When asked about Lightning's character, Toriyama has a lot to say: "We have depicted Lightning as a strong woman right from the beginning, from the first installment. And with the first installment she is a soldier. So we’ve kind of depicted her as being this stoic person, hard on herself, hard on her sister, and kind of a hardened woman."
This is very true, we have seen Lightning at her physical best from the beginning of the XIII saga, but what is she going to be like for her closing chapter? "So in the third and final “Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII” installment, we want to depict her from more of a human perspective. How she got to being the strong woman that she is, what she’s struggling with, and trying to depict her in many different angles, so that we can see her coldness, or her beauty, maybe through her poignancy."
So for Lightning Returns, the focus will be on Lightning's human side, and her sadness and sorrow. This is quite hard to believe given the footage we have seen of her so far in the game! But I'm trusting that we can see a new, different Lightning in this game.
When asked about how it has been creating a trilogy, Producer Kitase comments: "What I’m proud of about this title is that our dev team was able to accomplish so much in such a short period of time. We will have released three titles in the span of about four years. We’ve taken back all of the feedback we received from our fans and we evolved this title throughout the installments. So I’m really proud that our dev team grew to accommodate the requests and the fact that we do have such a strong, good development team."
Kitase also notes that the choice to have Lightning as the lead in the game was so that they could "let her shine once again."
So, enough about Lightning, us fans just want to get to the nitty gritty of the game - just what in the heck are these thirteen days all about? Toriyama explains....
"In terms of gameplay we have thirteen days left before the world ends, but at the start of the game Lightning is given seven days to explore and go through her quests. By completing these different quests she is able to prolong the life [of the world]. So the system is set up so you start off with seven days, and you kind of extend the life of the world as you complete your quests."
Sounds interesting! I knew it sounded a bit too difficult to have a countdown for the events of the game. I am impressed with the idea of 'prolonging' the life of the world. It sounds like a beautiful, and fresh concept that I'm very, very excited to see brought to life in a video game - especially a video game as big as Final Fantasy!
Toriyama: "In terms of the battle, in traditional battle we would think of the ATB (Active Time Battle) system. But with this game we tried to keep that kind of strategy element in the battle system as well as improving and evolving the speed and the tempo of actual battles"
I'm glad that they've tried to adapt the ATB to suit the speed of Lightning Returns, but as a classic RPG fan, I'm disappointed it won't be turn based. That's more to do with my own personal preferences though... They have added something completely new though...
"So what we’ve done is incorporated a system called- Well, what we call ‘Style Change’ but in the English version will be called ‘Schemata Change’, where Lightning has her equipment- her outfit, her weapon and shield- add to her different abilities and her attributes that are set. So you’ll be switching between three of those, and each of those Styles/Schema have an ATB Gauge assigned to it. You’re going to be strategically trying to pick which gauge and which Schema is appropriate for that instance, when you want to put in the command. And that’s how our battle system is set up in this installment."
So. It now sounds like the lovechild of XIII-2 and X-2, now I know that many people criticise X-2's battle system, and the Dresspheres, but this could be a really fun twist for Lightning Returns!
Toriyama: "We have over 80 different types of outfit prepared for Lightning. You can definitely changer her look, but her outfits are also going to link to her powers and abilities as well kind of like the job system in typical Final Fantasy games."
To a fashion forward lady like myself, this sounds like a fun feature. I can't wait to play around with it! I'm sure it will be criticised heavily too though, but hopefully the dev team can make this feature as interesting and useful as they can - so as not to make it like some weird Clueless-esque wardrobe game! I do also wonder if this is really a good thing for Lightning's character. She's never struck me as being a particularly 'feminine' girl. By that I mean that she doesn't dress in frills and hot pink - she's a very practical woman and I hope that being able to play around with her outfits doesn't demean her character!
Fans are being treated to a very special outfit...
Kitase has said this particular outfit is being developed for fan nostalgia! I'm wondering if any other popular outfits from Final Fantasy's gone by will make an appearance, with a wardrobe of 80+ outfits, I wouldn't be at all surprised if a few reconisable outfits crop up...
So, the game may be called Lightning Returns, but the characters of XIII are pretty well loved, and something playing on fans minds is the hopeful reappearance of some of the other characters... Here is what Toriyama has to say on that:
"With this installment, not only will Lightning’s chapter of the story end, but we’re going to have closure for many of the characters that have appeared in the previous installments. For example: I think you’ve seen Snow appear in some of the new information. He’s going to be in the game as well. He’s agonizing over the fact that he was not able to save Serah, and he has this very dark struggle in his heart. Lightning will try to approach him, and try to save him as well, but there may be a little bit of conflict there."
Speaking of other characters, we'd also like to know about Eidolons, it's not a very happy conclusion however..."The summons were created by the Goddess Etro in the world of Final Fantasy XIII, so at the end of XIII-2 when Etro lost her power, it means the summons lost their powers also. They won’t be able to appear as they would, in their original form."
So no Odin or Shiva in this game - I wonder, without summons how will it feel like a Final Fantasy, I'm hoping that there is something in mind to replace them.
Finally, Kitase has spoken about plans for DLC: "In terms of DLC that would expand on the actual story of Lightning Returns, we’re not really planning for those episodic DLC nor are we thinking of doing extra ‘boss’ DLC. We are planning to have it 100% completable on its own. We do have more than 80 outfits that Lightning can equip, so we would like to take into consideration maybe costume DLCs. I know the Legacy Final Fantasy costumes, such as past titles like the White Mage or the Black Mage, those were really popular so if there’s a great enough demand for things like that, we might be able to put it into consideration. So unfortunately, no battle DLCs after the launch."
And that wraps up that interview! So there's a lot on the cards for the last chapter of Final Fantasy XIII. The conclusion is set to be a whirlwind of outfits and a race against time - are you still hyped for this? Or have the cowboy hats and floral bouquets turned you cold?
If you'd like to see the full interview, you can find it here.
You can also view some more screenshots here.
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