Few games have caught the mind of the entire gaming field than the few installments of the Final Fantasy chronicles. Undeniably the primary franchise of Square-Enix, the Final Fantasy saga has never ceased to disappoint its ravenously faithful supporters with each and every game in the stretched running record of the title.
And recently, everyone eagerly awaits the presentation of the 13th installment of Final Fantasy.
What was formerly promoted as a Sony Playstation 3 exclusive is now announced as a double issue for the aforementioned PS3 and Microsoft’s extremely booming consoleengine, the Xbox 360, at least for territories remote to Japan.
Final Fantasy XIII starts in the hanging isle-ecstasy of Cocoon in a revolutionary planet highly influenced by god-like creatures known as the Fal’cie. On other hand, an contradictory power, known as the Pulse, loiters below the Cocoon, spreading danger, darkness and desolation. Both the Cocoon and the Pulse are powered by their own gemstones – superior power sources which have become a core in each Final Fantasy game – which in turn become main points of the looming disagreement which will act as the backdrop for the player’s adventures.
Aside from the gemstones, well-known concepts are certain to return, like a toon called Cid, flying ships, chocobos, leveling themes, beckoning and summoned fiends like the Ifrit and Bahamut, forceful fiends like Ultima, and destructive hexes like fire, fira and firaga.
The persons in the rear of the pictures are also just as recognizable. Motomu Toriyama, the leader of Final Fantasy X-2 and the director and scenario composer for Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, will be the cheief director of Final Fantasy XIII. Eiji Fujii, the flick director of Final Fantasy XII, will look after the fantastic CGGs of the 13th chapter. Isamu Kamikokuryo, who split art directing chores for Final Fantasy XII, will have the lead for Final Fantasy XIII. And Kazumi Kobayashi and Yoshiki Kashitani, veterans of preceding Final Fantasy games, will go back as the primary programmers for the latest release.
There is so much to be excited about with Final Fantasy XIII. The battle structure is really unique. Gone are the laborious random battles as well as the sluggish turn based structure of previous games. Final Fantasy XIII will employ a dynamic battle structure that will act like a real time battle structure, much like the hack and slash games now. The visuals are deemed to be the best, not only when it comes to other segements in the installments, but also when compared to other games for this generation of consoles.
Final Fantasy XIII will be available in Japan by 2009, and a US issue is certain to follow suit a few months thereafter.