Gaming Sundays: Upcoming FF Games

This few year(s), there seems to be an unusually large amount of Final Fantasy Games that are going to be produced. 2 of the 3 part Fabula Nova Crystallis, a sequel to the 2008 fighting game and a new MMORPG. All these are FF titles alone, seems like Square Enix is on a row, with the recently released Kingdom Hearts:Birth by Sleep and the upcoming 3rd Birthday, Square Enix is, I must say, busy.

Final Fantasy Versus XIII release date:TBA  platforms: PS3

Why is it called Versus? I mean, is it FF vs XIII? What the heck? Whatever...In Versus XIII, you get to play Noctis, a prince of some country. When was the last time you played a prince in FF? I dont remember any. There is also something about a goddess of death, Etro who is featured in the logo. Noctis also has a gang of friends, three at last count. And there is Stella, who can be said to be a princess of an opposing country, seems to be one of the antagonist. Some has said that she might potentially be like Celes. For those of you who don't know what that means. Celes was a character in FFVI who was originally an antagonist, but later joined the protagonist.

Looks familiar? Trying googling Sasuke vs Gaara

This game seems to be set in a post-apocalyptical setting. With rundown gas station, deserts, kinda has a sorta Resident Evil: Apocalypse feel to it. Apparently, developers say that the places in the game are based on real life places, such as St Mark’s Square and Basilica and Shinjuku.

Gameplay seems to be an action RPG with players seemingly only controlling Noctis. Click here to watch it. Since it is done by the Kingdom Hearts production team, I wouldn’t be all that surprise if it actually is one. It is slated to be released after Agito, since development has only really started going after the completion of FFXIII.

Final Fantasy Agito XIII release date:TBA  platforms: PSP

Dont ask me what those things are.

Agito along with Versus and XIII forms the 3 part Fabula Nova Crystallis, don't ask me how they are related. Agito is set in the world of Oriens, where four regions are powered by their respective crystals. A peace treaty is made among these four regions, only for it to be broken by the Byakko region, led by High Commander Cid. The only reference to FFXIII is that Cid commands an army of I’cie.

All nations are conquered, leaving only Suzaku. Cid invades Suzaku and disable’s the region’s crystal. However, 12 students of the magic school retain their powers and launch “Operation Apostle” (coincidence? I think not), to take down the invading army.

Organization XII anyone?

Gameplay is said to be similar to Crisis Core. Yup, my eyes are open wide. Except with a party of three. Hopefully we can control all three, unlike FFXIII. Controls are also said to be easily access. No menus. Apparently this will be the fastest ATB ever build. Summons. Yup, they come in this game. And so far, Odin seemed to be confirmed, and looks a hell lot of like FFXIII’s Odin. These summons can be controlled ala FFX’s aeons.

It looks to be an open world. None of the linearity of FFXIII can be found here. Players can travel by Chocobo or airships.

Dissidia 012 [Duodecim]: Final Fantasy release date: Spring 2011 platforms: PSP

Er...012? Duodecim? Square Enix has a tendency to give absurd names. I think it is Tetsuya Nomura to be precise. I mean Kingdom Hearts: 358/2? Birth by Sleep? And now Duodecim? Urgh...Btw, Duodecim means 12 in latin, it is said to represent the 12th Cycle of the War between Cosmos and Chaos, the 13th being the one in the first Dissidia. There is apparently another "secret" meaning that will spoil the game for us. I remember reading someone speculating it to mean [0] = 12th war, [1] = 13th war, [2] = 14th war...so...meh...

RAWRRRRR....Lightning and Kain what more can we ask for? Tifa!!!!

The sequel/prequel to the exciting fighting game is coming soon. With three confirmed new characters, Lightning, Kain Highwind and Tifa joining the cast. The former two are playable while Tifa has only been seen in the closed trailer. No information yet on whether she is playable or not. New stages include Orphan’s Cradle (FFXIII) and Sky Fortress Bahamut (FFXII). The top floor of Pandaemonium can be seen in the trailers, but whether it is a new stage or an extension of the current stage remains unknown.

Also, you get to play a Cosmos storyline, and a Chaos storyline, no idea whether each character has one Destiny Odyssey, or it's just one storyline. I seriously prefer the latter, since it will mean more UMD space saved = more characters....

Vaan and Vayne, especially Vaan has a high chance of joining the cast. Vaan’s VA twitted that he is working on a new FF game and reprising his role as Vaan. Vayne’s VA allegedly said so as well. So unless codename Fortress or a new FFXII sequel is in final stage productions, it is highly likely the FF game Vaan’s VA is referring to is Duodecim.

And judging by the voice acting, it would seem like Duodecim will either come in an international version, or NA and JAP version will be released simultaneously.

Final Fantasy XIV release date: 30^th September 2010 platforms: PS3, PC

That word below the title is a killer...it killed my interest

Yup, that’s right,  FFXIV is actually released before the two other FFXIIIs. It’s actually been in production for at least 5 years, but was only announced last year. This game is the second MMORPG in the franchise, the first being FFXI. It takes place in Eorzea. Prior to the game, the city states of Eorzea were attack by the Garlean Empire and the largest of them fell. The other city states quickly gathered sellswords to buff up their ranks. However, as fast as the invasion was, the imperial army of Garlean left the lands. Now, the city states have to contain with the bloodlust of the mercenaries and decides to form an Adventurer’s Guild. The story begins here. If there is any story.

I wouldn’t be playing this one anytime soon, since it’s probably going to be a pay to play game.