May 8, 2006 - At Square Enix's press conference at E3 in Los Angeles, the company officially announced Final Fantasy XIII for the PlayStation 3. Square Enix then proceeded to show a trailer from the game, in which a female protagonist is seen flying around a city. Video shown in the trailer was entirely realtime except for a short sequence of rendered footage showing a train -- our "Away Team" who saw the trailer said it looked "incredible", and will be reporting back further details after the SCE conference today at 4PM PST.

The game is being created by the same team behind Final Fantasy X. The game runs on the "White Engine", an all-new exclusive next-gen engine built for Square Enix's future games. It was originally planned for the PlayStation 2 but was later moved to the PS3. This game is part of the three-part saga, Fabula Nova Crystallis FF XIII, which also includes a cellphone prequel RPG and another PS3 title called FF Versus XIII, an action game by the makers of Kingdom Hearts.


~ Source

Square Enix took everyone by surprise today at its pre E3 press conference with the announcement of not one, but three Final Fantasy XIII games. As part of the new Fabula Nova Crystallis compilation series, Square Enix will release three separate games set in the FFXIII universe, two for the PlayStation 3 and one for mobile systems.

While attendees of the press conference were given an early look at the games, story details were not revealed. However, Square Enix did brief the Japanese press on the staff members who are working away on this newest endeavor. Here's what the list of talent looks like.

Final Fantasy XIII (PS3)
Yoshinori Kitase (Producer)
Motomu Toriyama (Director)
Tetsuya Nomura (Character Design)
Nobuo Uematsu (Theme Song Composition)
Masashi Hamazu (Composer)
Eiji Fujii (Movie Director)
Isamu Kamikokuryou (Art Director)

Final Fantasy Versus XIII (PS3)
Tetsuya Nomura (Director, Character Design)
Takeshi Nozue (Movie Director)
Yoko Shimomura (Composer)
Shinji Hashimoto (Producer)

Final Fantasy Agito XIII (Mobile)
Hajime Tabata (Director)
Tetsuya Nomura (Character Design)
Yusuke Naora (Art Director)
Takeharu Ishimoto (Composer)
Yukimasa Itou (Producer)

Based off these names, the FFXIII project seems to be in good hands. Yoshinori Kitase and Tetsuya Nomura should be recognizable to anyone who's been keeping up with the FF series. Motomu Toriyama served as director on FFX-2 and event director on FFX.

On the music side, Nobuo Uematsu is also a household name amongst FF fanatics. Masashi Hamazu most recently worked on composition for Dirge of Cerberus, and was also composer for games like Unlimited SaGa and FFX. Yoko Shimomura most recently worked on the soundtracks for games like Monster Kingdom: Jewel Summoner, Kingdom Hearts II and Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time.

Now that the FFXIII project has been announced, we expect details to slowly begin streaming out of Japanese sources. The series is currently without a final release date on both sides of the Pacific.

~ Source: IGN

The latest batch of Japan's biggest monthly game magazines have at last made their way out following E3, and contained within are juicy new details on Final Fantasy XIII. The July Hyper PlayStation and Gaimaga (formerly Dori-Maga) provide new hints on what we can expect from the two PS3 entries in the series.

Motomu Toriyama, director of the main FFXIII title for the PS3, revealed to Gaimaga that scenario work for his project is 80% complete, with the game's visual engine, running on actual PS3 hardware, being nearly finished. "Now," he said, "is the time for the true start of FFXIII."

Final Fantasy Versus XIII appears to be trailing in development. "Absolutely nothing has been done on the actual scenario," director and character designer Tetsuya Nomura revealed to Gaimaga. "However, I've had the plot worked out for some time, so you could say I'm discussing the plot and concept with the staff. However, we've yet to start actual work on the scenario."

Toriyama and Versus producer Shinji Hashimoto defended the decision to release FFXIII on the PS3. According to Hashimoto, the development staff determined that one DVD would not be enough for the type of visual expression they were attempting to make. Toriyama noted that, regarding visual expression, the PS3's shader abilities are a big factor.

Series producer Yoshinori Kitase pointed out that the use of shaders has caused some difficulties with development. Making a standard texture, something that would have been done with a PS2 game, would typically require the work of just one designer. With the switch to shaders, designers and programmers have to be paired up, resulting in some logistical difficulties.

Kitase has some insight into the differences in making a game for the PS2 as opposed to the PS3. As announced at the FFXIII unveiling press conference at E3, FFXIII development originally started on the PS2. This was approximately 2 to 3 years go. Following their work on the Final Fantasy VII technical demonstration from last year's E3, the development staff started anew on the PS3, tossing everything they'd created for FFXIII up to that point. "We're truly making everything from scratch," commented Kitase on the game's "White Engine" graphics engine. "We're currently at the step where we're attempting to make an easy development environment."

