More details on the real-time mechanics of Lighting Returns Final Fantasy 13 have been released by Square Enix.

Where Final Fantasy XIII was “story-driven” and Final Fantasy XIII-2 was “player -driven”, Lightning Returns is “world-driven”, director Motomu Toriyama told Japanese site 4Gamer, as translated bySiliconera.

What this means is that events don’t wait on the player or the story, but play out in real time. Toriyama said that “time management” will be an essential part of gameplay as a result.

As detailed during the RPG’s announcement in September, Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy 13 has a day-night cycle and gives the player just 13 days to prevent the end of the world. Some actions will delay the apocalypse, while others may hasten it.

Battle Director Yuji Abe gave further details, explaining that NPCs follow individual schedules, and different events occur depending on time of day. The day is divided into at least four distinct states – morning, afternoon, evening, or night – and while the team hasn’t yet nailed down how long one day will be, it’s expected to be somewhere between one to two hours.

As reported earlier, the RPG is designed for multiple playthroughs, and Abe said he hopes players will see new events each time they play through the story.

I beat Final Fantasy 13, and skipped Final Fantasy 13-2. It looks like Lighting Returns is making strides to better than 13-2 but the overall battle system does not excite me that much. Especially after playing games like Xenoblade and The Last Story. Lighting Returns Final Fantasy 13 is due next year on the PS3 and 360.

Via: VG247

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