Lightning is Preparing to Strike

It's been a long, long time in coming, but Final Fantasy XIII is coming very soon. Sooner than you think, actually. And that's not just for Japan either; Square Enix announced Friday that the game releases in North America and Europe on March 9, 2010 (which you might have known already), which isn't too far after Japan's December 17 release date. It's kind of like the Final Fantasy X surprise that America had in 2001, the difference being that this time the process will only take under three months. And they announced it just in time to prevent importers from nabbing the Japanese PS3 version too!* Timely. They provided the date in a presentation video with the biggest "don't you want to punch this guy in the face?" dude ever conceived.

It's been a long time since FFXIII was revealed to the public; about three-and-a-half years in fact. And here we all thought the "announcement followed by a release nearly four years later" format was dead and buried after Final Fantasy XII went through almost the same thing. It's OK though, since the same fate is still befalling Final Fantasy Versus XIII. In fact, given reports from the behind-closed-doors Tokyo Game Show presentation, it might be even worse, since people said it barely resembles a game at this point. Well, at least you'll have Final Fantasy XIV to buck the trend, right?

The American and European versions will also be using a different theme song, as stated in the video. Instead of Eternal Love from the Japanese version, performed by Sayuri Sugawara, we'll get My Hands, performed by Leona Lewis. Fans around the internet seem to be split on the decision, but the only criticism that really holds any water is that while the Japanese theme -- while like any Final Fantasy theme; i.e. not great -- is composed by the actual game's composer, Masashi Hamauzu, the English version will have licensed music -- which also isn't great. There always has to be something to raise a ruckus over.

(And for Christ's sake, don't read the comments under those videos unless you're willing to sacrifice a few brain cells.)

Meanwhile, Japanese gamers are keeping themselves busy with Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers, which just released there on Thursday. OK, probably not, given that word circulating around the internet is that it only sold 26,000 copies on day one. That's not good! Apparently, Japanese gamers are using DS games to hold them off. Well, as long as they're in plentiful supply.

Hard to believe that the day will be finally here, which means we won't be able to make any more jokes about how much development hell the game has almost definitely been going through. That's a shame. No wait, we've still got Versus XIII. And Final Fantasy Agito XIII. And The Third Birthday. And Alan Wake. And...well, you get it.


*Well, that's if it stops importers.