It’s becoming that within the 12 months of the thirtieth anniversary of the unique PlayStation, two of the console’s largest franchises — Tekken and Closing Fantasy — are collaborating as soon as extra. The 2 names are practically synonymous with the PlayStation model, and greater than that share a growth historical past not many find out about.
“I suppose we will discuss [it] now since a lot time has handed. Again round Tekken 3, numerous our workers left the workforce and really went to Sq.,” Tekken government producer Katsuhiro Harada reveals in a sit down interview with IGN. Given Tekken 3 was in growth throughout 1995 and launched a 12 months later, there have been doubtless a number of ex-Tekken workers lending their 3D growth expertise to what would doubtless have been the one Closing Fantasy recreation in manufacturing round then: the seminal PlayStation RPG, Closing Fantasy 7.
“We’re each titles that had been synonymous with PlayStation and likewise the form of high-level 3D graphics [both series had] on the time had been comparable,” Harada continues. “And though we had been making completely different video games at that time, [the ex-Tekken developers] had been nonetheless our pals and folks we labored actually intently with. So [at the time I thought] it will be fascinating if we might work collectively once more someday sooner or later. It simply turned out that it took much more time than I initially thought.”
So right here we’re, a long time later and the Tekken and Closing Fantasy manufacturers are going head-to-head on friendlier phrases. Clive Rosfield, the protagonist of Closing Fantasy 16, would be the newest visitor character becoming a member of the Tekken roster. He’s solely the second Closing Fantasy character to ever be a part of Tekken, following after Closing Fantasy 15’s Noctis, who made an look in Tekken 7.
You is perhaps shocked to listen to that this collaboration between Closing Fantasy 16 and Tekken 8 started a lot sooner than anticipated. So early, in reality, that Closing Fantasy 16 was nonetheless in the midst of growth when Tekken sequence producer Katsuhiro Harada reached out to FF16 producer Naoki Yoshida a couple of potential collaboration. Yoshida invited Harada and Tekken 8 director Kohei Ikeda to Sq. Enix to play an in-development construct of the sport and the foundations had been laid for the crossover.
Developed by the workforce liable for the massively widespread Closing Fantasy 14 MMORPG, Closing Fantasy 16 is a stark departure for the sequence so far as gameplay goes, eschewing any form of turn-based fight in favor of real-time motion the place Clive can wield his sword and chain combos collectively. Closing Fantasy 16’s extra action-forward path meant that Clive might match seamlessly into Tekken. His combo-heavy assaults and skill to channel the powers of various “Eikons” — highly effective familiars like Ifrit, Phoenix, and Titan — ensures a reasonably various package for his Tekken 8 look..
“We needed to be sure that all the Eikons had been obtainable in a roundabout way whereas taking part in [as Clive in Tekken 8],” says Ikeda. Anticipate to see Clive use numerous elemental talents reminiscent of wind, lightning, ice, fireplace, and extra.
Whereas followers of Closing Fantasy 16 will discover Clive has entry to numerous the identical talents in Tekken as he does in his personal recreation, there have been some modifications made to the character. Specifically, his character mannequin.
“The director of the Closing Fantasy workforce instructed us that he would really like us to regulate Clive’s body a bit as a result of our characters are fairly beefy,” Ikeda remembers. “So we did modify his legs and decrease physique to make him extra in step with our fighters once they’re each on the identical display on the similar time.”
So Clive hit the fitness center for Tekken, however in fee for these new pecs he did need to make some sacrifices elsewhere. “It’s humorous that though he’s gotten extra muscular, his sword has shrunk in dimension as a result of in a preventing recreation, it will give him method an excessive amount of of a bonus if the sword was as large as it’s within the unique recreation,” Harada provides.
So I suppose meaning no probability of Cloud and his colossal Buster Sword becoming a member of Tekken, then? Effectively, don’t assume so quick. In accordance with Harada, the Tekken workforce shouldn’t be restricted to only one character from Closing Fantasy. He says it “is perhaps cool if we had two,” however for now it’s not one thing within the playing cards.
It’s been fairly the journey to see video games like Tekken and Closing Fantasy evolve alongside one another, and now to see them crossover like this. Whereas neither franchises are strictly unique to PlayStation anymore, their affiliation with the model means each Tekken and Closing Fantasy function prominently in our Top 100 PlayStation Games of All Time list.
So in fact we needed to ask the Tekken builders: “What’s your favourite Closing Fantasy online game?”
“I truly discovered Japanese by taking part in via the Japanese model of Closing Fantasy 7. I feel my girlfriend on the time hated me for asking me so many questions on stuff,” joked producer Michael Murray. “But when I needed to decide one with reminiscences and all the things concerned, it’s in all probability [Final Fantasy] 11 as a result of I feel it was round Tekken 4 everybody on the workforce would get up early and never go to work but and we’d meet up on-line in FF11 and play for a bit.”
For Tekken 8 director Ikeda, he says his favourite is Closing Fantasy 4 as he loved feeling the sequence change to be “extra narrative-based. It adopted the principle character Cecil and his transition from the Darkish Knight to a paladin.”
For Harada, Closing Fantasy 4 can also be a favourite however, from a private perspective, there’s simply no comparability to the enduring entry: Closing Fantasy 7.
“There’s so many scenes within the recreation I can nonetheless bear in mind to this present day,” Harada says. Maybe his colleagues engaged on that title helped make that connection really feel even stronger, and with the ability to return the favor with Clive in Closing Fantasy XVI is thanks for these reminiscences.
Matt Kim is IGN’s Senior Options Editor. You’ll be able to attain him @lawoftd.