@digi-demon STILL no shenmue 3, you're right! One of the great tragedies of gaming.
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Final Fantasy Versus XIII. Chances are, a lot of you have already forgotten about it. And who can blame you? It's been seven years. It was one of those games that I was personally very excited about, and one of the main reasons why I invested in a PS3.
Development started in November of 2005, and the announcement came on May 2006. It was intended to be a part of a three game trilogy of Final Fantasy XIII called Fabula Novela Crystallis, chronicling three unrelated stories within the backdrop of a single mythos involving gods, goddesses and crystals. This was widely seen as a bold new innovation for the storied franchise. Final Fantasy Versus XIII is groundbreaking in a sense that it was darker and more violent than previous Final Fantasy titles. True to Tetsuya Nomura's style, much of it takes place in a very modern setting---a far cry from Final Fantasy XIII with all its silly Fal'cie, L'Cie business. In Versus XIII, conflict erupts between powerful kingdoms vying for control of a single crystal that had been stolen by force from an isolated nation. The main character was a member of that nation's royal family, caught between these warring factions. Suffering a personality disorder, he must deal with the worldly crisis and fight to get that crystal back, all while suppressing his inner demons and confronting a host of personal issues.
Since then, Square Enix has divulged little to nothing of any progress made in Versus XIII's development. Some screenshots were revealed to assure people that the game was indeed being worked on, but the only factual information we were able to get out of it thus far were just snippets of its storyline, its few characters and gameplay mechanics that have yet to be fully explained. They were featured in a six-minute trailer; the only official trailer for the game at this point in time. Furthermore, Versus XIII was a consistent no-show at E3 and TGS within the seven year period. Outside of Versus XIII's development, Final Fantasy XIII, the first game in the Crystallis trilogy, met an undesirable response (not to mention a ridulous endorsement from Leona Lewis) , prompting Square Enix to complicate the Crystallis framework further by releasing two other spin-offs; XIII-2 and the upcoming Lightning Returns. Final Fantasy XIII was even ported to the XBOX 360 for the first time. The third game of the Crystallis trilogy, Agito XIII, had its name changed to Type-0 and ported to the PSP platform from mobile phone devices, entirely removing the XIII distinction and sequestering it away from the Fabula Novella Crystallis arc.
A lot can happen in seven years. So what has the world been up to during that time? Well.....
>> The entire Mass Effect trilogy was released, including the recently released compilation pack.
>> Skyrim is released with three expansions on the way.
>> Barack Obama is elected president, and serves the entirety of his first term in office.
>> The entire Assassin's Creed series is released, including Assassin's Creed 3. Oh, and don't forget the Ezio trilogy consisting of AC2, Revelations and Brotherhood.
>> The entirety of the PS3 Ratchet and Clank Future arc of games is released---with their Greatest Hits releases following shortly thereafter.
>> Prince William and Kate Middleton get married. And it was recently announced that Kate is expecting her first child.
>> The Wii's life cycle, leading all the way up to the release of its successor---the Wii U.
>> The birth and death of Guitar Hero.
>> Sony and Microsoft jump on the motion control bandwagon by releasing the PS Move and the Kinect---respectively.
>> Four subsequent Final Fantasy titles were released, including Final Fantasy XII, Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy XIII-2 and Final Fantasy XIV.
>> Final Fantasy XIII and XIII-2 got price drops, with XIII reaching Greatest Hits status and XIII-2 meeting below expectations. You can currently buy them both brand-new for $20 each.
>> George Lucas sells Lucasfilm to Disney, who in turn also bought out Marvel and Pixar. Plans are already underway for three new Star Wars films. Oh, and Rick McCallum departs Lucafilm after two decades with the studio.
>> Taylor Swift has dated 13 different guys.
>> Duke Nukem Forever escapes its own development limbo and finally sees release with help from Gearbox software and 2K Games. The game was poorly received by critics and gamers, and can be picked up from bargain bins for $5.
>> The entire life period of the PS3, including both console revisions.
>> The release of the PlayStation Vita and the Nintendo 3DS.....AND the 3DS XL.
Yeah.
You're probably wondering if Final Fantasy Versus XIII had been cancelled given the seven years we've not heard about it. Well, not so fast. Square Enix President Yoichi Wada debunked rumors of its cancellation, saying that the game is still on schedule and should see release sometime in 2013. Likewise, Tetsuya Nomura has given updates on occasion through his Twitter feed, urging patience. As if seven years of waiting weren't long enough, no?
My message to Square Enix is this; cut the crap and stop screwing around. They've already let the banner loose and made the announcement, and all they've done up to this point is come up with excuse after excuse. Its repeated absence from E3 and TGS are giving false impressions to people who were anticipating the game to be released. The developers continue to urge for patience, but seven years? Patience is running thin. And with the PS3 edging close ro retirement, time is running out. It would be enormously costly and time-consuming to migrate development to the next console, and the quality will likely suffer. Great games have spent considerable time in the development oven, but I don't know of any that have reached the plateau of seven years or more. That said, it's time for Square Enix to make a decision regarding Final Fantasy Versus XIII. Either kill it off, or make the effort to get it done. So, what do you think? Do you believe Final Fantasy Versus XIII should be cancelled? Or do you hold hope that it will eventually see the light of day?
Don't rule it out, but don't bother crossing your fingers either.



