Final Fantasy XIII

[Valigarmander]

Final Fantasy XIII Preview for the PS3,Xbox 360 from 1UP.com

With the Japanese version of Final Fantasy XIII's development nearly complete, Square Enix presented a brand new demo of the game at this year's Gamescom. Game director Motomu Toriyama took an in-game party, with Lightning in the lead, through the icy Lake Bilge region. While engaging in a couple of standard battles, Toriyama described the combat system in general -- but the presentation's highlight was a first-look at Lightning's Odin Summon in action.

Toriyama divulged new details about the game's Active-Time Battle system (which Jeremy Parish analyzed in depth back in April here and here). We know it lets you queue up actions for combo attacks, but the director confirmed that, though only three slots are available in the beginning, as you level up this will increase until the slots stretch completely across the bottom of the screen. This setup came from the development team's desire to bring a stronger action element to battles while retaining the classic feel of earlier Final Fantasy games. Toriyama explained that the team actually went back through all the classic Final Fantasy games to study their combat in detail for reference.

Along with helping you wade through enemies, effectively using your combos plays a key part in casting Summons. The grade you receive at the end of each battle (which increases based on your power and the style of combos you use) feeds into the meter that fuels your Summons. Once called into battle Summons can fight alongside the party, or can go into Gestalt mode -- transforming into a second form that completely changes the flow of combat.

After the prerequisite cinematic Gestalt transformation, the summoning character partners up with their Summon. When this happens, the fight changes from an RPG to an action game -- you take full control of the Summon's movements and attacks in real time. Because of this close connection between the character and their Summon, each party member will only have one; that relationship will strengthen throughout the game as a sense of unity grows between the two.

Lightning's Summon is Odin, and the beast appears on-screen in an expectedly dramatic fashion. Though grand, Odin's cinematic entrance is well-paced and not too long. Switching to Gestalt mode causes Odin to fly up into the air, transform into a horse, then blast back down to the ground where Lightning can hop into the saddle. Once horseback, Lightning wields two tremendous, sickle-like blades; Toriyama drove her into the middle of an enemy cluster and proceeded to dice them up, demonstrating the power of Gestalt mode.

After the demo Toriyama took a little time to explain Final Fantasy XIII's setting. One of its major components is the relationship between the fal'Cie and the l'Cie. The fal'Cie are the godlike entities who created the utopia of Cocoon as a haven from the outerworld of Pulse. The l'Cie are the chosen people who serve the fal'Cie. Becoming a l'Cie is a great honor and with it comes tremendous power provided by the fal'Cie. A large part of the story will center on the ethical challenges of handling that responsibility.

Toriyama also introduced a couple of new characters, but only in the form of concept art. The first was a slender, long-haired young woman (who Toriyama feels is the cutest character in the game). He didn't provide her name, but he did say she will not be a playable character. The other new addition is Sazh's son, who sports a kid-sized version of his dad's Chocobo-nest hairdo.

Everyone outside of Japan will have to wait until 2010 to play the game, but no matter what language you play it in, Final Fantasy promises to contain more than enough content to keep players busy for a long while. Along with the main story, which takes place primarily in Cocoon, Pulse will be filled with a number of side-missions. The wait is nearly over for this hotly anticipated title, and if this demo is any indication, Final Fantasy is back and better than ever.

Looks interesting so far... I'd like to see some more of this gameplay. Check the link for screenshots and video.

[Valigarmander]

New trailer from TGS.

Click to view video.

Uhh... did Ifrit just transform into a racecar?

[Marilink]

Wow. That sounds...needlessly complicated. I'd have to see someone control it for me to completely understand.

[Valigarmander]

Here's the English trailer.

Final Fantasy XIII TGS 2009 English Trailer Video from GameVideos

[Sim Kid]

I think it sounds like a new take on the ATB system. I kind of like how it encourages you to think ahead, but at the same time it probably would just slow things down. Septerra core had a similar system but it was just performing one action at a time.

[Speed]

Chocobo Jazz

Click to view video.

