With the new rumour about Versus not appearing at yet another TGS, I see a certain question pop up many times over.

"Why do we care again? We barely know anything about the game anyway."

I find this statement false because if you are keeping up to date with this game, we actually know quite a lot. If you are a person who hates any line of a game spoiled then you might want to steer clear of this thread. I will attempt to amass all the info currently available for Final Fantasy Versus XIII.

Lets start with the Reveal...

Tetsuya Nomura conceived the concept and base story of Final Fantasy Versus XIII in September 2005, shortly after the Japanese release of Final Fantasy VII Advent Children. In November 2005, he began early concept and planning of the idea where he began to create a CGI teaser trailer that visualized his idea. This CGI teaser trailer was created by the same team that made Final Fantasy VII Advent Children. In May 2006, this CGI teaser trailer was publicly revealed to the world during the official announcement of Final Fantasy Versus XIII at E3 2006.

The Concept.....

From the start, before either games were even in full production, Versus was always meant to be the oppossition in design in comparison to regular XIII. Nomura's idea was to create a plot in similar caliber to the traditional series, but darker. He says the game will take inspiration from Shakespearean law, which hints at his constant reoccuring theme of tragedy. Many regard this as a welcome change, myself included. I find the hyper colorfulness and upbeat demeanor of FFVIII,FFX,and now FFXIII to be my least favorite type of setting. I enjoy the dark grittiness of FFVI,FFVII, etc.

"Nothing is either good or bad, but thinking makes it so."
"This is a fantasy, based on reality."

These quotes appear in the  Versus XIII trailers that have come out over the years. They hint at how this game's story and mood will progress. The trailers reveal Versus XIII's world to be mostly inspired by italian/greek architectural design, mixed in with a bit of new age industrialism. Everything looks like it could come in our world. The main difference being in the game's social aspects. The world is monarchy based, as there is an actual king in place. We can also see the soldiers wield guns but actually wear almost mideval armor. This all culminates this dual surrealism that Nomura imagined for this game.

The Characters...

Noctis Lucis Caelum

The main protagonist of Final Fantasy Versus XIII, Noctis is the prince of the royal family, and the last heir to the Caelum Dynasty, which rules over the only remaining city-state that controls the Crystals. Noctis attempts to protect his city-state against those who seek to conquer it and take the Crystals by force. Nomura has compared Noctis' family to the modern-day Yakuza. The color of his eyes have been shown to change from blue to crimson during battle; according to Nomura, the color changes are both intentional and significant.Noctis's full name translates to "Light of the Night Sky,"and is nicknamed Noct by his friends.

On a personal note, I would have to nominate Noctis's design one of Nomura's best. In what other game series can you see so many people sporting the avatar of a character in a game that has yet to release? Many say he looks a bit like Sasuke from Naruto but I think that is a shallow comparison. He evokes a lot of mood and expression. His popularity as one of Nomura's designs has quickly escalated to almost Cloud and Sephiroth perportions.

Stella Nox Fleuret

A young woman with golden-blonde hair, Stella is said to be the daughter of the Fleuret family of the country Tenebrae (Latin for "darkness") and an enemy to Noctis, though her allegiances are under suspicion as she talked to him during a social gathering, where she spoke about the goddess Etro and her relation to their abilities. Fleuret is the French name of the fencing foil, a direct reference to Stella's weapon of choice: a rapier. Like Noctis, she is able to materialize weapons from thin air, as she is shown summoning her rapier from a rune similar to one used by Noctis to summon his sword; though Stella's rune is golden, while Noctis' is blue.

Like that of Noctis, a good measure of Stella's personality can be sensed during her first meeting with Noctis. For instance, in their discussion about the power they share and its connection to an old legend,Stella is very open about the matter while Noctis seems reluctant to talk about it, suggesting that they keep it a secret. Stella is described to be ladylike and extremely polite but direct in her manner — a reflection of her proper but strong upbringing.She acts according to her beliefs, believing the powers she and Noctis have are part of a greater purpose, and doesn't shy away from problems Nomura states that she will be the first to stand out from other female characters in the Final Fantasy franchise, although it is not specified how.

Other Characters

Noctis also has his on pose of friends that act as his personal entourage. They give a very young Yakuza/Mafia vibe as they move as a syndicate along with Noctis. They fight along side you utilizing their own particular skills.

Battle System...

The battle system will be seamless like in Final Fantasy XII and Kingdom Hearts. It will use all regions of the field, from the tops of buildings down to street level. The game will feature battles that take place in areas with great differences in height and the players will have to fight using the full environment. This means fighting what's in front and behind, as well as above and below (vertical battles).The battle system will be party-based, with a party consisting of a maximum of three characters at a time and players being able to switch between who they want as the playable party leader. However, if Noctis dies in battle (even when he's not party leader) it will be game over. At the start of the game, the party line-up will be predetermined, though players will get the ability to freely switch out members as the story progresses.

