy"?

Where's the Plot!

[KefabiMe]

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.

Re:Where's the Plot!

[njfuzzy]

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.

Re:Final Fantasy "Whatever"

[Adriax]

You're complaining about this NOT being a cookie cutter sequel?
Jesus, who do you work for, EA?