I am, like many, a devout and dedicated Final Fantasy fan.
Sure, I've played them all - from the humble beginnings of FFI (had to play that one on my DS :) ), to the glittering graphics in FFXIII, I've enjoyed the franchise through the years. Sure, there have been some flops: FFVIII seemed to pale in comparison to it's direct predecessor, and FF's first online venture in FFXI didn't go over as well as everyone had hoped.
But I think everyone will agree when I say that Square's biggest failure in the Final Fantasy arena has to be FFX-2. What a horrible excuse for a game.
Games are supposed to be fun. I was one of the first to run out and buy a copy on opening day, so trusting in the geniuses that created FFVII and FFIX that surely any game released under the FF name would be, at the very least, mildly entertaining. What unfolded in those next few hours was not unlike those pointed GameFly commercials:
Seriously? What kind of story is this? Why am I flying around aimlessly? Where the hell am I supposed to go? WHAT IS GOING ON HERE??
My blind faith was shattered; because of this experience I would now wait until reliable reviews had been released, and even buy used copies of a game just to make sure I could return it if another FFX-2 were to seduce me again.
Not this time, however. I have FFXIII-2 pre-ordered. I'm ripping my own safety net. Why?
First of all, even with it's issues, I liked FFXIII: especially the battle system. Real time battles using paradigm shifts made battles fun, quick, and dynamic. The game itself was blindingly beautiful. The shortfalls came in the confusing storyline, and of course the "shoe-string" like maps bereft of the classic FF towns and endearing masses of NPCs. Even so, in the end I always rate a game based on whether or not I enjoyed playing it, and in this case, I did. So naturally, when I read that the team behind FFXIII-2 listened real audience feedback, taking the best parts of XIII and addressing it's most blatant issues, I have an interest in seeing how well they are able to accomplish a worthy sequel after their first attempt at a sequel failed so miserably.
Secondly, because of the fabulousness of networks like PSN, I was able to download an extensive demo of the game. They have added action sequences for bosses much like the God of War series, created towns to explore, and even polished up the great battle system to make it even smoother and faster.
These experiences have left me very optimistic about FFXIII-2. It comes out next week and I will post again to see if my optimism is confirmed or denied. Even if it turns out to be less than expected, the line-up of fantastic games being released in the coming months will not leave me without an epic game to play, so I'm not too nervous about it. :)
Speaking of up and coming titles, I am most excited about Kingdoms of Amalur, Mass Effect 3, and Ni no Kuni. Ni no Kuni especially is not an AAA title but is irresistible to me because of the artwork being handled by Studio Ghibli. More on that next time, but for now, what games are you most looking forward to in the coming months?
