After Square-Enix’s disappointing presentation at the Sony PS4 revel conference, many rumours have started to swirl about the infamous game in development obscurity, Final Fantasy Versus XIII (FFvsXIII). A game shown at E3 2006 (yes, nearly 7 years ago) has not yet been showcased extensively, let alone given a release date. Yet still, many gamers hold hope that FFvsXIII will show up sometime soon. That probably speaks to the strength of the FF name and more importantly, the vision shown in previous FFvsXIII trailers. With so little information though, many rumours have spread over time. The release of Noctis’ (the main protagonist) perfume recently sparked speculation that FFvsXIII was still in development, and the rumour mill went wild again. With that in mind, let’s go through the top 5 rumours about the game.
5) FFvsXII Will Be A Limited Open World Game
One of the major selling points of FFvsXIII was that it was going to offer a much more open-world experience than FFXIII. Many were hoping this would be of the level that FFXII was at, and given recent games like Skyrim, it’s not an impossible task. Early footage of the game seemed to promise this, with vast open areas and what looked like pure freedom to explore. Recent rumours however have stated that the openness has been toned down. Fans shouldn’t be expecting the scale of FFXII anymore, although the game should still be bigger and provide more freedom than FFXIII. That isn’t really saying much though now is it.
4) FFvsXIII Will Be A PS4 Game
A lot of talk in the rumour mill has been as to why FFvsXIII has remained undercover for so long in terms of information. Many fear that this could be due to stalled development on the game, which may still be true, but the rumour mill throws in the possibility that FFvsXIII will be a PS4 game. This would be a massive boast to the PS4 and could potentially rekindle interest in the game itself as new consoles tend to increase sales of games. This isn’t such a far fetched idea however, given the fact that some games seem to be taking the approach of releasing on current and next generation consoles (ie. Watch Dogs). So there still may be hope for FFvsXIII to appear on the PS3 too. It would probably be for the best.
3) FFvsXIII Will Release This Year (2013)
An astounding rumour relates to a possible release this year of FFvsXIII. Square-Enix are said to be hoping to release FFX HD, Lightning Returns: FFXIII, FFXIV Reborn and FFvsXIII in quick succession over a few months. While this does sound impractical, it seems pretty obvious that LR:FFXIII and FFXIV:Reborn will release this year. If FFvsXII has been in hidden development, it could very well be released soon too. FFX HD is a simple graphics upgrade, so that sounds plausible too. Thus, with all that to consider, it does sound believable, especially if Square-Enix wants to quickly move on to next-gen game development soon.
2) FFvsXIII Won’t Be Localised
An absolute bummer of a rumour though is that FFvsXIII might not get localised to western audiences. This wouldn’t be that big a rumour if not for the fact that Square-Enix refuses to localise FF Type-0. FF Type-0 has gotten a good deal of positive reviews from Japanese fans of the FF franchise, and so there is no wonder that western gamers want it too, but there is no sign of this happening anytime soon. Could FFvsXIII be heading in the same direction. The similarities are there too. FF Type-0 releases at the end of the PSP’s reign, and now the PS3’s reign is ending. It’s too eerily similar to simply discount the possibility.
1) FFvsXIII Is No Longer An Action RPG
Perhaps one of the biggest reasons why FFvsXIII is still anticipated is because the game was going to feature an action oriented battle system akin to the Kingdom Hearts games. A few fans seem to have tired of the old turn-based system in FF games, thus FFvsXIII was seen as a breath of fresh air. I personally love that variety within FF games too. A recent rumour however has stated that the game will no longer be a full and proper action RPG. Square-Enix has reverted back to using the ATB gauge and is modifying that to provide a more action experience. Word has it that it is somewhat similar to Grandia’s battle system (which would be awesome!), but I can understand that long-time fans who were anticipating this game will be disappointed.
So what say you guys? Do any of these rumours spark your interest? Or do you not care anymore?