Is 'Final Fantasy Versus 13' the Wrong Name?

Wow that was a great trailer, just hoping they can pull off, what looks set to be a great game.

From what I know apparently this game will take aspects from a third person shooter and the kingdom hearts series, with that said, I would agree with you brad, that because of the disappointment that final fantasy 13 had, I can see people perhaps expecting the same performance and perhaps may not look at it. This game seems to be changing direction from the main series in being much darker and modern world than what we tend to expect from the Final Fantasy series. In this case it would seem appropriate for square-enix to make this a fresh start and give it a different name in order to differentiate the game from the Final Fantasy series.

I agree that Final Fantasy no longer has the kick it used to have. Like you stated Final Fantasy XIII lacked the muscles to carry on the weight of its own name. Renaming the game itself can bring a whole new image in its own genre. I'm expecting the soundtracks for the game to be amazing from what I had experienced in Nier. As long as they don't milk it like they did with Kingdom Hearts then maybe this could go somewhere.

Actually I think that is a great idea. A lot of gamers I know would probably like the FF games but refuse to give it a try because of the connotations tagged onto the franchise title. Then again, if the change in title involved anything to do with guns, like Chrome Trigger or Silver Bullet or Final Clip, it would probably sell well in N America. What's in a name?

During the development period of Versus, Square-Enix maybe thought FF13 would get stellar reviews and FF13 would sell extremely well. So to launch and garner buzz for Versus they decided to add the FF13 name to it. The only connection between FF13 and Versus is crystals in the main character's world are very important. Either the same concepts formed when Versus was starting to be developed alongside FF13 or the Versus development team decided to throw in one FF13 concept to make a very weak link to FF13.

If Square-Enix drops the FF13 name at this point, it might show that they acknowledge FF13 as a disappointment or show they originally wanted to just boost more attention towards Versus, rather than have a continuing story alongside FF13.

As a fan of modern day to futuristic settings and technology, I wholly support the look of this game thus far. Ever since the announcement of versus 13 I was confused as to why they had named it such, due to the lack of a connection with the FF13 world. Unless they pull something out of thin air, such as inter-dimensional travel, I still think that it has absolutely nothing to do with FF13 other than in the minds of brand name marketers working for SquareEnix. The name of Final Fantasy seems to have inched away from what it stood for in the past, to a form of crutch. A shield to hide behind in this day of financial insecurity and high tier business decision making.

Going down this path may lead to a public image nightmare, with every Final Fantasy iteration being accompanied by masses of games attached. Will Final Fantasy 14 spawn a "FFXIV Offline Spirit Shard Sphere Assault" real time strategy game? Will Final Fantasy 15 spawn a dozen games with linked names, yet no linked content? Perhaps all SquareEnix needs is a few creative people to come up with better names for their games? FFXIII sure as hell wasn't conservative with the creative names, so why are they holding back with creative game names?

Maybe we just need to spurt a few executives in the face with a spray bottle, bat them on the head with a newspaper, and say "no, bad executive, be more creative!" Then, give them a chew toy made out of money when they start being creative again.

I think they're calling it final fantasy because its a well known name and some gamers out there like me liked FF13 and that dosent matter to me that much because this trailor is badass and im guna be getting this game if the gameplay is equaly as badass

I'm going to go out a limb here... and say the name is a result of a design disparity in the inital Final Fantasy XIII team.

This could be a total load of crap, but I can't help but wonder if at the beginning of concept design for Final Fantasy XIII, did the team have a split in their views of what FFXIII should be? Some may have wanted what FFXIII turned out to be, and others wanted what Versus XIII may turn out to be. Perhaps SquEnix decided, 'Well, we're a bigass publishing company now, we'll let you do BOTH, and we'll see who's is better.'

Obviously, the issue then becomes, well, one team is going to have the Final Fantasy XIII name, and to give the next number in line to the other team, people would just judge it as a sequel, but not a comparison, as maybe this is what they're looking for. Perhaps it's possible that between these two games, may very well decide the design direction for future Final Fantasy games to come.

At least... I would like to think so.

It looks awesome that trailer. The credits shows its being developed/designed but the team from 13, 7, dissidia, and the KH team. In all honesty it may be time to reboot the final fantasy franchise, or end this "fantasy" and begin anew franchise. 13 was pretty disappointing.