Hyper PlayStation asked the staff why they decided to announce Versus not as a part of Final Fantasy XIII and not a brand new Final Fantasy XIV. The concept and thinking behind Versus would not be possible in a standard numbered Final Fantasy title, Nomura responded. However, Kitase jumped in, assuring that Versus is not just a side story, as it has some of what makes a numbered FF game what it is. However, he added, "With Versus, we are trying out a type of adventure that we couldn't do in the numbered series."

Nomura also noted just how different Versus will be from XIII -- different characters, a different world and even different visual design. The directors of each FFXIII game, including Final Fantasy Agito XIII for mobile, seem to have quite a bit of freedom, and the result could be some remarkably different games. The look of the game's world, the concepts, themes, characters and era -- these are all up to the game's director. The only area that has to be preserved is the mythology which was finalized during the lengthy pre-production phase that preceded actual development. This pre-production phase was actually longer than it's been for any previous Final Fantasy title.

The development staff didn't get into specifics on gameplay in this latest batch of commentary. However, a few intriguing hints at what we can expect were provided. Toriyama hinted at the use of vehicles in the main FFXIII title. "It's the near future, so something of surprising form will appear," he said with a laugh. "Will the main character ride? That's something that we can't reveal yet. However, I was wondering if we could do something with that gyro controller."

Weapons seem like they will play a big part in the main FFXIII. Toriyama noted that with the PS2, weapons were forced to have the absolute minimal amount of polygons. With FFXIII, the staff has devoted considerable polygon budget to the weapons, going so far as to include details right down to "transformation gimmicks." Weapons can change form in the middle of battle, which is what we see in the FFXIII trailer as the main character uses her sword as a gun.

How this will play out in Versus is unclear at this point, although Nomura did note that, despite having a limited amount of time to make the CG E3 trailer, a good amount of time was spent designing the sword that the main character holds while sitting on his throne at the trailer's start. If you're up for some speculation go for it!

Back to FFXIII, Kitase stated to Hyper PlayStation that one of the team's goals is to show "the next type of RPG following Final Fantasy X." FFXIII will make some big changes to the RPG genre, right down to the basic progression of going to a town, talking to people, then moving on to battles. Kitase believes people will feel "Is this really FF?" when they play the game.

We can expect some traditions to continue, though. The battle scene in the E3 trailer shows the main character fighting enemies on her own. Toriyama confirmed that the main character will indeed fight as part of a party, but added, "We won't be stopping with just the basic idea of a party, though." Party-based fights, with actions involving your allies, will likely be a main part of the game.

One of the best points Gaimaga makes is in showing how closely the real time and CG visuals in FFXIII resemble one another. The magazine has two close-up shots of the main character, one in real time, the other CG (this is the shot marked as CG in the magazine). The two are remarkably similar, right down to individual hair strands.

FFXIII won't be ditching CG movies, of course. "Based on the scale and concept of the footage we want to make, we consider either real time or movies," explained Torishima. Torishima also pointed out that as close as the main character models may seem, there are differences between them on the order of millions of polygons; the models used for the CG cannot be used directly as data on the PS3.

Square Enix has done quite the job of getting lengthy spreads in Japan's biggest game magazines without actually providing solid gameplay or story details (we still don't know the main character's name...). With Toriyama and Nomura both admitting that true development has only just begun on both FFXIII and FF Versus XIII, expect this teasing to go on for quite some time. Of course, any Final Fantasy news is good Final Fantasy news, so we'll be sure and be on the look out for even the smallest updates.

In an interview with Dengeki Online, Square Enix's executive director Shinji Hashimoto, producer Yoshinori Kitase, directors Motomu Toriyama and Hajime Tabata as well as character designer Tetsuya Nomura talked about their work on the three announced Final Fantasy XIII titles and on Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII.

Hashimoto explained that Kitase's first production team began drawing up plans for Final Fantasy XIII three years ago, while Tetsuya Nomura was still busy working on Kingdom Hearts II. As previously reported, the project back then was still set to appear on PlayStation 2. Already at the time when Nomura and his team began working on Kingdom Hearts II, the company had decided to develop two Final Fantasy XIII games (Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Versus XIII). Only later did Hashimoto propose the development of Final Fantasy Agito XIII. Since director Hajime Tabata and his team had just finished working on Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII, the two men sat down and decided to tackle Agito next.

