Final Fantasy XIII countdown ends, new trailer released
by Andrew Yoon 
{ Jan 28th 2009 at 11:24AM } 
The hype machine for the game is just beginning, as this is but the first of many countdowns to come in the future. However, will Final Fantasy loyalists be able to handle the long wait to 2010?
Gallery: Final Fantasy XIII
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 6)
tsagoodness @ Jan 28th 2009 11:27AM
soo.. where can i see it?
naikrovek @ Jan 28th 2009 11:31AM
Yes, where is the link?
LiqwidZero @ Jan 28th 2009 11:31AM
http://na.square-enix.com/ff13/
Andrew Yoon @ Jan 28th 2009 11:32AM
That was weird. Our server ate half of my post and the links.
Hashbrown Hunter @ Jan 28th 2009 3:17PM
The Ultrastiq is beginning to take a life of its own. Soon, it will control the entire site. Next, it will challenge the entire human race for a war with robots, finally all will fear the name Skyn--I mean, Ultrastiq.
Aaron @ Jan 29th 2009 11:48AM
Those ads are annoying... especially since one said, "Get movie tickets in Grand Rapids!". Grand Rapids is in Michigan. I live in Texas. WTF?
Rob @ Jan 28th 2009 11:31AM
Heres a link to the trailer from the website.
http://www.square-enix.co.jp/fabula/ff13/
nate @ Jan 28th 2009 11:40AM
Ohhhh, you. Wanting a link and everything! Pffft!
Bucket @ Jan 28th 2009 11:32AM
"It's not every day Square Enix decides to release new Final Fantasy XIII media."
Hell, it's not every YEAR.
SoulBlade @ Jan 28th 2009 11:33AM
No jump to it? Bad form..
LiqwidZero mentioned: http://na.square-enix.com/ff13/ - it was slow for me.
http://www.finalfantasy13game.com/ might be it also.
SoulBlade @ Jan 28th 2009 11:34AM
And after seeing the poster's comment about the server eating his post, I retract my statement. My bad.
MooseMuffin @ Jan 28th 2009 1:47PM
For some reason, the version without subtitles at http://www.square-enix.co.jp/fabula/ff13/ seems to run at a much much better framerate than the embedded one above.
Night Elve @ Jan 28th 2009 11:37AM
Take your time Square, I can wait.
FF7 was awesome.
FF8 was great.
FF9 was fun.
FF10 was meh!
FF12 was truly fucking great.
:)
dip @ Jan 28th 2009 11:52AM
Switch X and XII and I would tend to agree.
Xta Large (Formerly Fatass) @ Jan 28th 2009 11:52AM
This. Well, switch 12 and 9, and you've got yerself a list.
Zertoss @ Jan 28th 2009 11:56AM
It's funny, I thought 9 was the meh one.
Xta Large (Formerly Fatass) @ Jan 28th 2009 11:58AM
Yeah. God forbid FF characters actually, you know, have any character...9 rocked bro
silverwolf761 @ Jan 28th 2009 12:01PM
saying FFX was 'meh' is being incredibly kind.
Xta Large (Formerly Fatass) @ Jan 28th 2009 12:03PM
X did have one hell of a good art direction, though. A lot of the music was great, too.
Zertoss @ Jan 28th 2009 12:14PM
The characters in 9 were great, but the story was incredibly dull. I just couldn't get into it.
Xta Large (Formerly Fatass) @ Jan 28th 2009 12:15PM
Dull? Where'd you give up on it?
I got to Treno and couldn't put it down after that. Only console FF I've played in the last fifteen years with a dull story would be VIII.
Lord Negatron @ Jan 28th 2009 12:15PM
Yeah i am with the guy who said switch 10 with 12.
10!? !?!
/boggle
Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Jan 28th 2009 12:24PM
@Xtra
Don't worry I got your back. FF9 is the superior game out of the Playstation trilogy.
Zertoss @ Jan 28th 2009 12:45PM
Where'd I quit? That's a good question... I don't remember exactly, but it was on the first disc.
I just couldn't get into it. Sorry I don't like your game.
silverwolf761 @ Jan 28th 2009 12:47PM
I just couldn't stand how Tidus felt it was necessary to tell you how EVERYTHING he looked at reminded him of Blitzball
BigD145 @ Jan 28th 2009 12:49PM
VIII was a cakewalk and X felt like a rail shooter. X was just too linear.
Anam @ Jan 28th 2009 12:53PM
9 was awesome! And all I've done in that game is play the card game and jump-rope minigame. I can't imagine how awesome it will be once I continue and figure out what ????'s name really is.
