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Post by Nester the Lark on Sept 10, 2018 9:45:30 GMT -5
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Post by Da Robot on Sept 12, 2018 9:43:29 GMT -5
It's about damn time that the series came back with newer gaming hardware and internet play to better suit it.
Hopefully the pair of FFCC WiiWare titles can get a re-release. Wanted to play MLaaK, but seemed like too much money to put up front (and then decide to get it's optional DLC) before the WSC shutdown happened.
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Post by Nester the Lark on Sept 12, 2018 11:06:54 GMT -5
It remains to be seen how much they'll actually change the base game, but there's a lot of little QOL things they could do to make it less divisive.
The biggest issue was that it was a multiplayer-focused game that was very difficult to actually play in multiplayer, so the online multiplayer alone will make it shine like it was always meant to.
Otherwise, the only other known changes at this time are new areas in current dungeons and voice acting for some of the characters.
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Post by Nester the Lark on Sept 28, 2018 11:38:46 GMT -5
I've been thinking about what kinds of changes I'd like to see in the remaster, and I started to realize that there isn't too much that could be changed without breaking the game.
For one thing, people want to have Mog to carry the chalice in multiplayer mode so that none of the players have to do it. But the problem with that is, if the players all run off in different direction, which one does Mog follow? It's really necessary for a human player to manage it.
Also, the player carrying the chalice really has to move slower than everyone else so that it's always possible for the other players to catch up if they get left behind.
Things like that are pretty much baked into the design as necessary evils.
One thing that could be changed, though, is having a hot button for the defensive move (blocking or dodging depending on the tribe). Something like that needs to be used instantly, and having to select it from the command list makes it all but useless.
Also, I'd like to see some post-game content. I remember the developers saying, even back when the original version came out, that a lot of players wanted to keep playing the game after beating it. So, maybe there could be an optional high-level dungeon, or perhaps even a New Game+. But at the very least, it would be nice if it worked like Breath of the Wild or Xenoblade Chronicles 2, where the game acknowledges that you beat the final boss, even if you reload and keep playing.
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Post by Nester the Lark on Sept 9, 2019 0:14:31 GMT -5
Finally! It's been nearly a year since I've posted in this thread. New trailer and details: Release date is January 23, 2020. Allows cross-platform multiplayer between Switch, PS4(!), and mobile. There's new post-game content, character skins (check the lilty wearing a mask of Jegran from The Crystal Bearers), and character voices (the original had no voicework for the characters). That's also a new vocal from Donna Burke you hear in the song in the trailer. She also re-recorded her narrations. (Same for the original Japanese singer/voice actor, Yae.) EDIT: Also new artwork for the cover of the Japanese physical release. |
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Post by Nester the Lark on Sept 12, 2019 21:07:55 GMT -5
Some new gameplay footage from TGS, featuring some of the new skins.
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Post by Evie ❤✿ on Sept 13, 2019 5:24:48 GMT -5
I remember this game! ^_^
When I played the original I was young and didn't understand how the gameplay worked.
Nice to see it coming back. ✿
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Post by Nester the Lark on Sept 17, 2019 10:47:41 GMT -5
Here's a panel from TGS that I thought was cool. It's all in Japanese, but there are some things of note.
There's new gameplay footage at about the 31:00 mark showing the mobile version. At about 38:15, they demonstrate the crossplay between Switch and PS4. The players include Toshiyuki Itahana (character designer), Kumi Tanioka (original composer), Lynn (voice actor for Princess Fiona, I think), and the producer for the remastered edition (I think). They play through the entire first dungeon, and also show new character skins.
At 53:20, the original Japanese singer and narrator, Yae, performs the two songs from the game. For the second song, Kumi Tanioka accompanies her on keyboard.
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Post by Nester the Lark on Sept 23, 2019 16:52:41 GMT -5
Just wanted to archive this cool artwork. Love the art and character designs in these games.
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Post by Nester the Lark on Sept 29, 2019 20:33:38 GMT -5
Here's a bunch of new details from Siliconera: Producer Ryoma Araki originally played Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles as a regular consumer, as he was a game designer working at a different studio on another GameCube game, and he remembers being flabbergasted at how the game really used the specs behind the console.
