The latest issue of Dengeki Playstation has a interview with XIII-2 Producer Yoshinori Kitase and Director Motomu Toriyama. The interviewed detailed various aspects about XIII-2.
* The game has been split into ‘Episodes’. Each one takes about 3 hours to complete, and is meant to help people who may be busy.
* The bonuses for the XIII Save Data include Special Decorations for your Pocket Monster collection, and you’ll have a higher chance of winning in the Casino games. There’s also “Something special” at the title screen. He also revealed that, unlike previously assumed, the XIII Save Data does NOT have to be a Cleared Save File.
* Like previously detailed, battles with DLC Monsters will take place in a special Colosseum area. The colosseum will also have a small part in the overall story.
* There will be an area of the world where you can check updates about released DLC.
* Along with the ability to save at any time, the game will also have a Auto-Save feature. It was included because of its popularity in overseas games. However, since its not completely obvious when it happens, the option to do a manual save at any time was included.
* Interestingly, Odin will be available as a recruitable monster. He is a boss monster for one of the game’s episodes, but it wasn’t said if this is where you can recruit it.
* After clearing the game, you’ll return to the opening area. Closing the Historia Crux gate there will unlock a ‘New Game Plus’ experience. This will help access all the items and paths available during the game, and obtaining items from different Live Trigger choices.
* Serah and Noel will start the game with only Commando, Ravager, and Sentinel roles available.
* When Dengeki asked about Sazh’s role in the game (you may recall he appeared in a trailer a few weeks ago), they answered ”Final Fantasy XIII-2 will continue after release, so look forward to later.” This could imply that Sazh will appear in DLC missions. This could mean thats there more than just Monsters and Costumes to look forward too.
Dengeki gave XIII-2 an ‘S’ ranking in their Buyer’s Guide. A normal numbered ranking out of 100 by reviewers will come later.
Dengeki Playstation had an interview with Final Fantasy XIII-2 director Motomu Toriyama and battle director Yusuke Matsui. The directors mainly discussed the game’s battle system and the improvements and additions that were implemented on it.
Transition between switching paradigms are faster than before, as the key point in the battles of XIII-2 is speed. The game will have harder enemies and bosses, so this is definitely a relevant factor as you will be switching paradigms a lot of times in order to win. A major improvement concerning the paradigm system would be the player’s ability to save the combinations they have made, which was what XIII didn’t have.
Toriyama has stated that the bosses in XIII-2 will be tougher than XIII’s, so an easy mode was added. Some bosses are optional, so if you’re having a hard time beating one even at easy mode, you could just skip it and move on to another scenario. The developing team has also made a special program to balance battles in different areas which analyzes the player’s logs and skills on how they defeated an enemy. Additionally, a new feature called the Blood Damage will be introduced in order to make the battles more challenging than what XIII had, where the healer(s) of the party would just do their job until the party wins. Blood damage cannot be healed by a healer, although there will be items that can recover it.
Interestingly, the game will have summon creatures (yes, summon creatures which are apparently different from the monsters we’ll be recruiting in our party). However, they’ll be in different forms than the ones in XIII as the main characters are not l’Cie.
Another major improvement in the battle system is the battle formation. As opposed in XIII where the characters would only do little movements in battles, in XIII-2 their formations will depend on the roles they’re currently in, i.e. the defender would move forward and guard.
The monster collection system, which is the biggest addition to the battle system, will be varied in different ways. Monsters of their own kind will have differences in time of developing their statuses, and monsters of the same role will have different abilities. It is also possible to grow them into powerful beasts, as a monster can inherit the abilities from others. Equipping accessories on these monsters will also change their appearances. Moreover, Toriyama also said that he is in the process of making the ultimate monster and this is his first time using a strategy guide while test playing a game.
Lastly, it has been revealed before that when the current party leader dies in battle, you are able to switch to the other party member. Since the monsters are being controlled by Serah and Noel technically, the battle is over once the 2 human party members are killed.
Thanks to forum member Ffamran mied Bunansa for the heads-up!
Source: Andriasang
A preview of the latest Final Fantasy XIII-2 Dengeki article has surfaced. A better look on Hope’s new appearance can be seen along with a few new screenshots of a city at night time that has been featured in the trailers.
Source: Facebook
New information from this week’s Dengeki issue has been leaked, thanks to Erren Van Duine from Nova Crystallis. Check out some new details from the translated article below:
New Capital Academia
Cocoon’s metropolis led by the Academy. The Academy’s idea is a future with no need of the fal’Cie. In Academia’s business district at night, Cie’th appear. Depending on the time period in which you visit, things will change.
