RipTen Videogame Blog » Final-Fantasy-XIII

How to Fix Final Fantasy

Stephanie Gutowski — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 20:00:50 +0000

Accept my presumption that the general gaming population has not grown sick of this discussion. Next, put aside whatever vicious barbs you may be preparing for me in defense of Square Enix, for I was once like you, and implore you to listen. Like all scorned lovers, I must find a means to soothe the pain of a broken heart. I’m beyond anger and have transcended to the illusive place of reason. I look upon that horizon like one would a barrel of a loaded gun. Few games have been so surprisingly offensive to me as Final Fantasy XIII, which exists in my mind as a near-complete failure. It also taught me that a 39/40 score from Famitsu means absolutely nothing. Hell, I approached every game review after that experience with some kind of trepidation. Eights and nines seemed impossibly generous, especially when the review itself explained just how disappointing this long-awaited entry into the FF saga was. I’m always eager to shift the blame to XIII’s director, Motomu Toriyama– who has not produced a single game I’ve enjoyed. Perhaps some sort of hive mind has assumed control over Square, hell-bent on taking the Final Fantasy series on the most painful tangent in its history, back to the realm of hyper-wacky Japanese RPGs that we’ve tried so very hard to embrace. Some of us love them and cherish that language barrier. Some of us would rather chew on aluminum that swallow a story that we were never intended to understand.

Regardless of where the series derailed or how, Final Fantasy is not beyond hope. In fact, Square should arrange a company retreat and rent “The Labyrinth” just so every single freaking creative mind in that mass of identity crises can hear this line spoken by a freaking puppet, which, in 1986, had ten times the personality and intrigue of that walking knee-to-the-groin they called “Vanille.”

“The way forwards is sometimes the way back.”

In this case, scratch out the “sometimes” and replace it with “oh my God, you go back RIGHT now and look at your games. LOOK AT THEM. Now DO THAT.” No, I don’t mean re-do Final Fantasy VI and cover it with a sterile layer of too-perfect skin textures and backdrops. I mean remember what set you apart. Let’s break it down.

Reel In that Plot Line

Final Fantasy XIII’s plot was a mess. It began with a stoic main character set out on destroying something. Yeah! Go Lightning! Kill things! Make some gil! Stop Shin-… Something. Lots of questions and virtually no answers were intended to develop interest and pull us along by the nose. When things began to unfold, did they make sense? Sort of, usually after several hours of reading those datalog entries you’d been ignoring during the mindless killing. We were supposed to be invested in the fate of Cocoon and Pulse and cieth and crystals and all the other blandly-named elements. Yet it took hours upon hours to get me to care. The stakes began so high and by the time things really started to take off, the situation was just ridiculous. These characters were thrust into a near-hopeless situation and just pushed on like freaking GI Joes. The issues with the gods and the purpose of Cocoon were so removed and surreal that there was nothing to ground you in this place. Yet remember what worked: rebels versus a power-hungry energy titan, green soldiers versus an ancient evil-made-real in a world rife with war, oppression and injustice; greed and powerlust. These were missions we could relate to. When these stories reached their climax, the true villains reared their heads and the heroes regrouped, then moved on. These adversaries weren’t so unbelievable as to remove us from the story, but they were otherworldly enough to up the ante. Shin-ra evolved into Sephiroth, Edea and Deling became Ultimecia and time itself, and even Archadia became Vayne. We began grounded in a world, facing a tangible problem and then ascended, facing a seemingly-indestructable foe. It doesn’t need to be something as complex and over-the-top as destroying a world and summoning a god. I’ve never, ever been tasked with something so grand as bringing down my entire paradigm, nor have I faced something I can equate it to. Then I have to deal with all these twists and turns when I was never invested in the first place. Your complexity shouldn’t come from the plot devices you throw in to take us off-course. It stems from your believable characters you’ve forced into this and their attempts to deal with an already difficult situation, ancient gods and worlds aside. In short: If you think you’ve come up with a genius complex plot, you haven’t. Shut up and simplify it.

