FF Versus XIII Combat: Party Members, Weapons, More

Thanks to the recent 7-minute trailer, we now have a better idea of the gameplay in Final Fantasy Versus XIII.

Obviously, those looking for a traditional RPG setting, or even a hybrid style like the one we often find in BioWare's products, might be disappointed. But at least now we've learned even more about the game's interesting battle system, which Square-Enix boss Tetsuya Nomura was kind enough to explain. Noctis, the main character, will be a permanent member of the combat party and as was the case in Final Fantasy XIII, if the protagonist dies, it's Game Over. Noctis will be able to use a wide variety of weapons - swords, axes, lances, and even guns ranging from rifles and handguns to shotguns and bazookas - and other characters have their own specializations. Ignis, for instance, is a support character, but he can toss throwing knives and wield a katana as well as magic. The good news is that you will be able to switch between the available characters in battle, and you can chain together combo attacks when you do.

A party consists of 3 characters - again, like FFXIII - and apparently, we gauge their health and condition by looking at the faces displayed at the bottom of the screen. There's also stuff like Magitek armor, summoning, chocobos (of course), the "power of light," and one last detail that has yet to be outlined- an orange meter that is attached to an all-new mechanic of some kind. So yeah, there's a shooting element and if Noctis goes down, you gotta try again. But there are other cool elements, too, and there's no doubt the game looks fantastic.

Related Game(s): Final Fantasy Versus XIII

Tags: final fantasy versus xiii, ff versus xiii, versus xiii gameplay

2/1/2011 9:36:28 AM Ben Dutka

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Comments (57 posts)

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ZettaiSeigi
Tuesday, February 01, 2011 @ 10:00:22 AM
Reply

It still annoys me to no end that once your leader (in this case Noctis) dies, it's game over... even if you have party members who can cast Raise or such similar spell. It's just stupid.

But I still have hope on this game, so I really do hope that it lives up to its massive hype (and need I say promised exclusivity?).

3 up, 0 down

coverton341
Tuesday, February 01, 2011 @ 11:14:43 AM

Actually, if you read through the link it makes sense in a way. It seems that if Noctis is not there then no one can use magic. Story element of sorts, so if he dies, no one will be able to use magic to revive him.

I don't like that if the main character dies it's the end, but they might be able to make it make sense unlike in FFXIII where it didn't make any sense at all.

1 up, 0 down

ZettaiSeigi
Tuesday, February 01, 2011 @ 11:25:12 AM

Yeah, I did read that part. But they don't have Phoenix Downs in Versus XIII? Oh well. We'll see when the game eventually releases.

Last edited by ZettaiSeigi on 2/1/2011 11:28:29 AM

0 up, 0 down

DrRockso87
Wednesday, February 02, 2011 @ 2:04:21 PM

I too can't stand this "once the party leader dies, game over" crap but it's not *so* bad here (unlike XIII). Kingdom Hearts had the same system and no one complained. However, here I'll admit it's a little different since you have control over all of the party members.

Should still be awesome. I'm sure they'll have phoenix downs. It's Final Fantasy after all!

0 up, 0 down

Looking Glass
Tuesday, February 01, 2011 @ 10:06:39 AM
Reply

Magitek Armor? Haven't seen that since Final Fantasy 6 (Final Fantasy 3 in the States). That sure brings back memories.

Last edited by Looking Glass on 2/1/2011 10:07:10 AM

2 up, 0 down

Oxvial
Tuesday, February 01, 2011 @ 10:50:39 AM
Reply

So it gonna be kinda Star Ocean? this already beat XIII gameplay by miles!, hope they change dat leader dies and game over crap.

1 up, 1 down

Underdog15
Tuesday, February 01, 2011 @ 11:55:23 AM

The article says you do die then game over.

1 up, 0 down

Oxvial
Tuesday, February 01, 2011 @ 12:20:02 PM

Yes but I hope they reconsider that.

1 up, 0 down

Underdog15
Tuesday, February 01, 2011 @ 1:53:26 PM

Ah I see that at second read. And yeah... me too. >.<

1 up, 0 down

FatherSun
Tuesday, February 01, 2011 @ 10:53:00 AM
Reply

If SE can somehow update this game in the future to surgically remove the party leader from the team to prevent this "Leader dies Game dies" madness it would open up so many possibilities. Why introduce such a limitation? Who made that decision? Where's the logic?

