Did anyone who played FF13 and FF13-2 did so with a copy of the game which is basically English except for the audio? I wonder if they ever put out such a version. Like maybe for the Asian regions?

Cause if those exists there's a good chance it'll continue for this game.

The Chinese or Asia version of FFXIII-2 had that. I am pretty sure Lighting returns will have that too. Just check infos shortly before the release and order if its confirmed.

I have the Asian region versions of FFXIII and FFXIII-2 and they both have English UI and Japanese voice tracks. However, Square-Enix announced at the Taipei Game Show that FFXIII-3 will have Chinese instead of English UI this time around.

Don't let that stop you from buying the game. Both English and Japanese casts are pretty decent.