Games Radar had een interview met Motomu Toriyama, de director van Final Fantasy X-2. In het interview vertelt hij enkele interessante dingen over waarom ze een nieuwe richting zijn ingeslagen met Final Fantasy X-2.
As summoning fantastical beasts has been an integral part of the Final Fantasy experience, do you think fans will be happy about the lack of Aeons in FFX-2?
In the world of FFX-2, the power of the Aeons has been lost due to the events at the end of FFX and so, from the very early stages of development, we were aware that we had to base the battle system in X-2 on something other than the summons we usually rely on. This is where the idea for the new Spherechange system came from, since it provides something appealing both visually and in terms of gameplay, and is a feature which brings an interesting new element to the game system. The FF series has always been about introducing new elements to both the system and the visuals with every title and, as such, we felt that fans of the series would enjoy the novel Spherechange system just as much as the summon-based systems of earlier instalments.
Why were Yuna and Rikku chosen to be playable characters in the sequel rather than the other characters from FFX?
Although FFX-2 is the first ever sequel in the series, if you simply stick to the same old formula, you run the risk of losing any freshness that the game might have, so we decided to try a number of things in FFX-2 that we hadn't been able to do in previous FF games. One of these things was basing the story solely on female characters and telling a (relatively) light-hearted story while doing so. In order to do this, we used Yuna, heroine of FFX, as the main focus of the story and let Rikku, her happy-go-lucky friend, go along with her, accompanied by their new companion Paine.
Was it a conscious decision to make all the playable characters female?
It's not uncommon for women to star as main characters in Hollywood movies and we looked to films like Charlie's Angels and Tomb Raider for inspiration. But in a way, these stories seemed to be using tough, almost 'macho' women to fill the same type of roles usually played by men. With FFX-2, we took ideas from movies such as these as a starting point but tried to base the story around cuter, more feminine characters. Visually speaking, in offering various outfits for the characters, the Spherechange system is obviously a more female-oriented feature. Little touches like the movements of the characters as they try to bear the weight of the large swords used when the Samurai dressphere is equipped, and the group's lively reaction to such a serious event as an important treasure of theirs being stolen, help to keep the atmosphere light-hearted and reinforce the cuter aspects of the game's three heroines. The opportunity to portray female main characters in this way provides a new, and often amusing, form of expression, which is really what swung the decision to make a title with three female playable characters.
Do you see the new dress-up system as the game's equivalent to 'Limit attacks' seen in previous games or as something completely different? And do you see future games adopting a similar approach rather than the more usual 'Limit attacks'?
The closest thing to the Spherechange system in previous FF games was the job changing system in Final Fantasy V. The main difference is that job changes were activated from the menu and could not be performed during battles but, in FFX-2, Spherechanges take place in realtime during the battle sequences and the order and type of changes performed can have a direct effect on the course of a battle. Because of the visual appeal of the different outfits, and also the tactical aspects of the different dresspheres, it is a system which allows the player a great deal of choice in terms of their own particular playing style. As far as future FF titles are concerned, the battle system changes every time, so as to similar features appearing in future games, your guess is as good as ours!
Were the new ideas used in FFX-2 old ideas that didn't make it into earlier FF titles or were they specifically thought up to bring a different feel to this sequel?
FFX-2 is the first game in the series which uses the same game world as a previous title and so we wanted to offer the players something new in other areas of the game. Therefore, we really concentrated on taking a very different approach to the game system used in FFX in order to introduce the freshness needed in a new FF title. The thing which allowed us to do so, and the greatest benefit of creating a sequel, was undoubtedly the fact that the time usually spent on creating an entirely new world with entirely new characters and locations could instead be spent on really reworking the system and creating a great new story to go with it.
Yuna is a much more dynamic/action-oriented character in FFX-2. Did you see this as a natural development from her experience in FFX or was she redesigned to fit in with your plans for the sequel?
In FFX, Yuna was burdened with the huge responsibility of being the High Summoner and, in the two years since that story ended, has been searching for a new role for herself. Thanks to Rikku's influence, she is able to begin to find her new self. Since the expression of her new self begins with changes in fashion and the way she speaks, in a way, she could be seen as a completely different person but, deep in her heart, she is the same old Yuna. It is her realisation of a stronger and more confident woman inside herself that drives the story of FFX-2.
Seeing as you were going to have three female playable characters, why wasn't Lulu included in the trio?
The reason Lulu was relegated to a supporting role in FFX-2 was that if she had been in the party, Yuna would have relied on her like an older sister and this would have got in the way of her quest to find a new self, which, as mentioned previously, is what drives the story of the sequel. Also, as far as Lulu is concerned, two years have passed since the events of FFX and she is currently enjoying married life back in Besaid with Wakka, so has no reason to go off adventuring like in the olden days. For fans of Lulu and Wakka, they can be visited in Besaid at any point in the game, so please enjoy their company as often as you like!
Do you view FFX-2 as a game apart from the FF series, a kind of one-off experience like the FFVII: Advent Children DVD, or as something you may wish to repeat in the future?
There were a number of very lucky factors which allowed us to make FFX-2, the first sequel ever in the Final Fantasy series. For example, FFX came out relatively soon after the PS2 was released and the game world and characters were of a standard high enough that both players and the game's creators wanted to see a sequel. Whether or not there will be other sequels in the future of the FF series, no-one knows. But our main priority is to continue producing titles one-by-one, with enough care and attention that they will be loved by gamers as much as previous titles are lucky enough to have been.
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