Square Enix to talk future Final Fantasy XIII plans in September
By
Jonathan Toyad, Associate Editor
Publisher planning Final Fantasy event in Shibuya; FFXI and FFXIV presentations also planned.
Final Fantasy publisher Square Enix has announced it will be hosting a public stage show to celebrate the series' 25th anniversary at the Shibuya Hikarie building in Tokyo, Japan, starting from August 31. As part of the celebrations, Square says it will be divulging its future plans concerning Final Fantasy XIII at a special event slated for September 1.
The event will be called "Final Fantasy XIII Lightning Saga: New Developments Presentation" and will feature the game's producer Yoshinori Kitase, director Motomu Toriyama, and other members of the staff to present new information and answer questions.
The 25th-anniversary celebrations will be held from August 31 until September 2. The first day will be a private media-only event, while the remaining days will be open to the public. Other highlights from the upcoming event include a Final Fantasy XI music presentation, a showcase for Final Fantasy XIV concerning the game's upcoming 2.0 revision, and a live discussion concerning the future of the series featuring Final Fantasy Type-0 director Hajime Tabata and Final Fantasy X art director Yusuke Naora.
Several sources recently claimed that Final Fantasy Versus XIII may have been officially cancelled, though Square Enix refrained from a public announcement. The game has been in development since 2005 and was first announced in E3 2006.
By
Jonathan Toyad, Associate Editor
Born and raised from a jungle-laden village in Sarawak, Malaysia, Jonathan Toyad has been playing games since the early 90s. He favors fighting games, RPGs, and rhythm titles above every other genre, and occasionally spaces out like Pavlov's dog to video game music on his iPod.
64 comments
I've run out of bad things to say about this game. Its just not fantasy anymore. Not even steampunk either. Its Bayonetta without her hair.
I found final fantasy xiii was a complete piece of crap the only thing i liked about that game was that Sazh was in it because he was like the only black guy in all of final fantasy and it felt like crap version of the final fantasy x-2 mechanics then they released final fantasy xiii-2 which i felt was much better than its predecessor with the story and all and the whole idea of time also how you can choose your own path and i reckon Caius is a great antagonist as opposed to that of the crappy final fantasy xiii i can't wait for lightning returns final fantasy xiii along with xiii versus
1 Like I only met FF when I played the remakes of III and IV (they're great btw) I don't like that much the XIII. I'm more used to the old mechanic. (I think the battle system of XIII is confusing...) I personally prefer a lot more the old ones. (VIII and XII were great too!) If you ask why, that's because there's something in the old ones that is not too present in the new ones. (I like the fact the others had more places to explore.)
@jade__chan Which IV remake? The one on PSP was amazing. The DS one was really good, but not as good as the PSP remake.
2 Like @Zilaan_ : You are right, Square Enix is definitely going the wrong direction in the FF series. After FF12, I thought that FF series has reached a new level and would continue going that way: the vast, real and beautiful environment that satisfy your exploration dreams, the stunning weather effects, the innovative Gambit auto-battle system. But after a few hours with FF13, I've completely forgotten about Final Fantasy when I found myself smashing the buttons continuously for no good reason in battles, going through narrow corridors with nothing to explore, hearing the cheesy background music that make no sense of Final Fantasy, also, the environment of the game is so fake, there's no grass on the ground even while you're travelling on the plains, just a flat surface with pieces and dots of color on it.
- I'm so happy that Final Fantasy XIV has the score 4.0 on Gamespot, it proves that Final Fantasy is going down.
2 Like You guys complain about SE making another FFXIII but when SE made like 3 FFVII, and made 2 movies you don't care? Smh I mean come on all the FFs are great.Am I seriously the only one who likes the FFXIII series? :(
@Roxas029 Nope, I thoroughly enjoyed FFXIII. Music was fantastic (Masashi Hamauzu, of course), characters were enjoyable (sans Vanille), graphics were incredible, story and gameplay were both very solid. Just started playing FFXIII-2, I've heard it's very good.
