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[SantaC]

Well according to gamecore.se that is. I don't know how they got this information since no one knew last week if FFIIIj was a simple port or not. Hopefully it's true.

I translate:

FFIII to DS is not a port, and it will take advantage of some DS capabilities like touchscreen & wireless functions. We have no idea how Square-Enix will use them though. FFIIIj will on top of that get a great boost visually. We have no pics as of now, but we will keep you updated.

http://www.gamecore.se/read_nyhet.php?id=5433

 

[jarrod]

Well duh. Dawn of Souls wasn't a port either.

 

[SantaC]

Well duh. Dawn of Souls wasn't a port either.

well I have just glad that it will take use of DS capabilities.

 

[teepo]

i have a feeling its going to be like the ff7 tech demo where you had to draw shapes on the screens to do diff magic spells.

 

[Rahul]

We knew this last week. Kawazu said they were thinking of including a direct port in the cart as well as the DS remake to satisfy both groups of fans.

 

[The Bookerman]

i have a feeling its going to be like the ff7 tech demo where you had to draw shapes on the screens to do diff magic spells.

Like Black & white?

 

[jarrod]

Kawazu said they were thinking of including a direct port in the cart as well as the DS remake to satisfy both groups of fans.

That'd be great, just like Zero Mission. More GBA remakes should've done that actually considering how little space NES ROM take up... it'd have been nice to play the original Mario 2 & 3 in Mario Advance 1 & 4, or the original FFA in Sword of Mana as well...

 

[teiresias]

Like Black & white?

Or Arx Fatalis.

 

[MASB]

Surely most people assumed it wouldn't be a direct port. A graphics upgrade at the least. I don't think 8 bit sprites would be that attractive looking on two screens.

 

[Bebpo]

We knew this last week. Kawazu said they were thinking of including a direct port in the cart as well as the DS remake to satisfy both groups of fans.

TOP SCREEN = 8-BIT GFX
BOTTOM SCREEN = NEWLY DRAWN 16-BIT GFX

Innovation!

 

[epmode]

TOP SCREEN = 8-BIT GFX
BOTTOM SCREEN = NEWLY DRAWN 16-BIT GFX

Innovation!

that would actually be kinda cool.

 

[Midas]

Thats the ugliest site I've ever seen, even though I've seen it before. Yuck.

 

[Zaptruder]

drawing shapes for spells if a fucking gimmick. Once you get past the relative gimmickiness of that, well, it just becomes a burdensome magic system.

Personally, I expect them to expand the menu to the entire bottom screen, and let players touch commands then targets to execute the commands.

Which should be nicer than having to go d-pad and cursor to scroll through large lists of spells or items.

 

[duckroll]

I'm worried. This is Kawazu at work here. When he's good, he's really good (see: Romancing SaGa 2) but when he's bad, it's pretty much broken (see: Unlimited SaGa). When he's experimenting, there are also casualities of extreme mediocricy (see: SaGa Frontier) and gimmicks might also appear that would only burden and annoy the gamer (see: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles). Giving this man the DS to play innovater with is as dangerous as giving a curious 6-year old a full blown chemistry set.

I can only hope for the best, but I expect something radically different and experimental and possibily unplayable. It's an excellent idea in a scenerio like this for him to include the original in the cart too, I hope he doesn't change his mind.

 

[jarrod]

Kawazu (Division 2) was behind Dawn of Souls though iirc, which turned out excellent.

 

[Rahul]

I'm worried. This is Kawazu at work here. When he's good, he's really good (see: Romancing SaGa 2) but when he's bad, it's pretty much broken (see: Unlimited SaGa). When he's experimenting, there are also casualities of extreme mediocricy (see: SaGa Frontier) and gimmicks might also appear that would only burden and annoy the gamer (see: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles). Giving this man the DS to play innovater with is as dangerous as giving a curious 6-year old a full blown chemistry set.

I can only hope for the best, but I expect something radically different and experimental and possibily unplayable. It's an excellent idea in a scenerio like this for him to include the original in the cart too, I hope he doesn't change his mind.

Nevertheless, he has some great ideas. U:Saga's practically a boardgame RPG transformed into a console RPG (very niche result). FF:CC is social multiplay transformed into a console RPG but with hardware limiting the applicability (very niche result). Minstrel Song looks to be more mainstream; FF1&2oS is certainly going to be a major GBA seller this Xmas.

 

[UltimateMarioMan]

FFIIIj with FFIX graphics please!

 

[JackFrost2012]

I can only hope for the best, but I expect something radically different and experimental and possibily unplayable. It's an excellent idea in a scenerio like this for him to include the original in the cart too, I hope he doesn't change his mind.

I was a bit worried too, but the sheer importance of FFIII to the DS (and the fact that he's building from an existing system and not just imagining things out of that hole where his brain should be) makes me think his worse tendencies will be kept under control. I hope.

