Final Fantasy XIII and Versus Megathread

Apr 17, 2009
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San Diego, CA
Final Fantasy XIII is an upcoming console role-playing game being developed by Square Enix. It will be released exclusive for PlayStation 3 in Japan, then for PlayStation 3 worldwide in Europe and North America. First appearing at the 2006 E3, the game features a futuristic, high-tech world.

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Final Fantasy XIII is the flagship title of the Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy XIII collection. The game shares a common mythology with Final Fantasy Agito XIII and Final Fantasy Versus XIII, but they are not directly related to each other. Motomu Toriyama, a director and scenario writer of previous Final Fantasy titles, will direct and write the game's story.

The concept for Final Fantasy XIII's battle system is to maintain the strategic nature of command-based battles. The system stemmed from a desire to create battles similar to those found in Final Fantasy VII Advent Children. Like those in Final Fantasy XII, battle sequences are integrated into the world environment. The Active Time Battle (ATB) system will return, but is expected to work differently from its predecessors.

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The battle system that was shown during the E3 2006 trailer was only a prototype. Recently, Square Enix showed battle footage in various Japanese magazines and trailers which introduced a new interface. You can only control one character at a time in battle, although battle parties of up to three characters have been shown. You can stack up to three commands per turn and release them all at the same time to form a combo. These commands include series staples such as Attack, Fire, Blizzard and Cure, as well as new ones such as Launch, which sends the enemy up in the air. The game does not make use of MP but introduces "cost points" for each command. Cost points determine how many times the commands can be used per turn. The overclock gauge from the prototype battle system is replaced with a break bar. The minimap shown earlier has also disappeared from the battle interface. The player is able to view the HP and name of the enemy before engaging it in battle. When the player engages an enemy, the camera moves to another position and the battle menu appears, making the battle transitions nearly seamless.

The classic summoned creatures will return in Final Fantasy XIII. Carbuncle emerges from a disc-like object when it is touched by the character Vanille, Ifrit and Siren also appear doing performances in a trailer. Shiva will return and takes the form of a pair of sisters who can merge into a motorcycle, which the character Snow rides, and can use ice to create a path to drive on.

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FF Versus XIII remains a PS3-exclusive

Square Enix has reiterated that Final Fantasy Versus XIII will be released exclusively for PlayStation 3.

That’s according to Internet reports on the company’s First Production Department presser in Tokyo earlier today, where dev Tetsuya Nomura commented that he “stood his ground on the platform.”

Square’s been chiselling away on the PS3-exclusive outing for quite some time now, with the firm originally lifting the lid on the game way back in 2006 alongside FFXIII.
 
New Final Fantasy Versus XIII Details

Square’s Tetsuya Nomura has admitted he's unsure as to when Final Fantasy Versus XIII will see the light of day, going so far as to jokingly suggest fans forget about the eagerly anticipated title for the time being.

The reason, Nomura-san told Dengeki PlayStation (via Andriasang), is because the team are attempting to incorporate “a number of incredible things.” As such, the PlayStation 3-exclusive outing will take considerably longer to cobble together than Type-0 and XIII-2, which are both due out later this year.

While a fresh trailer was unveiled last week during Square’s Tokyo presser, Nomura said that we shouldn’t expect any further details to trickle in until E3 at the very earliest – that’s in June, in case you didn’t know.

FF Versus XIII was first announced five years ago alongside FFXIII, though we still don’t know all that much about it. The aforementioned press event did give us a few details on the main hero, though; he’s called Noctis Lucis Caelum, is a prince, and loves to blurt out depressing quotes such as “Fools set the rules in this world. Just take a look around. It’s Undeniable.”

Apparently, Caelum possesses some meaty physical abilities, including a secret power that only the royal family can wield. In terms of combat, Versus XIII is a party-based affair, allowing players to control up to three characters at a time. The game will swap party members in and out early on, but you’ll later gain the ability to do this as you see fit.

One particular element that’s taking a while to put together, Nomura added, is the real-time event system. Here, players will see a variety of set pieces transition effortlessly into gameplay, such as a plane colliding with the ground or a beast attacking Noctis as he reaches a bridge.

Elsewhere, it was also confirmed that gamers will be able to steal military vehicles such as tanks, as well as ride cars, airships and Chocobos.