Final Fantasy XIII Leaves Japan March 9, 2010

The wait is over.  Well, not quite over.  But the wait for the wait is over!  That’s right, the official Western release date for Final Fantasy XIII was announced this morning.  Square Enix let loose that their HD masterpiece will be reaching American and European shores on March 9, 2010.  Better start setting your countdown clocks now, JRPG fans.  It’s gonna be a long three months, and it’ll only get longer when the game releases next month in Japan and spoilers begin to circulate on the internet.

The late winter/early spring release of Final Fantasy XIII joins an ever-growing list of titles that will be releasing in the first three months of 2010; despite this, the title has remained one of the most anticipated releases for many gamers due to its long development time and carefully planned drip-feed of hype.  Featuring an all-new take on the series’ classic Active Time Battle system as well as a twist on the long-running Job System, XIII offers a number of changes unique to the newest entry in the series.  Characters will be able to change job classes and AI subroutines in the middle of battles, summon beasts transform into player-controlled Gestalt Modes, and a number of new features.

Square has also announced that singer Leona Lewis will be performing the main vocal theme for the game, a change from the Japanese version, which features a popular J-Pop artist instead.

And while the game won’t be hitting our shores for a few more months, one thing is certain; it’s nice to finally have a release date.