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| Liz Maas |
Time to forget the name Agito XIII if you can!
01.26.11 - 7:12 PM
That other game in the Fabula Nova Crystallis mythology, Final Fantasy Agito XIII was renamed to Final Fantasy Type-0 just last week. Like the other games, details were scarce until the big Japanese magazines came out this week, complete with producer and director interviews.
Producer Yoshinori Kitase and director Hajime Tabata explained the name change, saying the development had evolved a lot since E3 2006, when Agito XIII was originally announced. They explained that it ended up going in a much more different direction than Final Fantasy XIII and the other Fabula titles, including gameplay-wise. Though still a Fabula title (it will still explore the mythology, just the 'people' side of it), Type-0 is more a portable multiplayer game in which players get a realistic war feel. With the name change, they hope to branch off of the XIII titles and start a new subset of Final Fantasy titles. (Come to think of it, this would, in effect, explain the copyright filings for names such as Final Fantasy Type-1, Type-2 etc.)
Final Fantasy Type-0 will follow the same story as previously mentioned, where the Milites Empire invades the game's main country, so the main characters will have to fight this invasion. These twelve characters - six male and six female - all attend a magic school set up by the government, so that they could train to protect the country's crystals. In addition to these twelve, there are also Machina and Rem who, at last week's event, are quoted in an image as saying: "It was their destiny, and theirs alone to decide. Free from fear of fate, gazing undaunted into the eye of death."
All fourteen characters go out to war with the army, and receive specific orders from them such as where they must fight and the mission objective (if not simply defeating all the enemies there). While you'll have your entire crew, battles only allow up to three characters, and if someone dies you can have another character come to your aid in their place. (Good thing the game has a cast of fourteen, right?) Of course, with so many magic users, it should follow that magic will be central to the game's battles - even though weapons will still exist in the game. While the battle system's key phrase is 'magic in action', the system itself hasn't really been detailed.
Final Fantasy Type-0 has a multiplayer mode in which you can join up with others for up to three minutes at a time. This can be extended depending on how you and your friends play, but lots of multiplayer is not required to play the game. In fact, the staff designed the game so that the multiplayer mode could also be enjoyed solo. The idea behind the mode is that you start solo, and others join up with you when you (or they) need help. It sounds as if you'll be rewarded for helping others in multiplayer mode, but details were a bit hazy.
Like Final Fantasy Versus XIII, we can expect the trailer from last week's event to be released tomorrow.
