Fang Returns In The Latest Trailer For Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. July 4, 2013 . 9:05am
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII Aiming For Open World Structure. July 19, 2013 . 7:20pm
Introducing The Fourth Continent In Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. July 30, 2013 . 9:00am
Square Enix had a busy weekend with fans and members of the press during their special Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII event in collaboration with Sony Computer Entertainment Japan’s Play Community. One of the main topics discussed during their developer talk segment was about the world-driven game and its four continents, including one that was revealed for the first time.
“Yes, the concept known as world-driven is the base, as the time inside the game’s world is always ticking,” says director Motomu Toriyama. “The flow of the 24 hours will show a change in where the people live, along with the scenery in towns, which will differentiate the player’s experience, along with how Lightning will have access [to different things].”
“Again, the project called ‘FF’ usually has a scale of about 100 to 200 people involved in the development,” Toriyama continues. “This time, since there are four continents (the core of the development), we’ve formed units of 10 to 20 people who are in charge of each continent’s development.”
The above image depicts the four main continents of Nova Chrysalia: Luxerion, Yusnaan, Dead Dunes, and the newly revealed “Wildlands”. According to the director, the concept behind the continents is to have the way each continent can be played be different from the others.
Luxerion is a continent that is controlled by an organization known as “The Order”. There are clocks on every corner of the city, as the citizens are constantly reminded of the impending end of the world, while wondering how they’ll live the remainder of their days.
As seen in our earlier report, the theme behind Luxerion is “Murder,” where Lightning will be solving crimes in the Divine City of Light. Luxerion’s playthrough will consist of detective and tracking parts. While the detective parts will be more calm and quiet, the tracking part contrasts these with a more active play style.
Yusnaan is the gorgeous land of enjoyment, that is full parties and festivities every day and night. Getting Lightning into the palace will be one of the main focuses once you get to the bustling city. There are many types of entertainment to enjoy in Yusnaan, which will vary according to the time, so that will also be a big part of the area, including the many time-limited quests you’ll find there.
Toriyama describes the Dead Dunes as a place that appears to have nothing but sand, when compared to the other continents. While most desert areas in Final Fantasy titles consist of walking around and fighting monsters, this time Square Enix have decided to add explorable ruins, making it a simple yet amusing concept behind the land of sand.
The Wildlands is the fourth continent that focuses on nature and the open world play style. The developers in charge of the new continent, were told, “Give Skyrim a run for its money!” by director Toriyama. The degree of freedom offered in the Wildlands will be much higher, where you’ll also get to ride Chocobos to check out various key points of interest.
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII is slated for release in February 2014 in the U.S. and Europe for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
Sazh And Mog Also Return For Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
What happened to Sazh? In Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII he lives in an a crashed airship he converted into a house. For hundreds of years, Sazh has been tormented since he wasn’t able to save his son, Dajh, who collapsed and has not awakened since. This is a different Sazh than we saw in Final Fantasy XIII who was a cheerful character with an easy going personality. Sazh’s goal is to revive his son, but Dajh cannot awaken because his soul is in another place and Lumina may have something to do with this. In the game, Lightning will run into a baby blue chocobo who has clues on how to save Dajh.
Lightning Heads To Wildlands And Saves A Moogle Village
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII Takes 20-30 Hours To Clear. September 11, 2013 . 2:26am 
The average player will complete Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII in around 20 to 30 hours. If you want to see everything in the game and not skip any events, the game will take roughly 50 hours, says Famitsu magazine.
After you finish Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII you can play through the game again and change the difficulty level. Your garb (costumes with different skills), abilities, and leveling up progress carry over in a second run similar to a New Game+ mode.
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII comes out on November 21 in Japan. Square Enix will release the game in the West on February 11 in North America and February 14 in Europe.
Take A Tour Of Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIIIs Four Continents. September 12, 2013 . 2:59pm 
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII will feature four main continents, each with their own unique themes designed by their respective team of developers. Square Enix uploaded a series of videos that show us exactly how different these cities are from each other.
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The first video of the series shows Hope greeting Lightning at the Ark, where he serves the role of navigator. This is the area youll be returning to every morning at 6 am. The Ark is also Lightnings base, where youll get to prepare for the journey, and also use the transporter device to head back outside.
