Lightning Returns' bizarre details explained by Square Enix

In an interview leaked today from the pages of Japanese gaming magazine, Famitsu, some new details were revealed regarding Square Enix's upcoming title, Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII.

According to the interview, the game will feature a real-time mechanic similar to the one employed in The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. The entire game takes place over the course of thirteen days which progress at a rate of about two hours real-world-time. As such, it's meant to be played multiple times, experimenting with what can happen if you make different choices.

The tidbits also show that the game is only about 30% of the way toward completion, and that the battle system edges fairly close to being an action game, using a form of Active Time Battle.

There's many more details over at Andriasang where the story originally broke.

Source : gamesradar[dot]com

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII Encourages Multiple Playthroughs

New details have surfaced about the design mantras behind Square Enix's recently announced Final Fantasy XIII: Lightning Returns.

An interview in the latest issue of Famitsu, translated by Andriasang, reveals that the game will come with just one ending and that it'll be a happy one.

Despite this, the game is apparently being designed to encourage players to go through and complete it multiple times, and the length of the game will reflect this (i.e. it's not going to take hundreds or even, apparently, tens of hours to complete).

Depending on your actions, the remaining life of the world can also increase and decrease, meaning the world could end before the previously mentioned 13 days. It also appears that each of these in-game days will last between one and two real-world hours.

So it looks like Lightning's adventure is going to be a very different experience to the ones that have come before. Also in the interview it's mentioned that Hope will make an appearance, guiding Lightning by wireless com, and that this entry in the Final Fantasy XIII series will be "World Driven", asking players to consider how they interact with the changing world.

There's no reference to a potential release window, but the game is apparently about 30% complete. Seeing as we heard at the start of August that the game had only recently entered production, it seems the game is making good progress, regardless.

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII will be the final game to feature Lightning and is due out on PS3 and Xbox 360.

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Editorial Assistant and long-time Final Fantasy lover. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.

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Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII Announced

Square Enix has announced Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. Set to arrive in 2013, Lightning Returns will incorporate “a brand-new story, world, characters and an enhanced gameplay system,” according to Square Enix. The game will feature Lightning as a solo playable character and allow her to freely roam a new world.

Other details regarding Lightning Returns are limited. We do know that the main story takes place hundreds of years after Final Fantasy XIII-2, set in a world called Novus Partus -- which is composed of four islands connected by monorail. The development team told IGN that three of the guiding pillars for the art direction in Lightning Returns are "gothic, mechanical and fantasy."

The most startling change to Lightning Returns comes in the form of the doomsday countdown. According to Square-Enix, the world will end after 13 days, and a massive clock will count down constantly in the corner of the screen to indicate this looming deadline. Any action players take, even taking the monorail from place to place, will spend time and hasten the end of days.

With Lightning as the only playable character, players will have unparalleled control over customizing her looks and combat style. The battle system itself, a greatly modified version of the previous two, will feature real-time elements including direct control of Lightning's movement and her attacks, as well as time-based moves that drain the doomsday counter. Lightning Returns will also include a real-time block system, designed to make battles much more active and time-based. Even dying mid-battle will activate a prompt to give players the choice to rewind their mistakes at the expense of the timer.

Lightning Returns was announced at today’s Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary Event, which Square Enix has been teasing since last month. In early July, Final Fantasy XIII and XIII-2 director Motomu Toriyama hinted at the project, which entered production at the beginning of August, followed shortly by a teaser site.

Square Enix confirmed that Lightning Returns will be the final chapter of Lightning’s saga, which began in Final Fantasy XIII back in 2010. Lightning’s sister Serah was the focus of Final Fantasy XIII-2, which hit stores earlier this year and received downloadable content that continued Lightning’s story.

No other details have been announced, but be sure to check out Square Enix’s official Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII site for more updates as they’re revealed.

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. He spent 100 hours playing Final Fantasy XIII-2. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following him on Twitter or IGN.

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