Versus XIII Gameplay: Why Did Square Enix Even Bother?

(Posted: 04/10/2009) by Ronin90

Final Fantasy Versus XIII has be in Final Fantasy XIII's shadow for quite some time now, as Square Enix have expectedly diverted all their attention towards their biggest asset. People had been hoping to see something new at TGS, but following Square Enix's announcement that Final Fantasy Versus XIII wasn't going to be shown there wasn't any real surprise.

However, there was surprise when reports surfaced that it was actually being shown, and of course Final Fantasy Union had to investigate. It turned out that gameplay footage was being shown in what was essentially their very toned down "Closed Mega Theatre".

This was the first time Final Fantasy Versus XIII gameplay had been shown, and the footage was recorded by a video camera that was pointed at a computer monitor. Not exactly the most compelling start, and certainly not the way to drum up enthusiasm or excitement. To compound this, the footage was actually quite dispiriting. It initially showed Noctis running around a town while displaying a very awkward looking running animation. Following this, he went outside into a Final Fantasy XII-esque environment, with some flying enemies surrounding him. All the time, there was a small box in the corner displaying his facial animations, which were changing, but for no real reason.

Obviously the game is still in development, but the question is, why did Square Enix decide to show this clearly under-developed footage? All it did was succeed in making people worry about a product they thought was going to be stellar. The audience in the Closed Mega Theatre no longer displayed the joy they had while watching the Final Fantasy XIII trailer, instead their faces displayed confusion.

Final Fantasy Agito XIII really impressed, and it's a game that's in a similar situation, so it's confusing why they didn't take a similar approach. The only logical explanation is that they didn't have a new trailer prepared, but they felt they had to show something, to convince fans that the game was still in production.

Here's hoping the next time Square Enix decide to show some in-game footage of Final Fantasy Versus XIII, that it's at least a bit more polished, because off this evidence, Versus XIII still has a long way to go with its development.

http://www.finalfantasyunion.com/news/versus-xiii-gameplay-why-did-square-enix-even-bother--629.html

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hmmmm......I wonder what was the point!

What do you thinkt he point was? FFU seems to have lost some of their hype for the game due to it