Final Fantasy XIII From Final Fantasy
Wiki Balthier: I’m afraid the jury’s
still out on that one. This article
is about a game that's still to be
released. As such, some of the
information might be inaccurate or
likely to change. Final Fantasy XIII
ファイナ}
23;ファンタ
12472;ーXIII Fainaru
Fantajī Sātīn
Developer(s) Square Enix Publisher(s)
Square Enix Release date PlayStation
3 December 17, 2009 /March 9, 2010
March 9, 2010 Xbox 360 /March 9, 2010
March 9, 2010 Genre Role-playing game
Game modes Single player Ratings
CERO:Ages 12 and up ESRB:Teen
PEGI:16+ Platform(s) PlayStation 3,
Xbox 360 "The future belongs not to
those who wait..." —Final Fantasy
XIII Game Trailer Final Fantasy XIII
is an upcoming installment in the
Final Fantasy series, and is the
first of the series to be released on
the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
Unveiled at E3 2006, the game is the
flagship of Square Enix's Fabula Nova
Crystallis project. The game will run
on Crystal Tools (formerly known as
White Engine), a proprietary engine
built for Square Enix's
next-generation games. The game is
set to be released in Japan on
December 17, 2009, with releases
following on March 9, 2010 for North
America and Europe. Contents [show] 1
Gameplay 1.1 Paradigm Shift1.2
Summoning1.3 Missions 2 Story 2.1 Web
novelization 3 Characters 3.1 Main
Playable Characters3.2 Antagonists3.3
Supporting Characters 4 Music 5 Voice
Actors 6 Development 7 Staff 8 Trivia
9 External links edit Gameplay Combat
in Final Fantasy XIII, showing
Lightning and Sazh fighting off
PSICOM soldiers.The battle system,
called Command Synergy Battle in
game, has been described as "More
tactical than Final Fantasy X, faster
than X-2, and almost as seamless as
XII." The enemies are visible in the
field. When the player runs into them
with the playable characters, the
screen lights up and the scene
switches to a vast, blank
battlefield, marking the start of a
battle. In the battle, the player can
control only one character out of a
party of up to three, but after some
point in the game that character can
be switched. The progression in the
game will be chapter-based. In each
chapter, you'll see the story through
the view of different characters.
Experience points are not featured in
the game, and characters grow in
power in a system similar to the
Sphere Grid from Final Fantasy X
called the "Crystarium System".
Characters win Crystarium Points (CP)
in battle, and can use these CP to
purchase stat boosts, spells and
other abilities on a circular chart.
The skills a character learns effects
their ability to learn other skills
and open new paths on the chart -
learning Fire, for example, opens a
skill path that leads to Fira and
other spells. The Active Time Battle
bar returns in the battle system, but
this time it is divided into sections
(different screenshots show three and
five sections). Each command
available to the battle party has a
numeric value referred to as "ATB
Cost" next to the name indicating how
many of these sections it will take
up. This allows the player to input
several commands per turn. The next
turn comes up sooner if the ATB bar
is only partially used. The available
commands vary from character to
character, but series staples such as
Attack, Summon, Fire, Blizzard, and
Cure make a return, along with new
commands such as Radial Strike, which
causes area-of-effect damage, and
Ruin, a new non-elemental spell.
Magic and summoning are only
available to characters that are
l'Cie. Because of the "ATB Cost"
points, there is no MP in the game.
Also, since magic cannot be used
outside of battle, the party's HP is
completely restored after every
battle. At Gamescom 2009, it was
revealed that there are no Limit
Breaks because of the unique
summoning powers, and that there is
no way to escape from battles once
they're initiated. There are items
that can be used to avoid battles,
though, and each enemy is marked by
its difficulty level with a symbol in
the field as the player approaches
them. If a battle ends in defeat, the
player has the option to either try
it again or return to the previous
save point. A new element called the
Break bar is added to the battle, as
well. It is specific to each enemy,
and it depletes as the player
performs attack combos marked by a
percentage. If the combos continue,
"Break Mode" is entered, where even
more damage can be done. Enemies in
this mode can be launched in the air
and juggled with attacks. When a
battle is won, a victory screen pops
up, giving the player a one-to-five
stars ranking on how they did in the
battle, as well as showing how long
the battle took and the number of
chain and break attacks. This
information is linked to the Trophy
and Achievement systems of
PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360,
respectively. [edit] Paradigm Shift
The Paradigm Shift systemIn the
battle system of the game, the player
can only control one character at a
time. The other party members'
actions can, however, be affected by
a system called the "Paradigm Shift"
("Optima Change" in the Japanese
version), which was explained by
Motomu Toriyama at Gamescom 2009.
Paradigms are described as "stances"
or "classes" that the characters
temporarily take during battles to
define the abilities they use.
However, they are more strict than
job classes; for example, the
character with a Healer's role
equipped can do nothing but heal,
while the Attacker's role forces the
character to only attack with
physical and magical strikes. The
paradigms can be changed at any time
to suit the situation at hand.
However, they cannot be changed
individually to each character, only
for the whole party at a time. Thus,
a paradigm is a combination of three
roles. Possible paradigm variations
count up to hundreds. The roles used
are shown as colored abbreviations
next to the characters' names in the
battle screen. Confirmed paradigms
include Aggression, All for One,
Dualcasting, Overwhelm, Peacemaker,
Relentless Assault, Slash & Burn, The
Ettin, Decimation, Smart Bomb,
Tireless Charge and Vanguard. The
roles within the paradigms are:
日本語/Japanese
English Description Attacker (ATK)
Commando (COM) Build attack chains
more easily with enhanced strength.
Blaster (BLA) Ravager (RAV) Charge
enemy chain gauges with concentrated
attacks. Defender (DEF) Sentinel
(SEN) Enhancer (ENH) Synergist (SYN)
Support allies with an array of
magical enhancements. Healer (HLR)
Medic (MED) Jammer (JAM) Saboteur
(SAB) According to the developers,
this system was added later in the
development process to give more
strategy and depth to the battle
system. [edit] Summoning Summons
return in this game as Eidolons,
linked with the powers of the l'Cie.
Confirmed summonable summons are
Shiva Sisters, Odin, Bahamut,
Alexander, and a new summon,
Brynhildr, while Ifrit, Carbuncle and
Siren have been announced to appear
in Final Fantasy XIII but haven't
appeared as playable. All Eidolons
have been given futuristic designs
and the power to change their shape.
The Eidolons are used both in battle
and as plot devices in cutscenes.
Each character has only one Eidolon,
and Eidolons replace the other party
members besides the summoner when
called. Instead of HP, Eidolons use
"Summon Points" (SP) to indicate
their health, but SP also slowly
decreases over time. Once SP is
completely depleted, the Eidolon will
disappear, and the other party
members will return. Lightning and
Odin's Gestalt ModeIn addition to
summoning Eidolons to fight alongside
them, each Eidolon can transform into
another form the summoner can
control. In a mode called "Gestalt
Mode" ("Driving Mode" in the Japanese
version), Snow's Shiva Sisters
transform into a motorcycle,
Lightning's Odin becomes a horse,
Sazh's Brynhildr a car, Hope's
Alexander a fortress, and so on.
Combat becomes more action-oriented,
with the summon being able to perform
various special attacks with certain
button combinations. Each Eidolon's
Gestalt Mode also includes a powerful
finisher move that will end the
summoning after being used. How often
and for how long the player can
activate this ability is determined
by "Tactical Points" (TP), which is
acquired by defeating enemies. [edit]
Missions When in Pulse, there will be
several points marked by large
crystals where the party can acquire
"missions." These are similar in
function to the Hunts in Final
Fantasy XII and involve battling one
of the many large monsters around
Pulse. Some enemies are quite large,
being compared by staff to mountains
towering over the party. edit Story
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending
details follow. (Skip section) A
railway system in Cocoon.Thirteen
centuries ago, a fal'Cie,
preternatural being formed by the
crystal residing inside it, created a
floating, utopian city in the
atmosphere of a planet known as
Pulse. The fal'Cie willed that the
city be completely isolated from the
crude and brutal wilderness known as
the Gran Pulse below, and
commissioned machines to be the
guardians of the citizens. Barriers
were subsequently set up all around
the city, and as such was the
metropolis granted its befitting
name: Cocoon. Concept art of the
world of Pulse, and Cocoon floating
above it.Having lived secluded from
the outside world for many years, the
citizens of Cocoon are now becoming
anxious of what Gran Pulse really
holds. Recent contact with those from
the world below has caused people to
question one another and their ways
of life. Wised up to the word on the
street, the Sanctum of Cocoon have
decreed a new edict: Any individuals
suspected to be in contact with the
world of Pulse are to be banished
from the city unconditionally and
cast into the harsh environment of
the planet below. In tandem with the
increasing uneasiness among the
citizens of Cocoon, the believers of
destiny are now painting the
gloomiest of futures: the downfall of
the entire world. Belief has it that
the fal'Cie residing on Pulse has
sought a woman to destroy the world
and its inhabitants. This woman goes
by the codename Lightning. The
fal'Cie force Lightning and her
companions to do its bidding, marking
them as the l'Cie and giving them the
power of the crystals. The l'Cie
struggle against their destiny, but
how can they rebel against beings
worshipped by people as gods? In
summary, the storyline will focus on
"those who resist the world," says
Square Enix President Yoichi Wada.
[edit] Web novelization The official
Japanese website revealed a web
novelization titled Final Fantasy
XIII Episode Zero: Promise. It
contains a series of short stories
written by Jun Eishima, leading up to
the events depicted in the actual
game. The first story is called
"Encounter", and it focuses on how
Serah Farron became the first Gran
Pulse l'Cie in Cocoon for a long
time. The second story is called
"Friends", and it focuses on Hope
Estheim's life with his family and
friends before his mother's death.
The third story, "Family", focuses on
Sazh Katzroy and his son, Dajh,
detailing how Sazh came to own the
Chocobo chick and how Dajh fell into
the clutches of Sanctum. edit
Characters Main article: List of
Final Fantasy XIII Characters
According to director and scenario
writer Motomu Toriyama, Final Fantasy
XIII will not have one prominent main
character. In a similar vein to Final
Fantasy VI, the story will focus
equally on the cast, though Lightning
is the protagonist. The main playable
characters are all l'Cie. [edit] Main
Playable Characters Hope, Vanille,
Snow, Lightning, and SazhLightning
(ライトニ
531;グ Raitoningu) — The
protagonist of the game, Lightning is
deemed an adversary of humankind,
having been chosen by the fal'Cie to
bring about the end of the world. She
is an agile fighter, who wields a
sword that can transform into a gun,
called "Blaze Edge". She is described
as a female version of Cloud Strife.
Snow Villiers
(スノウ・
532;ィリアー&
#12473; Sunou Viriāsu) — Leader
of Team Nora and an l'Cie, Snow
Villiers is a sturdy man whose
mannerism is reputed to resemble that
of a cowboy. He is blonde and has a
well-built body. Oerba Dia Vanille
(ヲルバ=ダ
2452;ア・ヴァ
ニラ Woruba Daia Vanira)
— A young and spirited girl, Vanille
is a citizen of Pulse and ostensibly
a subject of great interest to both
the Sanctum and the resistance group
led by Snow Villiers. She carries a
heavy burden she is not initially
aware of herself. She wears a
savannah-style outfit and wields a
kind of foldable fishing rod. Sazh
Katzroy
(サッズ・
459;ッツロイ
Sazzu Kattsuroi) — A middle-aged man
with dark skin and afro hair. He owns
a baby Chocobo that lives in his
hair. He is described as a gentle
person who is easily reduced to
tears. He fights with two pistols
that can be combined into a rifle.
FangHope Estheim
(ホープ・
456;ストハイ&
#12512; Hōpu Esutohaimu) — A
young boy with silvery-blonde hair
who along with his mother belonged to
the group of exiles carried in the
train that Lightning stopped. He
blames Snow for his mother's death.
He wields boomerangs in battle. Oerba
Yun Fang
(ヲルバ=ユ
2531;・ファン
グ Woruba Yun Fangu) - A
wild-looking dark-haired woman with a
large tattoo on one arm and a mark of
the l'Cie on the other. She initially
works for the Sanctum, and uses
spears as her weapon of choice.
