Final Fantasy Versus XIII

Final Fantasy Versus XIII was a game planned for the PlayStation 3 as part of the Fabula Nova Crystallis: Final Fantasy series. It was intended to be a companion game to Final Fantasy XIII alongside the mobile game Final Fantasy Agito XIII, the three sharing from the same Fabula Nova Crystallis mythos. Bearing many originating themes carried on into its succeeding game, the theme of Versus XIII was "a fantasy based on reality", and the game was to take place in a setting similar to contemporary Earth.

However, Final Fantasy XIII—headed by Yoshinori Kitase and Motomu Toriyama—ended up becoming a series on its own, Final Fantasy Agito XIII—headed by Hajime Tabata—became Final Fantasy Type-0 for the PlayStation Portable that spanned its own world and series, and Final Fantasy Versus XIII—headed by Tetsuya Nomura—never really took shape, and its concepts were eventually reworked into Final Fantasy XV for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

The trio of games for the series then called Fabula Nova Crystallis: Final Fantasy XIII was unveiled in 2006. Although Final Fantasy Versus XIII was unveiled then, it stayed in preproduction stage for years and there were long periods of media silence on its status, harboring much speculation among fans. In E3 2013 the game was officially rebranded and re-announced as Final Fantasy XV, and in 2014 it was announced Tetsuya Nomura was no longer heading the project, the title passed to Hajime Tabata known for directing Square's portable titles Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- and Final Fantasy Type-0.

Gameplay
Some gameplay was demonstrated in trailers (See external links), but it is unclear whether the game ever had a fully playable form as the gameplay demonstrations appear to be scripted and possibly existed in "proof of concept" stage. Noctis was shown wielding a myriad of weapons, teleporting, and even using a gun turret. Some footage showed blood spilling from enemies when stricken.

The interface bore similarities to the menu system used in Kingdom Hearts. In addition to showing the common commands of Attack, Magic and Item, another option showed "EX Arts", assumed to be some kind of Limit Break system or series of special attacks. Party members were to have their portraits in little bubbles on the screen that displayed their battle stats, and it was said the player could switch between party members on a whim. Like Kingdom Hearts, the standard active party size as demonstrated in the trailer was three characters.

Playing as different characters meant engaging in their fighting style. Gladiolus was said to wield heavier weapons easily while Prompto was planned with a third person aiming mode allowing for targeting enemy weak points that could not be hit when playing as Noctis. Without Noctis the party couldn't use magic, as the ability was said to be intertwined with story elements, as powers were granted to those under the regal fellowship of the crystal.

The game was to be an action RPG and the player was to be able to control vehicles, an airship included, and the game was to be fully seamless with a world map.

Characters
Most of the characters announced remain in redesigned forms for Final Fantasy XV, apart from Stella Nox Fleuret who was replaced by Lunafreya Nox Fleuret who shares some design elements from Stella. Noctis Lucis Caelum was the main character and remains such for Final Fantasy XV, and he was to be joined by party members Gladiolus Amicitia, Ignis Scientia and Prompto Argentum, although all of them went through a redesign on both their outfits and their physical appearances. Other characters glimpsed from trailers were Regis Lucis Caelum, the king and Noctis's father, and Iedolas Aldercapt, the leader of the enemy state of Niflheim. The mysterious white-robed man from Final Fantasy Versus XIII trailers is in Final Fantasy XV as Ravus Nox Fleuret. The dragoon character briefly glimpsed for Versus XIII, appears as Aranea Highwind in Final Fantasy XV.

Setting
Compared to the finalized version of its successor, the world of Final Fantasy Versus XIII was rooted heavier in the lore of the Fabula Nova Crystallis with an indirect but still influential presence. The thematic presentation was said to be that of a darker tone with an emphasis on examining the cast's humanity.

Final Fantasy Versus XIII's setting presented a world where four nations once had crystals, but lost them to warfare fueled by coveting the other nations' crystals. Lucis remained the only nation with a crystal and thus prospered thanks to their crystal's magic and influence. The rest of the world developed in the field of military power and warfare, and grew distant from Lucis. The tensions grew into a politico-resource strife driven cold war. The nation of Niflheim would have united the other nations under its banner as its solution to lay Lucis at siege for its crystal. It is unknown what measure the lore of the Fabula Nova Crystallis and the influence of Etro would play in this.

