I thought I make a new Thread to discuss only about this new Game.
I will keep updating the thread as soon as I get new informations.
January 18th, 2011Final Fantasy XIII-2 is a Sequel Game to Final Fantasy XIII and is based on it's story.
Square Enix is developing the game simultaneously on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
and it will probably be released Winter this year from what we know until now.
This is the new logo for the game
Official Trailer HD Englishhttp://www.finalfantasy13-2game.com/#/uk/trailer/If your are too lazy to click to watch the trailer on the official site you can also watch it on youtube of course:
Official sites can be viewed here:
http://www.finalfantasy13-2game.com/http://na.square-enix.com/ffxiii-2/http://www.square-enix.co.jp/fabula/ff13-2/"The previous title topped the six million mark worldwide last December," revealed Toriyama. The sequel came about due to demand both from fans and from the staff.
Toriyama admitted that the first Final Fantasy XIII received a variety of opinions from players. With XIII-2, the development staff hopes to respond to many of those opionions.
One of the reasons the game was unveiled in front of Japanese audiences, said Toriyama, was because unlike the rest of the world, which saw a Final Fantasy XIII tour last year, Japan did not get any events related to the game (FFXIII was released to Japan in December 200i).
Neither Toriyama nor Kitase would share solid details on the game. Asked by the MCs, Toriyama would admit that Lighthing and the newcomer male character were fighting, but said we'd have to wait to find out why. He also described the male character as being comparative to Lightning.
London (18 January 2011) – Square Enix Ltd., the publisher of SQUARE ENIX® interactive entertainment products in Europe and other PAL territories, today announces a new release for next winter, FINAL FANTASY® XIII-2 for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. A sequel to “FINAL FANTASY XIII” originally released in Europe in March 2010 that has since shipped a cumulative total of 6 million units worldwide.
“FINAL FANTASY XIII-2” is currently in production with an aim for producing high quality game contents which exceed “FINAL FANTASY XIII” in every aspect; namely, a brand-new story which stems from the previous title as well as a battle system which has evolved further since “XIII” – and more. We will be disclosing further details about the new game in the future.
From the release of the first FINAL FANTASY in 1987, this unique RPG series has continued to offer the industry’s most advanced graphics, highly imaginative worlds and rich stories as it gains the highest accolades from users around the world. Titles in the series have so far achieved a cumulative shipment of over 97 million units worldwide (* as of September 2010).
For more information about FINAL FANTASY XIII-2 please visit the official website at
http://www.finalfantasy13-2game.com
Square Enix Europe released the early box art for the game, while they're prototypes and marked clearly as "Not final art"
January 20th, 2011Shonen Jump released two new scans of Final Fantasy XIII-2.
January 25th, 2011Dengeki PlayStation has a two page spread on final Fantasy XIII-2 this week, complete with a one page interview with producer Yoshinori Kitase and director Motomu Toriyama. Here's a bit of what they say:
-XIII-2's story begins in Gran Pulse after the ending of XIII.
-The story will feel like it expands out from the after story that was included in the booklet with Xbox 360's Final Fantasy XIII International.
-Outside of Lightning, other characters will appear in the game in unexpected forms. Some will see major changes.
-XIII-2 is a full sequel. You'll learn some of the things that took place in the background scenes of XIII.
-The story will be more dark and mysterious than XIII's.
-The story will focus on the goddess Etro.
-The game will not have the pop feel of Final Fantasy X-2
-The battle system will be an evolved form of XIII's ATB system.
-They're listening to opinions both inside and outside of Square Enix and from outside of Japan regarding characters, story and interface.
-There may be a difficulty setting.
Detailed description of the new interview with Toriyama and KitaseAt the Premier event, the XIII-2 unveil was preceded by an animated account of the Fabula Nova Crystalls mythology. This mythology serves as the foundation for all the games in the series, including XIII, Versus XIII, XIII-2 and Type-0 (formerly known as Agito XIII).
The purpose for showing this footage, explained Kitase to Dengeki, was to show that FFXIII only dealt with a portion of the mythology, covering such concepts as the fal'Cie and l'Cie. FFXIII did not explain the full breadth of the mythology, however. To better know the whole of the mythology, players will have access to the upcoming Fabula series titles.
XIII-2 covers a different area of the Fabula mythology from XIII. While the original focused on the relation betwen the Pulse and Lindzei deities, the focus for XIII-2 will be on the Etro deity. Toriyama said the game will delve deeper into the Fabula mythology this time.
According to Toriyama, the XIII-2 story will be like taking the afterstory that was written in the bonus booklet that was included with Xbox 360's Final Fantasy XIII and expanding from there. The story kicks of after XIII, in the Gran Pulse world.
The story is a true sequel to XIII and will answer some of the mysteries of what happened in the background in the build up to FFXIII's ending. The world will expand further in XIII-2 (I'm not sure if Toriyama is speaking literally or figuratively here). The story's taste will be darker and more mysterious than the original.
Similar to XIII, Lightning will be a principal character. Other characters will also appear in the game in "unexpected forms," according to Toriyama. Some of the returning characters will see major changes to their atmosphere. The game will also have a number of new characters, in addition to the mysterious male character from the trailer.
That mystery character is the character next to Lightning in the game's logo, Kitase confirmed. He's meant to be a character in conflict with Lightning, a character of equal strength.
The early trailer and single official screenshot show a major change for Lightning: she wears armor. While this is a big change, the character's image will not have a Final Fantasy X-2-style change, said Kitase. For those who haven't played it, FFX-2 had a poppy, comedic feel compared to FFX, with Yuna and the other leads dancing around and changing clothes during battle. XIII-2 will have the serious feel of a true numbered entry in the series, said Kitase.
