Final Fantasy XII was out in Japan. It was en route to the rest of the world. Square Enix's Final Fantasy output had slowed down a tad in the PlayStation 2 era, but it was still on track for the same three-mainliners-on-one-console output that had characterized the franchise from its Nintendo roots onward.
May 8, 2006. E3. Huge event. Everybody tuned in. Square unveiled its next plan, and it was a big one. Fabula Nova Crystallis would be a several-game project united by mythos, yet separated by casts, stories, even the worlds themselves. It was an overarching ambition, something which would be brilliantly diverse, but come together in key ways.
Final Fantasy XIII would lead the charge. Final Fantasy Versus XIIII would come in darker, more tragic-like. Final Fantasy Agito XIIII would bring Fabula Nova Crystallis with us all on-the-go. It was the dawn of a new age. What could go wrong?
Of course, with the benefit of hindsight, we know how it all turned out. Final Fantasy XIII launched three years later to a divisive reception that went on to characterize JRPG fandom's general reaction to the Final Fantasy name...