Currently, the three games will only share a common myth. This common background was created by Kitase, Toriyama, Tabata, Nomura and scenario writer Kazushige Nojima. As always, the various games' logos are the works of Yoshitaka Amano. Staying in line with a long-standing series tradition, the image color of Final Fantasy XIII will be white, while in the case of Final Fantasy Versus XIII it will be black.

Asked about Final Fantasy XIII's battle system, director Toriyama confirmed that the development team will bring back the good old active time battle (ATB) system and hence a standard input of commands. In addition to this strategic element, Toriyama however emphasized the element of speed in explaining the concept behind the battle system. While the trailer shown at last month's Electronic Entertainment Expo saw the heroine beating down various foes on her own, she will get help from party members in the actual game. In cooperation with fellow party members, the heroine apparently will be able to unleash various chain attacks.

With Final Fantasy XIII, the development is also trying to offer battle scenes rivaling those of last year's CG movie Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children in terms of quality. Speaking of visuals, Square Enix's White Engine will power both Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Versus XIII. In about six months, the development team will begin implementing online features. While Final Fantasy XIII will be a standard single player game, Kitase promised the implementation of some interesting online features.

Asked when media and fans will be able to get their hands on a demo of Final Fantasy XIII, Toriyama said his team was working hard to have a demo up and running by the time of next year's Electronic Entertainment Expo. At that point, players should be able to actually play the segment highlighted in this year's trailer.

Tetsuya Nomura explained that the world of Final Fantasy Versus XIII was an odd place. While his work on the heroine of Final Fantasy XIII was completed, Nomura admitted the silver-haired protagonist of Versus was still a work-in-progress. The game's story will be dark and sad. Since he prefers depicting friendships over love affairs, the former will play an important role in the game's story. The burden resting on the shoulders of the protagonist and his friends might be very heavy, but nonetheless Nomura also aims to realistically show the positive aspect of their friendship, too.

Furthermore, Nomura wants to do certain things in the game which he can't do in a numbered installment of the Final Fantasy series. He also highlighted the two meanings of the word "versus". On the one hand the meaning of the English word, on the other hand the meaning of the Latin word ("changing directions"). Thanks to the composition of the development team (members of the Final Fantasy VII and VIII teams working on the visuals, members of the Kingdom Hearts team working on the battle system), Nomura hopes to create a Final Fantasy game with an added action element.

Regarding Final Fantasy Agito XIII, Tabata mentioned that the game will make use of new cellphones' various functions similar to Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII's materia creation system using a cellphone's built-in camera. The game is an online RPG offering both a stand-alone single player and an online mode. At the beginning of the game, players will have to choose one of the game's 12 protagonists, who all study at a magic school. The game itself is apparently already up and running on the PC platform, but since the hardware on which the final game will run on is not yet available, Tabata and his team are having trouble working on the connection environment.

At the end of the interview, the developers also shed some light on the fourth installment of the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII. The PlayStation Portable game's story will center around one girl and three boys. The girl obviously will be Aeris and one of the boys will be her fiance Zack. Tetsuya Nomura did not disclose the identity of the remaining two characters, though. Nomura however did confirm that Square Enix is implementing voice acting. At the center of the action battle system will be the abilities of Shinra's elite unit Soldier.

Last but not least, the team promised concrete information on new developments regarding both the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII and Fabula Nova Crystallis in time for next year's Electronic Entertainment Expo.

Apparently the main storyline for all three of the (currently announced) Final Fantasy 13 titles will share the common theme of 'crystals that lead the world towards the future', and that these crystals will be seen as everyday objects that have a purpose to fulfil (suppose this is in contrast to crystals seen in many previous FF titles).

In addition to the main 'crystal' theme, the only other thing the Fabula Nova Crystallis series will share is the appearance of Chocobos and Moogles - apparently they've returned.

Some mention is made regarding the battle system, and apparently Final Fantasy 13's battle system WILL include the traditional ATB system - but not all the time. It will also feature some type of online gameplay, but no more details were revealed regarding this - apparently it's 'not the game's main feature though'. Nomura seemed quite reluctant to speak on the battle system of Versus though - from what can be gathered it will probably be an action title in the vein of Kingdom Hearts though.

Nomura was, on the other hand, a little more specific with story details - apparently the main character of Versus is a member of a royal family who has protected the crystals in the world for generations. He will have to protect these crystals from monsters from another world who wear 'Middle-Ages inspired' armour.

Not much information was divulged on Agito except that it will take place mostly inside a magic-school of some sort and it stars 12 of the students from the school who weild different weapons.

