The Last Story (24th February)

[Dante]

Latest Iwata Asks ( Hironobu Sakaguchi x Yoshio Sakamoto)

Both creators have major Nintendo-published titles in the works. Sakamoto is working on Metroid: Other M, which hits here on September 2. Sakaguchi is directing The Last Story, which is scheduled for release later this year.

 

The two don't seem to have any actual ties as far as their current work is concerned. But they did in the past. Their connection involves this fine piece of classic Famicom box art:

 

The above Famicom Disc game is a 1987 adventure game called Miho Nakayama's Tokimeki High School. The game, which features idol Miho Nakayama, was developed by Square and published by Nintendo.

 

Sakamoto describes Tokimeki High School as a text adventure game in which you make use of the phone. Yes, the real phone. Midway through the game, you're given a phone number which you can actually call to hear hints on how to progress along with messages from the real Miho Nakayama. (In later versions, Nintendo swapped out the telephone component with in-game messages relaying the same info.)

 

As detailed by Sakamoto, some 20 years back Square approached Nintendo about making an adventure game that made use of the phone. There was no talk at the time about the game featuring Nakayama. Sakamoto was called in to attend the meeting with Square.

 

At the time, then a five year employee at Nintendo, Sakamoto was growing tired of the same old adventure games, so he pushed his superiors to go with the idea. However, rather than using an original character, he suggested that they use an idol. Iwata jokingly asked if Sakamoto was a big idol fan at the time, but Sakamoto replied that he just figured the added flash would draw attention to the game.

 

Sakaguchi comes into the picture because he was actually on the Tokimeki High School development team. Not originally, though. Following development on the original Final Fantasy, Sakaguchi joined the Tokimeki High School team towards the end of its development.

 

The Tokimeki team went down to Kyoto for a two week period, and that's where Sakaguchi and Sakamoto met for the first time. Sakaguchi initially couldn't believe that Sakamoto was a Nintendo employee. Apparently, Sakamoto's hair was the same back then as it is now.

 

Much of the column consists of Sakaguchi, Sakamoto and Iwata reminiscing about the the old days of development. But Sakaguchi did manage to comment a bit about some of his design decisions for The Last Story.

 

Gameplay systems took priority in The Last Story's development, said Sakaguchi. He suggested thinking abou the game as "a game that has a story in it." While the game has a solid story with strong cinematic components, gameplay is the strongest point.

 

This is only the third time that Sakaguchi has placed emphasis on gameplay first. The last time was Final Fantasy VII, whose development began with considerations about how to use 3D in the game. Prior to that, you have to go back to the original Final Fantasy, as Sakaguchi began development with a trial and error phase where he attempted to see how the PC role playing games of the time could be brought to the Famicom.

 

"In these 23 years, there have been only three instances where I considered gameplay systems first," said Sakaguchi.

 

To help test out those gameplay systems, Sakaguchi drafted Nintendo's testing subsidiary, Mario Club. In fact, Sakaguchi was visiting Mario Club for a four day period when Iwata conducted this latest Iwata Asks column.

 

The reason Sakaguchi wanted to use Mario Club was because he wanted to see how beginner players react to the game. Watching players actually play allows him to see where they're enjoying themselves. Of course, they also had the test players write their opinion, although Sakaguchi warns against trusting this form of feedback as players will sometimes write just the good points, or their feedback listing what they enjoyed will differ from how they react when actually playing the game.

 

Closing off the interview, Sakaguchi provided some hints about how the game's conversation system will work. Previous posts at the game's official blog suggested that there might be a system similar to the Tales series' skit system, where the characters will stop and engage in character-building dialogue bits that may not necessarily be related to the story. With The Last Story, it seems that the characters will actually converse as you run about the fields. Sakaguchi believes this system will allow players to get a better feel for their relationship with their ally characters, which is one area he wanted to convey with the game's story.

[Dante]

New Last Story Characters Revealed

Outside of a couple of Iwata Asks columns, Nintendo has been pretty quiet with regards to The Last Story of late. But if the latest issue of Jump is to be trusted (and we do trust the Jump folks!) we can look forward to an official site update soon.

 

This week's Jump has a look at two new party members. Both are newcomer mercenaries in your mercenary group. And, different from past party members, both are magic users.

 

Here's a look at the two characters:

Jackal

"The intelligent, flirtatious mage." Jackal is a mage who has the ability to control ice. While he behaves in a flirtatious and easy-going manner, he's actually a thinker and cares for his allies. In battle, he's an all rounder who can use both magic and swords.

