Final Fantasy 12...again

grimloch

Take a look ever here , could finally lead to some very nice info on the game and with any luck, a release before bloody 2006.

Seems everyone has "groundbreaking new information" these days.

grimloch

Upon deeper searching and contrary to my hope of a pre-2006 release:

http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/rpg/finalfantasy12/preview_6124804.html Ah well. Not that long I suppose.

grimloch

Accquired from another forum but it a nice bit of light reading.

Multiple posts required for this



Quote:
Originally Posted by UltimagaWeapon

Credits Alastair412

THE FFXII PRE-RELEASE FAQ

This FAQ is being brought to you by Alastair412, with help of numerous other people (check out Credits and Thanks section).

WARNING!
May contain spoilers for FFXII as well as previous Square games!!!
WARNING!



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Version History

02/17/03 v0.1 Core Information gathered. Not published.
02/19/03 v0.2 First release
11/19/03 v0.5 Post Conference Update
04/15/04 v0.6 Finally some news update
07/15/04 v0.73 Cleanup / typo fixes, no news
07/23/04 v0.74 Minor Ashe background update
08/10/04 v0.75 Couple o' tiny news
10/02/04 v0.76 Minor updates, races of Ivalice
12/05/04 v0.77 Delayed again



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CONTENTS:

1. Scope and Purpose
2. Media
3. Game Settings and Background
4. Game Mechanics
5. FAQs
6. Credits and Thanks

1. Scope and Purpose

This small FAQ summarizes what few things are known about FFXII at this point in time. The content herein is a compilation of other poster's work, and hence, their copyrights apply. It is quoted here under "Fair Use" practices, for the benefits of many.

External documents hyperlinked herein are copyrighted either by Square or their original publisher.

This list doesn't claim to be complete or exhaustive: I collect what I deem useful data and compile it in this document.

Also note that most new names here are based on translitteration of Japanese words. Whether they will remain the same in the US / PAL releases remains to be seen.



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2. Media


2.1 Official site

--- The official Square-Enix site is at:
http://www.ff12.com/



2.2 Unofficial sites

--- Back from the grave, there is the oldest ffxii fansite:
http://www.ffxiionline.com/

--- An excellent source for Square news for those more gifted in German than Japanese, both quick and accurate:
http://www.squarenet.info/

--- Another good information compilation site:
http://www.geocities.com/muni_shinobu/ffxii/

--- A fine compilation site in German is at:
http://planetff12.de/

--- And yet another board visitor opened up:
http://ffxii.net/



2.3 Screenshots

http://www.ffxiionline.com/

http://squarenet.info/games.php?sit...ame=ff12&page=1

http://www.rpgfan.com/pics/ff12/index.html

--- If you don't mind the ads, check this one out as well:
http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/rpg/fin...creenindex.html



2.4 Movies

http://ffxii.net/?nav=media/video

http://www.ffxiionline.com/main.php?ffxii=videos.html



2.5 Dev Q&A

On November 20th, part of the FFXII team submitted themselves to a Q&A session with foreign journalist, something definitely new. While it doesn't really reveal anything new, it is quite interesting to note what the team actually didn't say and where they declined to comment. You can find a transcript at:

http://ps2.ign.com/articles/441/441293p1.html?fromint=1

or a probably more accurate translation here:
http://www.1up.com/article2/0,4364,1396249,00.asp



2.6 Primary News Sources

--- Quiter remains the primary source of news (thanks Sparkie for pointing out that the site had moved!):
http://www.quiter.jp/

--- Squarenet.info has it all in German within a few hours (unfortunately, I have yet to find a squarenet equivalent in terms of speed and accuracy in English):
http://www.squarenet.info/

--- Your next best stop for _news_ (not editorials) seems to be RPGfan, who now provide accurate Japanese translations sourced directly to Quiter:
http://www.rpgfan.com/



2.7 Website Hall of Shame

Back from the days of the FFX-2 Pre-Release FAQ, the list of sites which mistranslate and / or just plainly make up stuff. Any info you gather from there and post here as "news" will get you laughed at and probably flamed.
The Magic Box (still the main offender)
http://www.gamesarefun.com
http://www.ign.com (back for spinning info out of context)

grimloch

3. Game Setting and Background.

3.1 Story background

FFXII plays in Ivalice (from FFT / FFTA). The two mighty empires of Archadia (on the Ordalia continent) and Rosalia (on the Valentia continent) are at each other's throat. Between them, the small but technologically advanced kingdom of Dalmasca has been acting as a buffer for some time. But (to secure a strategical position, I guess) Archadia invades peaceful Dalmasca, giving the setting of the story.

