Part of me wants to warm up to these games a bit, after seeing this. I didn't like the original Final Fantasy XIII's story at all, and although XIII-2's developments didn't seem much better the actual gameplay and depth was much improved. XIII-3's mechanics seem like they will be legitimately enjoyable, even if the plot still sounds like hokum. There are some genuinely good elements in there, and it seems like Square Enix learned some lessons after the initial stumble.
If there is one thing I take away most from this trailer, though, it's just how contrived and random everything seems. The abruptness with which Lightning falls through a rift in the earth, only to fall into Valhalla and become a "warrior goddess" isn't just a cartoonish abstraction -- it's essentially how the story goes! Characters and concepts just appear and are forgotten as it becomes convenient. The rules about the nature of reality completely shift from game to game, as if the writers haven't fully decided where to take things. Sometimes I feel like I'm playing the JRPG equivalent of Axe Cop.