Manamia

"The user of recovery magic who loves the forest." Manamia is capable of using recovery magic. She has a mysterious air about her. There appears to be a secret surrounding her birth.

 

If you've been keeping with the few bits of media we've seen for The Last Story, you'll recognize these two characters as they have appeared in your party in screenshots. It's good that we finally know who they are. Let's hope Nintendo adds them two the game's official site soon so we can get a proper look.

[Sméagol]

Apparently, the release date was announced on the 3DS conference:

 

27-01-2011

[Arnieboy]

Apparently, the release date was announced on the 3DS conference:

 

27-01-2011

 

In Japan at least

 

I really hope they localise this as if they do i'll definately be getting it!

[Sméagol]

I hope so, I think this is too big a title to not be localised, but then Nintendo occasionally (regularly?) known for its questionable decisions.

[Arnieboy]

I'm pretty sure it'll be localised but it's who gets it. Too many times it ends up that the Americans get RPGs when we don't, Europe gets left out

 

We've missed out so much in the past, chrono trigger, final fantasy...although credit where it's due, a lot of what we missed are now being re-released on the DS or the virtual console.

[Dante]

 

 

New screens and artwork:

 

[Dante]

[Sméagol]

I'm done watching trailers. I don't want to see any more of it unless it's on my own TV screen!

[Retro_Link]

Looks pretty boring to me... I also think this probably deserved to be on the HD consoles really.

[D_prOdigy]

Looks pretty boring to me... I also think this probably deserved to be on the HD consoles really.

 

You do realise this is a Nintendo game, right?

[Retro_Link]

You do realise this is a Nintendo game, right?

Not until you just said.

Fair enough!... I'm surprised in that case that it isn't more charming, it seems quite bland and generic.

[ShadowV7]

I'm done watching trailers. I don't want to see any more of it unless it's on my own TV screen!

 

I'm with you here. Damn I really want to play this in all it's glory. Gives us confirmation of a US/EU release already.

[James McGeachie]

Looks pretty boring to me... I also think this probably deserved to be on the HD consoles really.

 

Well it's a heavily story based game clearly and we're watching a trailer entirely in Japanese with no subtitles.

 

It's not entirely surprising the game's main points of interest aren't coming through to us due to that.

 

Yes though, it is unfortunate that the game has quite a "dull" palette as that never plays to the Wii's strengths, but the engine itself is at least pretty impressive.

[Dante]

The Last Story: Manual Attacks and Command Mode

 

First play reports for The Last Story coming out of the Nintendo Conference last month suggested that the Mistwalker RPG would have an MMORPGish feel to its combat system. That is, you just concentrate on moving main character Elza around, and when you get close to an enemy, he'll automatically take care of the actual attacking.

 

It turns out that there's quite a bit more to combat than just this. Famitsu has a closer look this week.

 

During combat, you have exclusive direct control over Elza, moving him via the analogue stick. As reported from the Nintendo Conference, when you approach an enemy, you can tilt the stick in the enemy's direction to make Elza automatically begin attacking using his standard attack. You'll have to guard and evade using manual button presses.

 

If this auto attack thing isn't for you, you'll be pleased to hear that the game also has a manual mode. Switch the game to manual mode, and you'll be able to do attacks via button presses. The magazine did not provide further specifics.

 

While I wrote "during combat" above, there actually isn't a real "during combat" part of the game. As you move about the fields of play, you automatically switch to combat when you approach an enemy. There's no battle screen or transition to a battle system.

 

Famitsu also has a full report on the battle system as a whole, covering many of the systems we've heard about in the past, along with some of the new ones that were summed up from Jump last week, and even adding a few unannounced bits and pieces.

 

As previously detailed, one of the big battle system components is "Gathering." Elza has access to this special power, which you'll use to draw enemy attention away from other party members.

 

Previously, it was announced that you'd use this skill to allow your spell casters time to cast their spells. But Elza also has access to a couple of special abilities while in a Gathering state.

 

Gathering Burst

When in Gathering mode, if Elza blocks an incoming enemy attack, he'll undergo a "Burst Up." If you've built up enough power through Burst Ups, Elza will unleash the Gathering Burst attack when he comes out of Gathering mode. This damages enemies and may also reduce their speed.

 

Cure

When in Gathering mode, if Elza can recover fallen allies by touching them. The fallen party member will come back to life, with some temporary ability boosts.

