Dutch OPM FFXIII Feature And Interview Scans

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The Dutch version of Official Playstation Magazine has conducted an interview with Final Fantasy XIII producer Yoshinori Kitase as we mentioned a few days ago. Thankfully our new best friend, Shlizar Axis, has scanned the entire feature as well as translating the interview. Inside it, Kitase confirms the DLC rumour was true as well as revealing a few other interesting facts such as the PS3 and 360 versions of the game using different engines apparently. This seems odd as Square said Crystal Tools was developed to work with both the PS3 and 360 as well as other platforms but whatever he says. See the scans as well as the fully translated interview below.

(This is just some of the scans)

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Interview with Yoshinori Kitase:

From director of Chrono Trigger to scenario writer of Final Fantasy VII; Kitase has had a hand into all major Square-Enix productions during the past two decades. And also his task as senior producer of the biggest RPG of the past decade is almost at its end...

How does it feel now that Final Fantasy XIII is completed?
YOSHINORI KITASE: It's a big sigh of relief. It has taken a long time before it was completed. It's good to see that Final Fantasy lives brightly within the people when you are walking down the streets in Tokyo. This is what it makes it worthwhile.

This is the first Final Fantasy on the PS3. In what way was the development different then with the previous instalments?
KITASE: This time we needed to work extra hard. Final Fantasy XIII was originally meant to be a PS2 title, but we had to switch systems due to the arrival of the PS3. That cost us about one and a half years and was constantly a case of trial and error. However, because we worked so hard at the beginning, we got to a cruising speed much faster then anticipated and therefore could start on the translation and international voice recording process at an early stage of the development. It's because of this that we can release both the European as well as the American version barely three months after the Japanese release.

Are the European and Japanese versions identical, or do the western gamers get extra content in exchange for the long wait?
KITASE: At first we wanted a simultaneous release for all markets, so therefore it was intended that we would create identical versions. When we noticed that we couldn't make it, we decided that we wanted to keep the period between the Japanese and the Western release as short as possible. We had a moment where we considered to add extra content to the western version, but then the release date of the international version would have been pushed back for a couple of months. We did prepare DLC, but it will also be available in the West in the future.

The Western fans aren't unhappy that they didn't have to wait realise months this time...
KITASE: It's because of the fans that we wanted to do a simultaneous release. A while ago, during my vacation, I went to Europe and talked to many European fans. With each conversation this particular frustration came to order. I didn't know that it weighted so heavenly with you, so i made sure that the localization process could start early. We didn't have to take the different television standards into account. No NTSC and PAL anymore, in every livingroom stands a digital television nowadays, so we didn't have to spend an extra month in development for it.

Didn't the simultaneous development on both the PS3 and the XBOX360 cause difficulties?
KITASE: We have made it our top priority to deliver the same quality on both consoles. It was self-evident that it brought some difficulties with it. Both consoles require a different approach. Especially on the graphics section. We had to build a different engine for both versions. We needed a year of tinkering on each engine in order to get the same level of graphics.

How do the side missions come together?
KITASE: As you know, the in-game world consists of two parts: Cocoon and Pulse. In Cocoon you will get a strong story-driven RPG. Pulse on the other hand is mostly a wilderness where the game switches to explorations and numerous side missions become available. Without the side missions, the game will be 60 hours long. If you visit the Grand Pulse in order to clear side missions, then you will be busy for a long time. You can keep playing these missions in order to earn Cystarium-points, so basically the length of the game is endless.

We found Lightning didn't really fit within the line of Final Fantasy-Protagonists. First and foremost, she is a woman and no androgen youngster. Second, she's the toughest lady we have ever encountered. She doesn't flinch when it comes to hitting the macho Snow several times in the face.
KITASE: "Change" played a part when selecting Lightning. It has been a while since we had a female protagonist, but gender didn't really matter actually. We just wanted to create a strong personality.

Has lightning been designed to be the female version of Cloud Strife, or did we discover another fault on Wikipedia?
KITASE: It's indeed incorrect. The only thing Cloud and Lightning have in common is their background as a soldier. Lightning does come across as cold and tough, but further along the story you will notice that she has a fragile side to her. Cloud didn't have that. We surely didn't try to copy Cloud's success.

