| Final Fantasy Type-0 | |
|---|---|
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| Developer(s) | Square Enix 1st Production Department[1] |
| Publisher(s) | Square Enix |
| Director(s) | Hajime Tabata[2] |
| Producer(s) | Kousei Ito[2] Yoshinori Kitase[3] |
| Artist(s) | Tetsuya Nomura[2] Yusuke Naora[2] |
| Writer(s) | Daisuke Watanabe Hajime Tabata |
| Composer(s) | Takeharu Ishimoto[2] |
| Series | Final Fantasy Fabula Nova Crystallis |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation Portable |
| Release date(s) | |
| Genre(s) | Action role-playing game[5] |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
| Rating(s) |
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Final Fantasy Type-0 (ファイナルファンタジー 零式 Fainaru Fantajī Reishiki)[6] is a video game published by Square Enix for the PlayStation Portable[7][8] and it is developed by the company's 1st Production Department.[1] The game was originally announced with the name Final Fantasy Agito XIII (ファイナルファンタジー アギトXIII Fainaru Fantajī Agito Sātīn);[2] "Agito" roughly meaning "to put in motion" in Latin.[9] Director Hajime Tabata said he liked the Agito title, but the name didn't have much to do with the game Final Fantasy XIII. With the name change, they want to develop Type-0 into a series. Even though the game no longer has "XIII" in its title, the game still uses the Fabula Nova Crystallis mythology.[6][10] While a release outside of Japan has not been announced, Tabata is trying to appeal to North American players in his direction of the game.[11] A western version is currently in development.[12]
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The battle system will be in real-time and action-based,[5] and similar to that of The 3rd Birthday (2010)[5] and Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (2007), but will make use of the ATB system and allow control of multiple characters. On January 27, 2011, an interview in Famitsu revealed the flow of gameplay. The 12 heroes will travel from town to town getting missions, then discover enemy strongholds and carry out the missions. Based on what the mission calls for, players will be urged to switch their starting 3 party members for effectiveness. With each character specializing in a different weapon and elemental spell, each will have drastic variations of strengths and weaknesses. Summons will run on time limits (about 5 minutes), and if they are KO'd in battle, they will have to be revived in towns before being called again.
A compass has also been revealed in recent screenshots. Characters have been shown traversing dungeons filled with mechanical foes and soldiers. Playable characters alongside the main character, Ace, are shown in the screenshots with rather high HP and low MP costs to their magic spells in their command list. Like in Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, names of foes are stated under "Target" on the upper-left-hand side of the screen. A recent article by Weekly Famitsu[13] stated that each of the twelve students will have their own summon that can be swapped out and controlled by the player. The summons can also level up; so far, the only confirmed summons are Ifrit, Golem,Diablos and Odin, used by Ace. In the January 2011 trailer, Bahamut was seen in battle during a cutscene, and an ice summon (thought to be Shiva) was seen skating on the battlefield. In a Famitsu interview, director Hajime Tabata said that "it's becoming an intense experience where you do gun shooting with fire." He also added that "Agito XIII will not have the standard multiplayer style of everyone gathering together to play. It will be a multiplayer system unique to this game." [14]
Final Fantasy Type-0 is set within a place called Oriens, which is divided into four nations: the Suzaku Fiefdom of Rubrum, the Milites Empire, the Lorican Alliance, and the Kingdom of Concordia. Each nation has its own emblem (a phoenix, two tigers, a dragon, and a turtle, based on the Four Symbols) and is blessed with a crystal that grants them unique powers: Rubrum controls the Suzaku Crystal containing the power of Magic, Milites controls the Byakko Crystal containing the power of Weapons, Lorica controls the Genbu Crystal containing the power of the Shield, and Concordia controls the Sōryū Crystal containing the power of Dragons. The Crystals have the ability to mark humans as their countries' servants. These servants, called l'Cie, are branded with a symbol and are given a "Focus"—a task to complete. However, while blessed with long life, l'Cie are cursed to lose their memories over time. There are also summons called Eidolons (War Gods in Japan), of which only six types are seen to be playable: Odin, Shiva, Ifrit, Golem, Bahamut, and Diablos.[15]
Final Fantasy Type-0 will have fourteen selectable characters, who are all members of Class Zero that are based from the Suzaku Peristylium. The first twelve are named after playing card Trumps: card wielder Ace (エース Ēsu, Voiced by Yūki Kaji), flute wielder Deuce (デュース Dyūsu, Voiced by Kana Hanazawa), the archer Trey (トレイ Torei, Voiced by Yūichi Nakamura), magic-gun wielder Cater (ケイト Keito, Voiced by Minori Chihara), the mace wielding Cinque (シンク Shinku, Voiced by Aki Toyosaki), scythe wielder Sice (サイス Saisu, Voiced by Miyuki Sawashiro), whip wielder Seven (セブン Sebun, Voiced by Mayuko Aoki), martial artist Eight (エイト Eito, Voiced by Miyu Irino), spearman Nine (ナイン Nain, Voiced by Daisuke Ono), katana wielding Jack (ジャック Jakku, Voiced by Kenichi Suzumura), swordswoman Queen (クィーン Kuīn, Voiced by Ami Koshimizu) and dual pistol wielding King (キング Kingu, Voiced by Tomokazu Sugita). The last two, Machina Kunagiri (マキナ・クナギリ Makina Kunagiri, Voiced by Hiroshi Kamiya) and Rem Tokimiya (レム・トキミヤ Remu Tokimiya, Voiced by Ryoko Shiraishi), double as narrators with the game playing from their perspective.
