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.
Recurring elements in the Final Fantasy series
The first title to receive a direct sequel was "Final Fantasy X": "Final Fantasy X-2" is set in the same fictional world of Spira, while using a lighter tone than its predecessor. No sequel to "Final Fantasy X" was planned initially. "Final Fantasy XIII" was also intended to be a standalone title, and was later expanded into the series' first official trilogy with the development of "Final Fantasy XIII-2" (2011) and "" (2013). "Final Fantasy VII" was later expanded into a multimedia series titled "Compilation of Final Fantasy VII", which included video games ("", "", "") and film projects ("", ""). A different subseries linked by common elements, and indirectly inspired by the "Compilation", is "Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy": while the subseries' games have unique settings and stories, they all share a common mythos surrounding crystals and their associated deities. "Fabula Nova Crystallis" was originally planned as a platform for the development of multiple games planned out in advance, compared to "Final Fantasy" producer Shinji Hashimoto to the "Star Wars" and "The Lord of the Rings" film franchises. A world later incorporated into the "Final Fantasy" series is Ivalice, the setting for titles within the game collection known as the "Ivalice Alliance". Taking place within a single world across a large time period, Ivalice is the setting for "Final Fantasy Tactics" (1997), "Final Fantasy XII" and "Vagrant Story" (2000). "Vagrant Story" did not originally take place in Ivalice, being incorporated into the subseries by Square Enix long after its release. The game's references to other "Final Fantasy" titles were originally intended as fan service. Ivalice itself was the creation of Yasumi Matsuno, the main creative force behind "Tactics" and "Vagrant Story". It first appeared in "Tactics". Matsuno's work with Ivalice later inspired the scenarios for "A Realm Reborn".