Ultimate Fantasy XVI: The Rising Tide looks to lift Jill

Naoki Yoshida: With this free up, and no longer excellent the free up of the DLC, but updates that now we luxuriate in planned as effectively, we’ve been getting tons of ideas about gameplay issues, about things esteem extra config alternate choices or cutscene fixes or quality of lifestyles things. We bought moderately a couple of ideas on that. We’re the utilize of the Rising Tide DLC as an opportunity to tackle a couple of of these issues, a couple of of the ideas we’ve gotten from the community, to boot to introducing recent deliver with the DLC as effectively.

Takeo Kujiraoka: We’ve additionally passe this as an opportunity to replace many of the Eikon skills as effectively. We bought moderately a couple of ideas about making many of the abilities more uncomplicated to utilize, powering them up, presumably addressing ones that weren’t passe as grand by avid gamers which technique of they were complicated to utilize and making them more uncomplicated to utilize, making them extra accessible to avid gamers. We’ve done moderately a couple of adjustment of these skills. All yet again, no nerfing, but namely the abilities for Ramuh and Bahamut, as an instance, we’ve modified these plenty, updated these. There are moderately a couple of recent system that ought to please moderately a couple of action game avid gamers accessible.

GamesBeat: With the DLC taking save in an instruct known as Mysidia, that makes me think of Ultimate Fantasy IV. Are you excellent borrowing the identify, or will there be other particular callbacks in Rising Tide?

Kujiraoka: Mysidia additionally regarded in Ultimate Fantasy II as effectively, as the identify of a village. Both of these Mysidias, their backstories were tied to magic. Because Mysidia in FFXVI is additionally tied to magic, we determined to attain that callback and produce in the identify there, which technique of now we luxuriate in these similarities between the customary Mysidias and the recent Mysidia. Otherwise, though, we’re no longer bringing in moderately a couple of various things from Ultimate Fantasy IV. There turned into as soon as excellent that cramped connection there, so we wanted to attain a callback.

GamesBeat: Traditional American Ultimate Fantasy fan, I overpassed Ultimate Fantasy II.

Yoshida: It’s very original in the assortment. It’s straightforward to fail to bear in mind in most cases. But we excellent had the pixel remaster that made it grand extra accessible.

GamesBeat: The interpretation of these classic summons turned into as soon as a broad highlight of FFXVI. Can you focus on about this rendition of Leviathan, what makes this various from other versions of Leviathan that we’ve considered before?

Yoshida: With FFXVI and the Eikons that we chose, we wanted avid gamers, after they hear the names of the Eikons, they’re going to luxuriate in a image of what that Eikon is going to be, what moves they’re going to attain. We didn’t need to stray too grand from that, even Leviathan. When other folk think of Leviathan they think attend to after they played the pixel versions, the assaults and actions they were the utilize of. We are able to rob these pixel versions and render them in top quality HD graphics in a mode that suits the participant’s belief of what Leviathan have to aloof be. That’s the course we took. We didn’t need to accumulate Leviathan various. We wanted to accumulate Leviathan something that turned into as soon as recognizable.

Kujiraoka: This turned into as soon as one of the most extra complicated Eikons to device excellent due to its shape, being serpent-esteem. Attempting to render that in such top quality turned into as soon as complicated. But I think we bought something that’s going to be very recognizable for avid gamers, that avid gamers are going to be in a instruct to resonate with.

GamesBeat: Leviathan is any other echo of the water theme that we stare in the identify, Rising Tide. What characteristic does water play in the DLC?

Kujiraoka: Water does play an awfully broad characteristic in the DLC. First off, it represents Leviathan, and Leviathan being the predominant focal level, the Eikon of water and the Dominant of water. You stare this visually in the areas that you just scoot to. You stare that broad frozen wave in the trailer. That’s connected to the story as effectively. All the assaults that you just’ll be getting are going to be water-primarily primarily based. But on top of that, it additionally has an awfully deep connection to the story as effectively. There are these themes of water that are going to appear in the yarn. Water is going to be in each and each save in the DLC.

