I probably will only use it for the hunts, but I just wanted to have it.
I just found one of the best lightning wallpaper.
http://s272.photobucket.com/albums/jj181/NSS7/?action=view¤t=Dance_Of_Curse_by_VinhFX.jpg&newest=1
http://previews.teamxbox.com/xbox-360/2508/Final-Fantasy-XIII/p1/
With less than a month left until Final Fantasy XIII hits stores, there’s a lot of excitement for it and how it’ll compare to previous FF releases. After getting some time on the game at a recent media event, we can delve into some specifics and talk more about the FFXIII battle system.
The main lead in the game is a female character named Lightning, though there are a total of six playable characters. How the “playable” part works is something we’ll get into more in a minute.
FFXIII also takes players to two different worlds: One is the formerly peaceful Cocoon, a world “in the sky” that features more town- and city-like areas. Gran Pulse (though generally just called Pulse) is the other world and we spent most of our time in a large field filled with creatures and quest indicators. It also had an MMO-like feel to it, as you can concentrate on a “grind,” just killing things in the vicinity to level up your characters.
The leveling-up system in FFXIII is taking a different approach in that you upgrade each character’s “roles” rather than just the character. The roles each focus on a combat element: Commando is centered around melee; Ravager is for magic and party support; Sentinel is more defensively-based; Saboteur is a debuff specialist; Synergist concentrates on buffs of the party members; and Medic is (obviously) a healer.
The structure enables you to build up the different characters in diverse ways. For instance, you might want to have Lightning be stronger in her Ravager and Medic roles, so she can back up the party, which may be chosen for their combat skills; or you can crank up her other roles to strengthen her offensive abilities and let someone else pick up the healing or defense portion. The format gives you a lot of flexibility in setting up a party—which consists of three characters—for a particular battle or enemy type.
The added flexibility comes from the Paradigm system, which enables you to build out six different configurations for your party in advance of a battle and switch between them quickly as you desire. For example, one Paradigm can have all three party members be Commandos, which would be a heavily offensive trio, while a second Paradigm has two as Commandos and one as Medic. If you find that you’re starting to take some damage to the party members, a quick button press (on the Left Bumper) brings up the list of up to six pre-created Paradigms, and bringing up the second one will enable one player to heal each of the party members while the other two Commandos hammer on the enemy. This process gives you a lot of freedom to quickly shift between different party configurations as the battle changes or you learn certain enemy weaknesses/strengths.
The best part is, while Lightning starts as the lead, you can shift any of the others in and out of that role as you choose, as well as determining which three characters will be your active party. Part of the reason for wanting certain characters in the party is not only due to their roles’ levels, but also for their particular Summon. Calling up a specific Summon during battle shifts so it’s just the player vs. the enemy. Not only do the Summons bring big offensive power to the battle, but you can also have the character ride it. As you can expect, the whole process is rendered with gigantic, well-animated visuals that are great eye candy. It wouldn’t be Final Fantasy without that kind of presentation, right?
The combat components also offer a lot of variation. Though I only scratched the surface in my relatively short hands-on session, I started getting the hang of what Square-Enix is calling its Active Time Battle System. This gives you a “slotted” time line; in my playthrough, I had five segments I could fill with whatever combat building blocks I wanted. Let’s say I wanted to slam the target with two strong fire spells (each taking up two slots) and then one of thunder, I could dig down in the menu system by clicking on the buttons, then load up the time line and fire it off. If you’re less skilled, you can keep hitting the Auto-Battle button, which uses AI to fill your time line with actions.
The combat system instantly makes FFXIII much more accessible to a bigger audience: You don’t have to be a FF veteran to use it, though if you are more experienced, you can take advantage of the depth that’s offered a few button presses away. You can ratchet up the complexity of your fights as you become more comfortable with the system and its features—such as being able to click on one skill, get an overview of the vulnerabilities of the enemy you’re currently facing and then vary your offensive approach to take advantage of the info.
