Lightning Returns community Q&A video
Posted by Ben Bateman on 14/02/2013
A few weeks ago we joined a select group of journalists from print magazines, gaming sites, and a few fan sites, for the world's first look at Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII.
Armed with a camera and notepad, we stole some time with the game's producer Yoshinori Kitase and director Motomu Toriyama. We grilled them with some of the top burning questions from you, the community... and this is what they said!
If you can't see the subtitles, just click the subtitle button in the bottom right of the YouTube player.
Latest Comments
Like this message to send it to the top!. A message from a long-time fan of the series and business student. I’ve enjoyed playing many Final Fantasy and Square Enix Games over the years. Chrono Trigger/Cross, FF9,X, 8 (except for disc 4), the list is longer but; the one I enjoyed most notably was Final Fantasy 7. If there were any game worth remaking, other than FF Tactics (maybe Chrono series), it is Final Fantasy 7. One high ranking member of your organization mentioned that remaking FF7 would ruin the company or something like that, and it should not be done until the original was surpassed. If that logic were to be applied logically, no remake of any other game should have been made until a game that surpassed FF7’s quality of experience had been made. With the exception of the PS one remakes of the earlier FF titles, naturally. To look at it from a business standpoint, you have known for a long time that great demand for one specific product exists, a FF7 remake. With PS4 coming out soon and lackluster sales of these following games: Final Fantasy IV: The After Years, Final Fantasy X-2, Final Fantasy XIII-2, Final Fantasy Versus XIII, Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII (just guessing). A business consulting firm might advise that particular company to capitalize on its greatest asset to recoup some losses. To address the issue of needing to create a title that surpasses Final Fantasy 7 in quality of experience and craft; perhaps through giving FF7 the remake that lives up to expectations, the company will grow its ability to create a game that surpasses it on a modern console. Plus it’s a guaranteed success, millions would be pre-ordered. People who haven’t played video games since FF7 would buy it. Consider the following to explain how this remake would help create the game that would surpass FF7. By analyzing the underlying principles that made FF7 stand out against other FF’s, the company can make a game that isn’t a clone of FF7 nor follows it in a formulaic manner. In a way, it would bring the company back closer to the fundamentals of making a truly great gaming experience, epic in scale and story. A group of strong willed characters, not all existentially whiny ones. Epic missions, games such as motorcycle mini game/ snowboard to break up the pace a bit. Gold saucer, a place to chill exploitable chocobo races for rare loot. ******* villain you want to crush, more reasons to crush him. Backstory for the characters, plot twists that add to the drama and saving the world from destruction. The rest I’m sure you should be able to figure out. I’ll be posting this pretty much everywhere, I want the message to spread.Posted by jondoekno on 19/05/2013 16:29- Like this message to send it to the top!. A message from a long-time fan of the series and business student. I’ve enjoyed playing many Final Fantasy and Square Enix Games over the years. Chrono Trigger/Cross, FF9,X, 8 (except for disc 4), the list is longer but; the one I enjoyed most notably was Final Fantasy 7. If there were any game worth remaking, other than FF Tactics (maybe Chrono series), it is Final Fantasy 7. One high ranking member of your organization mentioned that remaking FF7 would ruin the company or something like that, and it should not be done until the original was surpassed. If that logic were to be applied logically, no remake of any other game should have been made until a game that surpassed FF7’s quality of experience had been made. With the exception of the PS one remakes of the earlier FF titles, naturally. To look at it from a business standpoint, you have known for a long time that great demand for one specific product exists, a FF7 remake. With PS4 coming out soon and lackluster sales of these following games: Final Fantasy IV: The After Years, Final Fantasy X-2, Final Fantasy XIII-2, Final Fantasy Versus XIII, Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII (just guessing). A business consulting firm might advise that particular company to capitalize on its greatest asset to recoup some losses. To address the issue of needing to create a title that surpasses Final Fantasy 7 in quality of experience and craft; perhaps through giving FF7 the remake that lives up to expectations, the company will grow its ability to create a game that surpasses it on a modern console. Plus it’s a guaranteed success, millions would be pre-ordered. People who haven’t played video games since FF7 would buy it. Consider the following to explain how this remake would help create the game that would surpass FF7. By analyzing the underlying principles that made FF7 stand out against other FF’s, the company can make a game that isn’t a clone of FF7 nor follows it in a formulaic manner. In a way, it would bring the company back closer to the fundamentals of making a truly great gaming experience, epic in scale and story. A group of strong willed characters, not all existentially whiny ones. Epic missions, games such as motorcycle mini game/ snowboard to break up the pace a bit. Gold saucer, a place to chill exploitable chocobo races for rare loot. ******* villain you want to crush, more reasons to crush him. Backstory for the characters, plot twists that add to the drama and saving the world from destruction. The rest I’m sure you should be able to figure out. I’ll be posting this pretty much everywhere, I want the message to spread.Posted by jondoekno on 19/05/2013 16:27
