*Wasnt sure if we had an official FFVXIII topic, admittedly my search skills suck*
First things! The source:
http://www.finalfantasy-fxn.net/boards/showthread.php?12125-Everything-We-Know-About-Final-Fantasy-Versus-XIII-%28Covers-2006-Present%29
The Elephant in the room...
Release Date
JP: TBA
NA: TBA
EU: TBA
Price
JP: TBA
NA: TBA
EU: TBA
Rating
CERO: TBA
ESRB: TBA
PEGI: TBA
Main Developers
Director, Base Story, Concept Game Design, and Character designer
Tetsuya Nomura
Producers
Shinji Hashimoto & Yoshinori Kitase
Image Artwork
Yoshitaka Amano
Mechanic Concept
Takayuki Takeya
Clothes Design
Hiromu Takahara
Scenario Writer
Kazushige Nojima
Composer
Yoko Shimomura
Main Programmers
Hiroshi Harata & Kentaro Yasui
Planning Directors
Yuichi Kanemori & Takayoshi Nakazato
Planning Director (World)
Takeshi Endou
Event Planning Director
Jun Akiyama
Graphic Director (Character Model)
Tomohiro Kayano
Graphic Director (Animation)
Tatsuya Kandou
Graphic Director (Map model)
Masahide Tanaka
Graphic Director (Visual Effects)
Shuichi Sato
Graphic Director (System Menu)
Takeshi Arakawa
Art Director (Character)
Tomohiro Hasegawa
Art Director (Map)
Takayuki Ohtachi
Takeshi Nozue
Movie director
Information About the Game
- Final Fantasy Versus XIII is part of the Fabula Nova Crystallis series.
- Final Fantasy Versus XIII was announced at Square Enix's E3 2006 Press Conference in Los Angeles on May 8.
- Final Fantasy Versus XIII is focus around the “Fabula Nova Crystallis” myth. It does not take place in the same universe as Final Fantasy XIII does and is Tetsuya Nomura's interpretation of the myth.
- Versus in Latin means “to turn around” and in English it means “against”. Both translations are the main keywords for this game.
- Early Final Fantasy Versus XIII artwork showed dark and heavy images in comparison to Final Fantasy XIII’s white background. This is going to be translated into the game in a very particular way.
- Premises and experiences that haven’t been seen in other Final Fantasy games or other games in general will be present in Versus XIII. It’ll be something truly interesting.
- Versus XIII is a title that will unite the nostalgia of the past Final Fantasy games and will tie it to a whole new way to experience the franchise. Level and overall design will be extremely valued in this game.
- This game will involve a lot of action, but old Final Fantasy elements will be present as well. They will be taken to a whole new level with the technology that Crystal Tools and PS3 are able to provide.
- In Versus, there are two types of event scenes. Pre-rendered and real-time. The real time cut scenes are controllable. The team decided to get rid of the non-controllable real time cut scenes in order to keep the player from stopping. The controllable cutscenes will have more natural expression as opposed to the game-like expression of past games.
- CGI cut scenes are present but there won't be much of it. This change has happened because the development staff has reached their target render for the world and the characters. Therefore, Jun Akiyama and the planning directors decided to scrap most of CGI scenes and re-do them in full real-time. Nomura confirmed that the opening scene in the 1st Production Department trailer is CG and everything else, such as the scene between Noctis and Stella, is real time running on the PlayStation 3 hardware.
- One reason the game may look so good is because there are only minimal differences between the game's high and low quality models. Nomura says that they have kept the high and low quality models the same, with exception to the greater hair detail in the high quality versions. The inclusion of Takeshi Nozue on the staff also helped, said Nomura. Nozue was able to apply use his pre-rendering knowhow on the game's real time scenes, specifically with regards to lighting technology.
- Yoshitaka Amano artworks will appear as paintings throughout the game and they will not be exclusive to the goddess fal'Cie Etro
- Final Fantasy Versus XIII will using lighting technology from the Luminous Engine. Versus aims for photo realism so it places greater importance on lighting.
- Versus XIII has its own action game-oriented engine. The lightning tech from Luminous is being coupled with this for Versus XIII.
