Final Fantasy XIII and versusXIII - new info

GothPunk

I figured it was time we had a dedicated Final Fantasy XIII thread with there being more info due between now and March (Jump Festa coming up and the FFXIII demo in March the two biggies).

Today, some new trailers were made available from the 'RE: Final Fantasy XIII' DVD by Famitsu magazine. Linky.

I think these trailers give a nice feel for the art direction, which I think is impressive. The music is pure awesome, especially for versusXIII.

ec18

balls i'm going to have to buy a ps3 now

ghouldaddy07

Really like the modern style of versus 13, reminds me of FF7.
13 itself looks impressive but the direction their taking reminds me of 12.

Retr0gamer

Very impressed with the art style of FFXIII, looks quite like the art for FFX, I hope whats left of the FFX team are working on it. Love the music in both trailers. However FF versus XIII looks like typical moody over the top Nomura bull****.

GothPunk

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Very impressed with the art style of FFXIII, looks quite like the art for FFX, I hope whats left of the FFX team are working on it.

Kitase has said the battle systems takes the best of FFX and XII and 'evolves' them. So I'm thinking that means it's going to have a jazzed up version of the superior FFX battle system and you can see enemies in the field like in FFXII.

I just can't get over the fact that the moon has water on it that drips down onto the planet below. I've never seen a concept like that. XIII really does have a very interesting and impressive art style.

Retr0gamer wrote: »

However FF versus XIII looks like typical moody over the top Nomura bull****.

Yeah I know, I can't wait!

tread_softly

Retr0gamer wrote: »

However FF versus XIII looks like typical moody over the top Nomura bull****.

well if you don't like the look of it, you won't be missing out on much.
The only thing XIII and Versus XIII have in common is the world in which they're based

GothPunk

For some reason I can't edit the OP (wasn't that always possible on Boards?) so I guess I'll post new info here.

Shonen Jump have a couple of new shots of FFXIII in game, battle screen, from early in the game (i.e. the part that's in the demo). Looks so awesome. Apparently the battle system is like FFX/FF12, except each turn you get to chain together commands using command points (like Valkyria Chronicles for example). So I'm imaging it's like ATB, except instead of just choosing 'Attack' or 'Magic -> Firaga', you'd select 'Attack -> Fire+Slash+Sweeping Kick' and spend command points on these moves - larger special moves might cost more command points from what I can tell in the scans. Maybe you can save up command points during each turn too, I dunno. So I imagine in practice it'd look a little like Tifa's limit break, except faster paced with different combos giving different results. Certain combos give a bonus like in Valkyrie Profile - you can make this out in the middle pic of the scan.

The style of the world to me seems more like FFVI,FFVII with a little FFVIII and FFX thrown in. I approve of this.

Sephiroth_dude

Id say this wont be out this year will it?

Retr0gamer

Battle system does indeed sound interesting. Sounds a bit like a Valkyrie Profile or Tri Ace battle system married to Phantasy Star IV's excellent Macros system.

As for when to expect it, well it's anyones guess. My guess Summer in Japan at the earliest with an american release just before christmas. More than likely it will be a late 2009 release in japan. Then there's the 6-9 month delay before the american version and the 9-12 month delay for the european version.

Kiith

Why it takes them so long to do a terrible translation, i dont know.

AlmightyCushion

Why can't they release the american and irish/uk one at the same time? There's nothing else that would need to be done to it for ireland/uk.

Vokes

they need to change all the Z's to S's and such

Fringe

Aren't Square trying to do more simulataneous releases now? They started with The Last Remnant. I'm hoping they do it for FF13 too.

Retr0gamer

Fringe wrote: »

Aren't Square trying to do more simulataneous releases now? They started with The Last Remnant. I'm hoping they do it for FF13 too.

I'll believe it when I see it.

seraphimvc

nothing really interesting there ,just some add on of the early relesased videos but i guess thats the most looking-forward RPG of this new gen so far.(damn Lost odysey why dont ya use a better 3D character designer) the robot gundam+starwars feeling of this XIII didnt float my boat at all which is odd because i have always loved airship.

same old pretty face boys/girls design that i am not longer fancy/maybe thats too much from Square after all these years:( but thats the selling point for most potential buyer i guess .

same FF12 battle system??now i am disgusted .Have got this feeling again this is another pretty looking apple empty inside.

