Multi-Plat Square-Enix 1st Production Department Premiere

[Uzor]

Just when I thought 358/2 Days was the goofiest subtitle they could come up with for KH...

I just wish they would quit screwing around and make one for the PS3 already.

 

[Rips]

I loved FFXIII too. Fang is one of my all time favourite characters of FF. I'm down for part 2.

 

[Elemmire]

FFXIII-2.... bah maybe I'm just thinking of FFX-2 and the meh of that well at least FFX-2 had fun gameplay. Maybe FFXIII-2 will be good.

 

[Tribalinius]

FFXIII-2.... bah maybe I'm just thinking of FFX-2 and the meh of that well at least FFX-2 had fun gameplay. Maybe FFXIII-2 will be good.

At least, I'm sure SE's going to introduce more cleavage! D:

 

[Solan]

I personally thought Sazh (Sahz?) was the shit. And I think SE may have actually taken into account how badly they muffed X-2 up and will try to actually, I dunno not screw this one up?

 

[Twinzero]

I'm really happy they are deciding to go through with FF13 -2 That was my favorite FF on the console to date. And, one of the few, I was able to beat and wanted to. The only problem with the game is I DIDNT want it to end. The gameplay, battle system, etc were very engaging, and I loved the characters / story, too. I eventually got bored with all the mission things for endgame, so I never polished off my top three characters how I wanted, altho they all had the advanced weapons (just not fully upgraded.)

FFX-2 I liked, as well D: Mainly for the battle-system, which was probably my favorite in the series. I just wished the game was tougher, because the only challenge in that game is Angra Mainyu. I did beat it though, quite fun.

Other FF's prior really lacked, probably, a battle system that I craved enough to want to keep going through. I couldn't beat FF9, FF8 because they started to feel extremely repetitive after a certain point. (I was really close to beating both of those, but it just started to feel like the same old thing.)
FF7 I couldn't play because it's the ugliest game I've ever seen in my life.
FF6 didn't play much, FF5 played to unlock all the jobs then got bored, FF4 didn't get way too far, FF3 unlocked all the jobs then got bored, FF2 I only like it because of Emperor in DIssidia, and FF1 I did beat.

 

[Tiael]

I think they'll do well, though I loved XIII, here's some info on the game from various sites:

Final Fantasy XIII-2, announced last week at Square Enix's 1st production Department Premiere event in Tokyo, was perhaps inevitable -- Motomu Toriyama, the director of XIII and XIII-2, also worked on the Final Fantasy X and X-2 series of games. "The first impetus for this project was all the requests for a sequel from people worldwide who purchased FFXIII," he told Famitsu magazine this week. "On a personal level, though, I also wanted some more space to portray the character of Lightning with. One of the questions left open in the previous game's ending is whether Lightning really found true happiness or not. I want to conclude things for good with this game."

The side-story sequel is set to begin where the original FFXIII left off. It's set right after Episode i, a novella included with the Xbox 360 release of FFXIII in Japan. "The story shown in Episode i serves as the prologue for XIII-2," Toriyama commented. "It tackles the topics of whether the battle portrayed in FFXIII was really a just one, and what exactly was the nature of the miracle that occurred at the end. I'd like to keep the details a secret, but I think people will have their expectations overturned pretty quickly with the game's opening."

Note: FFXIII story spoilers ahead.


Another major theme to be explored in XIII-2: The fates of Vanille and Fang. "The fact that the party was saved by their sacrifice is a scar on all of their hearts," Toriyama told Famitsu. We'll cover how all of their friends are handling it, not just Lightning, and there'll be a large number of new characters as well. I think we'll see more dark and mysterious situations than in FFXIII."

Certainly, the Lightning of FFXIII-2 is different from before -- she may've lost her l'Cie powers at the end of the previous game, but now she's back and dressed skimpier than ever. "I can't go into details, but she might become something even greater than l'Cie [in XIII-2]," Toriyama said. "Her outfit is certainly more revealing, but she still cherishes her usual refined, noble manner. The clothing in general is more fantasy-influenced in this game, and the new weapons will match with that style."

The "feather" motif of the preview trailer (screenshot shown above) served to make Lightning look a bit angelic, especially compared to the far darker appearance of the new character shown in the film. In the interview, however, Toriyama warned against jumping to conclusions. "Who can say which is the angel and which is the devil?" he laughed. "Lightning has a new mission in this game, and [the new character] is going to be in her way as she tries to accomplish it. He's a strong character, capable of fighting on even terms with the heroine who saved the world."

