Square Enix updated their official Final Fantasy XIII website with a brand spankin’ new trailer! Definitely worth checking out.

NOTE: In a bid for YouTube to keep up with the Jones’, embeddable videos now feature an option to be viewed in high quality instead of the usual compressed-to-shit quality we’ve been forced to put up with until now. Just click the icon in the bottom right corner once the video begins playing and select ‘HQ’ to view the trailer in all it’s high quality glory.

This is easily the first trailer in the series which has left me with a feeling of anticipation for the game’s release. The preceding trailers were just a little too dull and void of anything really interesting. They lacked a hook. In this trailer  we finally get to see more of the battle system and actually hear the character’s voice over dialogue. Square Enix is still keeping rather tight lipped on the battle system, but it looks like XIII will share more in common with X-2’s than XII’s: with all the chain attacks being able to interrupt enemy attacks and visa versa.

I always liked leading lady Lightning’s design, but this trailer has me loving her even more. She looks like even more of a bad arse! I just hope Square Enix give her some depth. No characters in a Final Fantasy game have been given a great deal of development and depth since the cast of Final Fantasy VII.

The game is looking real sharp from a graphical standpoint. I just hope the story and gameplay are up to scratch. Because XII damn near bored me to death with how boring it was, despite it being one of the PS2’s best looking games.

Square Enix seem to be getting the XIII wagon rolling now, which is a good sign. I think fans were beginning to get bored with there not being anything on the game and Square Enix rehashing the same images and trailers. Still no confirmed release date, but it is certain that Japan will definitely be getting this game at the end of the year. With the America’s and Europe seeing a 2010 release.