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.
Final Fantasy Type-0
"Type-0" was released on October 27, 2011, receiving both physical and digital releases. It was initially announced for release in summer of that year, but unspecified difficulties with development including the stoppage of PlayStation Network caused a delay. It was then announced for released on October 13, but was delayed by two weeks. While Square Enix stated it wanted to improve its quality, no other information was given. It was speculated to be due to complaints surrounding the camera control and other gameplay elements. The releases of the soundtrack and the theme song were also delayed. "Type-0" was one of a few releases for the PSP to be released on two UMDs, as Tabata wanted to cut as little content as possible, which would have been impossible if they had settled for using one UMD. A demo for the original game was released in August 2011, featuring seven playable characters and four missions at locked difficulty levels. Save data could be transferred to the full game, unlocking special costumes and items and keeping experience points. A second demo was released on November 22, a month after the full game's release. It replaced the original demo and gave players access to exclusive items and costumes. A collector's edition was released exclusively through Square Enix's online store, containing artwork, a limited edition version of the soundtrack, postcards and a booklet of character introductions. The title was later added to their Ultimate Hits budget title collection.