In a massive feature article Japan's leading gaming publication, Weekly Famitsuu takes a closer look at Square Enix's Final Fantasy XIII for PlayStation 3. Famitsuu reports that at the time when Square Enix showed off the infamous Final Fantasy VII technical demo for PlayStation 3 at last year's Electronic Entertainment Expo, Final Fantasy XIII was still in development for PlayStation 2. Thereafter, the development however decided to move the entire project over to PlayStation 3.

While not much is known about Final Fantasy XIII's battle system at this point, the article sheds at least some light on a few aspects: At the bottom of the screen, next to the protagonist's HP, another stat called ATB Cost is visible. This hints at a return of the good old Active Time Battle (ATB) system, in one way or another. Apparently every command executed by the player costs a certain amount of those ATB Cost points. Next to the ATB cost stat, one can make out the string "Lighting" . Famitsuu speculates that this is in fact the protagonist's name. Furthermore, in the upper right-hand corner of the battle screen, a circle-shaped gauge is visible. Once the number inside this circle and other conditions have been met, the protagonist can enter a so-called Overclock status. This status has a slow-motion effect, effectively slowing down everyone but the protagonist. However, making use of this ability apparently brings some risk with it. The female protagonist's weapon can be used as a gun or a sword. Depending on opponent and situation, it will be possible to switch between those two functions.

Final Fantasy XIII has yet to receive a release date in Japan.

• Weekly Famitsuu