[edit] Antagonists Jihl Nabaat Yaag
Rosch Jihl Nabaat
(ジル・ナ
496;ート Jiru
Nabāto) — An intelligent but
cruel woman with glasses and blonde
hair reaching all the way down to her
knees, who is a lieutenant colonel of
the Sanctum. Yaag Rosch
(ヤーグロ
483;シュ Yāgu
Rosshu) — A blue-haired man who is
also a lieutenant colonel of the
Sanctum and Lightning's former
superior during her military service.
He desires peace for all citizens in
Cocoon, and as such, sees Lightning
and her allies as threats. Cid Reinz
- The Cid of the game, he was
unveiled in the November 2009 trailer
on the Japanese website. He is an
officer in the Sanctum, and is shown
speaking to Snow while he is in
captivity. He appears to be much
younger than most previous Cids.
[edit] Supporting Characters Team
NoraGadot (ガドー
Gadō) — A member of Team Nora
and Snow's childhood friend. He is a
dark-skinned man with orange hair and
teal clothes. His design is based on
NBA and hip hop fashion. In the
playable demo, he uses a machine gun
in battle. Lebreau
(レプロ Reburo) — A
woman who has black hair tied in a
ponytail and a butterfly tattoo on
her shoulder. She is also a member of
Team Nora. Her outfit is based on
volleyball players, wearing short
shorts and a tanktop like shirt with
puffy sleeves. She uses a rifle in
battle in the playable demo. Maqui
(マーキー
Mākī) — A young blond man
with goggles. He wears black and pink
clothes and a pair of goggles, in the
style of snowboarders. Like the two
characters above, the youngster is a
member of Team Nora. Serah Farron
(セラ・フ
449;ロン Sera Faron) - A
teenage girl who wears a red skirt, a
white top and her strawberry blonde
hair tied in a ponytail. She is
Lightning's sister and Snow's
fiancée, but something happened to
her that caused a rift between the
two. Her destiny is one of the main
plot points in the game. Dajh Katzroy
- Sazh's sweet six-year old son, who
sports a similar afro to his
father's. He became a l'Cie by
accident and was crystallized. Yuge -
A member of Team Nora. Hope's Mother
- She and Hope were exiles involved
in the Purge. She volunteered to
fight with Snow and Team Nora, but
lost her life in the process. Hope's
Father - Unveiled at the TGS 2009
Trailer in September 2009, Hope's
father is a brown-haired bespectacled
man who works for the Sanctum.
Despite his position, he chose to
hide his l'Cie son from the
officials. Brown Haired Man - An
officer of Sanctum shown in the
November 2009 trailer. Old Priest - A
high-ranking priest shown in the
November 2009 trailer. Spoilers end
here. edit Music The soundtrack's
limited edition.Masashi Hamauzu will
be composing the music for Final
Fantasy XIII. The game's main theme
is called "Kimi ga Iru Kara"
(translated to "Because You're
Here"), and it is performed by the
J-pop artist Sayuri Sugawara. It was
originally assumed that the main
theme would be composed by Nobuo
Uematsu; however, four years after
the first announcement of the game,
this Uematsu theme still hasn't
surfaced in any of the trailers and
official sites. This has led to
rumors stating that Uematsu's
involvement in the project may have
been scrapped in favor of a 100%
Hamauzu soundtrack, especially seeing
how Uematsu is not mentioned anywhere
on the official site. Meanwhile
Uematsu has announced that he would
be composing the entirety of the
Final Fantasy XIV soundtrack. In
September 2009 it was announced that
Uematsu opted out of composing for
Final Fantasy XIII to focus on Final
Fantasy XIV. The game has another
theme song, although unreleased,
titled "Eternal Love." The Japanese
soundtrack will be released on
January 27, 2010 with two versions
available for purchase. The standard
version will contain 4 discs while
the limited edition will contain a
bonus "drama CD" written by scenario
writer Motomu Toriyama which will
include the talents of the game's
voice actors. In the Western versions
of the game, the winner of the
British television talent show The X
Factor Leona Lewis will sing the
English theme song, titled "My
Hands". edit Voice ActorsCharacter
Seiyū English Lightning Maaya
Sakamoto TBA Snow Villiers Daisuke
Ono TBA Sazh Katzroy Masashi Ebara
TBA Oerba Dia Vanille Yukari Fukui
TBA Hope Estheim Yūki Kaji TBA
Oerba Yun Fang Mabuki Andou TBA Jihl
Nabaat TBA TBA Yaag Rosch TBA TBA
Serah Farron Minako Kotobuki TBA
Gadot TBA TBA Lebreau Wakana Yamazaki
TBA Maqui TBA TBA Dajh Katzroy TBA
TBA Yuge TBA TBA edit Development
Early gameplay footage with a
different appearance of the battle
menu.The game was first revealed at
E3 2006. Since then, the battle
system of the game has changed
several times. In the first trailers,
the camera angles and shifts were
more dynamic and Lightning had a
gravity-controling ability that
influenced the gameplay, lending to a
somewhat more action-based and
cinematic presentation than the
final, more classic battle system. In
the playable demo, the battle
transitions were nearly seamless as
the exploration and battle fields
were very similar in appearance,
unlike in the more recent videos
where the differences between the two
fields are much more apparent. It was
revealed at E3 2008 that Final
Fantasy XIII will be released on the
Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 in
North America and Europe, but will
remain a PlayStation 3 exclusive in
Japan. The game will hit Japanese
shelves December 17th 2009, followed
by a later simultaneous release in
North America and Europe on both
platforms. A demo version of Final
Fantasy XIII was released with Final
Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete
in Japan on April 16 exclusively for
PlayStation 3. Covering a part from
the early stages of the game, the
demo aimed to familiarize players
with the battle system, while
featuring Cocoon and the l'Cies. Only
Lightning and Snow were playable,
with Sazh, Lebreau and Gadot
supporting them during battles. The
demo was not released outside of
Japan. A second demo was featured in
the Final Fantasy XIII Premiere Party
and Tokyo Game Show in September
2009, and it showcased the summons,
as well as the Paradigm Shift system.
Again, only Lightning and Snow could
be controlled in battle, while Sazh,
Vanille, and Hope were supporting
party members. Similar to Final
Fantasy X, XI, and XII, Final Fantasy
XIII will have only English and
Japanese sound dubs. Only subtitles
will be localized to local languages.
edit StaffThe staff behind Final
Fantasy XIII are as follows: Game
Director & Scenario Writer: Motomu
Toriyama Character designer: Tetsuya
Nomura Subcharacter designer: Nao
Ikeda Art director: Isamu Kamikokuryo
Summon monster designs: Chikako
Nakano Main programmer: Kazumi
Kobayashi Movie director: Eiji Fujii
Music Composer: Masashi Hamauzu Game
Producer: Yoshinori Kitase Image
Illustrator and Title Logo Designer:
Yoshitaka Amano Battle Designer:
Toshiro Tsuchida Weapon & Equipment
Designer: Tetsu Tsukamoto edit Trivia
The game was originally planned for
the PlayStation 2, but was later
moved to the PlayStation 3 after the
development team discovered the power
of the platform. The Xbox 360 version
is aimed to be shipped on 3 DVDs. A
PS3 bundle including a copy of Final
Fantasy XIII is to be released in
Japan. It is unknown if this bundle
will be released outside of Japan. A
brand of soft drink named "Final
Fantasy XIII Elixir" will be released
with the game. It reportedly has
three times the amount of caffeine as
a normal soft drink. Final Fantasy
XIII marks the third time Square Enix
has used a non-Asian singer (Leona
Lewis) to sing on a Final Fantasy
game's soundtrack, after Final
Fantasy X-2 and Dissidia Final
Fantasy
Final Fantasy XIII From Final Fantasy
Wiki Balthier: I’m afraid the jury’s
still out on that one. This article
is about a game that's still to be
released. As such, some of the
information might be inaccurate or
likely to change. Final Fantasy XIII
ファイナ}
23;ファンタ
12472;ーXIII Fainaru
Fantajī Sātīn
Developer(s) Square Enix Publisher(s)
Square Enix Release date PlayStation
3 December 17, 2009 /March 9, 2010
March 9, 2010 Xbox 360 /March 9, 2010
March 9, 2010 Genre Role-playing game
Game modes Single player Ratings
CERO:Ages 12 and up ESRB:Teen
PEGI:16+ Platform(s) PlayStation 3,
Xbox 360 "The future belongs not to
those who wait..." —Final Fantasy
XIII Game Trailer Final Fantasy XIII
is an upcoming installment in the
Final Fantasy series, and is the
first of the series to be released on
the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
Unveiled at E3 2006, the game is the
flagship of Square Enix's Fabula Nova
Crystallis project. The game will run
on Crystal Tools (formerly known as
White Engine), a proprietary engine
built for Square Enix's
next-generation games. The game is
set to be released in Japan on
December 17, 2009, with releases
following on March 9, 2010 for North
America and Europe. Contents [show] 1
Gameplay 1.1 Paradigm Shift1.2
Summoning1.3 Missions 2 Story 2.1 Web
novelization 3 Characters 3.1 Main
Playable Characters3.2 Antagonists3.3
Supporting Characters 4 Music 5 Voice
Actors 6 Development 7 Staff 8 Trivia
9 External links edit Gameplay Combat
in Final Fantasy XIII, showing
Lightning and Sazh fighting off
PSICOM soldiers.The battle system,
called Command Synergy Battle in
game, has been described as "More
tactical than Final Fantasy X, faster
than X-2, and almost as seamless as
XII." The enemies are visible in the
field. When the player runs into them
with the playable characters, the
screen lights up and the scene
switches to a vast, blank
battlefield, marking the start of a
battle. In the battle, the player can
control only one character out of a
party of up to three, but after some
point in the game that character can
be switched. The progression in the
game will be chapter-based. In each
chapter, you'll see the story through
the view of different characters.
Experience points are not featured in
the game, and characters grow in
power in a system similar to the
Sphere Grid from Final Fantasy X
called the "Crystarium System".
Characters win Crystarium Points (CP)
in battle, and can use these CP to
purchase stat boosts, spells and
other abilities on a circular chart.
The skills a character learns effects
their ability to learn other skills
and open new paths on the chart -
learning Fire, for example, opens a
skill path that leads to Fira and
other spells. The Active Time Battle
bar returns in the battle system, but
this time it is divided into sections
(different screenshots show three and
five sections). Each command
available to the battle party has a
numeric value referred to as "ATB
Cost" next to the name indicating how
many of these sections it will take
up. This allows the player to input
several commands per turn. The next
turn comes up sooner if the ATB bar
is only partially used. The available
commands vary from character to
character, but series staples such as
Attack, Summon, Fire, Blizzard, and
Cure make a return, along with new
commands such as Radial Strike, which
causes area-of-effect damage, and
Ruin, a new non-elemental spell.
Magic and summoning are only
available to characters that are
l'Cie. Because of the "ATB Cost"
points, there is no MP in the game.
Also, since magic cannot be used
outside of battle, the party's HP is
completely restored after every
battle. At Gamescom 2009, it was
revealed that there are no Limit
Breaks because of the unique
summoning powers, and that there is
no way to escape from battles once
they're initiated. There are items
that can be used to avoid battles,
though, and each enemy is marked by
its difficulty level with a symbol in
the field as the player approaches
them. If a battle ends in defeat, the
player has the option to either try
it again or return to the previous
save point. A new element called the
Break bar is added to the battle, as
well. It is specific to each enemy,
and it depletes as the player
performs attack combos marked by a
percentage. If the combos continue,
"Break Mode" is entered, where even
more damage can be done. Enemies in
this mode can be launched in the air
and juggled with attacks. When a
battle is won, a victory screen pops
up, giving the player a one-to-five
stars ranking on how they did in the
battle, as well as showing how long
the battle took and the number of
chain and break attacks. This
information is linked to the Trophy
and Achievement systems of
PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360,
respectively. [edit] Paradigm Shift
The Paradigm Shift systemIn the
battle system of the game, the player
can only control one character at a
time. The other party members'
actions can, however, be affected by
a system called the "Paradigm Shift"
("Optima Change" in the Japanese
version), which was explained by
Motomu Toriyama at Gamescom 2009.
Paradigms are described as "stances"
or "classes" that the characters
temporarily take during battles to
define the abilities they use.
However, they are more strict than
job classes; for example, the
character with a Healer's role
equipped can do nothing but heal,
while the Attacker's role forces the
character to only attack with
physical and magical strikes. The
paradigms can be changed at any time
to suit the situation at hand.
