Square Enix Gives Behind the Scenes of Lightning Returns

[roseofbattle]

Square Enix Gives Behind the Scenes of Lightning Returns

Part one of developer diary Inside the Square shows the team's love for Lightning and their approach to storytelling.

Square Enix is letting fans get a small inside look at the production for Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. In the first video of the series, the developer diary features commentary from Ali Hillis, voice of Lightning, and the Square Enix Visual Works teams. The video reiterates multiple times that the Final Fantasy series has changed over the years across a wide range of consoles, setting each game in a separate setting.

"This continual sense of reinvention is really unique to Final Fantasy," Square Enix director Motomu Toriyama said. "A big part of my job is figuring out how we can do the new things we want to while still delivering on what our fans have come to expect."

Despite the game being the third in the trilogy for Final Fantasy XIII, producer Yoshinori Kitase said the game can be played and understood even by players who have not played the first two. Lightning Returns is "world-driven" and "an easy story to get into."

Besides commentary on the direction of the game, also included are shots of artists working on sceneries, characters, and the amount of detail needed to make the game immersive. People struggling to get by in the game live on different islands, and therefore have different customs. While there isn't much to go on, there are brief shots of Lightning walking through towns, interacting with how people survive in a crumbling world.

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII comes out on Feb. 14, 2014.

Source: YouTube [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNOMrWCchR0]

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[Dr. Crawver]

I kinda started to tune out when they were saying Lightning was a strong character. She really isn't. They had good characters in FFXIII, they were called Sahz and Fang. Why they keep pushing the stereotypical soldier-girl I don't know. Why they pushed her sister baffled me even more, but I have no faith in this game, and I keep feeling they're going down the wrong path each and every time. It's a shame, but I definitely won't be getting this on release. If I hear good things about it, I might get a pre-owned copy down the line. I'm just waiting for an FFXII HD remake. I want to gush all over Gabranth in HD.

 

[Roxas1359]

I'm just waiting for an FFXII HD remake. I want to gush all over Gabranth in HD.

I guarantee the moment I LP XII International they'll suddenly make an HD remake or something. Happens every time to me! >.<

OT: Eh, I wouldn't really call Lightning a "strong" character per say. Granted she's definitely not as bland as how she was in XIII, but she stills seems kinda bland to me. It's her emotionless and constant seriousness I think. I mean I agree with Dr. Crawver, Sazh and Fang in XIII were awesome and nicely rounded characters, which is funny because technically Fang has a lot of the old personality and mannerisms that Lighting used to have when they were first conceiving the characters.

 

[Dr. Crawver]

I'm just waiting for an FFXII HD remake. I want to gush all over Gabranth in HD.

I guarantee the moment I LP XII International they'll suddenly make an HD remake or something. Happens every time to me! >.<

Can you do that please? I really want it to happen, it's perhaps my favorite game, definitely top 5, and I want it remade so it doesn't strain the engine of the console to it's very limits.

 

[JarinArenos]

"A big part of my job is figuring out how we can do the new things we want to while still delivering on what our fans have come to expect."

Run through google's Intent Translator...
"How much jiggle can we add before people realize that I'm just making shit up as we go along?"


Edit: (In case I fail at humor/tone, this is intended as entirely tongue-in-cheek)

 

[Fox12]

All I got out of that was "We're amazing, because we're Square Enix." They really need to stop dicking around, they haven't made a good game in eight years, they're games have been under performing for an entire generation, they've even had to come out and admit that FF's brand has been heavily damaged, and they had to fire their old president for being incompetent. They seem to be improving, but they have no reason to be so full of themselves.

"Lightning is an incredibly popular character"
No, she's not.

"FF13 is so large we needed it to be a trilogy to tell the whole story."
No, you didn't.

Honestly, Nomura is the only one with even an iota of intelligence in that company, this is embarrassing.