Concerning a Steam release: According to this rumor, yes. http://gs.inside-games.jp/news/394/39479.html Also, the user David managed to find out the following: "I just did some quick searching, and FFVII and FFVIII have game hubs on Steam. You just cannot access them. Also the last update on FFVII's CDR page was 2013-05-15 09:13:50 " MERCHANDISE -TFF Keychains (Zack, Cloud) https://twitter.com/hidemi_mad_dog/status/335557376784625664/photo/1 LUMINOUS ENGINE -3D Dot Game Heroes Developer Provided Tech For Square Enix’s Luminous Engine http://www.siliconera.com/2013/05/17/3d-dot-game-heroes-developer-provided-tech-for-square-enixs-luminous-engine/Posted by Grimoire on 19/05/2013 06:41
I hope FFVIII PC makes it here and on an accessible platform such as Steam (I'm outside of Europe's G5).Posted by HYNE on 18/05/2013 11:47- FINAL FANTASY VIII -Final Fantasy VIII Is Coming To PC With High Resolution Graphics http://www.siliconera.com/2013/05/17/final-fantasy-viii-is-coming-to-pc-with-high-resolution-graphics/ FINAL FANTASY XIV -Final Fantasy XIV Adds Even More Character Customization Features http://www.siliconera.com/2013/05/17/final-fantasy-xiv-adds-even-more-character-customization-features/Posted by Grimoire on 17/05/2013 18:38
- Wow, I can't wait to play this on Vita! This looks incrediblePosted by SBernard4 on 17/05/2013 15:53
- FINAL FANTASY VII -Japanese Introduction Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ao1S-fFVzG4&feature=youtube_gdata KINGDOM HEARTS -KINGDOM HEARTS HD 1.5 ReMIX - Community Video "Erste Einblicke" http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=2ddv3GxFUH0 BRAVELY DEFAULT -Bravely Default Producers And Director Look Back At Their Achievement http://www.siliconera.com/2013/05/16/bravely-default-producers-and-director-look-back-at-their-achievement/ MUSIC -Live Remix Pictures http://blog.jp.square-enix.com/music/cm_blog/2013/05/cd_7.html MERCHANDISE -"KINGDOM HEARTS PEN CASE ACCESSORY CASE!! Images added! Stay tuned for more updates." https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.160967024079654.1073741837.100004990716473&type=1&l=ef3b9bd54aPosted by Grimoire on 17/05/2013 08:21
- Any news on Chaos Rings for Windows Phone 8? Contemplating getting a Windows Phone 8 device but if Chaos Rings is only on Windows 7 then i guess i will have to get a Windows Phone 7 phone until i complete this game :PPosted by Zavistic on 16/05/2013 23:53
Comments
Did I mention Noctis?
/nomurabrainsplode
Good question...but what about Noel...for me it's too much, if they all will be together ;P
who knows, but there probably going to be alot of multiple endings, one i'm hoping that the vision/dream Sarah saw of them all together at new bodham.
I'm not good with saying it right but you should get what i meant by it. Anyway hope to see good ending with everyone back together again and lighting sis back alive. :)
A full-blown console FF XII-2 would've be great although Revenant Wings was really quite good.
Anyway, this game, despite not looking like a FF title, looks really impressive. I can't wait to get my hands on a copy.
@ Gilgamesh29 - there is technically a FFXII-2, although it was just called FFXII: Revenant Wings and was released on the DS instead of on PS2/3
I’m very happy that this game appeals to you (and I’m sure many more) and I’m not trying to dampen any enthusiasm.
My issue is that it shouldn’t be your job to convince people like me that Lightning Returns is going to be good. A good product will always sell itself (and I hope that something will ‘click’ for me about Lightning Returns).
I really enjoyed both XIII and XIII-2 (despite a few flaws) and I am also really excited about both FF XIV Realm Reborn and (hopefully) Versus XIII but I’m struggling with Lightning Returns.
The FF series has lost a large level of popularity in recent years - there was a time where an FF title would have been amongst the biggest selling games of the year, FF XII-2 was #44 in the U.K. in 2012. This has got to be a concern for Square Enix and the series as a whole.
What concerns me is that there are a number of people who won’t play anything with ‘Final’ or ‘Fantasy’ in the title and I’m worried that Square and risking changing too much to appeal to an audience who will likely ignore the game anyway.
I have no issue with the experimentation that main FF games experience. Whilst I haven’t appreciated all the changes in the series over the years on a personal level – it does help keep the series fresh.
I sincerely hope that Lightning Returns is both a critical and commercial success. I feel however that I'm yet to be convinced by the large-scale changes made to this title. But I do hope to be! :)
You can start packing and not buy another FF game because that is long gone, this is a newer generation FF game, get with the time, im tired my self to try convince ppl to play RPG.
What makes an FF game for me is the characters, A.T.B. system (with at least 3 characters) and story-driven plot. I've played (and enjoyed) XIII and XIII-2 but so much about this game with just one character and a real-time action based battle system are really putting me off.
The series has never appeared further away from its PlayStation (1) hey-day.
Every time there's a new video/article about Lightning Returns, I hope to see something that allays my worries that in trying to appeal to a wider audience (that probably switches off when they hear the words final and fantasy) they are pushing long-time fans away.
I really hope I'm wrong.
Oh well, A plus for the effort though.