Japanese magazine Dengeki DS Style interviewed “Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings” director and scenario writer Motomu Toriyama and co-producer Eisuke Yokoyama.
The game’s story takes place following Final Fantasy XII, although Toriyama said that a specific time hasn’t been set. Vaan, a pirate, is in search of a treasure, and has just arrived on the floating continent of Puruvama. The game will take place both on this floating continent and on the ground below.
It would be impossible to put in all of Ivalice (the FFXII world), said Yokoyama, but you’ll be able to go to the main locations. You’ll also be able to see how the characters have gone on to live following the events of Final Fantasy XII, so those who’ve played the PS2 RPG will have some bonuses to look forward to.
Due to the portable nature of the DS, the game is being made to be playable in a short bursts. You’ll progress through the story speedily, said Toriyama. The story will be comprised of episodes, building up to a large storyline which promises to maintain the Final Fantasy style drama.
Asked if the game would use FFXII’s ADB system, Yokoyama said that the battle system is mostly new. However, in order to keep FFXII players from getting confused, there will be a number of shared elements. The Gambit system will be a part of this title, although it will be simplified in order to accommodate beginner players. Also, the battle system will be fully playable with the stylus.
Dengeki asked a question about the number of party members capable of joining your group. To this, Yokoyama responded that Fran and Balthier will definitely join in as party members (they were shown in the Tokyo Game Show trailer, after all). Due to the new game systems, Yokoyama expects there to be more party members than in FFXII.
Summon beasts will apparently play a big role in the game. Toriyama expects Revenant Wings to have the most summon beasts of any Final Fantasy game ever. The summon beasts will be the key to battles, said Toriyama, and their use will be different from that of previous titles.
Revenant Wings will make use of all those nifty features that make the DS so special. In addition to full stylus control, Toriyama hopes to make full use of the dual screens not just for events, but for battles and all game systems as well. The only area being left in the dark at this point is Wi-Fi compatibility. Toriyama feels that the battle system is good for competitive play, but the game won’t feature Wi-Fi support unless lag can be eliminated.
Translated from Japanese by IGN.