- As of July 2011. Nomura siad that because they're trying out a lot of new challenges, the development staff is still focused on the core members. However, they're making preparations to enter full production.
- Also as of July 2011. They're also gradually recording the game's voices. Regarding the recording, Nomura said that there are many scenes where the four male characters are engage.
Story
Prologue
Story Facts
Niflheim Airships Invading Noctis' Country
The enemy of Final Fantasy Versus XIII is the Kingdom of Niflheim. At the beginning of the recent trailer, they are seen in their airships invading Noctis' country. This is the beginning of an "escape drama" for Noctis and friends but he thinks of himself as pursuing the enemy instead of fleeing instead.
Noctis Lucis Caelum
The main character in Versus, Noctis, is a Prince. The heir to the throne. The throne to the last kingdom where the crystal was held. The Kingdom is modern, advanced and much further along then outside world, to the point that they have basically isolated themselves within. The city nation is said to be protected by a Magic Order, whom must stand against an invasion in the Kingdom. This fight over the last crystal is said to only be the beginning of a new generation.
Noctis and Stella
With life-like characters and a truly painful story, the main theme the team wants to showcase is “Bounds” and how the characters relate to it.
The King
The setting for Final Fantasy Versus XIII reflects our world today, and its "ugly issues". Versus is a darker and more close to home emotional story, or so that is the vision Square-Enix has said.
Mysterious Man Pointing a Gun at Noctis' Father
It’s a dark and sad story which aims to show how heavy and painful the burden that the heroes are carrying is, how painful their paths can be, and how important flashes of happiness are in a world ravaged by greed and despair. The keyword for Versus XIII story is misery, and it can be applied to all main characters.
Celebration Party
In the Tokyo Game Show 2008/Jump Festa 2009 technical demo, Noctis attends a celebration party held in commemoration of the “Agreement concerning the Peaceful use of the Crystal” being created between two countries and as a Prince who will soon inherit the King title he meets the heroine of the game, Stella, for the first time.
Other Facts
- Final Fantasy Versus XIII shares many similarities with the story of Hamlet. With even a quote from the story in the original trailer. Little else is know about the story of Versus at this point.
- Early regions in the game are heavily inspired by western “bang-bang” movies.
- The main design key point for the clothes is “Jet-black” and there will be a lot of scenes and circumstances where this design will show mainly because it is compatible with the mood of the game. Hiromu Takahara is working on the character clothes and his designs will be heavily influenced by the asymmetric forms as they have always been.
- Most importantly, Final Fantasy Versus XIII will follow the Fabula Nova Crystallis Mythology, but does not take place in Final Fantasy XIII's universe.
Characters
Noctis Lucis Caelum
The protagonist of Final Fantasy Versus XIII, he is believed to be a tragic hero, like Hamlet. In Latin, the name "Noctis Lucis Caelum" means "Light of the Night Sky". Noctis is the next in line for the throne of the land he protects. Specifically the Prince protects a crystal of some great importance. In the trailers the Prince is seemingly emotionless, but incredibly brutal. Breaking necks, gory impaling, Noctis spares no effort in battle.
Despite this he is not a dark character and laughs at things usually with his friends but has an enigmatic face and a whole lot of mystery surrounding him. He’s a shy character to strangers and doesn’t talk too much but he is a pretty confident man and sometimes he lets it show. Noctis is very calm and feels embarrassed when his words don’t express the feelings in his mind. He can become extremely moody when this happens and he lets it show on his face.
Noctis' weapons are quite unique, and should make for quite a large part of the game play variations in the game, as he has many, many weapons at his finger tips. He doesn't carry or sheath his swords or holster his guns, they're simply with him. He seemingly wills them into materialization in an instant, dozens of them, rapidly. The amount of weapon switching seen is simply mind boggling. Noct also possesses the ability to see the Light from the Dead though prefers not to talk about it as it brings him bad memories.
Stella Nox Fleuret
Stella has been described as an unfortunate enemy of Noctis, as in, the two likely don't want to fight one another, but they must simply due to their allegiances. Stella hails from the Fleuret family from the Kingdom of Tenebrae. She is the only confirmed enemy character for the game so far, with virtually no other detail known.
