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| Chris Winkler |
Details on current projects, & potential Dissidia sequel?
10.21.09 - 5:32 PM
Director Mamoru Toriyama and character designer Tetsuya sat down with Famitsu recently to talk about their current Square Enix projects, including Final Fantasy XIII.
Sazh's summon is called Brunhilde. In drive mode, this summon will transform into a car. The newest addition to the growing cast of characters is Oerba Yun Fang, a spear-wielding, black-haired female carrying a L'Cie mark on her right arm. She is capable of summoning and (in drive mode) riding Bahamut. Toriyama and Nomura explained that Oerba originally appeared in the scenario as a male character. This might explain why Oerba is described as being stronger than Lightning and more strong-willed than Snow. Speaking of characters, Toriyama also promised that a certain series mainstay will play an important role in Final Fantasy XIII.
As the developers mentioned in previous interviews, Final Fantasy XIII will for the most part be a seamless experience void of any annoying load times. Loading will be limited to the transition from town to field map. Unlike various other PlayStation 3 titles, Final Fantasy XIII won't require a game data installation on the hard-disk drive. The game's save data will take up 500KB, and the trophy-related data 3080KB of hard-disk space.
On the topic of Dissidia Final Fantasy, Nomura hinted at the possibility of a sequel to the popular PlayStation Portable-based fighting game. Whether a second game will end up being developed apparently depends on the success of the upcoming Dissidia Final Fantasy: Universal Tuning. In case a new game is created, Nomura would like to see Kain and Gilgamesh appear in it. He ruled out appearances by Kingdom Hearts series characters, though. Asked which Final Fantasy XIII character he would like to see in a potential new game, the designer replied he would prefer Sazh over Lighting.
On the topic of the PlayStation 3-based Final Fantasy Versus XIII, Nomura stated that the glowing white creatures from the Tokyo Game Show demo won't appear in the finished product. The development team had merely inserted them to simulate enemies. Nomura also stressed the size of enemies set to appear in Versus XIII, saying it is hard to imagine actually battling such giant creatures in the game. System-wise, the game could be described as an extension of the Kingdom Hearts games. At the same time, the development team's aim is to merge novel ideas with classic Final Fantasy elements.
While the player will only control protagonist Noct, Nomura wants the AI-controlled party members to act in sync with the player character. The only accessory worn by Noct is a ring which he wears on his right hand. This ring also has significance for Versus XIII's storyline.
Last but not least, Nomura also talked about Final Fantasy Agito XIII and The 3rd Birthday for PlayStation Portable. The multiplayer mode shown in the TGS demo was footage of what is pretty much the finished battle system. Currently, the difficulty level of those battles is high. A special feature of Agito XIII is the frequent appearance of short missions during battle. Whether to take on or decline those challenges is up to the player's judgment. One shouldn't wait too long until making up one's mind, because there is a time limit for those decisions.
The third-person shooter-like battles of The 3rd Birthday are apparently still not entirely indicative of the finished product. In fact, Square Enix has used noise effects to hide various aspects of the system which it didn't want to reveal in the TGS trailer. New information concerning the third Parasite Eve game will surface next year.
