FFVersusXIII FFXV REMAKE

Interview of Tetsuya Nomura for Famitsu in 2013. The circumstances behind the transition to “FFXV” — First of all, could you tell us about the circumstances behind changing the title from Final Fantasy Versus XIII to Final Fantasy XV? Around when did such a plan begin? Nomura: About one or two years after the announcement of “FF Versus XIII,” the company already suggested, as part of its policy, shifting it into “FFXV.” — Really!? So discussions about changing the title had already begun around 2007–2008? Nomura: At the time, quite a bit of time had already passed since the announcement, and the title “Versus XIII” had become well established. Also, it still hadn’t been definitively decided that it would become “XV,” and there was still a possibility that it would remain “Versus XIII.” Personally, the moment I accepted turning this title into “FFXV” was when “FF Agito XIII” changed its title to Final Fantasy Type-0 (※1). From that point onward, “Versus XIII” was developed as the numbered title “XV.” — Was there any particular reason why the announcement of the change had been withheld until now? Nomura: Regarding the timing of the announcement, there was also the matter of changing hardware platforms, so it was no longer something that could be decided solely at my discretion. After coordinating with the various parties involved, we decided to reveal it at this year’s E3. — Around when was it decided to support the PS4 and Xbox One? Nomura: That was also about two years ago, when the decision was made to transition to “FFXV.” At that time, I asked the programmers whether development could continue while also anticipating next-generation hardware support, and they replied, “We thought you’d say that, so we’ve already prepared for it,” and immediately showed me footage designed with next-generation hardware in mind. I felt confident after seeing that footage, so we decided to support both next-generation and current-generation consoles. — So originally, it was also planned for PS3. Could you tell us why you ultimately decided to focus only on next-generation hardware? Nomura: There were several reasons. Originally, we had intended to make this announcement last year, but for various reasons the reveal was delayed. As a result, the lifespan of the current-generation consoles became an issue. In other words, if things were delayed by another year, each company’s next-generation research would progress further, and releasing a current-generation title alongside next-generation-spec games at that point might have made it look inferior. — So there were issues of both time and quality. Nomura: Also, with the current-generation hardware, it became increasingly true that we could no longer fully express what we wanted to achieve with this title, and more and more parts would have needed to be altered in form. However, since we were still operating under the assumption that it would release on current-generation consoles, we repeatedly experimented and struggled to push things as far as possible. During that process, about a year ago we created a build (※2), and at that stage the company told us, “If you remain constrained by current-generation hardware, won’t this fail to become what you originally envisioned?” They encouraged a complete shift to next-generation consoles, and that became the trigger for the transition. — What exactly was this “what we wanted to achieve with this title” that became such a decisive factor? Nomura: Mainly things related to rendering and display. With “FFXV,” we intended for things to unfold as seamlessly as possible, and to achieve that, every possible action that might be executed has to remain constantly loaded in memory. Above all, this is “FF,” so there are many different elements: a wide variety of weapons, each party member’s individual actions, magic, and so on. While keeping all of that enormous amount of RPG character data resident in memory, you also fight many different kinds of enemies across vast maps, which places a tremendous load on the system. On top of that, we also add lighting for visual presentation, physics calculations, filters, and more. But because there are limits to what can be displayed all at once, it inevitably becomes necessary to make compromises and select what to prioritize. #FF15 #FFXV

私たちは、『ファイナルファンタジーXV』のリメイクを、野村さんと浜口さんのディレクション、野島さんのシナリオ、そして下村さんの音楽で実現していただきたいです。そうすることで、ノクティスとステラの本当の物語をついに知ることができると願っています。 We hope that a remake of Final Fantasy XV will be developed by Creative Studio 1, with Nomura-san serving as director, Nojima-san handling the scenario, and Shimomura-san composing the music, so that the true story of Noctis and Stella can finally be told and fans can finally discover it