She converses in very soft and polite way, generally goes directly to the point at hand and doesn’t fear a harsh reply. She doesn’t take things too seriously, but she will learn along the way that things are not the way we want, ever.
Stella has the ability to see the “Light” just like Noct has. She speaks openly about it without any restraints, feels intrigued by it and searches for answers on her first meeting with the Prince.
Ignis
Ignis is the only party member outside of Noctis whose name has been confirmed. He was raised from childhood to be akin to Noctis' military tactician. In the trailer, the selected scenes show that Ignis is counseling Noctis to make that relationship between the two clear. Ignis is a childhood friend of Noctis.
Gladiolus
A childhood friend of Noctis who fights with his bare fists. Gladiolus has not been confirmed to be his official name yet but it appeared in the recent trailers.
Prompto
A new, not childhood, friend of Noctis who fights with a gun. Like Gladiolus, Prompto has not been confirmed to be his official name yet but appeared in the recent trailers.
King Caelum
The father of Noctis who is a king that will not give up the throne and will be the final king. In the latest trailer, he is not saying this to Noctis like some people have thought. Who he is saying this to is a secret for now. The throne he sits on is not the same throne that Noctis sits on at the end of the recent trailer.
White Robes
Seen in a standoff and pointing a gun at King Caelum. Nomura said that the white robed character we see in this trailer is not the same as the one from previous trailers. The two white robed men are different.
Etro: The Goddess of Death
Goddess of Death/Shinigami – Etro is worshiped in the game and it is a fal’Cie. This is not to be confused with Etro from FFXIII, even though they are very similar. Two different universes here. There is a legend in the Kingdom of Tenebrae about Etro saying that she is said to greet the souls of the deceased and open the door to the afterlife. When that door opens, the released souls burst out in a streak of light that ascends to heaven. Very few people can see this light and those who can see it are given power from the Kingdom of the Dead. During their conversation in the technical demo, Noctis and Stella mention they can see the light, and the former wonders if they are dying. In the Fabula Nova Crystallis Mythology, Etro created mankind from her own blood.
Moogles
In the Final Fantasy Type-0 Ultimania Guide, Nomura revealed that Versus XIII Moogle's would be similar to Type-0's moogle's in terms of design.
Locations
With the destruction of the outside world's crystals, the land begins to become a ruin and this is seen throughout the areas early in the game. But there are still other cities with technology and heavy firearms that are no longer protected by the Crystals. Nocts’ kingdom is very advanced, but the costumes and rules are still seen as the ones from middle ages, mainly when it comes to royal matters. Magic will have an important and intriguing role in the game.
Noctis' Kingdom
The world where Noctis resides is a place with a different culture. It has advanced technology protected and blessed by the crystal. The surroundings of his family’s kingdom are often called “Outside World” or “Outer World”.
Noctis’ kingdom has been protecting the crystal from generation to generation and this burden is passed down onto him. The “Outside World” Armies decided to invade the kingdom to retrieve the crystal and they won’t stop until they get it.
Tenebrae
Tenebrae (テネブラエ, Teneburae) is a location and country where Stella is from. There is a legend in Tenebrae which states that those who can see the "light" will obtain special powers. "Tenebrae" is Latin for "darkness" or "shadows".
Castle
In the scene where we see King Caelum in a standoff with the white robed male character. This takes place in a castle, which has been made large for characters to be able to move their character around in it.
Other
A lot of cities like Venice, Italy and Tokyo, Japan are depicted within the game and serve as an inspiration for the locations in general. Forests and desert wastelands are in the game.
Locations
Gameplay System
Interactive World
Final Fantasy Versus XIII will have a variety of "gimmicks". By "gimmicks" Nomura means things such as the overhead walkway gets destroyed by the Behemoth as Noctis crosses it. If Noctis never crosses the walkway, the Behemoth will not destroy it. Creating these types of gimmicks are tough on the development side of things.
Behemoth Leaps at the Walkway Noctis is on
The city scene where Noctis is fighting the Behemoth is full of destroyable objects such as trees and electricity poles for example. In the 1st Department Premiere trailer, you end up fighting the Behemoth on a three level freeway area where the road has been damaged so you'll need to move around by jumping. The buildings that line the road have some emergency stairwells that can be entered and climbed to get to the roof with Noctis then pulling himself to the very by using the air conditioner. These are just some examples on how interactive the game will be.
