There's nothing quite like marvelling at the quality of a 17-minute CG cut-scene, fighting through dozens of enemies randomly appearing in front of your eyes, and then ultimately slipping up at the final hurdle, and then having to go back and repeat everything over again.

However that appears to be the case with Square-Enix hugely anticipated Final Fantasy XII, which according to reports surfacing from Japan will begin with a retina-busting, finger twitching 17-minute introductory sequence which is impossible to skip, likewise with every other cinematic in the game.

Now we all know Square's obsession with videogames as an artform and the extent to which they go when it comes to cinematics, Final Fantasy VII was successfully marketed by its CG alone in this country, however Final Fantasy XII is a videogame and TVG can't help but feel that start buttons will be worn out up and down the country during certain stages of the game.

Further reports have gone on to indicate that Square are attempting to make Final Fantasy XII the toughest game yet by reducing the number of save points throughout a level, leading to the more cynically inclined to suggest that an artificially enhanced difficulty and mandatory cut-scenes don't bode too well for the state of the overall game.