Can you clarify information on how the job system will work in Final Fantasy XIV? Hiromichi Tanaka: Actually, this time, it’s not going to be called the job system, it’s called an armoury system, which is going to really depend on which weapon you’re using. You skill up that weapon, and you’re going to have a different class. This will allow you to switch classes very easily. When you change your weapon, you can change your class at the same time. This changes your appearance, including your clothes as well.
Can you talk about the differences between this and your last online effort, Final Fantasy XI?
HT: There’s going to be three main differences between this and FFXI. One of them is the armoury system, as we discussed, and the second – FFXI had an automatic battle system but this time it’s going to be a real-time battle system. You’ll be selecting all your commands directly reflecting the tactics you want to use in the game. The third is Guildleves. This is a new system we’re introducing in FFXIV. Guildleves is really going to allow the player to have flexibility in the game. While FFXI was more focusing on party system, you joined a party and [performed tasks within that party], that could take a long time. This time we want to allow players to have more flexibility, so depending on what you feel like on that day, you can select a very short Guildleve, that’ll take only 15 minutes. Or if you want more of a challenge, you can select a different Guildleve, which will be longer and harder.
Is this Final Fantasy MMO going to be more accessible than the last one?
HT: Yes, that’s possible. Because of Guildleves, it’s really going to allow lots of different ways of enjoying the game and if you’re on your own or in a small group, that’s fine as well. But if you want to achieve something difficult, that’ll be another option. It’ll be easy for the new players, but it won’t disappoint older players, as well.
Sage Sundi: MMO really is a complex type of game, but this time, because it’s crossplatform and for console players, who haven’t experienced an MMO before, it’ll be easy to start a new game experience. But it’s not going to be a casual game! It’ll satisfy hardcore MMO players.
Obviously, the MMO genre is quite a difficult one to crack. How important do you feel the Final Fantasy brand is in making this a big title?
HT: With FFXI, only a small percentage of Final Fantasy players tried it. We feel there’s a huge market of FF fans who haven’t tried MMOs before and we would like to reach them. There are also MMO fans who have never played Final Fantasy fans before – we’d like to reach them, too.
Are you doing anything in particular to get Final Fantasy fans more involved, this time?
HT: The one thing about Final Fantasy is that it has an epic story behind the gameplay. This time, we will have voiceover for the storyline for the characters, as well, which is a really high quality way of telling story.
With the release dates being so close together, is there a rivalry between the XIII and XIV teams?
HT: We’re not really competing with each other. One reason why it’s so close is that we’ve been working on FFXIII and XIV for three or four years, now, because we’re both using the Crystal Tools engine. We had to wait until those were ready, and, when they were were, we both started again. That’s the reason we ended up releasing at the same time and so close together.
SS: If Final Fantasy XIII was an MMO, maybe it would be a different story, but they’re both completely different games!
How have you found development on PS3?
HT: The most difficult thing about PS3 development was the memory management.
Is it still PC and PS3-only?
HT: At launch it’ll be Windows and PS3-only, but we’re talking about other platforms as well, but we don’t know when or which [they will be].
Every Final Fantasy game seems to have its own unique style, but which of the games would you say Final Fantasy XI is closest to in terms of its art and the tone of its world?
HT: Of course, XIV will be unique on its own, but as to which games its world is most similar to, it could be quite similar to Final Fantasy VI. The machines…the way the world works [in relation to the machines]. That’s something it could be similar to.
Source: NowGamer
Can you talk about the differences between this and your last online effort, Final Fantasy XI?
HT: There’s going to be three main differences between this and FFXI. One of them is the armoury system, as we discussed, and the second – FFXI had an automatic battle system but this time it’s going to be a real-time battle system. You’ll be selecting all your commands directly reflecting the tactics you want to use in the game. The third is Guildleves. This is a new system we’re introducing in FFXIV. Guildleves is really going to allow the player to have flexibility in the game. While FFXI was more focusing on party system, you joined a party and [performed tasks within that party], that could take a long time. This time we want to allow players to have more flexibility, so depending on what you feel like on that day, you can select a very short Guildleve, that’ll take only 15 minutes. Or if you want more of a challenge, you can select a different Guildleve, which will be longer and harder.
Is this Final Fantasy MMO going to be more accessible than the last one?
HT: Yes, that’s possible. Because of Guildleves, it’s really going to allow lots of different ways of enjoying the game and if you’re on your own or in a small group, that’s fine as well. But if you want to achieve something difficult, that’ll be another option. It’ll be easy for the new players, but it won’t disappoint older players, as well.
Sage Sundi: MMO really is a complex type of game, but this time, because it’s crossplatform and for console players, who haven’t experienced an MMO before, it’ll be easy to start a new game experience. But it’s not going to be a casual game! It’ll satisfy hardcore MMO players.
Obviously, the MMO genre is quite a difficult one to crack. How important do you feel the Final Fantasy brand is in making this a big title?
HT: With FFXI, only a small percentage of Final Fantasy players tried it. We feel there’s a huge market of FF fans who haven’t tried MMOs before and we would like to reach them. There are also MMO fans who have never played Final Fantasy fans before – we’d like to reach them, too.
Are you doing anything in particular to get Final Fantasy fans more involved, this time?
HT: The one thing about Final Fantasy is that it has an epic story behind the gameplay. This time, we will have voiceover for the storyline for the characters, as well, which is a really high quality way of telling story.
With the release dates being so close together, is there a rivalry between the XIII and XIV teams?
HT: We’re not really competing with each other. One reason why it’s so close is that we’ve been working on FFXIII and XIV for three or four years, now, because we’re both using the Crystal Tools engine. We had to wait until those were ready, and, when they were were, we both started again. That’s the reason we ended up releasing at the same time and so close together.
SS: If Final Fantasy XIII was an MMO, maybe it would be a different story, but they’re both completely different games!
How have you found development on PS3?
HT: The most difficult thing about PS3 development was the memory management.
Is it still PC and PS3-only?
HT: At launch it’ll be Windows and PS3-only, but we’re talking about other platforms as well, but we don’t know when or which [they will be].
Every Final Fantasy game seems to have its own unique style, but which of the games would you say Final Fantasy XI is closest to in terms of its art and the tone of its world?
HT: Of course, XIV will be unique on its own, but as to which games its world is most similar to, it could be quite similar to Final Fantasy VI. The machines…the way the world works [in relation to the machines]. That’s something it could be similar to.
Source: NowGamer
