This week’s issue of Famitsu has a new interview with Final Fantasy Versus XIII director Tetsuya Nomura. In the magazine, he updates with a few tidbits of Versus information. The ratio of in-game cutscenes to pre-rendered cinematics is 7:3, a rather vague ratio without context. The CG is being handled by Square Enix Visual Works. The cutscenes won’t intrude upon gameplay, Nomura assures, but the scene where Noctis meets Stella (presumably in front of the painting of Etro) has been switched to pre-rendered.
The game’s graphical quality has continued to improve since the last time the team had shown us a trailer, and it seems a new event to show off Final Fantasy Versus XIII is in the works.
Final Fantasy X HD will also be developed in-house and by Square Enix’s Production Department 1. This team is responsible for maiking the mainline Final Fantasy titles.
Square Enix producer Yoshinori Kitase was interviewed by EDGE magazine, and one of the topics that came up was the ongoing development of Final Fantasy Versus XIII. Kitase elaborates:
“… Then there’s Versus XIII, which is currently in development. We released a trailer in January [2011] and since then there has been nothing, but I can assure you the team is working extremely hard on it and I think people will be excited when they next see it.”
Director Tetsuya Nomura had also made comments a few months back about the development of Final Fantasy Versus XIII, commenting that since Final Fantasy XIII-2′s development was coming to a close, that it is “Versus’s turn next”.
Update: To provide proper context, the original article was printed in November 2011, but recirculated through our sources in January. Looks like this is a bit old, folks!
2011 was a big year for the Final Fantasy franchise, and while the last remaining hours until 2012 are slipping away (at least in this part of the globe), I feel it appropriate to take a look back throughout the year to recap the major news that the series.
01.18.2011: Square Enix 1st Production Department Premiere.
We first knew this event as the “Fabula Nova Crystallis Conference” but around Jump Festa time in 2010, we got the news that the event would undergo a name change to suit the several additions to the roster. The re-dubbed event featured the reveal of Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance and the newest Dissidia 012: Final Fantasy trailer.
However, the biggest news of the event came after a video detailing the lore of the Fabula Nova Crystallis games. Final Fantasy XIII-2 was unveiled, the second mainline Final Fantasy to receive a videogame sequel. The new title was billed as a “darker and more mysterious” affair than it’s predecessor and would release within the year.
Later on, we were treated to a new trailer for Final Fantasy Agito XIII — but afterwards, director Hajime Tabata announced that the game itself would be getting a name change to Final Fantasy Type-0. Following that, a lengthy trailer of Final Fantasy Versus XIII showed us a healthy dose of cinematics and in-game footage.
We happened to record the event, and you can re-watch it below! (Just skip in a few minutes.)
03.XX.2011: Dissidia 012: Final Fantasy releases.
Dissidia 012: Final Fantasy saw release in all major territories in March, the follow-up the wildly successful PSP title Dissidia: Final Fantasy. The game featured an expanded roster with a new storyline plus the original’s. A new Assist system allowed players to call allies into the fray, as well as an expanded Labyrinth mode. Also of note is that it is the first Final Fantasy to feature downloadable content.
07.06.2011: Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy revealed in Jump.
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Final Fantasy series, Square Enix teamed up with designer Monster Octopus and developer indieszero to create Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy. The rhythm-based RPG features music, characters, enemies, and locales from throughout the first thirteen Final Fantasy games. The first Final Fantasy title for Nintendo’s 3DS, it’s set to release in Japan on February 16th, 2012.
09.15.2011: Final Fantasy X HD announced for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita.
While Final Fantasy XIII-2 took the spotlight at Tokyo Game Show, Square Enix executive producer Shinji Hashimoto took the stage at the Sony conference to announce that Final Fantasy X will be coming to the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita in full HD. Final Fantasy series producer Yoshinori Kitase recently commented about the game’s development as being in the early stages, so we might have to get into the meat of 2012 before we hear any more definitive information.
10.14.2011: Final Fantasy XIV Version 2.0 announced for PC and PlayStation 3.
It’s been a tough year for Final Fantasy XIV, as anyone might have guessed. But hey, there’s been a lot of content updates since the October 2010 release that have made the game a lot more enjoyable to play. The team isn’t stopping there though, with director/producer Naoki “Yoshi-P” Yoshida and Square Enix president Yoichi Wada announcing Final Fantasy XIV Version 2.0 in an address directly to players and fans.
Plans include revamps of just about everything in Final Fantasy XIV, causing some to consider this a “re-do”. With the major content updates that have been pushed out in 2011 and the ones that are planned in the coming year, they definitely have the justification to think so. While the 2.0 official client update isn’t scheduled until early 2013, many content updates to the MMORPG have landed or are in the works.