Unlike the rest of the world, the doomsday countdown doesnt apply in the Ark, so you wont have to worry about the time spent in there.
The Wildlands
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Lightning steps into the Wildlands saying, So this is the last remaining reparation? As the name of the continent implies (along with the wild Chocobo running around,) the area is full of nature. Unlike the other parts of the world, the people of the Wildlands continue living their self-sufficient as theyve been doing for years.
Yusnaan
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According to Hope, the reason Yusnaan, the City of Revelry, has become the gorgeous banquet city it has, is because of the orders issued by Snow, who currently rules the area. In Yusnaan, Lightning will serve the role of a spy, and the game will be all about infiltrating the palace.
According to Hope, it appears that Snow has recently been shutting himself within the palace. At the 1:00 mark, we get a look at the arena, where man goes up against beast. Lately, the fights have escalated and people have lost their lives during the fights. The next scene shows a popular dating spot that is characterized by beautiful fountains and Cactuars. Hope tells Lightning that she might stand out a little too much if shes seen alone.
Finally, the last part shows an area of Yusnaan that is mainly for the rich, where normal people cant easily enter.
Luxerion
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As we all know, Luxerion, the Divine City of Light is the gothic religious center of Nova Chrysalia, and also the largest city of the world. The metropolis is ruled by the Order, an organization devout to their god, Bhunivelze. The citizens of Luxerion are very conscious of the worlds end, and spend their time praying for its salvation. The clocks that can be seen throughout the city are there to remind people of the time they have remaining.
The main theme is mystery-suspense, where Lightning will be doing some detective work to solve a certain series of murders.
The Dead Dunes
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The Dead Dunes is a lifeless desert continent in Nova Chrysalia that will focus on exploring ancient ruins. According to Hope, most of the people who dwell in the Dead Dunes are bandits who seek treasure, as no one in their right mind would live there otherwise.
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII is slated for release in February 2014 in the U.S. and Europe for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
Square Enix Demos Exploration And Battles In Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. September 26, 2013 . 4:32pm 
Aerith Outfit Confirmed For Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII In Europe
Watch The Opening From Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
Lightning Isn’t Done With You Yet. Here’s An Extended Lightning Returns Trailer
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII Gets An Aerith Costume From Final Fantasy VII
Lightning Returns With Chocobo Eater And Snow’s Restaurant Artworkmore in the link
Square Enix shared more artwork from Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. The monster above is a Chocobo Eater and it looks like it doesn’t have legs like the Chocobo Eater in Final Fantasy X. Players can save a white chocobo in Lightning Returns from being lunch and then nurse the bird back to health.
More artwork below shows Snow’s soldiers… and restaurant called Banquet of the Lord. There’s a practical reason for this, you can restore Lightning’s hit points by eating at a restaurant.
NORA Won’t Return For Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. November 13, 2013 . 2:52am Lightning isn’t returning alone, many of her Final Fantasy XIII friends are also in Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. Vanille and Fang have been released from their crystalized state in Lightning Return: Final Fantasy XIII. Snow and Sazh are back too, but things haven’t fared well for those two. Even this guy found his way into the final Final Fantasy XIII game.
Who won’t be back? Gadot, Yuj, Maqui, and Lebreau, the four main members of NORA.
"This game takes place far into the future after the events of Final Fantasy XIII-2 (500 years after the events of Final Fantasy XIII-2, to be precise), and so unfortunately members of NORA will not make an appearance," producer Yoshinori Kitase said to Siliconera. "But, there may be tidbits that pertain to various sub-characters hidden within the episodes of the various side quests."
We also asked Kitase about tri-Ace who co-developed Final Fantasy XIII-2. They are involved with Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, but not as much so. "With this installment, staff members of Square Enix are the primary force, but we did get Tri-Ace to help on some parts of the graphic work, as they did in the past," Kitase explained.
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII Developers Give Lightning A Send-off. November 20, 2013 . 1:32pm
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII will be coming out tomorrow in Japan, and the game will, at long last, provide a conclusion to the Final Fantasy XIII trilogy featuring Lightning and her cohorts. To commemorate the occasion, key Square Enix developers shared their thoughts with Famitsu magazine in a recent feature.
