With Final Fantasy XIII-2 complete, Square Enix’s 1st Production team should be drafting ideas for the next game in the series. Speaking with Square Enix Members, producer Yoshinori Kitase shed some light on how the team creates a new numbered Final Fantasy game.

"There are two things that I and the development team keep in mind when developing a new title, one aspect is the story, because Final Fantasy is about a fantasy story, we want it to be understood and received by anyone no matter where they live, who they are, where they’re from, just a story that they can get the same emotions as anyone across the world, that’s one aspect we always try to keep in mind."

"And the second point is the overall visuals, and the way the game feels, with the platforms continuously evolving and graphics becoming photo realistic, instead of going in that direction, we wanted to keep that distinct Final Fantasy feel, and there’s a little more freedom to move around in that, if you make it too real it might feel a little too dark and too serious, by keeping it in a fantasy environment there’s more freedom we can keep that distinctive feel and experience to all the games."

Another interesting tidbit from the interview is Motomu Toriyama, director of Final Fantasy XIII-2, mentioned he has never been to Las Vegas and he’ll draw inspiration from the sights in Sin City for his next game. That’s interesting because Final Fantasy XIII-2 feels like it has a bit of Vegas in it. Final Fantasy XIII-2 has a casino called Serendipity with gaudy lights, noisy slot machines, and chocobo racing to bet on.