![]() ![]() Or one that's specialized for using magic, or one that's kind of a war of attrition. For example, even if you're at level 99 but you don't fix up your Gambits, you can't get through this one. So each one kind of has a different theme or point to it. We've used all the different elements and situations of the game to design the trial. there's a variety, you know, whether it's dungeon or field, and lots of different enemies. Retronauts: Is there something like a randomization element to these stages, as in a roguelike, or are they preset? Are you fighting through dungeons? Or is it more like open spaces? Because FFXII broke from the Final Fantasy tradition of setting battles in separate scenes and unified exploration and combat into a single, seamless viewpoint, Gambits allowed battles to proceed without the constant interruptions of menu screens - though the automated element of combat was complemented by the player's ability to jump in and issue new orders at any time. By setting up Gambits in advance, you could tell each party member to take the initiative upon encountering monsters, guiding their behavior according to a hierarchy of rules and conditional actions. Note: The Gambit system that appeared in Final Fantasy XII functioned almost like a simplified programming language, allowing players to automate the actions of their party in order to free them from the need to issue constant commands to three or four characters. It really lets them explore the Gambit system in a new way. The idea is for players to kind of use trial-and-error and find new configurations for their Gambits. These stages have a kind of different configuration than a lot of the normal dungeons you encounter in the main game. It's about 100 stages where the player uses their party members and have to kind of fight their way up through the stages. Kato: No, I didn't mention this at E3, but. Retronauts: Can you tell me a little more about Trial Mode? I don't think you mentioned that at E3 last year. It's a combat mode that contains the volume of what another title's DLC would, along with the replayability. The other side is that there's also the Trial Mode. ![]() To be honest, the original had a ton of replay value in it to begin with, so part of the motive behind this remake was to make that more accessible. Kato: We don't have anything like that planned. Do you anticipate continuing to support The Zodiac Age beyond launch, or do you feel like it's pretty much a case where once it ships, that's it, and you're on to the next project? ![]() Retronauts: These days, when you launch a big game, there tends to be a lot of ongoing support with DLC and patches. Retronauts: So this is a simultaneous worldwide release, right? There's not much lag between regions in terms of the launch? Hiroaki Kato: It's pretty much finalized and production-wise, just waiting for launch and focusing on promotion in the meantime, both here and in the EU and NA regions. ![]() I recently met with Kato and Katano again to hear their thoughts on the remake now that it's effectively complete. As befits a game of FFXII's stature, The Zodiac Age appears to be on track to establish a new standard of quality for HD remakes. The Zodiac Age doesn't simply incorporate improved visuals, but also newly recorded arrangements of its extensive soundtrack, a comprehensive rebalancing of its mechanics and systems, and entirely new content. As key personnel on the original release of FFXII, Kato and Katano have unsurprisingly treated The Zodiac Age as more than simply a spit-shined rehash of an old game. I interviewed director Takashi Katano and producer Hiroaki Kato last year at E3 for USgamer. That long-awaited overhaul arrives in just a couple of weeks as a PlayStation 4 exclusive called Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age. The original game debuted just a few weeks before the launch of the PlayStation 3, and its elaborate visuals simply begged to be rendered in proper high resolution splendor. I've been looking forward to an HD remaster of Final Fantasy XII since about, oh, 2007, when I learned at a Game Developers Conference panel that Square Enix had produced most graphical assets for the game at better-than-PlayStation-2 resolutions. Mission control for retronauts former EIC of 1UP.com and taking dapper (and frogs) back from the Nazis. ![]()
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