 

While The Last Story's combat system is largely real time, you can actually freeze time and enter into "Command Mode." In this mode, you can take some time to get a grasp of the battle situation, and can also issue specific commands to allies, telling them what magic to use and where to move.

 

Screenshots show Elza ordering heroine Kanan to cast one of Holy, Return or Heal magics. Below the magic selection menu, the game provides descriptions of what each spell does:

 

Holy

An attack magic that's based off light. When spread, increases party member defense strength.

 

Heal

Recovery magic. When spread, recovers party member HP and status abnormalities.

 

Return

Warp to a nearby "Heal Circle." (The magazine doesn't say what exactly a "Heal Circle" is.)

 

The "spread" thing mentioned in the descriptions concerns the Magic Circle system that was detailed earlier this week. When a party member casts magic, the magic leaves a "Magic Circle" mark at the point of impact. Elza can use wind magic on the Magic Circle to spread its effects outward. The article earlier in the week mentioned that you can spread the magic circle from an ice-based magic to cause enemies to slip and fall over. Now we know of two additional examples.

 

Once you've selected a spell for your party member to use, you can also specify its precise position. When selecting a target, the camera shifts above the action, allowing you to see enemy and ally positions.

 

The Command Mode method of input can also be used on Elza himself. Screenshots show Elza with these three options in his palette:

 

Power Hit

Temporarily raises Elza's attack strength.

 

Wind

This can be used to attack enemies, and is also the spell that Elza uses to spread the Magic Circle effects.

 

Return

The same as Kanan's Return option -- it warps Elza to a nearby "Heal Circle."

 

The magazine suggests bringing up Command Mode for Elza when you find yourself surrounded by enemies or in any state where it's difficult to control the action in real time.

 

You don't have unlimited use of Command Mode. Once you've used Command Mode, you have to wait a bit before you can use it again.

 

Iwata Asks - Massive Town and Surprising Camerawork

Mistwalker CEO Hironobu Sakaguchi appeared by himself in the first Iwata Asks column for The Last Story. That column brought some surprising news: Sakaguchi is directing the game -- a big revelation considering the Final Fantasy creator hasn't fully directed a game in 18 years.

 

The second Iwata Asks column for the game hit today (the long time between columns, admitted Iwata, was due to his being too busy preparing for the Nintendo Conference event to check the interview text). This time, Sakaguchi was joined by Mistwalker's Kimihiko Fujisaka, revealed to be the game's concept artist and character designer.

 

"For me," said Sakaguchi, "Image illustrations and characters are very important." Sakaguchi worked with Fujisaka from the start of the creation of the game's image. He attributes the game's resulting world view to Fujisaka's artwork.

 

After noting that there are many fans of Fujisaka's work within Nintendo, Iwata asked Fujisaka what kind of requests he received from Sakaguchi. There actually weren't too many requests, explained Fujisaka. Initially, Sakaguchi provided Fujisaka with a simple plot, but let him do as he pleased.

 

Sakaguchi appears to be a big fan of Fujisaka's artwork himself, particularly Fujisaka's work on female characters. He joked that if the girl whose profile is shown in the logo were real, he's give up everything for her. Iwata joked that many employees within Nintendo have fallen in love with the character.

 

It appears that the two creators truly worked together on The Last Story. Iwata asked Sakaguchi if he found Fujisaka's visuals to be agreeable. While Sakaguchi replied in the affirmative, he added that there were also areas where he modified the character personality and world setting to match the characters that Fujisaka created. This surprised Iwata, as he'd been under the impression that Sakaguchi had the image of his games already preset in his mind.

 

Early Development

 

Development on The Last Story began with Sakaguchi, Fujisaka and someone with a programming background (the name was not given) speaking over lunch. The three debated such things as Japanese and Western RPG styles. The game's plot emerged as they engaged in these conversations. In other words, rather than saying that the game's plot was created by just Sakaguchi thinking something up on his own, it came about as the three conversed.

 

A considerable amount of time was spent doing prototype work for The Last Story, said Sakaguchi. The game slowly changed over a period of about one and a half years. This approach is similar to Final Fantasy VII's creation, explained Sakaguchi, although the prototype phase was longer here. FFVII took about a year for the same phase.

 

During the prototype phase, the game used blocks for its characters. The team also created a square "test dungeon" which still exists in the ROM. Whenever they make changes to the gameplay systems, they'll go to that room and play.

