There are three different games with the name " Final Fantasy XIII ." Confused? You should be, unless you're intimately familiar with developer Square Enix's plans. With Final Fantasy XIII already on store shelves, the fact that there are two more Final Fantasy XIII games on the way can be a tough thing to wrap your head around, but it's not as hard as you might think. Once you understand the background behind this three-game set, you'll begin to see why one of the games -- Final Fantasy Versus XIII -- is really exciting.

What's+the+deal+with+Final+Fantasy+Versus+XIII?

The+protagonist+of+Versus:+Noctis+Lucis+Caelum.

The+potential+adversary+of+Noctis,+named+Stella+Nox+Fleuret.

The key to understanding what these games are all about is to understand the term "Fabula Nova Crystallis." This is a Latin term which means, roughly, "New Tale of the Crystal." Crystals have played a tremendous role in many of the Final Fantasy games, most notably the first magic crystals (also called "orbs") that appeared in the original Final Fantasy. These crystals were inherently connected to the wellbeing of the planet, and players were tasked with ridding the dark forces at work in the world and restoring light to the crystals.Fabula Nova Crystallis is the term Square Enix has given to a collection of three different games with similar titles: Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy Agito XIII , and Final Fantasy Versus XIII . I can only imagine that this naming structure was selected to capitalize on the Final Fantasy brand name, as well as ride the momentum of the "proper" Final Fantasy XIII's launch, which happened here in the United States on March 9th, 2010. The other two games in the set have yet to be released.The three games have very little in common, though. While they share a title, they will each tell a different story with different characters. The only unifying theme is that they are supposedly built on the same mythos that involves the crystal motif discussed above. As crystals play an important role in all three stories, the Fabula Nova Crystallis games are designed to echo the original themes of the franchise, while simultaneously taking it in a new direction.While Final Fantasy XIII (which launched on both the PS3 and the 360) received generally positive reviews and Final Fantasy Agito XIII looks like it could be a great PSP game, Final Fantasy Versus XIII is the most exciting entry in the set.There's very little official, English information available regarding Versus. What we do know has been cobbled together from translated Japanese interviews and mysterious teaser trailers. The first trailer revealed the protagonist, Noctis Lucis Caelum, who rules the only nation in possession of the power-giving crystals. The only other main character revealed thus far is Stella Nox Fleuret, a woman that represents the nation in opposition to Noctis. It can be assumed that the two characters will have some sort of adversarial relationship, though one shouldn't dismiss the possibility of a romance blossoming between the two.Little else is known regarding the plot of Final Fantasy Versus XIII, though a recent trailer featured gameplay footage that gives us a reasonable indication of what to expect from the combat. In the trailer, Noctis is shown running through a barren canyon environment and passing through an abandoned gas station. The footage also depicts Noctis fighting a large monster in the dark city streets.Information like this is intriguing, though most of the intoxicating mystery comes from the quotes used in the trailers Square Enix has released thus far. One of the first is "this is a fantasy based on reality." An intriguing statement, though it's certainly reasonable given the realistic design of Noctis' city and the car he rides in during a sequence in the second trailer. More telling is the quote that reads: "an isolated nation protected by an ancient line of kings. A modern civilization alive with the Crystal's songs of swords and sorcery."These snippets of text help illuminate the setting of Versus, but the single most important quote used in Square Enix's trailer promotions (especially for all the English majors out there) is none other than a line from William Shakespeare: "There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so." This beautiful text, borrowed from Shakespeare's Hamlet, hints that the story of Versus might not be a traditional JRPG tale of light and darkness. Instead, perhaps we'll see a more intimately human conflict where the whims of the main characters dictate the flow of the story.One of the most critical questions that we now need to answer is this: why should you care? Some of you might feel satisfied having played Final Fantasy XIII, while others might not have a particular interest in the series overall. But Versus could potentially be a very special project from Square Enix. Despite some of the company's recent misses (i.e. Final Fantasy XIV, The Last Remnant), Versus is being personally directed by Tetsuya Nomura, the man behind a number of Square Enix's finest titles like Kingdom Hearts and the brilliant DS RPG The World Ends With You.The fact that Nomura is leading the charge on Versus is great news for those that follow his work, especially gamers that have a hard time digesting Kingdom Hearts due to the presence of Disney characters; not everyone is a Disney fan, after all. But Nomura's influence isn't the only reason to be excited about Versus. The game's visuals already look stunning, and that includes the normal gameplay footage along with the CG cutscenes.Versus is also one of the first Final Fantasy titles to resonate with the same aesthetic cues as Final Fantasy VII. The realistic take on Noctis' city and the dark color palette used in the first trailers leads us to believe that Versus will be a real treat for the eyes.If graphics aren't overly important to you, the combat system should also illicit some excitement. From what little we've seen so far, the action-oriented battles could be an evolution of the Kingdom Hearts system, though there will undoubtedly be a unique element in place that we like to call "a hook." These hooks are typical in Square Enix games and help define the different Final Fantasy systems, like the usage of Espers in VI or the Sphere Grid in Final Fantasy X.Final Fantasy Versus XIII has significant potential. Will it be a tale of two tragic lovers? A political thriller? A commentary on Japan's crime families? There are a number of exciting possibilities. Square Enix has already announced that a special event will be held in Japan on January 11th, 2011. This event is sure to shed some light on Nomura's project, so check back with us in the coming months to discover the real fate of Noctis and the timeless crystals we've quested after for so many years.