There once was a time when it was unheard of that Final Fantasy games would get sequels, but now it seems that era is dead and buried, as Square Enix has confirmed that Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy 13 will be released on February 11 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
This news comes from the game's E3 trailer, in which Lightning embarks on a question to prevent the end of the world. In the new video, we see some old character's from the first two games in the series, including Lightning's sister Serah, as well as former playable character Snow, who Lightning fights briefly in the trailer. The city of Yusnaan is also showcased in the brief footage. The game will host the return of Lightning as the primary playable character, who wakes up from her crystal sleep 500 years after the events of the second game. Lightning only has 13 days to save the world, and must find a way to prevent the already damaged world from collapsing completely.
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy 13 was originally scheduled for a fall 2013 release, but now fans of the series who have stuck with the game since the beginning will have to wait a little bit longer in order to finish Lightning's story. This is an interesting move, as now the game will be out after the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One will have launched. This could negatively affect the game's sales, as it will appear on the older consoles after many blockbuster games will have released as a last hurrah for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox One.
Hopefully this delay to the game will polish it up, and give the series a strong finish. The first two games in the Final Fantasy 13 trilogy were met with solid, if unspectacular, fan and critic support, so perhaps Lightning Returns will be a return to form for Final Fantasy and Square Enix as a whole.