The versus XIII is clearly using FF7/Cloud as basic model......modern city/car etc...zzzz i am really sick of that sort of thing now,was hoping it is something different since the first sword fight scene - is the rich/clean/imba Cloud version?

SmileyPaul

seraphimvc wrote: »

nothing really interesting there ,just some add on of the early relesased videos but i guess thats the most looking-forward RPG of this new gen so far.(damn Lost odysey why dont ya use a better 3D character designer) the robot gundam+starwars feeling of this XIII didnt float my boat at all which is odd because i have always loved airship.

same old pretty face boys/girls design that i am not longer fancy/maybe thats too much from Square after all these years:( but thats the selling point for most potential buyer i guess .

same FF12 battle system??now i am disgusted .Have got this feeling again this is another pretty looking apple empty inside.

The versus XIII is clearly using FF7/Cloud as basic model......modern city/car etc...zzzz i am really sick of that sort of thing now,was hoping it is something different since the first sword fight scene - is the rich/clean/imba Cloud version?

while I too have waited for XII as long as anyone else..... I have a strange feeling that seraph has hit the nail on the head... I really hope he is wrong but i dont think he will be, and I've gotta say I truly despised the battle system in XII..... give me back proper turn taking battles any day.... Im not sure which one I'd be more inclined to buy... XIII or versus?
XIII has the same feel to it as XII which isn't too good in my books.... and versus at the moment looks too bland for me to bother
believe this is truly upsetting and like before i hope that all this will end up being one of the posts you look back on and say.... "wow how wrong was I?! hahaha" fingers crossed

seraphimvc

lol of course i hope i am wrong - who would say no to a good game especially a good RPG nowadays

GothPunk

seraphimvc wrote: »

same FF12 battle system??now i am disgusted .Have got this feeling again this is another pretty looking apple empty inside.

Dude, did you even read what I posted about the battle system? It's nothing like FFXII, apart from the fact that XII and XIII both don't have random battles. Here's a link to a blog that explains the battle system more clearly than I tried to. It also includes higher resoluton scans of gameplay.

Unless someone is going to start hating on the awesomeness that is FFX's battle system, I don't really see where the FFXII comparisons are coming from. XIII takes most of it's inspiration from FFX and the fast pace of Advent Children's fight scenes by the look of things.

SmileyPaul, seeing as from the screenshots you can see an ATB bar, XIII most likely uses a fast paced turn based battle system kind of like ATB. This is probably what Kitase means when he refers to it as an 'evolved' version of FFX's battle system.

Anyway, in other news, the official websites are now up!

Final Fantasy XIII
Final Fantasy VersusXIII

Kiith

Ah i'll wait till we get some proper info about the plot/gameplay. Getting hyped up for a Final Fantasy game can leave a bitter taste in ones mouth...which can last a long time.

GothPunk wrote: »

...and the fast pace of Advent Children's fight scenes by the look of things.

This isnt a good thing.

seraphimvc

GothPunk wrote: »

Dude, did you even read what I posted about the battle system? It's nothing like FFXII, apart from the fact that XII and XIII both don't have random battles. Here's a link to a blog that explains the battle system more clearly than I tried to. It also includes higher resoluton scans of gameplay.

Unless someone is going to start hating on the awesomeness that is FFX's battle system, I don't really see where the FFXII comparisons are coming from. XIII takes most of it's inspiration from FFX and the fast pace of Advent Children's fight scenes by the look of things.

SmileyPaul, seeing as from the screenshots you can see an ATB bar, XIII most likely uses a fast paced turn based battle system kind of like ATB. This is probably what Kitase means when he refers to it as an 'evolved' version of FFX's battle system.

Anyway, in other news, the official websites are now up!

Final Fantasy XIII
Final Fantasy VersusXIII

not really tbh - atm since no one will get exactly what they are selling this time unless you have tried a demo.

from the look of it and this sorta info 'If there are other members in the party, they will help you out with moves such as follow-up attacks on enemies' ,i bet it doesnt smell like the good old ATB system :pac: and in fact FFXbattle system is basically the same thing from the previous ones,just a few small changes if you might add - while FFXII is something like MMORPG battle field style,the info 'there will be no battle screen transition.' confirms this.

