Article: [UPDATED!] FINAL FANTASY Agito announced for iOS and Android!

[Aulayna]

ffagito.jpg

In the latest Famitsu magazine, Square Enix announced that FINAL FANTASY Agito will be coming to iOS and Android devices. The game is an original fantasy RPG that features free to play multiplayer elements.

The game is set in the world of FINAL FANTASY Type-0 and is a retelling of sorts of the storyline of Type-0 told from the perspective of new, player-customised, characters. Your character is from the same Orience magic academy that was an integral part of Type-0. It also features returning Type-0 characters Jack and Ace. Unfortunately there's still no word on whether or not Type-0 itself will be seeing the light of day outside of Japan.

In an interview with Famitsu, producer Hajime Tabata said that he:

"wanted to write a story that traced the different fates of the FF Type-0 heroes. A lot of FF Type-0 players have told us that, and there are a lot of people within the studio, too, who wanted to do it. FF Type-0 was originally meant for release on mobile phones, and I liked the Agito name anyway, so that's how we got started with this project."

Agito looks to take advantage of smartphones as a gaming platform by progressing in realtime based on the actions players take. It uses Type-0's story gambits - the history of Orience runs across millions of parallel cycles meaning that when one cycle ends, a new, different one begins. What this means for us is that the decisions we make in one game-story cycle will make things dynamically change in the following cycle. Tabata went onto elaborate further:

"The story is divided into chapters. There's an ending, and when the story ends one time, the next cycle begins and history is repeated from the beginning. The decision system here means that the game should change gradually with each cycle. We might have different decisions for you to make at the second cycle, or more choices to select from. That kind of 'live' experience is something you can only get here."

He did go at length to state that it's still undetermined how many chapters will make up a cycle and how long each individual cycle will last. The current plan, according to Famitsu, is for every chapter to run across a two week realtime period.

"Each chapter is divided into a solo-play and team-play phase. The solo-play phase taking 10 days out of the two-week chapter period and the team-play phase taking four days. Players spend the first 10 days running their personal missions, and then all the individual teams challenge powerful bosses. Your team and job is chosen for you at the start of the chapter, so you have to boost your job skills in solo mode in order to prepare for the team phase."

At present FINAL FANTASY Agito is slated to debut this winter, with more details to be revealed at the Tokyo Game Show next week. Tabata also stressed that Agito is still enjoyable even if you don't want to throw money into it. But given Square Enix's recent track record with smartphone RMTs we'll have to see how that one plays out - but judging by Tabata's own comments we shouldn't be too afraid.

"We want you to be able to reach the ending fully free-to-play. I don't buy extra stuff in games, after all. The 'active force' you consume in missions refills over time, but you can refill it instantly with an item if you want to play at once. You can also spin to purchase abilities, continues for when you fail at a mission, and most of the other things you'd expect."

Now if you're bursting with excitement at the prospect of finally being able to explore the world of Type-0... then I'd hold your breath a little longer. Square Enix have yet to confirm which regions this will be available in.

Check out some Famitsu scans below:

ag1.jpg

ag2.jpg

ag3.jpg

[Source: Final Fantasy Agito (iOS/Android) announced [Tabata Producing, Details In OP] - NeoGAF ]

[Jinx]

I really like the art style of this game!

[Formalhaut]

Meh. Type-0 is what I'm banking on.

[Jiro]

I got excited thinking this was a cock tease about Type-0 with its old title and no it's just a cock tease about a (probably troutty) mobile spin off. Pull your finger out, Square Enix.

[Del Murder]

It seems unlikely the would release this in English regions since Type-0 isn't even here.

[Aulayna]

UPDATED 14th September 2013:
Square Enix have filed a trademark for FINAL FANTASY Agito, complete with a localized logo, in Europe. No trademark application as of yet in the US. But considering Square Enix have generally released all but a handful of their mobile offerings in all regions, this is good news!

[Formalhaut]

This is good news if you're in the market for yet another mobile Square Enix game.

[Scotty_ffgamer]

This would be good news if it came with an announcement for a western release of Type-0

[Jiro]

Yeah, there's little incentive to play this when the real game isn't available to us.

[Aulayna]

Well considering Sony recently unveiled new hardware that lets Vita games be played on a TV I wouldn't consider it a leap of faith to assume that Type-0 may well finally get released outside of Japan to be a hook for that hardware.

Either way, this game on it's own still looks decidedly good for a mobile game considering Square Enix's mobile offerings in the past year (All the Bravest anyone?)

[Skyblade]

Either way, this game on it's own still looks decidedly good for a mobile game considering Square Enix's mobile offerings in the past year (All the Bravest anyone?)

It is visually impressive, yes.

But it still looks like a mess from an interface standpoint. The control interfaces alone take up way too much of the screen (which will get worse when your fingers cover even more of it). It also seems to suffer from the usual Square mobile game problem of doing way too much. Controlling and tracking stats for a three person party in an ARPG, even with simplified systems? Good luck with that.

I'm hoping this will go the same way as Type-0. They'll work it along until someone realizes that they're making a game way too big for a cellphone, and then they'll port it to the Vita.

[Formalhaut]

I'm hoping this will go the same way as Type-0. They'll work it along until someone realizes that they're making a game way too big for a cellphone, and then they'll port it to the Vita.

They can port this game to the Vita; I still bloody want my Type-0 to be on console someway or another.

[Skyblade]

I'm hoping this will go the same way as Type-0. They'll work it along until someone realizes that they're making a game way too big for a cellphone, and then they'll port it to the Vita.

They can port this game to the Vita; I still bloody want my Type-0 to be on console someway or another.

While I can understand this desire, as the game is big enough an well-crafted enough to earn a full console release, I also have to disagree with it.

Handhelds are just way more convenient in my mind. I don't really see the advantage of a console over something like the Vita.

Hopefully it would at least have cross-play.