Final Fantasy XIII Message Board older than one year ago

#squareenix For the uninitiated, Final Fantasy XIII might seem like the sequel to Final Fantasy XII. It's not. Each game is its own title, so if there was a FFXIII sequel, it would be FFXIII-2. More »

The creators of Final Fantasy XIII have been notoriously tight-lipped about the Fabula Nova Crystallis trilogy, a series comprised of FFXIII, Final Fantasy Versus XIII and the PSP-exclusive Final Fantasy Agito XIII. During a GDC panel titled "The Crystal Mythos," director Motomu Toriyama gave a few scant details about the other two branches of the trilogy, and the few similarities connecting the entries in the franchise's 13th series.

Toriyama's main point during his presentation is that Agito and Versus won't be sequels to the recently released Final Fantasy XIII -- they'll both have their own unique set of characters, gameplay systems and overarching stories. The only thing connecting them is the "Crystal Mythos" motif -- a theme where the fates of ordinary humans are controlled by omnipotent gods. Players of Final Fantasy XIII should already be acquainted with this storytelling device.

The other detail about the series Toriyama mentioned was that, like XIII, the rest of the series will continue to focus on story-driven gameplay rather than allowing the player to explore an open world. For better or worse, it sounds like Versus and Agito will possess the same linearity for which XIII was frequently criticized.

#review The role-playing series that launched a million bad attempts at cosplay is back, with a new group of colorful characters carrying the fate of the world on their shoulders in Final Fantasy XIII. More »

#clips At the big Final Fantasy XIII launch at the HMV store in London, fans show their disapproval of the prospect of winning a free Xbox 360 bundle. Really guys? More »

Purchase and pad out the ultimate Final Fantasy XIII HomeSpace with the launch of an exclusive Final Fantasy XIII themed apartment, furniture bundles, figurines and accessories, all inspired by the game. Items to collect include a sofa, table, chair, shelves, planter set, Cactuar and Tonberry figures, and stuffed animals.

Sweet Shiva, the Final Fantasy XIII reviews are all over the place. What has been clear over the past couple years is that the Japanese RPG has been going through some seriously violent flux. The genre is trying to find a new path, and even as Japanese developers seem to search for a balance that'll please several markets, they're freaking out western reviewers and audiences, who have a certain expectation going into these games -- a fault of fans, as much as decades of ingrained convention by those developers.

The new JRPGs aren't necessarily great games. They certainly break conventions of what a JRPG is, so how to review them? Along comes Final Fantasy XIII, another risk taker, but this time by the genre's big kahuna -- at least, it is in the west. We've weighed in with our review; let's see what other outlets think:

• Game Informer (93/100): "For years, gamers have had visions of this title as an industry-transforming epiphany, but no game could possibly live up to such astronomical expectations. That's no reason to lose faith; though reality doesn't match the myth, Final Fantasy XIII is a phenomenal RPG destined to be remembered as a technical milestone for the series."
• Eurogamer (80/100): "Palatable is very much the word for Final Fantasy XIII. The Final Fantasy series, with its lengthy cinematics, stubborn style and carefully prescribed limitations, can never hope to please everyone. So it's strange to see it try, and no surprise that the result is not a total success."
• VideoGamer (70/100): "You have to hand it to Square Enix for trying to move things forward - better that than yet another rehash of the tried and tested Final Fantasy formula ... But it does so along a path so narrow and straight that you long for the days of old. When Vanille is knocked out in battle, she sometimes says: 'What went wrong' It's a question we find ourselves wondering as well."
• Edge: (50/100): "FFXIII takes brave risks with the series' foundations, but they ultimately create trembling fractures throughout the entire edifice, that robust battle system unable to support the weight of an entire world. Final Fantasy games are always an investment. This time, the returns are questionable."

#ps3 Upcoming online role-playing Final Fantasy XIV will take place in a sci-fi meets fantasy universe. That we know. But that's not all. More »

Square Enix approaching targets for latest RPG release.

The battle within begins, experience the next evolution of Final Fantasy with the most highly anticipated RPG of this generation.

#finalfantasy Go on. Guess. Or, if you don't feel like guessing, read on to see the shipment figures for Final Fantasy XIII Square Enix released overnight. More »

In a Japanese press release, Square Enix has announced that Final Fantasy XIII has shipped 5 million copies worldwide. Surprisingly, 3 million of those copies were shipped outside of Japan. Of course, Square Enix isn't saying how many of those copies have been sold, so bear that in mind when marveling over these impressive numbers.

These 5 million XIIIs, according to the release, bring the total number of shipped games in the Final Fantasy series up to 96 million. How many of those were ports or remakes of the first Final Fantasy, we wonder?

Last night, during the -- super awkward -- Final Fantasy XIII launch party in San Fransisco, Sony's Rob Dyer took a big shot across the bow of any Microsoft representatives in the audience by promising a pending announcement of exclusive content for the PS3 version of the game.

Today, on PlayStation Blog, Dyer revealed that the PS3 version includes a "secret in-game item" for Final Fantasy XIV -- a similar, or perhaps the same promotion offered in Japan. Additionally, PS3 players can enter for a chance to beta test Final Fantasy XIV, which has only been announced for PS3 and PC.

The in-game item might be interesting (baby chocobo vanity pet, please), but we're not really enthralled by a "potential opportunity" to get in on the beta. A potential opportunity? So there's a chance that there's a chance we'll be able to get into the beta? Well that's slightly better than no chance of a chance, we suppose.

