| this article is based on the exclusive licensing agreement between Campfire Camp and Japan's Fami Pass, please revert with your consent.
Final Fantasy Origins: Aliens from Heaven is a hardcore action RPG co-developed by Square Enix and Team NINJA. The dark tone and difficult action of this game are also a new challenge for the Final Fantasy series. The editorial board of Fami-teru interviewed Tetsuya Nomura, the creative producer of the game, who participated in a series of work such as the planning, original case and design of the protagonist. Since this is a post-release interview, it will contain some spoilers, and there will be a lot of spoilers at the end of the article, so please read it carefully for players who have not played it.
In addition, the game was updated with Ver1.03 on April 8, 2022, adding various features, fixing bugs, adjusting the lighting of some mazes, and improving the visibility of dark screens.
Tetsuya Nomura (nomura) is the creative producer of this game.
Unique work developed in collaboration with Team NINJA
| Q: Congratulations on the successful release of FF Origins. As one of the few dark-style high-difficulty action games in the FF series, how have players reacted to this game?
Nomura: Although the reviews are good and bad, I am very pleased that the voices that have been praised by those who have played it still make up the majority.
| Q: You also worked with Team NINJA when you were developing the arcade versions of Final Fantasy Clash and PS4, what's the difference this time?
Nomura: I think Team NINJA's personal style in this game is much stronger than in FF Clash because it was based on the PSP version of the in-house production. This time, I felt like I was at the home of the difficult moves that Team NINJA was best at.
| Q: So the action part of this game is basically led by Team NINJA?
Nomura: Yes. But for the performance and the picture, we also have our own principles, so we have no less to fight with each other to blush and neck thick. "FF Origins" is the crystallization of the fierce collision between the two sides.
| Q: There is occasional friction when working together.
Nomura: There is no negative meaning of friction here, and if there is no conflict between the two sides, joint development is meaningless. In this sense, FF Origins is a work that Square Enix could not create on his own.
A special case of a drastic change in direction
| Q: After the first release of the game in June 2021, fans talked about "Is this the story of Jack becoming Garland?" Later, you changed the direction of development, focusing on "why Jack became chaos". Was there such a precedent when developing previous works?
Nomura: There is none in the works I have worked on. The scenes that appear in the pilot PV of this game and other developments have changed dramatically, which can be called a very special experience. However, this game has also undergone major direction adjustments long ago, so I think this time the change is also feasible.
| Q: What are the direction adjustments that have occurred before?
Nomura: Originally we wanted to release it as a brand new game called Strangers in Paradise, originally planned to surprise players as they advanced the story, "Is this the story of the original FF?" However, when designing the logo of the previous work, due to the producer Fujiwara (Mr. Fujiwara Hitoshi) wanted to add Final Fantasy to the title, it eventually became the current title, and the name became longer.
| Q: Is it because adding Final Fantasy to the title will attract more attention?
Nomura: I myself have been confused, and it would be a bit unreasonable for players who realized that this game was connected to the original FF to end the game in an unknown state, so in the end we promised to officially add elements of FF.
| Q: Exactly. Although the original FF has been launched on major hardware platforms, how much the fan base of the action game knows about the story of the original FF is still unknown.
Nomura: By the way, although we told everyone before the release that each dungeon in this game was designed with the scenery in the serial number of "FF" as the theme, in fact, we did not have a public plan, which is one of the careful thoughts that surprised everyone.
| Q: That's the way it is. Not only the original FF, you have also prepared many elements that are reminiscent of the FF series. Was Mr. Nomura's idea to design a dungeon based on the scenery in the serial numbered work?
Nomura: Yes. After developing the PSP version of FF Strife, I began to think of a new project, "After bringing together the works of all-star characters from previous generations of FF, it would be fun to develop a dungeon game that focuses on the landmark scenes in the previous FFs?" However, because it was too difficult to implement, the project could only be shelved for the time being.
| Q: This project was finally implemented in FF Origins.
Nomura: "FF Origins" is also a plan book that I wrote after reimagining the project of "The Story of the Angry Man" that I had previously conceived, merging the story with the project of the theme dungeon.
| Q: At that time, did you already determine the elements to add difficult moves?
Nomura: It wasn't decided at the time, but Fujiwara and Inoue (Daisuke Inoue, the director of this game) also wanted to challenge the new work again with Team NINJA, who had worked together to develop FF Strife. Team NINJA's specialty is action games, so this game has decided to take the direction of difficult moves.
