Final Fantasy XIII Interview Uncovers Games Secrets (Part 2)

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I'm only cutting this in two halves because the interview's horrendously long; this time an interview with a different guy >.>

Toriyama Interview


Demo that Shows the Battle's Atmosphere
Dengeki: Can we consider the battle part in the demo to be pretty close to the release version?
Toriyama: Yes. The demo's designed so you can experience the basic system in its entirety. The new Active Time Battle (ATB) sensation, I feel, can be experienced in the demo. Furthermore, this game does not have a seamless battle system like FFXII, but the change into battle is very rapid and has been designed to play with a similar sensation to a seamless system. Of course, moving out of battle is also very smooth, so from a data access/reading point of view, one should be able to play this stress-free.

Dengeki: In the demo, is it the beginning of the story that's being depicted?
Toriyama: Yes. The story progresses from Lightning and Snow's viewpoint. The beginning starts with an emergency situation called "Purge", and no further information is given so you cannot make sense of the situation when you start off. It's just a very small part of the beginning of the entire game. Thus, at the conclusion of the demo, gamers will have only seen bits and pieces of the story leaving a lot of questions to be answered. We'd like for you to think about the story, but the main aspect of this demo will be to enjoy the battle system

Dengeki: In regards to FF13's new ATB; the concept of chaining multiple attacks, as well as overpowering your opponent with a Break is a neat concept.
Toriyama: Chains are essentially multiple attacks strung together, and the more you chain, the more your damage goes up in relation to the chain length. Each spell and attack has a chain counter extension rate, so try all sorts of combinations to determine how to easily chain your attacks. And in regards to breaks. This will occur after you've chained a certain amount. Enemies which have been "broken" not only take more damage, but can be lifted off the ground. This is in the official trailer as well, but using this, it really makes downing an enemy exhilarating. At the end of a battle, you will recieve a rating of your battle which will result in a higher rating if you mix in chains and breaks, so please aim for that. Ideally, you would use magics in which you could increase your chain count rather easily, then once the enemy "breaks", lift it off the ground immediately. Then finish the enemy off...by doing so, you can go through the battle rather stylishly. The additional attack after lifting the enemy off the ground does more damage than normal, thus it 's important to use during a boss fight.

Dengeki: Speaking of which, can any monster be lifted off the ground?
Toriyama: Actually, each moster has a weight value associated with it, so very large monsters are difficult to lift off the ground. For something like Behemoth as an opponent, it becomes important to plan your attacks to increase your chain count and fight strategically. But in the demo, we want you to have a taste of speed and exhilaration, so you can go through it without thinking too hard. From a strategic standpoing, there will be a newer and deeper system that is planned to be implemented in the final release. In the demo, just enjoy the basics of chainig various commands and realizing that different combinations will change the battle drastically.

Dengeki: Characters that are rather speedy feel to have a higher difficulty associated with them compared to before
Toriyama: In the demo, the balance is a bit on the easy side, but in the final release, specifically referring to the battle, the difficulty has been raised slightly, and may be a little more easy to end up with a Game Over (sorry Kelly) than before. But there's a retry command implemented that will take you to immediately before the battle so don't worry. The easier balancing is so you can try out various playstyle customizations and strategies in the demo.

The Details in Production

Dengeki: Are there any scenes that you should watch out for?
Toriyama: The situation changes in realtime as you move around. If you hear a lound noise behind you and look around, you can see a plane plummetting. Also, Sahz leads the way for Lightning at times, but when he points down towards something, please try to get to that location quickly. You will be able to see a real time battle going on.

Dengeki: You can move the camera in realtime while moving around, but can you do this in battle as well?
Toriyama: Of course. You can move the camera around freely so please find a cool angle for yourself to use. During certain commands, such as lifting an enemy off the ground, the camera angle changes, so there shouldn't be any instance that makes the action difficult to see. Also, we've really worked on the details of magic spell graphics. For example, a fire based spell might leave smoke at where it landed or blizzard spells might leave shards of ice scattered about for a while.

Dengeki: Is the battle music in the demo the same as that in the final release?
Toriyama: The music in the demo is planned to be used in the same scenes of the final product. On that note, the demo will not contain the standard post-battle fanfare, but in the final product, there will be a fanfare arrangement specifically arranged for FFXIII so please look forward to it. In terms of a victory pose...that's still under discussion (lol).

Secrets of the World Revealed
Dengeki: What part of the Cocoon do Lightning and co. go crazy in?
Toriyama: It's the very bottom level of the spherical Cocoon. It's not really a place normal citizens would step foot into. In the image below, I think you can see water, but that's really like an underground lake. The location used in the demo uses a somewhat dark palette, but in the interior of the Cocoon, there are bright/festive(?) towns and what not.

