During its big Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary event at PAX this year, Square decided to make a stunning announcement to all the battered, beaten, but still loyal Final Fantasy fans. Was it open invites to Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn? Nope, A remake of Final Fantasy VII? No… A release date for Final Fantasy Versus XIII? Hell no! It was Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. The third chapter in the Final Fantasy XIII saga and the final for the character of Lightning herself who was mostly MIA in Final Fantasy XIII-2. Lightning Returns will release in 2013 and feature a larger, more open world as well as a (semi?) real-time battle system. This time with only Lightning as a playable character. The plot will involve a doomsday clock that counts down 13 days to Armageddon and every action and bit of travel you do will wind the clock down further like a metrosexual Majora’s Mask.

Square was so happy with this announcement, even going so far as to say Lightning is the most popular Final Fantasy character ever and is the face of the franchise. The must believe it, cause there really isn’t any other explanation for why they continue to pump money into one of the most polarizing and least liked mainline entry games besides the ill fated launch of the original Final Fantasy XIV. In true Square fashion nothing of the game was actually shown at PAX, let alone a playable demo. However it was said that at the Japanese event footage was there and might have been playable behind closed doors.

Oh but it gets even better, Square also confirmed that at TGS the focus would be on Lightning Returns and A Realm Reborn and Vs. XIII would NOT be shown. Yes, a title that was announced in May 2006 and has been in development even longer will not be talked about as instead they wish to push forward with an MMORPG that has no chance in hell of becoming successful at this point and a third entry to a tepidly received game that only just went into development months ago. I clap my hands at you Square Enix, you truly are masters of incompetency.