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Final Fantasy XIII: Your Questions Answered

Earlier in the week, we told you we’d be meeting up with Square Enix to talk Final Fantasy XIII with Producer Yoshinori Kitase and Director Motomu Toriyama, along with the Battle Director Yuji Abe. So all your questions went to the former, which you can read in full form below.

But the FFXIII love fest didn’t end there. With the game less than a month away (March 9!), Jeff and I got to play a nice chunk of the game…enough to get familiar with the battle system to chat all about it with Mr. Abe. In the video, you’ll get an in-depth look into the game’s battle system, which I have to say, once you understand it, it’s quite intense.

PSB: With western RPGs becoming so popular, how were you influenced in Final Fantasy XIII to encompass all audiences? – via DMPrince

Kitase/Toriyama: No games were a direct influence in particular, but we definitely looked at the FPS genre and other Western games to incorporate more speed and increase the pace of gameplay in Final Fantasy XIII. In terms of the FPS genre influence, the story progression of FFXIII is very similar to that (FPS) genre in the sense that different challenges and situations are presented to the character one after the other. That’s how they progress in the storyline.

Of course, there are a lot of North Americans that imported the game. What do you say to those who say the game might be too linear? Does the accusation bother you?

The earlier part of the game was intentionally created to be a linear experience because we wanted to make the experience similar to a movie or drama where players really get to know the characters and what is behind their actions.

And also, since this is a brand new system for FFXIII, we wanted to take the correct steps to make sure players can control that system at will. So it is a surprise that so many people are commenting that the game is linear, but once you get into the area of Pulse in the game , it’s much more of a free world and the battle system really comes to life. And once you have a good idea of how to control it, you can go full force and it should be a completely different experience.

Do you think that the idea of RPGs from the 80s and 90s being wide open is a dated stereotype?

There’s sort of a template to the RPG system, traditionally, where players would go to the town and find out information through text, leave town to fight monsters and then come back to town and buy health and items, etc. FFXIII didn’t really look for some sort of template to follow, but we tried to go out and create and set a new trend for RPGs. So there isn’t really a thought to stick to tradition.

How long would a play-through of the game with missions take?

As far as hours, of gameplay…if you play straight through the story it would be about 60 hours of gameplay. But if you decided to play through all the missions, it would be, well, basically eternity. It could last forever. The enemies in the Pulse area are much stronger, as well, so there’s lots of replay value there.

What is the native video resolution and audio format on the PS3? – via kturcotte

Final Fantasy XIII runs in 720p and Dolby Digital 5.1

Final Fantasy traditionally chooses a song to accompany the game. Why did you go with Leona Lewis in the Western version instead of a traditional Japanese artist? – via ROFLdrg

Previous FF titles brought over the Japanese songs to the Western versions of the game, but we felt that with a song that’s sung in a language that’s understandable to North American or European users, it would bring the game closer to the player and depart from the idea that Final Fantasy is a game that comes from overseas. Overall, it would tighten the relationship between the player and the game, so that’s why we decided to go with an English theme song.

Are they any plans for PlayStation Home integration with FFXIII in North America? – via Jetup

As you know, there’s some activity in the Japanese PlayStation Home but for North American activities, things are still in the planning stages and there’s nothing confirmed at this time.

How does Final Fantasy XIII compare to the First Final Fantasy game that you worked on? – via KazeEternal

(Toriyama): The first FF game I worked on was FFVII, and similar to XIII, it was a title that brought a drastic series as a whole (moving also from the Nintendo platform to PlayStation), the graphics were extremely renewed and different, so there was a huge jump there.

For FFXIII, it’s the first time the series is coming to high-def consoles, and the graphics are so high-quality that you can express very detailed expressions and emotions.

So did you see a lot of the same challenges with FFXIII that you saw with VII?

The challenges were different because with FFVII, the team was in the dark and 3D graphics were so new that they really had to figure things out from scratch. So they got a hold of the 3D technology with VII, and fined tuned it for X, so with XIII, it’s kind of going along the same path. The team already has this knowledge and skill to work on 3D graphics, but of course with XIII things are so much more polished and the level of the CG movies are on par with movies. The team is really looking to inspiration for movies for comparison points for FFXIII. So the challenges were different for both games.

What did you learn from working on your first high-definition FF game? – via Shadow780

One thing that the team, and especially the art team can take from the experience of developing FFXIII to future titles is the CG tech, especially the textures for the characters. For previous gen consoles, the art was essentially drawn and it was more of illustration work. But for FFXIII, a lot of CG tech was involved and getting the art and texture of the skin right was a key component for FFXIII…definitely something that the team will take to future titles.