You have been working at Square Enix for quite a while now. How do you see Final Fantasy XII in comparison with its illustrious predecessors?
KITASE: I consider this Final Fantasy as the most evolved instalment of the series. On the area of setting, it looks a lot like Final Fantasy VII, but we went beyond that. Much more futuristic then you can imagine. I'm mostly proud of the battle system. It's one of the most advanced system you've ever played. If you experience it for the first time, you will immediately be reminded of Final Fantasy XII, especially because you participate in a battle as a group. But, basically we have taken the best from the previous Final Fantasy instalments and put it into this one.

Why did you choose to replace the original theme song with a song from Leona Lewis within the European version? Wouldn't have translating the original song been a better solution?
KITASE: We have tried to translate the original theme song, but the singer had difficulties with that. This is a new type of tactic, an experiment if you will. Why not use a different artist for every region? If both the content and atmosphere of the song would match with the game, then we would expect it will score better within that particular region. Square Enix as a company is thinking more and more internationally and localization plays an important part within that strategy.

Is that the reason why the Japanese language option with European subtitles isn't available within the International version? That's something the fans would really want...
KITASE: It's because of the storage capacity. The Blu-ray disc has already been filled to the max due to the countless CGI-movies, so a version with both Japanese as well as English voices was impossible to realise.

Source: finalfantasy-xiii
 
Ahh, the Dutch....you got love their Freestates, especially Amsterdam and The Hague, I hear it's.....nice this time of year.

Also, looking forward to FFXIII.
 
Haha thank our new friend who translated it! Very glad that Shlizar Axis did so. Very intresting interview and scans! ^_^ All I can say is that i'm so eager for XIII I can't wait! =) I got some questions answered like the Cloud situation :hmmm: Thanks for sharing .Swift! =)
 
FFXIII Producer explains Leona Lewis choice for theme song

In a recent interview with the Dutch version of Official Playstation Magazine, Final Fantasy XIII Producer Yoshinori Kitase has explained the decision that has become a sore point to many Western Final Fantasy fans – the choice of Leona Lewis for the titles theme song.

Responding to the question as to why the original Japanese theme song, Kimi Ga Iru Kara, was replaced with My Hands by Leona Lewis, rather than receive a straight English translation, Kitase explains “We have tried to translate the original theme song, but the singer had difficulties with that. This is a new type of tactic, an experiment if you will. Why not use a different artist for every region?”

He continues “If both the content and atmosphere of the song would match with the game, then we would expect it will score better within that particular region. Square Enix as a company is thinking more and more internationally and localization plays an important part within that strategy.”

So, there you have it. I will be honest and say that I am one of the many that was disappointed the English version wasn’t to receive a translation of the Japanese theme song – quite simply because I think it suits the title, and franchise, perfectly. Nevertheless, it is an incredibly minor blemish on what is set to be not only one of the biggest titles of 2010, but also within the history of the series – bring it on.

Source: The Lost Gamer
 
Thanks Ari! This seems to be a more detailed explanation than Kitase's translated reply in the magazine's interview.

They are vague though when they say "the singer had difficulties". I assume they mean that the lyrics when translated do not fit rather than the singer (which could be English or Japanese- it doesn't seem to say) having difficult singing the English, which was why Jade from Sweetbox took over for FFX-2's songs.

But couldn't they have just kept Kimi Ga Iru Kara as it is? There's nothing wrong with it being in Japanese. It is a Japanese game, so what's the harm? They did it with FFX. My Hands just doesn't fit very well with FFXIII! Do they not realise that because the decision seemed very half-hearted.
 
Are the European and Japanese versions identical, or do the western gamers get extra content in exchange for the long wait?
KITASE: At first we wanted a simultaneous release for all markets, so therefore it was intended that we would create identical versions. When we noticed that we couldn't make it, we decided that we wanted to keep the period between the Japanese and the Western release as short as possible. We had a moment where we considered to add extra content to the western version, but then the release date of the international version would have been pushed back for a couple of months. We did prepare DLC, but it will also be available in the West in the future.
Doesn't every man and his dog know what's going to happen by now? Japanese Release. Western Release. International Version for Japan. :wacky: Although DLC may replace the international version now :hmmm:
It annoys me though when they say "simultaneous" release is difficult, it's not. All it requires is delaying the Japanese release. They might as well admit that they want to release it in Japan first, every other company has successfully managed simultaneous releases -facepalm-

