Final Fantasy XIII may have fallen flat on its backside with fans, but the sales figures were still more than good enough to grant a sequel (for any game or publisher). Although there has only ever been 2 Final Fantasy sequels in history, Final Fantasy XIII-2 steps up as Squaresoft’s second attempt (with FFX-2 being the first). But this leaves a huge question unanswered with us Final Fantasy fans. Why? Really, honestly…why continue a Final Fantasy that loyal fans have made clear they didn’t fully enjoy?
To answer that questions, we need to go back to past interviews regarding the Final Fantasy VII remake. Basically, we were all told that development would take light-years. PS3-style world maps, villages, countless monsters and voice-overs would turn most development teams grey before it launched. But could this be the real reason for the continuation of Final Fantasy XIII? Could Square simply be thinking of the planet and recycling resources to offer us another Final Fantasy game, in good time (remember, FFXIII-2 is released 2nd February!).
It's no secret that characters, enemies, animations and locations from XIII, have made life easier and quicker for Final Fantasy XIII-2. But is this the only reason for XIII-2?
Characters, enemies, animations, locations, battle system designs are just some of the things that Square can immediately re-use from FFXIII for Final Fantasy XIII-2. Remember, most criticism for FFXIII was targeted at the linear gameplay. Run in a straight line, fight a few monsters and watch a long CG. It was even more linear than FFX – The first Final Fantasy to completely ditch the world map.
In a recent Final Fantasy 7 remake article (check out the link above) we also discussed the possibility that Squaresoft could be using XIII-2 as research for Final Fantasy Versus XIII. After negative fan feedback on FFXIII, it may be a bad idea to keep Versus in the XIII universe. Could Square simply be using Final Fantasy XIII-2 to clarify the strength of the XIII story and world? If the game then continued to get bad feedback, could Square drop “XIII” from the Versus brand, entirely?
Now development is a little faster for Final Fantasy XIII-2, Squaresoft can come up with more westernised characters....like Noel. Is it us, or does he look like an older version of Sora from Kingdom Hearts?
How do you feel? Do you think the main reason for Final Fantasy XIII-2 is due to easy production with recycled resources? Do you think allot of fans liked the story of XIII so much, Square simply couldn’t let it go? Do you see Final Fantasy XIII-2 as marketing research for their much-anticipated Versus brand? Post away and let us know?
