Final Fantasy XIII-2

[Arianna]

http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/2011/06/22/ffxiii_2_kamikokuryo_interview/

Characters from the original FFXIII will be returning as well, of course. Kamikokuryo said that players will be able to see slightly grown up versions of the past characters, and how they're now living.

 

[Rumpelstiltskin]

and how they're now living.

Sazh - Chocobo wrangler
Snow - WWF wrestler
Hope - Eunuch

 

[ForceStealer]

If you're expecting Square Enix's Final Fantasy XIII-2 to look much like the game it's a sequel to, think again. "The concept is 'surrealism,'" said art director Isamu Kamikokuryo in an interview printed in this week's Famitsu magazine. "The story and gameplay direction for FFXIII-2 was largely decided upon at an early point in development, and as I thought over what my goals would be for the visuals along those lines, that's what I came up with. I also want to have a dark feel to the game."
That goes in the opposite direction from FFXIII's bright look, and that's no accident -- considering that the 'dark' direction is something that director Motomu Toriyama has brought up in interviews himself. "It's not as if we're solely concentrating on that," Kamikokuryo said, "but I certainly had the impression that the story takes a serious turn here, and I thought surrealism would match well with it. There was also the fact that the staff on the last game wanted to go with a dark feel for FFXIII during pre-production. I wasn't aware of that since I was still working on FFXII at the time, and when I moved on to XIII, things shifted in a brighter direction instead. So partly it's also an effort to go back to the dark-fantasy style that was part of the original concept."

Other points brought up in the interview:

- Square Enix is trying to get FFXIII-2 out in Japan before the end of the year, leaving the staff without a whole lot of time to work with. "We had a basic schedule framework from the beginning, and it was pretty tight, so there was pretty much no time for pre-production work," Kamikokuryo said. "I didn't have much time to draw much in terms of setting concepts, so at times I had to explain things to the staff using photos and other non-art assets. Sometimes that helped get my point across better than art, though. It's been a good chance to reconsider how to best approach my job as art director."

- Kamikokuryo has an interesting philosophy when it comes to facial animation and such in cutscenes, one that seems to diverge from the drive for things like the tech seen in L.A. Noire. "Technology is important," he said, "but I think this is one place where the passion of the creator plays a role. I think making that sort of thing from the approach that you're making a 'game' may actually be a bad idea. The staff uses actors to contribute to the direction of these scenes, and I'd like them to think from the perspective of acting as well. I really think that's what it takes to make something really good."

- Square Enix isn't done revealing new characters for the game, of course. "There will be more new main characters apart from Noel," Kamikokuryo said, "and you'll see characters from the previous game appear in somewhat more mature versions. We're devoting ourselves to creating characters that really feel alive."

Odd that XIII was planned to be dark in preproduction considering how brightly colored it was. I thought XIII's color pallet was pretty, Pulse especially looked beautiful, so I can't really complain with how it looked. Wonder how this will go for XIII-2
It also appears to be going the opposite direction that X to X-2 went. X was oppressed and tense, while in X-2 the major threat to the world had lifted and was on the whole, happier. Here, XIII-2 is where the hardship is greater, having been stranded on Pulse that everyone was abjectly terrified of their whole lives.

 

[Tifabelle]

but I certainly had the impression that the story takes a serious turn here

Is he implying that FFXIII wasn't serious? I'm not saying it was uber-serious, but it wasn't exactly light-hearted either.

leaving the staff without a whole lot of time to work with.

:/ Is "rushing" really the best thing? Hasn't this gotten people in trouble? I just hope we don't end up with something half-fast, or missing pieces because "they didn't have time to get them in".
Although it could be worse: they could take 10 years to work on a game that ends up coming out average, or slightly above average.

I mean, the game looks good so far, but it's hard to really tell without having played it, lol.

There will be more new main characters apart from Noel

Hooray!

and you'll see characters from the previous game appear in somewhat more mature versions

Grown up Hope! Hooray! Let's see... he'll be 19? Awwwww.


@Force - when he says "dark" I took it to mean like... emotionally dark as opposed to visually dark.

 

[Roger]

XIII may not have the darkest colour pallette, but i wouldn't say it wasn't dark as far as the mood of the game went. Hope wanting to kill Snow, Lightning wanting to throw Cocoon in darkness, Sazh contemplating Vanille's death, Fang considering snuffing out Cocoon every now and again, Vanille and Fang's whole civilisation wiped out, Snow'love gets turned to crystal 1 hour in. but this is where the story gets dark? How many deaths are we talking?