And of course every developer is really looking to make their characters and worlds look as realistic as possible, but we wanted to go one step behind and evoke emotion through the characters. The shine of the lip or the look of the stockings can evoke a sexual tension. The same goes for the male characters…we want the fans to think they are cool, and they are more than just a game characters.

What was it like working on the PS3 for the first time?

The PS3 is definitely a spectacular machine and the team was really able to realize its visions for the characters and graphics, and at the same time, were able to have big onscreen battles going on. The PS3 hardware was something that really helped envision the game.

I heard there was content removed from the original game? Could it possibly resurface as DLC? – via @ericsavatar

Regarding the DLC content, we feel that the final product is 100% enjoyable…it’s the complete package. So we’re not planning any DLC at this time. In regard to the rumored cut content, we feel it was taken out of context. There are a lot of ideas that are brought to the table, and then the team takes the best ideas out of those, and the final product is polished that way. There was content that were “ideas” that didn’t make the final content, but the team isn’t looking to release that as downloadable content.

In FFXIII, it seems like there’s a movement toward more realistic characters. What’s the direction you’re going with these particular characters?

There is definitely a conscious movement toward depicting emotion and realism for the characters. The team wants to create characters that mature audiences can relate to, as well.

Any news on Agito or Versus?

No set date yet, so you can keep on the lookout for new information. And though we can’t really go into detail, a quick overview of the status of development; 100-200 staff members from FFXIII are now finished with the game, and all the people that have been working on it, they have all this knowledge of PS3 tech (and PSP) and they can bring it to these different teams and the development speed will probably increase.

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2010/02/final-fantasy-xiii-your-questions-answered/

Also I wanted to point this out: (Interview with a SE dev from FF13)

"I heard there was content removed from the original game? Could it possibly resurface as DLC?"

Regarding the DLC content, we feel that the final product is 100% enjoyable…it’s the complete package. So we’re not planning any DLC at this time. In regard to the rumored cut content, we feel it was taken out of context. There are a lot of ideas that are brought to the table, and then the team takes the best ideas out of those, and the final product is polished that way. There was content that were “ideas” that didn’t make the final content, but the team isn’t looking to release that as downloadable content.

Sounds like every game, don't understand why everyone blew this out of proportion.

Oh I see.
Then, It's definately a LE/CE for NA.

I never got to post my Final Fantasy crush!!!!

She's hot. Nuff said.

+ Odin

- Ramuh

Yuna

"The PS3 version looks like it will be superior by default with higher quality music, FMVs and of course no disc-swaps, but the bottom line is whichever console you buy FF13 for, you’re onto a winner. The core game is definitely the same on both versions."

Source: http://xbox360.rpgsite.net/previews/42/198/final-fantasy-xiii-xbox-360-impressions.html

Well, when I wake up...I hope there will be a L.E. or C.E. news.....really hope that this months news wasn't that crappy bundle.

http://xbox360.rpgsite.net/previews/42/198/final-fantasy-xiii-xbox-360-impressions.html

Final Fantasy XIII Xbox 360 Version Hands-On Impressions

Posted on February 12, 2010 by

Alex Donaldson

You’re going to find plenty of previews of Final Fantasy XIII out there that explain how the combat works, how it plays, how battles work, and undoubtedly they will be gushing about how slick and speedy it is, and they’re right to. But we’re RPG specialists, and we’ve played the import, and we’ve told you all about it in the past – so we spent our brief time with the Xbox 360 version of the game looking not at how it plays, but how well it’s been ported.
 
In case you’re not an RPG Site Regular, I’d like to point you to our other coverage before you read any further. If you want to know about how Battles play out, hit up our Battle Impressions. For info on character growth, you’ll want our Character Progression piece.

Finally, if you want to know exactly how good the game is, check out our full, massive Import Review. It’s almost 3000 words! With that out of the way we can finally ask the million dollar question – how is the Xbox 360 version?

Final Fantasy XIII is undoubtedly one of the best looking games so far this generation, benefitting from a pretty impressive custom-built engine and some wonderfully zany and out-of-this-world art direction that helps it to be striking at almost every moment in almost every area of the game.

The PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game are identical in this respect. Everything magical about FF13’s world has been lovingly translated in the Xbox 360 version. Loading times are few, entry into battle is seamless, and everything looks sharp, clean and pretty. It’s a damn fine port, and in regular gameplay even the most devout fan might struggle to notice the difference between the two, were it not for the different button prompts.

In terms of both gameplay graphics and performance the two versions feel almost identical, and there are no significant flaws with either version. It’s clear that the same attention to detail and level of polish has been applied to the Xbox 360 version of the game, despite its shorter lead time.

