I’ve had to stop myself from doing something stupid many, many times in the past few weeks. Late at night, typically before bed while I’m enjoying that just-brushed-just-flossed feel of my teeth and that last drink of water, I’ve opened my laptop and gone to Play Asia, added an item to my cart, and made it all the way to the check out before stopping myself. What am I, an idiot? What kind of person would do this? I’ve slapped my own wrist, both literally and metaphorically, closed the computer, and waited for morning, when the sobering light of day inevitable reintroduces logic to my shoddy impulse control.
Honestly. Spending eighty dollars on a demo of Final Fantasy XIII, a demo in a language I don’t even understand, is stupid. Very, very stupid. Yes, it comes with a nice new version of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, but even that little perk isn’t worth blowing two weeks worth of grocery money on an hour long sampling of a game that will be out before too long.
The impulse is detestable. It is, however, an inevitable impulse, one that isn’t rooted in fanaticism. The allure of a new Final Fantasy, even just a taste of it, has less to do with fetishism and everything to do with wanting to see just what any given game console can do. For almost twenty years at this point, Square’s Final Fantasy games have represented technological and artistic benchmarks for the entire medium. Like the games or not, they are always exquisitely made interactive structures. Final Fantasy IV, VII, and X may have their flaws as games, but they all demonstrated the raw potential of the technology that birthed them.
Thankfully, we don’t need a copy of the demo to get a look at it in action. This playthrough I found over at Siliconera proves a few things about the game. Yes, it looks as good in action as that debut trailer from 2006 promised. Yes, the battle system looks like a fine mixture of new and old ideas. Yes, given the pop soundtrack and Nomura character design, Final Fantasy XIII promises to be the true sequel to X that people have been lusting after for eight years.
Most importantly, though, is that it shows just how much technological juice is still untapped in the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. Whether or not it’s a good game, I can’t wait to play Final Fantasy XIII. Just to see what it is.
Related links:
GDC News: Final Fantasy to Hit Virtual Console
Every Day is Better With Two Scoops of Final Fantasy XIII
Trailer Review: Final Fantasy XIII Looks Disturbingly Interesting