We Shouldn’t Hate Everyone

I don’t know about you, but I had one hell of a time rooting for the home team. Even Lightning grated on my nerves with her lone-wolf routine and stubbornness. Don’t even get me started on Vanille and Hope. Now there’s always going to be a set of Final Fantasy stereotypes. There’s the annoying girl, strong girl, silent guy and loud guy, etc. Yet we can usually find something redeemable in all of them. Selphie might have driven you nuts, but she knew when to shut up, kick ass, and fly the Ragnarok. Even Cloud had his redeeming moments, especially after his revelation. Despite their intended stereotype, these characters weren’t completely boxed into that identity– they were still dynamic people, responding to situations with some sense of humanity. Their dilemmas built up over time rather than the case of FFXIII, where everyone’s already got piles of baggage to drag around. What’s worse is despite the situation they’re forced to deal with, they react with either an impossible coolness or inexplicable frivolity. No, it wasn’t endearing in the least. Laughing in the face of a giant monster is downright stupid, not brave. Hope’s brooding moments came off as whiny and overtly emotional rather than complex and believable. Unique personalities are forged by actions, not stupid little quirks you assign them later. Stop with the giggling and the thumbs ups. Stop with the “oh, it’s been an hour. Time to sit down and mourn my mom and stuff.” There was no realism in these people. They were bound to the personalities picked out for them, which doomed them to these reactions-on-rails rather than human responses. “What would Vanille do in this situation? Oh, well, she’d laugh, because that’s what Vanille does.” Wrong. Try again: what would a human do in this situation, given her background and what she’s already experienced? Perhaps the voice acting played a big part of why I thought these characters were such failures, but I truly believe that the overt stereotypes doomed them to be flat and predictable. In short: Back off the stereotypes and consider the human psyche.

Five O’Clock Fan Art: Vanille’s Silky Smooth Hair

Dylan Duarte — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 00:00:21 +0000

We should all have combovers that look this good. I have a hard enough time trying to get my hair to stop falling out, combing it is a whole other story.

Five O’Clock Fan Art is perfect for wrapping up the work day. You don’t want to think anymore, you just want to look at awesome things. And there’s nothing more awesome than a well crafted piece of video game fan art. If you don’t agree, what the hell are you doing at a gaming blog?

B-AGT proves that the pencil is just as mighty as the pen.

Executive at Square Enix Admits to a “Humiliating” Japanese E3 Lineup

Stephanie Gutowski — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 07:34:08 +0000

Koji Taguchi tweeted this past Friday about his concerns with Square Enix‘s noticeable lack of Japanese games on display at E3. While games like Tomb Raider, Deus-Ex: Human Revolution, and Hitman garnered considerable media attention and fan hype, Final Fantasy XIII-2 failed to leave a lasting impression. The heavy hitters are coming from Eidos, the Montreal-based studio which Square Enix acquired in 2009. It comes as no surprise to learn that Square’s had some trouble recently with lackluster games coming out of its studios. With the mixed response to Final Fantasy XIII and the disastrous launch of Final Fantasy XIV, Square needed to showcase strong titles this year if it hoped to reclaim the trust of its audience.

“Because we merged with Eidos and had games like Tomb Raider, Deus [Ex], and Hitman, as a company we were able to keep face. But the decline in Japanese titles was almost humiliating. This has been a week where I worried daily about how we can fix this.”

Despite the disappointing lack of strong Japanese titles showcased at E3, Square did manage to save face with an impressive line up from Eidos. With Tomb Raider and Deus Ex nominated for multiple awards already, Square still has a few aces up its sleeve… despite its stock troubles and the continuing struggle to release Final Fantasy XIV on PS3. As long as Eidos can deliver games that live up to the caliber of their trailers and E3 demos, then Square will rise again.