 

[duckroll]

Nevertheless, he has some great ideas. U:Saga's practically a boardgame RPG transformed into a console RPG (very niche result). FF:CC is social multiplay transformed into a console RPG but with hardware limiting the applicability (very niche result). Minstrel Song looks to be more mainstream; FF1&2oS is certainly going to be a major GBA seller this Xmas.

Oh I've already mentioned I think he's a great innovater. The problem lies in that in his quest for "something new" he is blind to what works and what doesn't. So while we'll definitely see something original from him, the question is really: "Will it be any good?".

 

[Rahul]

Oh I've already mentioned I think he's a great innovater. The problem lies in that in his quest for "something new" he is blind to what works and what doesn't. So while we'll definitely see something original from him, the question is really: "Will it be any good?".

Or maybe he's not blind, but willing to sacrifice sales for experimentation purposes. Nintendo do it too, but to a greater extent.

 

[jarrod]

So.. anyone have a complete gameography of Kawazu's works? Off the top of my head, he's been directly involved in...

-Final Fantasy (FC) 1987
-Final Fantasy II (FC) 1988
-Makai Toushi SaGa (GB) 1989
-SaGa 2: Hihou Densetsu (GB) 1990
-Romancing SaGa (SFC) 1992
-Romancing SaGa 2 (SFC) 1993
-Romancing SaGa 3 (SFC) 1995
-SaGa Frontier (PS) 1997
-Seiken Densetsu: Legend of Mana (PS) 1999
-SaGa Frontier II (PS) 1999
-Hataraku Chocobo (WS) 2000
-Wild Card (WSC) 2001
-Romancing SaGa (WSC) 2001
-Blue Wing Blitz (WSC) 2001
-Makai Toushi SaGa (WSC) 2002
-Unlimited SaGa (PS2) 2002
-Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles (GC) 2003
-Final Fantasy I&II Advance (GBA) 2004
-Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song (PS2) 2005
-Final Fantasy III (DS) 2005
-Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles (DS) 2005

...anything else? Didn't Kawazu head Square's handheld division during the WSC days?

 

[Diomedeskun]

The best Kawazu games have had very annoying elements I tolerate for the sake of the fascinating gameplay (SaGa Frontier) or story (SaGa Frontier 2, Final Fantasy II, Legend of Mana) The worst have had a number of interesting bits of gameplay that have been overshadowed by wretched decisions (Unlimited SaGa).

Perhaps he has a split personality and both are involved in each game. That, or he just sticks every idea he comes up with into his games. They are original, but they are often just shy of unplayable.

Legend of Mana still makes me want to cry.

Still, Final Fantasy 1&2 Dawn of Souls seems pretty awesome.

 

[LinesInTheSand]

So he's the reason that Legend of Mana sucked? Figures.

 

[Rahul]

http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,41635/

 

[Bizarro Sun Yat-sen]

..anything else?

You're missing FF1 and Wild Card.

 

[jarrod]

You're missing FF1 and Wild Card.

What about the other WSC Square games? Didn't Kawazu head the handheld division back then (with Matsuno and Tsuchida working under him)? Was he at all involved with FF1-2, FF4, Front Mission, Blue Wing Blitz, Hanjuku Eiyuu or the various Chocobo games?

 

[Solid]

Gamecore.se = Swedens answer to Sp0ng.

 

[Bizarro Sun Yat-sen]

Yeah, he was the producer for Blue Wing Blitz and Hataraku Chocobo (the one and only WSC Chocobo game). I'm not sure how much creative involvement he had with those games. Matsuno and Tsuchida weren't ipart of the handheld division, although some Front Mission staff worked on Blue Wing Blitz. Matsuno was head of the PlayOnline project, and Tsuchida was working on FFX and FFXI.

 

[Pachinko]

my prediction ? you'll navigate menus without buttons, they'll always be in the bottom screen, leaving the top screen completly free for battles, maps etc. I also expect the traditional FF menu will be tweaked to allow you to just tap a specific spell instead of hitting magic then ice or something.


Who knows, I guess we'll see.

 

[jarrod]

Yeah, he was the producer for Blue Wing Blitz and Hataraku Chocobo (the one and only WSC Chocobo game). I'm not sure how much creative involvement he had with those games. Matsuno and Tsuchida weren't ipart of the handheld division, although some Front Mission staff worked on Blue Wing Blitz. Matsuno was head of the PlayOnline project, and Tsuchida was working on FFX and FFXI.

Thanks for the info, I'll add them anyway. Also Hataraku Chocobo was a WS game, not WSC, and it wasn't the only Chocobo WS game. Dice de Chocobo was announced (and moved to GBA) and Chocobo no Fushigi Dungeon WS was actually released (though I'm not sure if ChunSoft, Square or Bandai developed it).

 

[Bizarro Sun Yat-sen]

Hataraku Chocobo did have color support, even though it was released before the WSC. That makes it the only actually released WSC Chocobo game, since the Bandai port of Chocobo's Dungeon was strictly b&w.