In a bit of news that flew under the radar from Western fans, a new piece of the Final Fantasy X series was recently released in Japan. A novella, Final Fantasy X-2.5 has been causing some controversy among fans of the series in Japan.

Various posts and accounts from readers of X-2.5 across the internet seem to say that the novella is setting up a sequel scenario, possibly pointing toward a Final Fantasy X-3 being made. However, the novella itself is receiving negative reactions from its readers. Reviews of the novella on its Amazon page have been overwhelmingly negative, with many reviewers mentioning that it twists X-2′s positive ending into a much more depressing continuation.

Some individuals have been collecting info about the novella on various message boards [Links may contain spoilers for the novella], with many mentioning that the plot has scenes of an unusually violent, morbid, or sexual nature, which is quite unusual for a story from Square-Enix. Various odd plot points, such as a character being randomly killed by a bomb, have also caused some question.

At the time of writing, no official or fan-made translations exist for the novella. The novella’s text itself doesn’t seem to have been released online either, so available plot details remain scarce. There has been no announcement regarding the release of the novella outside of Japan, but considering Square-Enix’s past with books in the Final Fantasy series, it is fairly doubtful we will see a Western release. For now, X-2.5 remains a bit of a curiosity to Western fans of the series.