Final Fantasy XV

Unreleased

Final Fantasy Versus XIII is an action role-playing game currently under development for the PlayStation 3 which, alongside Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Agito XIII, makes up the Fabula Nova Crystallis: Final Fantasy XIII compilation. However, the game has no physical connections to the rest of the compilation, and will feature a wholly independent story and a unique visual design.

Final Fantasy Versus XIII was first announced at E3 2006 alongside Final Fantasy XIII, and will be the second game to utilize Square Enix's Crystal Tools engine. Final Fantasy Versus XIII follows the story of a mysterious protagonist, Noctis, who is a protector of the last remaining city in the world with control over crystals.

Gameplay
Unlike Final Fantasy XIII, scarce information about Final Fantasy Versus XIII's gameplay has surfaced. Nomura has stated he aims to create previously unseen "tricky" battle sequences, reminiscent of the film Advent Children. Nomura has revealed 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 demo 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.

At Jump Festa 2010, a video with actual gameplay about one minute in length was shown. It had Noctis waiting on a highway for a car during the day. He gets in the car and it drives off. The footage was displayed in real time, and had improved lighting, character models, and environments.

Players will find a big world map with vast fields where the they will be able to explore as far as the eye can reach except the mountains. Nomura says that the game is not open but is more like the 2D Final Fantasy games in HD and in 3rd person view. The player will be able to drive a car and fly airships just like in older Final Fantasy titles too.

Nomura also says that the day and night cycles and cloud formations are done by physical calculations. It was decided to be made this way to have a smooth change between the cycles and to have a much more dynamic lighting system, which reflects the mood of a certain region/place.

The game will also be seamless and the only loading the player will experience is between large areas. The loading happens while watching an event scene that way it is possible to give players a more immersive experience.

Monsters wander throughout the field and sometimes hostile ones will suddenly appear to ambush the player.

The battle system of Final Fantasy Versus XIII is to draw the nostalgic feeling from old Final Fantasy titles and blend it with a whole new concept. The action and pace will be similar to what is found in Kingdom Hearts but united with new mechanics. Both Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts styles will be mixed in this game. Battles will also be seamless and transition will have no load times.

Battles will take place in real-time environments using all regions of the field, from up high buildings to down low streets. While nothing but CG has been shown so far, Nomura said that the power of the PS3 will feature battles that take place in areas with great differences in height, just like in the trailer, and will have to fight using the full environment. This means fighting what's both in front of the player and above and below (vertical battles).

One of the trailers show Noctis selecting from a number of different weapons to defeat the enemy soldiers in front of him. The various weapons in the game will have different methods of attack, and some will even be usable as shields to go along with Noctis's crystal power. Weapons will have some sort of customization element as well. The trailer also showed Noctis warping around killing enemies. Nomura explained that players won't be able to warp freely to every spot but it will be possible to warp to the location where the player has placed their sword. The player can throw their sword and warp to that location as well. This is one area that is being tested on so it's a matter of time to see if this all makes it into the final product.

Nomura also stated that his eyes and hair change with his emotions as well as different actions in battle. Also, there will be a sub window that copies Noctis' expression that will be shown at the bottom of the screen, similar to Kingdom Hearts, but with more detail.

Summon beasts are in the game and will have to be defeated to be used and Nomura also said that the game will have six axis support but gave no specifics about it.

Setting
The story, like Final Fantasy XIII, focuses around crystals. The main character, Noctis Lucis Caelum — 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 his country's military, political, and economic standing. Because of increasingly apparent modernization in contrast to neighboring nations (making them equivalent to a First World nation), Noctis's 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 use 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, an 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 the light, and those who can see it are given power from the Kingdom of the Dead. During their conversation, Noctis and Stella mention they can see the light, and the former wonders if they are dying.

The game's focus is to examine the characters' humanity 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 similar to the real world, with modern technology such as cars and highways and also contains countries with medieval elements, such as castles and armored soldiers, marking the sense that there are nations that fit into the Seven Worlds Index. According to the developers, the locations in the game are based on real world locations. So far, the following replicas have been seen or confirmed by the developers: Saint Mark's Square and Basilica (from Venice, Italy), Manchester (England), a US gas station, and Shinjuku (an area of Tokyo, Japan).

Characters
The game's protagonist is Noctis Lucis Caelum or "Noct" for short. He is "a member of the royal family in a kingdom that has protected its crystals for generations". While Noctis sports normal, modern day clothing and is chauffeured in a luxury car, he works to protect his kingdom's crystals from invaders. Nomura has compared Noctis's family to the modern-day Japanese mafia. His name, which is Latin for "Light of the Night Sky", was revealed at the 2008 Tokyo Game Show.

He wields a variety of weapons, including swords, spears, and lances, which he can control telekinetically (through the power of the crystal), using them for both attack and defense. He has also shown the ability to teleport at will with his hair flashing white before and after he does, and his eyes change color from blue to crimson during battle; according to Nomura, the color changes are both intentional and significant, but has not stated how or why.

Nomura has described Noctis as a shy and timid person, though he tries to compensate by "acting cool", as seen in his conversation with Stella. Noctis tends to act more openly with his friends, although they can see right through his false "cool" demeanor.