According to Toriyama, Kitase and Nomura though, we'll have to 'wait a bit' before the titles come out."

The game maybe released by next September in Japan 07. This could be likely as the Playstation 3 is due for a release world-wide this November. However, this is still early days, we will just have to wait and see!

Officially announced by Square-Enix on May the 8th, 2006, Final Fantasy XIII is just one part of an enormous project, called Fabula Nova Crystallis. Defined as "the new tale of the crystal" in Latin, Fabula Nova Crystallis encapsulates three all-new titles so far, with hints of more on the way.

These 3 new titles, Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy Versus XIII and Final Fantasy Ajito XIII are not simply sequels, but entirely seperate games. Spanning different worlds and based around different characters, they each show alternate and different stories that are somehow both independant from eachother and yet intricately connected at the same time. Final Fatasy XIII and Final Fantasy Versus XIII, both of which are for release on the PlayStation 3, make up the core of the Fabula Nova Crystallis project, while Final Fantasy Ajito XIII, (a revolutionary entity in itself, and due for release for mobile phones), will play host to a multitude of additional gameplay functions and features exclusive to this format.

November 8, 2006 - Motomu Toriyama and Tetsuya Nomura are currently working away in Square Enix's Shinjuku office on two of the biggest PS3 titles for the next couple of years: Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Versus XIII. While there hasn't been much in the way of new information since both games debuted at this year's E3, Dengeki PS3, a one-time publication released to coincide with the Japanese PS3 launch, managed to score some commentary from the two.

Toriyama, director of FFXIII, commented a bit on the differences between the PS2 and PS3 versions of the game. FFXIII was originally in development for the PS2, but underwent a platform change following May 2005.

There is apparently very little shared between the two versions. The graphical elements that were prepared for the PS2 couldn't be used, explained Toriyama. "The areas that we kept are the Fabula Nova Crystallis world, the pieces of the mythology related to FFXIII, and the character details. On the other hand, the battle and gameplay systems were restarted from scratch when production moved to the PS3."

The development staff also underwent some changes. "During development for the PS2, the staff was centered on the Final Fantasy X-2 team. However, in an effort to work with the new PS3 hardware, many new staff members are now taking part."

Nomura, director and character designer for Versus, discussed the difficulties of working with the new hardware. "The hurdles are greater than they were in the move from the PS1 to the PS2," said Nomura. To deal with the transition, Square Enix has all its programmers gather together to work under FFXIII producer Yoshinori Kitase on the White Engine that will power Square Enix's next generation titles. "We're probably at the point where we could make a PS3 title. However, we're currently researching how to fully tap the specs."

It seems as though we'll have to wait a bit to see anything real time from Versus. "Things like real time footage and specifics on areas like the battle system will come once the White Engine is complete," explained Nomura. "We're currently working hard on the development of [the White Engine], and once it's done, we'll have to research what can be done with it. Of course, we do have an idea of what we'd like to do."

The White Engine, it should be noted, isn't just something being made for Final Fantasy XIII. Square Enix will go through many versions of the White Engine over time, according to Nomura, with different games being developed using different versions of the tools. "It's sort of like FFXIII is there as a target. FF Versus XIII will also use the White Engine, and it will be tuned for FF Versus XIII."

The magazine asked the two creators about their opinions on the Tokyo Game Show. "There were more games running on real hardware that I'd expected," said Toriyama. "We're working hard to get FFXIII playable early as well."

Nomura commented on the titles that caught his eye at the show. "Of course, Metal Gear Solid 4. But personally, I'm excited about Devil May Cry 4. I was surprised that they've already shown something in a working state. Also, maybe Gyakuten Saiban 4?"

And the big question, will these Square Enix power players be buying the PS3? "I'm waiting to purchase a plasma television with a PS3," said Toriyama. "Once you've seen video through HDMI, there's no going back."

We'll let you know if we spot Toriyama or Nomura in line on launch day.

January 10, 2007 - Following up on the latest series of trailers that were first aired at the Jump Festa event in Tokyo late last year, Famitsu has scored interviews with the key personnel behind the Fabula Nova Crystallis series to shed some light into how things are going with the next generation of Final Fantasy.

The magazine first confirms some of what we gathered from the main Final Fantasy XIII trailer, an updated version of the E3 trailer with a few new scenes and a prologue section. In the main FFXIII game, the world is split into two parts: Cocoon and Pulse. Cocoon is a space colony that houses a few million people. Pulse is everything outside of it.

