1110°

FF13 Graphics Changes in Action

Some of the graphical changes made by Square Enix to later builds of Final Fantasy XIII are becoming clear when released screenshots are studied and compared by fans.

Two released screenshots are almost identical but are from different builds, giving fans an easy way to directly compare different versions of the game and look at changes made to the game engine. The question on the lips of many fans will be why these changes have been made - were they necessary changes for performance, or are they to accomodate the game's multiplatform status?

Megaton5388d ago (Edited 5388d ago )

I remember seeing those images as a PS3/360 comparison over at GameTrailers.

Whatever the case, I hope the whole game hasn't been graphically dumbed down to such a degree as the differences here. Everything looks so much better in the first one. Leave it to the current SquareEnix to actually make a good look worse as time goes on.

AP5388d ago

If that's the case, it's a lie - the second image came out on the Advent Children Complete Blu Ray, before ANY footage of the 360 version was shown - the first 360 Footage was shown at E3 2009, after the Blu Ray went to print.

Megaton5388d ago

Who knows, can't believe half the crap you see/read over there.

GWAVE5388d ago

Though many people here simply see me as "some stupid Sony fanturd", I'll still say my piece:

This isn't because of the 360. Squarenixidos has proven many times this generation that they are slipping. Their game quality is getting worse and worse. Play "Last Remnant" if you don't believe me.

If I'm going to blame anyone for the drop in quality, I'd point the finger right at S-E.

DevastationEve5388d ago

"were they necessary changes for performance, or are they to accomodate the game's multiplatform status"

Don't forget that they're building this game on a PC anyway, so the builds before any official footage from either console would've naturally looked and/or played better than what we're going to see in the end.

Blaze9295388d ago (Edited 5388d ago )

I don't think we should worry about the graphics possibly getting dumbed down, at least on the PS3. Square said they will use nearly 100% of the PS3's abilities. We shall be the judges of that when the game releases this year in Japan.

360 though, if they manage to get that version running similar to the PS3 version, then that will be VERY interesting.

EDIT: Why the dissagrees? Did Square not say they were going to use nearly 100% of the PS3's power?

http://www.1up.com/do/newsS...

The demo looked nice and that was only at 50% according to producer Yoshinori Kitase. I'm not saying I believe them but until we have the final product in our hands why is there a reason not to believe them? Thus eliminating the need to worry

AAACE55388d ago

They both look good to me, but you can tell the top one clearly has more detail than the lower picture.

You can see alot of the shadowing has been removed. It looks like Lightning has a blocky shoulder in the lower pic, as opposed to the top pic. The detail in lightnings hair is is removed. In the lower pic, Lightnings eyes do look a bit more realistic than in the upper pic.In the lower pic lightenings chin has a point in it as opposed to the top having a smooth surface, indicating they may be using less polygons for the character models.

We won't know the truth about this issue until SE themselves make a formal announcement.

AP5388d ago

Personally, I believe the early shots of the game were bullshots, and we're only now starting to see the (slightly jaggier) truth. I don't think it has to do with multiplatform stuff.

FF13 still looks amazing graphically, it just doesn't look as great as something like Gears or Uncharted.

PixlSheX5388d ago (Edited 5388d ago )

FFXIII is the first SE game on PS3 so i wouldn't eat that sh!t of "We are going to use nearly 100% of the PS3 power"

If i learned something about SE, is that they're good at lying.

If I'm wrong, please correct me.

GUNS N SWORDS5388d ago (Edited 5388d ago )

this again, what a load of bs.

their newest trailer which was out two months ago showed no such down grade from the trailer that was shown almost a year ago.

http://www.gamersyde.com/ne...

and focusing on 360's specific version it showed no differences from the e3 jap trailer that was shown almost a year ago.

http://www.gametrailers.com...

i don't think ANY company would make a game that's quality would be worse than it's demo.

CrazzyMan5388d ago (Edited 5388d ago )

But for now, we can thank M$ for this...
You can`t expect to run a game on a multiplatform engine as good as on optimized for one specific platform engine...

