"Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII" is arguably the most anticipated game for Square Enix fans, only second to "Kingdom Hearts 3."
However, the fans of the "Final Fantasy" series were a little disappointed with the first two parts of the trilogy, as both the story line and gameplay left them unsatisfied. The third time around, Square Enix has assured fans they have listen to their complaints and corrected their mistakes in "Lightning Returns."
In an interview with IGN, producer Yoshinori Kitase and game design director Yuji Abe talked about how gameplay has developed leading up to the "Lightning Returns." (SPOILERS AHEAD! No turning back once you start reading)
The next installment is world driven, with stunning graphics and high quality visuals. From Lightning' garments to the Chocobos, no detail went untouched by game designers.
"When a person goes in to play the game, it might be very different from what another is playing," Abe told IGN. "Even with the same player, going back and playing through the game a second time, you might see elements that you haven't seen in your first playthrough. That's definitely something we put a lot of effort into."
"It all began when Toriyama, the director of the game, came up with the term 'world driven.' If a world is driving this game, then the world must be moving," Abe added. "That must mean there's a concept of time, the passage of time. That evolved into the idea that the player should be able to move freely within the world, because the world is moving and driving the progression of the story."
"Lightning Returns" is world driven, meaning time will continue and new missions will pop up depending on what is going on in the designated area. A point game developers stressed is everything in the game will be affected by time.
"For example, there are people who are there during the day, but at nighttime nobody's in the streets,"Abe said. "Or there are certain areas where you can go at certain times. A shop might be open during business hours, but you can't go in when it's late at night. So the basics are that when you go to an area, there's not going to be a dramatic change like you saw in XIII-2, where you'd have ruins in one era and in another era it would be filled with people.
"There are no big geographical or topographical changes depending on when you go. It's more about the NPCs that exist in the areas. Depending on what time you visit a particular area, those people may or may not be there, or there might be certain quests that you need to complete at a certain time of day. If you miss that window, you might not be able to complete a quest. That changes sometimes."
Another major change is game developers have nixed the party and paradigm system, as you will only play as Lightning in this installment. Time will also apply to your enemies; the more time that passes in the game, the stronger they will become.
You can also expect to see the original "Final Fantasy XIII" cast return in "Lightning Returns" including Vanille, Fang, Snow and Hope, but no alternate endings. According to the game developers, if you complete the missions properly, you will be working towards one ending. (Check out IGN's full "Lightning Returns" feature here.)
"Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII" will be released Feb. 11, 2014.