Each playable character will have his or her own unique special attack capabilities, and all characters will be able to use magic, although the effect of the magic differs from character to character. For example, when Noctis casts Fire magic, it emerges from his weapon; while for another party member, it may surround him with fire. Noctis is the only character capable of equipping all weapon types in the game; other characters each have their own unique specialities. For example, one of the characters, Prompto, is a gun specialist who is played in third-person shooter perspective for precise aiming at the enemy's weak points, buildings, and other objects. Summon beasts are also in the game and will have to be defeated to be obtained. Nomura has also said that the game may have Sixaxis support.

The battle system interface consists of several aspects, mainly Attack, Magic, Item, Summons and EX-ARTS. In addition, there is zoomed in footage of the party members faces on the lower-right corner of the screen, which is part of the heads-up display. This footage will change in real-time according to the current actions of the characters.

The World Map...

The game will have a traversable world map. However, unlike the world maps used in Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII and Final Fantasy IX, the world map of Final Fantasy Versus XIII will be in accurate scale to the characters like the Archylte Steppe in Final Fantasy XIII. Nomura has also mentioned that the world map is truly vast and that it would take a long time to traverse from one end to the other by foot;^[thus, to facilitate easy navigation, the game will feature various forms of transportation such as cars, chocobos and airships. There will also be a new real-time lighting system in place for a day/night cycle on the world map. The player also has the ability to take photos whenever they want with Noctis' cell phone.

Trialers....

This has a translation for some of the dialogue.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqpbAWBO-o4

Gameplay

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy_Versus_XIII#Plot

PS. Sorry for the formatting, VGChartz is acting super wierd with the font sizes.

Final Fantasy Versus 13 Forever

Upbeat demanour of FFVIII? Call me crazy but I consider it the darkest FF. FFX is dark at some points too. FFXII seems to be upbeat to me. Hopefully we get more info on this game within a few months...

dammit, now i have to listen to Somnus once again to satisfy my needs and set me in a proper mood to cry in agony over how square teases me with not releasing this game..

Its more of an asthetic/mood thing for me. A lot of it lies within the color scheme. You can visibly see how FFVIII,X, and XIII use an over abundance of bright florecent colors. This really annoys me for some reason, I think it detracts from the gravity or seriousness of the games. X was the most tolerable as I just love that world. XIII is probably the worst offender as hardened soldiers are running at you wearing bright pinks and blues like someone just dumped a bucket of paint on them, same with the characters. Using color is fine, its when they go overboard with it that it becomes a problem.

This is not to say those games do not have serious themes. X was very serious and was a pretty dark story in retrospect. Yet I cannot shake the feeling all those magentas and cotton candy colors steal the impact away.

I need dark, dank, dirty,gloomy, rusty pipes, decayed buildings etc. Yet another reason I love FFVII's setting. Midgar was just right up my ally and I think it makes that game feel darker than the rest. Nomura gets that with Versus XIII, its clean, prestine, but moody, and primal all at the same time. When I see the cityscape in the trailers it evokes a feeling of walking NY barren streets alone at 3 in the morning. 

I think Versus XIII has become a symbol of everything many of us loved about RPGs and gaming as a whole. Maybe it will become a gaming legend that we will tell our children about...

"Siddown sunny so I can tell you the legend of FF Versus XIII. This is a fantasy based on reality.....A story about how the greatest game concept of all time was locked away in SquareEnix dungeons for over 6 years in gaming hell but finally broke free in 20_ _......"

Idk I am more focused on characters I suppose. Cloud and his shiny hair :). While Squall is this dark guy fighting dark sorceress'. The games look so different despite being a year apart.Sure the Gardens were pretty bright but everywhere else was a more dark color scheme.

@bold SPOILERS That is what I like about Trabia Garden and the death that is around it. SPOILERS

No, just no. Half of the FF appeal lies on scenery porn, just like Avatar. FFX wouldn't work if it was settled on anything less than the breathtaking beauty of Spira.

Why do you need more dark, dank, dirty, gloomy, rusty pipes and decayed buildings anyways? You are pretty much talking about a very convincing and unsettling way of describing our world nowadays. 

I salute you my friend.
You are really well informed about Versus. To add, the world in Versus interacts with the player, certain events will happen as the player moves around, for example that Behemoth and how it destroys the bridge if the player decides to run cross it.

Versus theme isn't dark just for the sake of being dark, Nomura stated that he wants to focus on the human side of the characters and their way of thinking in a world that is based on our modern world, there is also a cold war going on, that's what gives Versus its dark feel.

If you are interested, help me to flesh out Versus page on Gamewise, no copy-pasting is allowed though.
http://gamewise.co/games/14235/Final-Fantasy-Versus-XIII

Stella's face is so fucking perfect. It's really mesmerizing.