Same goes for FFXIII and FFXIII-2. It would expand the game play exponentially.

Last edited by FatherSun on 2/1/2011 10:55:35 AM

1 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, February 01, 2011 @ 10:58:37 AM

I can almost almost almost see why it happened in XIII because they put us in charge of each character to advance their own storyline and that's kind of hard to do when you let em die. Plus I think it was a workaround because the engine wouldn't let you play as a character who you haven't had control over yet.

BUT, there is no need for it in Versus as far as I can tell, especially if you can select who you want to control at any time. This is an outrage.

1 up, 0 down

FatherSun
Tuesday, February 01, 2011 @ 11:35:04 AM

I can forgive it if it were an option but not when we are locked in.

If they die you can just continue. Funny, You mentioning the other characters not advancing if they die kinda reminds me of Heavy Rain.

Last edited by FatherSun on 2/1/2011 11:38:04 AM

0 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, February 01, 2011 @ 10:55:46 AM
Reply

FU**! Final Fantasy has Pheonix Downs for when people die. There is still time to change this Nomura! Do you hear me!?

Last edited by Ben Dutka PSXE on 2/1/2011 3:02:44 PM

4 up, 0 down

Riku994
Tuesday, February 01, 2011 @ 10:59:48 AM
Reply

>_< This is dumb. I like the sound of the combat, but seriously, we DO have revival spells and phoenix downs for a reason. Just because they didn't work on Aeris doesn't mean they wont work' on Lightning or Noctis.

4 up, 0 down

Underdog15
Tuesday, February 01, 2011 @ 11:59:41 AM

Remember FFV? Cure spells didn't work on Galuf when he took more hurt beyond his KO point!

And if I remember correctly, in FFVII, isn't the status called "KO" and not "Dead" like in the original FF's?

Anyways, I still think you're right. This leader dies game over crap is stupid.

1 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, February 01, 2011 @ 1:04:41 PM

KO, Swoon, whatever it is. Dead is a universal term for games. Funny it is though, imagine a game that ended forever when you died.

0 up, 0 down

Riku994
Tuesday, February 01, 2011 @ 1:04:59 PM

I actually never played FFV :P

0 up, 0 down

Underdog15
Tuesday, February 01, 2011 @ 1:56:30 PM

Ah, I see. Well, I spose it's hard to consider it a spoiler on a 17 year old game. lol

uh.... SPOILER ALERT FOR FFV below!!!!

Let's just say Aerith as a death of a major party member isn't an original idea for Squaresoft. At least it didn't start with Aerith.

Last edited by Underdog15 on 2/1/2011 1:57:08 PM

0 up, 0 down

Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Tuesday, February 01, 2011 @ 3:03:41 PM

Me when Aeris died-

"I HAVE LIKE A ZILLION PHOENIX DOWNS! FU***** USE ONE!!!"

Last edited by Ben Dutka PSXE on 2/1/2011 3:03:59 PM

7 up, 0 down

Riku994
Tuesday, February 01, 2011 @ 3:31:29 PM

Ben I can totally see you doing that XD

1 up, 0 down

Cabalavatar1
Thursday, February 03, 2011 @ 12:05:50 PM

Ben, that's probably the funniest thing I've read on this site. I felt precisely the same way. But I thought so after recouping 'cause her death made me literally cry.

0 up, 0 down

Oxvial
Tuesday, February 01, 2011 @ 11:46:10 AM
Reply

BTW guys the Catherine Demo is out on the jpstore..and some people say it sucks =/.

0 up, 0 down

Highlander
Tuesday, February 01, 2011 @ 12:02:09 PM

Are the people saying it sucks, English speakers or Japanese speakers?

Last edited by Highlander on 2/1/2011 12:02:15 PM

0 up, 0 down

Oxvial
Tuesday, February 01, 2011 @ 12:21:55 PM

eng ones, perhaps it's a heavy text demo but i see complains about the gameplay..I say lets download the damn thing.

Last edited by Oxvial on 2/1/2011 12:22:33 PM

0 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, February 01, 2011 @ 1:05:27 PM

Maybe it's just too out there wacky niche for us round eyes.

0 up, 0 down

Ignitus
Tuesday, February 01, 2011 @ 1:07:10 PM

I'm interested in this game, hope it get's released soon.
Well, if english speaking gamers say the gameplay sucks because it's text heavy, it sounds like a jrpg to me. I might enoy it more, when it gets translated of course.

