Final Fantasy XIII Message Board

#finalfantasy Final Fantasy XIII-2 comes with a multi-chapter, fully voiced summary of the plot of its predecessor, which is extremely convenient for fans that decided to pass up XIII in favor of not getting involved in a giant argument. It does not feature pixel breakdancing or any sort of lyrical rampage. This one does. More »

Final Fantasy XIII was supposed to be a PlayStation 2 game, the company's role-playing finale between Sony’s last piece of hardware and the next. Development started in 2004, but a move to PlayStation 3 and onto a new engine proved more troublesome than expected--the game finally released in late 2009 in Japan, early 2010 everywhere else.

It’s not often that Square Enix commissions a direct sequel to a Final Fantasy game, but the practice has become more and more commonplace, with Final Fantasy XIII being the latest to receive one with Final Fantasy XIII-2.

Final Fantasy X received a sequel, too, focusing on a trio of female characters from the game.

“With Final Fantasy XIII being the first Final Fantasy on the next-gen consoles, or at least what was considered next-gen, and we spent a lot of time creating the environment and the characters and we had a great satisfaction in what we created,” said producer Yoshinori Kitase in an interview with me back in October.

While Final Fantasy XIII was not the most critically beloved of the Final Fantasy games, it sold well. More than six million copies of the game have been shipped worldwide, and since creating a brand-new Final Fantasy game would take years, a sequel made more sense.

“The difficult in this is that because it’s a direct sequel and the foundation remains the same, it’s how to provide users with a new experience, where it’s still new and exciting, and I think that becomes the biggest challenge for a sequel,” said Kitase.

One of the biggest complaints about Final Fantasy XIII was the linearity, a criticism not lost on the development staff. Final Fantasy XIII-2 introduces a time travel element (making our latest Endurance Run well-timed) that gives new options to the player, a feature that’s seen tweaks based on what players have been saying while the game is still in development.

Focus testing is a new concept for Square Enix, one it picked up from the acquisition of Eidos Interactive. Kitase said the conversations he’s been having with Western designers from Eidos Interactive's many studios has proven very influential, and pushed Square Enix to start soliciting player feedback before development wrapped.

Previously, the game would finish development and then the team would seek out feedback. This meant most meaningful notes from fans could not be incorporated until the next game, potentially years out.

“A lot of the titles coming out of Japan have a tendency to not use any focus testing,” said Kitase, “and especially with Final Fantasy, especially with [what we] learned from XIII, especially hearing all the fan feedback and media feedback post launch, we took that a cue to incorporate that from an early stage, and we feel this is a good method that we would like to incorporate into our development.”

Players can travel back in time with leveled up characters to tackle previously unbeatable bosses in XII-2.

Kitase said he’s aware of how players these days are able to provide more direct, real-time feedback through Facebook and Twitter, but admitted the issue is that much of Japan hasn’t accepted social media just yet.

“We’re learning,” he said.

Another problem, one that we can all relate to, is figuring out what users are asking for, as most people are anonymous on the Internet, and determining if a user is being serious can be...challenging. His team still actively read message boards, however.

Part of this learning process has been adopting the idea of the “vertical slice,” an industry insider term that refers to a development team extracting a small section of an unfinished game and spending time polishing that for presentation purposes. It’s what makes up many of the demos you see at E3, PAX-- shows where games are shown over and over again.

If you didn't care for Final Fantasy XIII, it's unclear whether XIII-2 will change that much.

When asked about the rising influence of Western-made RPGs, Kitase said he enjoys talking to the media about what makes them enjoyable. When in the thick of development, he doesn’t have time to play much, and the media gives him perspective as that aspect winds down.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 art director Isamu Kamikokuryo had a particular eye for Western games, showing admiration for Rockstar Games’ Red Dead Redemption, and jealousy after I said I’d played The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim ahead of release (remember, this is back in October).

“I really enjoyed the previous rendition [The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion],” said Kamikokuryo, “but the graphic quality for this new one is just extremely impressive, and it really strikes my curiosity to see if I were to create something like that...how I would design a game, or the characters, or the world?”

Maybe he'll have a chance with the Final Fantasy game, which is most likely already well into development.

Final Fantasy XII-2 arrives on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on January 31.

Let's face it: Final Fantasy XIII was an RPG that divided the RPG-playing community. Some gamers loved the aesthetics, the battle system and customization options. Other players loathed Final Fantasy XIII's emphasis on linearity and deemed the cast of characters contrived and the item and equipment systems shallow...

#filmschool The video game cutscene has undergone a lot of transformations over the past couple of decades, and many games these days present elaborate, dazzling CGI sequences that are often billed as "Hollywood-caliber." More »

More battles, please. More battles.

