Final Fantasy XV

Unreleased

Final Fantasy Versus XIII is a video game currently under development for the PlayStation 3 which, alongside Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Agito XIII, makes up the compilation Fabula Nova Crystallis: Final Fantasy XIII, though the game has no physical connections to the rest of the compilation.

Final Fantasy Versus XIII was first announced at E³ 2006, and follows a mysterious protagonist, Noctis, as a protector of the only city in the world with control over the crystals.

Gameplay
Unlike Final Fantasy XIII, very scarce information about Final Fantasy Versus XIII's gameplay has surfaced. Nomura has stated that he aims to create previously unseen "tricky" battle sequences, reminiscent of the film  Advent Children. Nomura has revealed that the game will be action oriented, and will play like a more realistic version of Kingdom Hearts with some elements of a third-person shooter similar to Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII-.

During Tokyo Game Show 2009, a brief gameplay video was shown. It depicted Noctis running through a city which shifted from day to night, then to a field full of large creatures.

Setting


The story, like Final Fantasy XIII, focuses around crystals. The main character, Noctis - who is part of a lineage of kings, but is not yet king himself -, leads the country holding the last crystal, which is beneficial to the military. Because of increasingly apparent modernization in contrast to neighboring nations, Noctis' kingdom has isolated itself from the outside world. At one time, all the other countries also possessed a crystal, yet lost them in warfare. They pooled their resources into weapons, granting them firearms in exchange for swords and magic. A long cold war has gone on about the usage of the crystal. Recently, a peace treaty was talked about between the countries, but a group of marauders are beginning to break it.

There also exists a mythology in the kingdom of Tenebrae, and opposing country about a goddess of death, the Goddess Etro. She is said to greet the souls of the deceased, and open the door to the afterlife. When that door opens, the released souls burst out in a streak of light that ascends to heaven. However, very few people are able to see that light, and those who can see it are given power from the Kingdom of the Dead. During the conversation, the two mention that they can see the light, and Noctis wonders if they are dying.

The focus of the game is to examine the humanity of the characters and distinguish it from the fantasy setting in other titles in the series. Nomura is "trying to propose new vision of how a Final Fantasy game can be. The game's going to be more human than the science-fiction caricature ... and will focus around current world events - in that sense it's darker".

The world Versus XIII takes place in seems very similar to the real world, with modern technology such as cars and highways being visible. The world also contains medieval elements, such as castles and armored soldiers. It has been said that Final Fantasy Versus XIII's cities were inspired by Venice.

Characters
The protagonist of the game is named Noctis Lucis Caelum. He "is a member of the royal family in a kingdom that has protected family crystals for generations." While Noctis sports normal, modern day clothing and is chauffeured in a luxury car, he works to protect the family crystals from creatures from another world. Nomura has compared Noctis' family to the modern-day Japanese mafia. His name, which is Latin for "of the night", was revealed at the 2008 Tokyo Games Show.

He wields many different weapons, such as swords, spears, and lances, and can control them with telekinesis. He can also teleport, during which his hair is shown to flash white. His eyes seem to change color when he wields different weapons, as his eyes glow red when carrying one sword, and also glow yellow while holding another sword.

Nomura has stated that Noctis is a shy and timid person, and that he tries to hide his shyness by "acting cool". This is shown when Noctis first meets Stella.

A beautiful blonde girl named Stella Nox Fleuret was revealed to be one of the game's antagonists. Although they have no desire to fight, they are forced to out of unknown circumstances. Magazine scans draw similarities between her situation and that of Celes Chere of Final Fantasy VI, hinting that she may possibly become an ally during the story.

A realeased scene from the game hints a relationship between Noctis and Stella. She is respectful to him, she addresses him as Lord Noctis. Yet she is slightly flirty, and outgoing. Throughout the coversation she talks about a power called Light.

She is also said by Nomura to be rather shy and polite, and an extremely social person. Both graceful and elegant.



Three characters who accompany Noctis have been revealed in video game magazine, Famitsu, and seem to be close friends of him. The first character is a man with light brown hair and glasses who is seen wearing a suit and driving the protagonist's car. The second character is a man with dark brown hair and a scar on the left side of his face. The third character is a blond haired man carrying a shotgun, despite a ban on firearms in his country.

Mysterious soldiers wearing medieval-styled armor appear in the trailers as well, but also carrying assault rifles resembling modern automatic weapons.

A character robed all in white with shoulder-length brown hair was introduced in a trailer and is seen in Noctis' building near the castle seemingly casting a spell. Noctis enters the room as the character smiles and removes his hood, before they both cast spells at each other, implying that they are enemies.

Another man, older than the protagonist and dressed in a business suit, appears sitting at the head of a long table as a chairman during a meeting with several other men. Because he has the same eyes as Noctis, it is speculated that the two are related.

Music
The music of Final Fantasy Versus XIII will be composed by Yoko Shimomura, who was also responsible for the soundtracks of the Kingdom Hearts series.

The theme song for the game is titled "Somnus - Sleeping" (「somnus - 眠り -」), a reference to the Roman god of sleep. The god is often depicted as a young man sleeping which seems to match the game's logo art.

Development
Unveiled at E³ 2006, the game is "not merely a sequel, but a wholly independent story unfolding in a different world with different characters." The game will be developed by the team responsible for the hit Kingdom Hearts series. Tetsuya Nomura will be the director. Square Enix signed a contract with Japanese fashion brand "ROEN" to promote their clothing designs in the game through different characters. Roen Creative Director Kei Takahara for example designed Noctis's suit.

The development of Versus proceeds according to schedule, but whenever they have free time, the development team would help with the development of Final Fantasy XIII. Its release date is currently unknown, although it's been confirmed that Final Fantasy XIII, and possibly Final Fantasy Agito XIII, will be released before it.

After nearly a year of silence, Final Fantasy Versus XIII was briefly shown at Tokyo Game Show 2009 in a private theater. It showed the very first gameplay footage of the game, though Nomura commented that it was merely a technology test, and most footage will not be used in the final game. He also said the clip was only made to prove the game was still well alive and in development.

Staff

 * Director : Tetsuya Nomura
 * Character Designer : Tetsuya Nomura
 * Producer : Shinji Hashimoto, Yoshinori Kitase
 * Composer : Yoko Shimomura
 * Scenario Writer : Kazushige Nojima
 * Movie Director : Takeshi Nozue
 * Image illustrator, title logo designer: Yoshitaka Amano