However, they cannot be changed
individually to each character, only
for the whole party at a time. Thus,
a paradigm is a combination of three
roles. Possible paradigm variations
count up to hundreds. The roles used
are shown as colored abbreviations
next to the characters' names in the
battle screen. Confirmed paradigms
include Aggression, All for One,
Dualcasting, Overwhelm, Peacemaker,
Relentless Assault, Slash & Burn, The
Ettin, Decimation, Smart Bomb,
Tireless Charge and Vanguard. The
roles within the paradigms are:
日本語/Japanese
English Description Attacker (ATK)
Commando (COM) Build attack chains
more easily with enhanced strength.
Blaster (BLA) Ravager (RAV) Charge
enemy chain gauges with concentrated
attacks. Defender (DEF) Sentinel
(SEN) Enhancer (ENH) Synergist (SYN)
Support allies with an array of
magical enhancements. Healer (HLR)
Medic (MED) Jammer (JAM) Saboteur
(SAB) According to the developers,
this system was added later in the
development process to give more
strategy and depth to the battle
system. [edit] Summoning Summons
return in this game as Eidolons,
linked with the powers of the l'Cie.
Confirmed summonable summons are
Shiva Sisters, Odin, Bahamut,
Alexander, and a new summon,
Brynhildr, while Ifrit, Carbuncle and
Siren have been announced to appear
in Final Fantasy XIII but haven't
appeared as playable. All Eidolons
have been given futuristic designs
and the power to change their shape.
The Eidolons are used both in battle
and as plot devices in cutscenes.
Each character has only one Eidolon,
and Eidolons replace the other party
members besides the summoner when
called. Instead of HP, Eidolons use
"Summon Points" (SP) to indicate
their health, but SP also slowly
decreases over time. Once SP is
completely depleted, the Eidolon will
disappear, and the other party
members will return. Lightning and
Odin's Gestalt ModeIn addition to
summoning Eidolons to fight alongside
them, each Eidolon can transform into
another form the summoner can
control. In a mode called "Gestalt
Mode" ("Driving Mode" in the Japanese
version), Snow's Shiva Sisters
transform into a motorcycle,
Lightning's Odin becomes a horse,
Sazh's Brynhildr a car, Hope's
Alexander a fortress, and so on.
Combat becomes more action-oriented,
with the summon being able to perform
various special attacks with certain
button combinations. Each Eidolon's
Gestalt Mode also includes a powerful
finisher move that will end the
summoning after being used. How often
and for how long the player can
activate this ability is determined
by "Tactical Points" (TP), which is
acquired by defeating enemies. [edit]
Missions When in Pulse, there will be
several points marked by large
crystals where the party can acquire
"missions." These are similar in
function to the Hunts in Final
Fantasy XII and involve battling one
of the many large monsters around
Pulse. Some enemies are quite large,
being compared by staff to mountains
towering over the party. edit Story
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending
details follow. (Skip section) A
railway system in Cocoon.Thirteen
centuries ago, a fal'Cie,
preternatural being formed by the
crystal residing inside it, created a
floating, utopian city in the
atmosphere of a planet known as
Pulse. The fal'Cie willed that the
city be completely isolated from the
crude and brutal wilderness known as
the Gran Pulse below, and
commissioned machines to be the
guardians of the citizens. Barriers
were subsequently set up all around
the city, and as such was the
metropolis granted its befitting
name: Cocoon. Concept art of the
world of Pulse, and Cocoon floating
above it.Having lived secluded from
the outside world for many years, the
citizens of Cocoon are now becoming
anxious of what Gran Pulse really
holds. Recent contact with those from
the world below has caused people to
question one another and their ways
of life. Wised up to the word on the
street, the Sanctum of Cocoon have
decreed a new edict: Any individuals
suspected to be in contact with the
world of Pulse are to be banished
from the city unconditionally and
cast into the harsh environment of
the planet below. In tandem with the
increasing uneasiness among the
citizens of Cocoon, the believers of
destiny are now painting the
gloomiest of futures: the downfall of
the entire world. Belief has it that
the fal'Cie residing on Pulse has
sought a woman to destroy the world
and its inhabitants. This woman goes
by the codename Lightning. The
fal'Cie force Lightning and her
companions to do its bidding, marking
them as the l'Cie and giving them the
power of the crystals. The l'Cie
struggle against their destiny, but
how can they rebel against beings
worshipped by people as gods? In
summary, the storyline will focus on
"those who resist the world," says
Square Enix President Yoichi Wada.
[edit] Web novelization The official
Japanese website revealed a web
novelization titled Final Fantasy
XIII Episode Zero: Promise. It
contains a series of short stories
written by Jun Eishima, leading up to
the events depicted in the actual
game. The first story is called
"Encounter", and it focuses on how
Serah Farron became the first Gran
Pulse l'Cie in Cocoon for a long
time. The second story is called
"Friends", and it focuses on Hope
Estheim's life with his family and
friends before his mother's death.
The third story, "Family", focuses on
Sazh Katzroy and his son, Dajh,
detailing how Sazh came to own the
Chocobo chick and how Dajh fell into
the clutches of Sanctum. edit
Characters Main article: List of
Final Fantasy XIII Characters
According to director and scenario
writer Motomu Toriyama, Final Fantasy
XIII will not have one prominent main
character. In a similar vein to Final
Fantasy VI, the story will focus
equally on the cast, though Lightning
is the protagonist. The main playable
characters are all l'Cie. [edit] Main
Playable Characters Hope, Vanille,
Snow, Lightning, and SazhLightning
(ライトニ
531;グ Raitoningu) — The
protagonist of the game, Lightning is
deemed an adversary of humankind,
having been chosen by the fal'Cie to
bring about the end of the world. She
is an agile fighter, who wields a
sword that can transform into a gun,
called "Blaze Edge". She is described
as a female version of Cloud Strife.
Snow Villiers
(スノウ・
532;ィリアー&
#12473; Sunou Viriāsu) — Leader
of Team Nora and an l'Cie, Snow
Villiers is a sturdy man whose
mannerism is reputed to resemble that
of a cowboy. He is blonde and has a
well-built body. Oerba Dia Vanille
(ヲルバ=ダ
2452;ア・ヴァ
ニラ Woruba Daia Vanira)
— A young and spirited girl, Vanille
is a citizen of Pulse and ostensibly
a subject of great interest to both
the Sanctum and the resistance group
led by Snow Villiers. She carries a
heavy burden she is not initially
aware of herself. She wears a
savannah-style outfit and wields a
kind of foldable fishing rod. Sazh
Katzroy
(サッズ・
459;ッツロイ
Sazzu Kattsuroi) — A middle-aged man
with dark skin and afro hair. He owns
a baby Chocobo that lives in his
hair. He is described as a gentle
person who is easily reduced to
tears. He fights with two pistols
that can be combined into a rifle.
FangHope Estheim
(ホープ・
456;ストハイ&
#12512; Hōpu Esutohaimu) — A
young boy with silvery-blonde hair
who along with his mother belonged to
the group of exiles carried in the
train that Lightning stopped. He
blames Snow for his mother's death.
He wields boomerangs in battle. Oerba
Yun Fang
(ヲルバ=ユ
2531;・ファン
グ Woruba Yun Fangu) - A
wild-looking dark-haired woman with a
large tattoo on one arm and a mark of
the l'Cie on the other. She initially
works for the Sanctum, and uses
spears as her weapon of choice.
[edit] Antagonists Jihl Nabaat Yaag
Rosch Jihl Nabaat
(ジル・ナ
496;ート Jiru
Nabāto) — An intelligent but
cruel woman with glasses and blonde
hair reaching all the way down to her
knees, who is a lieutenant colonel of
the Sanctum. Yaag Rosch
(ヤーグロ
483;シュ Yāgu
Rosshu) — A blue-haired man who is
also a lieutenant colonel of the
Sanctum and Lightning's former
superior during her military service.
He desires peace for all citizens in
Cocoon, and as such, sees Lightning
and her allies as threats. Cid Reinz
- The Cid of the game, he was
unveiled in the November 2009 trailer
on the Japanese website. He is an
officer in the Sanctum, and is shown
speaking to Snow while he is in
captivity. He appears to be much
younger than most previous Cids.
[edit] Supporting Characters Team
NoraGadot (ガドー
Gadō) — A member of Team Nora
and Snow's childhood friend. He is a
dark-skinned man with orange hair and
teal clothes. His design is based on
NBA and hip hop fashion. In the
playable demo, he uses a machine gun
in battle. Lebreau
(レプロ Reburo) — A
woman who has black hair tied in a
ponytail and a butterfly tattoo on
her shoulder. She is also a member of
Team Nora. Her outfit is based on
volleyball players, wearing short
shorts and a tanktop like shirt with
puffy sleeves. She uses a rifle in
battle in the playable demo. Maqui
(マーキー
Mākī) — A young blond man
with goggles. He wears black and pink
clothes and a pair of goggles, in the
style of snowboarders. Like the two
characters above, the youngster is a
member of Team Nora. Serah Farron
(セラ・フ
449;ロン Sera Faron) - A
teenage girl who wears a red skirt, a
white top and her strawberry blonde
hair tied in a ponytail. She is
Lightning's sister and Snow's
fiancée, but something happened to
her that caused a rift between the
two. Her destiny is one of the main
plot points in the game. Dajh Katzroy
- Sazh's sweet six-year old son, who
sports a similar afro to his
father's. He became a l'Cie by
accident and was crystallized. Yuge -
A member of Team Nora. Hope's Mother
- She and Hope were exiles involved
in the Purge. She volunteered to
fight with Snow and Team Nora, but
lost her life in the process. Hope's
Father - Unveiled at the TGS 2009
Trailer in September 2009, Hope's
father is a brown-haired bespectacled
man who works for the Sanctum.
Despite his position, he chose to
hide his l'Cie son from the
officials. Brown Haired Man - An
officer of Sanctum shown in the
November 2009 trailer. Old Priest - A
high-ranking priest shown in the
November 2009 trailer. Spoilers end
here. edit Music The soundtrack's
limited edition.Masashi Hamauzu will
be composing the music for Final
Fantasy XIII. The game's main theme
is called "Kimi ga Iru Kara"
(translated to "Because You're
Here"), and it is performed by the
J-pop artist Sayuri Sugawara. It was
originally assumed that the main
theme would be composed by Nobuo
Uematsu; however, four years after
the first announcement of the game,
this Uematsu theme still hasn't
surfaced in any of the trailers and
official sites. This has led to
rumors stating that Uematsu's
involvement in the project may have
been scrapped in favor of a 100%
Hamauzu soundtrack, especially seeing
how Uematsu is not mentioned anywhere
on the official site. Meanwhile
Uematsu has announced that he would
be composing the entirety of the
Final Fantasy XIV soundtrack. In
September 2009 it was announced that
Uematsu opted out of composing for
Final Fantasy XIII to focus on Final
Fantasy XIV. The game has another
theme song, although unreleased,
titled "Eternal Love." The Japanese
soundtrack will be released on
January 27, 2010 with two versions
available for purchase. The standard
version will contain 4 discs while
the limited edition will contain a
bonus "drama CD" written by scenario
writer Motomu Toriyama which will
include the talents of the game's
voice actors. In the Western versions
of the game, the winner of the
British television talent show The X
Factor Leona Lewis will sing the
English theme song, titled "My
Hands". edit Voice ActorsCharacter
Seiyū English Lightning Maaya
Sakamoto TBA Snow Villiers Daisuke
Ono TBA Sazh Katzroy Masashi Ebara
TBA Oerba Dia Vanille Yukari Fukui
TBA Hope Estheim Yūki Kaji TBA
Oerba Yun Fang Mabuki Andou TBA Jihl
Nabaat TBA TBA Yaag Rosch TBA TBA
Serah Farron Minako Kotobuki TBA
Gadot TBA TBA Lebreau Wakana Yamazaki
TBA Maqui TBA TBA Dajh Katzroy TBA
TBA Yuge TBA TBA edit Development
Early gameplay footage with a
different appearance of the battle
menu.The game was first revealed at
E3 2006. Since then, the battle
system of the game has changed
several times. In the first trailers,
the camera angles and shifts were
more dynamic and Lightning had a
gravity-controling ability that
influenced the gameplay, lending to a
somewhat more action-based and
cinematic presentation than the
final, more classic battle system. In
the playable demo, the battle
transitions were nearly seamless as
the exploration and battle fields
were very similar in appearance,
unlike in the more recent videos
where the differences between the two
fields are much more apparent. It was
revealed at E3 2008 that Final
Fantasy XIII will be released on the
Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 in
North America and Europe, but will
remain a PlayStation 3 exclusive in
Japan. The game will hit Japanese
shelves December 17th 2009, followed
by a later simultaneous release in
North America and Europe on both
platforms. A demo version of Final
Fantasy XIII was released with Final
Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete
in Japan on April 16 exclusively for
PlayStation 3. Covering a part from
the early stages of the game, the
demo aimed to familiarize players
with the battle system, while
featuring Cocoon and the l'Cies. Only
Lightning and Snow were playable,
with Sazh, Lebreau and Gadot
supporting them during battles. The
demo was not released outside of
Japan. A second demo was featured in
the Final Fantasy XIII Premiere Party
and Tokyo Game Show in September
2009, and it showcased the summons,
as well as the Paradigm Shift system.