 

[Fox12]

All I got out of that was "We're amazing, because we're Square Enix." They really need to stop dicking around, they haven't made a good game in eight years, they're games have been under performing for an entire generation, they've even had to come out and admit that FF's brand has been heavily damaged, and they had to fire their old president for being incompetent. They seem to be improving, but they have no reason to be so full of themselves.

"Lightning is an incredibly popular character"
No, she's not.

"FF13 is so large we needed it to be a trilogy to tell the whole story."
No, you didn't.

Honestly, Nomura is the only one with even an iota of intelligence in that company, this is embarrassing.

Actually, Lightning was rated the most popular FF character in the series' history in a couple polls in Japan around the time FF13-2 was released. While I disagree with the poll, I do like the character, and I do realize a lot of people like her too.

OT: All I wanted was a combat system that wasn't a giant pile of asses strung together. FF13-3 looks like it is finally giving me what I want.

Then again, I said the same thing before FF13-1 was released...

If they can deliver a competent game I'd be happy to play it. FF 14 is getting good reviews, which is a good sign, but other than that I haven't been impressed in a while. I am a little surprised by how popular the character is in Japan, though my problem had more to do with the game she was in then her in particular. Hopefully FF15 and KH3 will be good. I would love to see Square return to its roots. I heard FF15 will have a world map again, so I'm curious to see where this project is going.

 

[KingdomFantasyXIII]

I kinda started to tune out when they were saying Lightning was a strong character. She really isn't. They had good characters in FFXIII, they were called Sahz and Fang. Why they keep pushing the stereotypical soldier-girl I don't know. Why they pushed her sister baffled me even more, but I have no faith in this game, and I keep feeling they're going down the wrong path each and every time. It's a shame, but I definitely won't be getting this on release. If I hear good things about it, I might get a pre-owned copy down the line. I'm just waiting for an FFXII HD remake. I want to gush all over Gabranth in HD.

Oh, if you knew how Japan thought of her, then you would be pretty embarrassed for this statement. Japan loves her just like how they love Sasuke Uchiha. I understand your skepticism as I have it with Sasuke's character, but Japanese fans tend to lean towards the strangest of things to like sometimes. =/

All I got out of that was "We're amazing, because we're Square Enix." They really need to stop dicking around, they haven't made a good game in eight years, they're games have been under performing for an entire generation, they've even had to come out and admit that FF's brand has been heavily damaged, and they had to fire their old president for being incompetent. They seem to be improving, but they have no reason to be so full of themselves.

"Lightning is an incredibly popular character"
No, she's not.

"FF13 is so large we needed it to be a trilogy to tell the whole story."
No, you didn't.

Honestly, Nomura is the only one with even an iota of intelligence in that company, this is embarrassing.

Lightning IS an incredibly popular character, see here
http://www.novacrystallis.com/2013/01/japan-ranks-their-favorite-female-characters-from-the-final-fantasy-series/

Honestly, I do wish they ended the game in FF13, but the datalog did have a huge hell of a lot of lore to it, so I would not be surpised about ths statment.

Prepare to be completely and utterly shocked and Nomura's thought process. =P
http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/06/13/final-fantasy-xv-will-have-multiple-direct-sequels

 

[FogHornG36]

well this is the Japanese equivalent to call of duty.

 

[Fox12]

Prepare to be completely and utterly shocked and Nomura's thought process. =P
http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/06/13/final-fantasy-xv-will-have-multiple-direct-sequels

This hurts my spirit. If they end the main characters story with this and tell a different story with different characters, that's fine, but I would hate to see this become Assasins Creed. Or worse, for them to make a million spin-offs the way they did KH. I don't know, I'm hoping Square hasn't lost its touch, but FF15 is really their last chance to impress me. Besides, if it takes them a decade to make a sequel to anything, then what's the point? They need to stop working on a hundred titles at once, and actually complete their projects. Nomura is still a good game designer, but he's the only one I like over there.