In some regards, it’s also easier because you don’t have to calculate how much MP you have left to spend on any particular action. Instead, you just wait until your time line fills back up and then set up a new batch of moves in the slots. And the accompanying AI is adaptive, so as it goes through the battle, it starts to determine what is doing more damage and what doesn’t work, then changes up the structure of its fight to be more effective. FFXIII also gives you plenty of time to pick up the battle system, thanks to what Square says is extensive tutorials through the first three chapters; the company reps also told us that there are 13 chapters total and the main story will take you about 40 hours to get through, with 20–40 more hours if you decide to do the many side quests.
After a few battles and completing one quest/mission at a different location in the field, our time was up. The hands-on time, however, made us hungry for the completed game to cross our desks. FFXIII has a March 9 release date, so we’ll surely have more for you on the game as that date approaches, and look for the results of an interview we conducted with the game’s key development staff after our gameplay session.
http://g4tv.com/games/xbox-360/52828/final-fantasy-xiii/articles/69937/Final-Fantasy-XIII-Preview/
I’m sure by now you’ve seen the videos, read all the previews, and gobbled up every salacious headline that’s crossed the webs. For our last hands-on preview before the game ships on March 9th, I present to you the final thirteen things you need to know about Final Fantasy XIII.
I. Not just a pretty face… but still pretty cute. - Our little excursion took us to the grand prairies of Pulse, a world filled with lush vegetation and exotic enemies. The guide pointed out the little details that you could only catch on an HD screen – the design and texture in Lighting’s outfit, bit of her hair being tossed by the wind, mammoth creatures moving in the distant background. We can only hope that the rest of the game looks this spectacular.
II. Wild Wide World – As you may have already read by now, many of the Final Fantasy maps allow very little wiggle room for exploration. We’re not talking about a straight shot down the center, but some are pretty close to that. On Pulse, however, the world opens up to exploration. Freedom of movement also allows for more strategy and the ability to pick your battles.
III. Very Active Time Battle – So we all know what an active time battle system is by now, right? Square plays around with the tried and true system by allowing you to add multiple attacks as the bar fills. You can even stack your next series of attacks before the bar fills all the way. Interestingly enough, they use this idea to do away with another Final Fantasy staple – MP. Spells now take up a longer piece of the gauge in order to execute. No ether required here.
IV. Staggering Revelations – Each enemy now has a stagger gauge. Hit them enough times and they’ll fall into a mode where each of your next attacks will cause more damage. The trick here is finding their weakness. Attacking with what hurts the most raise the stagger gauge even faster. Our demo showed a creature take punishment from a couple of sword strike but go down easily to a couple of spells.
V. A Summons of My Own – You only get one, but sometimes that’s all you need. Each of the characters gets their own summons to call down from the sky to dish out some much needed pain. When called upon, the summons or Eidolon takes the places of the other two characters in your party. They’ll dish out damage by your side until transforming into their Gestalt Mode. Lighting’s Odin, for example, transforms into a horse that our heroine rides into battle.
VI. No Levels Needed – Taking a cue from FFX’s sphere grid, the Crystarium system doesn’t depend on straight leveling to evolve the characters. Instead, special points awarded from battle can be put towards any number of roles in the system. Adding more points to a specific role may give the character new abilities, raise a certain stat, or open up new roles. While any character can learn any role, some characters have advantages in certain roles than others. Lighting’s quick hands make her ideal for attacking roles while Snow’s higher health stats let him take the punishment required for the role of a Sentinel.
VII. Know Your Role(s) –While in previous titles you could as easily cast a spell as swing a sword, roles dictate the abilities of each character. Healers, for instance, can only fling around Cura and couple of other healing spells. Don’t expect them to pull out a sword once the going gets rough. During the demo, we found ourselves switching several times during battle depending on how things were going. If things got rough, we would fall back to a team with healers and buffer, switch to debuffers and offensive magic to raise their stagger, and then finish them off with an all out onslaught of attackers.
