Shinji Hashimoto, producer of Final Fantasy XV, come to Brasil for Brasil Game Show (BGS) and was interviewed by some Brazilian news sites.
IGN Brasil
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=334&v=XvUkyFJGVsA
Reporter:
That’s the first time that Final Fantasy is translated to Brazilian Portuguese.
I would like to know why did Square Enix decided this.
Hashimoto:
That’s the second time I come to Brazil, I’ve been here on BGS two years ago
and I could feel then that there was a great potential in Brazilian Market and
that fans are very ardent. Going back to Japan I discussed with the CEO how we
could serve Brazilian fans better so they could have more access to our games.
So we decided to release the game in Portuguese and that’s it, I hope you
enjoy.
Reporter:
That’s the first time that Final Fantasy will have a battle system different
than what fans are used to, a more action-oriented system. I would like to know
what Square expects with this change. Will fans be receptive? Why this drastic
change?
Hashimoto:
The idea this time is to keep many elements of Final Fantasy Universe
(monsters, magics, summons) but at the same time innovating the franchise
bringing new elements like changing to an action-RPG. But there are many things
we added: photorealism, open-world and I believe that with this we achieved a
good balance of old fans and new fans who doesn’t know the Final Fantasy
Universe.
Reporter:
The last time Hashimoto produced a game was with Final Fantasy 8. I would like
to know what changed since then.
Hashimoto:
Final Fantasy 8 is a Playstation 1 game, so we wouldn’t need to worry about
DLC, multiplayer online and if you wanted to play videogames you would need to
play it on a TV on a console. So you were always restricted to this console.
But nowadays things are completely different. All this features are present and
after you complete the disc you need to think after and before the release how
to keep players engaged and how to make the player have more contact with the
game and that’s where related mobile games enters. So the development process
changed a lot, back that day things were much simpler.
Reporter:
Square-Enix created a huge Universe for Final Fantasy XV (movie, anime, mobile
game). I would like to know why did Square decided investing that much on Final
Fantasy XV specifically.
Hashimoto:
During the 10 years of development, a very rich Universe was created. So we
analyzed how to engage players so they can enjoy this entire Universe created
all this years. The answer was to create multiple points of contact, the 100
minutes CG movie, the animated series, the social mobile game. All those are
ways to keep players engaged and use the Universe that was created with so much
care all those years.
About
Final Fantasy XV: “This game is everything fans want and always looked for in
Final Fantasy series”
“As
videogames evolve, games need to evolve and the quality needs to follow
closely. Everything changes, the TV screen resolution changes, so even the game
needs to change, so we switched platforms from PS3 to PS4 and Xbox One. This is
normal and happens since NES to SNES, the second game changed only a bit
comparing with the first, mas since the third we always had these changes”.
About
Fabula Nova Crystallis: The development was hard since when it still was part
of Fabula Nova Crystallis, the shared world that has been created and set to begin
with Final Fantasy XIII [quote from the news, not Hashimoto]. “Like I
explained, videogames never goes backward. The game (FFXV) evolved so much that
we decided to change its production into Final Fantasy XV and removed it of Fabula
Nova Crystallis to make its own Universe”. [now quoting Hashimoto]
About
Brazilian fans: “You are incredibly passionate. The way you react to a game is
very different from Japanese people. You get excited incredibly and visibly.
I’m happy that, even not knowing the language, Final Fantasy is a game very
dear here”.
About
Hashimoto’s favorite games: “I like shooters and action games like Battlefield
and Call of Duty. Now I’m playing a game named World of Tanks and I’m enjoying
it. Regarding Square Enix Western series, my favorite is Just Cause”.
About
translating Kingdom Hearts III to Brazilian Portuguese: In short, it depends on
Final Fantasy XV sales [my summary]. “We have translated mobile and PC classic
Final Fantasy games, but this will be the first time that we make something
that big. I hope this will be a success”. [now quoting Hashimoto]
Omelete:
Many people are waiting for Final Fantasy XV – fans, press, critics – as the
saga’s return to a vanguard position between JRPGs. What makes this game so
awaited?
Hashimoto:
When you do a franchise like Final Fantasy for so many years you ended up
creating rules that characterize the series. This time, director Hajime Tabata
wanted to take a step backwards and innovate with something never seen before,
which reflected in many features like open world and battle system. I believe
that all this new things that we are including in the game are creating this
expectation for Final Fantasy XV.
Omelete:
You joined Square Enix when Final Fantasy VII was being developed and helped to
market the game. For years you exhaustively answered questions about remaking
Final Fantasy VII. How does it feel to finally see the project going forward?
Hashimoto:
Final Fantasy VII remake is the next step and today we are focused on XV.
Anyway, we believe that the technological development seen on the game (FFXV)
is something very interesting for the future.
Omelete:
To someone that never played any Final Fantasy, which is the ideal starting
point: wait the new game or return to old games?
Hashimoto:
Even though Final Fantasy began with 1 and now we are at 15, each game works independently:
new stories, new characters and universes. So the player does not need to worry
about this and can freely choose by its criteria and the available hardware. I
recommend try any of the others game, including XV.
Omelete:
For many years people are saying that Japanese game industry is over. But
apparently it’s as alive as never with strong names like Final Fantasy, Dark
Souls and Persona. This vision of decadence exists inside Japanese game
industry or it’s something that came from the outside?
Hashimoto:
I believe that it’s because of a difference on points of view. Japan has a
history of videogame evolution different from the rest of the world. You can
see that mobile games available In Japan range from basic puzzles to RPGs, for
example. Japanese publishers don’t focus on specific genres and I feel that the
industry is growing. This decadence idea is restricted to number of sold titles
release mainly on consoles, but in a broader point of view that’s not true.
Omelete:
Square is investing on Final Fantasy XV brand in a way that reminds of what was
done to Final Fantasy VII. Do you expect that the game directed by Tabata-san
will achieve a mainstream success like FFVII?
Hashimoto:
Our game is always the one we are working the most, working hard to promote it
and be the best game possible. We continue doing our job as always and we hope
that the public likes Final Fantasy XV.
Other things
- Kingsglaive and Justice Monsters Five weren’t
released in Brazil yet. I don’t know why, no news outlet reported it and as far
as I know nobody asked it on BGS.
- There
is a Final Fantasy XV demo and it’s the Trial of Titans.
- Final Fantasy XV is in pre-order and if you buy on Saraiva you get the
King’s Tale DLC http://www.saraiva.com.br/final-fantasy-xv-dlc-exclusivo-a-kings-tale-ps4-9351268.html