For the people of Cocoon, Pulse is a frightening place. Those who come into contact with it are believed to be elements of a plot to invade Cocoon and are banished from the protections of the Cocoon realm by the "holy" government and its army. The original E3 trailer depicted a group of people who seemed to be confined on a train. These people had come into contact with Pulse and were being quarantined.

Cocoon is protected by crystals. This may not necessarily be the case for the rest of the games in the Fabula Nova Crystalis series, but the crystals in FFXIII are more than just shiny stones with magic abilities. They have the ability to create real life objects. They make life easy for people in Cocoon by creating machines and living creatures.

The relationship between Cocoon and Pulse can be thought of as this, according to director Motome Toriyama. First, there was Pulse, a dangerous world where people reside under the fear of monster attack. Cocoon was made when the crystals considered what would be an appropriate living space for people forced to reside in the world of Pulse.


As mentioned in our writeup on the Jump trailer, the female character who is assumed to be FFXIII's main character is known as Lightning, although that's not her real name. A battle expert with mastery of gun, sword, hand-to-hand, and magic based combat, Lightning knows little about herself. In fact, she's not even sure of her real name, and Toriyama says that we should look forward to finding out the reason for this as part of the storyline. Lighting was once a high ranking official in an organization of some form. Now, according to the prologue that kicks off the trailer, she's been selected as an enemy to all of man kind and will bring destruction to the world.

The trailer also served as the debut of a second character, a blonde-haired guy who speeds in on a motorcycle as Lightning finds herself surrounded by government troops. While the magazine doesn't provide any details on this character, it does provide some surprises about his motorcycle. Famitsu reveals that the bike is a transformed version of Shiva, the water-based summon spell that makes a brief appearance in the Jump trailer. In FFXIII, Shiva takes the form of a sister pair, and both sisters are made up of bike parts, complete with a wheel behind the head. Toriyama wouldn't spill the details, but hinted that you might be able to ride the transformed Shiva in battle, in addition to using it as a means of transportation when outside of battle.

Once again, most of the details in this latest update have been saved for the main FFXIII title, with only tiny bits coming our way on Final Fantasy Versus XIII. Mostly, Famitsu describes what went on in the Jump trailer, itself an extended version of the E3 trailer, but there are a few details that we missed during our initial viewing.

At the beginning of the trailer, as the main character speeds down a highway in the back seat of a car, he's listening to a news broadcast on the radio. This broadcast describes how two countries have come to a treaty about peaceful use of crystals.

Crystals have a different role in the Versus world, director Tetsuya Nomura explained to Famitsu. In Versus, crystals exist only in the main character's country. A long cold war revolving around these crystals, has, as suggested by the news broadcast, at last begun to clear.


One point of interest in the trailer regards the main character's eyes and features, which seem to change based on his moves. During battle, his eyes are red, and when he darts from place to place, his hair flashes white. Director Tetsuya Nomura revealed to the magazine that, while nothing has been confirmed, it's possible that his eyes will change to other colors as well, including green.

Nomura offered a few hints on the kind of battle system we can expect from Versus. The trailer shows the main character 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. 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.

While everything we've seen of Versus so far has been CG concept footage, Nomura revealed that we will at long last get to see the game running on actual PS3 hardware some time this year.

But before that, let's hope Square Enix is good enough to make the Jump trailers available for download so that everyone can have a look at the latest from FFXIII.
~ Source

January 19, 2007 - Square Enix is spreading the love on Final Fantasy XIII pretty evenly between Japan's biggest game publications. Following up on our earlier reports from Famitsu, we have even more info from the pages ofDengeki PlayStation and Famitsu PS2.

In Dengeki, FFXIII director Motome Toriyama said, "The intensity of the opening scene -- it's probably the most in the Final Fantasy series so far." The game's opening will consist of a real time battle scene whose intensity Toriyama promises will surpass what's been shown in the few trailers release for the game so far.

Toriyama also clarified some points on the relationship between the Cocoon world and the world below it. FFXIII's story begins as something from the lower world invades the Cocoon, causing a panic. The people of Cocoon are generally afraid of the outside world, and anyone who is believed to have received outside influence is forced out of Cocoon. Toriyama likened this "influence" to a virus.

The biggest concern amongst Cocoon residents is that of their home falling from the sky. People who do things that could make Cocoon fall from the sky, and people who are ablieved to have the ability to do such things, are deported from Cocoon.

Closing up his comments with Dengeki, Toriyama promised some surprises for the celebration of Final Fantasy's 20th anniversary this year, as well as a chance to get our hands on Final Fantasy XIII as soon as possible. The first 20th anniversary surprise came recently with the announcement of the Final Fantasy 1 and 2 remakes for the PSP. Let's hope the second part of Toriyama's promise isn't too far off.