AwesomeTown @ Jan 28th 2009 12:59PM
I thought they all were great, but I would agree that IX was the best PSX game by a small margin. I loved X and XII, though I think the story in XII was lacking a bit.
jetenginejesus @ Jan 28th 2009 1:14PM
yeah!!!!! FF12 was AWESOME with all the annoying characters, the tedious plot and the mind-numbingly pointless GRINDING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! gimme some more of that sweet sweet action!!!!
Roto13 @ Jan 28th 2009 1:32PM
The rest of your complete misunderstanding of the game aside, I have to wonder who besides Vaan could possibly be taken as annoying?
Anam @ Jan 28th 2009 1:50PM
Vaan's childhood friend (don't remember character names from that game) was pretty annoying, as was the bunny lady, as was the temporary character who exclaimed "those are security sensors. Don't step into them," directly before he charged into them to hit an enemy with his sword. The license board was also pretty horrendous.
That said, gambits were great fun and... actually, that's it.
Matt @ Jan 28th 2009 2:14PM
What, no FF6? Learn your history! Although you probably don't fit the bill, I hate when people don't realize there was gaming before polygons.
Levi @ Jan 28th 2009 3:17PM
Whoa whoa whoa.... I respect everyones' right to their opinions, but I have to ask...
How can you guys put FF9 over FF7?????? I'm on 9's side, I thought it was a great game. I really liked the art direction, trying to combine old styles with new graphics. The map was balanced well, too - the most memorable part in that game for me was trying to beat that dragon that was wayyy too powerful when you get to him - the one at the end of the cave, you go up the ladder, and there's the little patch of land that goes nowhere. Yeah. But I don't even remember the main plot. To me, 7 has the craziest and most memorable storyline out of them all. When *spoiler* dies?? Heart wrenching. Shinra was the most evil corporation. Makes Wal-Mart look like Dsiney X)
I have not played 8 yet, I actually have a copy over there *points next to TV* that I just traded for on gametz.com. I'm knee deep in Fallout 3, but I can only wander the wasteland for so long, so I'm thinking of starting FF8 today.
10 was good, although for different reasons than previous titles, IMO. The story was good, if not stretched out and exaggerated. It was the most linear, that is for sure. 11 doesn't count, and I have mixed feelings about 12. I really liked a lot about the game, but the new battle system (which I liked) promoted grinding that was reminiscent of bland MMORPGS. It felt like a good game with too much filler.
But please, someone pleaeaaasse tell me why 9 is better than 7???
Anam @ Jan 28th 2009 3:33PM
In my opinion, 8 was really, really bad. Not necessarily the story or characters, but the battles were so tedious is drove the game into the ground for me.
7 was my favorite as well, though admittedly I haven't played very far into 6 or 9 (the two that many people say are better than 7).
Zertoss @ Jan 28th 2009 3:45PM
I'd like to hear what's so great about FF9, too. I had heard the story was slow to really take off, but by the time I had gotten Freya (I think that was the rat girl's name) into the party, I was just bored. When does the game pick up?
FF8 was pretty slow to start too, and it lost a lot of steam towards the end. I never finished it. Come to think of it, having played every numerical FF, I've only finished 4, 6, 7 and 10 (if it weren't for the voice acting making me laugh, I probably never would've finished 10 either). Came close to finishing 3 and 8. 5 is the worst one. 7 is my favorite. I liked it just a little more than 6.
Levi @ Jan 28th 2009 4:06PM
I hear 6 and 10 in regards to "best FF game" discussions far more often than I hear 9 being the best. In fact, this is the first time I've heard 9 being praised! I liked it, but I just don't see it being the best in any discussion (still haven't played 8! Heard it's pretty bad! Should I even bother guys?) I've even heard 12 being put ahead of 7. That doesn't surprise me though, because the battle system is very love-or-hate in 12, and the storyline sounded very epic in a political way as opposed to fantasy. I never finished it, and I had too much gamer's ADD to follow the story as far as I got in the game.
I respect everyone's' opinions, it just baffles me. Watching Sephiroth's descent into insanity and tyranny was incredible, and I just didn't get any of that in 9. Good game, but didn't go above "enjoyable" status for me.
Anam @ Jan 28th 2009 4:24PM
Okay, first things first. Should you bother with 8? It depends on what you like. 8 was more of a love story than others that I've played, and it was interesting seeing a game that spent more time talking about character development than the world ending (in fact, I'm not sure what the threat to the world was).
8 had some GREAT ideas for combat, but it felt like if you wanted to take advantage of it, you'd have to spend 3 hours managing stuff and preparing things every so often. If you have the time and don't mind slow-paced games, great. Unfortunately, it's all somewhat needless because sooner or later you'll realize that the game becomes easy if you just spam summons over and over and ignore strategy altogether (this may not be a good idea later in the game, I don't know).
The other thing that bugged me was that the game focused almost entirely on the two lead lovers, and the other 4 characters felt like ignored stereotypes who are just along for the ride.