Again, only Lightning and Snow could
be controlled in battle, while Sazh,
Vanille, and Hope were supporting
party members. Similar to Final
Fantasy X, XI, and XII, Final Fantasy
XIII will have only English and
Japanese sound dubs. Only subtitles
will be localized to local languages.
edit StaffThe staff behind Final
Fantasy XIII are as follows: Game
Director & Scenario Writer: Motomu
Toriyama Character designer: Tetsuya
Nomura Subcharacter designer: Nao
Ikeda Art director: Isamu Kamikokuryo
Summon monster designs: Chikako
Nakano Main programmer: Kazumi
Kobayashi Movie director: Eiji Fujii
Music Composer: Masashi Hamauzu Game
Producer: Yoshinori Kitase Image
Illustrator and Title Logo Designer:
Yoshitaka Amano Battle Designer:
Toshiro Tsuchida Weapon & Equipment
Designer: Tetsu Tsukamoto edit Trivia
The game was originally planned for
the PlayStation 2, but was later
moved to the PlayStation 3 after the
development team discovered the power
of the platform. The Xbox 360 version
is aimed to be shipped on 3 DVDs. A
PS3 bundle including a copy of Final
Fantasy XIII is to be released in
Japan. It is unknown if this bundle
will be released outside of Japan. A
brand of soft drink named "Final
Fantasy XIII Elixir" will be released
with the game. It reportedly has
three times the amount of caffeine as
a normal soft drink. Final Fantasy
XIII marks the third time Square Enix
has used a non-Asian singer (Leona
Lewis) to sing on a Final Fantasy
game's soundtrack, after Final
Fantasy X-2 and Dissidia Final
Fantasy
Final Fantasy XIII From Final Fantasy
Wiki Balthier: I’m afraid the jury’s
still out on that one. This article
is about a game that's still to be
released. As such, some of the
information might be inaccurate or
likely to change. Final Fantasy XIII
ファイナ}
23;ファンタ
12472;ーXIII Fainaru
Fantajī Sātīn
Developer(s) Square Enix Publisher(s)
Square Enix Release date PlayStation
3 December 17, 2009 /March 9, 2010
March 9, 2010 Xbox 360 /March 9, 2010
March 9, 2010 Genre Role-playing game
Game modes Single player Ratings
CERO:Ages 12 and up ESRB:Teen
PEGI:16+ Platform(s) PlayStation 3,
Xbox 360 "The future belongs not to
those who wait..." —Final Fantasy
XIII Game Trailer Final Fantasy XIII
is an upcoming installment in the
Final Fantasy series, and is the
first of the series to be released on
the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
Unveiled at E3 2006, the game is the
flagship of Square Enix's Fabula Nova
Crystallis project. The game will run
on Crystal Tools (formerly known as
White Engine), a proprietary engine
built for Square Enix's
next-generation games. The game is
set to be released in Japan on
December 17, 2009, with releases
following on March 9, 2010 for North
America and Europe. Contents [show] 1
Gameplay 1.1 Paradigm Shift1.2
Summoning1.3 Missions 2 Story 2.1 Web
novelization 3 Characters 3.1 Main
Playable Characters3.2 Antagonists3.3
Supporting Characters 4 Music 5 Voice
Actors 6 Development 7 Staff 8 Trivia
9 External links edit Gameplay Combat
in Final Fantasy XIII, showing
Lightning and Sazh fighting off
PSICOM soldiers.The battle system,
called Command Synergy Battle in
game, has been described as "More
tactical than Final Fantasy X, faster
than X-2, and almost as seamless as
XII." The enemies are visible in the
field. When the player runs into them
with the playable characters, the
screen lights up and the scene
switches to a vast, blank
battlefield, marking the start of a
battle. In the battle, the player can
control only one character out of a
party of up to three, but after some
point in the game that character can
be switched. The progression in the
game will be chapter-based. In each
chapter, you'll see the story through
the view of different characters.
Experience points are not featured in
the game, and characters grow in
power in a system similar to the
Sphere Grid from Final Fantasy X
called the "Crystarium System".
Characters win Crystarium Points (CP)
in battle, and can use these CP to
purchase stat boosts, spells and
other abilities on a circular chart.
The skills a character learns effects
their ability to learn other skills
and open new paths on the chart -
learning Fire, for example, opens a
skill path that leads to Fira and
other spells. The Active Time Battle
bar returns in the battle system, but
this time it is divided into sections
(different screenshots show three and
five sections). Each command
available to the battle party has a
numeric value referred to as "ATB
Cost" next to the name indicating how
many of these sections it will take
up. This allows the player to input
several commands per turn. The next
turn comes up sooner if the ATB bar
is only partially used. The available
commands vary from character to
character, but series staples such as
Attack, Summon, Fire, Blizzard, and
Cure make a return, along with new
commands such as Radial Strike, which
causes area-of-effect damage, and
Ruin, a new non-elemental spell.
Magic and summoning are only
available to characters that are
l'Cie. Because of the "ATB Cost"
points, there is no MP in the game.
Also, since magic cannot be used
outside of battle, the party's HP is
completely restored after every
battle. At Gamescom 2009, it was
revealed that there are no Limit
Breaks because of the unique
summoning powers, and that there is
no way to escape from battles once
they're initiated. There are items
that can be used to avoid battles,
though, and each enemy is marked by
its difficulty level with a symbol in
the field as the player approaches
them. If a battle ends in defeat, the
player has the option to either try
it again or return to the previous
save point. A new element called the
Break bar is added to the battle, as
well. It is specific to each enemy,
and it depletes as the player
performs attack combos marked by a
percentage. If the combos continue,
"Break Mode" is entered, where even
more damage can be done. Enemies in
this mode can be launched in the air
and juggled with attacks. When a
battle is won, a victory screen pops
up, giving the player a one-to-five
stars ranking on how they did in the
battle, as well as showing how long
the battle took and the number of
chain and break attacks. This
information is linked to the Trophy
and Achievement systems of
PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360,
respectively. [edit] Paradigm Shift
The Paradigm Shift systemIn the
battle system of the game, the player
can only control one character at a
time. The other party members'
actions can, however, be affected by
a system called the "Paradigm Shift"
("Optima Change" in the Japanese
version), which was explained by
Motomu Toriyama at Gamescom 2009.
Paradigms are described as "stances"
or "classes" that the characters
temporarily take during battles to
define the abilities they use.
However, they are more strict than
job classes; for example, the
character with a Healer's role
equipped can do nothing but heal,
while the Attacker's role forces the
character to only attack with
physical and magical strikes. The
paradigms can be changed at any time
to suit the situation at hand.
However, they cannot be changed
individually to each character, only
for the whole party at a time. Thus,
a paradigm is a combination of three
roles. Possible paradigm variations
count up to hundreds. The roles used
are shown as colored abbreviations
next to the characters' names in the
battle screen. Confirmed paradigms
include Aggression, All for One,
Dualcasting, Overwhelm, Peacemaker,
Relentless Assault, Slash & Burn, The
Ettin, Decimation, Smart Bomb,
Tireless Charge and Vanguard. The
roles within the paradigms are:
日本語/Japanese
English Description Attacker (ATK)
Commando (COM) Build attack chains
more easily with enhanced strength.
Blaster (BLA) Ravager (RAV) Charge
enemy chain gauges with concentrated
attacks. Defender (DEF) Sentinel
(SEN) Enhancer (ENH) Synergist (SYN)
Support allies with an array of
magical enhancements. Healer (HLR)
Medic (MED) Jammer (JAM) Saboteur
(SAB) According to the developers,
this system was added later in the
development process to give more
strategy and depth to the battle
system. [edit] Summoning Summons
return in this game as Eidolons,
linked with the powers of the l'Cie.
Confirmed summonable summons are
Shiva Sisters, Odin, Bahamut,
Alexander, and a new summon,
Brynhildr, while Ifrit, Carbuncle and
Siren have been announced to appear
in Final Fantasy XIII but haven't
appeared as playable. All Eidolons
have been given futuristic designs
and the power to change their shape.
The Eidolons are used both in battle
and as plot devices in cutscenes.
Each character has only one Eidolon,
and Eidolons replace the other party
members besides the summoner when
called. Instead of HP, Eidolons use
"Summon Points" (SP) to indicate
their health, but SP also slowly
decreases over time. Once SP is
completely depleted, the Eidolon will
disappear, and the other party
members will return. Lightning and
Odin's Gestalt ModeIn addition to
summoning Eidolons to fight alongside
them, each Eidolon can transform into
another form the summoner can
control. In a mode called "Gestalt
Mode" ("Driving Mode" in the Japanese
version), Snow's Shiva Sisters
transform into a motorcycle,
Lightning's Odin becomes a horse,
Sazh's Brynhildr a car, Hope's
Alexander a fortress, and so on.
Combat becomes more action-oriented,
with the summon being able to perform
various special attacks with certain
button combinations. Each Eidolon's
Gestalt Mode also includes a powerful
finisher move that will end the
summoning after being used. How often
and for how long the player can
activate this ability is determined
by "Tactical Points" (TP), which is
acquired by defeating enemies. [edit]
Missions When in Pulse, there will be
several points marked by large
crystals where the party can acquire
"missions." These are similar in
function to the Hunts in Final
Fantasy XII and involve battling one
of the many large monsters around
Pulse. Some enemies are quite large,
being compared by staff to mountains
towering over the party. edit Story
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending
details follow. (Skip section) A
railway system in Cocoon.Thirteen
centuries ago, a fal'Cie,
preternatural being formed by the
crystal residing inside it, created a
floating, utopian city in the
atmosphere of a planet known as
Pulse. The fal'Cie willed that the
city be completely isolated from the
crude and brutal wilderness known as
the Gran Pulse below, and
commissioned machines to be the
guardians of the citizens. Barriers
were subsequently set up all around
the city, and as such was the
metropolis granted its befitting
name: Cocoon. Concept art of the
world of Pulse, and Cocoon floating
above it.Having lived secluded from
the outside world for many years, the
citizens of Cocoon are now becoming
anxious of what Gran Pulse really
holds. Recent contact with those from
the world below has caused people to
question one another and their ways
of life. Wised up to the word on the
street, the Sanctum of Cocoon have
decreed a new edict: Any individuals
suspected to be in contact with the
world of Pulse are to be banished
from the city unconditionally and
cast into the harsh environment of
the planet below. In tandem with the
increasing uneasiness among the
citizens of Cocoon, the believers of
destiny are now painting the
gloomiest of futures: the downfall of
the entire world. Belief has it that
the fal'Cie residing on Pulse has
sought a woman to destroy the world
and its inhabitants. This woman goes
by the codename Lightning. The
fal'Cie force Lightning and her
companions to do its bidding, marking
them as the l'Cie and giving them the
power of the crystals. The l'Cie
struggle against their destiny, but
how can they rebel against beings
worshipped by people as gods? In
summary, the storyline will focus on
"those who resist the world," says
Square Enix President Yoichi Wada.
[edit] Web novelization The official
Japanese website revealed a web
novelization titled Final Fantasy
XIII Episode Zero: Promise. It
contains a series of short stories
written by Jun Eishima, leading up to
the events depicted in the actual
game. The first story is called
"Encounter", and it focuses on how
Serah Farron became the first Gran
Pulse l'Cie in Cocoon for a long
time. The second story is called
"Friends", and it focuses on Hope
Estheim's life with his family and
friends before his mother's death.
