We spoke with the developers of Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin ahead of the game’s release to learn more about this new action RPG that combines aspects from Team Ninja’s Nioh series with classic Final Fantasy mechanics and a fresh take on the original Final Fantasy’s storey.
There are elements from the demo that can be carried over. You stated your job level and storey progress; these will, of course, be carried over, but you will be able to bring over your whole save file. As well as all of the other components that go along with it. For example, if you’ve reached a certain level to unlock a trophy, that progress should be mirrored once you carry it over. And in terms of what we altered between the first and second trial versions of Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, we modified everything.
First and foremost, the study has improved the game’s performance, such as the frame rate and graphics, which have both been upgraded. They’ve also improved the combat in terms of MP management and the overall feel of the battle, which is the entire combat system. There are also some more tweaks and changes to the AI for the NPC characters, as well as the UI and multiplayer mode, particularly the matching. So, while the core game has remained virtually unchanged, it has been improved in almost every way. It’s difficult to summarise, but perhaps that offers you some insight.
In terms of having a villain as the protagonist and how that influenced our approach to development, if you have a protagonist who is going to transform into a villain, they are going to battle differently than, say, the typical Warrior of Light or hero represented in Final Fantasy novels. As a result, Jack had his distinct fighting technique, which we sought to develop. That led to the development of the Soul Burst mechanism, which in turn led to the development of the Soul Shield.
You’ll be able to take on the harder difficulty levels once you’ve completed the game, and you’ll also unlock higher levels for jobs and other things that you can use to develop your character, and then you’ll be able to go out and get stronger weapons and equipment, allowing you to take on the harder difficulty levels. Those elements are reserved for when the game is done.
There was not much detail on the engine that the studio is utilising. However its been stated that they’ve selected an engine that allows them to take a slightly broader approach this time around because of the range of platforms that they are catering for this time around, such as the PlayStation and Xbox to begin with. As a result, it differs slightly from the engine used in the Nioh series.
