Final Fantasy XIII: The Real Pulse

Chocobos aren't all that's big in Pulse.

The big Final Fantasy reveal in this week's Weekly Shounen Jump is the true face of Pulse, the wild counterpart to the floating "paradise" of Cocoon. In addition to the world's real name, the magazine offers details on some of the locations you'll traverse, and some of the activities you can undertake.

Pulse's proper name is Grand Pulse. Grand is the right word, judging by the screenshots shown in the magazine. Past trailers have shown massive beasts roaming the fields, but you haven't seen anything yet! Some of the creatures tower like mountains above Lighting and party.

It's unclear if the heroes will have to face off in battle against the larger beasts. This would, honestly, be a bit difficult to imagine (unless Hope were on hand with Alexander!). Screens do so Lightning in combat with a mid-sized wild behemoth that's said to be many times more powerful than the type of creatures you'll find in Cocoon.

You'll also find some familiar FFXIII enemies in the Pulse world. Jump offers a look at the cactus-like Sabotender, known in the West as Cactuar. While having the same design as past Sabotenders, the Pulse Sabotender is huge -- many times larger than a standard-sized Sabotender. It appears that the smaller kind also appears in the game, and possibly in the same battle!

While down in Pulse, you'll end up visiting Yashias Mountain. Once home to a great civilization, all you'll find here now are a city in ruins and home to Shigai dens. The Shigai, you'll recall, are the ghostly creatures into which the l'Cie transform when they fail to fulfill their objective.

Pulse is home to a mission system. Scattered around the land, you'll find special obelisks. Speak to these, and you'll be able to take on missions. The missions give you rewards for taking out particular enemies. There appears to be a full gameplay system surrounding this, as screens show a mission briefing screen and graded rankings.

The obelisks fit into the story. The l'Cie, after becoming a Shigai, eventually are crystalized into the obelisks.

That's presumably unless you kill them in battle.

As always, Jump reveals tend to gloss over the details. It just so happens that Famitsu is promising a huge 19 spread in its next issue. Expect more details on Pulse and the mission system then.