[Source: Gameranx]

Final Fantasy XIII-2 Announced – Details with Stunning Trailer

Matthew Sims — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 19:14:02 +0000

Square has officially announced a direct sequel to last year’s Final Fantasy XIII to be called Final Fantasy XIII-2. You’ll notice that this is the same numbering system that Square used when it unveiled Final Fantasy X-2 that continued the saga of Yuna, Tidus, and the dozens of androgynous supporting characters. Details are extremely scarce in the press release and the it leaves us with only a cryptic phrase.

“Why does mankind deny its fate?”

Square promises that this new title will improve on the former in almost every respect, even going as far as promising the evolution of the battle system that is considered one of the best in the genre. The game is currently slated for a release next Winter; that is an extremely ambitious goal considering the time it took for Final Fantasy XIII to materialize.

It is quite possible that the amount of content manufactured was much more than could fit in one game and Square has decided to cash in on the title that sold 6 million worldwide. I’m waiting with bated breath, all I ask is that Square gives Hope a better weapon than a damn boomerang or kills him altogether. I hate whining.

For those of you who can’t wait, a trailer was leaked to the internet. I, of course, will save you the trouble of hunting it down by embedding it below (because I’m nice like that.) I’m not going to bother deconstructing it, because I don’t speak Japanese; I’ll leave that to the comments section.

The full press release is below:

London (18 January 2011) – Square Enix Ltd., the publisher of SQUARE ENIX® interactive entertainment products in Europe and other PAL territories, today announces a new release for next winter, FINAL FANTASY® XIII-2 for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. A sequel to “FINAL FANTASY XIII” originally released in Europe in March 2010 that has since shipped a cumulative total of 6 million units worldwide.

“Why does mankind defy its fate?”

“FINAL FANTASY XIII-2” is currently in production with an aim for producing high quality game content which exceeds “FINAL FANTASY XIII” in every aspect; namely, a brand-new story which stems from the previous title as well as a battle system which has evolved further since “XIII” – and more. We will be disclosing further details about the new game in the future.

From the release of the first FINAL FANTASY in 1987, this unique RPG series has continued to offer the industry’s most advanced graphics, highly imaginative worlds and rich stories as it gains the highest accolades from users around the world. Titles in the series have so far achieved a cumulative shipment of over 97 million units worldwide (* as of September 2010).

For more information about FINAL FANTASY XIII-2 please visit the official website at http://www.finalfantasy13-2game.com

Product overview

Title:                FINAL FANTASY XIII-2
Platform:         PlayStation3, Xbox360
Genre:             RPG
Release date: Coming next winter
RRP:               TBD
Copyright:       ©SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD. All Rights Reserved. CHARACTER DESIGN: TETSUYA NOMURA
Website:          http://www.finalfantasy13-2game.com

Glasses Free 3D Gaming Coming From Toshiba in 2011

Dave Oshry — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 09:37:44 +0000

When I walked into Toshiba’s party at CES 2011, the last thing I expected was to see Final Fantasy XIII in full 3D on a 56” HD TV without glasses – however, that’s just what I got.

In fact, all I’d expected was the same old 3D TV technology, a few swanky tablet devices and some free booze. Yet, instead I got a full diaper-load of holy shit when I stepped into Toshiba’s party at TAO at the Venetian in Las Vegas.

There was no denying it – I was looking at Final Fantasy XIII, in 3D, with no glasses, on a 56″ Toshiba HD TV.

Better yet, I recorded it, albeit for no reason other than to show you, our readers, that glasses-free HD TV gaming is a thing that exists, and is a thing that is coming this year.

Obviously, the following video will not look 3D to you – but trust me, it is:

Note: This is a prototype television and not a production model.

Now, like you, I had a ton of questions for Toshiba when I saw this:

Is this the standard version of Final Fantasy XIII? Yes.

So, I don’t have to buy a whole new version of Final Fantasy XIII to play it in 3D? No.

Will other games be up-converted to 3D like this automatically by this TV? Yes.