This happens two years before the game actually takes place. The game's tutorial battles are fought during the climax of the invasion, and you play as Reks, a young knight, Vaan's elder brother, under the guidance of Basch, an elder knight.

Ashe (19) is the daughter of the late king of Dalmasca and heir to the throne. The invasion has forced her to join a resistance group. She will eventually meet up with Vaan (17), a young orphan yet optimistic citizen of Dalmasca who loves freedom. Vaan harbors dreams of becoming a sort of flying pirate later on, and joins the rebellion because he's unhappy with Archadia's yoke.

Several elements from FFTA make a return in FFXII: Bangaas, Vieras and NuMou are present. Further, the omnipotent Judges are back again, but it seems they might be the bad guys now. They obviously are key to the story, though, as one of them is depicted on the game's logo.

In an interview for Famitsu, the staff also mentioned that the characters are wearing light clothing because Dalmasca is a mediteranean / warm climate. They further indicated that orange and blue will dominate the visual impression from the game. There will be a variety of airships in the game, this is already reinforced by the new concept art and the new screenshots.

In a Q&A session, the staff clarified that the whole game setting was about warfare, and that romance ought to take a step back compared to the previous FFs.


* There will be one airship as a mean of transportation.

* Initially, they planned to include massive airship battles, but later dumped the idea because of the technical requirements on one part, but also because the strategical element it would have implied would have stood at odds with the rest of the game.

* In the game, the sky is a symbol for freedom, and Vaan's desire to become a sky pirate is a way to express his desire to break free of Archadia's oppression.

* In general, one of the dominant themes throughout the game is the question "what is true freedom".

* The judge dispatched to Dalmasca with the occupation forces becomes acting ruler for the kingdom. He is most probably the one depicted in the game's logo.

* There's a weather engine built in, which will influence magic, eg Fire is weaker when it rains.

* Dalmasca is a peninsula, with Archadia to the North, Rosalia to the West, and more or less uncharted / uncivilized territories to the South.

* Both Archadia and Rosalia appear to be fighting proxy wars and expanding their territories by swallowing smaller countries just like Dalmasca - our protagonists' homeland is apparently not unique in that respect.

* The two empires are major powers with completely different cultures, customs, religions, political background and histories, and have been clashing for a really long time because their very own beliefs are at odds. Their confrontation seems to be gearing up to a big conflict, and the imminence of that threat explains why they have started absorbing buffer states like Dalmasca lately.

* The party won't be directly witnessing the "big confrontation", though, but get updates through, eg, reports, rumors and whatnot. It looks like we won't be able to visit both empires either, rather we'll be focussing on Dalmasca's struggle under Archadian rule.

* Crystals appear to be the source of all things magic in Ivalice this time around.

3.2 Prologue

The official site's "prologue" section carried the words initially playing during FFT's title music:

'A warrior takes sword in hand,
Clasping a gem to his heart.

Engraving vanishing memories into the sword,
He places finely honed skills into the stone.

Spoken from the sword, handed down from the stone...
Now the story can be told...'



3.3 Cast of Characters

- Ashe, 19 years old, heir-apparent to the throne of Dalmasca, leader of the resistance.

- Vaan, 17 years old, orphan, member of the resitance, wants to become a sky pirate later on.

- Fran, age unknown, a Viera also member of your party, apparently particuliarly gifted with weapons (?).

- Balthier (alt. romanization Balflear), 22 years old, apparently one of those sky pirates Vaan wants to become, wields guns, loves the freedom not to belong to any specific country.

- Penelo (alt. romanization Pannero), 16 years old, an energic youth, a skilled dancer and singer. Whether this translates into her battle abilities remains to be seen.

- Reks, Vaan's elder brother and only sibling, whom you play during the tutorial battles and who's 17 at that time (remember, this takes place 2 years before the actual story).

