Final Fantasy
Distant Worlds: Returning Home
Release date:
November 21, 2013
Platform:
Xbox 360, PS3
Developer:
SQUARE ENIX
At an event marking the 25th anniversary of the Final Fantasy video game franchise, Square Enix confirmed that Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII would be the final instalment in the Final Fantasy XIII storyline. It said the game's the protagonist from the first Final Fantasy XIII game, Lightning, would return as the new game's central character and would wrap up the 'Lightning saga in' an epic fnal entry.
It was revealed that the game's would feature a doomsday clock counting down until the end of the world. The doomsday clock will also reportedly be an ever present feature in the game, represented as a countdown in the corner of the screen. Players will be able to add more time to the clock as the game progresses, as well as drain time from it by using Lightning to perform certain battle moves.
Square Enix has also announced the game's battle mechanics have been tweaked. The new combat sounds like it will be a mix of the ATB (Active Time Battle) mechanics of the previous two FF XIII games time-based moves and real-time combat elements. Fighting mechanics will be customisable to an extent, as will Lightning's appearance in the game.
The game will be released on PS3 and Xbox 360.
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Warrior (Fighter) — A specialist in heavy weapons and armor who can withstand tremendous amounts of punishment. Can become the Knight later in the game, who is able to use the most powerful weapons and some White Magic spells.
Monk (Black Belt) — A martial arts expert who is best left fighting empty-handed, but may also wield nunchaku, and the most basic of staves. Does tremendous amounts of damage in combat, but cannot wear heavy armor. Can become the Master later in the game. In the original Famicom/NES version a high level, barehanded Master who is unencumbered by armor, can do more damage in a single attack than any other character type; a party of four Masters can defeat the final boss monster in less than two full rounds. A rather weak class in the beginning, but you never have to buy much weapons/armor for him.
Thief — A high evasion/accuracy finesse fighter with very limited weapon and armor selection, but greater agility and luck (ability to escape from combat). However, the ability to flee is bugged in versions before the Origins release. Later in the game, the Thief can be upgraded to the Ninja class. Ninja can use almost every weapon and most armor, and can use many Black Magic spells.
White Mage — A specialist in White Magic. Not a good fighter, but can use hammers for physical attacks. Can be upgraded into a White Wizard, which allows the character to use the most powerful White Magic spells in the game.
Black Mage — A specialist in Black Magic and a very weak fighter. Becomes the Black Wizard later on. Black Wizard is the only character who can cast Flare (NUKE in the original North American localization), one of the two damaging spells that retain full effectiveness against Chaos (the White Wizard can cast Holy, the other spell, but it is less powerful than Flare).
Red Mage — A jack-of-all-trades character, able to use most but not all of both White and Black Magic, and possessing fighting abilities similar to but not quite as good as the Fighter. Becomes the Red Wizard later in the game.
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