Final Fantasy XIII-2 Fan Meeting Report

by Erren Van Duine on 10 September, 2011

The FINAL FANTASY XIII-2 Fan Meeting took place earlier today, and with it comes a small bit of new information.

Fans were able to sample the latest build of the game, although it seems the demo focused on the exact same Bresha Ruins location from the E3 demo. Several tweaks have been made since then, however, including the addition of possible Normal/Easy modes, and changes to the Battle Results screen.

Speaking in a roundtable discussion, the development staff shared some interesting details with everyone. FINAL FANTASY XIII-2 has been in development for around 1 and 1/2 years. Decisions to go ahead with the sequel were made not long after the North American and European launches of FINAL FANTASY XIII. As for a release date, that information should hopefully be shared at TGS, along with the possibility of a Limited Edition version.

In story news, Motomu Toriyama says that Snow will indeed make an appearance in the game, although he has yet to marry Serah, he jokes. Not to worry, however, as he will debut at TGS. There will also be plenty of Lightning.

Regarding multiple endings, the plot will branch out quite a bit. Lindzei, Pulse, and the Goddess Etro of the Fabula Nova Crystallis mythology are the “axis” of the story.

Noel and Vanille talk of the same inward battle in their words, how are the two related…?

Don’t delete your FINAL FANTASY XIII clear file just yet! For those that played the original, some save data functionality might carry over. Those who have might be receiving something nice at a later date.

Those able to attend got to sample next week’s TGS ROM noted that the difficulty was fairly high. The game’s “Monster Hunter” aspect was shown in full form, now with added chocobos (Attacker) and cait sith (Healer) creatures to your party. The total monster count will be around 150, each with different abilities. For those unfamiliar with Monster Hunter, FINAL FANTASY XIII-2 now has a Blood Damage system that counters the over-effectiveness of having a Healer in the Paradigm by limiting how much you can heal as a battle drags on.

As a thank you for coming, Toriyama and Kitase awarded fans with signed posters featuring XIII-2′s Lightning and Serah keyart. In the meantime, the staff wants fans to look forward to the Tokyo Game Show movie. With it just around the corner, FINAL FANTASY XIII-2 will no doubt be there in a big way.