Tetsuya Nomura had a few comments of his own with Dengeki, regarding both FFXIII and FF Versus XIII. Nomura, character designer for FFXIII, shared some details on the mysterious blonde-haired guy who appears at the end of the latest FFXIII trailer. He's a big guy, Nomura revealed, adding that the design specs for the character called for someone big enough to run while carrying two people around. Recently, it was decided that his foot size would be 33 centimeters.

He wouldn't reveal the relationship between this character and Lightning, the game's main character, except to say that it will be something different that what we've seen so far. Other friendly characters will appear in the game, of course, although Nomura admitted to currently being in the middle of the design process.

Nomura has more involvement in the Versus project, on which he's serving as director. While nothing but CG has been shown for the game so far, he said that due to the power of the PS3, the game should be able to feature battles set in areas with great differences in height, just like in the trailer. Players will have to fight using the full environment, both directly in front of them and above and below.

The trailer showed the still nameless main character 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 tests.

Also hinted at the trailer is that the main character will be fighting by himself. That won't be the case in the final version. You'll fight along side party members who have their own abilities and weapons. We can expect something similar to Kingdom Hearts, said Nomura.

Nomura added one more important bit when discussing FF Versus XIII with Famitsu PS2. Asked what type of PS3-only features the game will have, he mentioned Six Axis support. He didn't go into specifics.

Like FFXIII, we're sure you're wondering when you'll be able to get your hands on FF Versus XIII. Nomura has mentioned previously that development on the Versus XIII project is trailing that of its sister project. While Toriyama was able to suggest a playable version of FFXIII in the not so distant future, Nomura stated that he's already come up with ideas for the next Versus XIII trailer, which he promises will be extremely cool.
~ Source

1. Of the many teams within Square Enix, which one was tasked with creating the first next-gen Final Fantasy? Why, the same folks who made the previous "new Final Fantasy title for the next generation of Playstation!" Namely, the team behind Final Fantasy X for the PS2.
2. Producer Yoshinori Kitase outlines FFXIII's basic concept as the "formal evolution of Final Fantasy. [In] FFX, we tried to conclude and wrap up the traditional RPG. In this game, we'd like to show the next form is pretty much the same: You go into a town, talk to people, go out of town, and enter battles. We want to start looking at the flow and revolutionize it in a way that it may surprise people to learn that this is a Final Fantasy game. I'm thinking it will be an extraordinary new form in RPG's."
3. Director Motomu Toriyama on his experience in creating FFX and applying that experience to FFXIII: "We learned how to exceed and evolve the portrayal of the dramatic essence by showing the small changes in expression and emotions from what we did on FFX. I would be lying if I said we would be able to go back to the PS2 after creating the FFVII technical demo for the PS3.
   "It's always exciting for a creator to be able to build something new on a new platform. We have spent an extraodinary amount of time for the preproduction of this game. For example, we made it so that each tree and each sign would have meaning to it. It's not that we just want to make the visuals realistic; we wanted to develop a fully realized futuristic setting. As it stands, it was inevitable [that we would] rebuild this project for the next-generation platform."
4. To that end, here's what we heard about the combat system: It's still good ol' Active-Time Battle {ATB}, except it's been tweaked to be even faster and a bit more "actiony" (as indicated by the trailer). The development team also cryptically mentioned the use of an "added time axis," which could mean anything from timing button presses that pull off special attacks to abilities that alter time within battle.
5. Another big factor in the combat system is the use of the vertical axis. Notice the gray thing on the heroine's finger? That controls gravity. You (or she) snaps it on and off effortlessly. Combine her ability to control gravity with her acrobatics, and you can see how vertical position in combat is now more important than in previous FF titles.
6. Weapon design is being handled by Tetsu Tsukamoto, who worked on the costume design for FFX-His experience in creating multiple costume changes for the FFX-2 girls probably helped in designing a gun that transforms into a sword.
7. Kitase on the game engine: "A team of experts was formed to develop a special engine with a vast array of elements capable of handling cinematics, advanced audio processing, graphics-engine pysics calculation, and special effects rendering. This impressive development platform is called the White Engine."
8. Toriyama on the female character that was shown in the trailer: "I wouldn't say that she's the main character. It just happens to be that she was the character that we chose to feature the trailer. However, it is true that we wanted to have a strong, independent woman as one of the main characters in the game. To accomplish this, we asked [character designer] Tetsuya Nomura to design a strong and independent female character, both mentally and pysically. She was the end result."
   Nomura interjects, "The order I got from Toriyama was to create a muscular and athletic girl. I had a lot of trouble trying to create her."
9. Toriyama on the setting of FFXIII: "The world of FFXIII depicts a leve lof civilization more advanced than ever seen [before] in the Final Fantasy series. This futuristic world exists in a time when the technology and magic have combined and and developed into a new form. We decided to go for a more futuristic, sci-fi look because we thought that it would fit the new world being portrayed on the Playstation 3 and serve as a indicator as to what the future of gaming might be."
10. Coproducer Shinji Hashimoto on the overall nature of the Fabula Nova Crystallis project and its effect on FFXIII: "Consider that development is simultaneously ongoing for three FFXIIIs--each not only on different platforms but [featuring] different worlds and stories that are bound by a common mythology, these independent FFXIIIs evolve uniquely. The Fabula Nova Crystallis project is not a collection of sequels or ports but several original titles that exist alongside each other."
11. Why put such a big emphasis on a freakin' crystal? Kitase answers, "Because the crystal is the symbol of the FF series. The compilation of FFVII [games] has the central theme of [the original] FFVII, but this project is starting from zero. So that's why we thought it would be good to create a centerpiece for this project and freely evolve from there."
12. Chocobos, moogles, and traditional spell names will still be present.
13. FFXIII online? Kitase mentions, "It's still to be determined; if anything, it will be an extra feature but it won't be one of the main features.