 

[ForceStealer]

XIII certainly had dark themes. But that interview really sounds like they're talking about color pallet.

Grown up Hope! Hooray! Let's see... he'll be 19? Awwwww.

You know what would be hilarious? If he was now exactly like Snow

Actually it would be more annoying than hilarious, but still, the little shit deserves it

 

[Terrafig]

As soon as everyone arrives on Pulse, the mood is much more hopeful. There is the wreckage of Vanille's and Fang's village, but centuries have passed, so it doesn't have quite the power of the earlier half of the game.

This was my biggest problem with XIII. As soon as the game opened up and became more fun, the story had to go away. A lot of the harder concepts in the game get randomly resolved before then too. One scene that really threw me featured Lightning having a sudden epiphany where she decides that, since she's just a Fal'Cie pet, she shouldn't be angry with them. Hope's double-take in that moment gave me a little appreciation for him, if only because Lightning had suddenly stopped making sense.

So, while I agree that the mood of XIII is pretty dark for the Cocoon parts of the game, hopefulness and cliche "save the world!" speeches dominate the second half. I'm hoping that "surreal" and "darker" means "more consistent in tone."

 

[ForceStealer]

That stuff didn't bother as much as what I've complained about several times now. Lightning saying that was still preferable then saying for the umpteenth time: "I won't be a pawn and be told what to do! So, now I'm gonna do exactly what I was already doing! That'll show'em! The bastards!"

 

[Glaurung]

You know what would be hilarious? If he was now exactly like Snow

Karma can be a b*tch sometimes. I'd like to see that

 

[Arianna]

You know what would be hilarious? If he was now exactly like Snow

Actually it would be more annoying than hilarious, but still, the little shit deserves it

It would be more than annoying! I so hope that Hope will not emulate Snow...

That stuff didn't bother as much as what I've complained about several times now. Lightning saying that was still preferable then saying for the umpteenth time: "I won't be a pawn and be told what to do! So, now I'm gonna do exactly what I was already doing! That'll show'em! The bastards!"

What I hated about XIII's story: Blaming all the fal'Cie for the problems started by humankind and a wish to end it by one fal'Cie.

The whole population of fal'Cie gave these people nearly everything. They all helped them thrive, they helped them obtain things that were not naturally theirs to begin with (magic via manadrives, for one). They also spent their power making life as near a paradise as possible, asking for nothing in return.

Barthandelus wanting to end all of this, to me, speaks more of the duties that Buniberzei laid upon Lindzei (if Barthandelus and Lindzei are or aren't the same being.) As well, I feel that Galenth/Barthandelus/Orphan had a general disenchantment with life as it was. Everything the fal'Cie gave, humans just used it for more and more fighting.

Honestly, it makes the humans involved look more like horribly spoiled brats in my opinion.

I'm not speaking about stopping Barthandelus' plan to destroy Cocoon and ultimately Gran Pulse. I understand stopping that. It's just the fact that with every detail, everyone got lumped together - it was black or white or nothing at all. And it was all very one sided; and of course the cliche of humans have to be right.

Hopefully this made sense.

 

[Terrafig]

asking for nothing in return

l'Cie is something they ask for in return.Taxation without representation. Besides, I think the l'Cie were really the only ones who struggled against fal'Cie at all. IIRC, the humans seemed content under the fal'Cie reign.

I prefer a more mysterious take on fal'Cie where they provide everything they do without explanation--making you wonder when the other shoe falls. They're somewhere between Greek gods and Egyptian gods in the way they behave.

 

[Arianna]

l'Cie is something they ask for in return.Taxation without representation. Besides, I think the l'Cie were really the only ones who struggled against fal'Cie at all. IIRC, the humans seemed content under the fal'Cie reign.

I prefer a more mysterious take on fal'Cie where they provide everything they do without explanation--making you wonder when the other shoe falls. They're somewhere between Greek gods and Egyptian gods in the way they behave.

Well I wasn't talking about become l'Cie. That was something different all together...

Interesting, what do you mean 'between Greek gods and Egyptian gods in the way they behave'?

 

[Terrafig]

So I guess I'm confused a bit by your post. Who rebels and is selfish, if not the l'Cie? I think they have valid complaints.

I was thinking that Egyptian gods are a bit more mysterious to everyone but Pharaoh, while Greek gods are so present it's almost terrifying. There's a sense of very human emotion in Greek gods, which is somewhat muted in Egyptian mythology, but still present. Egyptians also focus a lot of their culture and resources around these gods, which reminds me of the fal'Cie, who are in the center of Cocoon.