Despite fears from many, in our time with the game we didn’t spot any muddy, low quality textures in the Xbox 360 version, and there weren’t any technical hitches even when battles got crazy with magical effects, explosions and gigantic enemies all in the mix.

There is a sticking point for the Xbox 360 version, which may prove crucial to some gamers: In game video.

FF13 comes packed with 40-some minutes of pre-rendered CGI sequences that help to further the story, and on the PS3 they run at 1080p and aren’t compressed as highly as on the Xbox 360 version. As well as being heavily compressed, the 360 CGI FMVs run at 720, a lower resolution.

In addition to the CGI sequences, one thing a lot of people don’t realize about FF13 is that many of the ‘in engine’ cutscenes aren’t rendered on the fly – they’re pre-rendered sequences, rendered on a powerful development machine and then placed onto the disc as a video file. That’s one of Square Enix’s tricks for getting their character models and environments to look so much prettier in the cutscenes than in gameplay.

The end result is this: as well as lower-quality CGI sequences, any of the game’s ‘in-engine’ cutscenes that aren’t rendered in real time will suffer from the same compression issues. These sequences are only at 720p on the PS3, but the Xbox 360 compression is significantly more powerful in order to fit the game onto 3 DVDs. The compression used means that any video sequences in the game have a slightly reduced quality.

In reality the compression isn’t going to bother most gamers, and you’ll have to sit pretty damn close to the TV or be playing the game on a massive TV or projector for the difference to detract from your gaming experience. The FMVs are still incredibly impressive – they’re just ever-so-slightly less vivid on the Xbox 360.

Look past the pre-rendered video compression, though, and you’ll see a port that appears as solid as any I’ve ever seen before. Gameplay appears almost identical on both pieces of hardware, and the few differences that I spotted were so negligible that they’re not even worth mentioning.

If one thing is striking about Final Fantasy XIII, its fine sheen the game exudes from every angle – and the same has to be said about the work that Square Enix have done on the port. It’s quite a piece of work, especially considering how quickly it’s come together, and you have to wonder if Square Enix already had the Xbox 360 plugs for Crystal Tools ready to go from the get-go.

The PS3 version looks like it will be superior by default with higher quality music, FMVs and of course no disc-swaps, but the bottom line is whichever console you buy FF13 for, you’re onto a winner. The core game is definitely the same on both versions.

Both versions of the game are out on March 9th, and the Xbox 360 version is going to also be bundled with the console if you don't already have one.  Amazon has the Xbox 360 version here and the Playstation 3 version here. There's a Limited Edition Strategy Guide for collectors and the Hardware Bundle, too.

http://golgotron.com/2010/02/square-enix-releases-doctored-and-misleading-ffxiii-screenshots-shame-on-them/

Square Enix Releases Doctored and Misleading FFXIII Screenshots: Shame on Them

So Kotaku just posted a batch of new screenshots on FFXIII from Square Enix late Friday night. The reason for the set of new screenshots is to show the differences between the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the game. As Kotaku pointed out, the comparison shots are exactly the same aside from the UI changes to match the given console.

Take a look at the banner image. I actually made that image with two separate screenshots. I purposely didn’t put a line through where turns from PS3 to 360 to make a point. Without being told, a person would have no way to tell which version the screenshot comes from or where the crossover from one screenshot to the next is.

Xbox 360:

Playstation 3:

The obvious difference in these two screenshots is the “LB” icon in the Xbox 360 screenshot and the “L1″ icon in the PS3 screenshot. Outside of this you will not find a single difference in the two images. I challenge you to open the images up in separate tabs or windows and switch back and forth, you won’t find anything different between them. I have posted only one example here, if you wish to compare all the screenshots you can head over to Kotaku.

Clearly Square Enix is not being honest with these recent screenshot releases. This is completely unacceptable and they should not be allowed to use these tactics without major repercussions. I can understand that a lot of video game sites tend to stick to straight reporting of news rather than enter the opinion side of things but something needs to be done about this.

I realize that we are just a small site here at Golgotron but I hope people who work throughout the industry can realize how wrong Square Enix is to do something like this. I think this calls for sites like IGN, Kotaku, Joystiq, and others to take a negative stance against Square Enix and specifically point out how wrong they are and that we, as a collective of gamers, will not allow such behavior within this industry.

I encourage anybody who is reading this to spread the word and make people aware of Square Enix’s dishonest business practices. I will be sending Square Enix an email at na.pr@square-enix.com to express my dissatisfaction with this incident and I encourage others to do the same.

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