A copy of Final Fantasy XIII still sits on a shelf in my apartment, as I continue to convince myself that I'll play that game someday. I know, of course, that day will never come, a notion reinforced by today's news that Final Fantasy XIII-2 is now confirmed for a release in January.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 has reportedly been engineered to respond to much of the criticism leveled against the original game, where complaints of linearity and a mystifying lack of random towns to explore were rampant.

Final Fantasy X was the last JRPG I spent any significant amount of time with. Loved that one. The MMO-esque battle system of Final Fantasy XII never sunk its hooks in me. Mostly, I just got frustrated. But alas.

Can Square Enix just remake Final Fantasy III (or VI, depending on the country) and call it a day?

#speakuponkotaku In today's fairly straightforward episode of Speak Up on Kotaku, commenter Monsieur Froid wonders why so many people have a problem with linear gameplay. More »

#fancypants Final Fantasy XIII comes to life before your very eyes. More »

#xbox360 The most recent issue of Japanese magazine V-Jump features an article on upcoming role-playing game Final Fantasy Versus XIII. The game is supposed to be a PS3 exclusive. The latest V-Jump begs to differ. More »

#squareenix In the past, whenever Square Enix released a new Final Fantasy, things were a-okay. Yet, last year the Tokyo-based game maker released two, and things are anything but. More »

"Corporation Service Company" has registered the "Finalfantasy13-2game.com" domain name, according to Superannuation. The company has previously registered domains for Nier, Mindjack, and other Square Enix games, suggesting that this is also the work of Square Enix.

This domain name could simply be Square Enix grabbing related names just in case, but it could also be evidence of a direct sequel to Final Fantasy XIII -- possibly, like Final Fantasy X-2, one built on the engine and assets from the previous, expensive game. Of course, unlike Final Fantasy X, the Final Fantasy XIII "franchise" is already somewhat crowded, with Final Fantasy Versus XIII and Final Fantasy Agito XIII on the way sometime before the end of the universe.

Square is holding a "1st Production Party Premiere Event" in Japan on January 18, so if there really is a new Final Fantasy to announce, we'll likely hear about it, and any costume-change-based fighting it may contain, then.

[Thanks, Vallanthaz]

#rumor An online site registration could once again prove that gaming's endless role-playing franchise isn't anywhere near its finale. More »

Could Square Enix be sizing up a sequel?

Final Fantasy XIII launched exclusively on PlayStation 3 in Japan last December, beating the multiplatform English release by just under three months, and the local Xbox 360 version by a year. The Japanese Xbox 360 game, dubbed Final Fantasy XIII Ultimate Hits International, arrived on December 16th, bringing with it an English voiceover track, an "Easy" mode and a bonus book. According to launch week sales figures, Square Enix's turnaround in supporting the Japanese 360 may have been overly optimistic.

Producer Yoshinori Kitase told Japanese mag Famitsu in September that the redesigned Xbox 360 hardware had revitalized interest in a local edition of Final Fantasy XIII. "We feel that there are ... a lot of people in Japan who own nothing but 360s," he said. "Thanks to the new system and such, the situation's a lot different than it was in July 2008."

In its first four days, Final Fantasy XIII sold fewer than 22,579 copies -- the cut-off point for that week's top 20 sales as tracked by Media Create -- and landed in the 39th spot. It's not an unsurprising outcome for a year-old title meeting a relatively small user base, but it raises an interesting question: Would Square have benefited more if it had launched its flagship property on both platforms last December, or was this tardy tradeoff its best shot at a small target?

#xbox360 In one word, "no". More »

Monster Hunter mania continues as Xbox 360 version of FFXIII fails to make it into the top 20.

#squareenix It's only December, but Square Enix, the Tokyo-based company behind Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, is looking at a rough 2011. More »

Sony lets fans make picks in 2010 installment of annual awards ceremony.

Look, guys. Amazon really, really wants you to buy Final Fantasy XIII. For the millionth time this year, the retailer has cut the price of the PS3 version of the game for its Deal of the Day promotion -- this time around, you can grab the lengthy JRPG for $18.99, more than half off the usual cost.

Looks like Square Enix characters are going to have hold that spiky hair with generic product, as the company lowered its earnings forecast today for the six months (first half of its fiscal year) ending September 30, 2010. The publisher reduced new sales expectations by 10.5 percent to ¥68 billion ($846 million), which is far below the ¥90.6 billion the company took in during the same period last year. Squeenix also lowered its net income expectations for the two quarters to ¥1.7 billion ($21 million), a reduction of just over 29 percent from the original forecast.

