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'Final Fantasy VII': The challenge of remaking a classic
Almost 20 years later, Final Fantasy VII is being remade. It's no prequel, sequel, gamified Advent Children thing. It's a proper darn remake. The short trailer shown first at PlayStation's E3 2015 event was fairly obtuse -- we don't even get to see the protagonists' face, but there's still a lot of excited people. A whole lot. How do you break the mold without breaking hearts? With some translation assistance, we asked its producer, Tetsuya Nomura, all about it.
Xbox 360 retailing in a Final Fantasy XIII bundle for the rest of us
Japan's been Final Fantasy-ing for a while now, but it looks like an import FFXIII PS3 isn't your only shot at pointy-haired excellence. Outside of Japan, Microsoft has the exclusive "official" Final Fantasy XIII bundles, in the form of a $399 Xbox 360 that packs a 250GB HDD, two controllers, a standard edition of the game, and some exclusive avatar downloads. Separately available will be some limited edition faceplates (pictured after the break) created by designer Tetsuya Nomura, but if you want a full console paint job you're still going to have to turn Japanese and fork it over for a PS3 -- or level up on your Bob Ross technique and paint it yourself. The bundle should hit stores March 9th.
Nomura denied FFVII limited edition
Looks like Square Enix forgot to save a Final Fantasy VII limited edition PSP for famed designer Tetsuya Nomura. The man responsible for all things Final Fantasy (including Crisis Core) failed to secure a system from the Square Enix shop, and now he has to wait in line just like everyone else. Good thing there's going to be 77,777 systems available. It was originally planned to be far less -- 10,000 units for the entire world to try and grab!Final Fantasy-related mania is going to strike Japan soon, and we can't wait. Stay tuned for more.
Why is Dissidia on PSP?
In an interview with Degenki, Final Fantasy Dissidia producer Tetsuya Nomura explained why Dissidia is heading to PSP instead of other more popular systems (such as the PS2). A translation from PSPHyper shows the reasoning: "PSP was chosen as the platform due to it's ad-hoc mode and the fact that people generally don't like split screen gaming. Nomura said that with its large install base, the PS2 maybe the natural choice but it also means that multiplayer modes has to be played on split screen, which reduce the fun factor by half."While it's true that PSP has ad-hoc support, let's hope that the development team at Square Enix doesn't forget that it also has Infrastructure as well. Although Dissidia seems like a perfect candidate for online play, Capcom's Monster Hunter series shows that online play isn't a significant concern for Japanese developers and gamers.
New PSP game, Final Fantasy Dissidia, announced
So, we don't know about you, but we love the early stages in a game's life cycle. Take the newly-launched official site for Final Fantasy Dissidia, for example. Thanks to some digging by PSP Fanboy, we know it's a PSP game. Past that, the official site is all mystery. All we get is a logo (seen above) and the phrase "Fantasy is endless, Fantasy has no limited form." Oh, and we learn that the character design is being done by Tetsuya Nomura. Other than that, we're clueless. See, isn't this exhilarating? What could the game be? Is it part of the Final Fantasy XIII decade? Is it a sequel to Dirge of Cerberus? (God, we hope not.) A sequel to Mystic Quest? (Umm, no.) Sure, we'll learn more during the Square Enix party in a few days, but we're kind of enjoying the mystery at the moment.
Next Kingdom Hearts to be portable spin-off, not KHIII
Ever wonder what "King" Mickey was really doing in the World of Darkness -- or how he got his mitts on that keyblade? Well, Square Enix's Tetsuya Nomura has told Famitsu that the next Kingdom Hearts game will explain just that, CVG reports. Nomura isn't talking Kingdom Hearts III (as EGM speculated), but rather a spin-off entry bound for portability. "[It] would be hard to choose if to make the game for the PSP, NDS or the cell phone," teases a rough translation of Nomura's comments to Famitsu.The designer hinted that the side-story would play "slightly different" than the rest of the Kingdom Hearts series. "I want to ... change the system a little," said Nomura, adding, "The multi-developing makes me want to put it on something else [other than consoles.]" Sounds like Nomura isn't interested in sharing any one game on multiple platforms. So when can we poll the rest of Square Enix on this issue?
Nomura talks Kingdom Hearts: could it go to PSP?
Kingdom Hearts Network has translated a recent issue of Famitsu. This particular issue is of interest because there is an interview with Square Enix's Tetsuya Nomura. In the interview, Nomura talks about the future of Kingdom Hearts: "The announcement time of a new KH project might be announced soon." Of particular interest to PSP owners: "The multi-developing makes me want to put it on something else without thinking. If we follow this idea, it would be hard to choose if to make the game for the PSP, NDS or the cell phone." Not the best translation, but I think we all get the idea. Kingdom Hearts on PSP could be the best team-up for PSP owners since Final Fantasy and Disney. [Via DCEmu]
Kingdom Hearts creator working on new series, not KH III
Square Enix's Tetsuya Nomura (Sony-era Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts series) has told Japanese magazine Dengeki PlayStation that his next project would not be Kingdom Hearts III but a new series. "So it probably won't be just one title," he said.Nomura told us to expect multiple Kingdom Hearts announcements this year. Hidden trailers notwithstanding, we've heard nothing (Mushroom Kingdom Hearts was an April Fool's gag), so it sounds like the next KH projects will be moving forward without Nomura. Given the design precedent he set, we hope the future project director and producers can improve upon the current template.Nomura's new series is purported to share some similarities (like character design, natch) with Kingdom Hearts. According to EuroGamer, a full announcement from Square Enix is expected later this year.
