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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, enemies are integrated into the world environment. The Active Time Battle (ATB) system will return, but it works differently from its predecessors. Users will be able to chain large numbers of commands together in order to achieve attack bonuses.

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. In battle, the player can only control one character at a time out of a party of up to three. Multiple commands can be stacked into slots per turn and released at the same time to form a combo. The number of command slots increases as the characters grow in strength. 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 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.

Final Fantasy XIII’s gameplay system still uses the multiple command system and the time gauge bar just like the ATB. However, the difference between this system and the ATB gauge is that commands can still be placed in the slots even though the bar has run out and the actions will be executed once the required slots are filled up. This however will affect the chain combo hits as the combo has been interrupted.

The after-battle victory screen in XIII holds information such as the time it took to finish the battle, the highest number of combos executed, the number of break attacks and the quality of battle which is determined by a ranking of one to five stars. The breaks refer to the times when an enemy enters a state of non-retaliation. This occurs when a chain combo has been maintained for a certain period of time on an enemy. When a high level combo has been achieved, the enemy will glow red and enter a break state, as indicated by the break bar. At that point the player will be able to execute the highest amount of damage to the target. However at that point, the chain bar will deplete slowly and when it is empty the break state becomes invalid.

A special command in the system is called Launch. This is used to toss enemies into the air and allows the character to perform mid-air combos on the opponent. This attack is useful when dealing huge amounts of damage to a target, especially when the target is in a break state. However it may be difficult to use this command on larger enemies.

Magic is restricted to characters that belong to the group called l’Cies. Magic is not readily available in the beginning of a game, but it is bestowed upon the characters after a certain event. Because magic cannot be used outside of battle, the HP of the party is completely restored after each battle.^[9]

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. Ifrit and Siren also appear in shown footage. Producer Yoshinori Kitase has confirmed that Bahamut will also appear in the game. At E3 2009, new footage was shown where Lightning summoned Odin, that stayed in the battle, while the character accompanying her disappeared.

Plot

Characters

The full cast of Final Fantasy XIII is yet unknown. The following characters have been shown in trailers and screenshots of the game, along with other released information.

Lightning (ライトニング, Raitoningu^?) is a young woman previously associated with the Cocoon military, who has been given a task by a Crystal.^[13] Lightning has long strawberry-blonde hair and is 170 cm tall (5′7″). For her design, character designer Tetsuya Nomura was asked to create a “female version of Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII“. During development, he has described her as “not very feminine”.^[14] Lightning wields a combination of a gun and a sword and can also manipulate gravity with a device on her thumb.^[15] Her Japanese voice-actress is Maaya Sakamoto, while in English she is portrayed by Allison Keith.

Working with them is Snow Villiers^[16] (スノウ・ヴィリアース, Sunō Viriāsu^?), a blond, bandanna-wearing man who rides the summoned spirit Shiva Sisters in their motorcycle form and totes a large gun.^[13] Snow is the head of Team Nora, a resistance group against Cocoon.^[17] He is a big character and is capable of running while carrying two people.^[18] He was nicknamed “Mr. 33 cm” by the staff of Final Fantasy XIII as a nod to his shoe size.^[19] In the October 2008 issue of Weekly Shonen Jump magazine, it is revealed that he uses a power that is related to the tattoo on his left forearm.^[20] He uses his fists to take down opponents. Compared to the fast and agile Lightning, Snow focuses more on power and strength. In the Japanese version of the game, he is voiced by Daisuke Ono.

A third character is Oerba Dia Vanille^[21] (ヲルバ＝ダイア・ヴァニラ, Oruba-Daia Vanira^?), who is a girl with red-brown hair worn in pigtails and lives in Pulse.^[22] In a trailer, she is seen captured by the Cocoon army and walking in a funeral procession. She is described as an optimistic person, who carries a heavy burden in her heart. Her weapon resembles a modernized bow.^[23] In the Japanese version, she is voiced by Yukari Fukui.

A fourth playable character, Sazh Katzroy (サッズ・カッツロイ, Sazzu Kattsuroi^?), was first featured in V-Jump Magazine. He is a middle-aged man with an afro who Lightning knows from her time serving in the military. Sazh wields dual pistols, and his strong point is striking enemies from a distance. His pet, a baby chocobo lives in his afro. He is described as having good judgment and moral discernment. He has a gentle personality and is easily moved to tears, and joins the party early in the game.^[24] His voice-actor in the Japanese version is Masashi Ebara.

