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Final Fantasy IV turns 30 today and to celebrate, Square Enix had game designer Takashi Tokita sit down to talk about the memories of development. This was the first Final Fantasy game he was involved with from the very beginning, he explains, so he’s able to share some neat details about how the game’s design has evolved. He discusses character design. , romantic storylines and the unlikely inspiration of the first ATB combat system that sort of stems from F1 racing.
Final Fantasy IV was the first in the series to use the Active Time Battle system, which adds a real-time element to Final Fantasy’s turn-based battles. Instead of taking turns choosing actions, each character has an ATB meter that fills up at their own pace, controlling when they’re ready to attack.
“In the beginning, everyone took turns depending on who was faster,” Tokita explains. “You couldn’t tell at all what was going on, so you didn’t have time to think about the weaknesses or anything like that and you ended up spamming the buttons… [laughs] We came to the conclusion that it would never work. ”
Tokita says battle designer Hiroyuki Ito was a fan of F1 racing, which prompted a different version of the system.
“Apparently he invented the ATB system by looking at the cars behind during laps, realizing that if someone was fast he could attack twice in a lap, while slower characters would only attack once per lap. turn. I think the process of getting there where the ATB system worked was through rules designed for each character, like Edge being able to attack twice in a turn but with low attack power. ”
A strange place to take inspiration from an RPG combat system, perhaps. It reminds me of the timeless advice of creative work to have interests outside of your field. You never know if racing cars, knitting, or gardening is going to spark a totally independent idea.
Tokita also explains how game director Hironobu Sakaguch “wanted a plot that included [a romantic relationship] from the very beginning. When it comes to favorite character sprites, Tokita is a Kain fan. “To be frank, Cecil’s dark knight battle scenes aren’t that cool, but comparatively Kain the dragon is so cool, with his jump ability and everything. ”
Regarding these upcoming Pixel Remasters, Tokita explains that the development of all the remasters is happening simultaneously. He is in charge of the FFIV pixel remastering. “We mainly do our best to stay true to the original pixel art, and beyond that I feel like the balance really comes down to finding that fine line of not too much detail that we have to stick to,” did he declare. said.
For a little more nostalgia and a lot more questions, you can watch the full interview.
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