Meaning that the battle system could only be alike FFXII/FFCC ,logical guess?Using the ATB term could be just a pretty name they want to use since they know many players dislike FFXII battle system lol

well,just a guess,even if it is alike FFXII i dont mind too - only they improve it and make me comfortable

nice theme song by the way of the official site,the art works are still as beautiful as always:p

Machismo Fan

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/943/943940p1.html?RSSwhen2009-01-12_084800&RSSid=943940

Final Fantasy XIII Battle System Detailed
Famitsu.com shows off some real gameplay shots.
by John Tanaka

January 12, 2009 - Following the opening of the Final Fantasy XIII official site on Friday, Famitsu.com has posted a huge update on the game. Most of the information was shared in the site's print version a couple of weeks back, but the online posting at last allows everyone to see the screens for themselves.

You can see the screenshots by browsing over to the original Famitsu.com article. Here's a screen-by-screen analysis, from top to bottom.

First screenshot
That hood may deceive at first, but the green eyes should leave no question: that's pigtail girl! Her full name is actually Oerba Dia Vanille. It was revealed a while back that she's a resident of the Pulse underworld. She was banished there by the religious government that governs the overworld of Cocoon. The governing body banishes anyone it believes to have been influenced by Pulse to the world below, although it seems that with Vanille at least, the reason for her suspicion was never shared.

Second screenshot
This shot shows Lightening in a train -- presumably that same train that she's been infiltrating since the first FFXIII trailer from years ago. Lightning, while once a soldier of the Cocoon government, now fights against the government. She's infiltrated the train in order to free people who are being banished to Pulse. She's not alone, as Famitsu.com says that she's being accompanied by a male character (this may or may not be in reference to Snow, aka bandana guy).

Third screenshot
There isn't really any solid information provided by the Famitsu.com text for this shot, so you can guess for yourself what it is that Lightning is investigating. The the male character in this screenshot is another unidentified character.

Fourth screenshot
That menacing-looking character is an officer in the Cocoon army. As you might expect, officers like this guy have far greater power than regular soldiers. The Famitsu.com text also notes that the Cocoon army has, in addition to standard soldiers, powerful weapons and monsters under its command.

Fifth screenshot
This shot is from prior to battle. In FFXIII, you can see your enemy in advance, and can evade them if you don't want to fight. The transition to battle is said to be seamless.

Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth screenshots
These shots are all from the heart of battle. The FFXIII battle system is command based. You select commands from a command palette, adding the commands to a stock. The moves in the stock are executed all at once. The resulting actions differ based off the selected commands and their ordering.

The commands you can select are your typical Final Fantasy commands for attacks and magic. Also shown in the screenshots is a "launch" command, which sends the enemy flying into the air and allows Lightning to show off her acrobatics. The Famitsu.com text does not specify if there are any limitations on the ordering for your commands, although it seems like placing two launch commands in succession would be a bit silly.

Each command has an associated cost. In the screenshots, the commands for attack, fire, launch, and cure all have a cost of 1. The Firaga spell, however, has a cost of 3. Lightning can perform a total cost of 3, meaning you can have three of the cost 1 moves or just one Firaga. It's unclear if Lightning is permanently limited to a cost of three, or if she'll be able to expand as her character develops.

There are still plenty of mysteries with the Final Fantasy XIII battle system -- notably the mysterious gauge and "bonus" reading in the upper-right side of the battle shots. These will presumably be detailed in a future update.

With the Final Fantasy XIII demo due to hit Japan in March through the Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Complete release, solid gameplay and story details are at long last starting to emerge on the game. It's likely that the information will continue to flow in over the next couple of months, so Final Fantasy fanatics should definitely check back periodically.

F1ngers

ec18 wrote: »

balls i'm going to have to buy a ps3 now

Or you could buy the game on the 360.:rolleyes:

Not a PS3 exclusive anymore.. http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3168704

ec18

is versus XIII coming out on 360 as well?

seraphimvc

i think is just the normal version

YoungPayters

Isn't it FFXIII on PS3 and Versus is on the Sexbox and the PS3? I'm not really sure but it will be a long time before I get it (unless I get my Japanese - English dictionary out )

I wish they went like ICO and just left the Japanese and just threw some English subtitles and that as an option or something (they should really get a better localisation team in Square, get the ball rolling alot quicker, lazy bitches)

Retr0gamer

YoungPayters wrote: »

I wish they went like ICO and just left the Japanese and just threw some English subtitles and that as an option or something (they should really get a better localisation team in Square, get the ball rolling alot quicker, lazy bitches)

Ico wasn't in Japanese, it was it's own language made especially for Ico and Shadow of the Colossus.