1 Like Next to it being linear, I don't see why people nag so much about FF XIII. It was a great game, the battle system was on point with a hint of complexity, story was likeable, and I've always had that sense of getting more and more powerful. It being linear didn't detract from anything. I'm just starting FFXIII-2, and so far it's just as good, or better than it's prequel.
@desperate001 I loved XIII-2, but the music, lowered graphics, and shortness of the game coupled with the to be continued ending really hurt the experience.
2 Like If there's a FF that deserves a sequel or remake in current or next gen consoles that's FF VII - the most memorable and rich final fantasy game, with the best characters, story, battle system, music, etc...Try to imagine FF XIII on a PS1, it would be like running in corridors and auto battle system with a linear storyline.I think Square Enix is going the wrong direction in the FF series but I hope FF XV changes that.
2 Like @Zilaan_ Honestly, I don't think VII needs another sequel, it has it's own mini-series already.
Listen up all you unappreciates - SE has revolutionized the realm of RPGs over and over and over. Yet all some people do is whine because you can't appreciate SE doing something new - in an attempt to give you a better gaming experience no less.. You people must SUCK at relationships if all you do is focus on what you don't like about something AWESOME.
Why revisit the old games in HD? Why touch the Mona Lisa and say 'Hey Da Vinci! It was good back when you painted it but we're going to redo it in higher definition...'
With all the respect you deserve, PLEASE....you nay-sayers...stop playing FF games, and leave your shallow minded opinions of a revolutionary, industry leading team where they belong - closed up in your homes :)
SE, thank you for all you do.
1 Like @madmann05 In response to "Why revisit old games in HD":Because some of us missed our chance to play them, and don't want to spend hundreds of dollars on ebay or amazon trying to get them. Your metaphor doesn't work in this case, because we can see the Mona Lisa anywhere we go, but you can't just walk out of your house and be able to play final fantasy X.
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7 Like Yeah, I've been playing FF since the NES and I'm just tired of it. Toriyama just needs to either step down or get fired. He drove FF into the ground with 13, and now it's to the point I'm not sure it can recover in time to make another great game. They spent too much time and money developing that engine, which is the reason we keep getting 13 sequels. His idea for half naked 13 yr old girls being mainstream heroes just makes him look like a perv.
I have no problem wanting to have lightning as a main, but it can't be just her, he's just way too obsessed with Lightning and she's not that great of a character. There needs to be a decent sized cast, and this battle system needs major improvement, it's just way too easy. The series does have potential to be great, but sadly it failed.
2 Like No way. The weakest FF in terms of pretty much everything, especially story and characters, and they won't kill it? I'm never touching another FF game again.
first off square probably keeps making ff13 games so they can wait till ps4 to come out then bring out versus on a more powerful system to better the game graphic and add more to it. so they making sequel to 13 so they can stall for versus, well that what I that might just be going on here.
1 Like They probably aren't doing that, because they would have to re-make everything from the ground up excluding the story. They would have to completely recode everything.
whats big deal about better the game graphics i like it the way it is now. all people carefor better graphics
4 Like Why is the worst flipping FF still ongoing. 13 is garbage, it shouldnt have been made , let alone a sequel, and now another one.
2 Like @kiramasaki thatd be 14... but then again that wouldnt fit with your narrow narrative now would it?
2 Like I hope the new FF is connected to FINAL FANTASY 8 continuing the story ...omg i remember those days ..it is great Squall Leonhart & Rinoa Heartilly ...
Lightning is great character hope it will be in next FF maybe other other funny male character suite here
5 Like I just really wish they would revisit and upgrade the graphics and audio of FF VII to XII for the next gen consoles. They were great games with a huge fan following and to have them released on the Xbox 360 and PS3 and PC would be a sure money maker for SE!
They already have the characters and storylines of the established world renowned games, which have stood the test of time, so an updated re release on all platforms is really a no brainer as far as profits go.
I know I would buy them all again because the big advantage would be that I already know I like them and would play them again, so I'm sure I'm not the only one?
There was an atmosphere of excitement in the earlier games which is somehow missing from the recent releases in the franchise?
