I wouldn’t claim to be the number-one fan of any game series, and I tend not to get excited about game releases any more. That said, a couple of days before the release of a major Final Fantasy game, my sanity starts to erode as I get worked up into a frenzy of excitement. The wait for Final Fantasy XIII-2 was particularly unbearable. Not only had I ordered the most expensive version of the game (the £80 Crystal Edition), the dispatch of my copy ended up being affected by retailer GAME’s financial woes. GAME received their stock late and then decided to dispatch their Soulcalibur V pre-orders before starting to send out Final Fantasy XIII-2. By the time I received the dispatch email, I was panicking. I’d read a few anecdotal accounts from people on Twitter and web forums who had had their Crystal Edition orders cancelled with no explanation – would my precious copy, pre-ordered months, months, in advance, be OK?
The dispatch of my copy was not the end of my ordeal. GAME’s Twitter account was uncertain whether pre-orders would arrive in time for release day. An unimaginable horror – having to wait until the day after release to play the latest Final Fantasy title – loomed. The fateful Friday of release arrived. I waited for the delivery van in my living room, on tenterhooks. Would my copy arrive? Or – gulp! – would I have to wait until tomorrow? The minutes and hours became more and more prolonged as my sanity ebbed. Was that… was that my reflection in the mirror, or the delivery man? People passed by the front window, wondering why I was staring out at them. They would never know the true reason – that I was staring at them because I wished they were Parcel Force vans. The morning was passing, lunch approached. Was that sound my rumbling stomach… or the doorbell?
Finally, finally, there was a knock at the door. The delivery man! I struggled to suppress a wild grin – I wouldn’t want the him to think I was mad, would I? I unleashed my Crystal Edition from its cardboard tomb. I gazed upon its contents, its artbook, its lenticular artwork, its soundtrack, its artcards. And then, at last, I reached out the game box. Now, after this long wait, I could begin the experience I had waited all this time to undergo. I read the manual.
Fentonizer wrote:Replaying FFXIII is a chore because it dishes things out so slowly. When you get into the game proper, after like 20 hours, you forget how little you could do at the start, and so replaying it is sloooow. EDIT: ffs, Matty.Tempy wrote:Might as well be - is that any good? I was going to finish FXIII at my Dad's but he'd deleted the wrong save. I was in The Ark for the first time. Should I grab it cheap and try again?
EvilRedEye wrote:Remember the mental breakdown I had while waiting for the Final Fantasy XIII-2 Crystal Edition to arrive?
MattyJ wrote:Bless you. And you finished it in about a week didn't you?EvilRedEye wrote:Remember the mental breakdown I had while waiting for the Final Fantasy XIII-2 Crystal Edition to arrive?
hylian_elf wrote:Some of the ultimate badass bosses are ridiculous. But I imagine they wouldn't be that bad if you put the time into it. I spent hours and hours levelling up on VII just to be able to face and beat Emerald Weapon. Ruby Weapon was easier (for me). Even then, the battle was a big grind.
I guess it's nice being able to fight and beat them. I imagine you wouldn't really get anything useful out of it seeing as you need to be almighty powerful to beat them and nothing else to beat afterwards.
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