PS3 Attitude’s Most Wanted Games of 2010 #8 – Final Fantasy Versus XIII
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While some may focus on mega-title Final Fantasy XIII, it’s its darker, more sinister twin that takes 8th spot on our Most Wanted Games of 2010 list.
It’s quite amazing that it made the shortlist at all really, especially considering practically nothing is known of SquareEnix’s surprise package, and it’s only recently that we’ve even seen some gameplay footage. It’s simply a testament to the game’s alluring appeal and apparent departure from the norm that it garnered so many votes from the staff here at PS3 Attitude.
Final Fantasy Versus XIII calls to our edgier nature; a Final Fantasy game without the usual clearly noble and traditonal themes. It’s a goth’s dream game, infused with moody protagonists and foreboding motifs, Versus also has the potential to completely polarise the RPG community when it finally (no pun intended) launches sometime next year.
Mmm ... sparkles ...
Part of the Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy XIII compilation which includes its bigger brother and Final Fantasy Agito XIII on the PSP, Versus is a stand-alone game with a different style and characters despite existing in what is essentially one universe.
The plot surrounds the premise of crystals and the last remaining nation who controls them. The heir to this nation is the sullen Noctus, a young and dedicated member of a family compared by the game’s designers to modern day Yakuza; Japan’s organised crime syndicate. In other words: Noctus may not have been born into the most righteous of families.
With a name that translates from Latin to “Light of the Night Sky,” Noctus controls a myriad of weapons through telekinesis, a benefit from being a benefactor of the aforementioned crystals.
Blondes can be emo too, you know
Joining Noct on this tale is Stella Fox (from the Latin “Night Star”), a member of the opposing royal family of Tenebrae which, funnily enough, is Latin for “Darkness.” Light and darkness – you can see where this is going. Mimicking their moniker’s descriptive nature, there would appear to be a touch of star-crossed lovers / Romeo & Juliet type theme going on in Final Fantasy Versus XIII we’re looking forward to delving deeper into.
We feel the following quote sums up why Versus is just so beguiling to us:
Since seeing the initial trailer, I’ve become entranced with this new, darker addition to the Final Fantasy series – PS3 Attitude’s Majiesto
Will Versus’ more straight-laced sibling feature higher in our top ten? Or has Versus already scored a minor victory and trumped XIII in terms of one team’s anticipation? Find out when our remaining picks are revealed this week.
Here’s my tuppence worth..
Versus as No 8?! Oh Please, wake up and smell the plasma. I predict Versus will topple XIII from the top spot within days of it’s release. Look at the global goth / vampire trend going on all over the place. Shiny, whiney XIII will be a flash in the pan while Versus will build up a bit more of a cult following.
I for one decided a long time ago to skip FFXIII (regular)totally and go straight for the Versus. For me the decision was an easy one.
You’re insinuating you already know the rest of the top ten and that FXIII (regular as you say) will feature higher on the list.
We discussed over 100 PS3 games and cast a *lot* of votes before deciding on what made the top of the pile. There are some MASSIVE titles still to come. Who’s to say more than one Final Fantasy will feature at all?
#8 for a game we know VERY little about is a massive achievement for Versus.
Of course, I KNOW what games got more votes than it in our list so I’m not going to mention any particular title for fear of spoiling things, but think of the massive amount of AAA titles coming out for the PS3 next year that may feature on this top ten.
As I said, for a title still quite secretive is an achievement in itself.
What would be YOUR Top 10? I’d be interested to see what titles you rate as higher than Versus in terms of anticipation (if any). I’d also love to see what games you’d be forced to leave off!
Oh heck I’ve gorn and put my foot in it.
Ok, let me think about this.
I suppose I’ll kick off with the numbers I’d pick my top ten from – games closer to the visible 2010 horizon, here goes.
FFXIII Versus (of course)
Spec Ops: the Line (Do I hear the voice of Bruce Boxleitner there?)
God of War 3 (Slaphead returns)
Aliens V Predator (ohhh Yeah!!)
Prince of Persia: the forgotten Sands (POP back to form – it looks like anyway)
Heavy Rain (for the ‘Wire’ and ‘Homicide’ cop in us all)
The Last Guardian (how can this not be up there?)
Beyond Good and Evil 2 (the developers of the first are likely to max out the next gen capabilities)
Red Dead Redemption (looks very promising – depends on plot and NPC roles and multiplayer – yee haaa!)
Just Cause 2
Lost Planet 2 (demo was a ‘ oh just one more bite’ kinda game
I’ll do a shuffle and sort after a bit of thinking. But hey, you guys are the experts. I’m just one of the punters with no responsibilities but the right to have a go, like we all do as armchair sports commentators. or ’slacktavists’ (my blog is my protest/demonstration)
Then the problem becomes “What is the definitive measures of what makes a ‘most wanted” game from so many genre’s our there. what one game has the other does not – is this a lack or not? how important are things like depth of story, roles of NPC in pushing narrative forward. And thinking about standard features (graphics , gameplay etc)
If the most wanted turns out to be a bunch of crap when it comes out should it have been on the list in the first place – how can we tell what the end will be like?
which means that ‘most wanted is built only on what is currently known – some of which may well be inaccurate. It seems ‘most wanted’ is a very blunt tool but heck of a lot of fun to use!
I like your choices (and some of them match my personal list, some of which didn’t make the Combined Top Ten).
That said, I don’t know how you can put Just Cause 2 on a list ahead of Bayonetta, Batman: Akham Asylum 2, BioShock 2 and Battlefield: Bad Company 2. And I’m only taking games starting with the letter B!
You raise a good point about the merit of the Most Wanted badge. Some of these games may turn out to be less than what we expect. So, a Most Wanted game is based purely on gut instinct. Some of the games that featured on our 2008 list turned out to be a tad disappointing (Fat Princess never lived up to its potential in my opinion).
By the way: Spec Ops: The Line is officially 2011