However, let`s wait for the FINAL build, though Square become cheap company, they still are known for a HIGH quality graphics. =)

RustInPeace5388d ago (Edited 5388d ago )

S-E may have said they were using nearly 100% of the PS3s power, but with new games such as Uncharted 2 not quite using the PS3 to the fullest and looking as good as it/that does already, I highly doubt that S-E can do such an undertaking which no other dev team has done yet. Also, for a multiplat game, if they "were" to use the fullest of the PS3, wouldn't that throw off their claim of "equality" between then multiple versions? I'm not saying that the 360 can't do it, but the PS3 could possibly have a slight edge against the 360 version if 100% of its power were used. I think they're just boasting to put the fans at ease, although many fans have pretty much let it been known that the quality of S-E games have sunk within the past few years in the eyes of the gamers, especially ANYTHING involving this particular game.

7ero H3LL5388d ago (Edited 5388d ago )

( CrazzyMan )

"Well, atleast we still have FFXIII Versus, which may show the true potential of CT engine
But for now, we can thank M$ for this...
You can`t expect to run a game on a multiplatform engine as good as on optimized for one specific platform engine...

However, let`s wait for the FINAL build, though Square become cheap company, they still are known for a HIGH quality graphics. =)"

dumb comment, you say that it's all bad and ms is to blame for it.......then you say "let`s wait for the FINAL build"

are you trying to sugar coat your fan-boyish comments?

the final build isn't out till 2010, till then I'm guessing your just going to still keep saying the same sour sh1t huh.

ABizzel15388d ago

Well this is going to end badly.

There is a difference, but my guess is that the original was from the PS3 version of the game which has been in development for the longest, and the later is from the 360 version. We know the 360 version is a port of the PS3 version, so this might be what the game looks like after the porting process from PS3 to 360 until it's optimized for the 360.

I hope the quality of the PS3 version hasn't suffered, and that this is just the 360 before it's optimized to match the original.

MGSR THE HD VERSION5388d ago

it's amazing how most of you guys lose hope.

just cause it went multiplat.

besides i remember those screens, they're old, they were out before this E3.

Immortal Kaim5388d ago

Guys, we have all seen the E3 trailers of both the PS3 and 360 versions, as well as played the PS3 demo, neither look as bad as that second shot. Infact, after viewing the footage again, I would say they are on par with the first screen shot.

Jaces5388d ago

Yea, how many times have we heard that developers have/are using 100% of the PS3's capabilities/power?

Enough to know 100% of what they say is bull. Personally...if XIII turns out to be another XII, then count me out. XII bored me to tears.

badz1495388d ago (Edited 5388d ago )

luckily I don't really care for FFXIII from the beginning because I've never played any FF before and never will play XIII! but if vsXIII will have a gameplay anything like KH, then, I think I'll buy it! by the way, where's my KH3, SE??

it's only logical for SE to do something quite extreme in order to cater to the DVD from the original BD plan! if on the PS3 it will be anything around 25GB, then they will need at least 4 DVD if they are going to do the same thing (theoretically) and if they were planning to use a 50GB BD, then more DVDs will be needed OR they can compress everything and stay at 720p or less for the whole game, (because I read somewhere that they are going 1080p for cutscenes) that will make more sense cost-wise and quality-wise and will require less storage space! I don't think they will want to make it look superior on 1 particular console because they also said something like there will be no returning back to earlier area during the game which I think is to minimize disc changing on 360! - correct me if I'm wrong!

so...out of the 2 possibilities, I think, SE will go with the 2nd! because if I'm Wada, I'll go for that! (but I don't want to be Wada, because he's STUPID!)

mastiffchild5388d ago

Well, the originals might have nothing to do with the PS3 and these nothing to do with 360,imo. We just don't know at all.

I will say, though, that it's inevitable that the game will be visually inferior as a multi to what it would have been as an exclusive. And I mean exclusive to either console as well. Any multiplat is victim to the shortcomings of both consoles and can't use the full strength of either as a result of the dev not wanting to alienate people. We've all seen the results possible with a long dev cycle on PS3 exclusives(and I think will see the same kind of thing with AW and SCC to a large extent), results which leave all multis way behind and SE won't be any different. In fact as this is their first PS3 game they might find it even harder now the extra restrictions of the 360s limits have been added to the mix to get the PS3 version running well at a similar level-we've seen it before and in Ghostbusters case even with PS3 as lead platform.