How long before I can have this technology? Late 2011.

You sure? Yes, late 2011.

Positive? That’s the official word.

Will game developers start to develop games specifically for this technology? Probably.

The fuck does probably mean? I don’t care.

Hell, we all know Final Fantasy XIII kind of sucks – but for a brief moment in time, I was mesmerized by Square’s latest installment of their beloved franchise.

This was no small screen demo – this was a serious business 56″ HD TV – and the 3D was eye-scorchingly real.

It looked brilliant, and required no headgear in doing so. The future is here, the future is now, and I’ve seen it at CES.

Wish you were there? Yeah, I bet you do.

Be sure to check back in with RipTen all week as we check out all sorts of cool tech at CES – It’s why we’re here.

:-)

Rumor: Japanese Xbox 360 to Receive Final Fantasy XIII?

David Oxford — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 02:44:30 +0000

When Square Enix revealed that Final Fantasy XIII would be coming to the Xbox 360 at E3 a couple of years ago, owners of the Microsoft platform rejoiced. That is, Xbox 360 owners of the West rejoiced; in Square Enix’s native Japan, Microsoft supporters found themselves with less reason to celebrate, as the company had no such plans to bring their marquee title to the gaijin gaming machines within their own borders.

And it appeared that Final Fantasy XIII‘s Japan-only PS3 console exclusivity is how it would remain… that is, until today, some seven months after its Eastern release.

Logging in to Microsoft’s Japanese portion of Xbox.com (yes, your Western login info will work), you can see a page devoted to a list of Achievements for the role-playing game, part of which is seen below:

As such, there are those who are taking this as a sign that the title’s exclusivity to Sony may be short-lived. There are probably some Japanese players who learned English and imported the game who are feeling a little silly right now, too.

The self-proclaimed “largest Xbox/Xbox 360 information site in Japan,” XNEWS, reported this sighting earlier today. In doing so, they noted that in the past, almost all games whose Japanese Achievements were discovered before a proper announcement would indeed go on to be released.

That just leaves the question of whether Final Fantasy XIII will follow the trend, or if it will be one of the exceptions.

Source: Andriasang

Johnny Depp Marston? Computer Generated Celebrity Video Game Lookalikes

Dylan Duarte — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 03:37:17 +0000

Clever little Charlie Barratt over at Games Radar had an interesting idea: take one of those celebrity lookalike generators that can be found all of the internet and throw some of the more realistic looking videogame characters in there. There are really cool ideas in here, like Johnny Depp as Red Dead Redemption’s John Marston and Christian Bale as Mass Effect’s Commander Shepard. Though to be fair, Christian Bale should play everyone in every movie ever.

The “grossly inaccurate” matches are by far the most entertaining there, because you get matches like male popstar Jesse McCartney as Lightning from Final Fantasy XIII and Chuck Norris as Alan Wake. And just wait until you get to the page of rejects.

I threw my face in there just to have that stupid thing to tell me I bear a 73% resemblance to Janeane Garofalo. I’m a dude, by the way. It also said I share a 59% resemblance with Shigeru Miyamoto, even though I’m Portugese and Italian and probably look more like Mario.

Hello, my name is Dyligeru Duartamoto

It's-a-me, Super Dylanio!

And because Chad is an asshole, here is one more…

Dylaneane Duarofalo. I'm available for movies.

Square Enix And Sony Face “Final Fantasy XIII Broke My PS3″ Lawsuit

Chad Lakkis — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 05:56:57 +0000

What’s the first thing that crosses your mind when a video game freezes while in mid play? Scream? Throw up your arms disgust before unloading on a pint of Ben & Jerry’s? How about filing a class action lawsuit seeking an excess of 5 million dollars in damages against the creators of the game and the makers of the console it froze on? Well, that’s exactly what one gamer did.