Toriyama Mini Interview 1
Hope is about ten years older, he’s now the Academy’s leader but he also helps with Gran Pulse developments. Because of certain things that happened in Cocoon, some characters have a feeling of guilt. Other characters from XIII are also “walking new paths” and out of them, Hope really has changed the most.
Hope still keeps his boomerang as a memento of sorts, but he doesn’t really use it often.
Regarding Sazh, he too is helping the society of Gran Pulse in his own way.
Gigantic Casino Xanadu
Can be seen floating in the sky, but the time period it is in is unknown.
Slot Machines: You can buy coins to spend on these machines with gil. Conversely doing well will allow you to earn prizes.
Chocobo Races: Here you can have the chocobos you’ve captured in battle race. There are
five categories, with the top one having big prizes.
Chocobos have “Racing Points.” When these points hit 0 the chocobo must retire. Pressing the right button at the right time when a race starts gives you a start dash.
Minigame “Time Labirynth”
You’ll encounter these in the course of the story, but there are also optional ones.
“Vanishing Floor”: Every time you get off a floor panel it disappears. The stage is composed of a series of floor panels and crystals. The objective is to gather all the crystals.
“Crystal Bond”: Where you must link crystals of the same shape and color with each other.
“Clock’s Needle”: Where numbered crystals appear floating over a giant clock’s dial. Details are unknown.
Monster Special Skills
Tonberry’s Deep-seated Grudge : a special move where grudge is unleashed.
Chocobo’s “Kweh!”: a series of blows done with the chocobo’s beak.
Toriyama Mini Interview 2
One of the criticisms many people had towards XIII was the lack of dungeons. To fix that they created the Time Labyrinths which are similar to the Cloister of Trials segments from FFX. The ones you encounter as part of the story are relatively simple, but the really hard ones are optional.
Chocobos who participate in Chocobo Races can get stronger and learn new abilities while racing. You can also play with the slot machines.
Kitase: Staff members who did the slot machines put a lot of effort into them. Using them, you can acquire premium items but there are also risks.
While not a minigame itself, throwing the Moogle around to get treasure chests is also fun.
Kitase: One thing I’d like to clarify is that all these minigames are not DLC, they’re all contained in the game.
Source (full article): Nova Crystallis.
More and more Final Fantasy Type-0 information keeps pouring out of the latest issue of Dengeki. This time, the details are pretty in depth, but a lot of it is invaluable information about how the game plays. Thanks to Nova Crystallis reader Goli, we have a full translation. Read it all below.
In the Peristylium
Some facilities are unlocked as you progress through the game’s story:
“Alto Crystarium” used to develop characters.
“Chocobo Ranch” for raising Chocobos.
“Arena,” where characters can earn additional experience points.
“Kazusa’s Room” for weapon synthesis.
In Kazusa’s room you’ll be able to see more events after you clear “Reconquista Tactics.”
The Chocobo Ranch introduces different kinds of Chocobos. Male Chocobos excel at attack, while female Chocobos are good at defense. During the RTS segments Chobobos can kill or be killed. Some Chocobos have 1.5 or 2 times the movement speed of others. Chocobos with a special innate ability towards battle are called “Attack Chocobos.”
Starting from chapter two there are two kinds of vegetables you can give to Chocobos when breeding.
Ghysahl Greens make the newborn Chocobo different from the parents, while Mimmett Greens further enhance the parents’ abilities in the newborn Chocobo.
“Magic Channel” in order to receive S.O.’s one must enable this option.
Events
After getting an event you can’t get it again.
After getting events and roaming around during your free time consumes time, which implies you might not be able to do all events.
Missions and Multiplayer
When absorbing Phantoma, a shockwave may appear. This shockwave can kill or damage enemies.
If you fail a S.O. it appears to be possible to avoid the death penalty it brings by dodging the magic circle that appears on the ground.
SP points obtained during multiplayer sessions can be spent on items and equipment.
Battle
If you’re defeated on the World Map you’ll be transported back in to town.
From the main menu you can choose to return to the Peristylium, but this appears to consume free time.
In certain parts you’ll be faced with a series of battles, generally four, where enemies will constantly be reinforced, with each reinforcement being of a higher level.
In preemptive strikes, MP consumption is lowered to 0 and party members gain the Aura buff. Surprise attacks on the other hand give you debuffs like Stop.