 

Sakaguchi joked that they ended up throwing so many gameplay systems away that they could have made two games. Here's one system that didn't make the cut. Early on, the game had something that Fujisaka refers to as a "UFO." The world was set so that UFO-like discs would fly out from enemy spawn points. While this was eventually tossed out, elements of it and other unused systems evolved into subsequent systems.

 

All this work was going into the gameplay area of the game because, as Sakaguchi has said in the past, he was placing an emphasis on gameplay this time. "The true drama for the story emerges during battle," said Sakaguchi. He believes that if you were to, for example, have someone cover someone else during a story sequence, it's possible to draw out player feeling to a certain level. However, if this happens during actual battle, the player will feel a deeper bond with the ally. "This time, we wanted to make the systems first, then later insert cut scenes that matched up with this."

 

Iwata seems to be impressed with the results, saying "When I actually saw it for myself, it gave me the impression of a game unlike what I'd seen before."

 

It looks like Sakaguchi has taken the gameplay first philosophy to the extreme. Continued Iwata about his experience seeing The Last Story, "What particularly impressed me was that even though a climactic point is occurring in the story, the camera view is not forced to that climactic scene." Responded Sakaguchi, "I feel that doing it this way helps connect to the rich feel of the world. If it's a climactic scene, rather than forcing the viewpoint, we're making it so that the world that the player is seeing is everything. For example, if you imagine that something is taking place in an area where you're not looking, don't you get a little excited?"

 

This approach is something that was born through trial and error. While Sakaguchi admits that it's probably not perfect, he believes that the newness is important for entertainment, and even if it's a bit rough, it will make you feel a lot of excitement.

 

The unforced camera wasn't all that surprised Iwata, though. He was also surprised to find that you can fast forward through event scenes. Sakaguchi noted that rather than simply skipping the scene, you're actually forwarding through the scene and can read the subtitles to keep up with the story.

 

One Town

 

The Last Story has just one town -- Ruli City. Because the player will be in the town for so long, Sakaguchi wanted to make it into a place that players would love. Iwata described the town as astonishingly detailed and deep.

 

They've filled the town with a variety of nuances, explained Sakaguchi. He mentioned one. When you bump into someone on the street, he might shout at you "What!?". However, once you've become stronger, the person might apologize for the collision.

 

"It's an extremely big town, where a variety of things will occur. Even I'll still get lost in some back roads," admitted Sakaguchi.

Explained Fujisaka, "The people in town will dance, play the accordion, sit at the fountain -- there are exclusive motions just for the town."

 

The Last Story's Iwata Asks columns will be continuing through future installments. Sakaguchi and Fujisaka were revealed to be, respectively, director and character designer through the columns, so perhaps we can expect even more staff revelations in future updates.

Edited October 23, 2010 by Dante

[Dante]

Iwata Asks More Questions About The Last Story

 

When Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata last gathered the staff of The Last Story for one of his Iwata Asks interview sessions, we learned about the game's massive towns and unique camera work, and were even given a few bits of precious development trivia. See this story for a full summary.

 

Director Hironobu Sakaguchi and character designer Kimihiko Fujisaka are back in the hot seat today. Nintendo posted the second part of the Iwata Asks feature with the two.

 

This part of the interview began with a slightly unexpected question. Iwata asked Sakaguchi what he felt about working on a Wii game. "Can I answer truthfully?" responded Sakaguchi first.

 

After Iwata told him to be direct, Sakaguchi responded was that when he worked with HD platforms (Sakaguchi previously worked on Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey for Xbox 360), he placed a greater focus on such development areas as workflow and pipeline (pipeline referring here to placing graphics and motion data into the game). This is because, as with making a movie, by having a solid work pipeline in place, you can create a product with higher quality visuals.

 

"With the Wii, we took the approach of making a prototype first and investigating from there. So, compared to the hardware I've worked with until now, the creation process was completely different."

 

Iwata suggested that one could say that the Wii allowed them to use a creation process where they build up the game through experimentation. "There is that side to it," responded Sakaguchi. "To be honest, I personally feel that the HD visuals that are now the trend are still too much for a game world. You end up putting all your effort into preserving the quality of the visuals."

 

This doesn't mean that Sakaguchi was willing to make sacrifices on the visual side of The Last Story, though. "I absolutely did not want the visual quality to drop just because it's on the non-HD Wii. In the end, I truly believe we reached a point where it does not lose out to other hardware. The feel of the rocks, the feel of the water and so forth -- we really went deep with the creation. Also, another important area is motion."

