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Cubed3 Exclusive Interview | Square Enix Talks Chocobo on Nintendo DS, Wii

on 03.10.2007 at 17:59 User Icon

Posted by Jorge B (jb) Number of Comments

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Square Enix Talks Chocobo on Nintendo DS, Wii
Interview by Adam Riley :: Wednesday October 3rd 2007

Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales for the Nintendo DS has been hailed by critics around the world for its marvellous presentation, wonderful soundtrack and clever mix of gameplay types. But not only this, Square Enix managed to fit in a worldwide battle mode to add to the fun. Cubed3 recently got the chance to talk to the game's Producer, Yuki Yokoyama, about the project in detail and the future of Chocobo.

Adam Riley, Cubed3 Deputy Editor: First of all, could you please introduce yourself and explain what your role is on this project?

Yuki Yokoyama, Producer of Chocobo Tales: I'm Yuki Yokoyama, and I served as producer on Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales. I will also be the producer for Chocobo's Dungeon: Toki-Wasure no Meikyu, which was announced in May for the Nintendo Wii.

AR: How large was the team that worked on Chocobo Tales and how long was it in development for?

YY: The team consisted of about 25 members, and it took us a year to develop the title.

AR: What was the decision behind mixing different styles of gameplay together?

YY: We mixed different gameplay styles together to cater to the diverse demographics of Nintendo DS users. This includes casual gamers, younger players, and of course Final Fantasy series fans.

We thought the minigames and microgames would appeal to casual gamers, and the RPG elements to our Final Fantasy fans. The pop-up duels were designed to appeal to younger players who are interested in card games.
AR: And how come Chocobo was chosen as a lead character?

YY: We thought a chocobo would be the most suitable considering the wide range of players described above. I mean, who doesn't like chocobos?!

AR: Is there any particular aspect of the game you would have liked to have developed further if you had more time?

YY: We struggled to implement multiplayer functionality for the minigames using one Game Card. Even though we worked on this feature right up until master submission, we were sadly forced to give up on the idea.

AR: What are your thoughts on the game's sales in Japan so far? Did you think that the European audience would be likely to accept the game more?

YY: The game has been well received beyond our expectations in Japan. As for European gamers, I believe they will enjoy Chocobo Tales even more than players in Japan. The reason lies in the fables that appear throughout the game. Many of these are based on stories that originated in the West. We had our sights set on a European release from the early stages of development, so we were sure to include themes that would appeal to players across the globe.

AR: What were some of the biggest obstacles during the development process? And what are your thoughts on the DS hardware overall?

YY: Incorporating wireless play and Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection was more difficult than we could have ever imagined! Creating the framework wasn't too tricky a hurdle, but debugging and passing Nintendo's standards were enormous tasks. But we have no regrets. At this very moment, players across the world are battling each other in pop-up duels. That feeling of satisfaction makes it all worthwhile.

As I alluded to above, the Nintendo DS allows players from all over to interact with one another via Wi-Fi. The handheld system provides this in a small package that is far more accessible than other formats. The stylus functionality provides many new types of interaction as well. It's a fantastic piece of hardware.

AR: Could you please tell our readers the multiplayer aspects of Final Fantasy Fables?

YY: Chocobo Tales has 16 minigames that can be played by up to four players at once. You can also use the cards that you collect in story mode in pop-up duels against other players.
AR: Were there any restrictions involved in getting the online Wi-Fi service to work smoothly?

YY: We made efforts to ensure that the amount of data being transferred would stay low since not every player's connection is stable.

AR: Are we likely to see more 'Final Fantasy Fables' in the future

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Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon (Wii)

Game Page News Story Read Review View Screens

Developer
h.a.n.d. Inc

Publisher
Square Enix

Genre
Turn Based RPG

Players
1

C3 Score

8

Reader Score (4 Votes)

9

View more screens from this game...

Buy Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon

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Zapp

Reply Quote #1

{- User No: 2107 ~ Join Date: 03.12.2004 22:41 -}

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Nice interview, im looking forward to this game, it looks quite good!

BRAWL CODE:
"Dan~ 3566-2989-8366"

on 03.10.2007 at 18:12

Adam Riley

Reply Quote #2

UK Review of Pandora's Tower

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Operations Director, Senior Editor

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It's such a shame that Chocobo Tales never even managed to crack the Top 30 DS chart here in the UK...Hopefully it didn't completely die in the rest of Europe.

I have a feeling the Wii Chocobo Mystery Dungeon title will be a massive hit all over, though.

Adam Riley [ Operations Director :: Senior Editor :: Cubed3 Limited ]

Word of Adam | Voice123 Profile | AdamC3 on Twitter

on 03.10.2007 at 20:03

Jump_button

Reply Quote #3

bored -_-

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wii never have FFXI unless they come out with HDD

nice interview i think u cross all the t's and dot the i's lol

My ART Gallery la la la la!

on 03.10.2007 at 20:19

Reply Quote #4

C3 awards...coming soon! Rendered some odd looking trophies lol

15978

Managing Director, Founder

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Excellent interview as ever Mr. Raz-adam-a-taz! Looking forward to see how this turns out; doesn't look 1/2 bad at the mo'!

on 03.10.2007 at 21:03

Adam Riley

Reply Quote #5

UK Review of Pandora's Tower

14153

Operations Director, Senior Editor

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Chars!

You do know this was about the DS game that came out in May? Smilie

But yeah, Chocobo on Wii should also be great Smilie

Adam Riley [ Operations Director :: Senior Editor :: Cubed3 Limited ]

Word of Adam | Voice123 Profile | AdamC3 on Twitter

on 03.10.2007 at 21:32

Reply Quote #6

C3 awards...coming soon! Rendered some odd looking trophies lol

15978

Managing Director, Founder

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jesusraz said:
Chars! Smilie

You do know this was about the DS game that came out in May? Smilie

But yeah, Chocobo on Wii should also be great Smilie

Course I did... Smilie

on 05.10.2007 at 20:13

Adam Riley

Reply Quote #7

UK Review of Pandora's Tower

14153

Operations Director, Senior Editor

Offline

To be honest, the Chocobo Tales idea could still be expanded...so hopefully it'll get another chance on DS. Clearly S-E seems happy with its Japanese sales.

Adam Riley [ Operations Director :: Senior Editor :: Cubed3 Limited ]

Word of Adam | Voice123 Profile | AdamC3 on Twitter

on 06.10.2007 at 14:38

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