Xbox 360
New footage released at E3 demonstrated that Final Fantasy XIII will soon be upon us. But what is it that makes these games so exciting? What was it that happened with the release of Final Fantasy (FF) VII that got, and has kept, everyone so thrilled by the series?
Prior to FFVII Role-Playing Games (RPG) had always been a big hit in the Japanese market but had failed to catch the eye of the general public. The games were 2D, nicely styled and with cute characters, and while the plots were anything but 2D (rich, deep and varied fantasy stories), there was no mainstream acceptance.
When the game hit its seventh outing things changed. With the birth of the a generation of consoles the game series leapt dramatically onto the Playstation and into the 3D environment and in that one step drew many into their first encounter with the genre.
An overnight sensation and a media hit it was as if the genre hadn't existed before this point. What other game could you summon vast beings to smite your enemies and where successful attacks and injuries would build into a limit break of unrivalled power. With each new game the console was pushed to the limit. New ways to level up characters became a closely guarded secret until the games release. While simple to use there was always an underlying subtlety to the series.
The thirteenth game takes us to Cocoon a flying city created to protect humanity. What they're being protected from is unclear but there are creatures in Pulse, the wilderness surrounding Cocoon, who pick certain humans for a "greater" purpose. The main character, Lightning, didn't want this "honour" but by being chosen she has suddenly become a target for the theocratic leadership of Cocoon and their enforcement division PSICOM.
Lightning pulls together a ragtag group of characters including Snow the leader of Team Nora, who want to see an end to Cocoon, Sazh, carrying a pair of pistols, with a Chocobo chick in his hair, and Oerba, the young girl with the endlessly happy disposition. With a number of other characters to meet it's likely they'll make up the rest of the FF archetypes we know and love.
With visuals to die for and a plot that seems epic in its construction FFXIII is looking like a hot property. Add to this its availability on the 360 as well as the PS3 so more people can be drawn into the world of weaponry, mysticism, plot twists and that intangible excitement. Set for release in Europe and the Americas in early 2010 it seems that Square-Enix have reignited the flame for these must have epics.
No more gambits anymore
In FFXII friendly characters were controlled in battle through a series of actions called gambits. These allowed you to direct your characters through an ever growing sequence of linked instructions. Although simple in design there was a brilliant complexity to them and if you designed the choices well enough, and set your own character up with them, you could leave them happily fighting while you went off to make tea.
FFXIII does away with this and director Motomu Toriyama has stated that combat will have a more dynamic action feel, actively involving you in combat as selected moves are based on time gauges. These gauges tell you when the action will take place and you're initially limited to filling three in combat but surely character development will increase that. Add a new system of stars for rating your combat and the time taken and these factors are bound to impact on your characters' development.
OK. So she's a bike!
Changes come again to the power to summon creatures to your aid. Previous titles had characters able to summon more than one God or monster but here we've been told that now it's only one per character. Lightning will be able to summon Odin and Snow, Shiva, an old FF favourite; now taking the form of twin females, formed out of Snow's motorbike.
There are more summons available within the game but the development team are staying tight lipped as to how they can be released. Expect some type of combat tricks or combining powers at the same time to get the desired effect. Whatever it is the released snippets of the Shiva sequence look stunning so you'll not want to miss one summon.