1 up, 0 down

Oxvial
Tuesday, February 01, 2011 @ 4:13:31 PM

I already beat the demo, I can see how the Q-bert gameplay gonna turn off some people, but if the story is good I can see myself buying this perhaps not at 60 bucks but I want it.

0 up, 0 down

Lawless SXE
Tuesday, February 01, 2011 @ 11:52:55 AM
Reply

It is a bit disheartening to see S-E taking the same route that courted the ire of many fans in FFXIII in that if Noctis dies, then it's game over, but I can live with that. Other than that, it sounds pretty cool, but until we can get some slid info on the exact style of the gameplay, I will remain largely unanticipatory (Well, it sounds good enough).
Peace.

1 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, February 01, 2011 @ 1:06:23 PM

I can live with it since the game still looks sweet and appears to have what didn't exist in XIII, but I don't have to like it. Still hope Nomura catches hell from fans and changes it.

2 up, 0 down

Highlander
Tuesday, February 01, 2011 @ 12:03:21 PM
Reply

The more I hear about this the less I like it. I guess SE no longer values me as a consumer. That's fine, I no longer value them as a game developer or publisher.

4 up, 3 down

Stabs88
Tuesday, February 01, 2011 @ 12:45:36 PM
Reply

Games still looks good, but if you think about KH thats what happened when Sora died. Game over, try again. The KH team is involved so if you didnt think of that as a possibility from the start you were off your rocker. Doesnt make sence that you can control your other characters and if noctis dies its game over. Im either way on it i guess, just have to learn some new strategies. Real excited for this still...just want a release date already

2 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, February 01, 2011 @ 1:07:39 PM

Late 2012 at the earliest. I'm thinking 2013. God I feel old.

0 up, 1 down

Stabs88
Wednesday, February 02, 2011 @ 9:33:55 PM

tell me about it...i was in my senior year when they started talking about XIII and later that year Versus...been what 5 years an counting?

0 up, 0 down

Ichigo40
Tuesday, February 01, 2011 @ 12:58:22 PM
Reply

Hey in other RPG news I did just come across this at ign. Looks like demon souls successor. http://ps3.ign.com/articles/114/1147054p1.html

1 up, 0 down

kraygen
Tuesday, February 01, 2011 @ 5:53:17 PM

That sounds awesome, like an open world demon's souls.

1 up, 0 down

Ignitus
Tuesday, February 01, 2011 @ 1:11:33 PM
Reply

Not really interested in this game, it's a rental at most for me.
I really wish Mistwalker would anounce Lost Odyssey II, but I know it won't happen, that game was a true Final Fantasy game without the name, ironic isn't it?

0 up, 0 down

Alienange
Tuesday, February 01, 2011 @ 1:28:03 PM
Reply

I am TRYING to maintain my cherub like demeanor, but this kind of news just makes me crazy.

Honestly, SE can go to hell.

0 up, 0 down

CHAOS THEORY X
Tuesday, February 01, 2011 @ 1:54:27 PM
Reply

:/ not impressed

0 up, 1 down

Kr3sn1k
Tuesday, February 01, 2011 @ 2:48:43 PM
Reply

I dont know why evryone is complaining about if noctis dies its game over its like that in kingdom hearts

1 up, 0 down

Teddie9
Tuesday, February 01, 2011 @ 3:18:06 PM

and people complained about it then too, it's not a favourable game mechanic.

I'm waiting for the reviews on this for sure.

0 up, 0 down

Jonesy555
Tuesday, February 01, 2011 @ 3:27:57 PM

I wasn't too crazy about it in Kingdom Hearts either. Especially if Donald or (insert magic user) was in the party and still walking around. I guess that just means I've got to be extra careful and not die.

0 up, 0 down

ZettaiSeigi
Tuesday, February 01, 2011 @ 6:01:54 PM

@Kr3sn1k:
Because this is supposed to be a Final Fantasy game. Other than XIII, you don't get the game over screen until everybody in your party is annihilated. Heck, they even used to allow you to substitute your reserve party members for those who have fallen. So yeah, that's why.

We're aware it's being developed by the same team that made the Kingdom Hearts games, and they announced from day one that the battle system would be more akin to the KH games than the older FF games. You don't see a lot of people here complaining about the battle system outside this particular complaint, right?

