Tetsuya Nomura dishes out on Final Fantasy Versus XIII

Now that the Final Fantasy Versus XIII screenshot scans are out, full details on the interview with director Tetsuya Nomura regarding the game have been released.

The interview is focused on the three screenshots. Nomura says that in the final game there will be a heads-up-display, but they were taken out of the screens to keep the details of the game hidden.

The screenshots were taken off of the game running on PlayStation 3 – meaning they’re in-game. The game currently runs at the quality seen in the screens, but they’re going to continue to improve and polish the visuals even further.

The camera angle shown in the screens is representative to what you’ll play, which is third-person. The developer was considering switching to an overhead view when you moved into the outside world, but ended up keeping the world an open field to keep players close to the action.

Nomura broke down the details screen-by-screen.

Field screen: the field is an “open field”, meaning that players can wawlk through “nearly everything” shown in the shot except the mountains. A highway underpass can be seen below the cliff where Noctis stands. Nomura said, “If you want to go to the end, it’s truly far.”

Gas station screen: after Famitsu noted the wonderful cloud-work in the skies, Nomura confirmed that the game is using real physics for cloud movement. He reveals that it was a troubling for the staff to determine what visual direction they would take with Versus XIII until they finally did.

City screen: a battle screenshot. Nomura said that there would normally be a command menu and other information on screen. Noctis’ party members would normally be there, too. They kept the party members out of the screenshots because Square Enix has yet to officially unveil their clothing and weaponry.

The “Shinjuku cityscape is real,” wrote the magazine. Nomura noted that the model for the area is a replica of the surroundings of Square Enix’s Shinjuku office, which is as precise as the bicycle markings on the street.

The three areas shown in the screenshot are all within the same location. The gas station area and the field area are connected while they’re both located immediately outside the city area.

Apparently, the areas shown in the screenshots are the game’s prologue location. Nomura reveals that players will have access to a car to get around quickly. Players can take their car out into the field and even approach the area where the road ends that we’ve seen in past trailers.

As for encounters, you’ll run into monsters randomly on the field, but some monsters you’ll see before encountering. Nomura cites the behemoth seen in the city screenshot as an example.

Battles, for the most part, are seamless. There are no loading times between field and battle. There will be some loading when moving between large areas or when a cut-scene kicks in, but the staff is trying to make the game as seamless as possible.

The interview ended when they asked Nomura when we could expect to hear more on the game. It’s still far from now, Nomura said, but added: “We’re making preparations for a big announcement.” Perhaps that’ll be at the Tokyo Game Show.

Thanks, Andriasang.