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Revenant Wings launched in Japan last April. What sort of changes can US gamers expect for its North American debut?
Motomu Toriyama: We're changing the overall game balance and adjusting that for the US audience. We've also placed new enemy units in battles and added new enemy unit gambits. The North American release will provide a completely different game play experience than the original domestic release.
When the original version was released in Japan, there were some complaints about its replay value. We've added some deep dungeons to the North American release. If you go into these dungeons, you could probably keep playing there forever. There's also a new boss, Yazmat, from Final Fantasy XII. Overall, it's a bit more difficult.
Revenant Wings has a rather forgiving difficulty in comparison to the other Final Fantasy titles. Are you worried that this will deter long-term fans from playing the game?
Eisuke Yokoyama: We're not worried at all about the difficulty level not satisfying the core users.
Toriyama: In Japan, the RTS genre in general is not very familiar, so we wanted to create a game that introduced the genre there. But we are well aware that in the States the users are very familiar with the genre. We recreated the game so that the difficulty level is compatible with the US users' knowledge of the RTS genre.
Why did you choose to make this RTS spin-off a part of the Final Fantasy XII genre? Why not make it a stand alone game?
Yokoyama: We did not set out to make a game that was connected to FFXII. In the beginning it was supposed to be a 'My first Final Fantasy' experience - that was the overall plan for this game. We had already created the battle system. It was ready to go, but at a certain point during the development and planning process, Toriyama's team started talking. FFXII had just been released and it was really popular, so it was more a matter of timing that it turned into this kind of game.
Revenant Wings also has a light-hearted storyline compared to other Final Fantasy games. Why this departure?
Toriyama: There are two reasons why the storyline of Revenant Wings is what it is. One reason is that I enjoy creating these fun, not very serious stories. Also, the team wanted to go back to the tradition of the original Final Fantasy -- that genuine feeling of going on an adventure.
The second reason is that I wanted to portray the world of Invalice after it had gone through that whole war and that serious time. I wanted to portray a more peaceful side.
Has the storyline been adapted for the North American market?
Toriyama:The story itself hasn't been altered at all. There's the added element of the deep dungeon, but other than that the storyline is the same. The localization team is the same one that worked on FFXII, so that should be reflected in Revenant Wings.
There's been an initiative at Square-Enix to prove that epic RPGs can be created on portable systems. How did you incorporate this into your DS design?
Toriyama: Now that all these different consoles and portable devices exist, what we want to do is bring our epic stories to all these different platforms. Right now we're in a trial phase and are experimenting. One of the things we had in mind when bringing this to portable systems like the DS was to make the epic battle something you can pick up and play at any time and any where. We've broken the story into different episodes to adapt the epic storyline to portable devices.
So what exactly have you done to facilitate bursts of gaming?
Toriyama: The game is broken down into different missions and each mission can be completed in 15 to 30 minutes. The battle system is also different from other Final Fantasy games - tutorials are sprinkled throughout the game so you don't have to read a manual while you're playing, which really helps its pick up and playability.
Why did you decide to make a "My first Final Fantasy?" Are you hoping that it will act as a gateway to the rest of the franchise?
Toriyama: There's not one overall strategy behind Revenant Wings or any other Square-Enix title. Whatever each development team has a passion for and wants to create is what they'll continue to create. There isn't a strategy to take users one way or another.
Now that you've seen the reaction to Revenant Wings in Japan, is there an interest in continuing the RTS genre in the Final Fantasy universe.
Toriyama: We're definitely considering it and would like to continue incorporating RTS elements into the RPG genre. Revenant Wings is the first step.
Is there any interest in creating a Final Fantasy RPG that incorporates even more RTS elements?
Yokoyama: We're not looking to create a hardcore RTS game, but we do want to experiment with new ways of expanding the RPG genre.
What other genres would you be interested in exploring?
Yokoyama: Personally, I'm interested in creating a simulation game. The team as a whole has been looking into different ways to update the battle systems. So they've been looking at different board games to see if they'd be inspired to create a new way to battle.
Were there any features you wish you could have included in Revenant Wings that didn't make it into the final game? Where you constrained by the size of the DS cartridge?
Yokoyama A few of things that we wanted to include in the game included voice acting and some multiplayer elements. But the size of DS cartridge and the constraints of the time schedule made it impossible. It wasn't realistically possible for this project. We would consider it for the future.
Do you have interest in using the microphone or Wi-Fi in future DS titles?
Toriyama: We're definitely interested in the multiplayer and local connection element. And we'd like to look into it for the future. We don't know about the mic function so much because it might not be too convenient if you're playing on the train. Right now we're mostly interested in Wii Fit. We're really intrigued by it.
Is there going to be a Final Fantasy-themed fitness game?
Toriyama: There are no actual plans to take Final Fantasy into the fitness genre, but that whole system and mechanism of using your weight and balance to control games is something we're interested in incorporating into future RPG titles.
What are your new projects now that Revenant Wings is about to launch?
Yokoyama: We're considering a sequel for Revenant Wings, and of course Toriyama-san is working on Final Fantasy XIII. And perhaps we'll start working on Final Fantasy Fitness.
What are you expecting Revenant Wing's reception to be like in North America?
Yokoyama: The battle system is something that US users are more familiar with than Japanese audiences, so we think American gamers will enjoy that. Also the art style isn't very realistic. It's sprite art, and we focused more on the cute movements of these spirtes. And there's no violence in this game. We're very interested in seeing how US users react to that.
Was the focus on non-violence intentional? Were trying to convey a deeper message with the title?
Toriyama Something that we kept in mind when creating this title is that the DS hardware has a very diverse demographic of little children to grandparents and casual to hardcore players. With that in mind, we wanted to create something that wouldn't offend in part of the demographic. So that's the main reason why we kept it violence free.
Are there any final thoughts on the project?
Yokoyama: The visual style and the battle system are very different from what traditional Final Fantasy fans are used to. At first it might be taken negatively that the graphics aren't top notch and the battle system is different, but I'd like players to take up the game and actually play it and see that the team is very passionate about Final Fantasy and bring that world to the DS hardware. A lot of thought was put into the graphics, the scenarios in the storyline and the game play. Once they get into that, they'll see that it is a Final Fantasy title.
Toriyama: The soundtrack has been well received in Japan. A lot of experience staff members worked on the sound track, and I'd like the US audience to spend special attention to it.