The third story, "Family", focuses on
Sazh Katzroy and his son, Dajh,
detailing how Sazh came to own the
Chocobo chick and how Dajh fell into
the clutches of Sanctum. edit
Characters Main article: List of
Final Fantasy XIII Characters
According to director and scenario
writer Motomu Toriyama, Final Fantasy
XIII will not have one prominent main
character. In a similar vein to Final
Fantasy VI, the story will focus
equally on the cast, though Lightning
is the protagonist. The main playable
characters are all l'Cie. [edit] Main
Playable Characters Hope, Vanille,
Snow, Lightning, and SazhLightning
(ライトニ
531;グ Raitoningu) — The
protagonist of the game, Lightning is
deemed an adversary of humankind,
having been chosen by the fal'Cie to
bring about the end of the world. She
is an agile fighter, who wields a
sword that can transform into a gun,
called "Blaze Edge". She is described
as a female version of Cloud Strife.
Snow Villiers
(スノウ・
532;ィリアー&
#12473; Sunou Viriāsu) — Leader
of Team Nora and an l'Cie, Snow
Villiers is a sturdy man whose
mannerism is reputed to resemble that
of a cowboy. He is blonde and has a
well-built body. Oerba Dia Vanille
(ヲルバ=ダ
2452;ア・ヴァ
ニラ Woruba Daia Vanira)
— A young and spirited girl, Vanille
is a citizen of Pulse and ostensibly
a subject of great interest to both
the Sanctum and the resistance group
led by Snow Villiers. She carries a
heavy burden she is not initially
aware of herself. She wears a
savannah-style outfit and wields a
kind of foldable fishing rod. Sazh
Katzroy
(サッズ・
459;ッツロイ
Sazzu Kattsuroi) — A middle-aged man
with dark skin and afro hair. He owns
a baby Chocobo that lives in his
hair. He is described as a gentle
person who is easily reduced to
tears. He fights with two pistols
that can be combined into a rifle.
FangHope Estheim
(ホープ・
456;ストハイ&
#12512; Hōpu Esutohaimu) — A
young boy with silvery-blonde hair
who along with his mother belonged to
the group of exiles carried in the
train that Lightning stopped. He
blames Snow for his mother's death.
He wields boomerangs in battle. Oerba
Yun Fang
(ヲルバ=ユ
2531;・ファン
グ Woruba Yun Fangu) - A
wild-looking dark-haired woman with a
large tattoo on one arm and a mark of
the l'Cie on the other. She initially
works for the Sanctum, and uses
spears as her weapon of choice.
[edit] Antagonists Jihl Nabaat Yaag
Rosch Jihl Nabaat
(ジル・ナ
496;ート Jiru
Nabāto) — An intelligent but
cruel woman with glasses and blonde
hair reaching all the way down to her
knees, who is a lieutenant colonel of
the Sanctum. Yaag Rosch
(ヤーグロ
483;シュ Yāgu
Rosshu) — A blue-haired man who is
also a lieutenant colonel of the
Sanctum and Lightning's former
superior during her military service.
He desires peace for all citizens in
Cocoon, and as such, sees Lightning
and her allies as threats. Cid Reinz
- The Cid of the game, he was
unveiled in the November 2009 trailer
on the Japanese website. He is an
officer in the Sanctum, and is shown
speaking to Snow while he is in
captivity. He appears to be much
younger than most previous Cids.
[edit] Supporting Characters Team
NoraGadot (ガドー
Gadō) — A member of Team Nora
and Snow's childhood friend. He is a
dark-skinned man with orange hair and
teal clothes. His design is based on
NBA and hip hop fashion. In the
playable demo, he uses a machine gun
in battle. Lebreau
(レプロ Reburo) — A
woman who has black hair tied in a
ponytail and a butterfly tattoo on
her shoulder. She is also a member of
Team Nora. Her outfit is based on
volleyball players, wearing short
shorts and a tanktop like shirt with
puffy sleeves. She uses a rifle in
battle in the playable demo. Maqui
(マーキー
Mākī) — A young blond man
with goggles. He wears black and pink
clothes and a pair of goggles, in the
style of snowboarders. Like the two
characters above, the youngster is a
member of Team Nora. Serah Farron
(セラ・フ
449;ロン Sera Faron) - A
teenage girl who wears a red skirt, a
white top and her strawberry blonde
hair tied in a ponytail. She is
Lightning's sister and Snow's
fiancée, but something happened to
her that caused a rift between the
two. Her destiny is one of the main
plot points in the game. Dajh Katzroy
- Sazh's sweet six-year old son, who
sports a similar afro to his
father's. He became a l'Cie by
accident and was crystallized. Yuge -
A member of Team Nora. Hope's Mother
- She and Hope were exiles involved
in the Purge. She volunteered to
fight with Snow and Team Nora, but
lost her life in the process. Hope's
Father - Unveiled at the TGS 2009
Trailer in September 2009, Hope's
father is a brown-haired bespectacled
man who works for the Sanctum.
Despite his position, he chose to
hide his l'Cie son from the
officials. Brown Haired Man - An
officer of Sanctum shown in the
November 2009 trailer. Old Priest - A
high-ranking priest shown in the
November 2009 trailer. Spoilers end
here. edit Music The soundtrack's
limited edition.Masashi Hamauzu will
be composing the music for Final
Fantasy XIII. The game's main theme
is called "Kimi ga Iru Kara"
(translated to "Because You're
Here"), and it is performed by the
J-pop artist Sayuri Sugawara. It was
originally assumed that the main
theme would be composed by Nobuo
Uematsu; however, four years after
the first announcement of the game,
this Uematsu theme still hasn't
surfaced in any of the trailers and
official sites. This has led to
rumors stating that Uematsu's
involvement in the project may have
been scrapped in favor of a 100%
Hamauzu soundtrack, especially seeing
how Uematsu is not mentioned anywhere
on the official site. Meanwhile
Uematsu has announced that he would
be composing the entirety of the
Final Fantasy XIV soundtrack. In
September 2009 it was announced that
Uematsu opted out of composing for
Final Fantasy XIII to focus on Final
Fantasy XIV. The game has another
theme song, although unreleased,
titled "Eternal Love." The Japanese
soundtrack will be released on
January 27, 2010 with two versions
available for purchase. The standard
version will contain 4 discs while
the limited edition will contain a
bonus "drama CD" written by scenario
writer Motomu Toriyama which will
include the talents of the game's
voice actors. In the Western versions
of the game, the winner of the
British television talent show The X
Factor Leona Lewis will sing the
English theme song, titled "My
Hands". edit Voice ActorsCharacter
Seiyū English Lightning Maaya
Sakamoto TBA Snow Villiers Daisuke
Ono TBA Sazh Katzroy Masashi Ebara
TBA Oerba Dia Vanille Yukari Fukui
TBA Hope Estheim Yūki Kaji TBA
Oerba Yun Fang Mabuki Andou TBA Jihl
Nabaat TBA TBA Yaag Rosch TBA TBA
Serah Farron Minako Kotobuki TBA
Gadot TBA TBA Lebreau Wakana Yamazaki
TBA Maqui TBA TBA Dajh Katzroy TBA
TBA Yuge TBA TBA edit Development
Early gameplay footage with a
different appearance of the battle
menu.The game was first revealed at
E3 2006. Since then, the battle
system of the game has changed
several times. In the first trailers,
the camera angles and shifts were
more dynamic and Lightning had a
gravity-controling ability that
influenced the gameplay, lending to a
somewhat more action-based and
cinematic presentation than the
final, more classic battle system. In
the playable demo, the battle
transitions were nearly seamless as
the exploration and battle fields
were very similar in appearance,
unlike in the more recent videos
where the differences between the two
fields are much more apparent. It was
revealed at E3 2008 that Final
Fantasy XIII will be released on the
Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 in
North America and Europe, but will
remain a PlayStation 3 exclusive in
Japan. The game will hit Japanese
shelves December 17th 2009, followed
by a later simultaneous release in
North America and Europe on both
platforms. A demo version of Final
Fantasy XIII was released with Final
Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete
in Japan on April 16 exclusively for
PlayStation 3. Covering a part from
the early stages of the game, the
demo aimed to familiarize players
with the battle system, while
featuring Cocoon and the l'Cies. Only
Lightning and Snow were playable,
with Sazh, Lebreau and Gadot
supporting them during battles. The
demo was not released outside of
Japan. A second demo was featured in
the Final Fantasy XIII Premiere Party
and Tokyo Game Show in September
2009, and it showcased the summons,
as well as the Paradigm Shift system.
Again, only Lightning and Snow could
be controlled in battle, while Sazh,
Vanille, and Hope were supporting
party members. Similar to Final
Fantasy X, XI, and XII, Final Fantasy
XIII will have only English and
Japanese sound dubs. Only subtitles
will be localized to local languages.
edit StaffThe staff behind Final
Fantasy XIII are as follows: Game
Director & Scenario Writer: Motomu
Toriyama Character designer: Tetsuya
Nomura Subcharacter designer: Nao
Ikeda Art director: Isamu Kamikokuryo
Summon monster designs: Chikako
Nakano Main programmer: Kazumi
Kobayashi Movie director: Eiji Fujii
Music Composer: Masashi Hamauzu Game
Producer: Yoshinori Kitase Image
Illustrator and Title Logo Designer:
Yoshitaka Amano Battle Designer:
Toshiro Tsuchida Weapon & Equipment
Designer: Tetsu Tsukamoto edit Trivia
The game was originally planned for
the PlayStation 2, but was later
moved to the PlayStation 3 after the
development team discovered the power
of the platform. The Xbox 360 version
is aimed to be shipped on 3 DVDs. A
PS3 bundle including a copy of Final
Fantasy XIII is to be released in
Japan. It is unknown if this bundle
will be released outside of Japan. A
brand of soft drink named "Final
Fantasy XIII Elixir" will be released
with the game. It reportedly has
three times the amount of caffeine as
a normal soft drink. Final Fantasy
XIII marks the third time Square Enix
has used a non-Asian singer (Leona
Lewis) to sing on a Final Fantasy
game's soundtrack, after Final
Fantasy X-2 and Dissidia Final
Fantasy
Final Fantasy XIII From Final Fantasy
Wiki Balthier: I’m afraid the jury’s
still out on that one. This article
is about a game that's still to be
released. As such, some of the
information might be inaccurate or
likely to change. Final Fantasy XIII
ファイナ}
23;ファンタ
12472;ーXIII Fainaru
Fantajī Sātīn
Developer(s) Square Enix Publisher(s)
Square Enix Release date PlayStation
3 December 17, 2009 /March 9, 2010
March 9, 2010 Xbox 360 /March 9, 2010
March 9, 2010 Genre Role-playing game
Game modes Single player Ratings
CERO:Ages 12 and up ESRB:Teen
PEGI:16+ Platform(s) PlayStation 3,
Xbox 360 "The future belongs not to
those who wait..." —Final Fantasy
XIII Game Trailer Final Fantasy XIII
is an upcoming installment in the
Final Fantasy series, and is the
first of the series to be released on
the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
Unveiled at E3 2006, the game is the
flagship of Square Enix's Fabula Nova
Crystallis project. The game will run
on Crystal Tools (formerly known as
White Engine), a proprietary engine
built for Square Enix's
next-generation games. The game is
set to be released in Japan on
December 17, 2009, with releases
following on March 9, 2010 for North
America and Europe. Contents [show] 1
Gameplay 1.1 Paradigm Shift1.2
Summoning1.3 Missions 2 Story 2.1 Web
novelization 3 Characters 3.1 Main
Playable Characters3.2 Antagonists3.3
Supporting Characters 4 Music 5 Voice
Actors 6 Development 7 Staff 8 Trivia
9 External links edit Gameplay Combat
in Final Fantasy XIII, showing
Lightning and Sazh fighting off
PSICOM soldiers.The battle system,
called Command Synergy Battle in
game, has been described as "More
tactical than Final Fantasy X, faster
than X-2, and almost as seamless as
XII." The enemies are visible in the
field. When the player runs into them
with the playable characters, the
screen lights up and the scene
switches to a vast, blank
battlefield, marking the start of a
battle. In the battle, the player can
control only one character out of a
party of up to three, but after some
point in the game that character can
be switched. The progression in the
game will be chapter-based. In each
chapter, you'll see the story through
the view of different characters.
Experience points are not featured in
the game, and characters grow in
power in a system similar to the
Sphere Grid from Final Fantasy X
called the "Crystarium System".
Characters win Crystarium Points (CP)
in battle, and can use these CP to
purchase stat boosts, spells and
other abilities on a circular chart.