How will it all turn out? Japanese folks will find out pretty soon, as the game's set for a 2011 release in the region. "We made people wait a long time for FFXIII, so we're trying our best to get this game out as quickly as we can," Toriyama said. "Outside of that, we are trying to implement as many of the suggestions given by players, and new ideas we've come up with, into the game as we can. The travelling system is completely different, too -- we're making a truly living world, with lots of people living all the way to the far corners of the game. I think it's a new style of RPG we'll be able to show people here."

The surprise announcement from Square Enix's 1st Production Department Premier event last week was Final Fantasy XIII-2. The direct sequel to Final Fantasy XIII was announced as a Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 multiplatform title that will be released some time this year.

Following the event, Dengeki PlayStation was able to interview Yoshinori Kitase and Motomu Toriyama, who are reprising their respective producer and director roles. The magazine delivered a full report in this week's issue. A Japanese blog has provided a detailed transcript/summary of the interview.

At the Premier event, the XIII-2 unveil was preceded by an animated account of the Fabula Nova Crystalls mythology. This mythology serves as the foundation for all the games in the series, including XIII, Versus XIII, XIII-2 and Type-0 (formerly known as Agito XIII).

The purpose for showing this footage, explained Kitase to Dengeki, was to show that FFXIII only dealt with a portion of the mythology, covering such concepts as the fal'Cie and l'Cie. FFXIII did not explain the full breadth of the mythology, however. To better know the whole of the mythology, players will have access to the upcoming Fabula series titles.

XIII-2 covers a different area of the Fabula mythology from XIII. While the original focused on the relation betwen the Pulse and Lindzei deities, the focus for XIII-2 will be on the Etro deity. Toriyama said the game will delve deeper into the Fabula mythology this time.

If you're confused about your Etros, Pulses and Lindzei's, I'd suggest having a look at the Final Fantasy Wiki.

According to Toriyama, the XIII-2 story will be like taking the afterstory that was written in the bonus booklet that was included with the Japanese Xbox 360 version of Final Fantasy XIII and expanding from there. The story kicks of after XIII, in the Gran Pulse world.

The story is a true sequel to XIII and will answer some of the mysteries of what happened in the background in the build up to FFXIII's ending. The world will expand further in XIII-2 (I'm not sure if Toriyama is speaking literally or figuratively here). The story's taste will be darker and more mysterious than the original.

Similar to XIII, Lightning will be a principal character. Other characters will also appear in the game in "unexpected forms," according to Toriyama. Some of the returning characters will see major changes to their atmosphere. The game will also have a number of new characters, in addition to the mysterious male character from the trailer.

That mystery character is the character next to Lightning in the game's logo, Kitase confirmed. He's meant to be a character in conflict with Lightning, a character of equal strength.

The early trailer and single official screenshot show a major change for Lightning: she wears armor. While this is a big change, the character's image will not have a Final Fantasy X-2-style change, said Kitase. For those who haven't played it, FFX-2 had a poppy, comedic feel compared to FFX, with Yuna and the other leads dancing around and changing clothes during battle. XIII-2 will have the serious feel of a true numbered entry in the series, said Kitase.

Lightning appeared in the trailer surrounded by feathers at some points. These features are used in a number of areas, including parts of Lightning's armor. Remember how roses appeared on the screen when Lightning summoned Odin in FFXIII? This time, the feathers are meant to represent something holier -- a closer approach to the realm of gods.

The two only briefly discussed gameplay. The game's battle system will be a further evolution of FFXIII's ATB (active time battle) system. Because it's a sequel, explained Toriyama, they want to actively use the the experience they gained in making the original to address issues that need to be addressed, and to make areas that are already considered good even better. For XIII-2's development, they've been running tests and listening to opinions from inside and outside the company and even from overseas.

Toriyama wants to add some sort of system for controlling difficulty. This could take the form of the inclusion of an easy mode, which is something they're currently looking into. Toriyama also assured that they're working to make it so that those who didn't play the original will be able to enjoy themselves with XIII-2.

Famitsu will be having its own look at XIII-2 later this week, so it's possible that we'll get even more details.

So yeah, they'll be listening to feedback from the first one, and changing plenty.
It won't end up an X-2, though I enjoyed it, but gah the girl power.

 

[Xalioniaf]

XIII was pretty mediocre. It shouldn't be too hard to improve on a ho-hum game.

 

[Tyrath]

If they listen to the stuff that the general public complained about (repetitive fights, super train track like paths, etc) they could make a much better game with the sequel. Luckily they've already said it will have a darker tone and won't be anything like FFX-2.