Daniel Wolf of San Diego, California, claims in his June 2nd lawsuit, filed against both Sony Computer Entertainment of America and Square Enix, that his Final Fantasy XIII game caused “severe and widespread damage” to his PlayStation 3 console — rendering it incapable of playing any other form of media — even after attempted restarts. He goes on to speak on behalf of other customers (who apparently share his grief), adding that for many of them, the PlayStation 3 console became “totally and permanently inoperable.” Making maters worse, his suit then claims that neither Sony nor Square stepped up to offer their assistance with the situation.

I’m no rocket scientist, but it would seem that this is far from a slam dunk case for Daniel. Systems freeze every day, for various reasons, and while playing various games. And though I don’t doubt the dismay of everyone involved in this case against Sony and Square, the burden of proof is on the prosecution. On one hand, Sony could hypothetically argue that Final Fantasy XIII has frozen on the Xbox 360 as well (which it has), and on the other, Square could counter by bringing forward evidence that documents similar issues caused by other games on the PlayStation 3 console.

Now, I know that I personally had some issues with Final Fantasy XIII. And it did at times feel as if the game was frozen. However, I eventually realized that I’d put the game on pause before slipping into an epileptic seizure after becoming totally fed up with the twenty plus hours of linear gameplay. Never thought to sue anyone though. Oh well.

[Source: IGN]

BioWare Lead Writer Says Final Fantasy XIII Is “Not An RPG”

Chad Lakkis — Fri, 14 May 2010 18:47:19 +0000

A recent interview, BioWare writing lead, Daniel Erickson, had some choice words about the latest Final Fantasy release, FFXIII. When talking about the title, Erickson said the following:

“… You can put a ‘J’ in front of it, but it’s not an RPG. You don’t make any choices, you don’t create a character, you don’t live your character… I don’t know what those are – adventure games maybe? But they’re not RPG’s.”

Final Fantasy fans (like myself) waited years for the release of Final Fantasy XIII. Patiently, we waited … and I’d be lying to you if I told you that I was hooked the moment I started it up. In fact, I’d be throwing more lies into the mix if I said that I wasn’t ready to throw it out of my second story window about twenty-five hours in.

All that aside, I think it’s a bit much to say that it’s not an RPG.

It may not be the “open world” RPG some of us hoped for, but stating that it somehow is no longer a part of that gaming category is unfair in my opinion.

What do you think? Will Square build on what they established in Final Fantasy XIII, or will the chances they took prove to be a failure in the years to come?

Source: Strategy Informer

Final Fantasy XIII Gran Pulse Long Gui Beat In Ten Seconds

Chad Lakkis — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 17:26:26 +0000

The Final Fantasy XIII free roam area known as Gran Pulse packs many surprises, but the biggest (at least in size) just might be the gigantic dino-like creature named Long Gui. With a massive 16 million hit points, this bad boy is the thing nightmares are made of … unless of course you are one of the few who can down it in under ten seconds. Check out the video below.

I must note that most strategies revolve around a well groomed group downing this creature in 7-10 minutes. This video is obviously utilizing some sort of exploit/hack modifying Lightning’s “Army of One” ability, which you can clearly see the gamer selecting from her combat menu.

New Game Releases: 3/7 – 3/13

Rangebar Merani — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:23:55 +0000

Final Fantasy XIII comes out this week for PS3 and 360. Yep, that’s pretty much all you need to know. Actually the game is already out as of today, so you should go buy it because it’s suppose to be pretty dope. There are other games coming out this week but none come close to what FFXIII has to offer, well at least for me. Okay, now I gotta get back to playing. Hit the jump for the full list of new game releases this week.Pick of the Week: Final Fantasy XIII (PS3, 360)

Xbox 360:

Final Fantasy XIII
Final Fantasy XIII Xbox 360 Hardware Bundle
Resident Evil 5 Gold Edition
Scrap Metal (Xbox Live Arcade)

PS3:

Final Fantasy XIII
Mega Man 10 (PlayStation Store)
Resident Evil 5 Gold Edition
Yakuza 3