The skills a character learns effects
their ability to learn other skills
and open new paths on the chart -
learning Fire, for example, opens a
skill path that leads to Fira and
other spells. The Active Time Battle
bar returns in the battle system, but
this time it is divided into sections
(different screenshots show three and
five sections). Each command
available to the battle party has a
numeric value referred to as "ATB
Cost" next to the name indicating how
many of these sections it will take
up. This allows the player to input
several commands per turn. The next
turn comes up sooner if the ATB bar
is only partially used. The available
commands vary from character to
character, but series staples such as
Attack, Summon, Fire, Blizzard, and
Cure make a return, along with new
commands such as Radial Strike, which
causes area-of-effect damage, and
Ruin, a new non-elemental spell.
Magic and summoning are only
available to characters that are
l'Cie. Because of the "ATB Cost"
points, there is no MP in the game.
Also, since magic cannot be used
outside of battle, the party's HP is
completely restored after every
battle. At Gamescom 2009, it was
revealed that there are no Limit
Breaks because of the unique
summoning powers, and that there is
no way to escape from battles once
they're initiated. There are items
that can be used to avoid battles,
though, and each enemy is marked by
its difficulty level with a symbol in
the field as the player approaches
them. If a battle ends in defeat, the
player has the option to either try
it again or return to the previous
save point. A new element called the
Break bar is added to the battle, as
well. It is specific to each enemy,
and it depletes as the player
performs attack combos marked by a
percentage. If the combos continue,
"Break Mode" is entered, where even
more damage can be done. Enemies in
this mode can be launched in the air
and juggled with attacks. When a
battle is won, a victory screen pops
up, giving the player a one-to-five
stars ranking on how they did in the
battle, as well as showing how long
the battle took and the number of
chain and break attacks. This
information is linked to the Trophy
and Achievement systems of
PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360,
respectively. [edit] Paradigm Shift
The Paradigm Shift systemIn the
battle system of the game, the player
can only control one character at a
time. The other party members'
actions can, however, be affected by
a system called the "Paradigm Shift"
("Optima Change" in the Japanese
version), which was explained by
Motomu Toriyama at Gamescom 2009.
Paradigms are described as "stances"
or "classes" that the characters
temporarily take during battles to
define the abilities they use.
However, they are more strict than
job classes; for example, the
character with a Healer's role
equipped can do nothing but heal,
while the Attacker's role forces the
character to only attack with
physical and magical strikes. The
paradigms can be changed at any time
to suit the situation at hand.
However, they cannot be changed
individually to each character, only
for the whole party at a time. Thus,
a paradigm is a combination of three
roles. Possible paradigm variations
count up to hundreds. The roles used
are shown as colored abbreviations
next to the characters' names in the
battle screen. Confirmed paradigms
include Aggression, All for One,
Dualcasting, Overwhelm, Peacemaker,
Relentless Assault, Slash & Burn, The
Ettin, Decimation, Smart Bomb,
Tireless Charge and Vanguard. The
roles within the paradigms are:
日本語/Japanese
English Description Attacker (ATK)
Commando (COM) Build attack chains
more easily with enhanced strength.
Blaster (BLA) Ravager (RAV) Charge
enemy chain gauges with concentrated
attacks. Defender (DEF) Sentinel
(SEN) Enhancer (ENH) Synergist (SYN)
Support allies with an array of
magical enhancements. Healer (HLR)
Medic (MED) Jammer (JAM) Saboteur
(SAB) According to the developers,
this system was added later in the
development process to give more
strategy and depth to the battle
system. [edit] Summoning Summons
return in this game as Eidolons,
linked with the powers of the l'Cie.
Confirmed summonable summons are
Shiva Sisters, Odin, Bahamut,
Alexander, and a new summon,
Brynhildr, while Ifrit, Carbuncle and
Siren have been announced to appear
in Final Fantasy XIII but haven't
appeared as playable. All Eidolons
have been given futuristic designs
and the power to change their shape.
The Eidolons are used both in battle
and as plot devices in cutscenes.
Each character has only one Eidolon,
and Eidolons replace the other party
members besides the summoner when
called. Instead of HP, Eidolons use
"Summon Points" (SP) to indicate
their health, but SP also slowly
decreases over time. Once SP is
completely depleted, the Eidolon will
disappear, and the other party
members will return. Lightning and
Odin's Gestalt ModeIn addition to
summoning Eidolons to fight alongside
them, each Eidolon can transform into
another form the summoner can
control. In a mode called "Gestalt
Mode" ("Driving Mode" in the Japanese
version), Snow's Shiva Sisters
transform into a motorcycle,
Lightning's Odin becomes a horse,
Sazh's Brynhildr a car, Hope's
Alexander a fortress, and so on.
Combat becomes more action-oriented,
with the summon being able to perform
various special attacks with certain
button combinations. Each Eidolon's
Gestalt Mode also includes a powerful
finisher move that will end the
summoning after being used. How often
and for how long the player can
activate this ability is determined
by "Tactical Points" (TP), which is
acquired by defeating enemies. [edit]
Missions When in Pulse, there will be
several points marked by large
crystals where the party can acquire
"missions." These are similar in
function to the Hunts in Final
Fantasy XII and involve battling one
of the many large monsters around
Pulse. Some enemies are quite large,
being compared by staff to mountains
towering over the party. edit Story
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending
details follow. (Skip section) A
railway system in Cocoon.Thirteen
centuries ago, a fal'Cie,
preternatural being formed by the
crystal residing inside it, created a
floating, utopian city in the
atmosphere of a planet known as
Pulse. The fal'Cie willed that the
city be completely isolated from the
crude and brutal wilderness known as
the Gran Pulse below, and
commissioned machines to be the
guardians of the citizens. Barriers
were subsequently set up all around
the city, and as such was the
metropolis granted its befitting
name: Cocoon. Concept art of the
world of Pulse, and Cocoon floating
above it.Having lived secluded from
the outside world for many years, the
citizens of Cocoon are now becoming
anxious of what Gran Pulse really
holds. Recent contact with those from
the world below has caused people to
question one another and their ways
of life. Wised up to the word on the
street, the Sanctum of Cocoon have
decreed a new edict: Any individuals
suspected to be in contact with the
world of Pulse are to be banished
from the city unconditionally and
cast into the harsh environment of
the planet below. In tandem with the
increasing uneasiness among the
citizens of Cocoon, the believers of
destiny are now painting the
gloomiest of futures: the downfall of
the entire world. Belief has it that
the fal'Cie residing on Pulse has
sought a woman to destroy the world
and its inhabitants. This woman goes
by the codename Lightning. The
fal'Cie force Lightning and her
companions to do its bidding, marking
them as the l'Cie and giving them the
power of the crystals. The l'Cie
struggle against their destiny, but
how can they rebel against beings
worshipped by people as gods? In
summary, the storyline will focus on
"those who resist the world," says
Square Enix President Yoichi Wada.
[edit] Web novelization The official
Japanese website revealed a web
novelization titled Final Fantasy
XIII Episode Zero: Promise. It
contains a series of short stories
written by Jun Eishima, leading up to
the events depicted in the actual
game. The first story is called
"Encounter", and it focuses on how
Serah Farron became the first Gran
Pulse l'Cie in Cocoon for a long
time. The second story is called
"Friends", and it focuses on Hope
Estheim's life with his family and
friends before his mother's death.
The third story, "Family", focuses on
Sazh Katzroy and his son, Dajh,
detailing how Sazh came to own the
Chocobo chick and how Dajh fell into
the clutches of Sanctum. edit
Characters Main article: List of
Final Fantasy XIII Characters
According to director and scenario
writer Motomu Toriyama, Final Fantasy
XIII will not have one prominent main
character. In a similar vein to Final
Fantasy VI, the story will focus
equally on the cast, though Lightning
is the protagonist. The main playable
characters are all l'Cie. [edit] Main
Playable Characters Hope, Vanille,
Snow, Lightning, and SazhLightning
(ライトニ
531;グ Raitoningu) — The
protagonist of the game, Lightning is
deemed an adversary of humankind,
having been chosen by the fal'Cie to
bring about the end of the world. She
is an agile fighter, who wields a
sword that can transform into a gun,
called "Blaze Edge". She is described
as a female version of Cloud Strife.
Snow Villiers
(スノウ・
532;ィリアー&
#12473; Sunou Viriāsu) — Leader
of Team Nora and an l'Cie, Snow
Villiers is a sturdy man whose
mannerism is reputed to resemble that
of a cowboy. He is blonde and has a
well-built body. Oerba Dia Vanille
(ヲルバ=ダ
2452;ア・ヴァ
ニラ Woruba Daia Vanira)
— A young and spirited girl, Vanille
is a citizen of Pulse and ostensibly
a subject of great interest to both
the Sanctum and the resistance group
led by Snow Villiers. She carries a
heavy burden she is not initially
aware of herself. She wears a
savannah-style outfit and wields a
kind of foldable fishing rod. Sazh
Katzroy
(サッズ・
459;ッツロイ
Sazzu Kattsuroi) — A middle-aged man
with dark skin and afro hair. He owns
a baby Chocobo that lives in his
hair. He is described as a gentle
person who is easily reduced to
tears. He fights with two pistols
that can be combined into a rifle.
FangHope Estheim
(ホープ・
456;ストハイ&
#12512; Hōpu Esutohaimu) — A
young boy with silvery-blonde hair
who along with his mother belonged to
the group of exiles carried in the
train that Lightning stopped. He
blames Snow for his mother's death.
He wields boomerangs in battle. Oerba
Yun Fang
(ヲルバ=ユ
2531;・ファン
グ Woruba Yun Fangu) - A
wild-looking dark-haired woman with a
large tattoo on one arm and a mark of
the l'Cie on the other. She initially
works for the Sanctum, and uses
spears as her weapon of choice.
[edit] Antagonists Jihl Nabaat Yaag
Rosch Jihl Nabaat
(ジル・ナ
496;ート Jiru
Nabāto) — An intelligent but
cruel woman with glasses and blonde
hair reaching all the way down to her
knees, who is a lieutenant colonel of
the Sanctum. Yaag Rosch
(ヤーグロ
483;シュ Yāgu
Rosshu) — A blue-haired man who is
also a lieutenant colonel of the
Sanctum and Lightning's former
superior during her military service.
He desires peace for all citizens in
Cocoon, and as such, sees Lightning
and her allies as threats. Cid Reinz
- The Cid of the game, he was
unveiled in the November 2009 trailer
on the Japanese website. He is an
officer in the Sanctum, and is shown
speaking to Snow while he is in
captivity. He appears to be much
younger than most previous Cids.
[edit] Supporting Characters Team
NoraGadot (ガドー
Gadō) — A member of Team Nora
and Snow's childhood friend. He is a
dark-skinned man with orange hair and
teal clothes. His design is based on
NBA and hip hop fashion. In the
playable demo, he uses a machine gun
in battle. Lebreau
(レプロ Reburo) — A
woman who has black hair tied in a
ponytail and a butterfly tattoo on
her shoulder. She is also a member of
Team Nora. Her outfit is based on
volleyball players, wearing short
shorts and a tanktop like shirt with
puffy sleeves. She uses a rifle in
battle in the playable demo. Maqui
(マーキー
Mākī) — A young blond man
with goggles. He wears black and pink
clothes and a pair of goggles, in the
style of snowboarders. Like the two
characters above, the youngster is a
member of Team Nora. Serah Farron
(セラ・フ
449;ロン Sera Faron) - A
teenage girl who wears a red skirt, a
white top and her strawberry blonde
hair tied in a ponytail. She is
Lightning's sister and Snow's
fiancée, but something happened to
her that caused a rift between the
two. Her destiny is one of the main
plot points in the game. Dajh Katzroy
- Sazh's sweet six-year old son, who
sports a similar afro to his
father's. He became a l'Cie by
accident and was crystallized. Yuge -
A member of Team Nora. Hope's Mother
- She and Hope were exiles involved
in the Purge. She volunteered to
fight with Snow and Team Nora, but
lost her life in the process. Hope's
Father - Unveiled at the TGS 2009
Trailer in September 2009, Hope's
father is a brown-haired bespectacled
man who works for the Sanctum.
