Final Fantasy XIII Update

July 22nd, 2009, 21:00 Posted By: Shrygue

via IGN


We now have a five-some! Final Fantasy XIII's playable cast has increased by one thanks to information in the latest Famitsu.

Joining Lightning, Snow, Sazh and Vanille is Hope Estheim, a young boy who lost his mom during a purge.

If you've played the Japan-only Final Fantasy XIII demo, you'll recognize Hope as the little boy who's too scared to join the ranks of Snow's resistance. His mom is the lady who fights alongside Snow, only to die at the demo's end.

The death of his mom left Hope just a bit on the angry side with Snow. With Hope now confirmed as a major character, we'll have to see how their relationship develops.

Screenshots in Famitsu show Vanille consoling Hope after his mother's death. It's unclear if the two knew each other prior to the purge incident, although in the demo they were shown in close proximity to one-another.

Hope, like the other four characters, is a l'Cie, or a human who's been chosen by the fal'Cie for a certain purpose. All l'Cie learn about their mission in the form of a vision.

Remember that scene from the early trailers showing the cast walking around in a frozen underground lake area? Famitsu says that this scene takes place after the party of five have descended to the lower levels of Cocoon. They begin to talk about their visions. It appears that Hope isn't quite certain about the meaning of his.

Another trait shared by the l'Cie is a marking of some form on their body. Famitsu provides a first look at Sazh's marking, as we can see it partially sticking out from his shirt on his upper chest.

Lightning, Snow and Sazh were all playable in the Japanese demo, so we were able to get a grasp of their basic fighting style. Famitsu at long last introduces us to Vanille's combat style, and gives a sneak peak at Hope's as well.

Vanille's weapon of choice looks like a multi-wired fishing rod. She does damage to distant enemies by swinging the wires, then pulling back on the rod once the wire needles have struck their target (you have to admit, this would probably hurt with a real fishing rod).

Like Vanille, Hope can take aim at enemies from a distance using his trusty boomerang. With the obvious possibility for multiple hits, could this weapon help to build up your chain gauge quickly?

Both characters look like they'll bring some unique options to combat. But what other surprises await?

Square Enix appears to be increasing the information flow on FFXIII as the Tokyo Game Show approaches (just two months!). Expect frequent updates on what could be the biggest JRPG of the generation.

There are 0 comments - Join In and Discuss Here