The nation of Lucis was said to have worked akin to a mafia crime family since the nation's ancient beginnings. Noctis was the crown prince, and Regis the current king. Ignis, Gladiolus, and Prompto—Noctis's team members—acted as his entourage akin to a Yakuza kyodai-shatei structure. Etro was the patron goddess of Lucis known as the goddess of death, and Lucis thus had a dark design, being only portrayed at night time, and had prevalent Grim Reaper motifs. The royal family and other citizens of Lucis were to wear black to go with this theme.

The game was to open with a formal party to celebrate the treaty-signing between Lucis and Niflheim, where Stella Nox Fleuret talked to Noctis about a legend from her home country of Tenebrae. The legend stated that whenever Etro opens the Unseen Gate, the souls of the dead ascend as a streak of light to the heavens and through the Gate. When few among the dying see the light, they are given power from the Kingdom of the Dead. Stella stated she can see the light, as could Noctis. Noctis guessed both of them had had a near-death experience.

The treaty-signing was but a ruse and Niflheim forces stormed the city to steal its crystal. Noctis and his friends fought their way through soldiers and Behemoths. Noctis was to face a mysterious white-clad man who also appeared to wield the power of the crystal, and even fight Stella, who would display the same power to summon weapons via magic. Gentiana's original role for Final Fantasy Versus XIII was that of Stella's messenger, and a contact point between the countries of Tenebrae and Niflheim.

Character designer Roberto Ferrari has lamented on his time developing for Versus XIII, saying that the story "kept changing every three months". Therefore, it is difficult to gauge how much of the settings shown for the game were concrete.

Development
Final Fantasy Versus XIII was to be directed by Tetsuya Nomura and to be released for the PlayStation 3 as part of the Fabula Nova Crystallis: Final Fantasy XIII series, where three games—Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy Versus XIII and Final Fantasy Agito XIII—were to form a new subseries with shared mythos. Final Fantasy Versus XIII was originally developed with the Crystal Tools engine for the PlayStation 3, but it was announced in December 2011 the game had been moved to a game-specific engine for the gameplay mechanics with the lighting being done by the Luminous Engine and the Crystal Tools still doing the real-time graphics.

The "Versus XIII" name came into play in juxtaposition to Final Fantasy XIII and its sequels that take place in fantastical worlds that are literally and culturally disconnected (e.g. Cocoon and Gran Pulse in Final Fantasy XIII). For Final Fantasy Versus XIII Square wanted the world to be different from the original Final Fantasy XIII by presenting one whole, connected world.

Hajime Tabata, chosen as the new director for Final Fantasy XV, has described the situation with the game as unique, and that he had learned that releasing information about a game early, as was the case with Final Fantasy Versus XIII—a game that never really took shape—forms a different view by the world to what the developers themselves think. The moment it goes out the information stops being just a thing for the developers, but becomes something for the fans who form attachments to things like characters, such as Stella, who was ultimately replaced for Final Fantasy XV. He said that handling the way people relate to the released information is something that will be important for the future, as Square Enix had made a mistake in revealing Final Fantasy Versus XIII so early. Because Versus XIII was incomplete and not fully formed, there wasn't a whole lot brought over to Final Fantasy XV. Tabata has described Versus as more an idea that an actual game.

2006–2009
Unveiled at E3 2006 with a trailer, Final Fantasy Versus XIII was said to be "not merely a sequel, but a wholly independent story unfolding in a different world with different characters." The game was going to be developed by the team responsible for the Kingdom Hearts series. Tetsuya Nomura would be the director and character designer, but not costume designer, as Square Enix signed a contract with Japanese fashion brand Roen to promote their clothing designs in the game through different characters. Roen Creative Director Himuro Takahara served as the game's costume designer, but before his designs were implemented, Noctis was shown wearing a placeholder attire designed by Nomura.

The production team was bare-bones for a period of several years, with Eiji Kitada, a digital artist and then-employee of Square Enix's Visual Works department (the division responsible for CG cutscenes), and one other person, doing all the CG work together. Kitada wrote in his blog at the time that other projects took precedence, but that one of the first things he participated in on the Visual Works team was Final Fantasy Versus XIII's pre-production. The person he worked with was the modeling supervisor on the project, and he was the lead position, and the duo handled all of the pre-production modeling and rendering. Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete was running as a separate project, and the two also supported the Advent Children team.