A golden-blond woman named Stella Nox Fleuret was revealed to be one of the game's antagonists. She is said to be the daughter of the Fleuret family of the country Tenebrae (Latin for "darkness"). Fleuret is the French name of the fencing foil, a direct reference to Stella's weapon of choice, a rapier. Like Noctis, she is able to materialize weapons from thin air, as she is can summon her rapier from a rune similar to one used by Noctis to summon his sword, though Stella's rune is golden while Noctis's is blue. Although they have no desire to fight, she and "Noct" are forced to by unknown circumstances. Magazine articles have drawn similarities between her situation and that of Final Fantasy VI's Celes Chere, hinting that she may possibly become an ally during the story.

Nomura has referred to Stella as a very polite person. A scene from the game hints at the relationship between her and Noctis; she treats him respectfully, addressing him as Lord Noctis, yet acts somewhat flirty and outgoing. Throughout the conversation, the two talk about a strange power they both have: the ability to see the "light" of the dead. Nomura has stated that while Noctis tries to avoid the subject, Stella is straightforward about it and whatever else is on her mind (in a similar manner to Rinoa Heartilly from Final Fantasy VIII).

Three as-of-yet unnamed characters who accompany Noctis have been revealed; their relationship seems to resemble that of the kyodai (brothers) and shatei (little brothers) in the Yakuza hierarchy. The first, a man with light brown hair and glasses who wears a suit, is frequently seen at the wheel of Noctis's car, and appears to be his driver. The second, a friendly man with dark brown hair and a scar over his left eye, seems to act as the group's senior. The third, a blond-haired man, is said to be a fugitive, and carries a shotgun despite the ban on firearms within Noctis's kingdom.

Mysterious soldiers wearing medieval-style armor appear in the trailers as well, wielding assault rifles and rocket launchers that resemble modern military weapons. It appears that they are attempting to invade Noctis's castle, though their precise motivation and affiliation is unknown.

A man with shoulder-length brown hair, robed entirely in white, is seen in what appears to be Noctis's throne room, casting a spell on the column in the center of the room. When Noctis enters, the man smiles and removes his hood before they both attack each other: the man surrounds Noctis in magical crests while Noctis's assorted weapons manifest around the man, ready to strike. Though his goal remains unknown, he appears to be an antagonist.

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 colored eyes as Noctis, it is speculated 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, and the 'first' Parasite Eve.

The game's theme song 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 and character designer, but not costume designer. 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 will serve as the game's costume designer.

The game's development proceeds according to schedule. Its release date is currently unknown, although it's been confirmed that possibly Final Fantasy Agito XIII will be released before it. However, the completion of Final Fantasy XIII has boosted the development of Versus.

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 game's very first gameplay footage, though Nomura commented 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.

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

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 later clarified his original statement by saying 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 Versus had been revealed, and that it will appear at the 2010 Tokyo Game Show.

On June 29, an issue of Dengeki Playstation states Nomura and the fashion company ROEN, assigned with creating the costumes for the characters, have completed all character designs and the scenario is now finished as well.

On August 9, Nomura has announced via Twitter that voice casting for Agito and Versus has begun along with other bits of news.

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

During the 2010 Tokyo Game Show, Square Enix has confirmed they plan on presenting Versus XIII in their upcoming January 2011 conference, which will be part of their Fabula Nova Crystallis conference.

On September 17, the 30 second trailer for Versus had been leaked onto the Internet along with that for Agito. The footage contained Noctis in his new outfit briefly running through the areas shown in previously released screenshots. The trailer ended with Noctis fighting the Behemoth revealed in the screenshots, and there were instances of blood shown whenever Noctis slashed at it.

On October 8, the combined Agito and Versus trailer from TGS was officially released on the internet through the Japanese Square Enix Members website.

On January 18, 2011, Square Enix will be holding 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 was said to include new trailers and the announcement of the official release dates. Fans will also get to hear Noctis speak for the very first time, along with the other characters. Besides Versus XIII, the event will also feature new video content of Final Fantasy Agito XIII, Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts 3DS, Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep: Final Mix, and other titles. Square Enix has also hinted at several new titles to be revealed at this event.

Staff

 * Producers: Shinji Hashimoto, Yoshinori Kitase
 * Image Artwork: Yoshitaka Amano
 * Mechanic Concept: Takayuki Takeya
 * Clothes Design: Hiromu Takahara (Roen Creative Director)
 * Scenario Writer: Kazushige Nojima
 * Music: Yoko Shimomura
 * Main Programmers: Hiroshi Harata, Kentarou Yasui
 * Planning Directors: Yuuichi Kanemori, Takayoshi Nakazato
 * Planning Director (World): Takeshi Endou
 * Planning Director (Event): Jun Akiyama
 * Graphic Director (Character Model): Tomohiro Kayano
 * Graphic Director (Animation): Tatsuya Kandou
 * Graphic Director (Map Model): Masahide Tanaka
 * Graphic Director (Visual Effects): Shuichi Sato
 * Graphic Director (System Menu): Takeshi Arakawa
 * Art Director (Character): Tomohiro Hasegawa
 * Art Director (Map): Takayuki Ohtachi
 * Movie Director: Takeshi Nozue
 * Director, Concept Game Design, Character Design, Base Story: Tetsuya Nomura