FFXII not coming out in Japan until 3/16/06
 

...which means there is not telling when it will come to America...which sucks balls IMO

"The game is clearly nearing completion, though. Outside of the demo area, Square Enix unveiled a new trailer, showcasing the close relationship between Ashe and Vaan, some massive air battles, and what appears to be a city floating in the sky (we even caught a glimpse of what appears to be a dance number involving Ashe). The potential for a dramatic storyline is high with this one! Square Enix also announced the Japanese release date for the game, 3/16/2006, and gave a sneak peak at the game's theme song."

Its been too long since we have been able to play a traditional FF and this kind of pisses me off. From the looks of it this game could be the last game released for the PS2 period. Lets hope it doesn't suck ;)

Atleast we have a definate date for the Jap release, which means we can expect it mid to late summer 06, sounds good to me. I cant wait for a traditional FF game, its been too long since FFX came out.

This means that FFXII might not come out in the US until after the PS3 is out. That's pushing it.

-Lasereth

I wish they'd port it to PC like 7 and 8 :(

I've always wondered why they just don't wait and make it a ps3 game.

By the time this comes out in the UK the PS3 will probably be mainstream.

It's all tricksy, like what Nintendo are doing with the new Zelda. Hold it off until the end of the lifecycle, when consoles are dirt cheap and they'll nab many thousands of new customers. And considering the backwards compatability of the next gen, people can play it on those, too. All business, boys and girls.

my point was that a new FF game would probably bring an onslaught of new PS3 customers.. plus be even prettier (in theory)

What's to say there won't be an FF game out for the PS3 when it's ready? To reveal it now would kill a heap of sales for FF12, might as well wait until it's released.

Yeah, I hope FF12 is a PS2 game, just look at 9, that came out right during the dawn of the PS2 and no one would have picked it up, they just had FF10 up their sleaves

5 years for a sequel is ridiculous.

Something isn't right here.

FF7 to FF8 - 2 years: acceptable.
FF8 to FF9 - 1 year: awesome.
FF9 to FFX - 1 year: awesome.
FFX to FFXII - 5 years: wtf.

So what exactly are they doing? Why is it taking so long? Did they scrap the original project and start over?

I mean, really... this game better be the second coming of christ, or at least on par with 7. If anything, they shouldn't have left us hanging with that pile they called X (just my opinion, don't mean to start a "which is the best FF" war ;)).

They also need to quit toying with the experience/ability systems. They're trying to be innovative and different, but it just turns out to be highly annoying. Give me traditional leveling vs. that sphere grid stuff ANY day.

As an avid RPG fan for well over 15 years, I fear the direction that this once wonderful series is headed in.

However... the merge with Enix was one of the best things ever.

Dragon Warrior 8 comes out this year :D (Does anyone even remember Dragon Warrior and how AWESOME those games were?)

Amen to that!

FFX-2 and FF:Crystal Chronicles, for starters. It's not an exact science :)

Haha yeah, those don't count :) They're what I consider "strays" - just not the same and highly unsatisfying to bear the "Final Fantasy" name. Kinda like the Final Fantasy Legend games for Gameboy. Merely fillers until the next thing comes along.

Ugh, don't make me relive the X-2 commercials... I think those alone sealed the deal on me NOT ever playing it or having the slightest desire to (that and I can't figure out why X got a sequel and VII didn't). The cheesy pop music with Yuna and co... ugh, you gotta be kiddin me.

So depressing :(

While they might not count, they might explain the delay between the advent of x and xii .. plus xi must be factored in no matter how you like it.. or don't like it as would be my guess.

Well, the thing is these companies have tons of smaller divisions simulatenously working on titles.

One portion of the Square-Enix and its developers handles XI, while another is developing Radiata Stories, for example. I'm not sure which divisions did X-2 and Crystal Chronicles, but it should say somewhere in the credits. I can guarantee they're not the ones doing XII.

I know they started on XII shortly after X was released in Japan (many months before the US release). I recall reading back in early 2002 that XI (online) and XII were supposed to be released simultaneously. The engine that XII uses is the one (probably slightly modified) from XI.

It keeps gettin pushed back, though. It was supposed to come out Q1 this year, then was pushed to Q4, and now.. 2006. Blah.

Well, at least it's certain that it will get here eventually. And if you were desperate for a Final Fantasy, you could just replay an old one.

Who knows-- if Square-Enix drops the ball for XII, and I think there's a good chance of that, you might just have more fun playing an old one.

To be clear, the gameboy FF Legend games were not proper FF games. They were developed and released as SaGa games in Japan and the names were changed (like so many other FF games) for the American market.

Does anyone remember and like FF Adventure for the Gameboy? Zelda meets FF, nice concept. ^^

FF Adventure was awesome.

I hated the first two FF Legend games, but I loved FFL3.

I love the old school RPGs - so much better, IMO, than the next gen stuff.

I'm going through Dragon Warrior 7, and I have to say Enix is just pure genius keeping it old school. Graphics aren't flashy - they coulda taken the FF7 route and added all sorts of eye candy, but refrained.

They also did great in not toying with the system itself. Experience is gained in the same manner, magic is learned as you level... just like the originals. If it's not broken, don't fix it - exactly what they did.

As a result, a MASSIVE old-school type RPG that takes 100+ hours to complete. Genius!

I have been interested in the Dragon Warrior series for a while, though I have refrained from buying any of the newer ones since the ones I played on the NES were awkward and disappointing to play. Maybe I will pick up one of the newer ones despite my misgivings.