Lightning appeared in the trailer surrounded by feathers at some points. These features are used in a number of areas, including parts of Lightning's armor. Remember how roses appeared on the screen when Lightning summoned Odin in FFXIII? This time, the feathers are meant to represent something holier -- a closer approach to the realm of gods.
The two only briefly discussed gameplay. The game's battle system will be a further evolution of FFXIII's ATB (active time battle) system. Because it's a sequel, explained Toriyama, they want to actively use the experience they gained in making the original to address issues that need to be addressed, and to make areas that are already considered good even better. For XIII-2's development, they've been running tests and listening to opinions from inside and outside the company and even from overseas.
Toriyama wants to add some sort of system for controlling difficulty. This could take the form of the inclusion of an easy mode, which is something they're currently looking into. Toriyama also assured that they're working to make it so that those who didn't play the original will be able to enjoy themselves with XIII-2.
Famitsu will be having its own look at XIII-2 later this week, so it's possible that we'll get even more details.
January 26th, 2011Until now we only got very short details about Final Fantasy XIII-2 from the interview with Nomura in the new Famitsu. It's pssible that we will get more informations during the day or tomorrow. However this is the short summarize from what Nomura said.
Regarding Final Fantasy XIII-2, Nomura reveals that the key world in the game will be different from the world of Final Fantasy XIII. However, FFXIII's world will also appear in the game.
Nomura also tells Famitsu that he's working on games that weren't announced at the Premier event. Seriously!?
Yeah you're right that's it for now.
January 27th, 2011The only new thing about XIII-2 that I found today were some screens that got released now in HQ.
(open picture to enlarge it)
And a short statement:
The game's producer, Yoshinori Kitase, and director, Motomu Toriyama, have said that the developer has 'listened to criticism' of the last title and promises its latest "exceeds Final Fantasy XIII in every aspect".
I uploaded a super HQ version of the picture if you want to see every single detail. It's really big.
January 28th, 2011Famitsu.com published a new interview today with Kitase and Toriyama featuring new informations about the Game.
The Final Fantasy XIII-2 part of the interview is story focused, so those who haven't finished FFXIII may want to avoid reading the summary. I ain't going to mark spoilers.
Famitsu first asked for a recap of how the project came to be. The main reason they decided to make a sequel, said Toriyama, is that there was demand throughout the world. In addition to this, Toriyama and the development staff wanted to portray the Lightning character further. The original FFXIII ended with a lingering question: is Lightning really happy? Final Fantasy XIII-2 will come to a clear conclusion.The "Episode i" after story novella that was included as a bonus with the first print run of the Japanese Xbox 360 version of Final Fantasy XIII serves as the prologue of XIII-2. Famitsu pointed out that Episode i shows the various characters from FFXIII returning to their normal lives. Does this mean that Lightning will be on her own? Also, Famitsu asked, will the purpose of Lightning's new journey be to find a method of helping Vanille and Fang?Regarding the latter point, Toriyama noted that being helped by the sacrifice of the two characters left a wound in the hearts of everyone. The story will of course show not just Lightning, but the other allies who were hurt by that, Toriyama assured. Additionally, there will be a number of new characters.Similar to the Dengeki interview, Famitsu's interviewers asked if there would be any Final Fantasy X-2 style dancing and singing in XIII-2. XIII-2 will feature a more serious direction, Kitase replied. Toriyama noted that considering Vanille and Fang are gone and the world is in a state where Cocoon had fallen, there's no way for the new story to be totally peaceful. XIII-2 will have a darker and more mysterious side over XIII.Famitsu asked if XIII-2 will possibly being set in the dark world that Lightning is wandering around in at the end of the Episode i novella. Toriyama responded that the principal setting will be different from that of XIII, but he assured that the FFXIII world will be in the game in some form. As part of the story of the original, Lightning has lost her l'Cie abilities (summons, casting magic, etc.). In response to this observation from Famitsu, Toriyama joked that perhaps Lightning has become an even more incredible existence than a l'Cie. Famitsu countered that she certainly has become sexier. Toriyama responded that even though she's probably more exposed (Does she really look more exposed ?!), similar to the original, they're valuing her refined and noble qualities. He added that her clothing has a more fantasy feel to it this time, and the design of her weapons and other such items will match.Commenting on the trailer, Famitsu noted that there's a scene which shows Lightning standing in front of what looks like an alter. That's actually not an altar but a seat, corrected Toriyama, and it has great significance.Here you can see the significant chair.Famitsu also pointed out that when Lighthing and the mysterious new guy shown in the trailer line up back to back, they look like angel and devil. "Which is the angel and which is the devil?" joked Toriyama. He added, Lightning has a new mission this time, and as she attempts to fulfill this mission, she'll end up in a confrontation with the guy. He's a powerful character who can fight on equivalent ground with Lightning, the hero who saved the world.And now there is one more important thing left to read about.If you have Final Fantasy XIII save data, you may want to hold on to it. The team is investigating the possibility of giving something to players who have save data in place.So don't delete your save file people who knows what this is going to be.
So that's it for today. Further updates will surely coming soon.
January 29th, 2011Today I'm adding some scans I that came across that are related to the storys written above.
And another statement from Toriyama:
Toriyama stresses Final Fantasy XIII-2 is a new style of RPG he can’t wait to show people. This game has a number of changes including a revised travel system. Every nook and cranny is packed with people, which gives the feeling of a living world. Toriyama asks fans to please stay tuned for further news.