VIII. Remember the Fans – With all this talk of change, we were assured that fans will see many of their favorites returning to the series. Like any Final Fantasy game, there will be airships, Cid, and chocobos. There was also a mention of hidden bosses. Anyone familiar with the Ruby and Emerald Weapons from Final Fantasy VII will know that they will have a fight ahead of them.
IX. No Room At the Inn – Instead of having to use up precious potions or hot footing it over to an inn, FFXIII heals you instantly between battles. Keep moving. There’s no time to waste on potions. We have monsters to kill.
X. Newcomers Welcomed – For players getting used to the new systems (roles, paradigm shifts, the bright flashing colors), Square lets you ease into everything with an auto attack option. It’s not a “get out of battle” free card, but it will pick the best attacks from your given options. Auto attack won’t pick the right roles or let you know when you need to switch. That’s still up to you.
XI. A Swift Death – Die and you just get to try it again. Yes, it’s that easy. Instead of throwing you back to where you last saved, FFXIII gives you a second chance to learn from your mistakes. Try it again with a different strategy, or try to avoid the fight. Once again, it’s all about pushing you forward and keeping that momentum going as much as possible.
XII. The Thing About No Towns – Towns are sticky. Once you find one, you get into a comfortable pattern of fighting and fleeing back to an inn for a little healing. The developers behind FFXIII don’t want you to get stuck in any one place for too long. It honestly breaks my heart a little to see the towns disappear. Square always manages to give these little burgs a personality all their own. It makes sense in a grander scheme, however, if you want the player to constantly move forward with not only the fighting but the story.
XIII. Final Thoughts – From out demo, you could sum up everything into two words: flow and strategy. Square seems determined to keep players moving and thinking while trouncing around some beautiful vistas. Will it work? You’ll have to wait and see our review.
Final Fantasy XIII is out in Japan, and has been tearing up the charts. With the North American release looming, we sat down with a few of the key creatives behind Square Enix’s role-playing juggernaut to get more details about the new summons and revamped battle system. We also learned where all the towns went, and why getting rid of them helps make XIII the most film-y Final Fantasy to date.
Above: Meet Yuji Abe (Battle Director), Yoshinori Kitase (Producer) and Motomu Toriyama (Director). They work on a little franchise called Final Fantasy
GamesRadar: First off, we'd like to congratulate you on the successful launch of Final Fantasy XIII in Japan. There’s a lot of anticipation over here for the English version, which leads us to our first question. What do you think makes Final Fantasy so popular with Western gamers?
Yoshinori Kitase: The quality of the visuals in Final Fantasy games has always had a great impact with our audience overseas, I think that's one thing that really draws in players from around the world. The team is always striving to make top quality graphics in Final Fantasy games. Another thing is that there are a lot of very realistic, very attractive characters that are present in the Final Fantasy series and rich stories filled with human drama and relationships.
GR: Can you tell us a bit about how the battle system has changed from previous Final Fantasy games?
Yuji Abe: The main concepts behind the battle system for Final Fantasy XIII are that it's speedy and tactical. The team was striving to create an experience where the speed could keep up with the high quality graphics on the high-def machines but also keeps the strategic element alive and strong. What makes it very different from past Final Fantasy titles is that there's much less micromanaging of different characters in your party. In Final Fantasy XIII the focus is more on the overall flow and how players can adapt to the changing tides within each battle.
GR: To that end, you've changed the way Summons operate as well.
YA: In Final Fantasy XIII each character is tied to a single Summon, and there's this combination act that happens during battle. A Summon will fight along side you as a party member, and then there's a Gestalt mode where the Summon transforms into a ride for the player. It really heightens the action, turns it into an action-oriented game where pushing buttons translates directly into attacks so it's really exciting for the player and there's a lot of movement.
GR: You've also added two new Summons. Can you tell us about the inspiration for their design and where their names come from?
