It has been six years since Square-Enix started to develop what would come to be one of the most anticipated games of 2010. Now, you may say “That’s six years you dumb fuck” and while that’s true the first trailer of the game was shown in E3 2005. This was the first time someone actually saw footage of the actual game.
When Square-Enix started to develop the game, they did so on the Playstation 2 platform. But they later decided to launch it as an Playstation 3 exclusive, just as most of the prior games in the series. However on E3 2008 Square-Enix presented that the game was being developed for both Playstation 3 and the Xbox360.
Iconic to the Final Fantasy series, Nobuo Euematsu composed the epic score that now present on the game. Nobuo Euematsu has been with Final Fantasy for a loong time with slight abscense in some games.
Tetsuya Nomura has once again blessed us with his magnificent characters created in his lead. Fans of the series, especially fans of the seventh installment (Final Fantasy VII) since it has been rumored that one of the lead characters is a new version of Cloud Strife (main character of the seventh installment). I can say for sure that Tetsuya’s abscense in Final Fantasy XII was greatly missed, atleast by me.
I do not like to compare these games to eachother, since in my oppinion - they’re all masterpieces. However, I didn’t find Final Fantasy XII to be that good. It had a very political story and I didn’t feel much for the combat system either. Felt like it was a to far branch of from the original turn-based system and in my oppinion, it felt kind of slow.
This however seems to be a mutual feeling between me and Square-Enix since from what I’ve heard about the story it’s more revolving around the characters but a bigger plot is surely to unfold, seeing that it is a Final Fantasy game.
The combat system of Final Fantasy XIII is extremely well executed. It’s fast paced and it has seen some overall improvements in it’s overall strategic point of view. You’re in a party, much like the party seen in Final Fantasy X but you only decide on one persons actions, instead of deciding for everyone. It’s a strong ATB-system where there is always a time gauge ticking, when it’s full you execute the actions you’ve already qued up. The actions you preform vary from the character you’re controlling but it’s either a Auto-Attack or an Ability that you use, you can even combine the two to perform powerfull combos when the ATB-gauge is full.
It’s hard to explain it really since I haven’t seen the full depth of the system yet, but in my oppinion - this is how a Final Fantasy battle system should be executed.
This serie is known for its good storytelling and memerable characters, something else that it’s known for is its mini-games scoured throughout the game to break the tention. However, from what I’ve heard this is the only real down-side to the game. Personally, I don’t think I’d miss them so much.
If you own a Xbox360 or a Playstation 3, this game is a definitive must-have. Not a fan of Final Fantasy? It’s never to late to become one. This game will become an instant classic on these consoles and will be as loved as Final Fantasy VII is now, thirteen years after it’s releas in 1997.
Final Fantasy XIII will hit the stores the 9th of March 2010, after five long years of waiting.