Square Enix and Sony Computer Entertainment Japan’s Play Community held a special Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII event, where various key members of the staff got together to talk about the latest features including equipment customization options.
While shops will be selling your everyday swords, shields, and gear; they’ll also sell various ‘decoration’ parts, such as glasses, piercings, pendants and more. These will serve cosmetic purposes, and won’t affect your stats. According to Square Enix, Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII is a world-driven game, so they wanted to make shopping a little more fun by having various shops around the world that sell regional specialties.
Performance customization will be a huge part in Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, too, however. Square Enix felt that RPGs have always followed a pattern of going to town to buy new equipment, beat the next boss, repeat; so, they’ve decided to add a little twist by allowing players to freely customize their own style according to preference.
The three main styles are: Balanced, Magic, and Physical-type. For example, players who aren’t that great at action will be able to customize Lightning’s performance to focus more on defense and HP, so they can take more hits, or go with an approach featuring no defense and very high damage output.
The above video is a look at the new color customization option. The “Custom Color Drive” allows you to change the colors of your equipment by choosing from of a palette of preset colors, or you can customize your own colors and set them yourself. Your equipment will be divided into three main sections, allowing you to color it according to your preference.
This feature also works for collaboration items and other special equipment, so you can dress Lightning in an all-pink SOLDIER outfit, if that’s what you’d prefer.
Additionally, Dengeki’s coverage of the event has confirmed that Vanille will also be reappearing in Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. Director Motomu Toriyama revealed, “This time, Vanille is being sheltered by a religious organization, known as the “The Order,” who control the city of Luxerion.”
Square Enix will be revealing more regarding Vanille in the next update.
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII is slated for release in February 2014 in the U.S. and Europe for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