 

Iwata noted that Sakaguchi placed a great amount of energy in the area of motion. Sakaguchi responded that when it comes to motion and visual fidelity, balance is what's important. You can't have one area be more advanced or inferior to the other.

 

Iwata also asked Fujisaka for his opinion of Wii. "I'm a designer," said Fujisaka, "so to be honest I initially felt like I wanted a bit more resolution. However, as I worked on the project, I came to the unexpected conclusion that it was okay."

 

Added Sakaguchi, "In the end, we were able to raise the quality more than we'd expected."

 

Sakaguchi feels that The Last Story's visuals are close in beauty to a photograph. Rather than having everything be clear, the Wii gives the visuals the perfect balance for a photograph-like taste.

 

He also noted that the because the Wii is easy to program, they were able to work details into the game. He mentioned one example where the player switches from dark to light and the game's lighting adjusts like a real person's eyes would.

 

"Even if you compare the visuals to other hardware, there's no disadvantage what-so-ever," said Sakaguchi.

 

Moving away from the talk of visuals, Iwata asked Sakaguchi and Fujisaka to name the points in the game's development that they felt were turning points.

 

For Fujisaka, a turning point came when the game's main city was completed, some time around early 2009 near the beginning of development. It was at this point that the gameplay systems also started to take shape, and he was given the feeling that they were on the right path.

 

Sakaguchi didn't mention a specific turning point. However, one candidate could be the point when Nintendo slapped the game's scenario with an NG (no good). Sakaguchi describes this as as the first "reset point" for the game.

 

He ended up making some changes to the game's world view as a result. "By simplifying the world view in the form of fantasy," said Sakaguchi, "I believe the characters became deeper. It's easier to show real human feelings in fantasy, after all."

 

Fujisaka joked that he was annoyed at Nintendo's disapproval as he'd readied a large number of images. In retrospect, though, he also feels the decision was a good one. "The world view we originally thought up was extremely dark. I'm glad that it ended up in its current form."

 

Delivering a closing message, Sakaguchi said "For music and paintings, movies and books, there are some works that give you energy when you touch them. I'd like for Last Story to be that type of work. Nothing would make me happier than if you connected with the game and felt something from it."

Edited October 27, 2010 by Dante

[Dante]

The Last Story Goes Online

Nintendo and Mistwalker have been keeping one major part of The Last Story a secret all this time. This week's Jump reveals that the upcoming Wii RPG has a six player Online component.

 

Using the game's "Raid Lobby," players can access a six player cooperative and competitive play mode. The competitive play has players selecting their favorite character and facing off on the battle field. The cooperative play has all players team up to take on a powerful monster.

 

As usual for a Jump reveal, the details only go surface deep. We can probably expect more details to surface through Famitsu and the official site next week or the week after.

 

Jump also details an area that was mentioned in a previous Iwata Asks column (see here). You can play dress up with your characters. Change your equipment and weapon, and you'll see visual changes to your character. You can also use a "paint" item to color your armor as you please.

 

Finally, some new story details. Jump introduces General Trista, a knight who was once the highest ranking officer in the imperial army. He's currently traveling the world, apparently in search of the connection between war and the devastation of the imperial main land.

 

Is Trista a friend or foe? The artwork shown in Jump makes him look like a pleasant guy. Jump says Trista plays a major role in the story, so expect to hear more about in in future updates.

[ShadowV7]

O_O

 

Well hawt damn. Best get some tissues.

[LostOverThere]

This is very good news. Now all we need is for this and Xenoblade to make it over to the West.

[ultrajamie]

Wow. Online!

 

I have slim hope that either this or xenoblade will make it over. But if they do I'll be fucking delighted.

[Dante]

The Last Story Update = Online, customization and Ruli City.

Jump broke the news last week about The Last Story's online play modes. As expected, Famitsu has delivered a closer look at the game's online component this week, along with a few additional game and story details.

 

ONLINE PLAY

 

The Last Story's online play system is split into two parts: cooperative monster battles and competitive player vs player battles. Both modes are playable by up to six players simultaneously, with each player selecting from Elza and other characters.

 

Competitive play has all players face off against one-another. Based off screenshots, it seems that the battle is fought in a fixed time limit. Player rank appears to be indicated by colored crown icons placed over the player's head.

 

One screenshot shows a bunch of Elzas fighting. They all look totally different because everyone is equipped differently.

