One of the saddest game cancellations of the last few years has got to be Grin’s Fortress, an ambitious Final Fantasy title that would have been the first major game in the franchise to be developed outside Japan. Those interested to see what a Western take on the series might look like, though, still have hope.
Square Enix bought publisher/developer Eidos a few years back, and along with that now have access to the developers behind games like Deus Ex and the new Tomb Raider. So the thought of getting someone like that in to do a Final Fantasy game has indeed crossed their mind.
“Obviously, Square Enix bought out Eidos a number of years ago, and now we have direct access to American development teams,” Square’s Yuji Abe told OXM. “That’s certainly been discussed within the company, the possibility of say, Eidos or maybe someone else to look after or maybe take on the Final Fantasy series.”
“And we obviously haven’t decided anything concrete, but if we find the right team of developers, the right people who really wanted to do it, and we had the right game, then yes, certainly we’d think about it.”
I would never want a Western developer to make a proper, numbered Final Fantasy. What’s the point? But something along the lines of, say, Deus Ex but set in the world of, say, Final Fantasy XII? That is something I could get very excited for.
Square Enix Interview [OXM]
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3 responses to “Remember, People Outside Japan May One Day Make A Final Fantasy Game”
Remember, people in Japan may one day make a game that resembles a Final Fantasy game in more than just the name
Sadly the only true Final Fantasy games that will be released from now on will likely be HD remakes of better times for gamers regardless of where in the world they come from.
Final Fantasy 13 killed the dream and I think its time we all gave up the hope of revival. Mobile games and “Action” rpgs are how the future looks. I cant even see another Star Ocean being made either. Ive really depressed myself now…..
Give FF XIV a try. Even though it’s a mmorpg you might be surprised how the core FinalFantasy / Jrpg feel is applied in this game.
Fresh ideas, new perspectives, an entirely new cultural way of thinking, new technologies, new design methodologies, and a whole host of other “new” things. With people like CDProjekt and Bioware out there that have experience doing fun and mechanically solid RPGs, having a Western studio take a crack at an RPG that follows the Final Fantasy formula could be an interesting experiment. It’s not about East vs. West, it’s about who can make a fun and compelling game experience, something the Eastern developers seem to be having problems with.