Designer Toshiyuki Itahana mentions that the reason why the characters of Crystal Chronicles look a bit generic is because of the multiplayer and character creation aspects of the game. Essentially, it wasn’t a game about detailing the individual heroes, as would be in a mainline game. While he considered whether to redo the designs for the remaster, some staff mentioned they’d like to recreate the designs they used in the original game, so instead one new male and one new female design have been added to each race respectively.
Regarding music, composer Hidenori Iwasaki mentions that the remaster wasn’t originally going to have rearranged tracks, but they went for it when Iwasaki called Araki out one day and said, “Hey, I have this on hand.” The original game is known for its music, but as there were hardware limitations, there were some tracks that couldn’t be added in, which will be added in in the remaster.
Dungeons originally in Crystal Chronicles will keep the old music, while new dungeons have newly composed tracks for them.
Iwasaki jokes that during the planning phases for the original game, a planner suggested to go with a techno music direction, but was promptly ignored.
One of the big additions to Remastered Edition is the inclusion of cross-platform online play, which wasn’t possible back then. Itahana mentions that they still get photos from overseas fans showing that they managed to assemble the 4-player setup of connecting multiple Game Boy Advances.
The console and smartphone versions will have different UI. For multiplayer, you don’t need to wait in a lobby, as players will show up when they join naturally as you advance. They also reiterated that cross-platform saves are a feature for the Remastered Edition.
Extra difficult “alternate” dungeons have been added as well, which change up the atmosphere and appearing enemies in existing dungeons. It’s meant for endgame multiplayer content after beating the main game’s dungeons, and is balanced as such, although it’s not impossible to do it solo. The new dungeons will drop new weapon recipes for newly designed weapons by Itahana. Over 10 new tracks have been composed for the new dungeons.
Why not remake the game? Araki mentions that this was an option, but he felt it had to be a remaster for Crystal Chronicles, in order to show to the fans (including himself) that Crystal Chronicles was truly back. Because he played it as a regular player back then, Araki has made sure to change the game in areas that needed updating to modern standards. So, it sounds like it will include unused music from the original, as well as new music. Kumi Tanioka left Square Enix long ago, but IIRC, Hidenori Iwasaki was one of the composers for The Crystal Bearers. Also, kinda wondering how well that drop in/drop out multiplayer will work. One of the problems with the online in Echoes of Time was that a novice player could randomly end up joining someone who was very far in the game and be totally under leveled. (Not to mention, having later parts of the game spoiled for them.) Plus, in the original game, every player was a resident of the main village with parents who had a unique profession. I wonder if/how that will be handled, or if online players are simply "guests" in other players' games (which could also be done in the original game). |
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Post by Nester the Lark on May 5, 2020 10:12:35 GMT -5
Things have been pretty quiet with this game lately. I guess I didn't post about it, but obviously the January release date was delayed until sometime this summer, although with the current situation, I wouldn't be surprised if it ended up being even later. However, with Toshiyuki Itahana being stuck at home, it seems that he's spending his time painting FFCC artwork in a watercolor style, and posting it to his Twitter account. Most of it seems to depict an ongoing story of a Clavat and a Selkie exploring a cave (perhaps Selepation Cave). I thought I'd share a few of them here: I don't know if he'll ultimately compile them into a Twitter Moment, but you can find them all scattered throughout his Twitter timeline. |
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Post by Nester the Lark on May 7, 2020 10:04:03 GMT -5
Enjoy Kumi Tanioka playing "Moonless Starry Night" on piano.
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Post by Nester the Lark on May 17, 2020 9:00:13 GMT -5
And now, here she is playing "Morning Sky.".
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Post by nocturnal YL on May 28, 2020 6:29:56 GMT -5
FFCC has a Japanese release date now. It will come out on 27 August, and will be available as a physical packaged release. The price is 4800 yen, although the mobile version will be cheaper at 2820 yen.
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Post by Nester the Lark on May 28, 2020 11:08:05 GMT -5
August 27 is confirmed to be the worldwide release.
I like that they announced this right before Xenoblade comes out. This is my next-most anticipated game of this year.
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