Page
2 Scan
Special Box: More than
Fantasy – Just from looking at the
new screens here, you can see that FFXIII isn’t only light years ahead
of other
titles in the series in a technical sense – it’s also more futuristic
in style.
By Toriyama’s admission. FFXIII is less fantasy than its sci fi and
game’s
distinctive visual have been developed to progress the sci fi themes of
FFVII
and FFVIII. Certainly, with the physical gap between Cocoon and Pulse,
and the
chance to journey between planets, FFXIII is worlds away (if you’ll
pardon the
pun) from the comparatively simple map-based exploits of past FF games.
Waiting for FFXIII and
most of them will inevitably buy the
game, but do you feel any pressure to deliver?
MT: Whenever we develop a
new Final Fantasy game for a new
hardware format, we’re very conscious to make use of the new console’s
key
specs and features, so there is definitely pressure to perform. With FF
on the
PS3, we’re particularly feeling that type of pressure.
OPS: With Final Fantasy
XIII you’ve decided to spread the
project over three titles, including one for mobile phones. What was
the
thinking behind that? Is there any particular objective?
MT: In fact, Fabula Nova
Crystallis FFXIII project isn’t
just limited to three titles – there are many different aspects. In
terms of
the formats we’re reaching, as well, it’s not simple exclusive to the
PS3 and
mobile phones. In Latin, Fabula Nova Crystallis means “New Crystal
Story” and
we’re using that as a base for the project, but there are many
characters and
legends that are branching off from this main story and universe. It’s
a huge
project.
OPS: If we can move on to
the battle systems in FFXIII, how
does the game play differently to previous FF titles?
MT: The Active Timer
Battle system of recent FF games have
been sped up to its limit in FFXIII. It can’t get any quicker than
this.
Compared with previous FF games, the pace of battles in FFXIII has been
drastically increased, but we’ve still managed to retain the tactical
and
strategic characteristic of the series.
OPS: Could you tell us a
little about the most interesting
characters in FF XIII?
MT: I can only really
talk about Lightning at the moment.
She’s the main character, but in the game she’s reluctant to talk about
herself
and her past, so there’s a strong element of mystery about her
character. The
name “Lightning” itself is just a tag she has chosen – it’s actually not
her
real name, we’re planning to talk about other characters in the near
future,
but we’re deliberately revealing them in a certain order, so I’m afraid
you’ll
just have to wait for more revelations.
OPS: How does FF
XIII utilize the PS3 key features – its’
blue ray disc format, the PSN, and so on
MT: The PS3’s HD
capabilities are really helping us FF XIII’s
drama scenes with an extra sense of presence and impact. I think we’ll
be able
to achieve a lot of things that were previously impossible; we’re
really
creating a greater degree of expression as far as the game’s character
are
concerned, and we’re also innovating with a spit display to show what’s
happening in the game to different characters in different location at
the same
time. We haven’t decided whether or not to make sue of PS3’s online
function,
but we’re thinking about it…
OPS: Are there likely to
be any mini-games in FF XIII?
MT: We’re still debating
over whether or not to include mini-games
in FFXIII project, but if we were to develop mini-games in this
universe we’d
probably think about developing them into additional, separate releases
– brand
new games in their own right.
OPS: How long do you
expect to take…see page 3
