Since the beginning of time us Europeans (like the Japanese) have become accustomed to our Final Fantasy boxes bearing nothing but the logo of each iteration. A minimal but classy approach it’s been somewhat of a tradition in PAL land and traditions aren’t one to be broken, until now apparently.

I, like many of you threw a fit when Square Enix slapped the game’s protagonist, Lightning on the European cover. As badass as she may be, it just doesn’t cut it. For those who relate to my frustration can understand why I was happily surprised to have a gorgeous sleeve hiding covering my Final Fantasy XIII box, even if it didn’t make up for lost tradition.

I know I know I’ve been raving on about minimalistic design but hell this sleeve (above) beats the awful cover we’ve been given, why can’t Square Enix do a Heavy Rain and give us a printable option of the Japanese cover for the insert. If you speak PAL you’re in luck, somewhat – the game will be available in two SKU’s over here and you will have to fork out for the Collector’s Edition if you want Lightning off the box. I guess somethings are worth the extra cash though. Right?

Mmm… 1080p Goodness!

Update: As far as I know this is the standard edition. Good times!