Dengeki: How is the social structure inside the Cocoon?
Toriyama: From the images, one might get the feeling that the Church's militia is supressing its citizens, but the militia acts more like the police force of the Cocoon. They're not really controlling the citizens. If anything, they take care of any monsters that infiltrate the Cocoon. Also, due to Falcie(?), a close to utopian society exists inside the Cocoon.

Dengeki: Can you describe the existance of Falcie in this world?
Toriyama: Falcie is not something that cannot be seen and exists as matter. In the demo, you can verify Pulse's falcie, but this shape is only but one example. In the final release, Falcie will appear in various forms so please look forward to that.

Dengeki: Do different monsters appear in the Cocoon and Pulse?
Toriyama: Divided rather largely, there are 3 types of monsters; monsters of pulse, the feral monsters inside the Cocoon, and the monsters that the church's miltia own, but the designs are all different. The monsters that the militia own are designed with over-technology, thus are a fusion of beast and machinery. In this game, monsters you're familiar with have changed greatly from a visual perspective. You've seen Behemoth in previous images, but things like Goblins that this series cannot be without are other monsters to look forward to. Well...just Sabotender (dunno what the western name is) has increased texture detail but basically still looks the same (lol).

Dengeki: What's the highlight of the demo?
Toriyama: One part I'd like for you to pay particular attention to is the battle part. We've just really focused on creating a sense of exhilaration so we really want for you to have a taste of it. Upon breaking, there's a lot of information that pops up, and you might be a bit overwhelmed. First try to fight however you want to fight, and once you get used to it a bit, start taking into account the chain gauge and breaking; this will increase the strategic aspect of the game. Furthermore, if you start taking into account your party's actions, you'll be able to experience a very stylishly flowing action battle. From a story perspective, the highlight is Lightning and co.'s appearance. There's alot of heavy action right from the get go so please pay attention to it.

Further Evolution in the Final Release
Dengeki: This is in regards to the battle system, but are there aspects that are not in the demo that might still be modified?
Toriyama: The command part has already gone through various iterations. With your first battle in the demo, you might have a bit of a problem trying to select the enemy or using white (holy in the west?) magic, but this has been rectified in the final product, so don't worry. We're also looking into implementing shortcut-type functions to make command accessibility easier.

Dengeki: Can you command your party in detail?
Toriyama: In FFXII's gambit system, you prepared before the battle, but in FFXIII, we're thinking of how to adapt to the changing battle.

Dengeki: In that regards, can you change the character you control freely in the middle of battle?
Toriyama: I can't comment on that in detail yet, but a new system will be implemented.

Dengeki: We couldn't verify character growth in the demo, but it doesn't seem like character growth is going to be limited to just learning new attacks and spells?
Toriyama: Of course, characters will gain new skills and magic as they grow. Just, please wait for future information on how the characters are raised. Of course, it's not just straight levelling, but we expect to implement a some type of system as was done with the Sphere Board in FFX and Licensed Board in FFXII. Going off on a tangent, but this game's menu system is pretty amazing. I said the traditional blue background with white borders was fine, but the staff worked hard and created a completely fresh menu screen.

Dengeki: Finally, with the upcoming demo release and fans awaiting the final release, if you could give them a message or 2.
Toriyama: In the demo, we've finally been able to make public the battle system, but bear in mind that it's the very basic battle system. Including what's not encompassed in the demo, the final product will have further polish. I'd like for you to enjoy the demo from both the battle and story side of the game in hopes that it'll increase your anticipation for the final release.

Source: finalfantasyxiii.net
 
ok i have gone though both parts and maybe i am just a dim wit but has the Demo been released yet or not cause in this part it feels like they are playing it as they do the interview....

and if not when is it projected to be released???
 
ok i have gone though both parts and maybe i am just a dim wit but has the Demo been released yet or not cause in this part it feels like they are playing it as they do the interview....

and if not when is it projected to be released???
It will be released in 16th of April with Advent Children Complete.But only in Japan.
 
ok i have gone though both parts and maybe i am just a dim wit but has the Demo been released yet or not cause in this part it feels like they are playing it as they do the interview....

and if not when is it projected to be released???

I'm pretty sure the guy said he has played it in the first part of the interview. The demo doesn't get released until April but the interviewer probably got a chance to play it early so he could help promote it.

Considering the demo is mostly going to be focusing on the battle system. I don't really feel the need to pick it up. Of course I will get it if I get the opportunity, but I'm not planning to go out of my way to get it.
 
This interview seems to give a lot more details on plot and development than the other interview. The first part seemed much more technical and oriented on the demo and how much of the PS3's capacity is being used by the final game.

I can't say I read it all (for fear of spoilers) but it's definitely interesting. I definitely liked reading about chains and breaks. Gameplay is never consistent with FF games and it'll be interesting to see if I like this one or not. I'm thinking yes though...
 
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