Final Fantasy Type-0

Final Fantasy Type-0, originally known as Final Fantasy Agito XIII, is a video game for PlayStation Portable and is a part of Fabula Nova Crystallis: Final Fantasy series. Unveiled at E3 2006, the game "[offers] players easy on-the-go access to the Final Fantasy XIII universe". The game was originally announced for mobile phones, but was re-announced for the PlayStation Portable at DKΣ3713 2008. A downloadable version of Final Fantasy Type-0 was released available on the same day as the Japanese UMD release on October 27th.

Work on an overseas release was underway, but never came into fruition, and Final Fantasy Type-0 remained the single highest-profile Final Fantasy title in over two decades to not be released internationally (the last major passed-over release being the Super Nintendo version of Final Fantasy V). Due to a strong fan response in asking for a localization, during E3 2014 on June 10, an HD version for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One was announced for North America and Europe. During Tokyo Game Show 2014, the port was also announced for Japan.

A spin-off mobile game called Final Fantasy Agito was released for iOS and Android systems in May 2014 in Japan, with a localization underway.

Gameplay
The battle system is an evolution of the "ATB Kai" system created by Takatsugu Nakazawa for Final Fantasy X-2, and later refined in Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-. Unlike Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-, the combat is party-based. Instead of navigating through menus, actions are mapped to the face buttons for quick access. Nakazawa says he wants it to be the fastest version of ATB yet. It supports both Ad-hoc multiplayer for up to three players, and online Square Enix membership connection. The multiplayer option is not available in the HD version.

There is no full-scale multiplayer, but an emergency backup when the player's party is about to be wiped out. Multiplayer will normally last for three minutes, but time can be increased through the gathering of SP. The players can determine the enemies' weak points with Killsight, allowing them to deal a deathblow for an Instant Death. Breaksight is applicable to enemies with more than one bar of health, such as strong monsters, bosses and enemy leaders. There are some fighting game style elements like movement canceling for skilled action players.

The Altocrystarium powers up the characters' magic using an energy called phantoma drawn from defeated enemies to restore or fortify magic. When a character absorbs this energy their magic recovers a bit. The amount of recovery depends on the type of phantoma, as indicated by the color. Depending on the type of magic, the character can power up their magic in different areas. For example, a character's Fire RF magic can be powered up in strength, MP usage, call time, projectile distance and speed.

Magic comes in three elemental types: fire, ice, and thunder. The various spells differ in attack pattern and call method. Other elemental magic is also available, but are categorized as 'Advanced' in the Altocrystarium. Such spells are Bio, Tornado, Quake and even Holy.
 * Shotgun (SHG): This type spreads at multiple height levels. It doesn't travel far, but is powerful against close enemies. SHG are typically weaker than RF, but they may hit the enemy instantly.
 * Rifle (RF): This type shoots out straight in the direction of the target. It travels far but has narrow range. Its upgrade, RF2 can pierce through enemies.
 * Bomb (BOM): This type is effective in the player's immediate surroundings. It can be useful against quick enemies and small enemies. Its upgrade, BOM2 last longer and can damage enemies that came in contact with the spell with more hits.
 * Missile (MIS): This type chases after the enemy before releasing its magic. The higher level (that is, the magic with the "ra" and "ga" at the end of their names) will expand to encompass surroundings. Its upgrade, MIS2 travels at a slower rate, but chases the target constant when in effect.
 * Rocket Launcher (ROK): When the player begins casting this type, a target will appear. The magic will fire in the direction that the player aims. When it strikes, it will explode and damage enemies in the surroundings. ROK's range is comparatively short, but can be adjusted with the targeting point held higher as the projectile itself lobs before crashing to the ground.

Characters and Eidolons can learn their individual abilities by using AP won through leveling. Acquiring new abilities may unveil more advanced abilities that will strengthen each character or summon according to their fighting style.

Like Final Fantasy XII, the player can choose the leader of their party of three and party members can be changed manually or when the leading member is KO'd. During each mission the player can call in aid from another player (or NPC) for a duration of three minutes, with bonus time granted through good play. In some cases the victory can be decided in other ways, such as defeating the enemy leader, which will trigger the surrender of its minions. Surrendered minions, regardless of humans or monsters, can be interacted later to obtain various items, such as Potions and the monster's loot.

Summons, called Eidolons, play a role in the characters' growth, though they gain EXP and AP separately from the summoner. When summoned, they replace the summoner and the player can't have the summoner again in the party until the mission is finished. The summons work as a normal party member and can be directly controlled by the player or by the AI, much like in Final Fantasy XII International Zodiac Job System. When a summon is active, if the player changes to the other character, they may not change to the active Eidolon until it is summoned again. After the Eidolon has disappeared either out of time or defeated, the summoner will reappear in a KO state. It still allows for reviving until the body disappears for a short period of time.

Triad Maneuvers are group combination skills that require three members to pull-off. They are weaker than summons, but can be used multiple times without needing to sacrifice a character. The currently controlled character's AG will be completely consumed when used, while the other only consumes a portion of it.

The game's structure is mission-based. There are also sub-objectives in battle to strive for. The game has a world map, and the player can ride chocobos or fly an airship and use its weapons in an aerial battle. Battles are initiated by random encounters and the monsters roam around the world map.

