PaigeFTW: ‘Final Fantasy XV’: What could have been
The wait is almost over: Final Fantasy XV will see the light of day Sept. 30. An entire decade has passed since that initial Final Fantasy Versus XIII trailer released, but here we are. This fantasy will finally become reality.
Still, I can’t help but wonder what could have been.
Why it is, exactly, that original director Tetsuya Nomura was not able to make substantial progress on the game beyond stylish concept art and unspeakably cool trailers will never be fully known. His vision of the game — a dark, Kingdom Hearts-styled take on Final Fantasy tropes sounded and looked amazing.
Versus XIII would’ve also incorporated all of his trademarks: easy-to-pick-up, challenging-to-master battle systems; a nonsensical plot with endearing, iconic characters; dazzling graphics; and comprehensive but painstakingly organized collectibles.
His games may not always make lot of sense (or have titles that make sense, a la Kingdom Hearts II.8 Final Chapter Prologue), but Nomura’s never had a hand in one I didn’t enjoy playing to maniacal completion. He’s worked on so many iconic Final Fantasy games — I wanted to see what he could produce when he was in charge. Now I’ll never know.
His successor, Hajime Tabata, has also had a hand in some stellar games (Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy Type-0, The 3rd Birthday), but Tabata’s games tend to be dark and monstrously difficult to master. I can tell you right now that “everyone dies at the end” is a recurrent trend for him.
The recently released demos reflect that ludicrous difficulty spike despite their otherwise stunning graphics and naturalistic feel. I’ll be honest: I’m worried that I’ll just be so bad at playing FFXV that I’ll never be able to finish it.
Oh, don’t get me wrong: I’m getting it. (I have two versions preordered right now.) But Versus XIII will always hold that special place in my heart.