私たちは、『ファイナルファンタジーXV』のリメイクを、野村さんと浜口さんのディレクション、野島さんのシナリオ、そして下村さんの音楽で実現していただきたいです。そうすることで、ノクティスとステラの本当の物語をついに知ることができると願っています。 We hope that a remake of Final Fantasy XV will be developed by Creative Studio 1, with Nomura-san serving as director, Nojima-san handling the scenario, and Shimomura-san composing the music, so that the true story of Noctis and Stella can finally be told and fans can finally discover it

We hope that a remake of Final Fantasy XV will be developed by Creative Studio 1, with Nomura-san serving as director, Nojima-san handling the scenario, and Shimomura-san composing the music, so that the true story of Noctis and Stella can finally be told and fans can finally discover it

Fabula Nova Crystallis In the beginning, the universe was divided into two realms: the Visible World, domain of the living, and the Invisible World, domain of the dead. The Visible World was ruled by two deities: Mwynn and her son, Bhunivelze. Desiring absolute control over the world, Bhunivelze turned against his mother and sought to defeat her. Mwynn then vanished into the Invisible World. After her disappearance, Bhunivelze ruled alone over the Visible World. However, he was an anxious god. Observing that all things seemed destined to disappear one day, he became convinced that his mother had cast a curse upon the Visible World. Convinced that only the definitive destruction of Mwynn could bring an end to this supposed curse, Bhunivelze sought a way to reach the Invisible World. However, it was impossible for him to access that realm without relinquishing control over the Visible World. In order to find a passage to the Invisible World, Bhunivelze created the first fal'Cie. The first of these was Pulse. He was given the task of traversing and shaping the world in order to discover the gate leading to the realm of the dead. Bhunivelze then created the fal'Cie Etro. However, he realized that he had unintentionally given her the appearance of Mwynn. Terrified by this resemblance, he decided to grant her no power. To replace Etro, he then created the fal'Cie Lindzei. He entrusted it with the mission of protecting the world and watching over it, and ordered it to awaken him when the gate to the Invisible World had been discovered. Having entrusted the world to his creations, Bhunivelze transformed himself into crystal and fell into a deep sleep. Meanwhile, Pulse continued his work by shaping the world according to his will. Lindzei, on its side, fulfilled its duty of protection. Etro, however, had been given neither power nor purpose. Abandoned by her creator, she turned toward the only being she resembled: Mwynn. Overwhelmed by despair, Etro mutilated herself and ended her life. The blood that flowed from her body gave birth to humanity. Humans were beings born with a tragic destiny: to live and then die. After her death, Etro joined the Invisible World. There, she discovered Mwynn, who was on the verge of being consumed by a strange energy called Chaos. With her last breath, Mwynn revealed the truth to Etro. The future destruction of the Visible World was not a curse, but an inevitable part of destiny. The universe relied on the balance between the Visible World and the Invisible World. If this balance were ever broken, the entire universe would disappear. Mwynn then asked Etro to preserve this balance. However, Etro did not fully understand Mwynn’s final words. Shortly after, Bhunivelze’s mother was consumed by Chaos. Left alone in the Invisible World, Etro developed a deep affection for the humans born from her blood. She welcomed each of them kindly after their death. Refusing to abandon them to their tragic fate, she granted them all a fragment of Chaos. This fragment became what humans called their heart. Without even realizing it, Etro was fulfilling Mwynn’s final wish. As long as humans continued to be born and die while carrying Chaos in their hearts, the balance between the two worlds remained preserved. Over time, humanity came to worship the fal'Cie. Pulse was honored as the all-powerful Lord. Lindzei was revered as the Protector of the world. Etro became the Goddess of Death, the one who welcomes the souls of the deceased into the Invisible World. And as humans continued their existence carrying Chaos in their hearts, Bhunivelze remained asleep within his crystal, waiting for the day the gate to the Invisible World would be discovered. #FF15 #FFXV