Final Fantasy Type-0 is playable at Square Enix Odaiba Expo 2011 in sunny (actually, if I recall correctly, it's usually not sunny) Odaiba. Famitsu has first impressions along with images from the event.
The demo, titled "Natsubi" kicks off with an event, and leaves you at the gate of your magic school in control of Rem. The school courtyard is filled with students of different colored cloaks (the cloak color is an indication of their class -- you're in Class Zero) and Moogles.
Famitsu's editors entered an area called "Salon," which has NPCs selling items and a Moogle who gives you missions.
The demo build offered two missions, a training mission which teaches the controls and a mission where you face off against the Byakko (that's one of your rival nations) army. As the play time was limited to just fifteen minutes, Famitsu's editors decided to skip the demo.
The Famitsu editor was initially in a state of panic because the game uses so many buttons and lots of enemies came at him. It seriously does use a lot of buttons. See this story for a control chart.
After getting use to the controls, the Famitsu editor says he had no problems. He also said that the controls resemble The 3rd Birthday.
Type-0 has a multiplayer component where other players can enter your battle, temporarily taking over for one of your two other party members. For solo players, the game also allows for "fake" multiplayer sessions, with the computer controlling named classmates from your school. The demo version had the latter fake multiplayer component in place, with the classmates named after the development staff -- like Kitase P and Tabata D, named after producer Yoshinori Kitase and director Hajime Tabata.
When an NPC comes into the fight, a party member you've selected temporarily leaves battle. The character returns once the NPC leaves. Famitsu's editor noted that the tempo is pretty fast, with NPCs coming and leaving quickly.
With all the things going on, from the complex controls to the constant flow of enemies to the swapping in and out of NPCs, Famitsu's writer admitted to having a difficult time getting a grasp on the current state of battle. However, he felt that this is appropriate given that the game attempts to recreate the battle scene. Some presentational touches, like the enemies issuing communiques, help to further deliver the feel of battle.
The only complaint in Famitsu's writeup was that the camerawork has some issues in cramped areas. Aside from this, he said that his expectations of the game have risen, and he's waiting for the game's demo (which hasn't been announced... I'm not sure if the writer knows something or if he was just assuming).
Square Enix also showed a new trailer in the booth. This was packed with drama scenes and narrated by Machina and Rem. Famitsu's writer (different from the person who wrote the hands-on) discovered two new characters in the trailer: Andoria and Celestia. These two are from Concordia Kingdom, the nation of dragon warriors.
The trailer also listed the voice actors for some for some of the characters:
• Andoria: Megumi Hayashibara
• Celestia: Nana Mizuki (yes!)
• Seven: Mauko Aoki
• Jack: Kenichi Suzumura
• Duce: Kana Hanazawa
Names not listed: Shigeru Chiba, Masako Nozawa, Kenji Utsumi, Masako Ikeda
Source: Andriasang
The demo, titled "Natsubi" kicks off with an event, and leaves you at the gate of your magic school in control of Rem. The school courtyard is filled with students of different colored cloaks (the cloak color is an indication of their class -- you're in Class Zero) and Moogles.
Famitsu's editors entered an area called "Salon," which has NPCs selling items and a Moogle who gives you missions.
The demo build offered two missions, a training mission which teaches the controls and a mission where you face off against the Byakko (that's one of your rival nations) army. As the play time was limited to just fifteen minutes, Famitsu's editors decided to skip the demo.
The Famitsu editor was initially in a state of panic because the game uses so many buttons and lots of enemies came at him. It seriously does use a lot of buttons. See this story for a control chart.
After getting use to the controls, the Famitsu editor says he had no problems. He also said that the controls resemble The 3rd Birthday.
Type-0 has a multiplayer component where other players can enter your battle, temporarily taking over for one of your two other party members. For solo players, the game also allows for "fake" multiplayer sessions, with the computer controlling named classmates from your school. The demo version had the latter fake multiplayer component in place, with the classmates named after the development staff -- like Kitase P and Tabata D, named after producer Yoshinori Kitase and director Hajime Tabata.
When an NPC comes into the fight, a party member you've selected temporarily leaves battle. The character returns once the NPC leaves. Famitsu's editor noted that the tempo is pretty fast, with NPCs coming and leaving quickly.
With all the things going on, from the complex controls to the constant flow of enemies to the swapping in and out of NPCs, Famitsu's writer admitted to having a difficult time getting a grasp on the current state of battle. However, he felt that this is appropriate given that the game attempts to recreate the battle scene. Some presentational touches, like the enemies issuing communiques, help to further deliver the feel of battle.
The only complaint in Famitsu's writeup was that the camerawork has some issues in cramped areas. Aside from this, he said that his expectations of the game have risen, and he's waiting for the game's demo (which hasn't been announced... I'm not sure if the writer knows something or if he was just assuming).
Square Enix also showed a new trailer in the booth. This was packed with drama scenes and narrated by Machina and Rem. Famitsu's writer (different from the person who wrote the hands-on) discovered two new characters in the trailer: Andoria and Celestia. These two are from Concordia Kingdom, the nation of dragon warriors.
The trailer also listed the voice actors for some for some of the characters:
• Andoria: Megumi Hayashibara
• Celestia: Nana Mizuki (yes!)
• Seven: Mauko Aoki
• Jack: Kenichi Suzumura
• Duce: Kana Hanazawa
Names not listed: Shigeru Chiba, Masako Nozawa, Kenji Utsumi, Masako Ikeda
Source: Andriasang