Didn't the simultaneous development on both the PS3 and the XBOX360 cause difficulties?
KITASE: We have made it our top priority to deliver the same quality on both consoles. It was self-evident that it brought some difficulties with it. Both consoles require a different approach. Especially on the graphics section. We had to build a different engine for both versions. We needed a year of tinkering on each engine in order to get the same level of graphics.
I'm pretty sure that Kitase also said there would be graphical differences. I'm pretty sure that the PS3 version also gets the CGI scenes in 1080p whereas the 360 doesn't. Liar. :wacky:
Has lightning been designed to be the female version of Cloud Strife, or did we discover another fault on Wikipedia?
KITASE: It's indeed incorrect. The only thing Cloud and Lightning have in common is their background as a soldier. Lightning does come across as cold and tough, but further along the story you will notice that she has a fragile side to her. Cloud didn't have that. We surely didn't try to copy Cloud's success.
This is played on far too much. I do think that Lightning was meant to be the same in terms of success but I don't think the design was meant to be anything like. The whole picture comparison of Cloud-Lightning is stupid, Nomura has his own style in which chances are they were going to look similar regardless of what Kitase asked of him.

Why did you choose to replace the original theme song with a song from Leona Lewis within the European version? Wouldn't have translating the original song been a better solution?
KITASE: We have tried to translate the original theme song, but the singer had difficulties with that. This is a new type of tactic, an experiment if you will. Why not use a different artist for every region? If both the content and atmosphere of the song would match with the game, then we would expect it will score better within that particular region. Square Enix as a company is thinking more and more internationally and localization plays an important part within that strategy.
This is probably true, I've read that SE wanted an original theme song for the western version of FFXIII but they had to go with a song already created due to lack of staff or something. :hmmm:
 
Leona Lewis on my FF soundtrack? :S I hope they don't put too much pop music in there, I want my soundtracks to by 'soundtracky' not a collection of popsongs.

And why not release a European version with Japanese speech and English subtitles and a version with English speech? Doesn't seem like a storage capacity problem to me.
 
Personally, we hate everything about this game. Other than the story (which is the only good thing we can pull out of it), we're not looking forward to this game at all. It, in our humble opinion, doesn't deserve to be a FF title.

The terrible choice in theme song is just another blemish on an acme riddled game. :mokken:

To each his own we suppose. :mokken:
 
Leona Lewis on my FF soundtrack? :S I hope they don't put too much pop music in there, I want my soundtracks to by 'soundtracky' not a collection of popsongs.

And why not release a European version with Japanese speech and English subtitles and a version with English speech? Doesn't seem like a storage capacity problem to me.
Chances are the only pop song will be the Leona Lewis one and they didn't even want it really. I suppose there's those 2 pop songs in the Japan version but that can be overlooked since a fair few FF titles have Japanese pop songs.

The English version will probably use this list and the Leona Lewis song (minus the 2 "Eternal Love" and "Kimi Ga" Japan pop songs).
http://www.finalfantasyforums.net/f...antasy-xiii-guide-33146-page2.html#post664230
 
In FFIX and X, instrumental remixes of the main theme appeared in the game, e.g. IX's world map theme was based on Melodies of Life and in X, Some Day the Dream Will End was based on Suteki da Ne. I'm therefore kind of hoping that the English release of XIII will do the same thing and that the Leona Lewis song will only come on during the credits.
 
Didn't the simultaneous development on both the PS3 and the XBOX360 cause difficulties?
KITASE: We needed a year of tinkering on each engine in order to get the same level of graphics.
lolfail.

Square Enix’s marketing activities, in the form of a touring bus, have given US fans the chance to play both: From a real person:
I went to the Sunnyvale one today and got to play the 360 version. I am so very disappointed to see the difference in textures and detail of the 360 version vs. the PS3. =( I know it’s DVD vs. BD, but I didn’t think it would be that noticeable. My boyfriend told me it’s fine if I wanna stick with the 360 version, but he’s going for the PS3 one now.
From a game journalist:
Both PS3s and 360s were being used to show off the game, which was great as I was able to see both versions running side-by-side. As expected, the 360 version was noticeably less crisp than its PS3 counterpart, but it still ran nicely.

:monster:
 
LOL xD

I don't need to be an expert with critical thinking skills, but there does seem to be a glaring contradition there.

/slaps Kitase straight onto my List Of Liars with Wada :8F:

Basically SE wasted time tinkering on two separate engines- one for the Xbox 360 in a vain attempt to make the Xbox 360 do something it could never do as well as the PS3. Way to go SE, way to make yourself a laughing stock to the FF fans.

Nomura- you are the one shining beacon of light still left in SE that I believe in! It all hangs on you to show it to us that Versus XIII won't be held back because of the multiplatform decision!
 
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