#finalfantasyxiii At last night's launch event for Final Fantasy XIII, Square Enix boss Yoichi Wada showed up with a Fal'cie symbol from the game tattooed on his hand. He tweeted that he "probably" would not be able to return to Japan. More »

What do Cerny Games' Mark Cerny, Gas Powered Games' Chris Taylor, Microsoft's Corrinne Yu, and Obsidian's Feargus Urquhart have in common, besides being game developers? Absolutely nothing. Yet, Square Enix managed to sit them down for an hour long roundtable discussion to talk about one thing: how awesome Final Fantasy (and Final Fantasy VII, in particular) is. To say it was awkward is a tremendous understatement.

Certainly, there's much cause for celebration. With the game first announced nearly four years ago, the impending release of Final Fantasy XIII feels like a much needed breath of relief. It was Square Enix's night to celebrate its work, and with a red carpet entrance for key producers and voice actors it carried an aura appropriate for the return of the long-awaited flagship franchise. With some glowing reviews, this launch party could have rested solely on the game's merits.

A cheerful (and perhaps slightly mistranslated) speech from Square Enix president Yoichi Wada set the right tone for the evening, with Wada wearing a Fal'cie tattoo on his hand calling the audience to join him in a quest to save the world; however, the evening took a quick turn for the bizarre. A visually breathtaking 3D trailer for Final Fantasy XIII was marred by the host's obnoxious desire to watch it a second time in quick succession. The roundtable discussion that followed highlighted the franchise's accomplishments, twisting them into an overview of these developers' shortcomings. There was an almost defeated attitude with the panel, many admitting their inability to match the sheer production values of a Square Enix joint.

The evening escalated to quite possibly one of the most awkward toasts we've ever encountered. A Microsoft spokesperson took the stage, congratulating Square Enix on bringing Final Fantasy XIII to Xbox 360. Shortly thereafter, a Sony spokesperson also took the stage, emphasizing how Final Fantasy is a PlayStation franchise, and how XIII is best on PS3, on a single Blu-ray disc -- the way it was meant to be played. The audience was abuzz like a Joystiq comments thread, and champagne was had by all. Congratulations on releasing Final Fantasy XIII, Square Enix!

Branded by the gods and exiled from their homes. Can they still save the world?

After you heard what we had to say about Final Fantasy XIII, you may very well now be itching to finally get your own hands all over the thirteenth entry in the FF series from Square Enix. Lucky for you, dearest reader, we've got news of a couple ways to save some dough on your purchase this week.

Target is offering a $10 gift card with purchase of either the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 version, while Amazon is offering a $10 pre-order incentive credit towards future video game purchases for both versions as well (oh, and also, the game costs $56.99 instead of $59.99, which is kinda nice). Sure, neither offers a free rideable chocobo or anything wonderful like that, but that $10 at Target could potentially buy pizza bagels. And did you know that when pizza's on a bagel, you can apparently eat pizza at any time? Madness!

Source 1 - CAG
Source 2 - Target

After you heard what we had to say about Final Fantasy XIII, you may very well now be itching to finally get your own hands all over the thirteenth entry in the FF series from Square Enix. Lucky for you, dearest reader, we've got news of a couple ways to save some dough on your purchase this week.

Target is offering a $10 gift card with purchase of either the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 version, while Amazon is offering a $10 pre-order incentive credit towards future video game purchases for both versions as well (oh, and also, the game costs $56.99 instead of $59.99, which is kinda nice). Sure, neither offers a free rideable chocobo or anything wonderful like that, but that $10 at Target could potentially buy pizza bagels. And did you know that when pizza's on a bagel, you can apparently eat pizza at any time? Madness!

Source 1 - CAG
Source 2 - Target

So, you read our review of Final Fantasy XIII and are prepared to pick it up next week, but you're not sure which version to buy? If you're basing your decision on graphical fidelity, the A/V experts from Eurogamer's Digital Foundry suggest you go with the PS3 version of the game -- as seen in their quartet of video comparisons, the 360 version suffered a bit of resolution reduction during its trip between platforms.

No, the difference in quality isn't groundbreaking or anything. We just wanted you to know all the factors before making a decision. Both versions have their strengths and weaknesses -- for instance, the 360 version requires you to change the disc two times, but the PS3 version of the game is unplayable once every 1,461 days.

How critical were the critics?

Wondering if you should commit to that last-minute pre-order this weekend?

There is a moment in Final Fantasy XIII where everything just clicks.

The intricacies of the completely overhauled combat system come into focus; the meandering, convoluted story begins to take shape; the characters stop being insufferably standoffish and begin to coalesce into an engaging menagerie of heroes; the character progression system begins to offer the player a variety of thought-provoking choices; and the game begins to live up to your (I'm assuming) lofty expectations, and Final Fantasy XIII becomes an experience which can go toe-to-toe with the best entries in the franchise.

The game gets exceptional after this one moment -- but, regrettably, this moment came for me after suffering 15 hours and 30 minutes of pure, unadulterated tedium.

Has the series been streamlined, or has it just been dumbed down?

#ffxiii The obsessives over at Digital Foundry, who do this kind of thing for a living, have compared the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of Final Fantasy XIII in agonising detail. The results? Not so good for 360 owners. More »

Is Square's Final Fantasy unlucky for some?

Find out when to expect our final verdict on Square Enix's epic RPG.

#ffxiii Avatar, the biggest grossing film ever, looks familiar, says Square Enix's Motomu Toriyama, director of Final Fantasy XIII. A little too familiar. More »

#xbox360 The Xbox 360 of multi-platform role-playing game Final Fantasy XIII is shipping on three discs. For those curious as to how much space installing the game on the Xbox 360, read on. More »

For those of you chomping at the bit for Final Fantasy XIII, here's a fun little surprise to tide you over: Both Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy II are now available on the iPhone for $9 a pop. The...