Airship Travel Returns in Final Fantasy Versus XIII

Tom Goldman

Crying on the inside.
Aug 17, 2009
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Airship Travel Returns in Final Fantasy Versus XIII



Mountains and oceans are barriers no more for players of Final Fantasy Versus XIII [http://www.amazon.com/Final-Fantasy-Versus-XIII-Playstation-3/dp/B000ZK9QBY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1278964008&sr=1-1], through the return of the classic airship.

Square Enix's Tetsura Nomura is known for his work on many popular videogame properties over the years, including Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts. His current PS3-exclusive project, Final Fantasy Versus XIII, is set within the same universe as the recently released Japanese Twitter account [http://www.amazon.com/Final-Fantasy-XIII-Playstation-3/dp/B000FQ2DTA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1278964045&sr=1-1], Nomura has confirmed that airships will make a confident return in Versus XIII, as their full functionality has been sorely missed in current Final Fantasy games.

When asked how development was progressing on Versus XIII, Nomura's reply translates to: "Not everything is connected together, so the various areas have different levels of progress. However, you can fly across the world map in an airship." A seemingly minor comment, but to fans of the more traditional versions of Final Fantasy it could be very meaningful.

The airship is a gameplay aspect that dates all the way back to the very first Final Fantasy for the NES. Anyone that has played Final Fantasy no doubt has a mental image of that first airship rising from the desert sands, and I'm not going to say it was the first RPG to include the feature, but the airship has been an integral part of almost every Final Fantasy since the beginning. This basically changed with Final Fantasy X [http://www.amazon.com/Final-Fantasy-X-Playstation-2/dp/B00005TNI6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1278964072&sr=1-1], after which navigation on the games' world maps worked differently. More than just a form of quick travel, the airship symbolized freedom and non-linearity, giving players the ability to explore previously inaccessible areas and to find hidden secrets.

Final Fantasy XIII is often attacked as a linear experience, and with only 12 hours into the game my experience has confirmed those attacks, though I hear it gets better later [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/reviews/7296-Review-Final-Fantasy-XIII]. Still, earlier Final Fantasy games gave a feeling of freedom and excitement right from the beginning, rather than locking players into a set path and shoveling them along it. For longtime Final Fantasy fans, the mere existence of an airship in Final Fantasy Versus XIII that can be flown across a world map could mean the return of gameplay aspects some were looking for in Final Fantasy XIII. The keyword here is "could," but the hope is now at least there in some form.

Source: Andriasang [http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/2010/03/18/tetsuya_nomura_twitter_interview]

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AvsJoe

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May 28, 2009
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I'm glad to hear this. Very glad. In fact, I am so glad, I'm going to cue the FFVII airship theme:
 

kurupt87

Fuhuhzucking hellcocks I'm good
Mar 17, 2010
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squid5580 said:
Once you get through the 20 hour tutorial it does get better ;)
Aye, it gets better, still doesn't quite make it to good though.

OT: I am really looking forward to this game, ever since seeing the 2 teaser trailers years ago, and reading up what I could about them, versus was always the one I was more excited for.
 

Brotherofwill

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Jan 25, 2009
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Hell yeah! I love FF airships! I hope this'll be more of an RPG than FF XIII, still haven't heard much (is it traditional turn-based combat?).

Yes!
 

Julianking93

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May 16, 2009
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Goddamn I can't wait till this game comes out.

Much more excited for this than I was for 13.
 

Tom Goldman

Crying on the inside.
Aug 17, 2009
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Tenmar said:
AvsJoe said:
I'm glad to hear this. Very glad. In fact, I am so glad, I'm going to cue the FFVII airship theme
Bah to your FFVII Airship. There is only the two true Airship themes and they come from Final Fantasy VI!


and

I can't disagree with you.
 

Archemetis

Is Probably Awesome.
Aug 13, 2008
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Being 30 hours into XIII myself I have to agree with the others it does get better.
and I agree further with another person's comment that because it's not necessarily like the others in every way doesn't make it a bad game.

Although I will submit that it's exactly like the older titles, if you, like me chose to exclude XII (I've always hated XII, I really just can't like that game)
The encounter (as in battle) system is handled virtually the same as the older games, it's the new presentation that has people disliking it, the linearity is exactly the same and I honestly think that the only people who don't like it are those who got used to the "HEY LOOK HOW MUCH STUFF You HAVE TO DO!" nature of XII, which I never did, literally 15 minutes in and I was turning off my console... I mean consider the title that everyone dry humps Final Fantasy VII Besides the occasional fork in the path and the world map (And of course the entire 3rd disc) the game was incredibly linear, most towns were separated by sections of map that were turned to pathways by mountain regions and ocean granted XIII is much more linear for what feels like a larger amount of time but when looked at with a bit of perspective it's really not so bad.

Back on topic:

Seriously? I don't know if it's really a spoiler or not but where I'm at in the game I've seen about 4 airships and none of them have lasted longer than a cut-scene...

The last one I got into I honestly thought might just end up being the airship I get to keep, but no, even that one was torn to shreds and abandoned once it crashed...

So why exactly does Versus get a playable airship section?
What exactly about versus was so much more special then XIII that it gets honestly the one section a few of us die-hard's have been wanting to get back since they shafted us in X?

Gotta admit it's awesome that they're at least trying to get a next gen airship section set up in a game but why couldn't that game have been actual XIII?
 

AvsJoe

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May 28, 2009
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Tenmar said:
AvsJoe said:
I'm glad to hear this. Very glad. In fact, I am so glad, I'm going to cue the FFVII airship theme
Bah to your FFVII Airship. There is only the two true Airship themes and they come from Final Fantasy VI!
I never did get that far in VI. I still have to beat this game one day though.
 

K84

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Feb 15, 2010
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Sweet, i always loved flying around the maps with an airship.
Made me feel really, really........mobile.
 

Firia

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Sep 17, 2007
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Tenmar said:
AvsJoe said:
I'm glad to hear this. Very glad. In fact, I am so glad, I'm going to cue the FFVII airship theme
Bah to your FFVII Airship. There is only the two true Airship themes and they come from Final Fantasy VI!

and

I gotta say, I really didn't care for the FF7 airship theme. I loooooved me some FF7, but not the airship music. FF6 was a dream boat! ("omg," SETZER!)
 

Firia

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Sep 17, 2007
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AvsJoe said:
Tenmar said:
AvsJoe said:
I'm glad to hear this. Very glad. In fact, I am so glad, I'm going to cue the FFVII airship theme
Bah to your FFVII Airship. There is only the two true Airship themes and they come from Final Fantasy VI!
I never did get that far in VI. I still have to beat this game one day though.
Sadly, same. I got the the final dungeon, and... and I don't know. :(
 

Treblaine

New member
Jul 25, 2008
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Airship = openworld

therefore:
Final Fantasy Versus XIII = Final Fantasy 13 FIXED!!

Also, for great justice:

The greatest game I never finished.
 

Jared

The British Paladin
Jul 14, 2009
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Cant WAIT for the chance to pilot an airship agaiN! Ive missed them as of late ;_;