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New 'Final Fantasy' video game goes on sale

25 Comments

The latest version of the blockbuster video game "Final Fantasy" was launched in Japan on Thursday, with hundreds queuing up for its release ahead of the North America and Europe launch next year.

The mythological role-playing game, in which heroes join forces to save the world in an intricate computer landscape, has been a flagship product for Sony's PlayStation and Japanese gamemaker SquareEnix.

The game publisher shipped some 1.8 million units in the latest edition's first batch alone, the company said.

"Final Fantasy XIII," released three years and nine months after the 12th edition of the game, is for the first time designed to be played on PlayStation 3 (PS3), known for its quality images on Blu-ray discs.

SquareEnix boasts about the graphical quality and advanced battle systems on the new edition, for which some 350 fans queued before the early-morning release in the Shibuya shopping district alone.

"I hope the game will perform well in the year-end and New Year holiday season," said SquareEnix president Yoichi Wada in a statement, adding proudly: "I guarantee the game's quality."

Since the launch of the first edition in 1987, SquareEnix has sold more than 92 million copies of the Final Fantasy series worldwide, attracting game players with its high-definition pictures and mysterious story lines.

SquareEnix plans to launch the 13th edition in North America and Europe on March 9, both for PS3 and Microsoft game console Xbox 360 for the first time.

The latest Final Fantasy is widely expected to boost sales of PS3, which has struggled with the tough price competition from Nintendo's blockbuster Wii video game console and Xbox 360.

© Wire reports

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.


25 Comments
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Can't wait to play this in the U.S. -- once I finish Demon's Souls...

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Don't like Final Fantasy. They are always more of an interactive movie than a proper game. Give me a real RPG anyday.

Like Dragon Quest?

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I've played four hours into Final Fantasy XIII and I think it's really good so far. The battles are fast paced and the setting/story pulls you in immediately.

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Hmm, the only FF title I have ever played and will probably still play is the Online MMORPG. By golly if that isn't the most in depth time consuming game I've ever played and still go back for more its that one. FFXI outclasses WoW fanatics.

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I'm gonna wait for FFv13 instead. Would love to see Noctis' story.

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I bet the battle sequences take four or five times as long as similar battles on the Super Nintendo / Super Famicom versions. Probably littered with dumb voice acting and unskippable cutscenes. It's the unskippable cutscenes in particular that forced me to abandon FFX (and the series in general) about halfway through the game. If anyone's played FFX, then probably you will remember a sequence where some flying twerp attacks you on a mountain and turns your party into zombies. That was when I said "enough".

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Don't like Final Fantasy. They are always more of an interactive movie than a proper game. Give me a real RPG anyday.

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Have played FF series since the first one on NES. Enjoy it but not a nutter about it. Play other RPGs and other types of games too. Dunno if the rule still applies, but Square intended to alternate the odd/even-numbered FF games between the focus on story innovation and the focus on gameplay innovation.

I wonder if there's an extra online component here too, since so many games and gamers now revel in online interaction with other gamers (there are many ways to interact, not just playing against live opponents).

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I'm a FF fan! I actually liked FF VIII, don't know why some folks hated it. But of course the best one for me will always be 7. I even played the girlie ones FF-X and X-2 and 9 was adorable.

The only thing I didn't dig about the X-2 series was the whole dress sphere thing. I found it a bit irritating.

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FF12 is my favourite game of the series, and one of my favourite games of all time. Very different to the rest of the series - although I like them all. Even FF8 and it's rickety plot-line and unlikeable characters.

I've been waiting for this to come out before I get a PS3. March '10 in Europe. Better start saving.

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The white system with Rightning on it is so pretty~

*The white system with Rightning on it is so pletty~

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will pick this one up when its 19.95 3 months from now

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I'd have to say FF7 was may favorite. All the titles before FF7 were pretty good too. I got bored and quit playing FF8 when I was halfway through, but eventually started playing it again about half a year later and enjoyed finishing it. FF9 OK... FF10 was pretty good, except for the story/gameplay being so linear. I did not like, nor finish FFX2, FF11 (if this one even counts) or FF12.

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Did anyone here get the FF13 PS3 bundle? The white system with Rightning on it is so pretty~

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aichan <3

:3

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I've played 7 through 12. Loved 7 and 8. Got bored with 9. Loved 10 and 10-2. Yes, I'm a girl. I couldn't play 11 online because it was just too much of a black hole of time. #12 - the game play improved a lot but the characters bored me. I'll try #13. I grew up as a FF fangirl. I never mention this to ppl I know IRL. Maybe we should develop a set of code words.

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Whoa. Great comments. Thanks Chuckers. I think you hit the nail on the head. I see in the news blurb that they are still totally honed in on the graphics, which makes me think that this might be another game where the story and playability suffer.

Sooner or later, games will come back to good stories. It seems like they have tried everything else.

And Ichya, I know what you mean about not finishing. It often makes me wish I had never started, and games shouldn't be like that.

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I have only every played 7 and absolutely HATED it. Definitely not a good way to be introduced to what is supposed to be a classic series. The game never seemed to decided whether it wanted to be an interactive movie or an RPG and there was never any indication as to which mode you were in. Occassionally, you would be waiting for a movie sequence to continue but it has shifted to RPG mode. You would take 2 steps and it would shift back to movie mode again. And by the time I got to the end of it, I really felt like I lost. It seemed like everyone was killed off by the end.

Glad I bought it used and even more glad I sold it off again.

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Any FF fans out there? I kind of think this series jumped the shark at about 8, but maybe someone can encourage me to try this.

I could not even complete 9. That was the worst one for me. 12 was actually decent and had a good story to it. So give 12 a chance, besides it is cheap now.

As far as 13 is concerned...I have been reading the JP blogs and it has not been too good. To much movie time, loss of MP capability, and hard time adjusting to the new battle system. I myself still have not played it and will wait till March when it is released on the 360. But I will keep trolling the blogs to see if I can find better reactions.

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Can someone please tell me if a Japanese copy of FF will work on a US PS3?

Yes it will.

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Can someone please tell me if a Japanese copy of FF will work on a US PS3?

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I was a FF fan ages ago. 1, 4, 5, and 6 were all fantastic. 7 Started the click through movie era (but was still a good game). 8 was probably the worst ive ever played, and successfully turned me off to the series as a whole. Havent played one since.

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SpeedRacer,

Agreed, I'm going to give it a try, but I think it peaked at 7.

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"SquareEnix boasts about the graphical quality and advanced battle systems"

hmm.

"its high-definition pictures and mysterious story lines."

hmmm.

Any FF fans out there? I kind of think this series jumped the shark at about 8, but maybe someone can encourage me to try this.

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