I was never a final fantasy fan, namely because of the turn based style of combat. But with a real time combat system and what looks like a world that doesn't make me feel like an anime nerd when I play it... Hell I might just pick this up.

There is that "Monster Hunter"-like game being developed by SquareEnix, but without the Final Fantasy title in it. For the 2 remaining FF13 titles, it's both good and bad that they're not showing everything that we want (especially gameplay). It's good because it lets us wait for more hints on the upcoming information they reveal. It's a bad thing because we have to wait so long for it to happen (usually it ends up empty and anticlimatic).

I'd even laugh if Leona Lewis even manages to make an entrance in those FF13 titles. (but let's hope she doesn't, or else we're going to hear her say "I just wanna run around the land all day" again and again...)

I think the only reason this is "Final Fantasy Versus XIII" is because Square-Enix is hoping that the Final Fantasy name will be enough to sell their new Idea. The trailer has great CG, and that would be good to sell the game but I believe the name Final Fantasy is being used as a marketing ploy here, instead of wanting to risk it going un-noticed by giving it a new IP.

I'm not sure how bad Square Enix is off, but maybe they felt that this game wouldn't get off the ground without attaching the Final Fantasy name to it. They have made some other franchises with names not connected to Final Fantasy, but I don't think they've ever done as well as FF (with the exception of Kingdom Hearts). There's a handful of great Squaresoft games that don't have Final Fantasy on them, but there's still the ones that are bad too. Maybe they aren't willing to take any chances.

There's no way they should drop the name Final Fantasy for the west as that still holds weight. No jrpg has sold anywhere close to the numbers that FF13 did in the west and that was purely on name recognition. I think Final Fantasy fans know enough to realize that every Final Fantasy game is different and even if they didn't like 13 there is still a strong possibility that they will like the next one.

Having said all that, I've always thought Final Fantasy Versus 13 was a terrible name. WTF does it even mean? It sounds like a Final Fantasy 13 fighting game.

Final Fantasy= sales, it's that simple.
I actually enjoyed FFXIII to an extent, but not for the same reasons that I enjoyed say FFIX, X or VII. XIII doesn't really feel like much of a "Final Fantasy" game to me, In fact, I'd probably go as far as to say that XII felt like more of a Final Fantasy game, although I guess we all have our different requirements of what we expect out of the series. Honestly though, you could probably take a game like Resonance of Fate, add Phoenix Downs, chocobos and some dude named Cid, and it would probably pass as a Final Fantasy game to most people. Heck, just put the "Final Fantasy" name in front of all JRPGs and maybe they'd all sell a bit better, it's not like the name mean's anything really, aside from "we spent a ton of money making this shit, so buy it plz!".

It seems like the trailer is focused on mob feuds?? with the godfatheresque meetings and gang related weaponry that has the final fantasy influence maybe they should called it something like terminus or maybe something Shakespeare related giving of a spin of romeo and Juliet example could be the 13th night

I personaly think that they might even try to steer the whole franchise into a whole different direction. With characters and places that resemble our very world and adding a FF touch to it.
So I do think they try to start something new. They maybe try to reinvent Final Fantasy. Or this is just a quick counterreaction to the rather bad reception of XIII (meaning they try to override the not-so-good-one with a maybe better one?)

In my opinion, Final Fantasy Versus XIII was a good name choice when in development alongside Final Fantasy XIII. If Final Fantasy XIII was planned to be what it came out to be, then 'Versus' would be fit in that the game would oppose the elements present in Final Fantasy XIII.
Turn based strategy vs. Action
Linear world vs. Open world
Fantasy vs. Reality
Light vs. Darkness (as seen in SE's official posters of the two games depicting each protagonist in opposing stances; Lightning with a white background, and Noctis with a black background.)

But while it was a justified idea back then, the reception of Final Fantasy XIII now burdens this game's success. Changing the name to 'Versus' would probably hurt the game's success; new IP's this generation hardly get the attention they deserve. Look at all the sequels coming out at present - Killzone 3, LBP 2, Halo: Reach, Infamous 2, and Monster Hunter # being some big names. However, if the name was shortened to 'Final Fantasy Versus', like Crystal Chronicles, it would introduce a new branch into the Final Fantasy series (action) that most likely will retain the popularity of Final Fantasy on its back.

