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OXM Talks To Square-Enix

25-Dec-2008 A chat with the inventor of the modern Japanese RPG and developer of Final Fantasy

A world in desperate need of salvation: check. A spiky-haired, sulky teenager in the lead role: check.

Improbably large swords: check. Hit points that sprout from the tops of enemy's heads: check. Treasure chests that litter deep, dark dungeons and an endless, endless supply of monsters spoiling for a fight: check and check.

The Japanese RPG is as predictable as it is divisive. But Last Remnant, the first all-new JRPG for the Xbox 360 to come from the minds of Square-Enix, creator of the seminal Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest series, while exhibiting all of the features listed above, is also a game hoping to buck convention.

Boasting sprawling battles involving up to 70 on screen characters that require players to take into account their soldiers' morale as well as positions on the battlefield, it's a game looking to broaden the boundaries of the JRPG. So we sat down with the development team - director Hiroshi Takai, art director Yusuke Naora and music composer Tsuyoshi Sekito - to find out a little more about the game's development and ambitions.

Last Remnant is a game that has been specifically designed to appeal to both a Western and Japanese audience. How has this affected your approach to the game's design, both in terms of art style as well as gameplay?
We didn't divide up game elements specifically to appeal to one audience or the other but instead tried to give everything we did a global appeal. Some of the character designs might have a less orthodox Japanese look to them but it wasn't as premeditated as you're suggesting.

That said, from a visual standpoint there are some things that you can get away with in Western games that wouldn't be so popular in Japanese games. Characters can be less clean cut so, in that sense, we had a much broader area to work with than is the norm for games in which the Japanese audience is the primary focus.

How has working towards a simultaneous worldwide release affected the way in which the game has been developed in any way?
We are used to making the Japanese release first before moving on to any international versions. For this game we have worked in reverse, recording the English voice actors before the Japanese and so on.

Having to record two sets of dialogue and tailor each version's lip-synching for simultaneous release has certainly been very hard work. But it signals a shift in Square-Enix's commitment to serving a global audience so I think the effort's been worth it.

How have you enjoyed working on Xbox 360?
It's been the team's first time working both with Xbox 360 and the Unreal Engine (the graphics engine used in games such as Gears of War and Unreal Tournament 3). In both cases the experience has been a positive one.

In fact, as we've only just finished work on Last Remnant I don't even know what my next project is going to be at Square Enix. However, I'm very much hoping it'll be for Xbox 360 as it's been a lot easier to work with than PlayStation 3.

Can you explain how the battle system works in a little more depth?
The battle system in Last Remnant is all about huge, sprawling battlefields with large numbers of units all fighting it out. It takes ideas from the world of MMOs as well as tactical strategy games. Rather than controlling individual characters you're given unions to direct in battle, squadrons formed of multiple soldiers.

These unions have their own health bars and you can control up to five different of them at once, each one made up of up to five team members. As you find and recruit new characters in the game world they can be drafted into your unions and so players build an army unique to them.

Orders are given to unions via a menu system, but rather than just being 'Attack' and 'Defend' these commands are context-sensitive, only listing options appropriate to the current situation on the battlefield.

For example, you may have directed a single union to attack an enemy head on. If you have another union s elsewhere on the battlefield who isn't engaged in a fight you can tell this squadron to 'back them up', a command that sends the them off to flank the enemy while they are engaged with your other troops.

Careful consideration of which input is most applicable is required because, moving a union around the battlefield changes their location in relation to their opponents. Moving to attack an enemy embedded behind other hostile units can lave your team open to flank attacks, and so selecting the correct friendly union to attack the right enemy is of paramount importance.

Quicktime events are a divisive game mechanic for gaming audiences. Why did you decide to use them for the Critical Triggers?
The menu based battle systems traditionally found in JRPGS can leave players sitting idle for long periods of time without making inputs. Last Remnant's critical triggers were really just a way to involve the player more fully during battles, not just on a cerebral level with tactical considerations but also by testing their reactions.

We appreciate that some players don't like this kind of mechanic in the RPG battle system and so that's why we include the option to turn them off completely.

What are your frustrations with the RPG genre in general? How have you addressed these frustrations in Last Remnant?
There were various elements to the game that we decided to approach in a different way to traditional Japanese RPG design but by far the main innovation is with the battle system. Most JRPGs have a small, close-knit team of young people who are seemingly the only ones who are able to save the world. Everyone else sits around idly and watches them.

Why not allow the player to recruit large numbers of soldiers to the cause, we thought. So completing freelance, side mission quests can lead to more benefits than just money and experience points; sometimes the quest giver will be so impressed by your performance that they decide to join forces as a party member for you. It was this thinking that eventually led to the recruitment and large-scale battles that define Last Remnant.

In terms of the story, Remnants exist as great and ancient tools whose discovery brings imbalance to the word, causing wars and unhappiness. Are they a metaphor for something in our world?
That's interesting. I don't think we were trying to make a specific point when it comes to the Remnants. It's not like they represent nuclear power or anything like that. They are really just huge tools to give life and history and richness to the world, as well as providing a focus for the quest.

That said, I'm sure there are different messages that players will take away from the story.

The sound design throughout the experience is very impressive. How did you go about recording the sound effects for the game?
We have a recording booth here in Shinjuku that we use to create all of our sound effects. For example, on the floor we have a tray area that can be filled with different substances - sand, grass etc - and used to record the sound of footsteps on different surfaces.

For the weapon sounds in Last Remnant we actually headed down to Akihabara (the electronics and hobby shopping district in Tokyo) and bought some swords, shields and knives to record for the battle sounds. Some of the decorative style swords we used only for the 'unsheathing 'sound effects as the swords themselves are fragile and no good for smashing against each other.

But the more robust knives we bang against each other and knock into shields to get different effects.

What about the sound effects for magic spells?
We use keyboard sound effects for spells. I'm not an accomplished enough magician to do those myself. [Laughter]

Are you looking to develop Last Remnant into a long-running series or is it a standalone product? How much will the possibility of a sequel specifically depend on the success of the game in the West?
We're definitely open to continuing the story and we're looking forward to seeing how the fans react to this new world. However, the team's been working hard on this title and now have a bunch of ideas for other games that we'll hopefully be able to investigate.

We aren't looking for a certain sales threshold before we'll consider a sequel. We just want the game to do well at retail and to be critically well received.

What do you think you game will be remembered for in a year's time?
I think it will absolutely be the battle system. We're really very excited about the new direction the battle system takes the genre in and we're excited to see how fans respond to it. Tell your readers to write in to us and let us know!

OXM Staff