 

Another screen shows text indicating that one player, Yasu, has defeated another player, Yuta. Yuta is shown saying what appears to be a preset message in response to his death. It's unclear if the game actually has a messaging system.

 

If you choose to play as a magic-based character, it seems like you might be in for a tough fight, as the game's magic system leaves a gap before magic is actually cast (this is why the game has a "Gathering" system -- read this story for details). If you're struck by an opponent during this gap, your spell will be cancelled. The magazine speculates that magic users may have to take care to cast their spells without making people notice. One screen shows a character casting "Puchi Flare" (Small Flare) while hiding out behind a pillar slightly removed from the heat of battle.

 

For the cooperative monster battles, players first gather at a lobby called "Raid Lobby." You can change your character from this lobby. Screenshots show the party facing off against a giant beast known as Cocoon.

 

Details on how the combat system will adapted to multiplayer form are not shared in the magazine. However, a screenshot of the lobby shows the characters listed with unique abilities, so it does seem that players will have a different experience depending on the character they select. Elza is listed as being a knight/soldier with the ability to expand magic circles. (Read this story for details on Magic Circles).

 

CUSTOMIZATION

 

Jump also shared preliminary details on the game's character customization system last week. Famitsu's look at the system reveals just how robust it is.

 

You change equipment via the game's equip screen. A screenshot of equip screen shows two slots for weapons and two slots for armor (listed as "Protector"). The equip screen also shows your character's status: current level, HP, next level, "TP," and stats for attack, defense, magic attack, magic defense and speed.

 

Armor, which can be equipped individually to upper and lower areas of your body, comes in various types -- things like "Feather," "Heavy" and "Hunter." Depending on the type, the armor's look and abilities will differ. Armor also has level, which also results in different looks and abilities.

 

You can customize armor by removing individual parts. This will change just the look of the armor, with no effect to the armor's defensive strength. Screenshots show Elza wearing full fledged Hunter armor, then removing some of the armor's bulkier parts to look more fashionable.

 

Armor can also be customized with paint. To do this, you'll have to create "paint" using items that you've obtained during your quest (this seems to suggest some sort of item creation system, although no such system has been announced at present). You can then paint your armor in different areas using a variety of different colors. It should be noted that the painting system works at the level of "areas" of armor rather than all the way down to the individual parts level.

 

STORY AND TOWN

 

Outside of the online and customization systems, Famitsu provides slight story update this week, along with a look at the game's primary location, Ruli City.

 

On the story front, the magazine introduces the character that was briefly mentioned in Jump, General Trista, also known as "The Empire's Greatest Treasure." Trista was once the highest ranking officer in the imperial army and was the embodiment of the ideals of chivalry. He has visited Ruli Island in order to prove a theory he's formed during his investigations about the relations between war and the devastation of the land.

 

Is Trista en enemy or an ally? One screenshot shows Trista and Elza conversing. Another screenshot shows the two apparently engaged in a sword fight.

 

Regarding Ruli City, the magazine has a look at a couple of wards: Central Plaza and Marche.

 

Central Plaza was built atop the river that runs through the city. It's primary feature is a plaza, which houses a massive gate, a landmark of the city. The plaza also serves as a bridge connecting the city's north and south, making it a heavily trafficked area.

 

Marche (which Wikipedia tells me is French for shopping center) consists of a major shopping arcade. It's said to be the "kitchen" that supports Ruli Island's food. There are various shops along the main road, each selling different ingredients.

 

There are a couple of gameplay hints in the magazine's looks at Ruli City. When exploring town, you'll be able to view a mini map in the upper right corner. Also, the screens show a few facilities. A blue robed fortune teller runs shop from a table in the Central Plaza. There's also a save point in the plaza, indicated by a blue light emerging from the ground.

 

You'll of course be able to enter the shops in Marche. Screenshots show the game's shopping interface as the player shops for bananas, coconuts and other items at Greengrocer Shop. Prices are in constant flux at the shops. The prices will change daily, even at the same shop. You can actually profit by buying food supplies at low price and selling them when the prices have increased.

 

Scans:

Edited November 17, 2010 by Dante
Automerged Doublepost

[LostOverThere]

Interesting, the graphics (especially in scan 2) look far more vibrant and vivid now.

[killer kirby]

 

DO WANT!!!

[darksnowman]

The changing prices and buying and selling stuff reminds me of Animal Crossing.

[Mokong]

Do Want indeed.

 

A Europe release better get announced soon.... though given Sakaguchi's games history we'll prolly have to wait for "The Last Story IV" or something