Toriyama on Final Fantasy XIII-2 heroes, towns, and new features [Update]

The latest issue of Dengeki PlayStation has a full blowout on Final Fantasy XIII-2, following its E3 unveiling last week. In its pages, director Motomu Toriyama talks protagonists, towns, dialogue, and discs.

Noel, who made his debut last week, has a larger role than Lightning in Final Fantasy XIII-2. While she is a main character, she is not the main character. According to Toriyama, players will spend the majority of the game playing as Noel and Lightning’s sister, Serah.

With Serah starring with an unknown man, the question of whether or not the boyfriend Snow would appear was asked. Snow will appear in Final Fantasy XIII-2 and, according to Toriyama, he is not worried about the relationship between Serah and Noel.

The new Mog Clock battle element — which allows players to enter battle in different conditions, depending on what color the Mog Clock is and if X/A is pressed at the right time — was implemented to make battles shorter, said Toriyama.

In battle, you can recruit a single monster to join your party, which can consist of three party members. Toriyama said that at times there will be a guest character in the party.

A new interactive conversation system called Live Trigger has been introduced to Final Fantasy XIII-2, allowing you to select different dialogue during conversations each time you play. According to Toriyama, this was put in place so players could better enjoy conversations, rather than for story purposes.

A major concern over Final Fantasy XIII was its lack of towns. Its sequel will have towns. Toriyama told the magazine that town residents will have individual artificial intelligence.

On a final note, Toriyama addressed the Xbox 360 disc issue (yes — even though he was speaking to a PlayStation-only magazine). He said that due to the game’s event scenes being rendered mostly in real time, it’s possible the Xbox 360 version will have fewer discs, this time around.

Thanks, Andriasang.

Update 2:17am: New tidbits have come in from Dengeki PlayStation:

• Your party members will move around town and get into conversations
• When it rains, people in town will gather under covered areas.
• The weather will have some effect on battle.
• There will be search/exploration element involving Moogles.
• The save system will in general be auto save.

Thanks, Andriasang.