[The Doctor]

I download something a while ago on my PS3 which I believed showed Odin transform into a horse and Ifrit transform into a racecar. Both epicness. Anyway... what I can't wait to see transform, is for my pre-order to go into sent.

[Vgfian]

Originally Posted by Valigarmander

Here's the English trailer.

Final Fantasy XIII TGS 2009 English Trailer Video from GameVideos

Decided to post youtube version, because some people can't view this version because of HD... thing...


YouTube - Final Fantasy XIII : Official TGS 2009 English Dub Trailer [HD]

Click to view video.

[Valigarmander]

Final Fantasy XIII Character Growth System Explained (A Bit)

With the announcement of every new Final Fantasy game, the one thing fans can know for sure even before official details are released is that it'll feature a new unique take on character development. Final Fantasy XIII will follow this tradition, and now we have some details on exactly how its "Crystalium System" will work.

According to the latest issue of Weekly Shonen Jump (Andriasang via Joystiq), the Crystalium System replaces the usual flow of experience points and level gaining. Instead of experience points, players will earn crystal points (CP). As Andriasang explains it, "these can be exchanged for new skills and abilities, shown on a circular chart in the Crystalium management screen."

The more abilities you learn, the more paths open up on the chart, and they'll lead to stronger versions of similar abilities (learning Fire will lead down a path toward Fira and so on). Apparently you'll also boost character stats the same way, such as unlocking HP bonuses. By the sound of it, the Crystalium System sounds pretty similar to a standard RPG skill tree system, mixed with some influence from Final Fantasy X's Sphere Grid and XII's License Board.

Hopefully more clarifying details on this new system will come along soon, as it's still not entirely clear how the Crystalium System will work throughout the flow of the game.

Interesting. This'll be something a bit new for the series.

[Valigarmander]

Final Fantasy XIII Announcement Coming Nov. 13?

As if for some reason you planned not to read things on the Internet this Friday, here's a good reason to reconsider. Last Friday, Square Enix posted a message on the official Final Fantasy XIII website that contained a mysterious anagram. Now it's been solved, and it seems to point to a big announcement coming next Friday, November 13.

The original post read: "A puzzle for FINAL FANTASY XIII fans! Solve this anagram to find out what lies ahead: A Henchmen Inventor Tent Unto. Check back Monday for the answer!" No need to check back Monday, because two FinalFantasy-XIII.net forum goers already solved it: "Announcement Nov Thirteenth" (ripten, via Kotaku).

Obviously, that probably means there's going to be a Final Fantasy XIII announcement on November 13. Could it be the North American release date? Could it have anything to do with the advertisement Square Enix was reportedly casting for that would reveal the North American release date? Keep your eyes peeled this Friday, and we'll all find out together.

[Valigarmander]

Final Fantasy XIII Trailer Gives a North American Release Date

We knew a Final Fantasy XIII announcement was due today, and it seemed certain to finally be word of a North American release date. The speculation was spot-on, as the new trailer released this morning (above) pegs the release at March 9, 2010. We've been hearing buzz that Square Enix was aiming for a spring release of the game, and it looks like they're set to hit the mark. Check out the trailer above and keep a watch out for more details soon.

So there you go. March 9, 2010. Check the link for the video.

[Valigarmander]

New Details on Final Fantasy XIII Weapon Upgrade System

Even after finally revealing the March 9 North American release date, Square Enix is still figuring out ways to slowly drip new Final Fantasy XIII information seemingly every week. This week, Shonen Jump (via Andriasang) has provided some new details on the weapons upgrade system that'll be featured in the game, as players will evidently improve a character's weapon into entirely new forms.

According to the somewhat light details, players will gather certain materials over the course of the game that can be used for weapon upgrading. There will be over 100 different kinds of such materials, and the right combinations will allow weapons to gain experience and upgrade into new forms.

Two examples were provided for the weapons of two party members. First is Lightning's sword, which starts off as "Blaze Edge" but with the right modifications can become the improved "Slash Carbine." Second is Snow's weapon, which apparently is just a coat, but with the right modifications the coat's stats not only improve but its patterns and colors change altogether.