The game's engine history implies about its development process: Square Enix revealed Crystal Tools at Game Developers Conference 2008, which means that the real-time conversation they showed off between Noctis and Stella a few months later was likely some of the first content actually created for the game. Despite its 2006 announcement, chances are that not much more than concepts and a trailer existed for Final Fantasy Versus XIII until nearly two years later.

2009
After nearly a year of silence, Final Fantasy Versus XIII was briefly shown at Tokyo Game Show 2009 in a private theater showcasing the game's first gameplay footage, though Nomura commented it was merely a demo and most footage would not be used in the final game. He said the clip was made to prove the game was still in development.

At Jump Festa 2010 Noctis's new outfit was put on display. It had a more modern look with a jacket and pants, as opposed to his old outfit from past trailers.

2010
After Final Fantasy XIII launched resources could be shifted back to the Final Fantasy Versus XIII project, but technical issues were bringing the project nearly to a halt. According to then-Technology Director Julien Merceron, the "universal engine" Motomu Toriyama's team built for Final Fantasy XIII couldn't handle Versus XIII anymore because it had been designed to fit the former's specifications, and buckled under the open-world environments designed for Versus, making it virtually unusable. Ultimately, Square Enix was forced to commission the creation of a brand new engine for Final Fantasy Versus XIII called Luminous Studio.

During an interview with Famitsu, Nomura stated he was unsure whether Versus would be shown at E3 2010. When E3 took place, the game was not shown.

On May 18, when asked by a Square Enix investor at a shareholders' meeting about a possible Xbox 360 port, president Yoichi Wada stated "We'll be looking into it internally until right before the formal announcement." After some backlash, he clarified his original statement on Twitter: "It looks like the [inter]net is heating up. Versus on Xbox? What I said at the earnings press conference was just that until a formal announcement is made at the announcement time; all points about all titles are not finalized."

On June 23, new in-game screenshots and details about Final Fantasy Versus XIII were revealed, and it was confirmed the game would appear at the 2010 Tokyo Game Show.

On June 29, an issue of Dengeki PlayStation stated Nomura and the fashion company Roen had completed all character designs and the scenario was finished as well.

On August 9, Nomura announced via Twitter that voice casting for Final Fantasy Type-0 and Final Fantasy Versus XIII had begun along with other bits of news.

On August 25, Yoshinori Kitase announced, during an interview with GamingUnion.net, that Final Fantasy Versus XIII "may not be released until after 2011".

During the 2010 Tokyo Game Show, Square Enix confirmed they planned to present Final Fantasy Versus XIII in their January 2011 conference, which was part of their Fabula Nova Crystallis conference.

On September 17, the 30-second trailer for the game had been leaked onto the Internet along with that for Final Fantasy Type-0. The footage contained Noctis in his new outfit briefly running through the areas shown in previously released screenshots. The trailer ended with Noctis fighting a Behemoth and there were instances of blood shown whenever Noctis slashed at it. On October 8, the combined Final Fantasy Type-0 and Final Fantasy Versus XIII trailer from Tokyo Game Show was officially released on the Internet through the Japanese Square Enix Members website.

2011
On January 18, 2011, Square Enix held the 1st Production Department Premier. It was originally named the Fabula Nova Crystallis Conference and the original date was set on January 11. The event included new trailers and the announcement of official release dates. Fans got to hear Noctis speak for the first time, along with the other characters. Besides Final Fantasy Versus XIII, the event featured new video content of Final Fantasy Type-0, Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep Final Mix, and other titles. Square Enix hinted at several new titles to be revealed at this event, such as Final Fantasy XIII-2.

In summer 2011 Square Enix got its first look at the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, which threatened to make the PlayStation 3-exclusive Final Fantasy Versus XIII irrelevant before it was even finished. Sticking to the game's origins was no longer an option and the project had to change.

On July 2011, in an interview with Tetsuya Nomura, it was revealed that Final Fantasy Versus XIII hadn't yet entered full production. He went on to say the date for the next showing of the game had been set. In early August for the 500th issue of Dengeki PlayStation magazine, Nomura stated Final Fantasy Versus XIII would not be shown at Tokyo Game Show 2011 in September.

On August 31, 2011, a renewal for the trademark of Final Fantasy Versus XIII was filed by Square Enix.

