Square-Enix has revealed a new gameplay system to Final Fantasy XIII-2: the Historia Crux.
The system seems core to the title's gameplay, letting you select and jump between multiple points in Gran Pulse's history, and seeing how your actions affect and alter the course of the future.
In a Q&A released today, Director Motomu Toriyama explains the design came about from fan feedback to FFXIII.
"FINAL FANTASY XIII, was primarily story driven and progressed in a very linear manner. For the sequel, FINAL FANTASY XIII-2, we are going for a much more player driven concept, so this time around the gameplay and story itself will alter to fit the player's choices," he explains. "[I] believe it to be an optimal system for combining the best parts of open-world style games with the story-driven aspects of FINAL FANTASY XIII."
The director also offered an interesting reference to one of Square's all-time classic titles, suggesting FFXIII-2 was very similar to Chrono Trigger.
"We really have received a lot of feedback about the game, but among the voices there are those who say it reminds them of the classic RPG, CHRONO TRIGGER. For FINAL FANTASY XIII-2, we are aiming to make time travel a major thematic direction, and be able to express this on high-end game machines."
You'll also be able to carry character progression back with you to earlier missions in the game.
"Character levels and equipment etc will be carried over so it will be possible to play the game as if doing a "New Game+" for each of the areas at different times. It will be possible to play through from the start using your levelled up characters, once you have completed the game. We have taken care to put a number of elements into the game system to make replays more exciting and user-friendly."