Final Fantasy: Versus XIII, that elusive dangling carrot on the end of a stick, has almost earned Duke Nukem: Forever status as another title that just can’t seem to be released. Going so far as to assume its inevitable cancellation after being a no-show at this year’s E3, we’re pleased to announce that Tetsuya Nomura, the game’s director, has spoken up not just about the next Kingdom Hearts, but about the future of the title with some fresh new details.
Speaking in this week’s issue of Famitsu, Nomura acknowledged the radio silence from FF:VXIII and also stated he doesn’t know for sure when the opportunity to release more information will present itself. His attitude seemed to express that his hesitation is indicative towards a larger, meaningful information dump. Regardless, he delved into greater detail about the title’s use of manipulable cutscenes and dynamic battles, as well as a phone peripheral to accompany the release.
Nomura explained that during moments of character cutscenes, players will have control of the camera to experience without limitations. The idea, he said, is in an effort to not disturb the gameplay, similar to a style seen in current popular FPS games.
Veterans of the series can recall cut scenes that feature higher polygonal character models from the regular versions of the characters used in battles and events. Looking to finally bridge the gap, Versus XIII will feature ‘unified’ models. Think of it this way: your playable character will now actually look like the one dodging explosions and running from danger in the cutscenes.
When Nomura procured a few screenshots for the interview, including one featuring the events of a real-time battle, one interviewer was in disbelief because of the graphical quality. Apparently great care has been taken with the presentation of the game, with the lighting being a primary focus of attention. The actual screenshots have not hit the public.
With the release of Final Fantasy: Versus XIII, Square-Enix will be releasing a Noctis phone, similar to the the Cloud phone released with Advent Children.
Now, with the game in deep development, voice actors are currently being called in to record parts of their dialogue. Four of the main male characters, Noctis, Ignis, Prompto and Gladiolus have each seen studio time, sometimes together where overlapping dialogue was necessary.
[Via]