So while IDK much from the screenshots I do know that had this stayed exclusive to PS3(or, indeed gone to 360 exclusively) we'd have a better looking end result-it's just the way things work and, among other reasons to feel mffed, PS3 only gamers can feel a bit gutted that they won't ever get the FF13 they expected. I might be wrong and SE could shock me totally but I doubt it and if these shots ARE anything to go by then it's even less likely to happen.

1ikedamaster5388d ago (Edited 5388d ago )

The bottom pic is clearly the ps3 version.(I kid)

Top pic looks better but most would probably prefer the softer-looking version.

Bob Loblaw5388d ago

The lighting in the second screen literally looks like a high quality PS2 game's!

THIS is why PS3 fans are disappointed about FF13 going to 360. 360 fanboys were saying that PS3 fanboys aren't as pumped because it's not an exclusive, exclusivity doesn't matter; it's because the game will be dumbed down so it can run on 360 and fit on 1 disc.

Imagine KZ2 on 360; it would look like CoD4 and stuff would have been taken out to fit on a 9 gig DVD.

Bigger storage + More power = Potentially better game and that's a fact! Imagine what Bungie and Epic could do with 5 times more space and much more power...

TheReaper425388d ago (Edited 5388d ago )

the 2nd shot was a screen capture off of youtube. There I've said it, don't bite my bubbles please.

2 things I can tell. 2nd pic looks blurrier. 2nd pic, the girls actually LOOK like girls... the 1st pic had a guy/girl lightning (can't really tell) and a doll girl on the right.

Basically art direction changed with some bloom/blurriness.

ShabzS5388d ago

@Bob loblaw

hahah... go finish your bob loblaw law blog man ...

FarEastOrient5388d ago

I already mentioned it before, but there has been downgrading of the Final Fantasy XIII game ever since the start of the Xbox 360 build. Even though Iwada said that the Xbox 360 build wouldn't start until the PS3 version is complete, we can say that he lied since he promised that both versions will look identical.

If you want to compare the capabilities of consoles and their ability to play Square Enix games, compare the live game code engine of Final Fantasy XIII Versus compared to the live code of Final Fantasy XIII after it went multi-platform. I've mentioned this on TQcast gamer show when talked about game screens of Final Fantasy XIII when it was still exclusive compared to screens of today.

morganfell5387d ago (Edited 5387d ago )

They are definitely using lower res textures. And lower res textures mean they can fit more of the game into a smaller space. Now which console has a disk space issue? Mystery solved.

The change is likely due to the discovery by SE on just how much disk space was going to be needed. This was something not evident until levels were fleshed out. Now they know and we know and we all see the result. After all, there is no logical reason for a game to get uglier during the dev process except the platform cannot handle it - and we know the PS3 can from the demo - or else a system lacks storage space and we know the 360 lacks that.

Thanks Microsoft for dumbing down FFXIII for the entire world.

NeoCloud5387d ago

I have the PS3 Demo Version and it looks really good [even at 50% thats what SE is telling us].But if you want to blame someone dont Blame the X360 or the PS3, blame SquareEnix.

vhero5387d ago

They said in an interview over 2 years ago making for one console meant they could get the best out of the game. Switching to dual consoles means they have to dumb the game down I just didn't think it would be so bad.

commodore645387d ago (Edited 5387d ago )

..... Don't mean to incite a riot here, but there seems to be a lot of ps3 fans thinking that the lower quality screenshot must be from the 360 version which by implication means this is holding the ps3 version back somehow.

No factual evidence for such speculation exists, of course, and thereby it all remains bog-standard case of speculative delusion.
I think the gamerzone would be better if we just stuck to the facts.

Thus:
Factually, we all know that multiplats run demonstrably better on 360, most of the time:
http://misterslimm.wordpres...

So why would this multiplat game be any different than the clearly established trend?

I have a sneaking suspicion, that, when all is said and done, the 360 version will easily match or shame the ps3 version, and in the latter case, n4g will surely blow up at 1 million degrees!

----------
edit:

No, it ain't 2006, read the article I provided.
Multiplats continue, in 2009, to run better on 360.
That's a fact.

Also, wasn't Ghostbusters led on ps3?
Once again, we all know how that worked out.

morganfell5387d ago

Unlike most other multiplats, this title was designed for the PS3 using an engine built for the PS3. When the PS3 is the lead platform the results are differnt. Your reasoning (?) is so 2006.

