260°

FFXIII PS2 development history

It's widely known that Final Fantasy XIII started development as a PlayStation 2 title. But how far along did the game get before Square Enix made the switch to 4D?

Producer Yoshinori Kitase and director Motomu Toriyama shared a few bits of FFXIII history in an interview featured in the Final Fantasy XIII World Preview guide book. This first official guide book was released by Square Enix on Thursday.

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Noct5932d ago

It would be awesome if for the English release special edition they included bonus extras with behind the scenes development history.

I would love to see the FFXIII production studio and more importantly a Japanese games studio behind all the closed doors.

The games been in development for so long that I'm sure they have many crazy stories about the whole process.

Ninji5932d ago

FF13 looks like a PS2 game. They should've just released it on the PS2 as well since I'm sure the PS2 could handle it. I guess it also explains why FF13 doesn't look or feel like a next-gen Final Fantasy game.

Oerba_Fang5932d ago Show
Ninji5932d ago Show
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Saaking5931d ago Show
sikbeta5931d ago

Stop being delusional, think first before you post something stupid like that -_-

darthv725931d ago

Finish the system off in style. It doesnt have to have the full blown bells and whistles like the ps360 versions. It can be made to work with the basic elements in place and updated ff12 gfx.

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Blackcanary5931d ago

i two believe that they should of brought it out for the PS2 since it really doesn't look like a next gen game...

Sigh5931d ago

We've still got FF XIII Versus to look forward to!

TapiocaMilkTea5931d ago

Why is it not next gen? The graphics look much better, isn't that the only difference between PS3 and PS2?

user87377595931d ago

VS13 would be nice if they released more info on the game. Maybe FF13 will fix the dwindling fan base Square is loosing who knows

Rybnik5931d ago (Edited 5931d ago )

Here is something that might do that.
Render comparison to final in-game via Neogaf

NeoCloud5931d ago

I still liked Lightning's look before then after, also graphics were better when its was Only On PS3, his sword is like a baby's toy now.

ultimolu5931d ago

I never knew that. That's interesting.

SixTwoTwo5931d ago

Its one of the reasons it took them so long to make the game =/

Rybnik5931d ago

Yeah. I am also pleased that those who thought the original 2006 trailer was just pure concept are eating crow now. I can't believe no one is commenting on the fact that the new screenshot set shows final build versions from that area...

It even looks just as good (Although I wish they hadn't changed the bahemoth's sword. Oh well, minor quibble. The only real somewhat downgrade is a slight reduction in complexity to Lightning's hair. I would even say that this is a closer recreation than Kojipro managed with MGS4.

SixTwoTwo5931d ago

Yeah this whole situation is very reminiscent of the whole KZ2 E3 fiasco.

Rybnik5931d ago

Yeah, except the Killzone renders were a little to optimistic in terms of Polys and textures it still looked fantastic, but like I said. FF XIII seems to have literally nailed the render target. The area wasn't just for show, it is in the game.

Also(again no one is mentioning it), it appears that Scene Drive is the ability that Lightning was using to make all the 2006 trailer battle footage seem impossible, I can't wait to really see and play it in action.

games4fun5931d ago

not to get into a big fight over it but they are screenshots meaning they could be touched up but i really dont care as long as it doesnt look bad and the open world thing is true.

Also as long as the cgi is top quality as always (whats up with in game cut scenes? yea they work and dont take up as much space but half the reason stories are good is because of the cgi. i.e. immersion/cool factor.)

To be honest i would have liked it on ps3 only (better gfx,more open world blah blah blah) but story/amazing world and battling always mattered more to me than gfx so i'm good.

Rybnik5931d ago (Edited 5931d ago )

I agree about your exclusivity comment, but at the same time I am reassured that SE graphical goals for this game were not pie in the sky Do you remember all the retarded comparison articles yelling about downgrades etc. This disproves that once and for all. As to being touched up, the game has 4x anti-aliasing so yeah this is pretty representative of real IQ.

I think the cut-scene engine is quite powerful. this is the first FF where it is not jarring to see CG transition to in-game. That is quite and acheivement.

In case you didn't know there are also 3 levels of IQ: CG, In-game cutcene of which the pic I posted comes from and Gameplay. However I have a stong feeling that Lightning's Scene-Drive ability renders using the cutscene engine level. Overall, this game looks really impressive.

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120°

Final Fantasy and SaGa series veteran Kazuyuki Shindo leaves Square Enix after 27 years

Kazuyuki Shindo, who worked on games including Legend of Mana, Final Fantasy XIII, and SaGa: Emerald Beyond, has left Square Enix.

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automaton-media.com
70°

The 7 Best Final Fantasy Characters: Unveiling the Legends

While FFVII ranks highly, there's more to the series than one game. Here's Chit Hot's picks for the seven best Final Fantasy characters.

