FF Crystal Chronicles Update
- May 08, 2003 20:21 PM PST
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Director Akitoshi Kawazu prods the next Final Fantasy.
At a conference call held by Nintendo of America this evening, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles designer Akitoshi Kawazu discussed his GameCube-exclusive multiplayer RPG with the U.S. games press for the first time.As we mentioned in an earlier preview, FFCC is a major departure for Square Enix's number-one name in RPGs?it's an action game that allows up to four players to go on a quest at once, and it uses the Game Boy Advance link cable extensively as part of the game experience. (Kawazu said that GBAs will be required for multiplayer, but it's not a necessity if you're journeying by yourself.) What's more, the game's scope is a little narrower than your typical FF?although Kawazu said FFCC will take around 30 hours to play start-to-finish, the game's divided into succinct missions, or stages, not unlike Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance or Phantasy Star Online... minus the online part, of course.
FFCC's magic system will use sets of magic jewels called Magecite (as seen in previous FFs); you'll be able to combine these to create different forms of elemental magic. In addition, melee attacks can be stored up and chained together by multiple characters; the power of your attack may differ depending on whether everyone lands an attack at once, or if the attacks land in order instead.
Kawazu said that Nintendo producer Shigeru Miyamoto has been working closely with him on the FFCC project, giving him advice at many points during development. As for FF series producer Hironobu Sakaguchi: "He actually hasn't seen it yet... I'm looking forward to surprising him with it soon." Hmm.
Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles will be playable at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles next week. Mr. Kawazu won't be at the show, unfortunately, so we won't be able to interview him. But cheer up?we'll have hands-on impressions of the game in action, so stay tuned for further updates.