Despite his position, he chose to
hide his l'Cie son from the
officials. Brown Haired Man - An
officer of Sanctum shown in the
November 2009 trailer. Old Priest - A
high-ranking priest shown in the
November 2009 trailer. Spoilers end
here. edit Music The soundtrack's
limited edition.Masashi Hamauzu will
be composing the music for Final
Fantasy XIII. The game's main theme
is called "Kimi ga Iru Kara"
(translated to "Because You're
Here"), and it is performed by the
J-pop artist Sayuri Sugawara. It was
originally assumed that the main
theme would be composed by Nobuo
Uematsu; however, four years after
the first announcement of the game,
this Uematsu theme still hasn't
surfaced in any of the trailers and
official sites. This has led to
rumors stating that Uematsu's
involvement in the project may have
been scrapped in favor of a 100%
Hamauzu soundtrack, especially seeing
how Uematsu is not mentioned anywhere
on the official site. Meanwhile
Uematsu has announced that he would
be composing the entirety of the
Final Fantasy XIV soundtrack. In
September 2009 it was announced that
Uematsu opted out of composing for
Final Fantasy XIII to focus on Final
Fantasy XIV. The game has another
theme song, although unreleased,
titled "Eternal Love." The Japanese
soundtrack will be released on
January 27, 2010 with two versions
available for purchase. The standard
version will contain 4 discs while
the limited edition will contain a
bonus "drama CD" written by scenario
writer Motomu Toriyama which will
include the talents of the game's
voice actors. In the Western versions
of the game, the winner of the
British television talent show The X
Factor Leona Lewis will sing the
English theme song, titled "My
Hands". edit Voice ActorsCharacter
Seiyū English Lightning Maaya
Sakamoto TBA Snow Villiers Daisuke
Ono TBA Sazh Katzroy Masashi Ebara
TBA Oerba Dia Vanille Yukari Fukui
TBA Hope Estheim Yūki Kaji TBA
Oerba Yun Fang Mabuki Andou TBA Jihl
Nabaat TBA TBA Yaag Rosch TBA TBA
Serah Farron Minako Kotobuki TBA
Gadot TBA TBA Lebreau Wakana Yamazaki
TBA Maqui TBA TBA Dajh Katzroy TBA
TBA Yuge TBA TBA edit Development
Early gameplay footage with a
different appearance of the battle
menu.The game was first revealed at
E3 2006. Since then, the battle
system of the game has changed
several times. In the first trailers,
the camera angles and shifts were
more dynamic and Lightning had a
gravity-controling ability that
influenced the gameplay, lending to a
somewhat more action-based and
cinematic presentation than the
final, more classic battle system. In
the playable demo, the battle
transitions were nearly seamless as
the exploration and battle fields
were very similar in appearance,
unlike in the more recent videos
where the differences between the two
fields are much more apparent. It was
revealed at E3 2008 that Final
Fantasy XIII will be released on the
Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 in
North America and Europe, but will
remain a PlayStation 3 exclusive in
Japan. The game will hit Japanese
shelves December 17th 2009, followed
by a later simultaneous release in
North America and Europe on both
platforms. A demo version of Final
Fantasy XIII was released with Final
Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete
in Japan on April 16 exclusively for
PlayStation 3. Covering a part from
the early stages of the game, the
demo aimed to familiarize players
with the battle system, while
featuring Cocoon and the l'Cies. Only
Lightning and Snow were playable,
with Sazh, Lebreau and Gadot
supporting them during battles. The
demo was not released outside of
Japan. A second demo was featured in
the Final Fantasy XIII Premiere Party
and Tokyo Game Show in September
2009, and it showcased the summons,
as well as the Paradigm Shift system.
Again, only Lightning and Snow could
be controlled in battle, while Sazh,
Vanille, and Hope were supporting
party members. Similar to Final
Fantasy X, XI, and XII, Final Fantasy
XIII will have only English and
Japanese sound dubs. Only subtitles
will be localized to local languages.
edit StaffThe staff behind Final
Fantasy XIII are as follows: Game
Director & Scenario Writer: Motomu
Toriyama Character designer: Tetsuya
Nomura Subcharacter designer: Nao
Ikeda Art director: Isamu Kamikokuryo
Summon monster designs: Chikako
Nakano Main programmer: Kazumi
Kobayashi Movie director: Eiji Fujii
Music Composer: Masashi Hamauzu Game
Producer: Yoshinori Kitase Image
Illustrator and Title Logo Designer:
Yoshitaka Amano Battle Designer:
Toshiro Tsuchida Weapon & Equipment
Designer: Tetsu Tsukamoto edit Trivia
The game was originally planned for
the PlayStation 2, but was later
moved to the PlayStation 3 after the
development team discovered the power
of the platform. The Xbox 360 version
is aimed to be shipped on 3 DVDs. A
PS3 bundle including a copy of Final
Fantasy XIII is to be released in
Japan. It is unknown if this bundle
will be released outside of Japan. A
brand of soft drink named "Final
Fantasy XIII Elixir" will be released
with the game. It reportedly has
three times the amount of caffeine as
a normal soft drink. Final Fantasy
XIII marks the third time Square Enix
has used a non-Asian singer (Leona
Lewis) to sing on a Final Fantasy
game's soundtrack, after Final
Fantasy X-2 and Dissidia Final
Fantasy
Final Fantasy XIII From Final Fantasy
Wiki Balthier: I’m afraid the jury’s
still out on that one. This article
is about a game that's still to be
released. As such, some of the
information might be inaccurate or
likely to change. Final Fantasy XIII
ファイナ}
23;ファンタ
12472;ーXIII Fainaru
Fantajī Sātīn
Developer(s) Square Enix Publisher(s)
Square Enix Release date PlayStation
3 December 17, 2009 /March 9, 2010
March 9, 2010 Xbox 360 /March 9, 2010
March 9, 2010 Genre Role-playing game
Game modes Single player Ratings
CERO:Ages 12 and up ESRB:Teen
PEGI:16+ Platform(s) PlayStation 3,
Xbox 360 "The future belongs not to
those who wait..." —Final Fantasy
XIII Game Trailer Final Fantasy XIII
is an upcoming installment in the
Final Fantasy series, and is the
first of the series to be released on
the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
Unveiled at E3 2006, the game is the
flagship of Square Enix's Fabula Nova
Crystallis project. The game will run
on Crystal Tools (formerly known as
White Engine), a proprietary engine
built for Square Enix's
next-generation games. The game is
set to be released in Japan on
December 17, 2009, with releases
following on March 9, 2010 for North
America and Europe. Contents [show] 1
Gameplay 1.1 Paradigm Shift1.2
Summoning1.3 Missions 2 Story 2.1 Web
novelization 3 Characters 3.1 Main
Playable Characters3.2 Antagonists3.3
Supporting Characters 4 Music 5 Voice
Actors 6 Development 7 Staff 8 Trivia
9 External links edit Gameplay Combat
in Final Fantasy XIII, showing
Lightning and Sazh fighting off
PSICOM soldiers.The battle system,
called Command Synergy Battle in
game, has been described as "More
tactical than Final Fantasy X, faster
than X-2, and almost as seamless as
XII." The enemies are visible in the
field. When the player runs into them
with the playable characters, the
screen lights up and the scene
switches to a vast, blank
battlefield, marking the start of a
battle. In the battle, the player can
control only one character out of a
party of up to three, but after some
point in the game that character can
be switched. The progression in the
game will be chapter-based. In each
chapter, you'll see the story through
the view of different characters.
Experience points are not featured in
the game, and characters grow in
power in a system similar to the
Sphere Grid from Final Fantasy X
called the "Crystarium System".
Characters win Crystarium Points (CP)
in battle, and can use these CP to
purchase stat boosts, spells and
other abilities on a circular chart.
The skills a character learns effects
their ability to learn other skills
and open new paths on the chart -
learning Fire, for example, opens a
skill path that leads to Fira and
other spells. The Active Time Battle
bar returns in the battle system, but
this time it is divided into sections
(different screenshots show three and
five sections). Each command
available to the battle party has a
numeric value referred to as "ATB
Cost" next to the name indicating how
many of these sections it will take
up. This allows the player to input
several commands per turn. The next
turn comes up sooner if the ATB bar
is only partially used. The available
commands vary from character to
character, but series staples such as
Attack, Summon, Fire, Blizzard, and
Cure make a return, along with new
commands such as Radial Strike, which
causes area-of-effect damage, and
Ruin, a new non-elemental spell.
Magic and summoning are only
available to characters that are
l'Cie. Because of the "ATB Cost"
points, there is no MP in the game.
Also, since magic cannot be used
outside of battle, the party's HP is
completely restored after every
battle. At Gamescom 2009, it was
revealed that there are no Limit
Breaks because of the unique
summoning powers, and that there is
no way to escape from battles once
they're initiated. There are items
that can be used to avoid battles,
though, and each enemy is marked by
its difficulty level with a symbol in
the field as the player approaches
them. If a battle ends in defeat, the
player has the option to either try
it again or return to the previous
save point. A new element called the
Break bar is added to the battle, as
well. It is specific to each enemy,
and it depletes as the player
performs attack combos marked by a
percentage. If the combos continue,
"Break Mode" is entered, where even
more damage can be done. Enemies in
this mode can be launched in the air
and juggled with attacks. When a
battle is won, a victory screen pops
up, giving the player a one-to-five
stars ranking on how they did in the
battle, as well as showing how long
the battle took and the number of
chain and break attacks. This
information is linked to the Trophy
and Achievement systems of
PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360,
respectively. [edit] Paradigm Shift
The Paradigm Shift systemIn the
battle system of the game, the player
can only control one character at a
time. The other party members'
actions can, however, be affected by
a system called the "Paradigm Shift"
("Optima Change" in the Japanese
version), which was explained by
Motomu Toriyama at Gamescom 2009.
Paradigms are described as "stances"
or "classes" that the characters
temporarily take during battles to
define the abilities they use.
However, they are more strict than
job classes; for example, the
character with a Healer's role
equipped can do nothing but heal,
while the Attacker's role forces the
character to only attack with
physical and magical strikes. The
paradigms can be changed at any time
to suit the situation at hand.
However, they cannot be changed
individually to each character, only
for the whole party at a time. Thus,
a paradigm is a combination of three
roles. Possible paradigm variations
count up to hundreds. The roles used
are shown as colored abbreviations
next to the characters' names in the
battle screen. Confirmed paradigms
include Aggression, All for One,
Dualcasting, Overwhelm, Peacemaker,
Relentless Assault, Slash & Burn, The
Ettin, Decimation, Smart Bomb,
Tireless Charge and Vanguard. The
roles within the paradigms are:
日本語/Japanese
English Description Attacker (ATK)
Commando (COM) Build attack chains
more easily with enhanced strength.
Blaster (BLA) Ravager (RAV) Charge
enemy chain gauges with concentrated
attacks. Defender (DEF) Sentinel
(SEN) Enhancer (ENH) Synergist (SYN)
Support allies with an array of
magical enhancements. Healer (HLR)
Medic (MED) Jammer (JAM) Saboteur
(SAB) According to the developers,
this system was added later in the
development process to give more
strategy and depth to the battle
system. [edit] Summoning Summons
return in this game as Eidolons,
linked with the powers of the l'Cie.
Confirmed summonable summons are
Shiva Sisters, Odin, Bahamut,
Alexander, and a new summon,
Brynhildr, while Ifrit, Carbuncle and
Siren have been announced to appear
in Final Fantasy XIII but haven't
appeared as playable. All Eidolons
have been given futuristic designs
and the power to change their shape.
The Eidolons are used both in battle
and as plot devices in cutscenes.
Each character has only one Eidolon,
and Eidolons replace the other party
members besides the summoner when
called. Instead of HP, Eidolons use
"Summon Points" (SP) to indicate
their health, but SP also slowly
decreases over time. Once SP is
completely depleted, the Eidolon will
disappear, and the other party
members will return. Lightning and
Odin's Gestalt ModeIn addition to
summoning Eidolons to fight alongside
them, each Eidolon can transform into
another form the summoner can
control. In a mode called "Gestalt
Mode" ("Driving Mode" in the Japanese
version), Snow's Shiva Sisters
transform into a motorcycle,
Lightning's Odin becomes a horse,
Sazh's Brynhildr a car, Hope's
Alexander a fortress, and so on.