▲ The mechanical ruins are based on the roncak ruins of FF 5
▲FF 10, Medium Gagazeto Mountain Lord
The music is also an all-star song for FF
| Q: As mentioned earlier, the landmark of each serial work is the theme of the dungeon, but the music also contains the flavor of the work. I was surprised by the sheer number of tracks of this type (there are actually 4 CDs on the soundtrack album that has been released), are these all the pieces you asked to make?
Nomura: I remember making countless requests for the first song "Jack's Theme", and inviting the employees of the sound team who wanted to make the "FF Origins" tracks to listen to these songs internally, and the members who raised their hands (Naoshi Mizuta, Hidenori Iwasaki, Ryo Yamazaki) were very motivated and responded very positively to the revision and adjustment of the songs.
Note: Mr. Naoshi Mizuta and Director Inoue, the main composers of this work, also gave some answers to the music of this work, so let's introduce it to you.
"Prelude" is a song that has been adapted from the major FF series, so I tried to adapt it differently from other works. The overall production concept is to create an original song, not an adaptation close to the original song, but we added a lot of elements to it so that everyone can vaguely hear the theme of the original song. (Mr. Naoshi Mizuta)
My requirement for the song was "to hope that the style of the song would occasionally evoke the player's memory of the original song". In FF Origins, we reinterpreted the worldview with the theme of the FF works so far, so this is a song completely created for FF Origins, but players can also feel the original charm. Some of the tracks treat the melody itself as a taste, while others interpret the way music is composed as a taste, different composers have different interpretations, and the final result is very interesting. Regarding the creation of the completely original song "FF Origins", Nomura first described the image he wanted, and then interpreted by Mizuta, and the first song finally produced was "Jack's Theme". Although it is a bit rough, the melody that ripples with sad emotions determines the tone of the music. (Mr. Daisuke Inoue)
The character design concept and the voice actor list are actually decided...?! Jack they are actually nameless?!
| Q: The angry man, jack, has an extreme personality, a rough attitude towards his companions, and a bad word for King Cornelia... [Laughs).
Nomura: At the beginning, my project did not portray him so sharply, but after passing through the hands of the people, he became the image he is now. When making this game, I recommended Fujiwara and Inoue to read a few manga in order to reference Dark Wind's work, and maybe that's why Jack became so sharp (laughs). Because the content of those comics is quite violent, the hopeless kind.
| Q: Did you decide from the beginning that you wanted to take the Dark style route?
Nomura: Yeah, we want to describe "human malice." Although this time it did not fully realize, it is good to portray some of the dark side of human nature in the ending part of the story.
| Q: Can you tell us how the design concept of the main characters and the list of voice actors are determined?
Nomura: Since the player's character is a foreigner, we chose a modern costume that is easy to understand. The reason why the design is as simple as possible is that the game often needs to switch gear. Player characters have a "nameless" meaning (for example, men are sometimes collectively referred to as "Jack"), and if you design too characteristic clothing for them, you will create a strong personality, so we follow the concept of "nameless" and can't show too much character personality. The first appearance was controversial, but there was no other way.
Jack
Nomura: Jack's label is "an angry man," as can be seen in his facial expression. But I didn't want his personality to be too distinct, so I designed his hairstyle to be simple short. I wanted his voice to be majestic with some mature sensuality, plus Kenjiro Tsuda said he wanted to play the main character of FF, so I asked him to voice the character.
Arthur
Nomura: Asho is Jack's best brother and a military master on the team. At first, I wanted to portray him as a flamboyant type, but I wasn't sure if that role positioning would pull jack's personality. The voice of The Dunshi Miyauchi is perfectly suited to the setting.
Jeter
Nomura: Jeter was in charge of mediating the presence of the atmosphere within the team, but it seemed to exceed the development team's expectations. Because I said that I wanted to create a rough team different from the traditional "FF", everyone was shocked by his young and fashionable youth image. He wasn't rude indeed, but I didn't think it would look too flashy even if the image of a modern youth was added to the ranks, so I adopted this design after taking into account the overall balance. Yusuke Suda, who voiced him, was a modern-day youth, but he played Jeter as a somewhat clumsy but innocently annoying character.
Nion
Nomura: Like Jack and his party, Nion has a unique sense of simplicity and modernity in this worldview. When Nion shows up, you'll understand why she's bandaged all over her body, which means she's always in company with her illness. Kana Okazaki, who plays Nion, has a cute girlish voice that can handle rough lines, but can feel the real power in her voice, and she is recommended by director Shimizu, the sound supervisor. The moment I heard her voice, I felt like this was Nion as I imagined it.
