After a lengthy drought, Square Enix has released some new information about its second Final Fantasy XIII title, Final Fantasy Versus XIII for PlayStation 3 in this week's edition of Weekly Famitsuu. The magazine article for the first time shows the game's heroine: A dark-blonde girl, whose name and age the developers chose to keep a secret for the time being. Her destiny and great power will apparently contribute to the story's dramatic development. She carries a rapier-like sword and similar to the protagonist can send her sword flying towards a foe. While the protagonist is known to be able to send dozens of swords towards his opposition and beam himself to a position where he had previously thrown his weapon to, it is unknown at this point, whether the heroine will possess a similar set of abilities. Interestingly enough, the newly released screenshots show the protagonist and heroine face off against each other between skyscrapers. Square Enix reconfirmed that the protagonist is the heir to his country's throne. In this role he is tasked to protect the sole remaining Crystal.

In addition to the heroine, the article also introduces its readers to three more characters. First is a blonde guy, who is described as the mood maker of the group. Despite a country-wide ban on guns, the young man is carrying one. The second character introduced in today's update has a scar running across his face and is introduced as an older brother figure. Meanwhile, the third character, who is wearing glasses, is described as laid-back. All three are friends of the protagonist and enter the limousine shown in the game's trailers together with him. They first head via expressway to a government building which hosts the Crystal. Black smoke is rising from the building, suggesting it has come under attack by the invading army. Other scenes however, show the group of four trying to escape. A seemingly destroyed road ends their escape in a desert-like environment. Famitsuu speculates the main means of transportation in Final Fantasy Versus XIII will be cars. The aforementioned limousine is carrying a Chocobo logo, even though the existence of actual Chocobos in the game has yet to be confirmed.

Furthermore, the article introduces the governing council of the protagonist's country. The council convenes in a room that is seemingly modeled after a church. Its chairperson sits on a throne-like chair. It is unknown whether he is the king, but because his eye color matches the protagonist's, Famitsuu speculates that the two are in fact related. This chairperson makes a decision regarding the Crystal, even though the reader is not told exactly what has been decided by the council.

The development team has modeled various areas in the game after real locations, such as Venice's Piazza San Marco or the area around the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in Shinjuku.

Final Fantasy Versus XIII has yet to receive an official release date.

• Weekly Famitsu