- Basch, 36 years old, a senior knight of Dalmasca, involved in the dramatic events around Dalmasca's fall, who leads you through the tutorial battles.


* Penelo has a close relationship (girlfriend possbily) with Vaan.

* Penelo lost her parents in a previous war. Aside from her artistic skills, she is also a gifted martial artist, but still lacks practical battle experience.

* Penelo was taught by her elder brother (she apparenly had several), a member of the order of knights, who might possibly be deceased as well.

* Fran and Balthier are supposed to be equal partners from way back.

* It appears now quite clearly that Ashe has been to her wedding. Whether it was completed or interrupted by an invasion, or she's a widow, or her husband ran away or whatever is not known. We only know that he's that sliver-haired unknown character in the trailers, that they seem to share the same sword at different times, and that they were about to get married together. It might become clearer later on.

* The staff has hinted that there were several more key characters still about to be revealed, several of them playable ones.

* From the E3 shots and videos, it looks like the party will have up to 8 playable members, which can be switched freely around as long as you're not fighting.

* Matsuno mentioned in mag interviews that the story would focus on Vaan and Penelo, and added that the stories of Balthier and others may become the stuff for other games. This latter comment was made tongue-in-cheek, because the interviewer mentioned that Balthier was Sakaguchi's favourite char.

* While Basch and Ashe bear the burden of the kingdom and of politics on their shoulders, Balthier and Fran live a freer life, one which Vaan and Penelo aspire to. During the course of the game, though, they will eventually come to realize that this apparent freedom has its own share of sacrifices, and that true freedom may be harder to achieve than they expect.

* There are also male Viera in Ivalice, but they stay mostly out of sight

* Apparently, Balthier and Fran are wanted for a hefty reward

* From the latest Famitsu issue (Vol 20/2004), some new background on Ashe, translated by ffxiionline's Khalalahey: Ashe is the youngest of nine children the King of Dalmasca had. Eight of them were male and had died in war or disease when the King was around 49 years old. This is the case that she is the only child left to take the throne. She has a serious personality but acts calmly and knows and understands what is happening around her. The people of Dalmasca look up to her to bring the peace to the kingdom again. She doesn't always speak her mind, but deep within her, she feels the need to escape from the pressure.

3.4 Races of Ivalice

* Humes are the dominant race in Ivalice, representing about 40% of the population. Obviously, Humes have a great cultural diversity depending on their origins. They tend to get along fine with races of equal intelligence like Viera, but extend domination on the less bright species, which are often used for menial labour, like the Bangaa and the Seeq.

* The slender Viera have a longer life expectancy than humes, and can be either dark-skinned (Rava Viera) or light-skinned (Veena Viera). Viera tended to stick to their woods until the hume wars threatened their homelands about 25 years ago. Since then, the Viera have more or less reluctantly started getting involved in hume affairs. The offspring of mixed Rava and Veena origins were the fastest to adapt, while the pure-blood have tried to retire to more remote forests.

* The Bangaa come in four major varieties depending on their scales' colours. The live a bit longer thane humes, and their overall lizard-evolved toughness makes them fit for soldiering roles. Humes, however, tend to limit their advancement opportunities. Finally, the race isn't really fit for magic except the most basic spells - there are exceptions, though: a handful of Bangaa have mastered advanced and Bangaa-specific spells.

* The nimble Moogles are also among the smarter races. They are well integrated into the Hume society, while still having their own capitol. Their small size gave them advantages working on machinery, a task the race excells in. Of course, not all of them are techies, and they hold a variety of professions. They also tend to make excellent mages.

* The barbaric, pig-faced Seeq are a tough and brutal race, mostly used as cannon-fodder, prison wardens or any other position where agressive strength is required. Severely lacking intelligence, they barely speak the Hume language, and are generally considered as the scum of society.

grimloch

4. Game Mechanics



4.1 Game engine
In a fashion similar to Vagrant Story, FFXII takes the approach of using less polygons than FFX in exchange to more textures and lighting. This also allows the game to use a free rotating camera.

It is unlikely that a top-down world map like in pre-FFX games will get back. The team mentioned that they did like the FFXI setting a lot, and were going to use this system: you walk around in a vast world at a real scale.