From the sound of it, the weapons upgrade system sounds like a combination of a similar weapon upgrade system seen way back in Final Fantasy VIII, and, if you think about it, kind of like the way you evolved MAGs in Phantasy Star Online. It's not clear, though, whether upgrading is the only way to get new weapons (as it was in FFVIII) or if you'll be able to purchase/find new weapons as well.

Now be sure to tune back in next week, when Square Enix will no doubt reveal the system for purchasing items in FFXIII's shops, or something or other.

[JaredThaJa888]

The FFXIII trailer makes me think of X-Men.

[Valigarmander]

Final Fantasy XIII First Review: Great, Not Perfect

Final Fantasy XIII comes out for the PS3 December 17 in Japan, just over a week from now. What did that nation's top video-game media outlet think about it? Well, they like it -- but not quite enough to give it the perfect score everyone expected.

Weekly Famitsu magazine's review, the first in the world for Square Enix's latest RPG epic, is ebullient enough in the text. "The story being told is very deep and uniquely charming, not at all like FFs up to now," one editor wrote. "The battle system is innovative and has a lot of strategic elements. Being able to rewind back to just before the current battle is really nice."

Reviewers also had good things to say about the graphics ("without a doubt, the state of the art in story cutscenes") and the battle system: "It's built both for beginners and seasoned players. Things proceed speedily and since you're always rated, every battle has a sense of tension to it. The ability to switch Optimas instantly and use a wide variety of skills and magic simultaneously in battle is exhilarating."

Yet despite that, FFXIII received 39 out of 40 points in the review, with one editor giving the game a 9 and the rest awarding ten out of ten points. Why? "Given the quality all around, it's a bit of a shame that the story is a straight path until the midgame," editor Yamamoto Penki (the guy who gave it 9/10) wrote. "I'm also concerned about the lack of [gameplay] gimmicks before the midpoint." (Yamamoto's issue with the lack of story freedom was echoed by another reviewer, too.)

The 39/40 score makes FFXIII the 19th game in Famitsu history to miss a perfect score by a single point since the mag began doing four-man "Cross Reviews" in 1986. It joins an elite club that includes titles like Grand Theft Auto IV, Okami, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

However, given that Famitsu has given perfect 40/40 scores to four other titles this year alone -- including Dragon Quest IX, Monster Hunter Tri and Bayonetta -- the 39/40 score for FFXIII has caused many Japanese gamers to question the magazine's review-score consistency. "I figured they were just giving perfect scores to all the triple-A titles these days," one gamer wrote on the game-industry section of giant Japanese web forum 2ch.net. "But now this means they gave a perfect score to Monster Hunter Tri because they actually thought it deserved it. Famitsu's reviewers are drifting away from my viewpoint; I really can't trust them anymore."

FFXIII is due out March 9, 2010 in America and the rest of the world.

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF- IMPERFECT SCORE? I'LL NEVER BUY IT NOW.

[Sim Kid]

They're just now beginning to doubt the trust in video game journalism? Whaddya bet Famitsu was covered in advertisements from Square-Enix before the review?

[1-up Salesman]

From what I read in that article, it seemed like the guy that gave it a 39/40 wa hoping for it to be something like KOTOR. It's like when IGN whines about lack of online Multi-Player in NSMB Wii. Stop whining about what you wanted the game to be, and focus on what game the company was trying to make it, and rate them on how they achieved their goal.

[X-3]

Originally Posted by I REALLY LIKE POKEMON!

From what I read in that article, it seemed like the guy that gave it a 39/40 wa hoping for it to be something like KOTOR.

How, exactly? They guy who gave 9/10 had these complaints:

Originally Posted by Article

"Given the quality all around, it's a bit of a shame that the story is a straight path until the midgame," editor Yamamoto Penki (the guy who gave it 9/10) wrote. "I'm also concerned about the lack of [gameplay] gimmicks before the midpoint." (Yamamoto's issue with the lack of story freedom was echoed by another reviewer, too.)

I don't think your comparison with NSMBW makes much sense. Yamamoto's complaints seemed more to do with pre-midgame stuff which could have been reconsidered and changed by SE.


also, I get the feeling that 2ch guy was joking, but I have no evidence or anything so yeah

[Valigarmander]

Here, have some videos.