10.27.2011: Final Fantasy Type-0 releases in Japan.
After five long years, Final Fantasy Type-0 (formerly Final Fantasy Agito XIII) released on the PlayStation Portable in Japan. With an overseas version in the works and the PlayStation Vita to consider, it seems that 2012 will also be a year full of Final Fantasy Type-0 news. The game features the exploits of Class Zero & Co. defending their nation from a ruthless dictator’s invasion.
12.15.2011: Final Fantasy XIII-2 releases in Japan.
Final Fantasy XIII-2 released in Japan just this month to a rather sluggish start, managing to post one-third of the original’s first week sales. The game is designed particularly around player choice and involvement, and features a story that expands the Fabula Nova Crystallis lore. Players assume the role of Serah Farron, in search of her older sister Lightning. Newcomer Noel Kreiss guides Serah to the Historia Crux, a time-travelling apparatus that is foundation of the game’s structure.
So all in all, it’s been a rather exciting year! What did you think was the biggest Final Fantasy story of 2011? What do you think will be the biggest story of 2012? Leave us a comment below, and have a Happy New Year!
In an interview with Kitase, Tabata & Nomura, published today in Final Fantasy Type-0 Ultimania, they confirmed that they are producing a version for international release.
Tabata also said he likes to do a direct sequel in the same world as Type-0 and also create a true numbered sequel, referred as Type-1. He likes to make the next title on a console.
Tetsuya Nomura also said in this interview that design of Moogles in Final Fantasy Versus XIII will be similar to Type-0 Moogles.
Speaking with Spanish site Vandal, Final Fantasy series producer Yoshinori Kitase commented on the status of Final Fantasy Type-0′s localization. The following is a translated excerpt from the interview:
“Type-0, as you must know, was launched in Japan last month, so it’s over. We are working on version for the U.S. and Europe and will know something soon. Versus is not out yet in Japan, but last January there was a trailer. We are working hard to finish it. In the coming months we will say something more.”
No word yet on a release date, but now you can breathe easy folks.
Update: Other European websites have reported that Kitase “can’t say anything yet” about localization. A slip? A farce? We’ll be looking into it, but you might have to take this story with a grain of salt. (I’m not taking down the video yet!)
Update #2: It appears the original site that posted the article has stealth-edited the information about Final Fantasy Type-0 out of the article. Whether this was intentional or instructed by Square-Enix for prematurely revealing information remains to be seen.
Now that production has wrapped on Final Fantasy Type-0, Final Fantasy Versus XIII director Tetsuya Nomura made a passing comment in this week’s Dengeki PlayStation about his upcoming title. Development on Versus XIII has begun in earnest, and Nomura says that he’s feeling a bit nervous now that Versus will be in the spotlight soon!
This week’s Famitsu features an interview with Final Fantasy Versus XIII director Tetsuya Nomura. Details we’ve obtained about this interview thusfar are about the game’s world map and engine. Nomura commented that he tested the game’s world map last Sunday, a classic feature where players will be able to navigate between towns and dungeons. He remarked that the world map is quite expansive and impressive-looking.
While the game is running on Square-Enix’s Crystal Tools engine, it appears that lighting techniques from the company’s new engine Luminous have been used in Versus XIII. The modified engine Versus XIII uses suits action well.
As reported on GameInformer.com, it appears that Square-Enix has registered the domain “finalfantasyxiii-3.com” via a proxy registrar (as is often with titles that companies want to keep on the down-low). Now a lot of these filings can be protective for an existing IP, ergo they’ll never turn into actual games, but speculation is already starting about a possible Final Fantasy XIII trilogy. Keep in mind, Square-Enix has also trademarked Final Fantasy Type-1, Type-2, and Type-3, but it has yet to be seen if these will be actual sequels to the PSP Fabula Nova Crystallis title.
Update: It also appears that Square-Enix has “refreshed” the Final Fantasy Versus XIII trademark.
Tetsuya Nomura created the cover for the 500th issue of Dengeki PlayStation this week, and you can see the image below featuring characters from the Fabula Nova Crystallis series. Lightning, Serah, Noel, Noctis, Machina, and Rem represent. This issue has a multitude of interviews with Final Fantasy staff, including Tetsuya Nomura.
This week’s Dengeki PlayStation will feature new artwork of Final Fantasy Versus XIII‘s Noctis (amongst Lightning, Serah, Noel, Machina, and Rem) by Tetsuya Nomura, but you can expect to wait even longer to see more of the game. The magazine cites that the game will not be present at this year’s Tokyo Game Show in September, leaving Jump Festa in December as the last date this year that the game could show up at. We also learned that Theatrhythym: Final Fantasy will be a 25th anniversary game for the Final Fantasy series.