YoungPayters

Didnt know that, just assumed it was cause I didnt understand it, ha!

Vokes

Tis confirmed now this won't be hitting Japan till late '09, which means a EU date of mid 2010 at the earliest I reckon.

It's FFXII's release all over again...

Retr0gamer

Vokes wrote: »

Tis confirmed now this won't be hitting Japan till late '09, which means a EU date of mid 2010 at the earliest I reckon.

It's FFXII's release all over again...

It's confirmed that it won't be getting an american or european releas until 2010. Hopefully there will be an asian version with english subtitles at least that we can import.

eVeNtInE

This post has been deleted.

Headshot

i really hope they do some justice to Final Fantasy XIII and versusXIII

I was really disappointed with ff12 and that some of the crap before that

If the real time battling is done like rogue galaxy id be happy but i taught ff12 battling system was crap

im not a fan of the real battling system but i can understand ff has to evolve but i still rather the old way

i just hope theres some interesting characters this time

Mario007

i hate the waitting for ff13 but it does seem that it worth it according to the trailers and info released...should be cool but versus13 will totally rule

YoungPayters

I have a feeling that this might not even come out till 2011. Square love to keep the europeans waiting for ages. If you look at all the release dates for previous FF games you can see that it's usually a year to a 18 months until we get a release, so get too hyped up for at least another 2 years I'd say.

Retr0gamer

They'll probably also get Alexander O. Smith in again to do the localisation which takes a lot longer since he usually does and excellent job of it. Usually it's worth the extra wait though and sure you can always import the US version.

Headshot

Final Fantasy XIII has been a long time coming, but players willing to pay a hefty fee and wade through Japanese text can try it in only a few short months. IGN reports that the Blu-ray version of Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Complete is scheduled in Japan for April 16. The movie alone will cost 4,900 yen (about $54 USD), but that price doesn't include the demo. To play the next Final Fantasy, players will have to shell out 5,900 yen ($65 USD) for the Trial Version set, or a staggering 49,980 yen (about $550 USD) for the Cloud Black 160GB PlayStation 3 set, which includes a special edition PS3 system. Factor in importing costs, and you'll be paying well more than a full next-gen title price for a demo.

The trial is expected to work on PS3s worldwide, due to lack of region locking, but that hasn't been confirmed yet. As far as demos go, this one is set to be beefy, coming in at around two hours long. Considering the game itself won't come out in the U.S. until at least a year later, we're sure at least a few insane devoted fans will eat the cost to try out the game.

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3172344
April 16.

GothPunk

I just pre-ordered it at Play-Asia Yes I am a Square Enix whore.

Headshot

GothPunk wrote: »

I just pre-ordered it at Play-Asia Yes I am a Square Enix whore.

This item is not available for shipping to
# European Union
# Iceland
# Liechtenstein
# Norway

how did you order it

GothPunk

All I did was search for Advent Children, clicked 'movies' and then found this page. It doesn't say anything about not shipping to Europe like Play-Asia usually does. If they do cancel on me I'll just try NCSX.com.

Apparently ACC does have the english dub Although the region of the movie disc is most likely 'Region A' which means my PS3 won't play it. There is a chance it'll be region free though.

Headshot

GothPunk wrote: »

All I did was search for Advent Children, clicked 'movies' and then found this page. It doesn't say anything about not shipping to Europe like Play-Asia usually does. If they do cancel on me I'll just try NCSX.com.

Apparently ACC does have the english dub Although the region of the movie disc is most likely 'Region A' which means my PS3 won't play it. There is a chance it'll be region free though.

oh the trial version

will the trial version be dubbed?

really hope its region free too

might order it myelf

cheers

GothPunk

{(-_-)}HeadShoT** wrote: »

oh the trial version

will the trial version be dubbed?

really hope its region free too

might order it myelf

cheers

The demo will be Japanese only, but the Advent Children Complete movie has an english dub option. If you do want the demo I suggest you pre-order soon as only the first run of the movie comes with the FFXIII demo.

GothPunk

This weeks Famitsu magazine contains interviews with Japanese developers looking back on 2008 and forward to their new releases this year. Kitase had this to say:

Yoshinori Kitase (Square Enix) wrote:

2008 was a year when Kitase spent lots of his time making Sigma Harmonics and Dissidia Final Fantasy. Among the things that caught his eye in 2008 are PSP’s strong performance and the popularity of downloadable content (DLC) for home consoles. However, he says it’s not easy to have DLC for games like Final Fantasy because it has to be a full package.

