Final Fantasy Agito

Final Fantasy Agito
The official logo for Final Fantasy Agito
Developer(s)	Square Enix
Publisher(s)	Square Enix
Director(s)	Masayasu Nishida[1]
Producer(s)	Hajime Tabata[1]
Composer(s)	Takeharu Ishimoto[1]
Series	Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy
Platform(s)	iOS, Android
Release date(s)	TBA
Genre(s)	Role-playing
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer
Distribution	Download

Final Fantasy Agito (ファイナルファンタジーアギト, Fainaru Fantajī Agito) is an upcoming role-playing video game developed by Square Enix for mobile devices. The game's story is set in the universe of Final Fantasy Type-0, an entry in the Fabula Nova Crystallis subseries, and, according to the game's director, tells the story of a previous cycle of conflict in Orience.^[2] The original protagonists appear in different roles and act as secondary characters, while the player character comes in the form of a player-created cadet entering the Rubrum Magical Academy during a time of war.^[1] The game's director, Hajime Tabata, is designing the game around his original concept for Type-0, and that he wishes people to download and play it even if they are not familiar with the original.^[3]

Gameplay

Similar to Final Fantasy Type-0, the game is an RPG where a character created by the player sets out on missions across Orience. The main character, whose appearance and weapons can be customized and selected respectively by players at the start of the game, begins the game by exploring the Peristylium Suzaku Magic Academy, but eventually is able to explore Orience as a whole. The game employs a leveling system whereby interaction with students and teachers, combined with performance during missions, raises the character from his/her starting rank within the Academy. The character is accompanied by a Moogle, and is allowed to ride Chocobos later in the game. The in-game time is also synchronized with real-world time.^[4] The game is set to be published in chapters, with decisions made by the player base effecting the events of the next installment.^[5] Most of the chapters will be dedicated to single-player missions across Orience, but the final sections of the game involve players teaming up in a multiplayer mode to fight powerful bosses.^[6] There is also a social aspect to the gameplay: players interact with NPCs scattered through the world, and depending on the way they interact and their playing skills, they will increase their standing with the characters they speak to.^[6] The base game will be a free download, but players have the option of buying items, restore health and speed up re-spawn time via microtransactions.^[1]

In comparison with the original game, the combat system for Agito is turn-based.^[7] The Attack menu, which appears during battles, features a charging gauge that, when full enables, the character to attack the targeted enemy, and buttons displayed for various physical and magical attacks; these abilities can be chained together into combos that, once used, take time to recharge. The game also feature's Type-0's Kill Sight ability, in which precisely timed actions enable the character to kill an enemy with one hit. The game also gives the option for players to adjust battle speed to their personal preference.^[4] The game also uses a job system similar to other entries in the Final Fantasy series, with specific skills accompanying each job.^[3]

Premise

Just like Final Fantasy Type-0, the game is set in Orience, a world divided into four warring nations. The player character is based in the Fiefdom of Rubrum, with the protagonists from the previous game appearing in different roles, while new characters have been created for the game. There is a heavy emphasis on player choice in the story, with decisions made during previous episodes of the story effecting future events. The game's story is apparently meant to be played repeatedly, with different decisions yielding different outcomes, encouraging multiple playthroughs.^[3][7] In an interview, Tabata stated that while the game was not a prequel per say, it did tell a story separate from that of Type-0, describing it as being "at the opposite end of the spiral of history that this unique world has."^[2]

Development

The idea for Final Fantasy Agito originated with the early origins of Type-0. Originally, Type-0 was a game for mobiles titled Agito XIII,^[8] but eventually changed platforms^[9] and title.^[10] Tabata and the team still liked the "Agito" title and the original concepts for the game, which included an episodic storyline that hinged on player choice. With this in mind, Tabata decided to revisit it and began development of Agito: eventually, they settled on smartphones as the release platform of choice, partly because the platforms' progress since Type-0 started development.^[11] In contrast to Type-0's dark and serious storyline, the team decided to give Agito a lighter atmosphere, which came across in the music as more pop-oriented tunes, although they still included serious episodes and more dramatic music.^[4] The first hint of its existence became public when Square Enix trademarked the name in May 2013.^[12] A later trademark filed for European territories fueled rumors of a localization.^[13] The game was first demoed during the 2013 Tokyo Game Show.^[14] Tabata, in an interview with USGamer during the event, stated that he considered Type-0 to have become the prototype for Agito, although it did not share much with its predecessor. He also touched on the story, saying that it grew out of what he originally had in mind for Agito XIII, and of how that concept evolved into Type-0.^[2] In the same interview, Tabata said that Agito would definitely be localized, although he refused to clarify whether this meant it would be coming west.^[15]

See also

• Final Fantasy Type-0
• Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Final Fantasy Agito.

• Final Fantasy Agito Official website (Japanese)