...Or, y'know, just name it Final Fantasy XV? The series needs a good refresh, and the transition from a turn based series to an action series may help.

Many of you seem to be ignoring that this isn't a Final Fantasy title. It is a Final Fantasy 13 title. And that the sales of this game were completely front loaded. People felt burned and the sales dropped off, I'm assuming because of bad word of mouth. I'm saying 13, with its long dev cycle and underwhelming final product has hurt the Final Fantasy name.

Think about a series like Tomb Raider or Tony Hawk. They started out selling insanely well, but after a couple of really bad entries, those names probably HURT for future titles. Even when they started making good Tomb Raiders again under Crystal Dynamics, noone trusted the brand anymore, and they didn't sell. Now people (myself included) are saying that calling this new Lara Croft game as such might actually hurt sales.

It's time for something new. We have the internet now. I'm sure the RPG nerds will find out about this game even if it isn't called FF.

And any new IP will do well with enough money and marketing thrown at it. Square Enix can position this as the next big thing from them.

Dude, the only reason why its called Final Fantasy 13 Versus is because all of Final Fantasy 13 has to do something about the relation to the "crystals." The term "Fabula Nova Crystallis" is Latin for something like "The New Story of the Crystals." And Versus is not the only game too. There's Final Fantasy 13 Agito coming to the PSP. I'm sorry, but are you gonna make another article complaining about that too?

I tolerated 13 until I finished it, and I probably won't ever touch it again. Versus sounds cool, I love exploring in RPG's, and I like the idea of a more restrained FF.

Also, Versus would be a much better name than "Versus 13", that just sounds shitty.

As for the game, I started out extremely excited for it just because of the setting, an aspect that I may cherish a little too much in a game. Anyways, the trailer looked great, and I'm still very excited for the game.

In terms of the title, I really am not completely sure. During the trailer, names such as Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy 7: Advent Children started to pop up, and all the titles mentioned seemed to be very connected to the Final Fantasy series. In turn, I think that Final Fantasy is still their prized possession despite Final Fantasy XIII not doing as well as they hoped (I've actually never played it though).

I would always be happy to see any new franchise to be announced, but I do not see it happening with this game because the team seems to be very connected to the Final Fantasy name. If this game ends up being great and receives good word of mouth, sales would increase and could be seen as a chance to rectify the harm that has been done to the franchise. Of course, a supposed "spiritual successor" to Final Fantasy (I know it has a different battle system), or any game for that matter, could receive great sales because of word of mouth.

In the end, my mind still isn't solid enough on the subject to reach a final argument, though I just thought I should throw my thoughts out there.

Since it's by the producers of Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts, they should call it Final Kingdom. =D

Hah, I need to get my checked. I thought I saw blood for a second. Haahh... right?

Besides that, has anyone seen a game with better graphics than this?

This looks AMAZING! From what I can see (and from my somewhat limited knowledge of the Final Fantasy verse) these characters from the Final Fantasy world are entering a more real world (hence the normal car). I couldn't be more excited.

At least the name of this Final Fantasy will have Square's advertising PR power behind it. It's one advantage of having the name.

I've been praying since 2008 that Versus will be good enough to save Square's rep.

I remember reading somewhere in an obscure corner of the internet that Square Enix had declared that they were going to avoid creating games that were outside of their flagship titles. I read this after the supposed (as I haven't checked the numbers) bomb of The World Ends with You and their Japan-only release of Sigma Harmonics. Whether or not that was a baseless rumor or real, I'm pretty sure that this is the reason they haven't broke Versus out of their marketing ploy.

It's sad that the name is only there to draw in the FF and KH "cultists." I know a friend who basically eats out of the palms of SquEnix's (Or just Nomura's) hands and jumps on every news about KH and FF. He fawns over it and loves it no matter how the game plays. I made KH cosplays for him, his ex-girlfriend and am in the works for another friend. Other than that, he has little to no reaction to other RPG news.