TGS 06: Final Fantasy XIII Impressions
We check out a new trailer for Square's upcoming Fantasy at the Tokyo Game Show.

TOKYO--Today at the Tokyo Game Show, Square Enix showed off a bevy of trailers for their upcoming titles in their patented "Closed Mega Theater". Included among the cornucopia was an updated, expanded trailer for the eagerly anticipated RPG, Final Fantasy XIII. While concrete information, like a release date, is still up in the air, the trailer at least showed off a good amount of new eye candy for the audience.

If you've happened to see the trailer from this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo, not much of substance has changed in the new TGS trailer. The action still revolves around the same nameless woman that was shown causing so much property damage in the earlier trailer. In the previous trailer, though, her enemies were exclusively human; now, she's shown fighting against a number of monsters, as well.

In the first instance, the enemy that appears is a massive demon, looking somewhat like the Balrog from the Lord of the Rings movies, save that it glows blue and swings a massive sword that leaves energy trails behind it. The guards in the large city that's under assault manage to summon their own defenses, as they activate a blue energy field through which leap a few battle wolves, which quickly coalesce from pure energy into solid matter to take on the monster. The woman isn't bereft of tricks of her own, however, as immediately preceding the precious few seconds of battle footage (which appear to be identical to the E3 trailer), she drops a grenade onto a group of enemies and then slices through it with her sword, causing them all to go flying.

Afterwards, a bit of footage appears where the woman directly engages another large monster, which somewhat reveals the Ifrit summon from Final Fantasy X, but in a bit of a blueish hue. This didn't appear to be battle footage, though, as everything moved around a bit too much for it to be anything other than a cutscene.

Lastly, the brief trailer is wound down by the appearance of a mechanized, flying manta ray-esque creature, which landed on one of the railway trains that are seen zooming through these trailers, and then ground it to a halt by pressing it against the track. It stayed there for a moment, causing the woman to leap up from the train and see what all the fuss was about. As in the previous trailer, this one ended as she held her sword out towards the beast and posed for the camera.

Although everything is still deliberately cagey - the game is still a long ways away - we're going to go out on a limb and surmise that the game's plot is at least superficially similar to that of Final Fantasy: Spirits Within, where a female protagonist attempted to convince a skeptical world that their reliance on technology was the cause of their problems. The juxtaposition of the world's high technology setting and the apparently startling appearance of demons and monsters make us think that perhaps the advanced technology is for some reason the cause of the monsterous invasion, which perhaps isn't that much of a stretch, considering the classical relation of nature versus technology in most of the previous Final Fantasy games.

Anyway, that's pure supposition. As more details become available on Final Fantasy XIII, we'll be sure to relay them to you as quickly as possible. # Source

March 2, 2007 - We've gotten used to seeing Tetsuya Nomura, Yoshinori Kitase and Motomu Toriyama in interviews regarding Final Fantasy XIII, but a new face joined the executive staff for the latest feature on Japan's most anticipated PS3 title. The latest issue of Japan's monthly Ge-maga magazine is home to an interview with the three FFXIII mainstays, along with a newcomer, Tosirou Tsuchida. Following his work on Front Mission and Final Fantasy X, Tsuchida is taking charge of the battle system in Final Fantasy XIII.