Before cries of disappointment get louder, remember, though, that with the huge amount of airships involved, it is entirely concievable that airship travel will take place in the 3D dimension within the same environment, giving you back the same kind of free movement enjoyed in previous instillments.

The good ole' transition to battle screen is obviously gone, since everything is already on the right scale, so like in a MMOG or in KOTOR, you move seamlessly from travel to combat, enemies visible on the screen. This doesn't really mean the end of random encounters, though, as monsters can probably respawn and apparently they, too, move around to intercept you when they "spot" you.

Finally, FFXII is the first major title running under a new policy of limiting the amount of FMVs announced by Square-Enix president Wada, so cutscenes will be mostly seamless CG instead.

* Matsuno is a big FFXI fan, and claims to bring some of the XI's unique feel into a single-player experience like XII. This includes big locales, a vast world, a freely rotating camera among other, yet-to-be-unveiled things.

* Changing character equipment produces visual changes on the world map.

* In a recent interview, Sakaguchi stated that while there were many changes in FFXII, he still felt that this was absolutely a Final Fantasy. Remember, Sakaguchi's only real role today seems to be giving a new FF his seal of approval...

* He also stated that he was really taken by the graphics and doubted FFXII's performance would be toppable on the PS2. In the same sentence, though, he hinted that there were still several games to be made on the PS2 (FFXIII?).

* The main storyline may last between 30 and 40 hours, according to Matsuno, but completing all sidequests and maxing out characters could clock up around 100-150 hours.

* To render a the scope of the game, Matsuno mentioned that there were about 600 NPCs in Rabanastre, the Dalmascan capital, of which 150 could be interacted with. For perspective, in FFX, there are less than 50 NPCs which you can interact with in Luca, including BB players.

* Obviously, there are many other towns and cities besides Rabanastre, and NPC look and clothing may change quite a lot depending on what place you are.

* There's a quest system which awards you tasks in different cities, those involve dispatching certain monsters or fed-exing for items for prize money. These are of course entirely optional.

More to follow.


4.2 Battle System

OK, this is looking to become a major break from well-established FF traditions. FFXII uses a "new" system called "ADB", Active Dimension Battle.
From what I've seem so far, this is how it works:

- You control one of your characters at a time, but contrary to ATB / CTB, there's no automatic switching to the rest of the party members as soon as their time gauge is full.

- You can manually switch over to control another of your characters.

- However, characters you're not controlling directly will either (can'tbe sure yet) remain idle or repeat the last command you gave them over and over.

- To break out of this limitation, you can use "gambits", which are apparently 10 token tactical commands applying to the team. I use the term token because you apparently collect them like items.

- Note that there seems to be 10 _types_ of gambits, not just 10 of them. While the gambit "use firaga" is the same type as "use thundaga", the magic gambit, they might well be distinct gambits altogether.

- Gambits give strategical control orders to the rest of your team, one of the fundamental gambits being to simply follow your lead.

- Some gambits at least are applied to the two remaining characters individually (like the remove gambit).

To understand this further, and until more details surface, I picture this a bit like FFX' Blitzball: you control one player, and assign tactics to the rest of your team, who will execute them at the best of their abilities.

The currently identified gambits are:
* Remove (from battle)
* Just attack
* Follow lead (Mimic???)
* Cure self
* Cure allies
* Some more to use magic learned by the character

One important thing to stress, though, is that the gambit system is not entirely pervasive: you can apparently turn it off, and control characters in a more traditional ATB fashion. The main innovation in doing this, though, is that you can take control and issue commands at your leisure, not merely when the time bar is full.

Note that in all shots from E3, the old three status slots at the rightmost part of the stats bar which was shown in the earliest screenshots have gone. So either this has been removed from the game, or is tied to something you get later on.

For the character under direct control, four fundamental commands exist: attack, magic / tech, gambits and item. In the magic / tech group, there's an apprently new thing, "green magic" we will discover. Or not - possibly this is just a rush translation for E3 which in fact should be blue magic. We'll eventually find out.

Your characters move around in true 2D when fighting, there's no longer any fixed battle lines. Apparently, another huge change has been introduced: supposed allies like guards and such don't stand around idly while your party gets whacked at, but they join the fight. Handy blue arcs can be displayed (my guess, using select or L1) to indicate which character targets which enemy, including the allies.