Megatron085387d ago

Well of corse all the idiot fanboys (morganfell) are trying to blame MS. IF this article is true I think thats a very BIG IF then its SE fault. There was no reason at all to lower the graphics on ps3 especially with the work already done. To match the 360. I think more then likely either they switch the pics and 2nd pic is the early build or that the 2nd pic is the 360 build and the 1st is the ps3. I think the 1st one is more likely. Its just I another no name site trying to get hits.

Jaces5387d ago

As true as that may be, is it such a gap as to be able to claim one version is more superior than the other?

No. Aside from Ghostbusters, which was an atrocity, there is no significant difference between the two versions when put side by side. Perhaps slightly better lighting or shading among some "jaggies" but that's about it.

Let's be honest, if a 360 version of a game ran worse than it's PS3 counterpart, you'd still get the 360 version. If not then I've misjudged you but from a fanboys perspective I'm spot on.

ps3d05387d ago

Heres the screen shot from IGN that was upload on March of 09

http://xbox360.ign.com/dor/...

IGN use the same screenshot for both the 360 and the ps3 so you cant tell what ones are for what system. But I say this is some site using flamebait to get get hits I wouldnt get to work up about it just get. Wait and see if any real site report the same.

If the graphics are change cause of it going multi plat then the blame starts and ends with SE its and yes it be a real shame if SE did "dumb down" the grpahics on the ps3.

meepmoopmeep5387d ago

i've played the demo many many times

the graphics aren't bad at all.
they're on par with most of the graphic heavy hitters
released this gen already.

N4g_null5387d ago

Some thing tells me MGSR THE HD VERSION that most of these guys where not FF fans in the first place. Seriously even if it is dumbed down then it is still better than the last one that came out. Does it matter more for your system to win the power battle or for you to get the game you wanted.

This same thinking is maybe why other smaller devs will just let you destroy the reputation of the bigger devs and publishers. With out the bigger devs/publisher there would be no HD gaming LOL.

Keep this up and HD gaming will self destruct. I know you all will blame nintendo but the way you guys are acting right now will surely do more damage than people having fun.

Gamertags5385d ago

the 360 version of this game will probably be the superior version in terms of graphics. As we have already seen time and time again, the 360 counterparts are usually sharpers with better frame rates.

I hope they are exactly the same as I am tired of hearing all this fanboyism.

Arnon5383d ago

The 'new' images that look worse, are from Jump Festa 2008.

http://forums.gametrailers....

+ Show (33) more repliesLast reply 5383d ago
Delta5388d ago

i like the older build. How about you?

Allelujah005388d ago

However, once it went multiplat, SE probably saw the difficulties it was having running on the 360.

For christ sake M$, why must you ruin our fun. :(

Game13a13y5388d ago

the version back before SE announced it going multiplat. who cares about equal quality and same release date between PS 3 and 360 versions. just release the better version first (which is the PS3 version of coz) then let the 360 fans wait for their waterdowned version. SE really dropped the ball on this one.

La Chance5388d ago (Edited 5388d ago )

edit : top one looks a lot better

tordavis5387d ago

Laughs at all the tools who think the 360 is gimping the PS3 version.

DragonWarrior_45388d ago

I dont know why this is an issue. I just got done playing some FFX a minute ago and let me tell you what. Despite it being in 480i, the graphics never crossed my mind because the story, music, and characters are so compelling it was as if I was watching a movie. The last thing you fanboys have to worry about is the graphics. The game is gonna look great. Lets just hope that the story, music, and characters are going to have the same quality as the previous titles. Besides FF X-2 and FF12.

Personally im not too crazy about the characters shown so far, but only time will tell. Till then just play all the other games that deserve your attention.

La Chance5388d ago (Edited 5388d ago )

"I dont know why this is an issue. I just got done playing some FFX a minute ago and let me tell you what. Despite it being in 480i, the graphics never crossed my mind because the story, music, and characters are so compelling it was as if I was watching a movie. The last thing you fanboys have to worry about is the graphics. The game is gonna look great"

Words cant express how much a I agree with you LOL.