 

[Dragonbums]

All I can remember about the last time they talked about Lightening in the new games was how excited the devs were about giving the character bigger boobs and having certain outfits making them jiggle.

If that is something that constitutes as important for a video game interview then chances are this game may or may not have it's priorities straight.

 

[james.sponge]

There was a time when every piece of news about new FF game made me feel excited now it fills me with sadness. SE please stop investing money into FF13 crap and give us Final Fantasy Tactics 2 or Vagrant Story 2 or Xenogears 2 or even third Chrono game.

Prepare to be completely and utterly shocked and Nomura's thought process. =P
http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/06/13/final-fantasy-xv-will-have-multiple-direct-sequels

This hurts my spirit. If they end the main characters story with this and tell a different story with different characters, that's fine, but I would hate to see this become Assasins Creed. Or worse, for them to make a million spin-offs the way they did KH. I don't know, I'm hoping Square hasn't lost its touch, but FF15 is really their last chance to impress me. Besides, if it takes them a decade to make a sequel to anything, then what's the point? They need to stop working on a hundred titles at once, and actually complete their projects. Nomura is still a good game designer, but he's the only one I like over there.

Actually Nomura is the reason why FF went downhill, I hope they sack him or at least don't let him direct any more games.

 

[Baresark]

It's honestly amazing. I thought from all the original talk about this they were not going to just do the same old stuff with this one. I thought they were doing an action RPG from the third person perspective. But, no. They are doing the same style battle system with a single character and I am honestly having a hard time giving a damn. I mean, I never did beat FFXIII-2. It sits on my game shelf.. untouched. I'm glad I didn't pay full price for it. I just... the main character, Lightning's sister... she was a shit character.

 

[piinyouri]

As long as the game is mechanically fun to play(which it looks on track for so far) I'll buy it.
I don;t want to seem mean here, but I just don;t care about your stories anymore Square.
Make something with actual game play, and I'll play it.

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

All I can remember about the last time they talked about Lightening in the new games was how excited the devs were about giving the character bigger boobs and having certain outfits making them jiggle.

If that is something that constitutes as important for a video game interview then chances are this game may or may not have it's priorities straight.

Final Fantasy hasn't had its priorities straight for awhile. The director, Toriyama, has NEVER been able to set priorities. The dude is just embarrassing on every conceivable level as a writer, director, and designer.

 

[Roxas1359]

Final Fantasy hasn't had its priorities straight for awhile. The director, Toriyama, has NEVER been able to set priorities. The dude is just embarrassing on every conceivable level as a writer, director, and designer.

Really I miss it when Yasumi Matsuno was a director and writer for Square Enix on the Final Fantasy games. He quit about halfway through the development of XII, which is why the "Farewell to A Legend" hunt is dedicated to him. He's the only person who in all of Square's , dating back to when they were just Square and Square Soft, who ever got 2 40/40 scores from Famatsu which is pretty impressive given that this was back before Famatsu gave many games those scores. FF XII was the 6th game to ever receive a 40/40, and Vagrant Story was the 3rd game to receive a 40/40. The first one ever was Ocarina of Time.

Can you do that please? I really want it to happen, it's perhaps my favorite game, definitely top 5, and I want it remade so it doesn't strain the engine of the console to it's very limits.

It probably would just be a port really since Square Enix doesn't really do that much when making the games "HD". Take it from someone who imported Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMix when it launched in Japan. I'm not saying it'd be bad, but don't expect new amazing models or anything really because that would require them to do way more work than Square Enix usually will do. I'd still want it though...but I hate that whenever I import from them they suddenly announce an HD remake out of the blue or that it will be localized. This happened when I was doing Kingdom Hearts Final Mix for an LP and I was translating the cutscenes to English in the editor. >.<

 

[Dragonbums]

All I can remember about the last time they talked about Lightening in the new games was how excited the devs were about giving the character bigger boobs and having certain outfits making them jiggle.