As for me, I was never really excited about FFXIII ever since they first showed it but Versus peaked my interest. Seeing this trailer animate age old screenshots made me thrilled. I'm just hoping they don't screw it up.

Well, I just found this translated trailer and it gives you some insight into the story and other things. It's pretty much the trailer above, but before that starts you get a conversation between Noctis and Stella.

so for those who have not witnessed:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqpbAWBO-o4

As for the name, I think that naming it after Final Fantasy 13 is foolish and will definitely make people turn a blind eye towards this game. Seeing the translated video and the trailer has made me pretty excited about this game.

We'll see how this situation turns out.

I liked Final Fantasy 13, even though it was a disappointing game, but this looks really promising. I hope you live up to the hype with this game Square.

I thought it was a terrible game, horrid story and spam X to win gameplay.

The reason for the unusual name ("Final Fantasy Versus XIII") is because the Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy XIII collective (Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy Agito XIII, and this) weave resembling stories of lowly human beings with a task bestowed upon them by a godlike figure (much like the fal'Cie in Final Fantasy XIII).

Or so Square Enix said. Thought I'd throw it out there.

Final Fantasy versus XIII is my most anticipated game of all time, even though we know barely anything on it. But since little is known about it, I think it's too early too judge if the name doesn't fit. We should first get more information about the story, gameplay, etc. before we decide if it should go off on it's own.

Is the name a bad idea? Yes.
Will it hurt sales? Probably not.

Squeenix has had the most insanely ridiculous time letting go of their franchises and building new grounds. They saw the success of their FF7-9 titles on the psx in the Western world and just continue to milk it for all they can. Just as they continue, to this day, to build on the world of FF7 in particular, they decided create an entire hub of money makers from the FF13 world. Only this time they put the cart before the horse, expecting their ps3 graphics and androgynous women to whip up the frenzy their giant sword-toting, amnesia-having protagonist did in Midgar. It's basically too late now, to stop all those plans. What they can do, still, is try to distance this title, and th psp one, as far as possible from the orginal ff13 in the buyer's mind.

And why I don't think it will hurt sales all that much is that it's a FF title before its a FF13 title. Noobs and parents will remember hearing the name from their kids or friends and buy it for birthdays and christmas. And eventually, if it is actually good, all the people who bought this and not FF13 will tell their friends who bought FF13 but not FF13V, and more people will try it out.

Honestly who cares about the "marketing ploy" that you speak so much about?

When it boils down to it, if the game is good, then that is really all that matters.
Businesses market things all the time in ways that don't truly represent the item, but usually by word of mouth and reviews, the real news gets around on how the product for sale really is.

Stop trying to act like you know what SquareEnix should do for their marketing. You don't have a degree in marketing and you know half to nothing about the gaming business itself from the inside. Your just another person sitting on the outside as a fan of video games trying to seem like you understand the business world just because your a gamer.

Let SquareEnix handle their business. They've gotten this far with the franchises they already have and apparently know what they are doing. If they fail, which most likely they won't, then they fail. Until then just don't worry about the marketing, just worry about playing the game and if it's trash, then you can hate.

Damn, this might be the first ever final fantasy title I am interested in, though I still don't like the character designs (the girly/model dudes, and the ridiculos costumes for some of them) I love the viseral action in the trailer, it's set in a "realistic" setting, with "real" cars, "real" clothing, and "real" people. I just need to see some gameplay, if it's as Brad said with real-time-combat and exploring I'll look into it. I honestly hate turn-based combat, which has been the main combat system in so many JRPG's. I also haven't been a fan of JRPG's cuz of that reason (and also because of the character/world/everything design, and a ton of stat clusterfucks from what I've heard)
Japanese games in general has just recently opened up for me with Bayonetta, Demon's Souls and Metal Gear Solid, and I hope this game is the game to get me into Japanese Role Playing Games, or at least a little since it seems very different and "realistic"

I don't think they'll change the name. FF 13 still has enough fans. Heck, if it didn't have the words "Final Fantasy" in the title even MORE people would ignore it!

On a slightly different note, I always find it ironic that people complain about the lack of JRPG in North America. The gaming charts prove what the consumers buy. Outside of FF and a couple of other SquareEnix titles, JRPG are lucky to hit the 1 million mark.