Square Enix Members Interview with Hajime Tabata, Director of FINAL FANTASY TYPE-0 HD

 

During this year’s PAX Prime, our Square Enix Members team had a chance to sit down with long time FINAL FANTASY developer Hajime Tabata, whose previous works include -CRISIS CORE- FINAL FANTASY VII and FINAL FANTASY AGITO. In a private suite at an offsite venue, we asked some questions that we know you guys have wanted to hear answers to. So sit back and enjoy!

 

SE Members: Welcome to Seattle, Tabata-san! Some of our fans may not know who our awesome developers are so we wanted to kick off our interview with some ice breakers to get acquainted with each other. To start, I’ve got a question about Seattle. While you’re here for PAX 2014, will you have any free time to actually check out the city?

 

Hajime Tabata: To tell the truth, I have no plans, but if you have any recommendations, please let me know since I don’t have a lot of time here in Seattle. Let’s chat after our interview; I’d love to get your suggestions!

 

SE Members: Seattle’s got some amazing eateries, and I know you’re a foodie based on your hamburger dinner last night. That said, if you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would that be?

 

HT: Simple answer. Ramen. I love ramen.

 

SE Members: Speaking of free time, when you’re not working on the next big FINAL FANTASY title, what do you do in your spare time?

 

HT: Right now, I have a young daughter at home so I play with her mostly. It’s almost like my job at home. I also have a lot of electronic gadgets so in my spare time, I make sure that they’re all charged and ready for action when I need them. It’s kind of odd, but it’s one of my hobbies that I enjoy.

 

SE Members: Is there anything that you do outside of playing games that you draw inspiration from when you’re producing a game?

 

HT: When I was younger, there were different mediums of entertainment that I drew inspiration from, but now that I’m older with children and a family, my consumption has changed mostly to the types of mediums that my daughter views, such as anime.

 

SE MEMBERS: Like Anpanman?

 

HT: My daughter has already graduated from Anpanman, but there are lots of types of anime and dolls that my daughter enjoys. As a guy, this is a new form of media for me, so it’s been very interesting to see these things. That being said however, FINAL FANTASY TYPE-0 was something that I worked out before having a child, so the game hasn’t been affected by these types of media.

 

SE Members: Regarding some of your previous titles, are there any interesting facts about a design decision that you made in a game that was influenced by American culture? We’ve heard that Yusuke Naora, who designed the airship in FINAL FANTASY X, used his love of the Lakers basketball team as inspiration for the color pallet of the airship!

 

HT: Oh really? Very interesting. Well, I can’t remember from past titles since it’s been a while, but since I’m working on FINAL FANTASY XV at the moment, there’re some elements like this, but we’ll have to wait until we release more information about that title to discuss in our next interview.

 

SE Members: Okay, fair enough. Looking forward to it! So a question that our fans have been talking about since we first revealed FINAL FANTASY TYPE-0 HD at this year’s E3 was the lack of support for the PS Vita. Can you please explain to us the reasoning for bringing it to the Western markets as a current gen console title only?

 

HT: The biggest reason is that we felt that our fans would be able to enjoy a deeper and prolonged experience with the game if it were on a larger medium. Not only are we making the title HD, but we are also working on improving the replay value of the game in order to reach out to a wider and newer audience. Would you have preferred it not to be on console?

 

SE Members: Well, personally I’m a console player so I’m looking forward to an HD console version. A bigger screen delivers more action and more eye candy. It’s very American. Thumbs up!

 

What kinds of improvements can we expect over the PSP version of the game?

 

HT: Definitely the graphics. In improving these graphics we also utilized the development from FINAL FANTASY XV to not only improve things like lighting effects, but we also re-rendered everything specifically for the PS4 and XBox One.

 

SE Members: So it’s almost like FINAL FANTASY TYPE-0 HD is a stepping stone or a sneak peek of FINAL FANTASY XV?

 

HT: In terms of the graphics, yes, we did utilize some of those key learnings from FINAL FANTASY XV to refine the game. Things like graphics were refined as well as some of the combat, which have been leveled up for the HD version.

 

SE Members: What differentiates this title from other FINAL FANTASY games that we’ve played in the past?

 

HT: To sum it all up, it’s a more mature FINAL FANTASY. It’s a FINAL FANTASY that has been created with a very mature theme never seen before in the franchise. As you can see from the gameplay, the game has been shifted into a seamless combat system instead of a turn-based system. It’s this seamless feel that we’re trying to infuse into the game. Even in the story telling aspect, the game also feels like a documentary showing a record of war featuring all the characters themselves.

 

Those were the kinds of elements that were really praised in Japan when the original game was first released. To be able to draw out those personal emotions of the characters themselves into the game, we felt it would really appeal to the new fan base overseas.

 

SE Members: It almost feels like a FINAL FANTASY game that has grown with the original fans, who started playing the franchise from the very beginning because this is a more mature title. We’re obviously more mature as well, so it’s something some of us can appreciate because it’s a completely different entry into the series.

 

HT: Ahhh true. Well I definitely want you to play it when it’s done!

 

SE Members: Oh I definitely will! Could you please describe three takeaways of FINAL FANTASY TYPE-0 HD that you feel are the most important elements you want to convey when we’re playing the game?

 

HT: Three? Hmmm…

 

Well the first thing would be for fans to feel the drama that’s conveyed in the game since it is a record of war. I personally love this Japanese historical drama series called the Taiga dramas and I wanted to draw on the good spirits and elements of how this series documents their stories. Kind of like Game of Thrones.

The game really showcases how each character chooses to live their lives. They all have their own mottos for how they perceive life, and we want players to be emotionally connected with these characters when they’re done playing the game.

Third being we want to clearly showcase the new FINAL FANTASY direction moving forward since this game is our next entry into the franchise.

SE Members: Out of all the gameplay elements, what are your favorite and why?

 

HT: The combat system. It’s probably the ultimate action that we could achieve with FINAL FANTASY.

 

SE Members: Ahhh I see. So then, FINAL FANTASY XV will take it up another notch?

 

HT: EXACTLY!

 

SE Members: Which is your favorite character? And you can’t say all of them.

 

HT: From a developer standpoint, I like Nine.

 

SE Members: Any particular reason?

 

HT: I like him because he has a very straightforward and direct personality. There’s nothing that Nine hides from us. He’s not trying to be older. His character is what he is.

 

SE Members: Well thank you for spending time for our Square Enix Members community. We’re all really looking forward to when the game releases, so I’ll finish up our interview with my personal most important question. Are you a cat or dog person?

 

HT: Dog person!

 

Well that’s a wrap! Hopefully you guys got some interesting tidbits about Tabata-san and the development of FINAL FANTASY TYPE-0 HD from this interview. We’ll be featuring more news about the game in the near future, but until then, be sure to follow our newly launched FINAL FANTASY TYPE-0 Facebook page to get all the latest info directly from the Square Enix team!