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Final Fantasy XIII-2 Gets a Release Date: January

Square Enix is going back to the well for a reportedly refined sequel.

More battles, please. More battles.
More battles, please. More battles.

A copy of Final Fantasy XIII still sits on a shelf in my apartment, as I continue to convince myself that I'll play that game someday. I know, of course, that day will never come, a notion reinforced by today's news that Final Fantasy XIII-2 is now confirmed for a release in January.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 has reportedly been engineered to respond to much of the criticism leveled against the original game, where complaints of linearity and a mystifying lack of random towns to explore were rampant.

Final Fantasy X was the last JRPG I spent any significant amount of time with. Loved that one. The MMO-esque battle system of Final Fantasy XII never sunk its hooks in me. Mostly, I just got frustrated. But alas.

Can Square Enix just remake Final Fantasy III (or VI, depending on the country) and call it a day?

I'd also like to point out that I considered writing Final Fantasy XXX-2 in the headline for a few minutes.

McGhee is online on July 18, 2011 at 2:06 p.m.

I've tried to finish FF13 twice now and have stopped both times. There are things I like a lot, the graphics and the grand set pieces. FF13 also has one of the best uses of 5.1 surround sound I've heard in a game. I'm going to dedicate myself to stay on track and finish it so that I can play the sequel.

And yes, a remake if FF6 would be amazing.

asian_pride is online on July 18, 2011 at 2:06 p.m.
Heh, I'm sure they'll remake FFIII down the road. That aside, I'm actually interested in XIII-2. If they can improve on its game mechanics, I'd be satisfied. Can't wait.
OllyOxenFree is online on July 18, 2011 at 2:07 p.m.

I don't know, man. SquareEnix just seems kinda dead to me now.

SomeJerkon July 18, 2011 at 2:09 p.m.

Don't worry, they listened to the FF fan complaints and killed the 99.5% on rails part and added cities to this one, because that's totally what makes a game good or not. Surely they added the classic battle victory theme as well.

BulletproofMonkon July 18, 2011 at 2:10 p.m.
I'm very excited for this. I really liked XIII, and more of that but better (hopefully) sounds great.
Bobby_The_Greaton July 18, 2011 at 2:10 p.m.
I'm pretty excited for this one with all the improvements I've been seeing. And I loved XIII's battle system.
crusader8463on July 18, 2011 at 2:11 p.m.
I really gotta give 13 another try some day. I got about 5 hours in when I stopped. Didn't care for the world, and all the characters were ether annoying, or just didn't illicit any kind of desire to want to know what happens to them to push on.
Video_Game_King is online on July 18, 2011 at 2:11 p.m.
Yes, they need to get to work on that damn FF6 remake. It'd be the one game that would make me buy a 3DS (don't deny it).
RYNO9881on July 18, 2011 at 2:11 p.m.

Cool, I liked 13.

Cincaidon July 18, 2011 at 2:12 p.m.
Still curious why Amazon UK says it'll be released September 9th 2011 in Europe. Amazon just throwing up a date in the air, or is it released 6 months earlier in Europe?
OllyOxenFree is online on July 18, 2011 at 2:15 p.m.

@CrazyChris said:

Still curious why Amazon UK says it'll be released September 9th 2011 in Europe. Amazon just throwing up a date in the air, or is it released 6 months earlier in Europe?

Oh, Chris. You so crazy.

Cincaidon July 18, 2011 at 2:17 p.m.
@OllyOxenFree said:

@CrazyChris said:

Still curious why Amazon UK says it'll be released September 9th 2011 in Europe. Amazon just throwing up a date in the air, or is it released 6 months earlier in Europe?

Oh, Chris. You so crazy.

The koala scratches on the inside of my brain tree, I can't help it.
617_jbugon July 18, 2011 at 2:19 p.m.
i should really finish FF13.
ryanwhoon July 18, 2011 at 2:20 p.m.
Someone needs to send an all hands memo to JRPG developers; your game doesn't have to be 50 hours long. If it has 30 hours of content, make it 30 hours. Please. Some people value their time and don't think its a "good deal" for devs to stretch shit out so it takes up more of it. I don't say "good deal" when action movies are an hour longer than they need to be. Hopefully this will be something like FFX-2 and have most of the content be optional. Tedious shit is more fun when its optional anyway.
Soapon July 18, 2011 at 2:20 p.m.

I was kind of excited for this until I realized it has 13's 'battle system' so, yeah... fuck that.

BabyChooChoo is online on July 18, 2011 at 2:21 p.m.
"Final Fantasy XIII-2 has reportedly been engineered to respond to much of the criticism leveled against the original game, where complaints of linearity and a mystifying lack of random towns to explore were rampant."
 
And you know...everything else
fooly1coolyon July 18, 2011 at 2:21 p.m.

@617_jbug: No you shouldn't.

Asian2Goon July 18, 2011 at 2:22 p.m.

Pretty excited for this. Call me a crazy person, but I really liked 13. Sometimes feel like I'm the only one who did.

uniformon July 18, 2011 at 2:22 p.m.
I really enjoyed XIII. It's the only current game I've completed 100%. Really looking forward to this.
ryanwhoon July 18, 2011 at 2:23 p.m.
@Soap said:

I was kind of excited for this until I realized it has 13's 'battle system' so, yeah... fuck that.

If they assume people playing this got through the first game instead of holding your hand for 20 hours, it shouldn't be that bad. People tell me the battles eventually get fun, I never got that far. But maybe this game starts with the battles being fun.

Dig Deeper into Final Fantasy XIII-2

Final Fantasy XIII-2 is a direct sequel to Final Fantasy XIII coming from Square Enix in early 2012.

US Release Date: Jan. 31, 2012

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