Combat becomes more action-oriented,
with the summon being able to perform
various special attacks with certain
button combinations. Each Eidolon's
Gestalt Mode also includes a powerful
finisher move that will end the
summoning after being used. How often
and for how long the player can
activate this ability is determined
by "Tactical Points" (TP), which is
acquired by defeating enemies. [edit]
Missions When in Pulse, there will be
several points marked by large
crystals where the party can acquire
"missions." These are similar in
function to the Hunts in Final
Fantasy XII and involve battling one
of the many large monsters around
Pulse. Some enemies are quite large,
being compared by staff to mountains
towering over the party. edit Story
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending
details follow. (Skip section) A
railway system in Cocoon.Thirteen
centuries ago, a fal'Cie,
preternatural being formed by the
crystal residing inside it, created a
floating, utopian city in the
atmosphere of a planet known as
Pulse. The fal'Cie willed that the
city be completely isolated from the
crude and brutal wilderness known as
the Gran Pulse below, and
commissioned machines to be the
guardians of the citizens. Barriers
were subsequently set up all around
the city, and as such was the
metropolis granted its befitting
name: Cocoon. Concept art of the
world of Pulse, and Cocoon floating
above it.Having lived secluded from
the outside world for many years, the
citizens of Cocoon are now becoming
anxious of what Gran Pulse really
holds. Recent contact with those from
the world below has caused people to
question one another and their ways
of life. Wised up to the word on the
street, the Sanctum of Cocoon have
decreed a new edict: Any individuals
suspected to be in contact with the
world of Pulse are to be banished
from the city unconditionally and
cast into the harsh environment of
the planet below. In tandem with the
increasing uneasiness among the
citizens of Cocoon, the believers of
destiny are now painting the
gloomiest of futures: the downfall of
the entire world. Belief has it that
the fal'Cie residing on Pulse has
sought a woman to destroy the world
and its inhabitants. This woman goes
by the codename Lightning. The
fal'Cie force Lightning and her
companions to do its bidding, marking
them as the l'Cie and giving them the
power of the crystals. The l'Cie
struggle against their destiny, but
how can they rebel against beings
worshipped by people as gods? In
summary, the storyline will focus on
"those who resist the world," says
Square Enix President Yoichi Wada.
[edit] Web novelization The official
Japanese website revealed a web
novelization titled Final Fantasy
XIII Episode Zero: Promise. It
contains a series of short stories
written by Jun Eishima, leading up to
the events depicted in the actual
game. The first story is called
"Encounter", and it focuses on how
Serah Farron became the first Gran
Pulse l'Cie in Cocoon for a long
time. The second story is called
"Friends", and it focuses on Hope
Estheim's life with his family and
friends before his mother's death.
The third story, "Family", focuses on
Sazh Katzroy and his son, Dajh,
detailing how Sazh came to own the
Chocobo chick and how Dajh fell into
the clutches of Sanctum. edit
Characters Main article: List of
Final Fantasy XIII Characters
According to director and scenario
writer Motomu Toriyama, Final Fantasy
XIII will not have one prominent main
character. In a similar vein to Final
Fantasy VI, the story will focus
equally on the cast, though Lightning
is the protagonist. The main playable
characters are all l'Cie. [edit] Main
Playable Characters Hope, Vanille,
Snow, Lightning, and SazhLightning
(ライトニ
531;グ Raitoningu) — The
protagonist of the game, Lightning is
deemed an adversary of humankind,
having been chosen by the fal'Cie to
bring about the end of the world. She
is an agile fighter, who wields a
sword that can transform into a gun,
called "Blaze Edge". She is described
as a female version of Cloud Strife.
Snow Villiers
(スノウ・
532;ィリアー&
#12473; Sunou Viriāsu) — Leader
of Team Nora and an l'Cie, Snow
Villiers is a sturdy man whose
mannerism is reputed to resemble that
of a cowboy. He is blonde and has a
well-built body. Oerba Dia Vanille
(ヲルバ=ダ
2452;ア・ヴァ
ニラ Woruba Daia Vanira)
— A young and spirited girl, Vanille
is a citizen of Pulse and ostensibly
a subject of great interest to both
the Sanctum and the resistance group
led by Snow Villiers. She carries a
heavy burden she is not initially
aware of herself. She wears a
savannah-style outfit and wields a
kind of foldable fishing rod. Sazh
Katzroy
(サッズ・
459;ッツロイ
Sazzu Kattsuroi) — A middle-aged man
with dark skin and afro hair. He owns
a baby Chocobo that lives in his
hair. He is described as a gentle
person who is easily reduced to
tears. He fights with two pistols
that can be combined into a rifle.
FangHope Estheim
(ホープ・
456;ストハイ&
#12512; Hōpu Esutohaimu) — A
young boy with silvery-blonde hair
who along with his mother belonged to
the group of exiles carried in the
train that Lightning stopped. He
blames Snow for his mother's death.
He wields boomerangs in battle. Oerba
Yun Fang
(ヲルバ=ユ
2531;・ファン
グ Woruba Yun Fangu) - A
wild-looking dark-haired woman with a
large tattoo on one arm and a mark of
the l'Cie on the other. She initially
works for the Sanctum, and uses
spears as her weapon of choice.
[edit] Antagonists Jihl Nabaat Yaag
Rosch Jihl Nabaat
(ジル・ナ
496;ート Jiru
Nabāto) — An intelligent but
cruel woman with glasses and blonde
hair reaching all the way down to her
knees, who is a lieutenant colonel of
the Sanctum. Yaag Rosch
(ヤーグロ
483;シュ Yāgu
Rosshu) — A blue-haired man who is
also a lieutenant colonel of the
Sanctum and Lightning's former
superior during her military service.
He desires peace for all citizens in
Cocoon, and as such, sees Lightning
and her allies as threats. Cid Reinz
- The Cid of the game, he was
unveiled in the November 2009 trailer
on the Japanese website. He is an
officer in the Sanctum, and is shown
speaking to Snow while he is in
captivity. He appears to be much
younger than most previous Cids.
[edit] Supporting Characters Team
NoraGadot (ガドー
Gadō) — A member of Team Nora
and Snow's childhood friend. He is a
dark-skinned man with orange hair and
teal clothes. His design is based on
NBA and hip hop fashion. In the
playable demo, he uses a machine gun
in battle. Lebreau
(レプロ Reburo) — A
woman who has black hair tied in a
ponytail and a butterfly tattoo on
her shoulder. She is also a member of
Team Nora. Her outfit is based on
volleyball players, wearing short
shorts and a tanktop like shirt with
puffy sleeves. She uses a rifle in
battle in the playable demo. Maqui
(マーキー
Mākī) — A young blond man
with goggles. He wears black and pink
clothes and a pair of goggles, in the
style of snowboarders. Like the two
characters above, the youngster is a
member of Team Nora. Serah Farron
(セラ・フ
449;ロン Sera Faron) - A
teenage girl who wears a red skirt, a
white top and her strawberry blonde
hair tied in a ponytail. She is
Lightning's sister and Snow's
fiancée, but something happened to
her that caused a rift between the
two. Her destiny is one of the main
plot points in the game. Dajh Katzroy
- Sazh's sweet six-year old son, who
sports a similar afro to his
father's. He became a l'Cie by
accident and was crystallized. Yuge -
A member of Team Nora. Hope's Mother
- She and Hope were exiles involved
in the Purge. She volunteered to
fight with Snow and Team Nora, but
lost her life in the process. Hope's
Father - Unveiled at the TGS 2009
Trailer in September 2009, Hope's
father is a brown-haired bespectacled
man who works for the Sanctum.
Despite his position, he chose to
hide his l'Cie son from the
officials. Brown Haired Man - An
officer of Sanctum shown in the
November 2009 trailer. Old Priest - A
high-ranking priest shown in the
November 2009 trailer. Spoilers end
here. edit Music The soundtrack's
limited edition.Masashi Hamauzu will
be composing the music for Final
Fantasy XIII. The game's main theme
is called "Kimi ga Iru Kara"
(translated to "Because You're
Here"), and it is performed by the
J-pop artist Sayuri Sugawara. It was
originally assumed that the main
theme would be composed by Nobuo
Uematsu; however, four years after
the first announcement of the game,
this Uematsu theme still hasn't
surfaced in any of the trailers and
official sites. This has led to
rumors stating that Uematsu's
involvement in the project may have
been scrapped in favor of a 100%
Hamauzu soundtrack, especially seeing
how Uematsu is not mentioned anywhere
on the official site. Meanwhile
Uematsu has announced that he would
be composing the entirety of the
Final Fantasy XIV soundtrack. In
September 2009 it was announced that
Uematsu opted out of composing for
Final Fantasy XIII to focus on Final
Fantasy XIV. The game has another
theme song, although unreleased,
titled "Eternal Love." The Japanese
soundtrack will be released on
January 27, 2010 with two versions
available for purchase. The standard
version will contain 4 discs while
the limited edition will contain a
bonus "drama CD" written by scenario
writer Motomu Toriyama which will
include the talents of the game's
voice actors. In the Western versions
of the game, the winner of the
British television talent show The X
Factor Leona Lewis will sing the
English theme song, titled "My
Hands". edit Voice ActorsCharacter
Seiyū English Lightning Maaya
Sakamoto TBA Snow Villiers Daisuke
Ono TBA Sazh Katzroy Masashi Ebara
TBA Oerba Dia Vanille Yukari Fukui
TBA Hope Estheim Yūki Kaji TBA
Oerba Yun Fang Mabuki Andou TBA Jihl
Nabaat TBA TBA Yaag Rosch TBA TBA
Serah Farron Minako Kotobuki TBA
Gadot TBA TBA Lebreau Wakana Yamazaki
TBA Maqui TBA TBA Dajh Katzroy TBA
TBA Yuge TBA TBA edit Development
Early gameplay footage with a
different appearance of the battle
menu.The game was first revealed at
E3 2006. Since then, the battle
system of the game has changed
several times. In the first trailers,
the camera angles and shifts were
more dynamic and Lightning had a
gravity-controling ability that
influenced the gameplay, lending to a
somewhat more action-based and
cinematic presentation than the
final, more classic battle system. In
the playable demo, the battle
transitions were nearly seamless as
the exploration and battle fields
were very similar in appearance,
unlike in the more recent videos
where the differences between the two
fields are much more apparent. It was
revealed at E3 2008 that Final
Fantasy XIII will be released on the
Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 in
North America and Europe, but will
remain a PlayStation 3 exclusive in
Japan. The game will hit Japanese
shelves December 17th 2009, followed
by a later simultaneous release in
North America and Europe on both
platforms. A demo version of Final
Fantasy XIII was released with Final
Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete
in Japan on April 16 exclusively for
PlayStation 3. Covering a part from
the early stages of the game, the
demo aimed to familiarize players
with the battle system, while
featuring Cocoon and the l'Cies. Only
Lightning and Snow were playable,
with Sazh, Lebreau and Gadot
supporting them during battles. The
demo was not released outside of
Japan. A second demo was featured in
the Final Fantasy XIII Premiere Party
and Tokyo Game Show in September
2009, and it showcased the summons,
as well as the Paradigm Shift system.
Again, only Lightning and Snow could
be controlled in battle, while Sazh,
Vanille, and Hope were supporting
party members. Similar to Final
Fantasy X, XI, and XII, Final Fantasy
XIII will have only English and
Japanese sound dubs. Only subtitles
will be localized to local languages.
edit StaffThe staff behind Final
Fantasy XIII are as follows: Game
Director & Scenario Writer: Motomu
Toriyama Character designer: Tetsuya
Nomura Subcharacter designer: Nao
Ikeda Art director: Isamu Kamikokuryo
Summon monster designs: Chikako
Nakano Main programmer: Kazumi
Kobayashi Movie director: Eiji Fujii
Music Composer: Masashi Hamauzu Game
Producer: Yoshinori Kitase Image
Illustrator and Title Logo Designer:
Yoshitaka Amano Battle Designer:
Toshiro Tsuchida Weapon & Equipment
Designer: Tetsu Tsukamoto edit Trivia
The game was originally planned for
the PlayStation 2, but was later
moved to the PlayStation 3 after the
development team discovered the power
of the platform. The Xbox 360 version
is aimed to be shipped on 3 DVDs. A
PS3 bundle including a copy of Final
Fantasy XIII is to be released in
Japan. It is unknown if this bundle
will be released outside of Japan. A
brand of soft drink named "Final
Fantasy XIII Elixir" will be released
with the game. It reportedly has
three times the amount of caffeine as
a normal soft drink. Final Fantasy
XIII marks the third time Square Enix
has used a non-Asian singer (Leona
Lewis) to sing on a Final Fantasy
game's soundtrack, after Final
Fantasy X-2 and Dissidia Final
Fantasy