Supporting them are their mentor Kurasame (クラサメ, Voiced by Takahiro Sakurai), the Moogle, Hattsumikamine Rōtoyōsuna Eripuruchi (ハッツミカミネ・ロウトヨウスナ・エリプルチ) or "Mog" (モグ Mogu, Voiced by Sumire Morohoshi), and the l'Cie Zhuyu and Caetuna. The Class Zero members can travel to the other countries in Oriens, fighting against Milites's military run by militant dictator High Commander Cid Aulstyne (シド・オールドスタイン Shido Ōrudosutain, Voiced by Shuichiro Moriyama) and subordinates Brigadier General Qator Bashtar (カトル・バシュタール Katoru Bashutāru, Voiced by Hideo Ishikawa), and the l'Cie Qun'mi and Nimbus.
Other major characters include the Lorican l'Cie Gilgamesh (ギルガメッシュ Girugamesshu, Voiced by Kazuya Nakai) as well as the Concordian queen Andoria (アンドリア, Voiced by Megumi Hayashibara) and her l'Cie knight Celestia (ホシヒメ Hoshihime, Voiced by Nana Mizuki).
A peace treaty is supposed to be in effect with the world's four countries, but Cid Aulstyne has sent his l'Cie soldiers to war with the neighboring countries. Conquering Lorica for its crystal, the Milites military focuses its attack on the Kingdom of Concordia and the Suzaku Fiefdom of Rubrum. However, for reasons unknown, the Suzaku crystal that kept Milites at bay at Rubrum shatters, leaving the nation vulnerable to attack and is forced to surrender to the superior nation. However, still possessing the powers the crystals gave them, the students of Class Zero refuse to surrender and proceed to fight back.[16]
The decision to create "Final Fantasy Type-0", firstly known as Final Fantasy Agito XIII, was made after the other two Final Fantasy XIII games had already been decided upon, and was made in response to the popularity of the mobile phone game Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII.[17] It was then decided to make it exclusive to mobile phones.[17] Unveiled at E3 '06, the game "[offered] players easy on-the-go access to the Final Fantasy XIII universe.[18] Utilizing gameplay functions only available through mobile phones, it was supposed to provide players with a unique take on a story accessible anywhere their real-life adventures may take them."[19] Developers had been planning a release on the next generation of cell phones as phones available at the time could not offer all the capabilities they would need.[20] An issue developers had grappled with was whether or not to make the command buttons used in the game visible.[17] The game was in development with the idea of making it a "full-fledged numbered game".[20] However, on August 2, 2008, Square Enix announced that Final Fantasy Agito XIII will be released on the Sony PlayStation Portable platform,[21] with development of the mobile phone version discontinued.[7] On January 18, 2011 the game made its first official public re-appearance at the Square Enix 1st Production Department Premier in Tokyo, Japan where it was announced that the name would be changed from Final Fantasy Agito XIII to Final Fantasy Type-0 along with a new trailer that was released to the public on January 27, 2011.[6] The name Type-0 was actually trademarked by Square Enix in Europe on December 29, 2010 along with a logo.[22] The game will be one of few releases for the PSP to be released on two UMDs. A demo version of the game was released on August 11, 2011, available to Japanese users for download on the Playstation Network.[23][24]
The game's plot is thought to be "massive."[20][25] It is described as an online RPG, but not "massively multiplayer".[26] Tabata described Agito as "a major title that's formed from a variety of concepts" which include the collision of four fantasies (the world view), killing match between magic and weapons (battle) and the Ordinary and Unordinary (the two sides of reality).[27]
The game's theme song is "Zero" (ゼロ) by Bump of Chicken.
| Reception | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Publication | Score |
| Famitsu | 39/40[28] |
It was awarded a near-perfect score of 39/40 by Famitsu.[28] In the first week after its release, Final Fantasy Type-0 sold a total of 472,253 units.[28]
PlayStation LifeStyle's Heath Hindman called it "A hell of a game" with praise directed towards the game's music, combat, and story (particularly the ending).[29]
| Book: Final Fantasy series | |
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