Final Fantasy XIII Development

Final Fantasy XIII was first shown at the 2006 E3 convention. Along with Final Fantasy Versus XIII and the PlayStation Portable game Final Fantasy Agito XIII, Final Fantasy XIII is part of the Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy XIII project, but none is a prequel or sequel to any of the other installments. Square Enix explained that although all three games take place in the same universe, they are not directly related in terms of story. The game runs on the Crystal Tools engine, a seventh generation multiplatform game engine built by Square Enix for its future games. The engine and the game were originally slated to be used with the PlayStation 2 but were later moved to the PlayStation 3.

Several of the game's developers have worked on previous installments of the series. Motomu Toriyama, director of Final Fantasy X-2 and director and scenario writer of Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, will direct the game and write the story. Eiji Fujii, previously the movie director of Final Fantasy XII, will return in this position. Isamu Kamikokuryō, previously the co-art director of Final Fantasy XII, will return as well, with Tetsu Tsukamoto designing the weapons. The main programmers will be Kazumi Kobayashi and Yoshiki Kashitani. Occasionally, developers from Final Fantasy Versus XIII assist with the development of Final Fantasy XIII. Final Fantasy X's battle director Toshiro Tsuchida will return as the battle system director for the game. He intends on giving individual enemies their own personalities and background stories. He chose not to comment when asked whether players will input commands for individual party members or control will be limited to the current party leader. Final Fantasy X's co-composer Masashi Hamauzu will be scoring the game, with former regular series composer Nobuo Uematsu providing the main theme.

The Latest Final Fantasy Series

Final Fantasy XIII (ファイナルファンタジーXIII, Fainaru Fantajī Sātīn?) is an upcoming console role-playing game being developed by Square Enix.
It will be released exclusively for PlayStation 3 in Japan, then for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in Europe and North America. First appearing at the 2006 E3, the game features a futuristic, high-tech world.
Final Fantasy XIII is the flagship title of the Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy XIII collection. The game shares a common mythology with Final Fantasy Agito XIII and Final Fantasy Versus XIII, but they are not directly related to each other.
Motomu Toriyama, a director and scenario writer of previous Final Fantasy titles, will direct and write the game's story.

Final Fantasy XIII Gameplay

The concept for Final Fantasy XIII's battle system is to maintain the strategic nature of command-based battles. The system stemmed from a desire to create battles similar to those found in Final Fantasy VII Advent Children.Like those in Final Fantasy XII, battle sequences are integrated into the world environment.The Active Time Battle (ATB) system will return, but is expected to work differently from its predecessors. The battle system that was shown during the E3 2006 trailer was only a prototype. Recently, Square Enix showed battle footage in various Japanese magazines and trailers which introduced a new interface.

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You can only control one character at a time in battle, although battle parties of up to three characters have been shown. You can stack up to three commands per turn and release them all at the same time to form a combo. These commands include series staples such as Attack, Fire, Blizzard and Cure, as well as new ones such as Launch, which sends the enemy up in the air. The game does not make use of MP but introduces "cost points" for each command. Cost points determine how many times the commands can be used per turn. The overclock gauge from the prototype battle system is replaced with a break bar.
The minimap shown earlier has also disappeared from the battle interface. The player is able to view the HP and name of the enemy before engaging it in battle. When the player engages an enemy, the camera moves to another position and the battle menu appears, making the battle transitions nearly seamless.The classic summoned creatures will return in Final Fantasy XIII. Shiva returns in the form of a pair of sisters who can merge into a motorcycle, which the character Snow rides, and can use ice to create a path to drive on. Carbuncle emerges from a disc-like object when it is touched by the character Vanille.