Square Enix and DeNA on Final Fantasy Record Keeper, All the Bravest, and free to play
Pray for Bub and Bob
Final Fantasy Record Keeper - DeNA and Square-Enix's free to play RPG that celebrates almost every Final Fantasy title - will soon arrive on western shores.
I've already been playing it for a few days, and I can safely say that Final Fantasy fans are in for a treat. For more details of how the game plays, be sure to check out my Final Fantasy Record Keeper rolling review.
And last week, after some Slime-themed pancakes and caffè latte at Square-Enix's Artnia Café, I waddled around the corner to Square-Enix's spiffy Tokyo headquarters to talk Final Fantasy Record Keeper with three of its key producers:
- Yu Sasaki (DeNA) is the producer of the Japanese edition, responsible for planning and in charge of the daily development team and events.
- Ichiro Hazama (Square-Enix) is responsible for Record Keeper's story and world setting, taking a supervisor role.
- Shonosuke Tokumaru (DeNA) is the worldwide edition producer, responsible for the localisation and the western team.
Almost all of the 3D Final Fantasy games and characters are represented here, but in this game they've been transformed into pixel art, so we hope they'll get a kick out of seeing parts of newer games in 2D.
Hazama-san: Even for people not familiar with Final Fantasy series, this pixel art style represents something nostalgic and warm about gaming. It's not 21st Century style... it's something that can appeal to all game fans. I feel that anyone can get into the game even without prior knowledge of the series.
Speaking of the sprite art, did you have any difficulties adapting newer characters into sprite versions?
Hazama-san: Sprite artists are decreasing in number these days, but they're still about and very talented. When we asked our artists to convert CG characters into sprites, they usually came up with great sprite art straight away that was representative of each character. It was really important that these characters were recognisable right off the bat so players could connect with them.
There were occasions when we had to ask sprite artists for alterations where something we couldn't put our finger on was off. When they came back to us with their fantastic revisions we could never get a full explanation out of the artist as to what they'd changed. They'd say 'You wouldn't understand,' but they always perfected them somehow.
Record Keeper has been out for six months in Japan, has it been rebalanced at all for the western release? Are there any other differences? Tokumaru-san: Yes, there are some changes from the Japanese version, but they're mainly based on seeing how the users played and reacted in certain situations. Some areas needed tuning so we tuned them for the western version but there aren't any major changes in terms of game balance.
What lessons were learned from Final Fantasy All The Bravest?
Hazama-san: All The Bravest was a fun app, but not really a game. I recognise that. Record Keeper has its own storyline, an original character, and is very much set in the Final Fantasy universe. We plan to add even more characters to the game in the future.
While I saw All The Bravest as a fun app, the fact is that some fans expected All The Bravest to be a fully-fledged Final Fantasy game and, as such, were disappointed.
Record Keeper has a storyline and I'm proud to release this as a new Final Fantasy game. One thing I learned is to release, sell, and promote the product as appropriate.
Record Keeper celebrates the history of the Final Fantasy series... what are each of your favourite Final Fantasy games? Tokumaru-san: Final Fantasy VI is my favourite in terms of the story and world setting, but Final Fantasy VII had the most impact on me as a game. Sasaki-san: I like Final Fantasy X best for the story. It made me go back to play it again and again. I really enjoy the Sphere Grid system too as it let me make Yuna really physically strong, which was a lot of fun. Hazama-san: I feel that Final Fantasy VI provides the best balance in terms of the storyline, characters, plot twists, and music. There are so many factors that make VI a great game.
When you're playing Record Keeper who are the regular team members in your party?
Tokumaru-san: I have my favourites who I always want to add to my party, but sometimes you have to defeat a specific boss so that changes.
Sasaki-san: I have a very specific way of forming my party, and that's to always have Yuna and Tidus present, standing next to each other!
Hazama-san: I always include Tyro as he's the new character, as well as Kain (Final Fantasy IV) and Cyan (Final Fantasy VI) as they're from my favourite games.
There aren't any characters or records from Final Fantasy XI or Final Fantasy XIV yet - are there any plans to include them in the future? How about Final Fantasy XV?
Hazama-san: Yes there are definitely plans for Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XIV, and we'll be discussing Final Fantasy XV soon.
Is Record Keeper going to remain strictly a Final Fantasy affair, or will we see some crossovers with other Square-Enix like we have in the recent Theatrhythm Curtain Call DLC?
Hazama-san: In Japan we've already had a collaboration with the SaGa series so sure, there are plans for more.
Even Dragon Quest? What about western properties like Tomb Raider?
Hazama-san: There are no specific plans in place, but as a possibility it would be great to be more inclusive and have collaborations with our different titles and brands so that's something to think about. There's nothing specific for the moment though.
[Pauses] Wow... Tomb Raider would be cool.
Sure, or Hitman, or Soul Reaver, or Bub and Bob from Puzzle Bobble...
Hazama-san: Puzzle Bobble!? What a great idea!
Sasaki-san: Imagine a Puzzle Bobble stage...
Are you concerned about the online-only aspect of the game and have you had any feedback from Japanese players regarding this?
Sasaki-san: DeNA has been releasing games worldwide for some time now, so we know how to deal with different network environments. Even though Record Keeper requires a connection, it doesn't require a particularly fast connection speed at all times.
Tokumaru-san: I've been responsible for a number of titles shipped from Japan to the West over the years and there haven't been many issues in customer support concerning network connectivity.
Part of the underlying game structure in Record Keeper is based on a title previously shipped to the West so I'm pretty confident that the game will perform well in most environments. Hopefully a lot of people will be playing in locations where they have decent connectivity!
How did you balance the IAPs in Record Keeper? Hazama-san: In many free to play games that have a focus on characters, the characters are part of a lottery draw system, but in Record Keeper they're obtained through gameplay, such as clearing levels and playing in weekly events. I feel this is a strong point of the game.It's only the equipment that goes into the draw, which encourages engagement and further play.
Any advice for western players for when they start?
Tokumaru-san: There's going to be an official strategy wiki at launch where players can help each other out. It'll be a great place to find out how to beat tough bosses. The Japanese version has proved to be very popular.
Sasaki-san: As Record Keeper features so many characters, each with very different abilities and personalities, one way to enjoy it is to use your favourites. However, another even more fun was is to come up with new character and ability combinations that work really well. That community is starting to get really active in Japan, discovering really effective combinations.
Hazama-san: At the beginning you can just play really easily because of the low difficulty but it soon ramps up. Once it becomes more difficult you might still be able to beat the bosses, but you may not get a good score.
That's where you need to think about your party and strategy. That's where this game gets deep and really fun.
Final Fantasy Record Keeper will be available on the App Store around the world soon.