GamesBeat: Some ideas I’ve considered from avid gamers is that they in actuality attain esteem Jill, and most seemingly wish there turned into as soon as extra of her in the game. What’s her roll in Rising Tide?

Kujiraoka: First off, for our DLCs, one of the most themes for the first DLC and this DLC as effectively, it turned into as soon as going to be that one good stagger with Joshua, Jill, and Torgal, with Clive on his closing adventure before they scoot to Foundation and Ultima. We attain need to luxuriate in that focal level on them. Whereas Echoes of the Fallen targeted a runt bit extra on Joshua, there’s going to be extra of a highlight on Jill in Rising Tide.

The good connection to Jill is going to be that the instruct we’re visiting, Mysidia, is in the northern territories. With Jill being from the northern territories, she has that connection. She’s going attend to her save of birth. That ties into the story as effectively. So fans of Jill will accumulate a runt extra of her story in this DLC.

GamesBeat: It appears to be like esteem Clive has been embraced by moderately a couple of avid gamers. His English express actor Ben Starr, I think the overall U.S has a runt of a crush on him. How does it in actuality feel to stare the poster child of the game be embraced so readily and universally?

Yoshida: With the Ultimate Fantasy assortment, there’s continually moderately a couple of focal level on these predominant characters. You accumulate these characters that folk drop in adore with. Perchance they think that presumably there turned into as soon as stress on us to device a personality that turned into as soon as going to follow in these footsteps, but we didn’t manner the creation of Clive in that device. We didn’t exit of our device to accumulate a personality that turned into as soon as going to turn into in actuality standard. We excellent had an belief of what we wanted to attain with the story, and then we created Clive to match that story.

Within the initiating of trend, Clive turned into as soon as a runt bland. He turned into as soon as extra or much less soiled, darkish, and brooding. Lawful a soldier. But as the story progresses you might presumably well perhaps stare how he developed. I think that’s one of the most explanations avid gamers in actuality loved him, which technique of they’re going to stare the trend going from one save to any other. That mentioned, we didn’t scoot into it pondering that we wanted to accumulate Clive a conventional persona. It excellent took save that as he developed in the story, his recognition grew from there. It definitely wasn’t something we expected, that he would turn into this form of conventional persona, but we’re very gay that he is. I favor to thank our quest writers and the these that created the cutscenes, which technique of when we went into it, we didn’t excellent need to device a personality who explains every part.

We wanted to rob a extra “expose, no longer repeat” form of manner to the dialogue. We wanted to attend the dialogue tight and attend it a runt extra exact, having the story no longer excellent told by the phrases, but by the characters’ eyes and facial expressions. The exhausting work that turned into as soon as set apart in by our quest writers and motion take grasp of directors and the cutscene directors in actuality bought that all the device thru. That’s any other the reason why Clive grew to turn into an awfully standard persona.

GamesBeat: What does the long lumber for FFXVI glimpse esteem previous Rising Tide? Are there going to be extra broad DLC releases?

Yoshida: The good factor that’s in store is the PC model, the port to PC. We’re at this time optimizing that. With this optimization, one of the most things we’re specializing in is that with the PS5 and its exhausting pressure, now we luxuriate in that seamless experience, every part is hooked up. There have to no longer any loading times. We need to reproduce that on the PC model. We’re at this time optimizing so we can accumulate as stop to that as seemingly, to boot to making an are trying out it in quite loads of totally different environments to accumulate particular now we luxuriate in minimal spec requirements the save avid gamers can experience the game in the identical device as the PS5.

On top of that, we’re working on the interfaces, to boot to customization alternate choices for the PC model, what avid gamers luxuriate in come to question from PC ports. As effectively as to that, we’re additionally working on an all-in-one pack the prevent might presumably well perhaps presumably accumulate the scandalous game blended with the overall DLC for the PC free up. Whereas I’m able to’t give an actual date on when it’s popping out yet, the trend and the optimization is captivating smoothly. We must luxuriate in a free up date very quickly. As soon as that’s released, that’s when we can launch fascinated by ports to other consoles as effectively.