Last edited by ZettaiSeigi on 2/1/2011 6:03:03 PM

1 up, 0 down

Snaaaake
Tuesday, February 01, 2011 @ 3:22:21 PM
Reply

What's with the complain of leader die then it's game over?
Kingdom Hearts had it too.

1 up, 0 down

Kiryu
Tuesday, February 01, 2011 @ 3:29:37 PM
Reply

I hope it isn't linear like FF13.

4 up, 0 down

kraygen
Tuesday, February 01, 2011 @ 5:55:19 PM
Reply

Honestly I recently tried to play the original KH, because I had never played any of them. The mechanics are pretty terrible and I hated that if your main character died it was game over, so comparing it to KH doesn't mean much to me.

I have the second KH, but haven't opened it, are the mechanics any better on it than on the first one?

0 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, February 01, 2011 @ 6:33:58 PM

Not that I recall, I tried them both, both were terrible.

0 up, 0 down

kraygen
Wednesday, February 02, 2011 @ 2:08:20 AM

well at least I got both of them new for only $15, thank you amazon special.

0 up, 0 down

Stabs88
Wednesday, February 02, 2011 @ 9:35:57 PM

no i think that KHII they worked on the camera angels for sure. Would play KHII over I any day...still do in fact ;)

0 up, 0 down

Douchebaguette
Tuesday, February 01, 2011 @ 7:24:14 PM
Reply

"You can also make use of the buildings that line the road. The emergency stairwells of the buildings can can be entered and climbed to get to the roof, with Noctis pulling himself up to the very top via the air conditioner. Nomura was actually surprised to find this area when test playing the game."

"By gimmick, Nomura means such things as how in the trailer we see a behemoth creature running to destroy an overhead walkway as Noctis crosses it (around the 4:25 mark, but the behemoth battle starts before this). If you don't make Noctis cross the bridge, the behemoth will not destroy it."

Intriguing...

1 up, 0 down

jjlive168
Tuesday, February 01, 2011 @ 7:48:01 PM
Reply

I think everyone forgot this game is being handled by the kingdom hearts team...and you can't revive sora...maybe they just like that format...it does add a certain level of difficulty...but that format in FFXIII was dumb hated it

2 up, 0 down

Oxvial
Tuesday, February 01, 2011 @ 8:33:37 PM

That happens when the main numerical FF at the moment fails, people try to find comfort in the spinoffs, I was never a fan of KH I didn't know about that leader>gameover was on those series.

But if it's the same team that has experience with this and they doesn't make it frustrating I'm okay with it.

1 up, 0 down

Alienange
Tuesday, February 01, 2011 @ 8:07:37 PM
Reply

I just had to re-watch the gameplay footage. It's like the great invisible party members. Only their health bars appear on screen.

0 up, 0 down

drew
Tuesday, February 01, 2011 @ 8:29:52 PM
Reply

can you guys stop comparing it to ff? its a lot closer to kh in the sense that the combat looks so far identical. looks at the hp bars, the mp bars, the character pictures, even the combat menu. its exactly like kh.

btw, for those of you concerned with it being too similar to kh in combat: give it a chance because despite the problems of kh1 and kh2 (although i did like those, i played more for other reasons), bbs had a fantastic combat system.

2 up, 0 down

Alienange
Tuesday, February 01, 2011 @ 8:37:32 PM

You're right. Comparing FF to FF is just retarded.

0 up, 0 down

Akuma07
Tuesday, February 01, 2011 @ 11:53:45 PM
Reply

Magitek Armor = Freaking sweet!

Orange-meter = Better be limit break or something

Does anyone need anymore reasons why vXIII will be the best FF since VII?

Last edited by Akuma07 on 2/1/2011 11:54:14 PM

1 up, 0 down

Cabalavatar1
Thursday, February 03, 2011 @ 12:07:57 PM

I need more reasons so far. This isn't even a must-play game for me, what with the list of games coming out this year. But until Final Fantasy goes back to turn-based/semi-turn-based combat, I'm not interested. They could resurrect the jRPG but no...

0 up, 0 down

VampDeLeon
Saturday, February 05, 2011 @ 1:52:44 AM
Reply

It's too bad this couldn't just be called Final Fantasy XV, the more I'm hearing on how different it is from XIII (aside from it taking place in the same world though right?).

0 up, 0 down

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FF Versus XIII Combat: Party Members, Weapons, More

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