Final Fantasy Type-0 HD
During the production of "Final Fantasy Type-0", the development team explored the possibility of a high-definition port of the game. The idea never went beyond experimentation as the team was focused on keeping the game as a portable experience. The team also experimented with a sequel on eighth generation consoles, but production was halted when the development team were transferred to "Final Fantasy XV". After some time working on "XV", original director Hajime Tabata decided to develop "Type-0 HD" for eighth-generation consoles. The game began development in mid-2012, around the same time "XV" was shifted onto PlayStation 4 (PS4) and Xbox One. Tabata came on board in July of that year as director and producer, though his involvement was fairly minor due to his directing duties for "XV". The main development was handled by HexaDrive, who had previously collaborated successfully with Square Enix on "The 3rd Birthday", and had developed the high-definition remasters of "Ōkami" and "". The remaster was intended as an incentive for "Final Fantasy" players in both Japan and the west to purchase eighth generation consoles before "XV"s release. The original plan was for a port to both the seventh generation PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles, and eighth generation consoles. After the PS4 proved popular at the 2013 Tokyo Game Show, and as Tabata had no development experience with seventh generation console hardware, the team focused on the eighth generation versions. According to art director Yusuke Naora, moving from the PlayStation Portable to eighth-generation hardware proved hard for the team. Despite early claims, no version of "Type-0 HD" was developed for the PlayStation Vita. According to Tabata, this was due to difficulties in porting between console and Vita development environments, and his wish for a playing experience he could only envision on home consoles.
Characters of the Final Fantasy Type-0 universe
The setting of "Type-0" was written around the "Fabula Nova Crystallis" subseries, which also includes "Final Fantasy XIII" and "Final Fantasy XV". The mythos involves how humans are manipulated and controlled by the world's deities. The crystals of "Type-0"s world were the equivalent of the fal'Cie, demigods serving these deities. Originally, the crystals were to have been called "fal'Cie". The characters Arecia, Gala and Diva were also created to fill the roles of fal'Cie. The approach taken to the incorporation of the mythos was that the world of Orience was part of a shared universe that also contained the worlds of "XIII" and "XV" rather than a standalone existence. As opposed to "XIII", which told a story directly related to the mythos' deities, "Type-0" focused on the human side of the story, depicting the deities' role in world events from a historical standpoint. A key element carried directly from the mythos is the l'Cie, humans chosen by servants of the world's deities to fulfill a pre-determined task called a "Focus". Tabata neglected including elements from the "Fabula Nova Crystallis" mythos until approximately halfway through the process. Chiba and Obake were the ones responsible for including the elements in the storyline, as well as including the cyclic nature of the game's world to help communicate some aspects of the mythos: originally disliked by Tabata, he later said that it suited the game due to the heavy eastern influences.