Final Fantasy XIII: the new FFVII?

1) Ambition

The three titles already announced under the umbrella of Fabula Nova Crystallis are just the beginning. Apparently trying to artificially create the success of VII, SE executive producer Shinji Hashimoto commented in a recent interview that the developer wanted, "everyone to be sucked into the world for ten years." But VII achieved what it did simply because it was a damn good game, and even though the three titles are unrelated we can't help but wonder if they're asking too much of themselves to create something as compelling on such a large scale.

Above:WillLightning be able to defy gravity as often as Cloud and Co in Advent Children?

2) Combat kicks

The combat system is often a maker or breaker for RPGs - and attempting to recreate the kind of fighting seen in the FF: Advent Children movie in real-time is no cakewalk. FFXII's radical overhaul removing random encounters was a divisive move among gamers; we expect that ditching any turn-based elements will be equally so. Especially since FF founder Hironobu Sakaguchi's Lost Odyssey will be offering the traditional fare as a comfort blanket. How to pull off combat as seen in Advent Children is another issue entirely, but use of Sixaxis' motion sensitivity is confirmed so we'd expect that to feature somewhere. Pray they take heed of Lair.