With less than a week since Final Fantasy XIII‘s stateside release, Yoshinori Kitase and Motomu Toriyama (FF13’s producer and director respectively) have stated that if given the chance, they would very much like to expand on their already growing Fabula Nova Crystallis series, but that it “depends on how well the game sells in the West!”
Speaking with a journalist at a French launch event of the game, the two men closest involved with Final Fantasy XIII talked candidly about a possible continuation on their 3 year project, and what they would aspire to do with such an opportunity. Story is what the sequel would focus on, as the framework for the world they’ve created is already in place:
In the past three years we worked both on the world and on the various systems. Creating these systems isn’t very glamourous and can frankly be a bit boring. If we could do a XIII-2, we could direct all our attention to the story and refine what we have already built.
Kitase also commented on the comparison critics have been making between FF13 and free roaming RPG’s, like Dragon Age: Origins:
Yes, Western RPGs are more about freedom. But Final Fantasy is a different sort of game. It is much more akin to watching a movie, where you appreciate the world and are immersed deeply in the story. You get to experience dramatic moments and big events. In that sense, the concept of FFXIII is much more like a first person shooter such as Call of Duty.
The pair were also asked about the possibility of FFXV, and said they didn’t know if there was going to be one. Much like FFXIII-2, Final Fantasy XV “depends a lot on the success of XIII.” The men concluded by talking about the Final Fantasy series as a whole, particularly the soul and spirit that seems to invisibly glue each game together under the “Final Fantasy” name, and how they hoped Final Fantasy XIII helped further the precedent for future FF titles to come:
Also, it is difficult to pinpoint elements that are typical Final Fantasy. They are mostly invisible: part of the DNA of the game, that everyone recognizes as typical Final Fantasy. But if there is a XV, I hope the way we wrote our characters carries over. We strived to create believable people of flesh and blood. They are not robots. And they are not super heroes. I hope this humanity is something we will see again.
Hit the source to check out the full interview over at WriteAboutGames.
But in the meantime, do you think main Final Fantasy games should stay as stand alone titles, or follow FFX’s lead and dive back in for a second take?
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