Motomu Toriyama: The character Sazh summons Brynhildr, who transforms into a car. Design-wise, the transformation aspect was the key. Once we knew she was going to transform into a car, that affected the design of her more human form as well. Brynhildr was inspired by a female goddess from Viking mythology. The other new summon is Hecatoncheir. He’s inspired by a Greek god who has a thousand hands. In Gestalt mode he transforms into a Magitek armor-like ride for Vanille.
GR: Our next question is about the Paradigm system. How does it affect combat, and how is it different from the Gambit system in Final Fantasy XII?
YA: There are different roles that can be assigned to each of your characters and the combination of different roles is essentially the Paradigm. You can have over 100 different Paradigm combinations and you can customize that for yourself. The difference between the Gambit system and the Paradigm system is that in the Gambit system you set up the characters' roles and actions before going into battle, but with the Paradigm system you can switch in real-time during the battle so players can change their strategy by reacting to different enemies and how the battle is flowing.
GR: How does the leveling system fit in with the different roles and Paradigms?
YA: The leveling system is similar in concept to the Sphere Grid, but visually it departs from that because it is laid out in 3D and development progresses along these different axes. It's called the Crystarium. Each character can develop different roles depending on the player's battle style and how they choose to progress. For example, there's the Commando role which has heavy physical attacks and you level them up by earning Crystal Points, or CP. You use your CP to advance along the grid. If you want you can put more CP into the Commando role, or if you want your character to be stronger in the healing side you can put your CP there. The leveling is very customized.
GR: So does every character's Crystarium look the same? Or is it easier to develop certain roles for certain characters?
YA: Certain characters are more suited to certain roles, so for example, the character Snow is more suited for a Sentinel role, which is a defensive role essentially, or a Commando role as an attacker. So even though all roles are available to him in the Crystarium, it's easier for him to go toward certain roles. Each Crystarium is unique to the character, so even if a player advances every character in all the roles available to maximum capacity, the stats will still be different from character to character.
GR: A lot of people who've played the Japanese version of Final Fantasy XIII have expressed surprise that there weren't any towns to visit. How did you arrive at the decision to not include towns, and how does that change the way you tell the story?
MT: The decision to leave out towns was an organic one. The team wasn't trying to work towards a specific RPG template, we were trying to create an experience that was similar to a movie or TV show where the story would pull the player along and help them progress in the game. In order to create that pace, the towns were not essential and it wasn't really a major consideration in creating the game. It isn't that the game is completely void of towns, there are specific instances where the team created what are kind of the ultimate form of towns that we'd like to see in future Final Fantasy titles.
GR: So how did you handle the events that would normally occur in a classic RPG town? Players need to shop, cool off at the bar, meet NPCs, pick up side quests...
MT: In the setting of the story, the main characters are being pursued by the government, so story wise it didn't make sense to create towns where you could go wander and go shopping because they wouldn't really be able to go out in public that way. As for side quests, the main portion of the story takes place in a world called Cocoon but once the player ventures out into the world of Pulse it's much more open and they can find side quests there.
GR: People who've played it have also said that Final Fantasy XIII is a much more linear experience than previous games. Are you worried that people will miss the open exploration? When you finish the game, will you be able to return to the world?
MT: The initial portion of the game is intentionally crafted to be linear and story-driven because of the complex battle system. The team wanted to make sure that the proper steps were in place so that players could gradually get to know the battle system. By the time they get out into the free area of Pulse they should have a good idea of how to control the battle system and can go all out in the battles. In terms of freedom and what you can do after you clear the game, you can go back to the Pulse area and there are many enemies there that are much tougher to beat than the last boss! And there are a lot of missions available too; a player could spend almost forever just exploring and playing the missions.
GR: Great! Well, we're out of time so thank you for speaking with us today, and good luck on the North American launch of Final Fantasy XIII.
