Square Enix announces multiple Final Fantasy XIII titles

E3 kick-off introduces FF13 and PS3, Nintendo Wii future

May 9, 2006

Square Enix has kicked off E3 with several announcements in a press conference. First, the company has announced that it has three Final Fantasy XIII titles in development—including two for the upcoming Sony PS3 system, and one for the cell phone market.

The three games are Final Fantasy XIII (PS3), Final Fantasy Versus XIII (PS3) and Final Fantasy Agito XIII (Cell Phones). Square Enix is calling the overall Final Fantasy XIII development effor the Fabula Nova Crystallis Project. They said the project includes "numerous original titles that run parallel with one another". Unlike most Final Fantasy titles, FFXIII will be divided into several interconnected games.

Until Final Fantasy X, all true Final Fanasy titles were completely seperate from the rest of the series — they shared similar gameplay, traditions and attributes, but they took place in their own world. Final Fantasy X-2 was the first direct sequel to a Final Fantasy title. Since then, Square Enix has released a handful of sequels to Final Fantasy VII including Dirge of Cerberus and the film Advent Children.

So far, these three games have been announced, but Square Enix has said that other developments are in the works. With the success of Advent Children and increased attention on the Final Fantasy series, it's possible that Square Enix will continue to branch out and extend the Final Fantasy XIII storyline into another DVD film as well.

The majority of the cell phone games released by Japanese video game companies rarely come to North America, since cell phone gaming is not as popular here, and has not evolved well beyond simple arcade or puzzle games. It isn't clear whether or not FF Agito XIII will remain in Japan only.

The company also announced that it will introduce two games for the Nintendo Wii. The first was the previously announced Crystal Chronicles title, which is code-named as Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Crystal Bearers, which will follow up on the original FF:CC action-RPG for the Nintendo GameCube. The second Wii game is Dragon Quest: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors, which will be a Nintendo Wii launch title.

At the press conference, Square Enix demonstrated the new Dragon Quest title with a video. The concept demonstrated the use of the Wii's motion-basaed controller, which will be used to swing a sword in the game.

The Nintendo Wii will be released in late 2006, which gives a rough release period for the Dragon Quest title. No other details about the games or release dates have been revealled.