Sophia
Nomura: Regarding Sophia, before I introduce her design concept, I have something else to say... In this game, until the defeat of the original Chaos Embodiment and the discovery that his real identity is Nion, it is the plot that Inoue and I conceived, and the plot after that is written by Inoue and the author of the Kingdom Hearts series of novels, Kanamaki ともこ. However, since there was another job that needed to be left to Ms. Kanamaki, Mr. Nojima was invited to join the team. While Inoue and Nojima were writing the screenplay, the center of the game's story became Jack, and although much has changed, Sophia is a character born from the plot conceived by Lady Kanumaki. The main reason for leaving Sophia is that she has a strong attraction as an adult woman in her thirties and forties, surrounded by a sad atmosphere, which is a very suitable role for this game, and she has a strong motherhood that encompasses the entire squad. Even from the scene of the trailer clip, you can feel this power through the sound of Asano まゆみ.
Garland
Nomura: Two versions of Garand's armor will appear in this game. Although the designers of the two are different, they are both based on Garland of "FF Dispute NT". Due to the different designs inside, the first party to wait is more neutral. The voice actor for this character, like FF Strife NT, is Played by Mr. Yasuji Ishii, and his voice line is still "the voice that lives in that armor". The design style of OP and main beauty is relatively dark and frightening, and the details are very exquisite. Please enjoy the dubbing in the main story.
Princess Sarah
Nomura: Princess Sarah, designed by Mr. Roberto Ferrari, is both modern and classical, in stark contrast to Jack and the like. I hope that the voice actor's voice can directly show the elegance and a little childishness of the princess, but many candidates have played the role of princess, and it is difficult to choose for a while. At this time, during the meeting, someone proposed, "I would like to recommend Miss Yuya Miyamoto, who has previously starred in the Kingdom Hearts series, is it because she has appeared in Kingdom Hearts, so she can't appear again in this game?" ...... That's really our blind spot (laughs). "Nothing!" Without even listening to Miss Miyamoto's voice, I decided.
Astos
Nomura: The Astos of this game was before it became as ugly as the astos in the original FF, but the elements used were still faithful to the original. I hope he has a unique voice, you can feel the aura of "not an ordinary person" in his calm tone, and someone recommended Meek Ueda to me, and it really lived up to expectations.
Captain Bikay
Nomura: Captain Bichai was a pirate who appeared in the original FF, so I don't want to change his design too much. Among the many serious characters in this game, his personality has a pleasing cheerfulness, so I decided to use Mr. Mitsuyuki Goto to voice him.
Luffin people
Nomura: For a while, Lu Feiyin was very distressed by people, whether to fit the world view and set up the image of a wise man in a robe, or to wear a modern style of white like Jack? In the end, I decided to set it up as a completely different super civilization, and I hope that you will confirm the true identity of the Luffin people in the main plot. In a sense, they are close to god-like beings, for which Mr. Ferrari has created a unique appearance. Lu Feiyin's voice actors must also be able to deduce mysterious voices that make people unable to distinguish genders.
| Q: In addition to the main characters, Director Inoue has previously said, "When I was confused about the direction of the monster design, Mr. Nomura's goblin design draft determined the direction of the monster design of FF Origins".
Nomura: The first goblin design to be completed is very orthodox for the goblins in this game that incorporate various elements of the era. I'm also a designer, so it's better to draw an example. I think that characters such as Chaos, designed by Mr. Taketani (Takayuki Taketani, the modeler known for designing Godzilla in New Godzilla), are also the opportunity to decide the direction of monster design.
| Q: Speaking of Mr. Taketani, can't help but think of the Wayder's motorcycles "Fenrir" and "Bahamut Shock" designed by him in Final Fantasy 7: The Arrival of the Son, and have they only worked together since then?
Nomura: No, we've worked together many times, most recently by commissioning him to design the arcade version of the summoning beasts (Odin, Leviathan) in the arcade version of FF Strife. As long as it is the alien monster design handed over to Mr. Taketani, it does not need to be modified at all after completion, and can be directly put into use.
I want to describe the scene of the music "My way" flowing in the background after opening the door in front of me
| Q: I heard that using "My way" as the theme song is also What You Mean, Mr. Nomura. However, the lyrics do closely match Jack's life.