On September 10, 2011 during the Final Fantasy XIII-2 fan meeting, producer Yoshinori Kitase was questioned about the development of Final Fantasy Type-0 and Final Fantasy Versus XIII. His answer was: "for Type-0 and Versus XIII we are giving 100% to development."

2012
On the Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu, Nomura announced the game will be a mix between real-time cutscenes and pre-rendered cutscenes with a ratio of 7:3 (70% real-time and 30% pre-rendered). He stated the next time the game would be shown there would be a demonstration using real time footage. Nomura said working on Final Fantasy Versus XIII took priority, in response to fans' requests for a Final Fantasy VII remake.

On July 24th, 2012, the then Square Enix president Yoichi Wada posted a tweet dismissing rumors that arose about the game being cancelled after a long period of media silence, also hinting its progress would surprise its fans, particularly in the game's city environments.

On September 1st, 2012, in the event of Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary, Tetsuya Nomura did a sketch of Noctis for the event. "Congratulations on the 25th anniversary. Please wait for his turn to appear".

On October 10th, 2012, Nomura said that Final Fantasy Versus XIII was still in development and asked fans to wait for more detailed news regarding the game.

In 2012 it was decided development would shift to next-generation consoles, and the name was officially changed into Final Fantasy XV within the company, although the public revelation of the re-branding would wait until E3 2013. In July 2012, around the time of the cancellation rumors, Wada ordered the Final Fantasy Type-0 team to join the Final Fantasy XV development to create a prototype for the next-gen consoles.

The team working on the game got resized from 200 workers to around 20 in 2012 right before the arrival of Hajime Tabata and the Final Fantasy Type-0 team. In December 2012 Hajime Tabata became co-director to finish the project, which would eventually have him transition as the new director. He sat down with Tetsuya Nomura about the direction of the title to ensure that characters, like Noctis, would be maintained in the best possible way. Tabata has later said that when Final Fantasy Versus XIII became Final Fantasy XV, it was around 25% complete.

Tabata spearheaded a massive restructuring effort where not even the most well-publicized parts of Final Fantasy Versus XIII were safe. Stella would eventually be cut altogether, and many features Tetsuya Nomura had personally praised, like character switching in battle, were scrapped.

2013
On February 21st, 2013, GameSpot reported that Shuhei Yoshida, the president of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios, said about Final Fantasy Versus XIII that "I have some knowledge, but I'm not in a position to talk about it".

On March 19th, 2013, VG Leaks reported that not only had production been halted because of the failure and subsequent rebuilding of Final Fantasy XIV, but that it had been moved to the PlayStation 4 and was being co-developed by Sony as a PlayStation 4 exclusive, and was reworked into Final Fantasy XV. Square Enix refused to comment.

On April 17th, 2013, during the inaugural episode of Square Enix Merchandise Radio, Tetsuya Nomura spoke briefly about the game: "It's a delicate situation within the company. The date for our next reveal is set and we are working toward preparing information for that. Perhaps the details as to why information couldn't be released might be touched upon with the next information announcement."

During Sony's press conference at E3 on June 10, 2013, a prerecorded video of Tetsuya Nomura was played where he acknowledged that not much information on the project had been released as of late, and that while he couldn't immediately share new details, new information would be revealed in the coming days. Following the message, a new trailer for the game played with the end of the trailer announcing the game has been renamed Final Fantasy XV, with development moved to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

As part of Fabula Nova Crystallis
Final Fantasy Versus XIII was intended to be a part of the Fabula Nova Crystallis: Final Fantasy XIII series, of which the numeric was later dropped when Final Fantasy Agito XIII became Final Fantasy Type-0. Thus it was to share the common mythos and overarching concepts of a world divided in the realm of the living and the realm of the dead, the unseen realm, the way between them being Etro's gate operated by the goddess of death. Uniquely for Final Fantasy Versus XIII, it was said that those who had had a near-death experience could "see the light of expiring souls" and gain power from the Kingdom of the Dead. An aspect that made Final Fantasy Versus XIII distinct from the rest of the series was its focus on the human perspective of the mythos's core divine conflict, as opposed to Final Fantasy XIII which focused on the deities and their goals.

