FF XIII Timeframe Set, FF XIV Confirmed

Square Enix announced at E3 that Final Fantasy XIII is planned for release this winter in Japan, and spring 2010 for North America. A new trailer was released as well. A separate announcement brought details about Final Fantasy XIV Online, an MMORPG due out in 2010 for Windows and the PS3. A teaser website was launched, with a trailer and some information about the developers working on the project. "Final Fantasy XIV Online is being developed with a simultaneous worldwide release in mind. The game will be initially released in English, Japanese, French, and German. The game will be produced by Hiromichi Tanaka (Final Fantasy I, II, III, and XI) and Nobuaki Komoto (Final Fantasy IX and XI) will serve as director. Longtime Final Fantasy fans will be happy to hear the Nobu Uematsu will return to provide the score."

Comments

Re:Overhaul the Battle System

[Bluesman]

It made me feel exactly the same way, but I liked the programming aspect. It removed the tedium of doing the same thing (in previous games, didn't you just wish you could teach the characters a strategy instead of being forced to repeat the same commands ad infinitum?) I even started wishing for more advanced gambits to prevent characters from doing stupid things given certain situations.

But maybe that's just me. I think there were still plenty of challenges in that game even with the gambits. Yiazmat was a particularly meaningful and involved battle.

Putting limits on powerful weapons is a great idea. I'd really like to see an RPG where strategy trumps leveling and items as the key to winning.

Re:Eh.

[Talderas]

VII was good, but didn't really excel in any one area. A -lot- of it's fame comes from the fact that the Playstation brought a lot of new game players, and VII was the first RPG they ever played. If the first RPG you play is a good one, that one usually holds a slightly more elevated opinion than it should. If you really take a look at the mechanics of the material system, it's more of a constraint system rather than an augment system. FF7 was the only system (that I can remember), where your access to spells was limited which really drove it, more than other Final Fantasy games, to using a heavy melee focus. Outside of a few support materia combos that don't work when paired with master materia (and a few ultimate weapons), using anything other than a master magic, master summon, or master command materia is pointless.

I also dislike that characters earn experience when they're not in the active party, even if it is at a reduced rate.

My point is that FF7 showed a shift towards coming up with clever game mechanics. They try to make them a game within the game, which can sometimes overshadow some of the flaws with the game, or it can utterly wreck the enjoyment of it (FF9 for me). It's gotten excessively worse as well. FF12's license grid, and the limited effect that accessories have means there's very little incentive to use any accessory other than a Golden Amulet so you earn double LP for it until you've earned every license. From FF6 and before they didn't have these clever systems. Sure they had a few things, like Espers granting stat bonuses on level up and being required to use/permanently learn magic, but FF6 and early had to rely on their story. The biggest gripe people have about FF6 I believe is the major factor that prevents it from being bar-none the best Final Fantasy, and relegated instead to a debate. That gripe is that the story goes south after the world breaking. You have this grand, intricate story in the World of Balance. Then you get to the World of Ruin, where the story is lackluster. If the story in the WoR had been on par with the WoB story FF6 would be the best Final Fantasy.

Final Fantasy VIII was brilliant. The storyline was subtle, and it was good at misdirecting the player. For most people that dislike FF8 there's two major gripes, the junction system and the love story in it.

Final Fantasy IX had an awesome storyline from what I remember, but game system killed the game for me.

Final Fantasy X didn't really have that grand of a story. I think my biggest issue was that FF10 wasn't about Tidus, it was about Yuna. I personally don't like RPGs where the focus character isn't the central character.

Final Fantasy X-2? That game doesn't exist.

Final Fantasy XII has the same issue that FF10 does, though I haven't beaten it yet. The story revolves around Ashe with Basch and Balthier on perimeter, but the focus character is Vaan. At least the Basch-Gabranth and Balthier-Cid is interesting. What does Vaan have? Nothing. His only link is Reks and that is such a piss poor link it's not even worth considering. Vaan is like the red-headed step-child. Sometimes I think Penelo has a better link with what appears to be a bit of a budding crush between her and Larsa with Larsa being Vayne's brother.