Post-E3 Final Fantasy XII details from Famitsu and other magazines |
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Even though western journalism covered E3 from head to toe, guess who got the exclusive information? Naturally. |
Famitsu talked to Sakaguchi and Matsuno at E3 and got them to reveal some more details on Final Fantasy XII, presumably because the questions themselves were more game-related than the ones posed by the American and European press. German website PlanetFF12 posted a translated version (in German), which we've summarised below.
Matsuno clarified the various scenes we've seen so far by placing them in chronological sequence and explaining various character relationships.
- The opening movie of the game is the video we've seen before of Ashe and a silver-haired prince being knighted by the king of Dalmasca.
- The game then cuts to the playable E3 scene with Basch and Rex. Rex is Vaan's brother, and at the end of this opening scene, Basch, captain of the knights, slays the Dalmascan king because he would not go to war against Archadia (?) and kills Rex, who dies with his brother's name on his lips.
- The actual opening of the game takes place two years later and is reminiscent of Aladdin - Vaan is shown eating some fruit in a marketplace. He steals a pouch from some guards and escapes to Penelo, his childhood friend. Matsuno says Final Fantasy XII tells the stories of Vaan and Penelo, and although Sakaguchi comments that Matsuno would probably rather have had sky pirate Balthier as the main character, Matsuno indicated that his story may be better suited to an eventual other game.
- The dungeon scene shown in the prior FamitsuWave DVD movie takes place 3-4 hours into the game, after Vaan goes into the royal palace to steal an item that should help against the invading forces from Archadia. At the same time, several events occur that lead to Balthier and Vaan being locked up in the dungeon together.
Sakaguchi and Matsuno also discussed the theme of Final Fantasy XII: Change. Because Square Enix now controls both Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy, it was decided that the latter should be changed to be more unique and characteristic when compared directly to Dragon Quest, so that they don't compete. Dragon Quest will be the traditional RPG series, whereas Final Fantasy must now constantly innovate. Matsuno says that whenever he asked Sakaguchi whether he could change a certain element of the game, the answer was "why not?", suggesting that more or less all innovations are a good thing. However, Sakaguchi claims that Final Fantasy XII is still a Final Fantasy game, even with all the gameplay changes.
Speaking on the new gameplay system, Matsuno mentions that there are no physical jobs or abilities present. However, if a character uses a certain skill often, such as white magic, he will eventually become [closer to] a White Mage. Spending a lot of time on the game will make it possible to create a character who can do anything.
The new battle system is another innovation Matsuno felt was an important step in moving Final Fantasy away from Dragon Quest. Enemies now attack onscreen and only when they can sense the player, either by sight, smell, or sound. Depending on these factors and the environment, it will be possible to avoid certain enemy encounters, although some enconters are not optional, such as boss encounters or plot-specific battles. Enemies will also employ various surprise tactics, such as attacking from behind. This seems to be the realtime implementation of "surprised" or "pre-emptive attack", classic Final Fantasy battle dynamics.
When engaging enemies, there will be a way to determine what kind of attacks they are resistant or weak to - for instance, magic or physical attacks. Based on this the character can modify equipment and attack from a distance or at a closer range.
The classic Final Fantasy elements fire, wind, ice, lightning, earth, water, holy, and shadow return, along with Vagrant Story-esque weapon categories: swords, spears, daggers, bows, gloves, and short swords. Weapons will also bear levels, although more information on them has not been released yet.
The "Gambit" system used to control NPCs in battle was added to ease the progression from Final Fantasy X to Final Fantasy XII, explains Matsuno. The battle system may feel a lot like Final Fantasy XI, but most players won't be coming from there - they'll be stepping over from FFX. One of the main focuses of the battle system is therefore to ensure that such players have a very easy transition. For that reason, certain aspects of the ATB system, such as timing and the "life" bars at the bottom of the screen, have been left intact. Sakaguchi compares this system to Vagrant Story's, which was quite hardcore and tough to get into.
Other comments include Sakaguchi stating that he believes this game is the most graphically advanced title available on the PS2, and won't be surpassed in this generation. He also questions whether it will be possible for him and Kitase to improve upon it in next instalments of the series. Matsuno says this is only the beginning of the "new generation" of Final Fantasy titles - FFX marked the transition, and now the next ten titles are ready to be made. He also says that even though his team has reached over 100 members, he is still constantly trying to max them out and keep pushing boundaries to the point that they ask him "should we really go this far?". This is the reason the game has been delayed, says Sakaguchi, to ensure the highest quality.
All in all it seems that Final Fantasy XII may be another incredibly polished instalment of the series.
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