- As speculated, the arcs can be hidden away.

- FFXII doesn't use a job system

- Through focussed skill use, you will be able to shape characters towards one "job", but given enough time, one character could master everything in the game. What I gather from this is that using enough White Magic will boost those stats influencing White Magic, making that character a better White Mage. To be confirmed, though-

- There are 7 weapon types in the game:
* Swords
* Short Swords
* Spears / Lances
* Staves
* Bows
* Guns
* Gloves (for martial arts)

NOTE: Other Weapon types such as Axes (Broad Axe) and Great Swords (Claymore) have appeared in some the E3 2004 videos so, this list isn't complete.

- Weapons have their own levels, whatever it means (Oooh, Disgaea...).

- The classical elements are of course back: Fire, Ice, Thunder, Earth, Water, Wind, Dark, Light.

- On the world map, there will still be unescapable battles.

- Monsters on the world map will be able to aggro you at a distance, based on sight, but also sound and smell. The aggro distance proper will of course vary by monster, which means you'll have an easy time escaping some of them.

- Matsuno explained that the ATB elements underneath ADB were left here to provide an easier time to oldtimers not used to FFXI.

- He also explained that the whole system was easier to get used to that Vagrant Story's .

- Finally, Sakaguchi, having played it, stated that the gambit system was very satisfying once you managed to create effective gambit combinations.

- The characters will be able to equip weapons, shields, armor and helmets, but the latter two won't be visualized on your characters.

- There are collectible crystals in the game with various effects, among them magic, healing and item storage.

- Apparently, through physical attacks, you can regain MPs.

- You can apparently freely build parties with just one or two characters (making solo character challenges less of a hassle than, say, FFX, if it's done right), and in-game dialogue matches your party setup.

- As already hinted at, it's been confirmed that bystanders won't remain idle when you battle their friends, so attacking one guard will aggro all others in the vicinity.

That's all I can gather for the time being. More to follow.

4.3 Advancement System

Matsuno has refused to share any details on the system so far, apart from mentioning it would be level- and XP-based. He however mentioned that the system was designed to allow for detailed micromanagement of characters while at the same time allowing newcomers to use it painlessly. Note that I'm always a tad skeptical of such statements - unless there are different settings (such as standard / expert sphere grids in FFX:Int), those two objective always tend to be a bit at odds.

Developing...

grimloch

4.4 Staff Credits

- Producer: Yasumi Matsuno (producer and writer of Vagrant Story, director of VS, Final Fantasy Tactics, Tactics Ogre, and Ogre Battle, designer of all those except FFT).

NOTE: He's Supposely, the Director as well as the Writer.

- Director: Hiroyuki Itou (director of FFIX, co-director of FFVI, and battle designer of FFV, FFT, FFVIII, FFVI, and co-designer of FFIV & V).

NOTE: He's supposely not in the staff actually.

- Event Director: Jun Akiyama (event director of VS and Kingdom Hearts and co-writer of KH).

- 3D Map Director / Character Designer: Akihiko Yoshida (character designer of FFT, VS, OB, TO, and Wild Card, and background director of VS and FFT).

- 2D Art Director: Hideo Minaba (art director on FFT, FFIX, and FFVI).

- Music: Nobuo Uematsu will do the main theme. Hitoshi Sakimoto (VS, FFT, FFTA) however will do most of the rest.

* As you'll notice, the main staff is full of people who have worked on some of the (in my eyes) greatest non-FF titles, namely VS and FFT. Of course, this doesn't say anything about FFXII so far, but I hope, as others do, that some of their achievements in those titles will make a return here.

* There are about 120 people working on the game, 30+ alone working in the graphics department.

* The main character and a majority of the plot are finished.

* On the trivia side, the 3D team is apparently working on in-house development tools to get beyond what's currently available on the market.

* Part of the staff went to Turkey to gather inspiration for the locales.

* Finally, FFXII was rumored to span two DVDs, but this rumor is now several months old, and was never confirmed.

* Regarding Hironobu Sakaguchi's current role, Matsuno is said to still consult with him as the "spiritual father of FF" for things pertaining to the FF spirit. Aside from that, he doesn't seem to have any active role anymore.