Final Fantasy 13 Seventeen Minutes of Gameplay Video from GameVideos

Final Fantasy 13 Farushi Boss Battle Video from GameVideos

Final Fantasy 13 Crystal Boss Video from GameVideos

Final Fantasy 13 Robot Crystal Boss Video from GameVideos

Final Fantasy 13 Ruins Gameplay Video from GameVideos

Final Fantasy 13 Shiva Summon Battle Video from GameVideos

[Valigarmander]

Final Fantasy XIII Tops 1 Million First-Day Sales

If history has shown nothing else, it's that Japan loves Final Fantasy. So we expected the debut of its newest full sequel, Final Fantasy XIII, to make big waves in its homeland. Kotaku reports that in its first day alone, the game sold over one million copies. The number doesn't include the PlayStation 3 "Lightning Edition" bundle, which most likely moved impressive units as well. This puts a dent into Square Enix's retail base, which shipped two million copies for the release, but Japanese fans and importers shouldn't have too much trouble finding the game.

By comparison, another beloved Japanese franchise, New Super Mario Bros Wii, sold over 900,000 units in its first week in Japan. That was enough to steal the record for fastest-selling Wii game, but doesn't hold a candle to FFXIII's first-day success. When the game launches in the U.S. in spring of next year, it will be on twice the number of platforms, but American sales tastes have been moving progressively away from the JRPG. We'll have to see if the Final Fantasy name can still inspire massive sales here as well.

If you want more info from the Japanese launch, check out our launch line report and video blowout to keep you sated until your import copy arrives.

[Valigarmander]

Final Fantasy XIII Preview for the PS3,Xbox 360 from 1UP.com

I'm about three hours into the final Japanese version of Final Fantasy XIII, and things are starting to fall into place for me. I'm getting a sense of the shape of the plot, I've met five of my six party members (and saw the sixth, briefly, in a romantic flashback sequence), I have a handle on the new combat system, and I've finally opened up the character-building and skill mechanics. And what I realize now that I see the game splayed out in front of me, its innermost workings revealed, is that it owes a lot to Final Fantasy X-2.

No, wait! Come back! I know, I know; FFX2 was incredibly controversial and was the first game in the series to really and truly alienate many long-time Final Fantasy fanatics, but that doesn't mean you should write off FFXIII. It draws on the good parts of FFX2 -- the combat and class-change systems -- not its unpopular "girls night out" vibe. On the contrary, FFXIII is all about very serious melodrama, what with its surly heroine Lightning and overarching plot line about magical legends and racial prejudice. One of the main characters, Snow, just saw his fiancée turn into crystal, which is about one step removed from Lot's wife becoming a pillar of salt. That's some biblical stuff, right there! And on top of that, after watching her transform right before his very eyes, Snow received a vicious right hook to the jaw from Lightning, whose spindly arms apparently pack a lot more power than you'd expect.

So no, FFXIII isn't jokey like FFX2 was. But the battles -- well, those are very similar. Three warriors square off against enemies in a field of battle (Final Fantasy XII's free-roaming combat has been swept away, though there are no random battles against invisible enemies, either). Each character acts as their turn comes up, which is determined by the traditional Active Time Battle meter. Unlike older Final Fantasies, turns overlap. You may strike an enemy at the same time as you suffer an attack -- and this in turn becomes a significant feature of combat.

Timing becomes everything in FFXIII. Where FFX2 allowed players to perform combo attacks by striking together, FFXIII takes things a step further. Combat here is all about chaining actions, building on your other party members' moves to maximize your power. Time a powerful attack right and you could interrupt a foe's action, buying yourself a reprieve while it picks itself up and makes another attempt -- though of course this works both ways, and your own characters can be knocked out of their attack animations just as easily. But even more essential than that is the Boost gauge.

Boosting was present in the import demo we covered a few months ago, back when Final Fantasy Advent Children Complete was released in Japan. But it's only in the final version of the game, where all abilities and features are present and accounted for, that the true importance of Boosting becomes evident. It's really not an exaggeration to say that Boosting is the essence of FFXIII's combat. Sure, you can pour your attacks onto an enemy and take it down that way, but if you Boost your attacks, victory is that much faster -- and sweeter, too, since you're graded on your performance at the end of battle, and a better score recharges certain essential skill meters....

