It’s been a relatively eventful week for Final Fantasy fans as heated rumors began to circulate that no only had Square Enix canceled development of Final Fantasy XIII, a game that many fans are hoping to be a return to form for the struggling company, but that they had essentially decided to abandon it without an official announcement of the cancellation. Fortunately for fans this turned out to be nothing more than a rumor, though it does shed some light on the attitude that currently surrounds Square and their titles.
Final Fantasy Versus XIII had gained a lot of attention early on due to the fact that it offers a decidedly realistic take on Final Fantasy concepts, something not seen since Final Fantasy VII. This had fans in a joyous uproar because VII is considered the game that Square had never truly outdone since entering the realm of 3D games. Square’s attempts at recapturing the magic of their 1997 classic have been well documented with each new addition to the Final Fantasy series being followed with the question of whether or not it will be as good as VII. Fans are frustrated with the seeming degradation of quality that the games have faced. The games are still good but there is not as strong of a connection to the characters or story as there used to be.
Versus XIII also shows a return to the gameplay style of the Kingdom Hearts series. While Kingdom Hearts is a crossover between Disney characters and Final Fantasy characters, the gameplay has never directly been portrayed in a mainstream FF game with the closest to it being seen in the Final Fantasy XIII series. We’ll have more on the game as details become more readily available.