If that is something that constitutes as important for a video game interview then chances are this game may or may not have it's priorities straight.

Final Fantasy hasn't had its priorities straight for awhile. The director, Toriyama, has NEVER been able to set priorities. The dude is just embarrassing on every conceivable level as a writer, director, and designer.

And if the reviews of the last games are anything to go by, your right.

I just feel kind of insulted that a popular, much loved, and highly anticipated strong female lead in the FF games- instead of the directors focusing on making her an even better character, they decide all her importance was going to be in boob size how much they bounce.

 

[KingdomFantasyXIII]

All I can remember about the last time they talked about Lightening in the new games was how excited the devs were about giving the character bigger boobs and having certain outfits making them jiggle.

If that is something that constitutes as important for a video game interview then chances are this game may or may not have it's priorities straight.

All I can remember about the last time they talked about Lightening in the new games was how excited the devs were about giving the character bigger boobs and having certain outfits making them jiggle.

If that is something that constitutes as important for a video game interview then chances are this game may or may not have it's priorities straight.

Final Fantasy hasn't had its priorities straight for awhile. The director, Toriyama, has NEVER been able to set priorities. The dude is just embarrassing on every conceivable level as a writer, director, and designer.

Say what you will, but Toriyama knows how to keep his Japanese fanbase very happy. FF10 and FF13 both were huge successes in the Japan side (FF10 being the fan favorite and FF13 being Japan's newest craze, especially with Lightning). It's just cultural differences and the appeal of the Japanese people that allow him to keep control over as director of the 1st Production Team. As long as Japan is happy, Square Enix and the production team is happy. Unfortunately for you guys, that's how the real world works.

 

[Vyress]

It's honestly amazing. I thought from all the original talk about this they were not going to just do the same old stuff with this one. I thought they were doing an action RPG from the third person perspective. But, no. They are doing the same style battle system with a single character and I am honestly having a hard time giving a damn. I mean, I never did beat FFXIII-2. It sits on my game shelf.. untouched. I'm glad I didn't pay full price for it. I just... the main character, Lightning's sister... she was a shit character.

I played FF13:LR at gamescom. The battle system may look the same but it is really different. You don't have a dedicated role to block for one, you just press the block button on demand. Instead of putting in the actions you would like to do and then press "Go" literally, Lightning in this one has the actions assigned to a button and does them as soon as you press the button. It is much more direct and the role/costume changes feel more natural and are much more fluid than the paradigm changes in the other 2. It's easier to keep track with what's going on in battle

I kinda started to tune out when they were saying Lightning was a strong character. She really isn't. They had good characters in FFXIII, they were called Sahz and Fang.
...
I'm just waiting for an FFXII HD remake. I want to gush all over Gabranth in HD.

I thought every single character in FF13 was interesting, EXCEPT for Fang. I didn't find the relationship between Vanille and Fang interesting at all. All other character interactions (Snow/Hope, Lightning/Snow, Vanille/Sahz, put anything sans Fang here really...) were much more memorable and interesting to me than anything that Fang has done in the game as a whole - her being pretty much a lesbian is about the only thing that really stands out.
She just seemed so random to me - the Bahamut scene tantrum, the thing happening at the end and so on - that she could have been cut out of the game and nothing would be missed. She is pretty much like Xell in FF8 though she feels even less integrated into the group. A character that is strong in battle, but with hardly any personality and almost no contribution when it comes to the story part of the game. The thing in the end actually happens because she is weak in character (just watched it again). But I don't want to spoil anyone here. In League of Legends terms, storywise Fang is being carried by her team through the game.

And I don't know about a FF12 HD remake. SE lately is really listening to customer feedback and I hardly see anyone craving for a FF12 remake. A lot of the FF fanbase hated the gameplay of that one. If they are not making a FF7 remake, why would they make one for 12 apart from the easier HD transition that would speak for 12... that my be the reason actually.