Now, I have a question to ask. I don't frequent the Gamefaqs Message boards often, but I just happened to stroll onto the FFX-2 board a moment ago. There was a lengthy thread (haven't read the whole thing) where apparantly people are arguing that FFX and FFX-2 are related to FFVII storywise.
I came across this short, but interesting post with an interview they did with one of the writers(?).
Minor FFX-2 spoilers.
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From "Final Fantasy X-2 Ultimania"
-- Is there a connection between Shinra and FFVII?
Nojima: Yes, actually. After Shinra quit the Gullwings he got enormous financial backing from Rin and went to the Farplane to start extracting the Mako energy used by the Vegnagun. But the system for utilizing this energy could not be completed in his generation, so far in the future when space travel was possible, the Shinra Company was founded on another planet... or something like that. That would be a thousand years or so from this game's story.
-- And VII's story takes place after that?
Nojima: Well, you could say that's how I personally feel about it.
[from a different section:]
-- There are a lot of rumors floating around about "X-3"...
Kitase: Hmm, I don't know. Right now we don't have any plans. If we don't do it, maybe we could still find some way - we could put out a spinoff like "Eternal Calm" [the special movie included with FFX International]. But if you're asking if we'll make a game called X-3, currently we're not going ahead with any such plans at all.
-- So how about an international version of X-2?
Kitase: I wonder. That's also undecided. When we did one for X we were pretty satisfied with it for what it was, so I think I'd like to try. If we do, we'll probably put in something like "Eternal Calm" as a way of expanding the world, even if it's not X-3. But if you're asking whether we're going ahead with plans for an international version, nothing's going on yet.
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Ok, back to me. What do you guys think, or what have you heard? I am a tad confused, but a little intrigued as well. Of course, I haven't played FFX-2 yet, so I don't know that whole story.