Source: Nova Crystallis
Dengeki’s Fabula Nova Crystallis blowout is still underway with an interview featuring Tabata, Kitase, and Nomura talking about Final Fantasy Type-0 now development is finished. The big reveal comes from Nomura that they’re already discussing the potential for a sequel.
Kitase and Tabata are apparently engaging in secret discussions about the potential for a Type-0 sequel or other possible developments. It sounds like it’s in early days, unsurprising since the first game isn’t out until tomorrow, but they’re keeping their cards close to their chest and aren’t able to go into any specifics. It looks like the Fabula Nova Crystallis compilation is set to get even bigger.
Source: Andriasang
This week’s Dengeki cover features Type-0 cast members Rem and Machina and, in my opinion, looks amazing. Check it out below, and we’ll keep you posted on future details!
Dengeki’s latest issue is coming out tomorrow, but thankfully, a little bit of info on Final Fantasy XIII-2 has leaked out already. Here’s what Toriyama has to say in his latest update.
The game’s casino city is known as “Xanadu”. Yes, Xanadu. As seen in the trailers, this is where Chocobo racing takes place but you can also use slot machines shaped like aero bikes.
Time Labyrinths are effectively FFXIII-2′s equivalent of the Cloister of Trials. Most of them aren’t optional but Toriyama says that they won’t be too difficult. More complicated Labyrinths however are available as side quests. Most of you have seen the Labyrinth in action but what we haven’t seen is that there are additional puzzles within them involving numbers and clock hands. Toriyama also tells them that Time Labyrinths were added due to the complaints about FFXIII having few dungeons.
Lastly, although he doesn’t want to say much more, Sazh is still around in XIII-2 and he’s currently undertaking activities which are supposed to better Gran Pulse.
Source: Andriasang
As part of the aforementioned feature on Final Fantasy Type-0, Dengeki spoke to Tetsuya Nomura. Nomura is best known for being the series’ main character designer and the head honcho of the Kingdom Hearts series. The much-loved designer was immensely puzzling in his comments, stating “I’m a bit excited because once Type-0 is done, it’s finally Versus’ turn.” The only thing I can think of is that he’s talking the mythological Final Fantasy Versus XIII. You might remember that it was announced alongside Final Fantasy XIII back in 2006. It’s a topic that seems to come up every now and then, but no one ever seems to offer anything concrete.
I don’t care what you think, I enjoyed that. It’s true, though. Nomura relishes in all the attention he’s going to receive now that Type-0 is on the verge of release and Final Fantasy XIII-2 will be out in Japan by the end of the year. We have the opportunity to revise our release date projections yet again. I suggest erring on the side of caution and putting forward something beyond 2015.
Source: andriasang.com
Following last week’s 39/40 Famitsu review, Dengeki PlayStation have published their score for Square Enix’s latest offering. On a 100-point scale, Type-0 received 90/90/95/90 from the magazine’s reviewers.
Besides the review, a regular feature was run which included details on the game’s disc-swapping. As you might recall, Type-0 is apparently so large and epic that it requires two UMDs. Big deal, right? You just play the first until you get to the second. It’s not quite so straightforward. Dengeki states that the first UMD contains the prologue and first chapter as well as the final dungeon and chapter. And… nothing else. The bulk of the game seems to be on the second UMD, which you will be swapping to very early on. The second UMD also contains the game’s multiplayer component.
The New Game + mode for Type-0 is more traditional than its disc progression. You finish the game and then start again with all your stats carried over. It was revealed earlier that additional playthroughs will change the game’s story. Dengeki slightly elaborates that the focus will be shifted onto different characters. Considering the game’s rather large cast, it seems appropriate.
Source: andriasang.com
Final Fantasy XIII Japanese Commercial 1 HD
Final Final Fantasy XIII Trailer (Translated)Final Final Fantasy XIII Japanese TrailerFinal Fantasy XIII Release Date Announcement Video
FFXIII - Promised Eternity - Piano Cover Final Fantasy XIII-2 Digital Contents Selection Attack on Titan Guy Humps Hornets' Nest, Dies Hope y'all like Android/iOS junk Time Gate: Minimum Game Cancel Stupid Things You Used to Believe Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn relaunches this summer on PC and PS3 Square Enix Origin Forum Need Serious Help!!!
Japan: December 17th 2009
NA: March 9th 2010
Europe: March 9th 2010 Japan: December 15th 2011 NA: January 31st 2012 Europe: February 3rd 2012 Japan: TBA NA: TBA Europe: TBA Japan: October 13th 2011 NA: TBA Europe: TBA
