TGS 08: Final Fantasy XIII trailer impressions

Considering that FFXIII is the flagship title for the company, it would be an understatement to say we're a tad excited to see anything new coming from this game at the show ... even if it is the usual scrap here and there. Speaking of scraps, yes, most of the "new" trailer contains footage from previous clips we've seen before (no surprise there); however, the new footage we did see – we believe – will certainly keep the FF faithful interested until the next small bits trickle in.
We'll start with the beginning: we have an overhead view of this lush, prehistoric land where giant stegosaurus-type creatures roam. Then those flying beasts seen at the beginning of this year's E3 trailer soar above them, moving us along to the zoomed-in scene where the redhead pigtails girl is standing at the edge of a cliff. The camera swings back around revealing a massive, untamed landscape with thick jungles and more wild animals.
We're now taken back to more footage we've seen; though this montage of quick snippets isn't quite an extended director's cut much like the previous scene. It's mostly of the pigtails girl invoking the Carbuncle summon. As that wraps up, we're finally taken to some brand new footage. It's a scene where there's this gargantuan monolith situated in a possibly subterranean world. These glowing green cables attach to it, supposedly gathering energy or maybe feeding energy into it – it's hard to tell. Is this in any way related to the people of Cocoon? It seems so, as those Cocoon soldiers seem to be safeguarding this thing. Then more new footage follows revealing a new character.
The new scene shifts back atop on the surface where a fleet of airships race over a beach. It finds its way over to some city -- most likely Cocoon. One ship lands and a stern-faced man with semi-long, tied back white hair steps out. He appears to be a high ranking military officer and could possibly be a villain.
There's more old footage again in between the new. We kick back with the good stuff seeing a nighttime scene on a thin bridge leading to a landing pad. The pigtails girl is wearing a white hood and cloak and is being escorted by Cocoon soldiers. She's then approached by a woman with long, bleached-blonde hair who wears a long green coat and a pair of glasses. She really seems reminiscent of Sephiroth -- think of a female version of him, but much less intimidating in facial expression.
By the time that scene ends, we're taken to a huge amount of this year's E3 trailer footage – especially the parts focusing on the blond guy with a black bandana and long white coat. The final scene witnesses Lighting talking with that guy and it seems they're not really getting along.
As the full CGI trailer finishes, the final words we see reminds us that the game is still PS3 exclusive for Japan and will be hitting the island nation in 2009. Recapping the footage, we've mostly only learned of two more of the game's characters who will most likely end up being the villains. In that respect, there's quite a lot to speculate on and while it is somewhat disappointing to see yet again so little, we've still got quite a lot of questions to wonder over. What's that huge thing in the underworld-type place? And who exactly are these new characters? They're obviously in the Cocoon military or government, so do they know Lightning and the other characters personally? It seems we ended up with even more questions walking out of the Closed Theater than we did going in.
The new scene shifts back atop on the surface where a fleet of airships race over a beach. It finds its way over to some city -- most likely Cocoon. One ship lands and a stern-faced man with semi-long, tied back white hair steps out. He appears to be a high ranking military officer and could possibly be a villain.
There's more old footage again in between the new. We kick back with the good stuff seeing a nighttime scene on a thin bridge leading to a landing pad. The pigtails girl is wearing a white hood and cloak and is being escorted by Cocoon soldiers. She's then approached by a woman with long, bleached-blonde hair who wears a long green coat and a pair of glasses. She really seems reminiscent of Sephiroth -- think of a female version of him, but much less intimidating in facial expression.
By the time that scene ends, we're taken to a huge amount of this year's E3 trailer footage – especially the parts focusing on the blond guy with a black bandana and long white coat. The final scene witnesses Lighting talking with that guy and it seems they're not really getting along.
As the full CGI trailer finishes, the final words we see reminds us that the game is still PS3 exclusive for Japan and will be hitting the island nation in 2009. Recapping the footage, we've mostly only learned of two more of the game's characters who will most likely end up being the villains. In that respect, there's quite a lot to speculate on and while it is somewhat disappointing to see yet again so little, we've still got quite a lot of questions to wonder over. What's that huge thing in the underworld-type place? And who exactly are these new characters? They're obviously in the Cocoon military or government, so do they know Lightning and the other characters personally? It seems we ended up with even more questions walking out of the Closed Theater than we did going in.











Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Blah @ Oct 10th 2008 12:09AM
Nice looks like there are going to be lots of different settings. Not just spooky cave, forest, tech city.
Timett @ Oct 10th 2008 12:16AM
I'd like to see some real gameplay footage but I assume we'll be waiting until March when the demo on the AC bluray is out to see that.
Reuben @ Oct 10th 2008 12:37AM
As much as I love Final Fantasy and Square Enix in general, I'm really starting to grow tired of these private industry/journalist only trailers. I understood it at first, and begrudgingly accepted it, but come now.
Enough is enough.
AsherR @ Oct 10th 2008 11:05AM
/Agreed
For a company that has such a rapidly faithful fanbase, they really seem to hate their fans at times. I can only assume that perhaps they think that the fans will get tired of seeing the same trailers since the development cycle is going to be so long, but the fans are going to get more tired about not being able to see anything...
Or perhaps they're just jerks...
Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Oct 10th 2008 12:48AM
At this point, shouldn't Squenix be showing off some gameplay footage(besides the ones in the previous trailers I mean). I mean it is getting kind of annoying that for the past two years, SE has done nothing but tease us with this game.
Kspraydad @ Oct 10th 2008 1:06AM
FFVII was my only SE game and I really enjoyed it...was looking forward to an SE game on the PS3 now that I have one but this is taking too long.
Think I'll move on to VC and WKS for my 'fix' of this type of game this gen.
See ya Next Gen SE.
j.howlett @ Oct 10th 2008 2:34AM
i should get back to ffxii, if i get my game back on track maybe i'll finish before this one is released.
SoCoolCurt (PSN: KillaKornbread) @ Oct 10th 2008 12:26PM
im in the same boat as you. i bought XII at the end of the summer but only got like 2 hours into it and havent touched it since. i hate the beginnings of FF games because it takes me so long to get hooked on them finally. but after i make myself sit down and play like 6-10 hours of it, im hooked until i finish it. i think i have plenty of time before i have to worry about XIII coming out though unfortunately.
Maverick Saturn @ Oct 10th 2008 6:52AM
I want ah some gameplay to see :(
SexyKittyKat2U @ Oct 10th 2008 8:30AM
Well as a 360 owner I'm grateful that this title is even hitting my system at all so Square Enix can tease all they want!
Sounds awesome.
The one thing Joystiq does a pretty awesome job of is detailing these trailers. It's hard to visualize these behind the scenes things but you guys do a nice job of that.
Coldbrand @ Oct 11th 2008 7:18PM
I think it's really sad how in their xenophobia they had to remind us that it's PS3 only in Japan.
phil @ Oct 17th 2008 10:31AM
so...where can we see this "new" trailer at...
Dan CiTi @ Nov 17th 2008 11:49AM
This game will either be a total masterpiece or disappointing and mediocre.