Noctis Shielding Himself from a Explosion
Event Scenes
Versus XIII will have event scenes that the player can control. In the recent trailer, we see a forest in the evening showing a low view point of Noctis running up to King Caelum. The view point is low because it's a flash back from Noctis' youth. This is just one example of a event scene that the player can control.
Event Scene
World Map
Regarding the fields, it's not a completely open world. It's like the 2D FF games but in 3D. Players will find a big world map with vast fields where the they will be able to explore as far as the eye can reach except the mountains. Terrain diversity is much more detailed and vast than in Final Fantasy XIII.
One of the Many Out Door Areas
Battles will take place in real-time environments using all regions of the field, from up high buildings to down low streets. Players will have to fight using the full environment, both directly in front of them and above and below(aka vertical battles). This allows some battles to happen in very intense places.
Vehicles
It’s possible to fly airships over the world just like in older Final Fantasy titles. You'll be able to drive a car, ride mechs, tanks and Chocobos as well.
Tank
Day and Night Cycles
The day and night cycles and cloud formations are done by physical calculation. It was decided to be made this way to have a smooth change between the cycles and to have a much more dynamic lighting system, which reflects the mood of a certain region/place.
Night Time
With addition to the day and night cycle, players will find different beasts at different times of day.
Monsters
Enemies will vary in sizes depending on the location. In the city, the Behemoth was large because of all the tall buildings. If it was small, their wouldn't be much of a impact.
Behemoth
The monsters wander throughout the field and sometimes hostile ones will suddenly appear to ambush you. It has been confirmed that a lot of different kind of monsters exist.
Seamless
The game is basically seamless. There will be seamless battles and no load times too. The only loading the player will experience is between large areas. They are also implementing a type of loading that happens while watching an event scene. This way it’s possible to give players the most immersive experience they have ever had.
Battle System
Battle Gameplay
- It will be different from the battle system of Final Fantasy XIII. Versus XIII will draw the nostalgic feeling from old Final Fantasy titles and blend it with a whole new concept.
- The action and the pace will be similar to the battles of Kingdom Hearts but united with new mechanics. Both, FF and KH, styles will be mixed into this game. Nomura said that the actions the character performs after selecting commands for them is close to that of Kingdom Hearts.
- Characters will do actions like double jumping and so forth and move with great speeds.
- The game will have elements of what Nomura referred to as a "TPS," or third person shooter. Your view of the action will change based on the weapon that you're using, in order to give the best control.
- You can have up to three members in your party. The party members will be chosen for you as part of the story because of tutorial considerations. As you advance further into the game, you will be able to select your members. Noctis is always part of your party and if he dies, the game is over.
- You will be free to switch between three party members during battle if you want to.
- While Versus won't have team-up attacks that form super a super attack, Nomura said that players can time their characters to chain together multi-character attacks on their own. It's seen in the trailer but hard to noticed due to the speed of battles. Examples of this system involve using magic to send the enemy flying back and then switching quickly to another character to come in for an attack.
- The trailer showed Noctis warping about while taking out enemies. Nomura explained that players wont be able to warp freely to every spot on the battle field. However, you will be able to warp to the location where you've placed your sword. You can also throw your sword into the distance, then warp to it. This is one area of the game where Nomura and crew are currently conducting test.
- When asked about changing eye and hair color Nomura, the projects director, stated that his eyes and hair change with his emotions as well as different actions in battle.
HUD
HUD
The icons and gauges in battles are a mix of finalized and temporary. The commands are currently temporary and the gauges for HP and so-forth are final.
A sub window that copies Noctis and other party members expression is shown at the bottom of the page as they are fighting. This will help with things like knowing if a character is in trouble or not. Just like Kingdom Hearts but extremely more detailed.
Weapons
Each character has their own specialties and attack differently depending on the weapon.
Noctis will be able to have access to a lot of weapons like swords, axes, lances and guns. Some of the different types of guns for example are hand guns, machine guns, shot guns, rifles, bazookas and much more. The Versus team is placing a focus on making the the motions used on the variety of weapons look different from each other.