Just give me a good story, characters and a world that I actually care for and feel attached to and thats all I need. The graphics already look more than good enough for me and it even looks better than any jrpg to date and its far from being my first concern but once again Im not a graphical whore and still play jrpgs on my PS2.

iamtehpwn5388d ago

I'm playing Final Fantasy X @ 1680x1050,
and the graphics on the game are absolutely amazing.

I play Final Fantasy X INTERNATIONAL in entirely Japanese.
Here are some screens:

http://img39.imageshack.us/...
http://img7.imageshack.us/i...
http://img36.imageshack.us/...
http://img193.imageshack.us...
http://img44.imageshack.us/...

Marceles5388d ago

Brings me back to when FFX first came out on PS2...just amazing. The last 2 you didnt have to add lol, cut scenes tend to look worse since the resolution stretches it out :P, but the gameplay shots don't look much older than RPGs this gen surprisingly.

Toenado5388d ago (Edited 5388d ago )

I didn't buy an hdtv for nothing. So for me graphics are of some importance. If a good story was all that mattered I would just read a book.

@below

I like older rpgs a lot. But I have older systems to play them on. I don't want an older looking rpg on my Ps3\360.

5388d ago
AP5388d ago

Still looks superb! And FFXII looks even better. Wow. This game will be amazing looking, I'm sure.

tplarkin75388d ago

FFX was a technological disappointment when I played it 8 years ago. Fixed cameras, pre-rendered backgrounds, and blocky real-time graphics. The cutscenes were well done.

Skies of Arcadia was a better game then.

iamtehpwn5388d ago

All of FFX's Cutscenes in HD and putting them on Youtube.
Seems like people would like that.

I'll also upload more screenshots in HD if anyone requests them.

RustInPeace5388d ago

DragonWarrior, I do agree with what you said, but I feel the blame about being "graphic whores" should rest on the devs. Any time a new game comes out, doesn't matter what company, the developers are the ones always spouting numbers about polygons, textures,etc... I mean, who would NOT want to have made the best looking game a team could make?

dylandurden5387d ago

FF X had almost no pre-rendered background

N4g_null5387d ago

DragonWarrior_4 have you noticed how gamers have been going against companies from japan lately? I mean the PS3 hate saw pretty big but not all of it was deserved. What is even funnier is gaming has been changed. Every thing that japan was good at has been marginalized. Even the Wii is looked at as a failure to most of these gamers.

Some times I have to sit down and take a look at what gaming has become or what the internet is trying to turn it into.

Realism favors writers the main source of the game media. Think about it. Why promote design any more or interactive loose story telling when you can just pay for voice acting and huge production costs.

What is even sadder is the fact that people seriously believe that the HD console have enough ram to pull this game off. The texture change has to be because of performance issues and I don't think sqaure wants to go with killzone 2 ugly yet it's ok if it is in some spots.

It's starting to look like SE should have just stuck with CG graphics for the cut scenes. It is best to avoid this HD my games is more powerful talk on all sides. A lot of bad things are coming out of this and they all lead to diluting games and the gamers them selves into fanboy mechanisms.

+ Show (8) more repliesLast reply 5387d ago
Tripl3seis5388d ago

idk but they better not fudge up the all game.

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70°

The 7 Best Final Fantasy Characters: Unveiling the Legends

While FFVII ranks highly, there's more to the series than one game. Here's Chit Hot's picks for the seven best Final Fantasy characters.

220°

The older it gets, the more I respect Final Fantasy XIII

Alex Donaldson: "Hindsight is a hell of a thing, however, and in the years since Final Fantasy XIII, my respect for the decisions its developers made has skyrocketed. In the two Final Fantasy titles since we see both the brilliance and the folly in alternative approaches - and in Final Fantasy VII Remake, we get a more nuanced understanding of what FF13 was trying to accomplish from many of the same development leads."

Einhander1972133d ago

FFXIII is actually one of the best Final Fantasy games.

I also sort of was disappointed at the time, never as much as the bandwagon. But really all the fantastic 3D rendered cutscenes and I actually liked the characters and the story though convoluted was actually fantastic and the ending was extremely emotional. So much budget and time were put into that game Square had such big plans, I actually have always felt kind of bad for how things played out.

I have been thinking for years how great it would be to get all three games on one disk for PS4 or 5.