Wii:

Calling, Max and the Magic Marker (WiiWare)
Racquet Sports
Racquet Sports with Camera Bundle
Sam & Max: Season Two – Beyond Time and Space
The Daring Game for Girls

PC:

Assassin’s Creed 2
Order of War: Challenge (Steam)
Project Runway
Rise of Prussia (Digital Distribution)
Sam & Max: Season Two – Beyond Time and Space
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II – Chaos Rising

DS:

Foto Showdown (DSi Only)
The Daring Game for Girls

PSP:

BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger Portable

GamesRadar Publishes 24 Hour Exclusive Perfect 10 Review of Final Fantasy XIII

Chad Lakkis — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 20:39:45 +0000

The Square Enix online review embargo gets lifted tonight for all of the outlets covering the upcoming state side release, but GamesRadar’s perfect 10 review score got the red carpet 24 hour exclusive treatment. Funny how that works. I originally thought that they just said the hell with the embargo date but silly me … that never happens.

Final Fantasy XIII hits store shelves March 9th, but I hear that if you slip a GameStop employee 10 bucks they’ll give it to you yesterday.

Kitase Believes Personable Characters Drive Demand For Final Fantasy VII Remake, Still No Plans For Remake

Chad Lakkis — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 20:19:24 +0000

In an interesting interview with 1up, Final Fantasy XIII producer Yoshinori Kitase (also the director behind FFVIII in 1997), talks about why he thinks so many fans desperately want a Final Fantasy VII remake. Here’s a bit of what he had to say:

“I think there’s such a strong voice out there for the Final Fantasy VII remake because with Final Fantasy VII, when it first came out, the characters were really the core of the game … The CG 3D technology enabled us to create characters that seemed more relatable and more real in every way.”

They were more life-like than in any other FF title. But now, technology has evolved so far; in Final Fantasy XIII, we’re able to breathe more life into the characters. I think people really want to see the characters they love in a more realistic form. There were no voices back then, for instance. I think adding all these new layers to the characters is something fans really would like to see.”

I’ll buy part of what he is trying to sell but I won’t agree that realism alone is the only reason. I’m pretty sure gamers just flat out fell in love with the characters. Many have come since then and I rarely hear an argument stating that any of them are better/more fleshed out than the non-speaking characters introduced in FFVIII. Use the Star Wars analogy — the first three films featured characters that people love to this day, and though Lucas created more technically advanced sequels, the characters just didn’t have the same flare.

What are your thoughts on all of this? Do you buy the reality argument or do you simply feel that the characters and plot in FFVIII were just flat out better than anything we’ve seen since?

Less Detailed 360 Version of Final Fantasy XIII Ignites Fanboys

Chad Lakkis — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 22:55:33 +0000

An online UK publication called NowGamer claims to have received the “final” Final Fantasy XIII code for the 360 version of the game after having completed the PS3 version. Of course the next logical thing to do is compare them both and create a fanboy blaze of commentary debating texture detail and overall resolution, which is exactly what they proceeded to do. Yay.

In short, NowGamer states that the Xbox 360 version of the latest Square Enix RPG suffers from “extremely compressed” CG, lower resolution textures, and lower polygon count elements. None of this really surprises me and as an individual that essentially purchased my PS3 for Metal Gear Solid 4 and Final Fantasy XIII, there is no doubt which console I will pick the game up on. How about yourself?

[Source: NowGamer]

Final Fantasy XIII: More Missions & Playtime Talk, Still No Demo

Chad Lakkis — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:10:12 +0000

A recent European PlayStation.Blog interview with Final Fantasy XIII Director, Motomu Toriyama, and Producer, Yoshinori Kitase, reaffirmed the total playtime of 50-60 hours we already knew about months ago, and talks about about the added missions (side-quests) in the game that add to the mix. When asked about the “sidequest” content specifically, they responded with the following:

We call them “missions”, rather than “quests”. During the second half of the story, when the characters go down to a place called Pulse, there are many missions available there. In the majority of them the boss of the mission who you have to defeat, is more powerful than the main boss of the story. I’ve already told you that the basic playing time is 50 to 60 hours, but if you want to complete all the missions, the total time is probably twice that or more.

