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Based off the little media we've seen of it, we already suspected Final Fantasy Versus XIII was going to be one of the PS3's finest-looking titles. This week's Famitsu confirms that suspicion.
Japan's largest magazine scored first gameplay screenshots from the game. Just three shots, actually, one showing Noctis in combat against a giant behemoth in a city environment, and two in the wasteland surrounding the city.
The screens lack menus and prompts, but director Tetsuya Nomura explained to the magazine that these elements were removed in order to keep from revealing too much about the game.
Additionally, the combat scene would normally show party members alongside Noctis. The party members were removed because Square Enix has yet to officially unveil their weapons and clothing.
Still, the screens shown in Famitsu are the real deal, taking place from the third person perspective from which you'll play the game. And boy do they look sweet, with distant views and detailed modeling. Nomura confirmed to the magazine that the screens are running off real hardware, and they'll only get better as the staff implements visual improvements.
So where are these magic screenshots? You're going to have to get your hands on Famitsu to see them for yourself (although we're certain that if you search around on the "internet," you'll find them about). Famitsu.com typically shares Square Enix media later in the week, so it's possible direct feed versions will surface shortly.
Nomura provided a number of additional hints about Versus in a two page interview that accompanied the screenshots.
One of the screenshots shows Noctis looking out over an expansive wasteland, with a highway immediately below the cliff on which he's standing, and mountains visible in the distance. You'll be able to run to pretty much every location you can see in the screen, said Nomura, with exception to the mountains.
You won't have to just run it, though. The game also includes vehicular transport. You have access to a car, which you're free to ride whenever you want.
The scene showing the battle looks like it's set in Tokyo. The street has all the markings one would expect of a modern city, including crosswalk and bike lane paint. Nomura revealed that the particular area depicted in the screenshot was actually modeled off the areas surrounding Square Enix's headquarters, which is located in Tokyo's bustling Shinjuku area.
Nomura wouldn't detail the game's battle system, only saying that the battles will be mostly seamless as far as loading and screen transitions go. This applies to the game's fields. There will be some loading when moving between large areas, but one of the staff's goals appears to be to make the experience as seamless as possible.
You won't be facing off in those battles exclusive in the city. You'll also find monsters roaming the fields as well. And it looks like there will be a variety of these. Some will roam about slowly, while others will pop up quickly.
Some have taken this to be a hint that the game will have different types of encounters. We're going to wait for Nomura to make further comment. After all, we still don't know the core mechanics of Versus. Will it even have RPG-like encounters?
Unfortunately, further comment on the game may be hard to come by for the time being. Versus was absent from E3, and Nomura said to Famitsu that the start of true updates for the game is still a ways off. Square Enix's focus currently appears to be on Kingdom Hearts Re: Coded and The 3rd Birthday.
Nomura did hint at a big upcoming announcement for Versus, though, so it looks like we will be hearing about the game every now and then. This will hopefully lead to a large showing at this year's Tokyo Game Show in September.
source
Japan's largest magazine scored first gameplay screenshots from the game. Just three shots, actually, one showing Noctis in combat against a giant behemoth in a city environment, and two in the wasteland surrounding the city.
The screens lack menus and prompts, but director Tetsuya Nomura explained to the magazine that these elements were removed in order to keep from revealing too much about the game.
Additionally, the combat scene would normally show party members alongside Noctis. The party members were removed because Square Enix has yet to officially unveil their weapons and clothing.
Still, the screens shown in Famitsu are the real deal, taking place from the third person perspective from which you'll play the game. And boy do they look sweet, with distant views and detailed modeling. Nomura confirmed to the magazine that the screens are running off real hardware, and they'll only get better as the staff implements visual improvements.
So where are these magic screenshots? You're going to have to get your hands on Famitsu to see them for yourself (although we're certain that if you search around on the "internet," you'll find them about). Famitsu.com typically shares Square Enix media later in the week, so it's possible direct feed versions will surface shortly.
Nomura provided a number of additional hints about Versus in a two page interview that accompanied the screenshots.
One of the screenshots shows Noctis looking out over an expansive wasteland, with a highway immediately below the cliff on which he's standing, and mountains visible in the distance. You'll be able to run to pretty much every location you can see in the screen, said Nomura, with exception to the mountains.
You won't have to just run it, though. The game also includes vehicular transport. You have access to a car, which you're free to ride whenever you want.
The scene showing the battle looks like it's set in Tokyo. The street has all the markings one would expect of a modern city, including crosswalk and bike lane paint. Nomura revealed that the particular area depicted in the screenshot was actually modeled off the areas surrounding Square Enix's headquarters, which is located in Tokyo's bustling Shinjuku area.
Nomura wouldn't detail the game's battle system, only saying that the battles will be mostly seamless as far as loading and screen transitions go. This applies to the game's fields. There will be some loading when moving between large areas, but one of the staff's goals appears to be to make the experience as seamless as possible.
You won't be facing off in those battles exclusive in the city. You'll also find monsters roaming the fields as well. And it looks like there will be a variety of these. Some will roam about slowly, while others will pop up quickly.
Some have taken this to be a hint that the game will have different types of encounters. We're going to wait for Nomura to make further comment. After all, we still don't know the core mechanics of Versus. Will it even have RPG-like encounters?
Unfortunately, further comment on the game may be hard to come by for the time being. Versus was absent from E3, and Nomura said to Famitsu that the start of true updates for the game is still a ways off. Square Enix's focus currently appears to be on Kingdom Hearts Re: Coded and The 3rd Birthday.
Nomura did hint at a big upcoming announcement for Versus, though, so it looks like we will be hearing about the game every now and then. This will hopefully lead to a large showing at this year's Tokyo Game Show in September.
source
And I like that it isn't going to be linear. Can't wait until TGS. 