* Oddly enough, Itou seems to have completely disappeared from the scene recently...

* In a Famitsu interview post-E3'04, Sakaguchi clearly gave this game the FF seal of approval.


5. Frequently Asked Questions (developing)

5.1 When is this game going to be released?

On the 2004 TGS, Square-Enix delayed the game further, it is now announced for "Spring 2005". For Japan, of course. Which also means there's no word on NA or PAL releases. And it's been confirmed that it would happen during the next Fyscal Year, so after April 1st.

5.2 Is this the same as FFX-2?

No. FFX-2 (ten-two) is a direct sequel to FFX, while FFXII (twelve) is a new game, with a standalone story.

5.3 Is this going to be online?
No. That would be FFXI.

5.4 What about FFVII-2?

There's no FFVII-2. And you would want to discuss such things on the FFVII board, I expect...

5.5 But I heard about FFVII: Advent Children. Isn't it the same?

No. FFVII: AC is a DVD movie. It also has its own board:
http://cgi.gamefaqs.com/boards/gentopic.asp?board=592
And now there's DC:FFVII, and this one also has its board here:
http://boards.gamefaqs.com/gfaqs/ge...hp?board=924449

5.6 Is this going to be the last Final Fantasy?

No, definitely not. I still wonder how people come to that conclusion, but there's no truth to this rumor. Last indication was an interview from Square president Wada in Mainichi Interactive (translated in http://www.rpgfan.com/news/2004/1186.html) mentioning that some innovations designed for FFXII might become standard for the series.
In the meantime, Wada mentioned in one interview that work was underway on FFXIII as well.

5.7 Will there be summons?

While the team has declined to comment, various people have already spotted what looks like them in the trailer, as well as FFT:A 's totemas.

5.8 Will this come out on the Gamecube?

No, it's announced as a PS2 title.

5.9 What's up with the FFTA connections?

First, the game is playing in Ivalice again. Several of FFTA's races are present (see 3.1 above). Also worth to point out, Ashe and Vaan are of the "hume" race, the moniker for humans in FFXI.
Note that the "Ivalice" presented in FFXII will be a different one again than the two precent ones. It is hence not a sequel / prequel to the FFTs, but another take on a familiar world.

5.10 Will this require the PS2 Harddrive?

No, it won't be required, but it should support it as a cache, speeding up loading times.


5.11 Dead Horses

The dead horses section contains subject debated to death on the forum. Obviously, we can't stop you from posting, but frankly, most of the stuff below has been rehashed over and over.

A. Vaan is soo effeminate! Why can't Square make a tough hero for a change?
Frankly, we don't know. We're not Square, and there's no evidence whatsoever that any Square staff would bother reading this forum. Since about 150 persons have already expressed the same complaint, it isn't absolutely necessary that _you_ start another thread about it. But go ahead, you'll most likely get flamed.

B. Ashe's behind is sooo sexy / Ack! Fan Service!
Despite those two reactions being on the opposite spectrum, here's actually an advice for both sides: get out more.

C. Ashe looks so much like Yuna!
Really? Thanks to DragoonAlexander's photoshopping, you can verify this here:
http://www.geocities.com/alastair412/ffx12/asheyuna.htm
Further, the latest screenshots show that Ashe is actually quite blonde, lessening the likeliness even more.

D. This is the last FF for PS-2.
OK, every platform so far had 3 FFs. And perhaps FFXIII will indeed be on PS3. But FFX, X-2, XI and XII are already 4 FFs on PS2, so there's no set rule...
In a recent Famitsu interview, Sakaguchi said there were many more games to come on the PS2. This might also include FFXIII.

E. Ivalice? Square-Enix has become a huge recycler!
Actually, that's the off-hand dismissive reaction of people unable to admit that things change.
I personally think that what we're seeing today, from FFX / X-2 through FFXI up to FFTA / FFXII is that Square-Enix has changed a fundamental outlook in the way they operate. Until a few years ago, they manufactured games. Now, they have moved on to craft worlds instead, telling a series of larger-scale epic sagas in a similar background, which gets richer with details with every new story added to it. FFVII:AC also seems to participate to this logic. I like that. Sorry if you don't.

