Square Enix had a great E3 in 2013 with the announcement of Final Fantasy XV along with many other great titles releasing soon. Ever since then Square has been doing its best job to keep fans of the series content until they were ready to show  more with other titles such as Final Fantasy XIV and Final Fantasy X|X-2. Naturally most people assumed they were waiting for E3 2014 since no major news for Final Fantasy XV had appeared since its reveal last June, but a few days before the event started we got word that the game would remain silent for some time longer. While many fans were extremely disappointed to hear this, it must have been a real surprise to Square Enix just how little they had to show without it at E3 this year.

Die hard Final Fantasy fans did glimpse a glimmer of hope, however, with the announcement of Final Fantasy Type-0 HD coming to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One – although ultimately it ended up coming off as a real afterthought as it was “officially” announced at the end of a trailer for the iOS and Android game Final Fantasy Agito, a free to play companion to Type-0. The announcement included a single screenshot from the game and proclaimed the localization of Type-0 HD was officially underway after months of organized fan efforts. Now over a week since that trailer released and no real news aside from a few voice actors working on the game have surfaced and the original announcement has sort of lost its original luster in light of its aftermath.

This is important to note because for all extensive purposes Square Enix has probably just started on this project and it was only announced so fans who were excited for Final Fantasy XV had something to look forward to. When I first saw that this game was finally coming to the west I was excited like many other people until I started really thinking about it. Why else would Square Enix finally announce a title that has been heavily requested by fans and have such a lackluster showing for it? The only possible reason I could come up with it is that they saw the negative feedback towards Final Fantasy XV not being at this years show and had to rush something that was clearly not ready to show off out the door. The lack of real footage and details – similar to what Square Enix pulled back in 2011 with Final Fantasy X HD ahead of the Vita launch – only cements my hypothesis.

Not only have we still not seen any gameplay for Type-0 HD, but we also don’t know when it will release or if it’ll include any new features besides the game being displayed in HD. For the most part HD collections are centered around buffing the original content with some new textures and character models here and there – and by Square Enix’s own admission, the game will most definitely not be a remake. The lack of information is concerning because Square Enix has fallen into development troubles in the past like it did with Final Fantasy X|X-2 HD Remaster, although they had more success with both of the Kingdom Hearts HD collections, readied alongside the development of Kingdom Hearts III. Ultimately, fans are left to speculate based on that uneven history.

To add insult to injury this announcement came less than week after the talented team at Sky’s RomHacking Nest just wrapped up their fantastic English translation patch for the original PSP game. Now while this doesn’t make any of their work translating this massive game mean any less, it just seems like Square Enix hasn’t been able to properly tell the fans anything in regards to Type-0. That became especially evident when we received Square Enix’s official press release for the game, confirming the title was on its way to both PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. At the same time, a post was made on the PlayStation Blog by a Square Enix representative to indicate it was instead coming to PlayStation Vita, which sadly was a mistake soon amended.

Fans were confused and outraged – something I don’t really blame them for. After all, it was them through the efforts of campaigns such as Operation Suzaku and the more recent #JRPGVITA that helped catapult Type-0 to both Sony and Square Enix’s attention. Slighted Vita owners have taken to social media to voice their concerns, yet Square Enix has remained silent. The lack of response unfortunately continues to muddle the message of what should have been an exciting announcement. Is there hope for a Vita release? Perhaps, but it’s up to Square Enix to come clean. After all, this is still a remastered PSP game we’re talking about.

For those who anticipated the announcement of Type-0 HD there’s still plenty to be excited about – I’m just waiting to see it. If the game is far out, just let us know! Or show us some real gameplay footage rather than leaving people to endless speculation. It’s obvious that Final Fantasy XV is being strung along with Type-0 as a distraction to make up for the immediate future, but whether that’s the right decision for the franchise continuing into the new generation remains to be seen.

What are your thoughts on the Final Fantasy Type-0 announcement? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment below.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Nova Crystallis as an organization.