Final Fantasy XIII

FINAL FANTASY XIII for PlayStation 3 system
A tale of souls from a futuristic civilization illuminated by the Light of the Crystal

This eagerly anticipated title takes full advantage of the PlayStation 3 system’s advanced hardware, providing tangible, intuitive controls while delivering seamless transitions between real-time gameplay and stunning in-game cinematics. The latest in cutting-edge technology has been utilized in development of FINAL FANTASY XIII, thus making this newest addition to the FINAL FANTASY series worthy of the title “next generation.”

FINAL FANTASY XIII was announced at E3 2006 press event (Los Angeles; May 8, 2006).

Locations
Cocoon was built by a great entity, it is a society floating in the sky, enclosed in a “shell” - Cocoon. It flourishes, protected by the great machines and living creatures invented by the Crystal. The inhabitants of Cocoon, in a long period of tranquility, fear infection from the outside. Outside the shell, an underworld, Pulse’s entity awakens. Fearing this faceless invader, people begin to suspect one another, and hatred takes root. Cocoon’s government, hoping for stability, takes emergency measures. They arrest large numbers of citizens who were suspected of being “infected from the outside”, and announced that they would be compelled to migrate to the underworld “Pulse”.

Those in pulse, who live on land are said to be extremely hostile to those who live in the sky (Cocoon).

Characters
The Farsi are beings whose existence surpasses humans. They constructed Cocoon at the instruction of the Crystals. Little is known about them or their connection to the Crystals. The Lusi are people chosen by the Farsi to carry out the will of the Crystals.

The main character; “Lightning” could have been chosen by the Farsi to carry out this will of the Crystal. She appears as a strong young woman with strawberry blonde hair. She uses the codename “Lightning” to hide her true identity and apparently has some form of amnesia perhaps from the Farsi?
Some sources say that her task is leading a rebellion against Cocoon, while others say she is the enemy of humanity who will bring about the downfall of the world. The two yellow stripes on Lightning’s left shoulder symbolize her rank and social status. Her weapon can be transformed between a sword and a firearm at will, reminiscent of a ‘Gunblade’ from Final Fantasy VIII. Lightning is able to use gravity as a tool and weapon, for instance, throwing a small ‘gravity bomb’ to disable enemies at the start of a battle. She also seems able to defy gravity completely. Blue sparks run around her body at these times. Character designer Tetsuya Nomura was asked to create a “female version of Cloud from Final Fantasy VII”, and has described her as “not very feminine”.

A blond, bandanna-wearing male who has been shown riding Shiva in her motorcycle form, wielding a gun. He is a big character, capable of running while carrying two people around. He was nicknamed “Mr 33cm” by the staff of Final Fantasy XIII because of his shoe size. He has been described as “cowboy like”, and his relationship with Lightning as “unusual”.

A female with red-brown hair who has been confirmed as a citizen of Pulse. According to sources, her weapon is a bow. In an unreleased trailer, she catches a disc and summons Carbuncle.

Director: Motomu Toriyama
(FINAL FANTASY VII, FINAL FANTASY X, FINAL FANTASY X-2)

Character Designer: Tetsuya Nomura
(FINAL FANTASY V~VIII, FINAL FANTASY X, FINAL FANTASY VII ADVENT CHILDREN, KINGDOM HEARTS)

Art Director: Isamu Kamikokuryo
(FINAL FANTASY X, FINAL FANTASY XII)

Main Programmer: Kazumi Kobayashi
(CHRONO TRIGGER, XENOGEARS, CHORONO CROSS, FINAL FANTASY XI)

Movie Director: Eiji Fujii
(FINAL FANTASY: The Spirits Within, FINAL FANTASY XII)

Main theme: Nobuo Uematsu, SMILE PLEASE Co., LTD.
(FINAL FANTASY series)

Composer: Masashi Hamauzu
(FINAL FANTASY X, DIRGE of CERBERUS -FINAL FANTASY VII-)

Producer: Yoshinori Kitase
(FINAL FANTASY series)