Before getting into the details of his latest creation, Tsuchida gave some insight into his previous work with the Final Fantasy series. Back at the start of Final Fantasy X's development, he was told that he could do whatever he pleased with the game's battle system. He ended up asking if he could do away entirely with the ATB (Active Time Battle) system for which the Final Fantasy series is known. This caused an emergency meeting within Square. The result was that Tsuchida wasn't allowed to completely do away with the ATB system, resulting in that game's CTB (Count Time Battle) system.

This time, Tsuchida was asked from the start to create a flashy, speedy battle system. He felt that the command-based systems that have been used for previous Final Fantasy games wouldn't allow for this. However, Square Enix wanted a battle system that was as fast as an action game while allowing the player to input commands. That's apparently what we'll be getting in FFXIII.

The battle system is still considered an ATB system, complete with time flowing by as you input commands. However, the actual means of input has changed a bit and, according to Tsuchida, will now allow for more control options. You'll be able to, for example, select between carrying out a simple slash, or charging and then slashing. Some characters will be able to combine magic with standard attacks. And all of this is somehow connected to a new animation system that will blend individual motions to result in a single smooth motion.

Final Fantasy XIII's battle system may share a few points in common with the Final Fantasy XII system. Rather than a standard encounter-based system where battle begins with the allies and enemies in a face off, Tsuchida suggested that FFXIII's battles will begin with the player noting, "Oh, here's an enemy."

Players will be able to change the battle conditions to an extent. Tsuchida gave the example of a player considering what can be done in order to create a winning situation for an upcoming battle.

This doesn't mean we'll be getting an evolved version of the FFXII system either. Toriyama stated that the FFXIII battle system will be something that's not quite encounter based and not quite seamless. Players will have a new way of getting into fights with enemies.

Although Ge-maga got a couple of pages worth of comments from him, Tsuchida managed to keep most of the specifics on the battle system to himself. He wouldn't even confirm if players will be inputting commands for ally characters, or if they'll just be in control of a single character (his response to this question was "no comment.").

Toriyama did, however, refer to the battle system as a "party battle system" as he went on to describe how he wants the game's cast to appear in battle without straying away from their roles in the scenario. This latter point seems to be of prime importance to the FFXIII combat system. It seems that battles in FFXIII are going to be more meaningful than those of previous FF games.

Outside of your main party characters, Tsuchida wants to make the enemies that you encounter in battle more wholly connected to the main game. Scenario and battle should be more closely connected, he feels, and so the enemies will change based on the conditions of the scenario. As an example, he mentioned players moving through an area that's being searched by the army. You'll end up encountering the appropriate type of enemy for this situation, and may even get shot at.

An enemy's specialty and habitat will change based on the location. In the case of an enemy requiring thought and feelings, you can expect to encounter things that aren't strictly "monsters."

In addition to moving differently based on the situation, an enemy's "category" will also change. Enemies in FFXIII are categorized with much detail, Tsuchida revealed. Kitase (who didn't speak much during the interview) made it clear just how much detail we can expect. Battalions will have their own personnel chart, with each soldier having his own background story.

Closing off the Ge-maga feature, Kitase made mention of the fabled "White Engine," the next generation engine Square Enix is using for Final Fantasy XIII. He hinted that Square Enix is considering using the engine for games after Final Fantasy XIII. The recent announcement of the company's plans for the Unreal Engine 3 caused some concern that Final Fantasy XIII would be the first and last sighting for the internally developed toolkit.
~ Source | Discussion

quote

The many "TBA" Final Fantasy games - We want more info, Square!

EGM have dedicated a page of this month's issue to the fairly large array of Final Fantasy games that have recently (and not-so-recently) been announced, yet haven't had much information divulged since then. The magazine tried their best to piece together what little info has been released.

It's a shame that one-and-a-half years have passed since Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Versus XIII were announced, and yet fans still don't know much about the game's details, let alone the characters that will appear.

And despite Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core being released in Japan last September, there is still no news on an English release. No release date, no voice cast, no box art, nothing.

Okay, fans can look past the fact that Final Fantasy: Dissidia and the various Kingdom Hearts spin-offs were only just announced, but I'm sure it won't be long until fans are practically begging for any info on the games.

What ever happened to the days when Square would release information (no matter how small the tidbit) left, right and center?
Square, if you're going to announce a game, then don't forget about it for a year, and leave the fans hanging.

SOURCE - including scan