Unfortunately, those hoping for a definitive answer on an English demo prior to release will have to wait some more, as the response given to a question posed about its release was as follows:

We haven’t decided whether to make a demo available yet.

With March approaching quickly, I wouldn’t suggest you hold your breath.

[Source: blog.eu.playstation.com]

Dutch OPM Interview Promises Final Fantasy XIII DLC Soonish?

Chad Lakkis — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:20:33 +0000

According to the internet, those who crack open the pages of the Dutch flavored Official PlayStation Magazine will be treated to a multi-page preview of Final Fantasy XIII complete with a Yoshinori Kitase interview. It is rumored that Kitase, the game’s producer, talks a bit about the release date differential and DLC content, stating the following:

“At first we had plans to release the game simultaneously worldwide … so we had the intention to deliver identical version between the regions. When we noticed that we wouldn’t make it, we decided to release the game as fast as possible in the west after its release in Japan. We initially had doubts to add extra content to the western version but then it would have taken the international version more months of delay. We did prepare a DLC but it will arrive a little later in the west.”

I didn’t think I could become more excited about this release but I was obviously wrong. Of course, no scans have yet to surface, so we all may want to reserve a bit of our excitement until some visual proof is provided.

[Source: finalfantasy-xiii.net]

Buying FFXIII? Buy from Amazon, Get $10 Off Your Next Game

Sean Hollister — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 02:59:10 +0000

This is not the best deal you’ll find on Final Fantasy XIII. No, I’d venture to say that within weeks of release, you’ll find plenty of copies of FFXIII available at used games stores around the globe, after their owners have finished the reportedly linear-to-a-fault story and traded them in for the next big thing.

But if you must have a brand-new copy of Final Fantasy XIII, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better deal than the one going on at Amazon right now. If taking advantage of their sales tax haven and free shipping deals weren’t enough, Amazon is now offering a $10 “video games credit” alongside all FFXIII preorders. Grab the game, then automatically get $10 off your next games purchase. Not bad, Amazon. Not bad.

Source: Amazon.com (via Siliconera)

Xbox 360 Hatches Your Baby Chocobo Avatar Today

Chad Lakkis — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 17:57:50 +0000

Who’s your baby daddy? Xbox 360!! If you participated in the Xbox 360 Twitter based Final Fantasy XIII “White Promo” that Microsoft kicked off back in November, you’re going to want to check your email inbox today, as it should contain a special code that unlocks a baby Chocobo avatar pet. Simply enter the code into your Xbox LIVE account and all the joy of a newborn Chocobo will be yours. I personally think it should automatically power up your 360 throughout the night and let out a strange bird like crying sound that forces you to get up and play an interactive coddling game with it until it calms down giving you just enough time to crawl back into bed before it starts back up again — but that’s just the sick and twisted kind of bastard that I am.

Final Fantasy XIII Japanese Release Sells Over One Million Units Day One

Chad Lakkis — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 23:11:06 +0000

According to Square Enix, the debut of Final Fantasy XIII in Japan yesterday was rung in with over 1 million copies sold. This figure does not include bundled sales via the PlayStation 3 Lightning Edition.

[Yahoo News Japan]

Didn’t Make The Final Fantasy XIII Midnight Launch In Japan? Watch This Video

Chad Lakkis — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 05:18:00 +0000

So you just couldn’t make it out to Japan for the launch of Square Enix’s Final Fantasy XIII … no problem. An aspiring French director was on site capturing a step by step account of what you likely would have went through if you had been there yourself. Everything from the public transportation commute to the long ass lines full of eager Final Fantasy loving gamers is here for your viewing pleasure.

[Thanks Kitsuney]