Final Fantasy XIII gets a battle director!
The battle director for Final Fantasy XIII has been named this day. The honor goes to Toshiro Tsuchida -- the very same guy who was the battle director for Final Fantasy X and has been involved with all the Front Mission games. Does this mean we can expect a turn-based battle system with strategy elements? According to Tetsuya Nomura, no. No it does not.Nomura has given a few details on the battle system and if memory serves, many of us at PS3Fanboy had guessed the system before it was announced. Anyway, Nomura said the fights will resemble those in Kingdom Hearts (hopefully less button-mashing, more strategy...) with a bit of a third-person shooter features tossed in. It seems each weapon will have a separate camera and control system. Could you imagine Sora using a dozen different types of weapons each with completely unique move sets? That would be a lot of crap to micromanage. And Nick loves his micromanaging.
Monotone: Square-Enix colors the mobile kingdom
You won't find Kingdom Hearts director Tetsuya Nomura's new portable RPG on a Sony or Nintendo handheld. Monotone was developed exclusively for the mobile phone market and is a subscription-based (¥210 per month; under $2) puzzle-RPG, in which the protagonist must restore color and sound to his world (and no, he's not a wolf-god).For a limited time, Square-Enix is accepting fan-submitted content, presumably to inspire new characters, monsters, and quests that could be added to the game at a later date. There's also an in-game points system, which encourages players to redeem their hard-earned points for ringtones and wallpapers. Monotone is currently available on Japan's DoCoMo network. In other words, you won't be playing it.
Kojima on Wii: Interesting controller, dated graphics
After infamously comparing the Wii to a television, respected and surprisingly non-grumpy game developer, Hideo Kojima, recently revisited the topic of how the next-gen consoles compare to one another. Thankfully, he refrained from using film, cuisine or extreme sports analogies this time. Speaking in a group interview alongside advent child Testuya Nomura and Metal Gear Solid 4's Yoji Shinkawa, Kojima made it clear that he views the technologically advanced PS3 as leading the way to the future. He noted that the high cost of the system would be a necessary evil in order to push the industry to new heights, whereas the Wii could be considered "interesting, but in terms of functions, it's a machine with past concepts." It's fair to assume that he is referring directly to the Wii's less robust graphical abilities, certainly an important factor when it comes to the sort of cinematic presentation Kojima's games have become known for. However, Kojima goes on to suggest how the PS3 might be improved. "The best thing would be a PS3 with controls like the Wii."That sounds grand to us ... but it would probably cost a grand too. Money well spent?
Kojima creates more PS3 analogies
A recent panel interview was held at IGN between Metal Gear guru Hideo Kojima, MGS4 art director Yoji Shinkawa and Square-Enix's own Tetsuya Nomura (pictured right) regarding their take on the PS3. Having likened it to many things before, Kojima had a lot to say about Sony's new box o' tricks, saying "If you think about the future of the industry and game creators, I get the feeling that the winner had better be the movie theater -- or, the PS3. No one will say that the price is cheap." He adds later on that his optimal choice of gadgetry would have been "a PS3 with controls like the Wii."How about Nomura's take? Final Fantasy games were a huge selling point on the PSX and the PS2, not to mention other fantastic Square-Enix RPG's, so his opinion will carry a lot of weight in the Japanese RPGamer crowd. He felt that "as a game machine, it's too expensive." But he softened this typical argument with "Thinking two to three years from now, the PS3 will be the most appropriate."The three also joked about another Zone of Enders title. Maybe they weren't joking -- those were some pretty good games. Either way, it seems the big names at Konami and Square-Enix are voicing their support of the PS3. Whether it hits big right at launch or creeps its way to the summit of the mountain in a few years, they seem to feel the PS3 is going to be it.[Edit: added a reference for the picture, clarifying that it is Tetsuya Nomura -- Should have made that more clear.]
3 Final Fantasy XIII games; 2 just for PS3
Final Fantasy XII won't be out for the PS2 in the States until October, but we now have a glimpse of Final Fantasy XIII thanks to Square Enix's pre-E3 press event -- and this installment in the series won't be coming alone.Like the different titles in the Compilation of FFVII collection of games and movies, the initially announced installments in the FFXIII universe will span multiple platforms which, in this case, include both the PS3 and sufficiently advanced mobile handsets. Not much is known about the mobile-bound Final Fantasy Agito XIII, but the subtitle-less version of FFXIII will concern a gun-and-sword-toting heroine in a futuristic world, while Final Fantasy Versus XIII will focus on "a spiky-haired character," "extreme action elements," and a primary theme of "bonding" (whatever that means). Anybody ready to "resist the world"?The multiple titles might explain the earlier rumor reported in March that FFXIII was "practically close to being finished" (maybe only one of these games was nearing completion). Whatever the case may be, we're just happy that more than one not-so-Final-Fantasy will be hitting the next PlayStation in relatively rapid succession. RPG feasting: on the way.[Via Joystiq]