There's a very intriguing blend of mystery, presence, and control that I like about fal'Cie, and I'm trying to situate the influences, but I end up dissatisfied.

 

[Arianna]

So I guess I'm confused a bit by your post. Who rebels and is selfish, if not the l'Cie? I think they have valid complaints.

I understand l'Cie have the right to complain, 'cause their fate is screwed. Unless any fal'Cie can release a l'Cie from their bondage (which my speculation is that Etro had something to do with freeing Lightning and the others), the human is pretty much not only removed from humanity but also a servant forever.

What I was meaning that Lightning and the gang don't seem to have a problem with anything until it happens to them, which is very natural. Still, I just find the whole 'the fal'Cie are horrible' thing a bit much in the game.

The group seem to forget that - while maybe not on a personal level - on a more general level, humanity wanted the purge. Barthandelus wasn't lying in any way about that.

In Episode 0 it's made apparent that

Spoiler

Eden didn't want the people kept in the dark about the presence of the l'Cie or what happened via Kajata at Euride Gorge. Galenth Dysley, aka Barthandelus, did it because he was trying to keep the worry about the incident at the power plant to a minimum after rumors started spreading

.

Basically, that's my complaint. I found the griping of the group about how bad the fal'Cie are - as a whole - irritating. Barthandelus/Orphan, maybe; but, the rest of them...? We never really learn, except that very small part in chapter four of part four of Episode 0.

I find the fal'Cie very interesting. I guess I'm their only fan.

I was thinking that Egyptian gods are a bit more mysterious to everyone but Pharaoh, while Greek gods are so present it's almost terrifying. There's a sense of very human emotion in Greek gods, which is somewhat muted in Egyptian mythology, but still present. Egyptians also focus a lot of their culture and resources around these gods, which reminds me of the fal'Cie, who are in the center of Cocoon. ... There's a very intriguing blend of mystery, presence, and control that I like about fal'Cie, and I'm trying to situate the influences, but I end up dissatisfied.

Hmmmm... Cool analogy. I never thought of it that way.

As for Egyptian deities - well, basically, as you may know, Egyptian culture focused on the King (pharaoh) because he was the intermediary between the gods and humanity.

Kind of like the Primarch.

Were they really so distant? I don't think so, but sadly we never really hear (via the sources we have) much from the poor and middle (if there was such a group) classes. The relationship was possibly different than the Greeks in that it was less based off of humanity and more based on nature as a whole.

People saw the gods in the animals around them, in the bugs, in the plants, in the actions of nature, such as storms, the flood of the Nile, etc. You may know all of this, so I'm sorry if I'm preaching to the choir. Still, it's something to point out, I believe.

Yeah, I can see the similarities here.

Forgive me for being slow, but what did you mean by: "...I'm trying to situate the influences, but I end up dissatisfied."?

 

[Roger]

The group seem to forget that - while maybe not on a personal level - on a more general level, humanity wanted the purge. Barthandelus wasn't lying in any way about that.

Except that the public thought that just contact with l'Cie makes others l'Cie, this is bull****. additionally, by Purge the public thought that they were getting shipped to Pulse. That wasn't what PSICOM was doing.

 

[Arianna]

Except that the public thought that just contact with l'Cie makes others l'Cie, this is bull****. additionally, by Purge the public thought that they were getting shipped to Pulse. That wasn't what PSICOM was doing.

Well, they thought that contact with anything Pulse would contaminate them in some diabolical way. I don't think it was that coming into contact with a l'Cie would make them a l'Cie.

True. The 'purge' was not a 'movement' of people, it was an 'extermination'. That part I don't get (I mean, why? Why kill the people instead of move them as they were told? The only thing I can think of now is that is was part of Barthandelus' plan to destroy Cocoon/wake the Maker/open the door to the Invisible World.) Anyhow, I digress.

I do wonder if the fal'Cie spread the propaganda that Gran Pulse was a horrific place, or if the fal'Cie stayed neutral on the facts and allowed humans to believe what they wanted. That would give reason for Barthandelus' actions as Galenth Dysley.

Again, part four of chapter four of Episode 0 illustrates that

Spoiler

it was Jihl who came up with the idea of manipulating the information regarding everything about the few days before that led up to the game's beginning. She is, as far as I remember, the head of PSICOM, or at least head of the present PSICOM mission regarding the l'Cie

.

