Final Fantasy XIII-2 will be darker

[jkipp82]

For a long time, Final Fantasy games didn't get any sequels. Each release remained stand-alone, their stories encapsulated entirely by the cartridge or disc they came on.



In 2003, Square Enix broke off from this tradition and released Final Fantasy X-2, a direct sequel to Final Fantasy X. Next year they'll be doing it again with Final Fantasy XIII-2.



ffxiii-2-1



That's pretty much were the similarity ends, though. While X-2 eschewed the more somber atmosphere of X and instead went for a more poppish vibe, XIII-2 will reportedly do the opposite. Producer Yoshinori Kitase and director Motomu Toriyama made it clear in a feature on Dengeki Magazine that the story in XIII-2 will be a tad darker compared to the original.



This darker story will continue the events that transpired at the end of Final Fantasy XIII and complete the original's plot. It will have its own twists and turns and will not be so straightforward.

Central to Final Fantasy XIII-2's story will be the goddess Etro. While we don't quite know what her role will be, it will no doubt be tied to the main characters' quest to find a gate to an invisible world called Bunibelle.



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Speaking of characters, Lighting and her friends from XIII will be returning of course, although some of them will undergo "major and unexpected changes". The XIII-2 team reportedly took in criticism from gamers regarding characters, the story, and the interface, so maybe some of those changes won't be so unexpected after all.



Square Enix have also paid special attention to the game's battle system, which Kitase and Toriyama say has evolved. They are also considering the inclusion of the Easy mode added to Final Fantasy XIII Ultimate Hits International.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 is set for release in Japan sometime next year. A western release has been penciled in for next winter. To further whet your appetites for this sequel, here's the teaser trailer released a few days back.

[Paprika]

Cheers for that info Jkipp, I am now curious as to who is Etro, was she another Gran Pulse Fal'Cie like Titan (I hope he will be making a return) or is she something completely different? I don't like this invisible world thing it feels out of context for XIII in my opinion but it might play out well just gotta wait.
Gonna be interesting how this is going to be darker XIII was itself quite dark such as Sazh's attempted Suicide, the grim despair everyone felt though out the first half of the game, so it will be interesting as to how they make it more darker.

[jkipp82]

i think if you take hope (not the character) out of the equation then the first game would have been totally dark.

[CloudStrife7x]

Nice info, cant wait for this game

[OtakuGeneral]

i got curious when i first heard about the alternate endings and did a wiki on it.. all i can say is dark endings.. pity

[Noctis Caelum]

super old thread lmao

[OtakuGeneral]

ahah, sorry.. just scrolled down and found the "similar threads" link and just clicked on the one that interested me the most without looking at the date

[rana]

FF13-2's seriously a great game. It bugs me that the old characters go away for a while though :/