The company said that the declining figures were due to the "challenging operating environment" in which new games experienced "relatively slow growth." Squeenix's operating income remains high, however, thanks to "profitable carryover sales of major titles released in March of the previous fiscal year" -- i.e., Final Fantasy 13 et al. Square Enix will release its actual second fiscal quarter results in the near future.

#blizzcon Entering the press room at BlizzCon 2010 late Saturday afternoon, I overheard one of Blizzard's PR people arguing that Final Fantasy XIII was the best in the series. I couldn't help but get involved. Neither could Heroes star Masi Oka. More »

#squareenix At the 2008 gaming expo in Los Angeles, Square Enix dropped a bombshell: Final Fantasy XIII, previously believed to be a PS3 exclusive, was headed for the Xbox 360. Could the same be in store for Final Fantasy Versus XIII? More »

Square comes clean on game's biggest failings.

The latest Game Developer Magazine has a full postmortem of Final Fantasy XIII, featuring Square Enix developers Motomu Toriyama and Akihiko Maeda revealing just what went right and wrong with the thirteenth iteration of the classic series. The main issue with the game, they say, was a lack of "shared vision" among the developers for what the title should be. Some developers wanted to create a game to answer Western concerns about JRPGs, while others wanted it to serve as a showpiece for a crossplatform engine, and still others wanted to simply emulate the feeling of that first trailer back in 2006.

In the end, what made the vision concrete was the creation of the demo available with Advent Children -- that demo changed the team's talks "from theoretical discussions based solely on abstract concepts to concrete dialogue," and helped the team realize the kind of work they'd have to do on the title before release.

The few clips of the postmortem on Gamasutra don't mention the linear aspects of the game that turned quite a few players off, but the devs say that the more realistic picture of the production brought about by that demo helped them target what to work on by "keeping in mind exactly how the asset would be used in the game." In other words, focusing on one path was supposed to help them make sure that path was worth playing. But of course it's up to players to decide how that worked out.

Despite the eventual existence of Final Fantasy Agito XIII and Final Fantasy Versus XIII, there's apparently still room for more "Fabula Nova Crystallis" games from Square Enix. Maybe.

In an interview in the Final Fantasy XIII Ultimania Omega guide, producer Yoshinori Kitase expressed an interest in continuing the Final Fantasy XIII story. "I'd like to at some point make a story where Lightning ends up happy," director Motomu Toriyama said. Whether or not this becomes a game depends on demand from fans.

The team also revealed content that was planned as DLC but cut from Final Fantasy XIII: an area called "Seventh Ark" that would have offered "free battles." This was axed for quality reasons, as well as for differences in PSN and Xbox Live.

Could a followup similar to FFX-2 be on the way?

#toys There are large action figures from Final Fantasy XIII, now see those of a smaller, cheaper and less posable variety. More »

If you're one of those people who performs complex time vs. price equations before purchasing a new game, Amazon's making an awfully hard sell for the PS3 version of Final Fantasy XIII. You can now lock down the 45-odd-hour adventure for $19.99, a full 60 percent off its usual retail price.

Final Fantasy XIII -- $19.99, down from $49.99

Square Enix readying "easy" mode and special collectors items exclusively for Xbox 360 owners.

Square Enix just revealed in the latest issue of Shonen Jump (via Siliconera) that a sequel to Dissidia: Final Fantasy will arrive on Japanese PSPs sometime in 2011. Titled "Dissidia Duodecim: Final Fantasy," the new fighter was created specifically as a challenge to website copy editors.

Outside of FFIV's Kain and FFXIII's Lightning, no other playable characters have been confirmed. We get the feeling you'll see an expanded roster of fan-favorite brawlers at next week's Tokyo Game Show.

Square Enix has confirmed the forthcoming release of FFXIII on Xbox 360 in Japan, dubbed "Final Fantasy XIII Ultimate Hits International." The game will be released in December and features English voice acting with Japanese subtitles (other subtitle options are also available). Despite early reports of the release, no additional content will arrive with FFXIII -- it differs from the PlayStation 3 version in Japan in that it will feature content originally only in the US release. It will also add an easy mode and "Final Fantasy XIII - Episode 1" (a short story book).

Square Enix producer Yoshinori Kitase told Famitsu (via Gamasutra) that the new version was spurred by the launch of the remodeled 360 earlier this year, which aimed to bolster the console's install base in Japan. "We feel that there are ... a lot of people in Japan who own nothing but 360s. Thanks to the new system and such, the situation's a lot different than it was in July 2008," he explained. FFXIII will be the first Xbox 360 title released under Square's "Ultimate Hits" budget line, dropping at ¥4,980 ($59.50) on December 16.