An element of all Fabula Nova Crystallis games is to re-imagine the series's core concepts, such as the role of crystals and those bestowed by their power, called Warriors of Light in the early series. Thus Final Fantasy Versus XIII was also to have these elements, Noctis's kingdom possessing the world's last crystal that appeared to have bestowed the royal family, and thus Noctis himself, with power to summon crystal weapons, use magic, and to teleport. Stella appeared to have these powers as well.

Souls appearing as glimmering crystalline lights is one of the main motifs of the Fabula Nova Crystallis series and featured prominently in early Final Fantasy Versus XIII trailers. In fact, the crystal shards were more prominent in Versus XIII material than what they ended up being in Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Type-0, where the "crystal souls" are merely glimpsed at. The theme of the glimmering crystal lights carried over to Final Fantasy XV. The thematic core of the mythos also provided the base for original lore in the world of Final Fantasy XV.

Aspects of Final Fantasy Versus XIII retained for Final Fantasy XV
Because Final Fantasy Versus XIII had been presented via trailers and other forms of media, one of the goals in developing Final Fantasy XV was to preserve the elements users were aware of and excited about. While this served as inspiration, there were elements that didn't fit the new conception.

The main party of Noctis, Gladiolus, Ignis and Prompto remains for Final Fantasy XV, although their designs were revised. Cor was the fifth permanent party member in Final Fantasy Versus XIII, but his role was reduced and became a mentor-like figure to the party in Final Fantasy XV. The black car that appeared in Versus XIII trailers appears to be a precursor for the Regalia in the final game. The base story of the kingdom of Lucis protecting the world's Crystal able to wield its power is still present. Noctis is an equivalent of the Warrior of Light and he can see the "light of souls" when wielding the Ring of the Lucii.

Though the intended opening for Final Fantasy Versus XIII of Noctis meeting Stella at the treaty-signing party was scrapped, the idea morphed into the film Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV. Instead of Noctis meeting Stella before the painting of Etro, Nyx Ulric meets Lunafreya Nox Fleuret in scene that pays homage to the Versus XIII opening. As the treaty is to be signed, the white-clad imperials and the black-clad Lucians draw their weapons upon one another in a scene reminiscent of a scene from Final Fantasy Versus XIII.

A lot of the music composed for Final Fantasy Versus XIII is part of the Final Fantasy XV soundtrack, such as "Somnus". The locales also appear similar, as a nighttime metropolis and a gas station on a desert were shown for Versus XIII, and similar locations remain in Final Fantasy XV.

The female dragoon from Versus XIII trailers is introduced in Final Fantasy XV as Aranea Highwind. The white-robed man from the early Versus material remains in Final Fantasy XV as Ravus Nox Fleuret. The suit the king wore in the Versus trailers is still worn by the redesigned King Regis and Noctis himself as DLC for Final Fantasy XV. Noctis wears the suit he wore in the opening for Final Fantasy Versus XIII at the end of Final Fantasy XV. The character Gentiana and the dog Umbra were designed for Final Fantasy Versus XIII, and remain for Final Fantasy XV albeit "recast" with new roles. There was going to be an Imperial general named Safay Roth implied to originally be the main villain, as Ardyn Izunia was created after Roth was cut. Ardyn remains as the main villain for Final Fantasy XV, and the SAF text on imperial dropships refers to Safay Roth, the character originally planned for Versus XIII.

Noctis was always able to teleport and forge crystalline weapons from thin air, and also to wield all of his weapons at once via magic. In Final Fantasy Versus XIII Noctis was said to be able to "see the light of expiring souls" and those with those ability had gained power from the Kingdom of the Dead. This may have become the "bonding of the souls" concept for Final Fantasy XV, where Noctis can wield the combined powers of his forebears. In the early Versus XIII trailers, Noctis's eyes were shown turning red. In Final Fantasy XV this happens when he summons astrals.

Final Fantasy XV uses the same logo art with new colors. When the player completes the game the logo changes to a new version.

Trivia

 * There is a poster in Insomnia in Final Fantasy XV that depicts an empty chair and the text "The Palace of Lucis". The chair is the one Noctis was seen sitting upon in.
 * In Final Fantasy XV, the newspaper of Insomnia's fall enters the player's key items inventory after the scene where the party finds out about the invasion. Its dated for May 17 and some of the pictures on the front page originate from a Final Fantasy Versus XIII trailer; the imperial airships hovering over what appear to be apartment buildings, and Verstael Besithia leading a group of magitek soldiers.