@Simba13 Thing is, they don't want to do it right now because of the magnitude of work that doing so would require. It's not just a matter of upgrading the graphics, but reimagining a lot of the gameplay, environments etc. Basically they're just too busy at this moment, maybe after KH3
its akin to saying that ferrari dominated motor sports racing some decades ago so using those same cars would make them dominate now... i think that people dont understand that that is not so. nostalgia is like a drug... take less of it more often.
4 Like I agree...I would surely revisit these games if they were made in HD, more than any others FFVII and VIII. It seems SE likes to look forward to new titles and IPs, and leave the classics behind. It's a shame cause as you said, it would bring in the money.
1 Like @mike2238 I find it strange that SE are concentrating so much on the FF XIII sequels, when previous games were standalone titles?
The obvious answer is because they want to re-use characters, moves, weapons and game playing areas, which will cut down on development time for them and make the sequels more profitable?
If that idea makes sense to them, then surely re-creating the earlier FF's, which after all really made a name for them as the start of the franchise makes even more sense?
With the current worldwide recession seeing games developers going to the wall all the time, you would think they would jump at the chance to profit from some of the most popular games they have ever produced, on all the consoles, to a new generation of gamers?
1 Like It would make sense for them to do that. Or at least If they are not willing to do any remakes themselves let the fan projects continue. There was a group of talented guys who decided to make a 3D version of chrono trigger. The game looked very impressive. SE caught wind of it and stopped the development dead in its tracks. I think if you are not willing to remake the old titles, you should let someone who can do the games justice try!
2 Like I just hope they make it linear like the first XIII. Serriously, that time thingy and the conversation choices never added anything to the game. It just made the dialogues meaningless.
FF XIII was the best FF I've ever played (I like lazy rpg with lots of blah blah) and I've only played 5 hours of FF XIII-2, got stuck not knowing where to go next, then got bored. I guess I'll have to get through to be up to date with the story though.
@foufoufun0 I agree with you. FF XIII was the first FF I've ever beaten and it has my two fav characters in gaming history(Lightning and Fang). I beat FF XIII-2 even collected all the trophies, but hope this new one brings back the original gang
2 Like @badboyzkg Geez guys, when did you two jump in on the final fantasy series? Did you both start at XIII? XIII-2 was a massive improvement over XIII.
1 Like Didn't mind 13-2, glad now that I missed out on the crystal edition though that would have been a waste of money. As long as 13-3 doesn't make you buy dlc I'll be happy. I still trust square too much so I will be buying 13-3 but hmmm... was desperate for versus :( it'd better not be cancelled it wasn't long ago it was finally at '100% development'!?
@Lhomity to be honest I'm just bitter about the crystal edition cause I had it pre ordered then game messed up and I had to get standard :(
7 Like I think that they should just make Versus into FF15 or smth, because the FF13 name has been.... brought down.
you people need to get over yourselves, and assuming that they will move faster than needed just to give you less!!??.....they are trying to give you the best but first they are waiting for technology to get moving up to where they want to start making these games on higher graphics gaming console!....So Shut up and please be patient! The world is not ending! They have something planned just wait for it they wont dissapoint you so stop assuming they will.
1 Like @noble_platypus That would mean that six years of development amounting to nothing. They would have to completely recode and rebuild it to put it on the next gen consoles.
AWESOME YES!!!!I love Lightning....hopefully a better ending an where vanille an fang wake up again! >.<
As for final fantasy versus the only reason it is taking so long that you people havent got into your thick skulls is because how much they wanted to advance the graphics and cant reach their desired animation till the playstation 4 or later....the ps3 has limited amount of space for such graphics...and for higher graphics they need a better gaming platform!!
@noble_platypus Blu-Ray discs can hold anywhere from 25 to 50Gb of information. I don't think space is the issue here.
woops ur right lol then im not so sure anymore just wait an be patient maybe they messed up on it an had to go back an fix the mistakes lol
1 Like @noble_platypus lol, not enough space? Back in my days, some games had as much as 5 disc. Still, I think they made a pretty awesome job with FFXIII. Fully animated cut scenes all over the game. And not just cheap ass stiff characters with mouth lipsync. The only thing they could do better are shiny visuals. It doesn't really make the game better, just cost more money to make (and time).
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