Japanese gamers will get a long-awaited taste of the next installment in Square-Enix’s epic franchise on April 16, but there’s a catch.
Ever since Square-Enix included a playable demo of Final Fantasy VII with the release of its forgotten fighting game Tobal No.1, the Japanese development giant has enjoyed a long-running tradition of suckering folks into buying something they may not actually want in order to get the tiniest scrap of enjoyment from its latest must-have title. They even managed to get folks to pre-order the miserable Drakengard for the chance at a glimpse of Final Fantasy XI. An unholy power, surely this must be.
On April 16, Japanese gamers will line-up for blocks for the opportunity to snag a PlayStation 3 demo of Square-Enix’s flagship title, Final Fantasy XIII. Unfortunately, in order to do so, they’ll have to willingly purchase a copy of its CGI flick, Final Fantasy: Advent Children Complete on the Blu-Ray format. What did I just say about this incredible power it wields?
The demo, which was detailed in a recent issue of Japanese magazine Weekly Famitsu and translated by 1UP, will run about an hour in length and according to its director, Motomu Toriyama, it will “include the basic elements of the full game’s battle system, but even that will be enough to make you want to play it several times through.”
The willingness to play through the demo more than once may be tied to how the demo is divided into two playable sections: one that features the rebel leader, Snow Villiers, and another starring the already-famous, gun-toting heroine, Lightning. Lightning won’t’ be alone for her side of the demo, as she’ll be joined by Sazh Katzroy, a black man with an afro which houses a baby Chocobo, continuing Square-Enix’s storied history of featuring respectable role-models for african-american gamers.
Toriyama sounds quite excited about Sazh, saying “Sazh has a very bubbly personality; he’s extremely expressive and a bit of a comedian character-wise, so he’s the type who sticks out.” Why, because he’s black and has an afro? Find out for yourself should you be willing to import Advent Children Complete on April 16,