F. Ashe touching her nose = sign for lesbian
Amusing, but no.
http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/aslweb/L/W2046.htm
Not really the sign for lesbian at all.

G. Archadia? Sky pirates? This is a SOA Rip-Off
Arcadia is a region in Greece. Airships are plentyful in FF from way back. No matter how much you loved SOA, we heard your arguments, over and over. Whether this is a rip-off of anything will be apparent when the game is released, not before.

H. Cool! 2 DVDs!
Actually, no, not really. A rumor about this began circulating in Spring 2003. It could never be traced back to an official source, so until further informed, there's nothing about a second DVD.


J. Aargh! They killed FF with ADB!
No, they didn't. They brought refreshing change while still maintaining an ATB layer underneath for all you whiners resistant to change. On the matter of change, BTW, here are Sakaguchi's words, in the late May'04 issue of Famitsu:
"At the beginning, DragonQuest was a much more significant product than ours. It was clear from the get-go that we would have to create something different to give our own presence a meaning. That was already the first time that took on 'change' as a major design concept. The next time was during FFII's production. Kawazu Akitoshi changed the battle system and created a new story. At that time, the 'fate' of the series was crafted, that has every new instillment quite different from the rest of them."
There you go. Change is at the heart of FF, stop whining.
Translation by me based off the German version on planetff12.de Japanese speakers are welcome to improve it through direct translation.

K. Nooo! Sakaguchi left Square!
Actually, that's not quite correct at the time of this writing. To sum it up, Famitsu vol 20/04 had an interview with Sakaguchi where he talked about involving himself more with Mist Walker, a company he apparently founded in 2001. With Mist Walker, the father to the FF series wants to create new RPGs for next-gen platforms, focussing exclusively on the development aspect. Several well-known figures are to collaborate with him, most prominently among them Amano.
In a more recent interview, it was strongly hinted that he didn't have any further involvement with Square, but he still didn't say outright that he left. As those things go, my guess is that he probably doesn't work there, but remains at disposal when Square-Enix needs him or something.



- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

6. Credits and Thanks

This FAQ relies entirely on the news found and posted by several dedicated board members. My thanks to Solidglass, Dark Elf, ColdMephisto, Benjjjamin, Kouli, EnterNameHere, Khalahaley, Vagrant Zero as well as the folks at ffxii.org for the substance present at this time, as well as to all those who provided additional stuff. And again a big thanks to Enigmaopoeia for the spelling corrections she did on v0.71 (which I didn't correct until v0.73).

=== END FAQ

Source: http://boards.gamefaqs.com/gfaqs/ge...d=915253&page=1


Sorry for the length of this.

Vokes

D. This is the last FF for PS-2.
OK, every platform so far had 3 FFs. And perhaps FFXIII will indeed be on PS3. But FFX, X-2, XI and XII are already 4 FFs on PS2, so there's no set rule...
In a recent Famitsu interview, Sakaguchi said there were many more games to come on the PS2. This might also include FFXIII.

Would prefer to see FF13 on the PS3, plus i cant see them developing it for the PS2 (which would be defunct) in 3/4 years time.


Anyways, what about the release date for FF12? I see its listed as November on www.play.com. Or is that hoping for too much?

grimloch

SofaKing wrote:

Would prefer to see FF13 on the PS3, plus i cant see them developing it for the PS2 (which would be defunct) in 3/4 years time.


Anyways, what about the release date for FF12? I see its listed as November on www.play.com. Or that hoping for too much?

Maybe a bit hopeful, the Japanese are bound to get it months before we do. I am dying for this game to come out but I'm not banking on seeing it soon. Maybe out before the release of the PS3. Either way it won't come out a moment too soon.

The Free Man

wow, thats a lot of info for ff12. sweet.
i can almost imagine playing it!

grimloch

The Free Man wrote:

wow, thats a lot of info for ff12. sweet.
i can almost imagine playing it!

Damnit man, youre making me tremble with anticipation. This is the one game I'm looking forward to. I can see offline Square games becoming rarer and I see this as a step away from all this sequel stuff and the endless pimping of FFVII on as many platforms as is possible.

Vokes

Well did some digging and seen all that news that you mentioned grimloch, regarding a playable version at the Square Enix Party 2005 at the end of the month.