Noctis Holding What Looks Like a Customizable Spear
The trailer shows Noctis selecting from a number of different weapons to defeat the hundreds of enemy soldiers that stand before him. The various weapons in the game will have different methods of attack, and some will even be usable as shields to go along with Noctis's crystal power. Weapons will have some sort of customization element. Of course, the main character won't have his full arsenal available to him at the outset of the game.
Two or more weapons can be used by Noctis by going into the menu screen and equipping him with multiple weapons. These will automatically switch out as you fight and give you various combos depending on the weapons you have set up for him.
The other party members will be able to use only certain weapons.
Ignis Charging up Katana
Ignis specializes in support-style attacks. He is a strong magic user and can throw knives and many other weapons. He is seen wielding a katana blade.
Scar Faced Character Using a Larger Sword
Scar faced Character fights with his bare hands and can use larger and more heavier weapons like pile bunkers and broad swords.
Blond Character in TPS (Third Person Shooter) Perspective
Blonde Character is a gunner. With this character, the player will be able to display a targeting reticule which will allow you to aim for weak points on a enemy. Noctis can use guns but only has a auto aim function. His aiming is useful for large monsters who have weak points in various areas and can be targeted for positional damage.
Magic
Fire Magic
All characters can use magic, but Noctis must be there as part of the story setting. This power of "light" that Noctis and Stella talk about is different from the power of magic Nomura states.
Summons
Summon beasts are in the game and to obtain them they have to be defeated like in Final Fantasy XIII.
Vehicles
Magitek Armor
You'll be able to ride Magitek Armor (mechs) and get on other vehicles to fire its weapons as well.
Other
Female Dragon Knight
Versus will have a job system but not for the characters that the player will control. Enemies will come in classes such as dragon knights and summoners. The Dragon Knight character seen in the trailer is a enemy who is part of a special group of people within the enemy army and uses unconventional armor that differs from the army's standard issue.
Nomura said that the game will have six axis support but gave no specifics about it.
Final Fantasy Versus XIII Developer Comments
"I suppose it's a matter of opinion, but I wind up skipping most cutscenes I run into because I want to get back into the game," he told Famitsu. "I don't think I'm the only gamer like that, and so I wanted storytelling that takes pains not to stop the gameplay. That way, gamers like that can still get into the event scenes in natural fashion. It's also a development time-saver. In the past, we'd make separate high-poly models for the cutscenes, but technology is now to the point where the only difference between the 'high-poly' and 'low-poly' models in FF Versus XIII is in the hair.
Final Fantasy Versus XIII Interviews
Interview with Tetsuya Nomura on TGS 2008 Closed Mega Theater trailer for Versus XIII. (Famitsu.com)
Fabula Nova Crystallis interview with 5 Key people (Famitsu.com)
Fabula Nova Crystallis Directors Interview (Famitsu.com)
Tetsuya Nomura Final Fantasy Versus XIII Twitter Tweets
- The look of a forest that you can see once you've cleared a narrow mountain path.
- Things that are required when leaving the city by moving on the roofs of buildings.
- The positioning of the bookshelves in shops
- How flags are standing
- How the sea is handled on the world map
- The roads you can see from the air ship
- The length of bridges
Regarding events, Nomura said he can't say too much without providing spoilers. He's checking such things as:
- The look on a character during a short cut in a scene where he or she is leaving.
- Explanation of a fathers feelings during a conversation scene.
- The areas that they want to have connected seamlessly, and the areas that they want to connect via cuts.
- Explanations about the heroines movements.
For both of these areas, Nomura was attempting to convey that the check work goes down to detailed levels.
Regarding battles, Nomura checked up on menu areas yesterday.
"We're doing lots of trial and error on this. When you say Final Fantasy, you think of enemy damage figures flying out and showing player HP. What will we do with these in the action-heavy Versus?"
The opening is a pre-rendered scene of Noctis running in realtime hardware. It's possible to move around on foot but most people will choose going by car. Also Noct's speed in the battle against Behemoth was slow but you can control the pace of the battle which wasn't on the preview
...uhh...ill just put my favorite quote of all time here.
"Welcome to Pain, the second of three...You have dealt the first...now deal with me!!"