Boosting feels almost like an evolution of Final Fantasy X's Overkill. There, finishing off a weak enemy with a high-powered attack would result in Overkill status, which often resulted in rare drops or other benefits. Here, Boosting is something that benefits you before you finish a foe. Every time you damage an enemy, its Boost gauge -- a sort of stress tolerance meter -- rises slightly, and immediately begins to slide back to zero. Inflict enough pain at a quick enough rate, however, and eventually you'll reach the enemy's Boost limit. (Each foe has a different limit, which is displayed prominently in its bestiary entry.) So, while you may think it best to spread your attacks around to multiple enemies, the Boost system offers a compelling reason to focus all your attacks on one foe. Once you've maxed out an enemy's Boost gauge, it will enter Break status and all attacks will do increased damage -- again, improving your post-combat rating.

Of course, doing that requires attentive play. FFXIII doesn't give you control over your entire party; in keeping with modern trends, you only really control your current party leader, and the rest of your crew is AI-controlled. Unlike in FFXII, you don't have any direct control over your other team members at all. Since battles are so fast-paced, this is almost a necessity; in the time it takes for you to see the outcome of one attack and choose the next, your ATB meter will have recharged. Combat is relentless in this game -- but also forgiving. If you die (and it's an automatic loss if your party leader bites it), you can restart a battle right away. Your health recharges after each battle, too, turning each fight into a self-contained fight for survival. So far, I've never felt overwhelmed, though of course these are just the opening sequences of the game; whether it continues to feel fair beyond this point is something I'll have to determine through further play.

It's not really correct to say you don't have any control over your ally characters, though. In another nod to FFX2, you can instantly change your characters' classes in the heat of combat. No Dress Sphere transformation sequences here, though. Instead, this is referred to as the Paradigm system ("Optima" in the Japanese version), and your characters classes are referred to as Roles. There are six Roles available -- Attacker, Blaster, Defender, Healer, Jammer, and Enhancer -- and while these names will change in the U.S. version, their functions should be fairly obvious to anyone with even a passing familiarity RPGs, especially MMOs. Attackers focus on melee attacks, Blasters on assault magic, Defenders on playing tank, Healers on keeping the party healthy, Enhancers on buffing the party, and Jammers on debuffing foes. And though you can't tell a companion character which specific actions to take, by using Paradigm Shift to instantly change everyone's Roles, you can adjust your tactics on the fly. It's actually pretty similar in concept to having multiple predefined Gambit setups in FFXII, especially since you determine your presets in advance of battle, though it's highly simplified in comparison to the previous game's dense AI programming mechanics.

I've only just opened up the ability to use Paradigm (and the Crystarium character customization system that goes along with it), so I'm still developing a feel for how it all works together. So far, though, I'm impressed. Although the highly hands-off approach of the AI-controlled characters initially felt limiting in the opening areas (much of which is identical to the demo from a few months back), the introduction of more of FFXIII's core systems makes a huge difference. There's a lot happening in combat at any given time, some of which is just extraneous flashiness; this is a gorgeous game, and Square Enix is kind of showing off. (Even the in-game character menus show off a bit! It's really sort of shameless.) But within that dizzying array of attacks are tactically significant actions and icons, and it seems that part of mastering FFXIII will involve developing mental filters to help keep track of what's important and what's not. When Yoshinori Kitase told us, "Moving forward, I think that Final Fantasy will evolve from a command-oriented to a more active RPG -- though not necessarily an action game," this is clearly what he meant. FFXIII is, at its heart, a turn-based single-player RPG that feels as dynamic as an action game, as lively as an MMO.

The real question is, does all this flash complement a deep game, or does it simply cover up a shallow husk of an RPG? That question will be foremost on my mind as I delve further in the world of Pulse over the coming days -- so please, keep an eye on our RPG blog The Grind for my thoughts.

I might just have to get this game someday. Check the link for vids and pics.