And also found this photo which shows the release is the fiscal year in 2006, which i think means anywhere from March onwards to Feb 2007....

....and that's in the US.

Damn

The Free Man

indeed grimloch.
and it's been a long time since a good solid proper single player ff. (ten)
the feeling of starting a new story, with all its twists and madness...ahh bliss..

grimloch

SofaKing wrote:

Well did some digging and seen all that news that you mentioned grimloch, regarding a playable version at the Square Enix Party 2005 at the end of the month.

And also found this photo which shows the release is the fiscal year in 2006, which i think means anywhere from March onwards to Feb 2007....

....and that's in the US.

Damn

Jesus H, I though 2006 might be leaving it a bit late, maybe 2007? FFS is all I can say. Ah, well I guess I'll have to hope a few other FF's find their merry way towards me in the meantime. Dirge of Cerberus will be waiting till 2006 too. Feck.

Vokes

It'll be 4 years since FF10 by the time FF13 comes out. That's at least 2 years too long. They had FF7 in '97, FF8 in '99, FF9 in '01, and FFX in '02.

Retr0gamer

There have been quite a few delays for this game already. I'd say we could be looking at a summer release next year for europe and an optimistic before Christmas or St. Stephens day release for America.

What i'm most excited about is the soundtrack by Hitoshi Sakimoto who did the stunning soundtracks for Vagrant Story, Radiant Silvergun and the PS1 Final Fantasy Tactics.

Kare Bear

Did'nt the main guy behind final fantasy get hired by microsoft to make games to help the 360 in japan.

So the new ff will be without him.

Retr0gamer

Yep, Hironobu Sakaguchi has left Square and formed his own company which is currently making xbox 360 games. It doesn't mean that FFXII won't be good. However the changes look like it won't be all that similar to an FF game.

Vokes

I hear though Sakaguchi's making himself unofficially available to Square Enix at times. Hmmm, ill try find the link to that news story again.

Retr0gamer

he is just giving advice and approvals.

grimloch

Retr0gamer wrote:

he is just giving advice and approvals.

So he won't have any real creative input as such? We'll have to abduct him from the x-box development HQ or wherever he's based.

Retr0gamer

We need some one who isn't afraid of Kanj to find the addres of mistwalker studios. Any volunteers? It would really help in our breaking and entry and kidnapping job (the friendly hollywood george clooney kind).

grimloch

I propose such a mission. Like going into Shinra HQ.

/Eagerly awaits FFXII

Retr0gamer

So Grimloch, shall we take the stairs or in the front door guns blazing and brave the crazy lift.

grimloch

Well this seems like a stealthy mission requiring skill, precision and accuracy so the sneaky and subtle approach may be called for.

Vokes

More news HERE about a previously unknown character and about the Summoning which is somewhat similar to FFX, which is no bad thing of course.

So we should have a big announcement about FFXII come the end of the week (Sat/Sun) - hopefully about a release date.

Im gonna guess at a Oct/Nov 2006 European date. Anyone else think/guess differently ?

Zapho

Thats almost over a years time though, I mean won't the PS3 be out by then. They'd really wanna beat that time.

Vokes

I'd imagine you could play FFXII on your PS3, no ?

I doubt we'll see a next-gen FF till 2008 at the least.

Cina

FFXII doesnt look great, I blame it on Enix, theyve ruined everything.

Retr0gamer

Cina wrote:

FFXII doesnt look great, I blame it on Enix, theyve ruined everything.

I'd blame it on square. Their developement teams have produced nothing of note since Sakaguchi-sans departure. Enix on the other hand have made the rather spiffing Dragon Quest VIII. I'd be more happy if they hurried up with the english translation.

Vokes

Some details here.

The Japanese will see the game released on 16-03-06 and the game's theme song was debuted at the Square Enix Party. Its called Kiss Me Good-bye, composed by Nobuo Uematsu and performed by Angela Aki.

So, i guess we're looking at a Xmas 2006 PAL date.

Vokes

Some not so great news (or maybe it is?)

The writer/director, Yasumi Matsuno, has left the development team apparently.


/EDIT: Matsuno has left his position for health reasons, however he will stay on in a supervisory role.