In the Jump Festa 2009 and the official global trailer, three more characters who are part of Snow’s resistance group called NORA are seen in the hijack of the captives’ train. One is a man with orange hair and dark olive skin called Gadot (ガドー, Gadō^?). He uses a pistol in battle, providing quick assistance when it comes to executing combos. The second is a black-haired woman with a butterfly tattoo on her shoulder named Lebreau (レブロ, Reburo^?).^[25] Gadot and Lebreau are said to be childhood friends of Snow.^[11] Lebreau uses a shotgun in combat. She also acts as the healer for the team. The third is a young blond-haired man wearing goggles and a bright pink outfit named Maqui (マーキー, Mākī^?).^[26] They were designed by Nao Ikeda. Their designs are based on sports, and are inspired by NBA, beach volleyball, and snowboarding fashions, respectively.^[27]

According to a translation of April issue of Famitsu Hong Kong, there are five important members of NORA, the fifth member having yet to be revealed. Famitsu also states that the four known members of NORA are featured in the Final Fantasy XIII demo, although Maqui does not participate in battles.^[8]

In a trailer at the DKΣ3173 event in Tokyo in 2008, two antagonistic characters were featured: a high-ranking female commander with knee-length blond hair and glasses who interrogates the captive Vanille in the trailer, and an intimidating man wearing his hair up in a ponytail, who leads the Cocoon army.^[13]

Story

The plot focuses on the fal’Cie, a race existing beyond humanity. The people marked by the fal’Cie for a greater purpose are named the l’Cie.^[22] Some thirteen centuries ago, a mythical Crystal told the fal’Cie to construct a paradise for humanity. The shell-like city of Cocoon was created to float high above the surface of the world now known as Pulse, and it was maintained by its own Crystal.^[28] Cocoon’s Crystal created life forms and machines for its inhabitants to use, and humanity flourished. Over time, the people of Cocoon began to fear for the safety of their world, and were worried that it would be cast down from the sky. In present day, the wilderness of Pulse has strange effects on people, and the theocratic Holy Government of Cocoon quarantines and exiles anyone who has been influenced by Pulse from the city with the help of its mighty army, PSICOM.^[29] A former soldier of that army, a woman codenamed Lightning is chosen by the fal’Cie against her will to become an l’Cie, and with that to be an enemy of humanity and bring about the downfall of Cocoon.

Development

Final Fantasy XIII was first shown at the 2006 E3 convention.^[30] 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,^[31] 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.^[32] 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.^[18]

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.^[33] 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.^[34] 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.^[35] Final Fantasy X‘s co-composer Masashi Hamauzu will be scoring the game, with former regular series composer Nobuo Uematsu providing the main theme.^[36]

Release

Due to the frequency of rumored release dates appearing on the Internet, Square Enix’s official website issued a statement reminding consumers that any “confirmed release dates” reported by sources other than Square Enix are “erroneous and should be disregarded”.^[37] During Microsoft’s media briefing at the 2008 E3, Square Enix announced that Final Fantasy XIII would be released first in Japan on PlayStation 3 in 2009,^[38] then released in North America and Europe on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The latter would start development only after the Japanese PlayStation 3 version is completed, and the 360 version could possibly come on multiple discs.^[39] A Japanese release of the Xbox 360 version of the game is not planned.^[40]

At the DKΣ3713 Private Party event in August 2008, Square Enix announced that a playable demo of Final Fantasy XIII will be included in Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Complete (released on April 16 in Japan and June 2 for North America^[41]) on Blu-ray Disc for PlayStation 3, along with new trailers of Final Fantasy Versus XIII and Final Fantasy Agito XIII.^[42] The demo will see a limited release, subject to the initial shipments of the Advent Children package.^[43] The demo, however, is not reflective of the final product as it was created using an old build of the game.^[44]

The official Japanese website has recently (as of late April 2009) been updated to include mention of a broad “Winter 2009″ release window for Japan.^[45]. However, when speaking to Japanese press, Square Enix claimed the game might not even come out in this fiscal year. ^[46] Speaking at a Dissidia: Final Fantasy-related press event in London, producer Yoshinori Kitase stated that the team was aiming to cut down the time it takes for localization. Suggesting a European release “before winter 2010″, he mentioned that localization was underway with some translation and voicework already completed.^[47] At the same time, it was denied there were any current plans for a Western release of the trial version.^[48]

Giant advertisements of Final Fantasy XIII appear on the cross street of Olympic Blvd and Figueroa Street in the city of Los Angeles late on May 23, 2009. Three huge billboards showing the three lead characters of the game: Vanille, Snow and Lightning, confirming the release date of the North American version of Final Fantasy XIII to be in 2010 on both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

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