Final Fantasy XIII-2’s Story Will Be Easier To Follow Than XIII’s, Says Director

In an interview with Square Enix Members in Europe, Final Fantasy XIII-2 director, Motomu Toriyama, says that inspiration for the game’s story was drawn from one-shot TV dramas, and will be easier to follow than the story of XIII.

“As far as the story of Final Fantasy XIII is concerned, the most important mission for us was to express the game’s unique universe — including l’Cie and fal’Cie — and therefore some difficult terms had to be used in the story-telling,” Toriyama says. “We have taken a lesson from it and employed a different story-telling style for Final Fantasy XIII-2.”

“The basic elements of the Final Fantasy XIII universe continue to be present as the backdrop while the story now centres around Time Paradox, a more familiar form of mystery,” Toriyama shares.

“Meanwhile, we have taken strong inspirations from one-shot TV dramas and opted for a different plot structure where smaller pieces of drama take place quickly one after another. As a result of these changes, the Final Fantasy XIII-2 story has turned out to have a glimpse of a more contemporary drama and is easier to follow in comparison to Final Fantasy XIII.”

Of all the characters from XIII, Toriyama says he most wanted to see Hope return in XIII-2 as a more mature person. Additionally, the tone of XIII-2 will be “darker” and more mysterious than its predecessor as the team wanted to reflect upon the concept of death in the game’s story. This is partly depicted through Valhalla, which is located between the real world and death.