Back in 2006 — before PlayStation 3 was still being assembled in one of those secret Sony lairs – Square Enix, upholding the long tradition of PS brand centric Final Fantasies announced the Fabula Nova Crystallis series for the much loved duo in the very near future.
How did that letter of love got lost somewhere in translation? It is hard to say. Perhaps the sweet smell of greens, the liability of investing a lot, or simply a trinket to toss over for more people to savor. The list is as endless, as it is complicated. But for now, let’s focus on where do us geeky, sore-eyed, Fantasy deprived gamers stand in this mist of FF nothingness on PS3?
For kick starting that seething anger roiling underneath our skins, we lost FF (Final Fantasy) XIII to a lot of things; Microsoft, poor planning, bland story telling, uninteresting focused or unfocused babbles, and all the other intentional nonsense stopping it from possibly becoming the crème de la crème of Fantasies. A bullet was fired, it missed, and all of us got hurt in our little hearts filled with so many fantastical hopes… the agony was unbearable.
As the sands of time passed down the hourglass, our wounds were healed, and hence we waited for the coming FF that would change the way people supposedly looked at JRPGs (Japanese Role Playing Games). But the problems of misinterpretation, misreading, and so many other misses came back to haunt us. Where is Versus XIII? Truth be told, perhaps even Nomura-San doesn’t know what he got himself into, or maybe us vile JRPG purists are exaggerating.
Years have gone by with nothing but a tiny peek at gameplay in that once-upon-a-too-long-ago trailer from Nomura. Little additions were there, and so were the horrid misses. The game (seemingly) plays a lot like Nomura’s PS2 Disney fairy tale ventures; Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2, which, believe me, is the most positive sign to come out of this long fruitless wait.
Our spiky haired Noctis, who got that hair style from Nomura’s secret obsession with Sasuke Uchiha, moves sleekly across the screen, brandishing sword-like things, and throwing sparkles everywhere. Impressive that feat truly was, and so were the forceful abduction of enemy machines. The other characters seem to have their own set of arsenal, specially the blond guy with manageable hair, who can take out enemies with an accurate aim feature.
Art style is impressive, and unlike the closed, almost drab surrounds of XIII, Versus looks like it could just redeem itself of the sins of its mother. The environments are much varied. From the posh terraced party hall and the wide roofs, to the wilderness of lush jungles; at least the game will not bore you with XIII’s endless supply of dullness.
The characters don’t seem forced, or not-needed, and are of interesting kind. Noctis, your ridiculously good looking Square hero, is badass and kind of mum, donning all-black cool looking clothes is nicely contrasted by the loud blond. And the brooding genius and the gruff companion complete this team of four, each promised to have their own abilities and what not.
Usually, the brooding handsome ones are dressed in black.
Alas, if only there was more to this show and tell, but there isn’t. TGS (Tokyo Game Show) will be a no show, and god knows how many other gaming functions Nomura intends to miss. Why the aversions though? It is a bit simple. The game is shouldered on a massive budget, if executed wrongly, it could just drown SE in really deep waters. Nomura probably just wants to save his well-earned reputation.
Then there is the whole graphics slump, which could be a foreboding to something nasty, but maybe the game does look as impressive as Nomura is found to ceremoniously state a lot. But until there is no show from SE, there will be no tell, only heart-breaking rumors of multi-platforming, cancellation, and such.
Latest interviews suggest the game might have some sort of online features, like purchases for the enthusiastic buyers. Whether it is untrue or it leans towards the truth, that is still under that heavy shroud of ambiguity.
I for one, have some faith left it Nomura. What are your thoughts? Watch the video below again, just for nostalgic factors.