Nomura: Unfortunately, I can't use the Japanese version of the lyrics, but I implore you to search for it, and I believe that you will feel that the lyrics fit the story of this game. By the way, at first I had this scene in my mind: when the door in front of me opened, the scene of "My way" flowed in the background. It is no exaggeration to say that I made the work "Origins of FF" because I wanted to describe this scene that opened the door. The prelude to "My Way" that sounded in that scene aptly set off the theme of the game, and I really liked it.
| Q: The reason why you insist on using the original song sung by Frank Sinatra is the same as the original FF, which means a return to the original point, right?
Nomura: There are many different singers who have sung "My way", and it is not impossible to ask new singers to sing this song. But I don't think I'd have been able to use the original, maybe I wouldn't have chosen this song at all. Frank Sinatra's singing is the most intriguing, which is why I wanted to use the original.
| Q: I didn't expect you to have such a deep obsession.
Nomura: I had been listening to the song on a loop before I started making this game, so I decided that I had to do it as original.
| Q: Is the negotiation of the right to use the song still smooth?
Nomura: It took quite a while. In fact, I had tried to use a classic song in another work before, but I had to give it up at the time, so this time I was working hard to get the right to use it from the early stages. Still, it took a long time, and there was even a time when I thought an alternative had to be prepared.
"FF Origins" is the precursor of the original "FF"?! Or is there another mystery...
| Q: Now that this game has been released, I would like to ask you a few questions that will involve spoilers. Is there anything else you'd like to say to players who haven't played the game before?
Nomura: I hope FF Origins is a game that can be played by different groups of players. If the "STORY" difficulty is chosen, loyal fans of the FF series can also advance the game without any obstacles. Due to the nature of the game, this game does not depict the plot as solidly as the traditional "FF", but we believe that as long as you can play the ending, you will be satisfied. On the other hand, if you are a player who does not know FF, the game system of this game should be very attractive to you. Players who love hardcore games can challenge the "HARD" difficulty from the start, enjoy the fun of proving strength, and have fun hacking elements and transfer mechanics. Many people who have played this game have said that this game is very interesting to play, so players who are still hesitating, I hope you can try the trial version first.
The following contains spoilers, so players who have not seen the ending should read it carefully.
| Q: "FF Origins" is like the previous day of the original "FF", but there are some things that cannot be directly understood, such as the changes in Astos and Rufiyin. This can be explained by the fact that they have changed over the years, or it can be speculated that an event on another world line has occurred, but what is the actual positioning of this work?
Nomura: It's up to the player to understand how to understand it. You can think of the story as inextricably linked to the original FF, or you can think of it as a story on another world line.
| Q: In the dungeon, I found the details of the story in the "Fool's Note" and the "Rufiyn Report", but there is no explanation of Jack's true identity...
Nomura: This time it's mainly about Jack's story, so it's not too much to describe, but there's actually a hidden setting behind it. By the way, there may be spoilers involved, and at the end of the original FF you will understand that "the Light Warrior is actually the player himself". The game also intends to inherit this setting, which is why Jack wears modern costumes.
| Q: That's right! It seems that this game is following as many elements as possible from the original FF. There are many other questions for you, such as in the future, you plan to add three additional missions for players who purchase season passes, will these missions be launched in order?
Nomura: Yes, we don't plan to launch 3 missions at once, but instead go online one by one, including the battle with the Warrior of Light after the gate of the ending opens, new weapon types, and other missions, so stay tuned.
| Q: Oh? Could "DIFFERENT FUTURE" depict a different ending?
Nomura: Who knows (laughs). In fact, the title also contains the letters "DFF" and "NT". However, I don't think anyone can predict the boss of this task (laughs).
| Q: What! Could there be a 3v3 team battle!? Unrealistic fantasies are increasing (laughs). Very much looking forward to every task. By the way, Mr. Nomura was a high school student when the original FF was released, what kind of memories do you have of that time?
Nomura: I remember very well, because when the original FF was released, I worked in a shop that sold both games and toys, and I hadn't played it at the time of the release, but when I heard all kinds of stories about the original FF from the junior high school students who came to the store almost every day, I thought to myself, "This is really an interesting work."
| Q: Interestingly, Mr. Nomura became the developer who once again brought the original FF back to life. By the way, what are your plans for this year after the development of FF Origins? There was a recent event to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the birth of Kingdom Hearts, so is this year a year of preparation?
Nomura: No, there are both. There are both some new projects and some things that are ready to be announced. This year is expected to be very busy, but this situation is likely to continue until next year.
| Q: You're still as busy as ever... We look forward to hearing from you and thank you very much for accepting our interview.
Translation: SR Cat Willow
Edit: Shiina pear