As far as 9 or 10 being more praised, it usually depends on who you're talking to. It seems most fans of the older games (1-6) absolutely love 9 and will mock 10, which is what you are seeing here. On the other hand, if you talk to newer fans (7-12), that is where you will hear 7 and 10 being praised with a lot of WTF comments directed at 9. 8 is the bastard child that only a few people love, but those few swear it was the greatest game on Earth.
...did I miss anything?
Arnon @ Jan 28th 2009 4:28PM
12 was the ghetto version of 11 >_>
Dante G @ Jan 28th 2009 4:30PM
FF9 is better than FF7 cause it was a return to basics. Black Mage, White Mage, Blue Mage, Warrior, Rogue, etc. It has much better graphics than 7 and the ending leaves a really good taste in your mouth. Plus the bit of romance there is in FF9 is much better handled than in FF8. I had to force myself to finish FF8 btw, and its ending was not memorable.
Since my favorite FF is FF6 here's how I feel about PS FFs:
FFVII -> Excellent for its time. Great story, great graphics, lovable characters and a great ending.
FFVIII -> Great graphics for its time, summons take too long (which makes battles boring), childish characters, childish goals for the characters, so so story, lame ending.
FFIX -> Great graphics for its time, simple combat, nice story, lovable characters, great and memorable ending. Crappy game guide.
Zertoss @ Jan 28th 2009 4:40PM
A lot of people love 8. I've seen plenty of people list it as their favorite FF, so I'd say Levi should give it a try and form his own opinion of the game.
Adriaan @ Jan 28th 2009 5:40PM
FFX was fucking amazing. Best JRPG I've ever played. Ever.
RPMd70 @ Jan 28th 2009 6:17PM
@ Anam
"8 is the bastard child"
HAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHA I actually laughed out loud for a minute after reading that. Thanks for that.
ibetnoonehasthisname @ Jan 28th 2009 7:56PM
@ Night Elve
FFXII was fucking great!!
Steve @ Jan 29th 2009 8:08AM
I couldn't finish FF12. The biggest problem I thought it had was that the combat system was designed in such a way that it completely removed me from the game. If you even half knew what you were doing, you could make AI loops to handle all combat (which you have to since they removed turn based encounters). This lead to me holding the controller with one hand to simple walk the characters from monster to monster while they automatically went through the motions killing, healing, etc.
Because of that, I had no involvement other then moving the characters around the screen to move the *yawn* story along. Plus, the way the board was desgined was very unintuitive in that you ended up making everyone axe and shield fighters who can cure because it was much more efficient that way. So you end up not needing all the extra characters because you can easily shape any character to the role you need/want. I thought FF10 did a much better job with the sphere grid because you could get into another characters "expertise" but not without a special key or having worked through their own grid first.
That's the similar problem I had with my more recent playing of FF8. I remembered liking FF8 back in the day, but having played it again last year, I realized the draw system was a pain and trivialized the "caster" classes. Why put a low HP caster in my party when I can have a high HP/DPS character in there and equip them with healing magic?
juju187 @ Jan 29th 2009 8:12PM
ffxi rox my socks....
Gonzo @ Jan 28th 2009 11:38AM
Thanks.
That does look stunning. Glad we finally got a look at the combat and I dig how the characters look somewhat realistic but don't look like automatrons from Epcot.
You forgot the link; or did I miss it:
http://www.square-enix.co.jp/fabula/ff13/
Snowblind @ Jan 28th 2009 11:39AM
I wasn't particularly impressed by this, but perhaps it's because I had no idea what was going on or what they're talking about.. Good to see some more actual gameplay footage though.
And I know it's usually cool to complain about English dubs.. but the Japanese voices here are very poor.
Reinard @ Jan 28th 2009 11:59AM
I'll never understand why people bitch about English dubs. If you don't speak Japanese, but you think the English dubs suck, then chances are, the Japanese probably think their dubs suck just as bad. Shaddap already.
I'll start listening to Japanese voiceovers in FF games once Square stops making most of their characters look so damn American D: And English. Mmm, Balthier. Sexy, sexy Balthier.
...What?
sieth @ Jan 28th 2009 12:25PM
I don think the japanese voices are too bad, and I speak japanese. They dont sound like any japanese person I have ever met, but then again they never do. And for the record, japanese voice acting is infinitely better then english voice acting in always every thing I have seen. My wife ( who is japanese), always laughs at how bad american dubs are.
Why is that? Well for one we get cheap nobodies to do are voice work here, where in japan they usually get there best people in there doing it. Plus I suppose there is a lot more voice work there then here, or at least use to be.
Josh @ Jan 28th 2009 1:09PM
The voices don't sound bad to me.