Honestly, I'm sure it was a bit of both. Well, good acting on the part of Barthandelus as Galenth.

 

[Glaurung]

True. The 'purge' was not a 'movement' of people, it was an 'extermination'. That part I don't get (I mean, why? Why kill the people instead of move them as they were told? The only thing I can think of now is that is was part of Barthandelus' plan to destroy Cocoon/wake the Maker/open the door to the Invisible World.) Anyhow, I digress.

I do wonder if the fal'Cie spread the propaganda that Gran Pulse was a horrific place, or if the fal'Cie stayed neutral on the facts and allowed humans to believe what they wanted. That would give reason for Barthandelus' actions as Galenth Dysley.

Again, part four of chapter four of Episode 0 illustrates that

Spoiler

it was Jihl who came up with the idea of manipulating the information regarding everything about the few days before that led up to the game's beginning. She is, as far as I remember, the head of PSICOM, or at least head of the present PSICOM mission regarding the l'Cie

.

Honestly, I'm sure it was a bit of both. Well, good acting on the part of Barthandelus as Galenth.

The fal'Cie could have very well initiated the fear towards Pulse. That would be enought to make humans act like zealots.

I don't know if every Purge involved killing all the people involved but they one we witnessed was just at the beginning of Barthandelus' plan of destroying Cocoon so, what did it matter if those humans died before the comming of Ragnarok, if they were going to die anyway?

 

[Roger]

Well, they thought that contact with anything Pulse would contaminate them in some diabolical way. I don't think it was that coming into contact with a l'Cie would make them a l'Cie.

I thought the Purge was definitely about Purging l'Cie, that's what Lightning was shouting at Sazh about, what Snow and Yaag were talking about and Hope's dad and the party were discussing.

And the fal'Cie weren't neutral. Barthandalus, the fal'Cie was deciding what happened in Cocoon in a far more direct sense then anyone knew. If Eden, who really was a slave wanted to die, that'd be one thing. Barthandalus can do what the hell he wants as long as it doesn't destroy Cocoon. Apparantely that was dealbreaker.
Sorry, but i don't see how the humans are villains here.

 

[Tennyo]

Is that a roller coaster in the background of the Lightning and Serah pic?

 

[ForceStealer]

When rebuilding on Pulse they focused on the important things first.

 

[Tennyo]

Isn't that the supposed realm of the gods with no time or whatever?

If I were a god, I'd want a roller coaster, too.

 

[Arianna]

Spoiler: Two new screenshots

Who's

Spoiler

the big red guy

!?!?!?!?!?

I don't know if every Purge involved killing all the people involved but they one we witnessed was just at the beginning of Barthandelus' plan of destroying Cocoon so, what did it matter if those humans died before the comming of Ragnarok, if they were going to die anyway?

I guess it comes down to that I found Galenth Dysley/Barthandelus more of a disenchanted, weary leader who honestly wished to find a way out of his duties.

I can't help but feel it's the fal'Cie who are the servants, who are the ones who are at a disadvantage. I see him as the rebel against this, in any way he could.

He was wise, he was intelligent. He may have been a megalomaniac to some degree; same with nuts. I can agree with a short fan-fic writer who compared him to a child lost; sort of like Sephiroth.

I think he was also one who figured out the ABCs of getting to Muin, even if he didn't know it or know the source by name. Same with Buniberzei. If he's not Lindzei... Well, he seems to have Lindzei's duties well thought out.

I can see how even destroying Gran Pulse and Cocoon as fulfilling the duty of protecting Buniberzei. He is the ruler of the visible universe; and, as such, anything that would harm the world would be against Buniberzei. The world is the land and the creatures of the land.

And humans are, according to the mythology, children of Etro. Etro was denied power and duty via Buniberzei; given such by her grandmother (or mother, again via the mythology). In this, it could be speculated humans were already on bad footing in regards to the world and/or Buniberzei.

All speculation, of course.

Is that a roller coaster in the background of the Lightning and Serah pic?

That, or Shiva went nuts.

 

[Terrafig]

I like the first new one. The texture is less creepy shiny than it was on some of the Final Fantasy XIII screens.

 

[Sheva Alomar]

Who's

Spoiler

the big red guy

!?!?!?!?!

I would hazard a guess and say

Spoiler

that's our new Anima.

 

[Arianna]

I would hazard a guess and say

Spoiler

that's our new Anima.

I wonder if it's

Spoiler

Atlas

? I am guessing that's who you mean?