Producer – Yoshinori Kitase: “Lightning’s story will now be entering its climax. The upcoming game features a social media function, that can be used for laidback communications. You’ll be able to share your thoughts and hints on fights through Facebook and Twitter, even from within the game. This will be like the last festival before entering the new generation, so let’s get the game when it comes out and celebrate all together!”
Director – Motomu Toriyama: “Lightning’s story that started with Final Fantasy XIII will finally be coming to an end. This makes it the first trilogy of the Final Fantasy series, and we’ve come long way with her. To me, it’s like a happy, yet sad feeling, kind of like a father who is walking his daughter down the aisle covered in flowers at the wedding.”
“In this game, you’ll get to thoroughly create Lightning any way you want. The costumes range from wedding dress-like dresses to sharp boyish suits, and much more. The way Lightning looks when she ends the story will be up to you fans, so please make your very own Lightning. It would bring me great pleasure to be able to see all your different Lightnings out there, so let us all celebrate Final Fantasy XIII’s grand finale, together.”
Game design director – Abe Yuji: “While there is the main story, players will also have the freedom to do as they will in the game. As of late, games have been divided between the categories of ‘JRPG’ and ‘Western RPG,’ but I believe that we’ve made something that offers the better parts of the two. Depending on the in-game day, the gameplay is well divided, so please play any way you prefer. Even after beating the game once, there will be many things left to discover on your second or third try, so it’d bring me pleasure if you could start with Easy Mode, then see the rest of the world for yourself.”
Art director – Isamu Kamikokuryo: “And the Final Fantasy XIII series will be coming to an end just like that. This will be the last stage of Lightning and friends’ long journey. The game’s world has many cities and locations, so I recommend you to walk around while using the map to explore areas. Similar to traveling in real life, if you first look at the map and travel while imagining what you’ll be seeing, it may give you a different outlook on things.”
“The element of time is an important factor in the game, so knowing how to best use it while possibly visiting unexplored areas might be something similar to an actual journey. The map will be a powerful ally to you; however, walking around while being lost can also be a lot of fun!”
Main character designer – Tetsuya Nomura: “I recall feeling a very strong reaction when I first finished drawing Lightning. I felt that a great character had been born. It’s not often that I feel something like that. From there, I felt that if the development team could do a good job in taking care of her, she would become a long-loved character like Cloud, and it’s already been about 8 years since then. Perhaps, if after 5 or 10 years go by, and people can still say that they like her, such popularity will be evident.”
“Lightning’s long fight will finally be coming to an end, and she’ll be able to get some rest, so it kind of feels like a daughter returning back to her parents’ home. I’d like to thank you all for looking over us up until now. From now on, it would bring me great pleasure if you all remember the protagonist by the name of Lightning.”
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII comes out tomorrow in Japan and February 2014 in North America and Europe for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
Watch Lightning Turn Into A Dragoon In Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. November 20, 2013 . 2:50pm
Lightning Returns English Trailer Shows Off Open-World Exploration, Quests And More . December 17, 2013 . 9:00am
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII Demo Out Today. January 21, 2014 . 9:15am
A demo for Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII is available in North America today on Xbox 360 and will be available later today on PlayStation 3. In Europe, the demo is already available on the 360 and will be made available tomorrow, January 22nd, on PS3. Xbox Live Silver members will get the demo on January 28th.
The demo will have you tracking down Snow, and you’ll have access to Savior, Dark Muse, Black Mage, Dragoon, Red Mage, and Heart Stealer equipment sets for Lightning. The demo will also allow you to post your battle scores to Twitter and Facebook.
Additionally, PlayStation 3 owners will be able to unlock an additional costume in the full version of the game by downloading the demo. This is the Utsusemi Samurai outfit, and it will also be made available for purchase separately later on, for both Xbox 360 and PS3 owners.
Finally, those who submit their battle scores of the final fight against Zaltys will get access to the “Siegfried” outfit in the full game on PS3.
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII will be available on February 11th in North America and February 14th in Europe for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
