Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy XIII

The compilation appears to revolve around “Crystals that lead the world towards the future.” Appearing as normal objects, the Crystals are an integral part of each world as represented in the games, although they will not be the central focus; instead, they will provide a background to other, more specific plots. However, the functionality of the Crystals has led the series’ designers to pay special attention in creating the visual look of these worlds.

Coproducer Shinji Hashimoto says “Consider that development is simultaneously ongoing for three FFXIII’s—each not only on different platforms (advertised as PS3 for FF Versus XIII and FFXIII, and Mobile for FF Agito XIII), but different worlds and stories that are bound by a common mythology. By gaining inspiration from the mythology, these independent FFXIIIs evolve uniquely. The Fabula Nova Crystallis project is not a collection of sequels or ports but several original titles that exist alongside each other”.

The current games in development within Fabula Nova Crystallis are; Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy Agito XIII & Final Fantasy Versus XIII.

The development for each title is being handled within Square-Enix through separate teams. This is reflected in the approach to making each title independent from the others while sharing a common backdrop. However, the character designs for the three officially revealed games are by Tetsuya Nomura, who is also the director of Final Fantasy Versus XIII. Each title will have its own style of gameplay: Final Fantasy XIII is a turn-based RPG, Final Fantasy Versus XIII is more action-oriented like Kingdom Hearts, and Final Fantasy Agito XIII is an online mobile phone game. A possible fourth title, Final Fantasy Haeresis XIII may be in the works, which was trademarked on May 1, 2006. (Haeresis is Greek for “the act of thinking differently” and is the derivative of the word “heresy.”) A ‘logo’ for Haeresis, done by Yoshitaka Amano, the image illustrator and title logo designer for Fabula Nova Crystallis, has now been published, although no additional artwork pertaining to the title has been officially released as of yet.

Square Enix president Yōichi Wada likened the Fabula Nova Crystallis compilation to that of the likes of Star Wars and has stated that it could span a decade. Toriyama stated in the Playstation Magazine Australia that the Fabula Nova Crystallis series is slated to be a multi-platform series, not exclusive only to the PlayStation 3 and mobile phones.

At E3 2006, Square Enix called the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, which at this moment includes 6 games, 1 film, 1 OVA and 2 novels, a “50 billion yen project” (roughly 420 million USD) and said it would span until the 20th anniversary of Final Fantasy VII (2017). In turn, they called the new Fabula Nova Crystallis project a “100 billion yen project” (roughly 840 million USD) which gives the impression that Fabula Nova Crystallis would span quite a number of years and include many more titles, possibly including films, books, anime, manga, toys, etc.