GamesBeat: It appears to be like esteem there’s aloof moderately a couple of work going into FFXVI. What does it in actuality feel esteem for the team? No longer precisely a extended cycle, but that extended work on a game, even after it’s launched, even have to you’ve got the excessive of the birth in the previous. You question that feeling of “We did it,” but then you definitely scoot attend to work. Is that demoralizing at all, or is it invigorating that you just accumulate to set apart extra into this project?

Kujiraoka: For me I turned into as soon as in a instruct to remain motivated, which technique of you accumulate all this ideas. Now now we luxuriate in the opportunity to implement that ideas. We were in a instruct to luxuriate in this likelihood to device the DLC, tackle that ideas, and reply these items that the avid gamers wanted. For that, it gave me motivation to continue on the project. One more factor turned into as soon as that every part we learned developing the predominant game, we were in a instruct to rob that and no longer excellent luxuriate in it terminate there. We might presumably well make on that.

All yet again, moderately a couple of that working together, the overall challenges and difficulties we confronted, the complications we overcame on the predominant game, we were in a instruct to rob that experience and utilize it on the trend of the DLC. We were in a instruct to device something that turned into as soon as very complicated to accumulate, but which technique of we had that experience, we were in a instruct to device that very effectively and extremely expeditiously for this DLC. That turned into as soon as something that saved me motivated thru that. Now here we’re on the good bits of the QA for the DLC, and we’re initiating to accumulate to that peak yet again, luxuriate in that pre-birth excessive yet again.

GamesBeat: No doubt one of the most most praised system of FFXVI is the music from Masayoshi Soken. How grand recent music will now we luxuriate in to glimpse ahead to in the DLC?

Kujiraoka: First off, which technique of we’re getting a brand recent instruct, we’ll be getting recent music with that instruct, a couple of tracks for that instruct. On top of that now we luxuriate in the Eikon vs. Eikon battles. As you know from the ones in the predominant game, you accumulate these very complex tracks that vary depending on the phases of the Eikons. We wanted to reproduce that with the Leviathan fight as effectively. You’re going to luxuriate in very original tracks that vary with the phases of the Eikon fight as effectively.

Yoshida: Attend in the predominant game, when we were talking to Masayoshi Soken in regards to the music, I in my conception made the overall requests. “I favor these songs for these areas.” All yet again, I created all this reference cloth – these sorts of songs for these tips that I luxuriate in – and gave all of that to Soken very early in the trend project. And then for years we bought nothing. Then, two months before birth, all of a surprising all of these songs came into the game.

To illustrate, FFXIV, which he additionally does the music for – it’s a department store for game music. You’ve got all these various areas. You’ve got classical. You’ve got rock. You’ve got digital music, recent sorts of music. The game permits that. But for FFXVI, it’s targeted on simplest classical music. Early on, Soken turned into as soon as very jumpy about that. Used to be he going to be in a instruct to attain a complete game with excellent one form of music? The factor is, he did, and other folk loved it. With the DLC, moderately a couple of stress has been taken off him. He can excellent rob what he passe and scoot all out. I think he did that for Rising Tide.

GamesBeat: Carry out you’ve got something else you want to disclose to the fans of FFXVI?

Yoshida: For no longer simplest the FFXVI workers, however the total ingenious alternate unit 3, this has been an very good experience for us. We had this broad anguish of developing a brand recent Ultimate Fantasy. We challenged ourselves to device this game. We released the game and we bought moderately a couple of adore from the fans, moderately a couple of adore from the customers. We rob that and utilize that as motivation for the next step we can rob, captivating ahead to the next project.

Kujiraoka: I’d esteem to thank every person who fell in adore with FFXVI. With this DLC, we’re in a instruct to bring extra of that, confidently extra of what you liked in regards to the game. We glimpse at The Rising Tide as a spread in an MMO. It takes every part you want in regards to the predominant game and provides you extra of that. Confidently that can accumulate every person excited to adore FFXVI grand extra.