with times being tighter than i would like, ive become far more judicial in my game purchases. i use news sources and gamespot for information to make an informed decision, hoping not to buy a game that i'll be terribly let down from later. whilst doing that over the last several months, i have come across a plethora of diverse information.

which leads me to a pending release final fantasy xiii.

the new generation of gaming systems has seen ffxiii kpublisher sqaure enix try "new" things in theyre rpg's. infinite undiscovery reunited us with an action based battle system relying on ally ai for items, support spells, combo-chains, etc. the release of the game found a description that toted the battle system as being perfected over several gaming systems and titles. but really it was just a combination of battle mechanics from valkyrie profile, star ocean, and final fantasy xii.

none the less, square enix tried to bring newer mechanics to the rpg arena, reflecting the desires of fans who want more than turn based battle action.

in conjunction, last remnant is set for release in a few short weeks. i just minutes ago read a hands on preview of what the battle mechanics may entail. i'll admit that the lack of information regarding the mechanics of this game have had me doubtful of its worth. but this particular preview stated that the game will be turn-based in nature, with timed ques for added effects, such as paper mario, or lost odyssey, or the newly released sonic chronicles. where as this may seem like a step backward, im curious to know what "new" mechanics they developers are trying out for the finalization of its flagship title - final fantasy.

lets face it, no one has any informationm on this title. the narrative, the open world, the characters, the battle system...all of it is under wraps. is the battle system going to entail a revamped, suped up turn based system like last remnant? will it be a fixed version of infinte undiscovery's action combo based system with better magic management and smarter more useful ai? or will it entail more of the mechanics of the still secretive action turn based sytem of the perennial star ocean series?

i guess we'll all just have to wait and see.