For 2009, Kitase would like to speed up the production of Final Fantasy XIII and hope to see PS3 picking up more steam. The announcement of FFXIII demo is part of that plan. In order to accelerate PS3’s attach rate, Kitase says the system must have attractive games, to which Famitsu says FFXIII is the best choice, Kitase says he certainly hope so. Future news on FFXIII will focus more on actual gameplay footage instead of CG cut-scenes that we have seen so far. Famitsu then ask how far the demo will allow us to play, Kitase says since the actual game won’t be out for quite some time, the demo will only focus on “the basics” of the game and lets players check out the brand new battle system.

Besides FFXIII, of which he says the basic elements are done and he can finally see its completion time coming, he will also spend time on the mobile phone version of The 3rd Birthday (also available on PSP) and PSP’s Final Fantasy Agito XIII, both of which are ongoing. FFXIII is a title that Square nurtured for a long time and 2009 is the year when it comes to fruition. He says we can expect to see plenty of promotion activities for the title this year.

I think that a focus on gameplay over CG eye candy can only be a good thing. Hopefully we'll get a better idea soon of what we can expect from the game by seeing someone playing it.

Whether these gameplay reveals will come before or after the release of the demo remains to be seen I guess. Either way I'll post up screens or videos of the demo when I get it. It'll probably be the end of April by the time I get it though so you'll all have seen other peoples impressions by then.

noodler

What do you reckon this is?

The FF13 PSP?

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=206400

I'd make a thread but its probably nothing.

Vokes

Tis probably a 'theatrical' trailer or some such.

GothPunk

Vokes wrote: »

Tis probably a 'theatrical' trailer or some such.

Yeah, most likely seeing as how it's the same story over on the official american website, where it shows a picture of Lightning and the countdown clock.

GothPunk

So the trailer is up now! The Japanese website appears to work best at the moment.

Check out the majesty! Notice that there is a lot of in game footage in this trailer, the majority of which demonstrates the battle system.

FFXIII certainly looks good, I just hope it's fun and engrossing to play

Headshot

acutal game footage

looks superb

eVeNtInE

This post has been deleted.

Homicidal_jesus

I CANT WAIT FOR THIS GAME!Too bad we have to wait so long!!!

seraphimvc

looks very good indeed :D:D

now,now,*calm down*,please dont let me down like you did last time!

the battle system looks 'normal' to me now!

saw alot of soldiers who wears Zaku robot mask from Gundam series lol

Retr0gamer

Very, very pretty.

Like the look of the battle system as well. It's looks kind of like the system used in Xenosaga games but in real time and not utterly rubbish. I'm sure it will be good with the guy behind FFX's system, Toshiro Tsuchida, at the helm. It's seems to show a bit of restraint in the cutscenes as well unlike the over the top emo and absolutely daft looking FFXIII versus. I'm really hoping that the team behind it remembers that the best and most memorable scenes in the FF games haven't been about the spectacle but the quiet scenes between characters.

I'm pretty sure this will be a good game despite the past track record of Square Enix. FFXII's problem was that it languished in development hell and the loss of Yasumi Matsuno was a massive blow that left the battle system in incapable hands and the story a rushed and unfinished mess.

seraphimvc

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Very, very pretty.

Like the look of the battle system as well. It's looks kind of like the system used in Xenosaga games but in real time and not utterly rubbish. I'm sure it will be good with the guy behind FFX's system, Toshiro Tsuchida, at the helm. It's seems to show a bit of restraint in the cutscenes as well unlike the over the top emo and absolutely daft looking FFXIII versus. I'm really hoping that the team behind it remembers that the best and most memorable scenes in the FF games haven't been about the spectacle but the quiet scenes between characters.

I'm pretty sure this will be a good game despite the past track record of Square Enix. FFXII's problem was that it languished in development hell and the loss of Yasumi Matsuno was a massive blow that left the battle system in incapable hands and the story a rushed and unfinished mess.

speaking of Yasumi Matsuno ,i think have just found the prototype of FFT here,what a shock!never heard of it before!!!
Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together
guess what,the exact same music composer team too

tbh FF series is always a good game to play with since FF4,top class RPG in any generation.lets hope for the best of FFXIII:D