Totally agree with the lack of self-awareness in recent FFs. The corniness of the dialogue makes the "serious" moments in the game inadvertently hilarious. I suspect the current FF writing team pulls their inspiration from the most terrible of soap operas.
I wonder if they completely restarted the development of this game. It went into development only a little later than FFXIII, but Squeenix is still saying it's not anywhere close to release.
Imagine this scenario:
Versus XIII is similar in structure to FFXIII. FFXIII is released to the public and polarizes its fans. However, almost all fans agree Squeenix has lost a step. Luckily, Versus hasn't been released, so they still have time to redo the entire game. They may lose money by not releasing the game within the next year/year and half, but the alternative is to further tarnish the FF brand. Versus goes back to the drawing board (in terms of level design) and consumers have to wait another few years.
Activision registers ActivisionNews.com, trying to put us out of work
Mar 21st 2012 3:20PM (Joystiq)Wii's 'The Last Story' coming to North America in 2012 [update: summer!]
Feb 22nd 2012 10:53AM (Joystiq)Xenoblade Chronicles arrives on April 6 wrapped in this gorgeous box art
Feb 22nd 2012 10:50AM (Joystiq)Freddie Prinze Jr. to voice Mass Effect 3's James Vega
Jan 21st 2012 3:16PM (Joystiq)Why silly JRPG dialogue may not be a problem
Jan 20th 2012 8:38PM (Joystiq)How to fix Final Fantasy
Dec 2nd 2011 7:37PM (Joystiq)Final Fantasy Versus XIII gameplay detailed, trailer re-released in HD
Jan 28th 2011 3:56AM (Joystiq)Imagine this scenario:
Versus XIII is similar in structure to FFXIII. FFXIII is released to the public and polarizes its fans. However, almost all fans agree Squeenix has lost a step. Luckily, Versus hasn't been released, so they still have time to redo the entire game. They may lose money by not releasing the game within the next year/year and half, but the alternative is to further tarnish the FF brand. Versus goes back to the drawing board (in terms of level design) and consumers have to wait another few years.
/End armchair gamedesigner/Squeenix CEO
Sounds reasonable, right?