Nyxus133d ago

I always liked this game, and I agree, a rerelease for current gen would be nice.

Shane Kim132d ago (Edited 132d ago )

Gotta take off the nostalgia glasses. It's the worst FF. Shiva as a bike, I mean come on.

Elda132d ago

Shiva as a bike is strange but saying FFXIII is the worst FF is not at all a fact, that's simply your opinion.

Terry_B131d ago

*One of the 3 equally bad FF's

DivineHand125132d ago (Edited 132d ago )

When I got my series X a year ago, I bought FF13 for nostalgia reasons but ended up being disappointed. When I first played it around the time it launched, I didn't have a lot of experience with final fantasy games, so I enjoyed it. Fast forward to when I played it again, I found that the game had many unnecessary filler moments instead of just giving us meaningful content.

The game is also very linear and a quote on the article said it best. "It is like a sewage pipe that leads to the ocean until it opens up on Grand Pulse."

The story didn't make much sense either and I believe it is my mistake as I played the FF7 remake on PS5 prior which is a night and day difference in terms of pacing, storytelling and likeable characters even though cloud is aloof.

FinalFantasyFanatic131d ago (Edited 131d ago )

Probably was a mistake to play any of the golden era FFs first (e.g. FF6 through FF10), it makes it harder to enjoy some of the FFs that aren't as good. I think FF12 was where major issues with the series started becoming apparent, and it just got worse from there.

FinalFantasyFanatic131d ago (Edited 131d ago )

I didn't really care for it that much, the only saving grace was that it had a better story than 15 (overall it was better than 15) and possibly 12, and even then, you had to read some of it through primers, like reading a book. Plus the battle system was reasonably fun for what it was, even if it was more the spectacle that was exciting for me (e.g. summoning). And to be fair, the 13 trilogy got better with every games, I still don't like Snow though.

Gamingsince1981131d ago

Ff13 is only good if you haven't played a ff before, or any other games that are decent for that matter.

-Foxtrot131d ago

It is in fact no way the best Final Fantasy game, it's one of the worst

Linear corridors, Cutscene, Fight, Cutscene...rinse and repeat

Dialogue and characters are pretty bad, especially Lightning as the main FF hero, they literally said they tried to make a "Female Cloud" and they failed.

Story was pretty awful

I could go on

I think the only alright thing that came from the game was the music.

Elda131d ago

That's not a fact that's your personal opinion. The game sold 11 million copies between its 2009 release up until 2014 including critically reviewed as an 8 out of 10 or an 80 out of 100. The game does have some issues but it's not at all a fact as one of the worst FF games.

-Foxtrot131d ago

Elda

Not just mine mate

A large majority

So….

Traecy130d ago

N4G commenters such as yourself aren't the majority. The game was well received.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 130d ago
+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 130d ago
gold_drake133d ago (Edited 133d ago )

i liked the game alot but i didnt like how they handled the terminology.

i dont mind reading data logs but it had soo many.

but i always loved the music and how it looked. the battle system wasnt too bad either.

but i like 13-2 more :)

i still dont understand why we never got a remaster of the trilogy

Eonjay131d ago

Xbox kinda did. Besides the video files of course which are still best on PS3 due to bluray.

Snookies12133d ago

XIII is a pretty solid game, but XIII-2 is WAY better. XIII-2 was one of the few games I decided to go for a Platinum trophy in, early on. Had so much fun the entire way through getting it too!

Eonjay131d ago

Totally agree. FF 13 was okay but 13-2 is my favorite FF game ever.

shinoff2183133d ago (Edited 133d ago )

I hated this to when it released. I haven't much liked a ff game since ff10 as much , aside from ff7remake. I decided to give it another shot on my series x since it's not on a current ps and was liking it quite a bit(just takes me some time to get over things ) until star ocean 2 remake came out I was all over that.

Square should definitely remaster it or something for ps4 ps5

KillerB132d ago

my favorite jrpg trilogy ever

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70°

Interview: Making music with Masashi Hamauzu

Square Enix Blog: "How do you compose iconic songs that help define a legacy? We speak to legendary composer Masashi Hamauzu about his work on Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy XIII, and Final Fantasy VII Remake, and how to make unforgettable music."

Read Full Story >>
square-enix-games.com