Final Fantasy XIII, arguably one of the most anticipated games of all time, has finally been released today to the gaming public of Japan on Playstation 3. It seemed like an eternity in the making, but the game has finally made it into living rooms and although we westerners won’t see the game until March 2010 (unless you import), one can’t help but feel relieved that the game has at least been released somewhere in the world at last. Its release is as much of a weight off the collective shoulders of every gamer in the world as it is a major achievement for its developers. This isn’t just any game. It’s a Final Fantasy game. The first on a HD console. And this Final Fantasy game represents much more than just a massive pay day for Square Enix. Even before we knew any real tangible information about the game or its release, Final Fantasy XIII had captured the imagination of millions of international gamers and concurrently managed to rub a lot of people up the wrong way in the process. Here TGL gives you a short history of Final Fantasy XIII’s long road to release.

Final Fantasy XIII was initially announced way back at E3 2006 but had actually been in development for many years previous. In fact, Final Fantasy XIII was initially envisaged for release on Playstation 2 and had been a work in progress after the production and subsequent release of 2003’s Final Fantasy X-2. Reports suggest that the PS2 build of the game was quite comprehensive and of merit. The PS2 build had progressed significantly before eventually Square-Enix obviously made the decision that the Playstation 3 would in fact be the more appropriate platform for the game. The PS2 build was pushed aside and work began on the PS3 version in May 2005.

Although the unseen PS2 build and the now finished PS3 build are obviously two very different games both in terms of aesthetics and gameplay mechanics, the PS3 version did in fact inherit some traits from the scrapped PS2 version. The Fabula Nova Crystallis world in which the game takes place, graduated from the original PS2 build as do a certain amount of the mythology related to the game and character personalities and details. The PS3 revised the gameplay created for its PS2 counterpart but the most significant difference exists in the game’s final graphics engine. Final Fantasy XIII runs on the Crystal Tools engine. This engine was built by Square Enix for the game and will be used for every one of their future games, in the Final Fantasy franchise and beyond, on all the HD seventh generation consoles i.e. PS3 and Xbox 360. This Crystal Tools engine and its construction are attributed by many for the major delays associated to the game. The games development was handled by Square Enix’s Production Team 1 led by Yoshinori Kitase. This team contributed significantly more to Final Fantasy X and X-2 than for example Final Fantasy XII.

Perhaps the most significant moment in the games development was Square Enix’s decision to bring the game to the Xbox 360. Announced during Microsoft’s E3 Keynote in 2008, Final Fantasy XIII’s appearance on the Xbox 360 literally sent a ripple of equal measure celebration and sheer disgust and tangible contention around the gaming world. Microsoft rejoiced and Sony surely felt deflated. The idea that the Final Fantasy brand, a product line very much synonymous with brand Playstation, would make the jump to Microsoft’s console sent the internet ablaze and in many respects, this fire is still burning and has yet to be quenched.

One thing’s for sure, for all the controversy, gamers, whether their PS3 or 360 stalwarts or both, are slowly beginning to get their hands on a game which has had the entire gaming world talking, blogging, celebrating, speculating and bitching about for the last 3 and a half years. Its arrival is nothing short of a miracle and a welcome miracle at that. Who cares what it used to be or what console you own? Potentially, one of the greatest games ever envisaged and created has arrived and we should just go play it. Let’s put the past behind us and get ready to play the future. Final Fantasy XIII is available today on PS3 in Japan and will be available for both PS3 and Xbox 360 in Europe, North America and Australia on March 9^th 2010.

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