All: Thank you.
http://www.gamesradar.com/f/final-fantasy-xiii-interview/a-2010021214218535070/p-2
Yoshinori Kitase, producer of the soon-to-be-released Final fantasy XIII, has praised PS3's capabilities, saying the machine helped envision the game.
"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," he told the PlayStation blog. "The PS3 hardware was something that really helped envision the game."
Now bear in mind he was talking to the PlayStation blog, so he's hardly likely to say 360 was easier to build on. And if he did, we can't imagine the blog staff posting it.
Regarding the much-talked about DLC factor, Kitase would only say, "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 rumoured 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.
Full interview here.
If you own both machines, which version do you plan on picking up? Personally, I'm going for PS3. Final Fantasy for me will always be a PlayStation game.
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=234790
While Final Fantasy XIII Xbox 360 seems to be the recipient of much advertising love from Square-Enix, gamers are still flocking towards the PS3 version of the game in droves. It’s not surprising at all, Final Fantasy titles are most recognizable on said console, but what will make Sony even happier is the fact hat Heavy Rain, a game many worried would not sell well, is at the No.1 spot.
Now amazon will never be able to give us an accurate view of what’s really taking place around the US, but it’s at least a good predictor. Just like Many other titles, including Mass Effect 2, if they’re performing well on Amazon, then it’s a good sign.
The PS3 console is also standing firm in the 4th spot and rising, hoping to make a comeback as the Xbox 360 outpaced it in the sales arena according to the latest NPD results, outselling Sony’s black behemoth comfortably.
Expect these numbers to change even while you read this piece, but it’s always great to have a glimpse of what’s happening on the sales side of things.
Wouldn’t you say?
Last night, if you are a sports fan and happened to be watching ESPN during the NBA All-Star game festivities, you would have watched a short Final Fantasy XIII commercial for the Xbox 360. Some thought it was strange, but Microsoft is the one that really needs to market the game for their console audience. While that ad was airing, Sony also started their own marketing for the title, but it was a little more subtle compared to the commercial.
On the official PlayStation website, Sony is now front-lining Final Fantasy XIII on the site. It may not be reaching as wide of an audience as a TV commercial, but Sony is doing their own thing with Final Fantasy XIII. Since the series has been associated with Sony for over a decade now, their console audience is well aware the game is releasing in several weeks, while the Xbox 360's main audience is likely unaware of it and needs the stronger marketing push that Microsoft is currently running on TV. Aside from running this minor ad campaign on the website, Sony also put up the Leona Lewis video on PSN Friday night. Previously, Sony did have trailers running in PlayStation Home, too.
While we'll likely see a multiplatform based commercial airing in the future, for now, it seems that Microsoft is the main system behind the title in the commercial department. Either way, it'll be an interesting tale if Microsoft manages to sell more copies of Final Fantasy XIII on the Xbox 360 than Sony on the PS3. Though, that's unlikely to happen.
In an age in which downloadable content is often discussed when a game is released (or even before!), Square Enix has stated that it does not have currently have any plans for Final Fantasy XIII DLC.
"Regarding the DLC content, we feel that the final product is 100% enjoyable…it's the complete package," says Final Fantasy XIII producer, Yoshinori Kitase, and director, Motomu Toriyama in a joint statement." So we're not planning any DLC at this time."
No plans. At this time. That doesn't exactly rule out planning for the future, now does it?
"In regard to the rumored cut content, we feel it was taken out of context," the pair continues. "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." A lot of those ideas were just that: ideas. They didn't make the final cut and are not in the game. According to Square Enix, the team is not looking into releasing this unused content as DLC.
Perhaps Square Enix is not ready to discuss downloadable content, and that's fine. But if there's no DLC, there will be disappointed FFXIII players. These days, DLC is not just expected, but a given.
http://kotaku.com/5471819/square-enix-has-no-plans-for-final-fantasy-xiii-dlc
Not been here for a short while...
Anyway, we aint had much questions since darth left. So here is an easy one...
In Final Fantasy 7, how do you get Cid's Ultimate Weapon?
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