FF XIII update #2

To celebrate Famitsu Magazine's 1001st issue have had the chance to interview Final Fantasy XIII character designer and Final Fantasy Versus XIII director Tetsuya Nomura, as well as have him draw their cover.

Here you can see Characters from Final Fantasy including FFXIII and Versus XIII, as well as a..fox(?) with a Playstation-style Keyblade.

In the interview, he touches on all of the Fabula Nova Crystallis titles, but of course the new information is scarce.

He mentions that he is getting bored of the character names to do with weather and wishes to end this trend, and blames the names being based on weather this time on the rest of the team. He also re-explains Lightning's personality as "serious and unforgiving" and that when she meets new people she isn't all happy smiles, but cold and harsh. She is evidently a very strong character, and this kind of personality isn't surprising considering she is the leader of the rebel group. On the subject on character design, he also mentions that there have, as most design processes go, been multiple designs for Lightning which were rather different to what we have been shown, including an Asian version.

He also talks a bit about the Final Fantasy Versus XIII character design and how he was hesitant to introduce a character like his to the series. He also makes the point of stating He is not the least bit a silent, depressed little boy. [Please read through the full translation for a better perspective on this section of the interview] He also confirms that the Final Fantasy Versus XIII main character's name is also to do with weather and will be announced the next time they release more Final Fantasy Versus XIII info. As well as this, he makes the interesting comment that He does not act like Cloud or Squall as many people have already assumed. Instead, when you hear him speak your impression of him will change and he thinks that a lot of people might dislike this new view of his character. He also notes that The Prince's clothes are likely to be changed which he has mentioned before about 6 months ago, so next time we see him these changes maybe be put in place.

The only real mention of Final Fantasy Agito XIII is that the characters don't have proper names yet and refer to them by their appearance, much like we are.

Thanks to BlankChocobo for the translation. Below is Blanks full translation of the interview.

Lightning's muscles and such make an impression, don't they? She is muscular, but attractive.

Nomura: In drawing Lightning, the most essential thing was that she is a "cool character." You can't have a cool character without sex appeal.

What kind of "cool" is she?

Nomura: Serious, and unforgiving, yeah, she is a relentless character, isn't she? Maybe she is harsh on herself too, but she is not the type to coddle people. When she meets other people, she's not the kind who changes according to them, but instead you can see that she is a kind of individualistic person who gives off the image of someone who unswervingly follows the guidelines within herself.

Was that harshness more than was intended in the design?

Nomura: I was asked to make her strong and beautiful, but when I read the scenario, I thought "Is that all?" They were saying that she is a soldier, and her personality was certainly of one. She is not a "whiner." Actually, before we decided on the type we have for her now, there were a variety of different Lightnings. There were some by other staff members, too, and in the beginning, she didn't have the same image as she does now.

Like what, for example?

Nomura: She was Asian. The final Lightning is considerably more chiseled. Her eyes are more deeply set in than a typical heroine. Also, her cheekbones are more prominent than other female characters. In these ways, Lightning's design changed considerably. Other things are hidden, so you can't tell, but her legs are lean and her abdominal muscles are defined. Toriyama was particular about her having an athlete's body. However, if the heroine was too "macho," it would be difficult for players to associate emotionally with her, and so, while serving the director's intentions for her, I tried to make her a bit sweet. That intent appears in things like her hairstyle and hair color.

…(stuff about Aya from Parasite Eve goes here)…

Then, about the yet unnamed protagonist of Versus XIII, his outfit is temporary, isn’t it?

Nomura: We intend to completely redo his design. The concept for him is that his hairstyle will give a different impression when viewed from the front than from the back. From the front, his hair is calm and tame, but from the back, it is quite intense and violent-looking. Because his design is temporary, we’re having him face the back as much as possible, like on the cover. (Haha)

I see. There are a lot of things that are unclear, aren’t there?

Nomura: The Versus protagonist is not a character with a Squall-like or Cloud-like personality like everyone is thinking now. He is a type that has not been seen in the generations of the series yet. For a long time now, I have wanted to try making a character like him, but I hesitated because he is a type of character that might fall close to “out of bounds.”

source: www.finalfantasy-xiii.net