Unveiled late last week while I was taking a bit of a breather before the final holiday season push, the Final Fantasy XIII-2 Collector’s Edition for PS3 and Xbox 360 is set to include a 4-disc soundtrack compilation, a 20-page art book and beautiful packaging artwork by Yoshitaka Amano. This special edition will be available in very limited supply at North American GameStop, Amazon and Best Buy retailers for $79.99 starting January 31st, and each retailer is offering an added pre-order bonus to entice customers their way.
GameStop has an alternate Serah costume, the Amazon deal comes with an exclusive coliseum boss battle against Omega (who joins your party upon defeat), and, best of the three if you ask me, Best Buy shoppers get a hardcover novella titled Final Fantasy XIII – Episode i which tells a short story bridging the gap between the original and the sequel. Let me think — a collectible book containing an interquel storyline or crap bonus DLC? I’ll take the book, please!
I’m still not quite sure Final Fantasy XIII-2 needs to exist. But with a classy Collector’s Edition like this, I can forgive Square Enix for not sequelizing a more deserving chapter in the Final Fantasy history books (or, I don’t know, finally finishing Final Fantasy Versus XIII sometime this century!). If you want one, choose your retailer and get your pre-order in ASAP!