220°

The older it gets, the more I respect Final Fantasy XIII

Alex Donaldson: "Hindsight is a hell of a thing, however, and in the years since Final Fantasy XIII, my respect for the decisions its developers made has skyrocketed. In the two Final Fantasy titles since we see both the brilliance and the folly in alternative approaches - and in Final Fantasy VII Remake, we get a more nuanced understanding of what FF13 was trying to accomplish from many of the same development leads."

Einhander1972808d ago

FFXIII is actually one of the best Final Fantasy games.

I also sort of was disappointed at the time, never as much as the bandwagon. But really all the fantastic 3D rendered cutscenes and I actually liked the characters and the story though convoluted was actually fantastic and the ending was extremely emotional. So much budget and time were put into that game Square had such big plans, I actually have always felt kind of bad for how things played out.

I have been thinking for years how great it would be to get all three games on one disk for PS4 or 5.

Nyxus808d ago

I always liked this game, and I agree, a rerelease for current gen would be nice.

Shane Kim806d ago (Edited 806d ago )

Gotta take off the nostalgia glasses. It's the worst FF. Shiva as a bike, I mean come on.

Elda806d ago

Shiva as a bike is strange but saying FFXIII is the worst FF is not at all a fact, that's simply your opinion.

Terry_B806d ago

*One of the 3 equally bad FF's

DivineHand125806d ago (Edited 806d ago )

When I got my series X a year ago, I bought FF13 for nostalgia reasons but ended up being disappointed. When I first played it around the time it launched, I didn't have a lot of experience with final fantasy games, so I enjoyed it. Fast forward to when I played it again, I found that the game had many unnecessary filler moments instead of just giving us meaningful content.

The game is also very linear and a quote on the article said it best. "It is like a sewage pipe that leads to the ocean until it opens up on Grand Pulse."

The story didn't make much sense either and I believe it is my mistake as I played the FF7 remake on PS5 prior which is a night and day difference in terms of pacing, storytelling and likeable characters even though cloud is aloof.

FinalFantasyFanatic806d ago (Edited 806d ago )

Probably was a mistake to play any of the golden era FFs first (e.g. FF6 through FF10), it makes it harder to enjoy some of the FFs that aren't as good. I think FF12 was where major issues with the series started becoming apparent, and it just got worse from there.

FinalFantasyFanatic806d ago (Edited 806d ago )

I didn't really care for it that much, the only saving grace was that it had a better story than 15 (overall it was better than 15) and possibly 12, and even then, you had to read some of it through primers, like reading a book. Plus the battle system was reasonably fun for what it was, even if it was more the spectacle that was exciting for me (e.g. summoning). And to be fair, the 13 trilogy got better with every games, I still don't like Snow though.

Gamingsince1981806d ago

Ff13 is only good if you haven't played a ff before, or any other games that are decent for that matter.

-Foxtrot806d ago

It is in fact no way the best Final Fantasy game, it's one of the worst

Linear corridors, Cutscene, Fight, Cutscene...rinse and repeat

Dialogue and characters are pretty bad, especially Lightning as the main FF hero, they literally said they tried to make a "Female Cloud" and they failed.

Story was pretty awful

I could go on

I think the only alright thing that came from the game was the music.

Elda805d ago

That's not a fact that's your personal opinion. The game sold 11 million copies between its 2009 release up until 2014 including critically reviewed as an 8 out of 10 or an 80 out of 100. The game does have some issues but it's not at all a fact as one of the worst FF games.

-Foxtrot805d ago

Elda

Not just mine mate

A large majority

So….

Traecy805d ago

N4G commenters such as yourself aren't the majority. The game was well received.

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gold_drake808d ago (Edited 808d ago )

i liked the game alot but i didnt like how they handled the terminology.

i dont mind reading data logs but it had soo many.

but i always loved the music and how it looked. the battle system wasnt too bad either.

but i like 13-2 more :)

i still dont understand why we never got a remaster of the trilogy

Eonjay806d ago

Xbox kinda did. Besides the video files of course which are still best on PS3 due to bluray.

Snookies12808d ago

XIII is a pretty solid game, but XIII-2 is WAY better. XIII-2 was one of the few games I decided to go for a Platinum trophy in, early on. Had so much fun the entire way through getting it too!

Eonjay806d ago

Totally agree. FF 13 was okay but 13-2 is my favorite FF game ever.

shinoff2183808d ago (Edited 808d ago )

I hated this to when it released. I haven't much liked a ff game since ff10 as much , aside from ff7remake. I decided to give it another shot on my series x since it's not on a current ps and was liking it quite a bit(just takes me some time to get over things ) until star ocean 2 remake came out I was all over that.

Square should definitely remaster it or something for ps4 ps5

KillerB806d ago

my favorite jrpg trilogy ever

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