The Final Fantasy Type-0 world map, known as the "Active World Map", features two minigame style elements: War battles, called overworld skirmishes, and Airship Dogfights. Skirmishes involve moving troops around and capturing areas in an RTS styled manner. Different troops have different strong points e.g. specialized against machines. Special missions give encampments to control and more troops to take charge of. In Airship Combat, the airship the player controls has machine guns and the player can take on mounted dragons controlled by Concordia in dog fights. There are various kinds of dragons, including larger ones used by the Royal Guard. The player also fights them on the deck.

There is an Arena that features two types of training available to the players:
 * Simulation Battles – The player can progress through 20 rounds of fighting to level up their characters and get them Phantoma. The player still keeps the experience if they die part way through.
 * Secret Training – The controlled character will be trained while the PSP is in sleep mode. The more time the PSP is in sleep mode, the more EXP the character gets.

Director Hajime Tabata also says that Final Fantasy Type-0 is similar to The 3rd Birthday, saying that while they are two different games in terms of content, the core of what the staff can do on the PlayStation Portable in terms of gameplay is similar between the two games.

Characters
Final Fantasy Type-0 features fourteen playable characters, all of whom are cadets at Akademeia as Class Zero. Each character wields a different weapon and a unique fighting style. Aside from Machina and Rem, the members of Class Zero are named after the Japanese pronunciations of "trumps" or playing cards.


 * Ace - A blond-haired boy who wields a deck of cards. Despite his youthful appearance, his speech and actions are exceptionally impressive. Though usually calm, he has a reckless side and will sometimes rush off and act out of anger.
 * Deuce - A brunette girl who plays the flute. As the youngest member of Class Zero, she is diligent and kind, but can also be stubborn.
 * Trey - A blond-haired boy who wields a bow. He takes pride in being a well-mannered and knowledgeable person, and can be very talkative as a result.
 * Cater - A red-haired girl who wields a magicite pistol. She is confident and direct, and tends to be competitive and face things head-on.
 * Cinque - A ginger-haired girl who wields a mace. Although innocent and naive, she tends to react unusually and with unpredictable actions.
 * Sice - A silver-haired girl who wields a scythe. Her rough speech gives her a tomboy-like personality, but she has good judgment and determination and can also be practical.
 * Seven - A silver-haired girl who wields a whipblade. As the eldest member of her class, her caring nature and ability to understand others make her very popular among the underclassmen.
 * Eight - A red-haired boy who fights with knuckles. Calm and serious, his combat style reflects his dislike of weapons, which he believes take lives too easily.
 * Nine - A blond-haired boy who wields a spear. Impulsive and straightforward, he sees the world in black and white and only feels satisfied when things aren't complicated.
 * Jack - A blond-haired boy who wields a katana. Upbeat and humorous, he often keeps a smile on his face and encourages others to look on the positive side.
 * Queen - A black-haired girl who wields a sword. Her dignified appearance and intelligence suit her name, and she often carries a leader-like personality.
 * King - A blond-haired boy who wields duel handguns. He seldom speaks, but possesses a serious demeanor and strong common sense.
 * Machina Kunagiri - A dark-haired boy who wields twin rapiers, and was transferred into Class Zero alongside his childhood friend, Rem. In spite of his proficiency and straightforwardness, Machina fears war and his inability to protect Rem. His elder brother, Izana, was stationed as a soldier for the Akademeian army.
 * Rem Tokimiya - A brunette girl who wields a pair of twin daggers, and was transferred into Class Zero along with Machina. She is moral, kind, and honest, and has an outstanding talent for magic. However, she suffers from an unknown illness, a fact she keeps from Machina and her classmates to avoid worrying them.

Setting
Final Fantasy Type-0 takes place in the world of Orience, which is divided into four nations that are blessed with crystals that grant them unique powers.

They are themed around the Four Symbols in Eastern Asian mythology:
 * The Dominion of Rubrum holds the Vermilion Bird Crystal, containing the power of magic. Its ruler is the 174th Chancellor Khalia Chival VI.
 * The Militesi Empire holds the White Tiger Crystal, containing the power of weapons. Its ruler is Imperial Marshal Cid Aulstyne.
 * The Kingdom of Concordia holds the Azure Dragon Crystal, containing the power of dragons. Its ruler is Queen Andoria.
 * The Lorican Alliance holds the Black Tortoise Crystal, containing the power of the shield. Its ruler is Gilgamesh.

The four nations coexisted peacefully under the Pax Codex until Cid Aulstyne, Imperial Marshal of the Militesi Empire, broke the peace treaty and staged an invasion using advanced military technology developed with the power of the White Tiger Crystal. With his armada of airships and magitek armor, Cid conquered Lorica and Concordia, then moved on to Rubrum where he staged an attack on all sides.

The Empire's actual assault was on the Vermilion Peristylium, where the crystal jammer was used to disable the Vermillion Bird Crystal's powers and leave Rubrum's people powerless, all in demanding the country's surrender of their crystal. But a small group of skilled students belonging to the Peristylium's Class Zero have retained the powers from their pact with the crystal. While Cid attempts to negotiate with Rubrum's president, the students of Class Zero are busy organizing Operation Apostle, a covert mission to recapture the crystal and defeat the Milites forces.

Story
Planning a coup d'état against the emperor of Milites, imperial marshal Cid Aulstyne took over the control over Milites in Tem. XV, 832 RG, as the emperor mysteriously vanished. Ten years later, he simultaneously mobilized the Militesi forces towards the capital of the Lorican Alliance and to invade the Dominion of Rubrum, while a special unit is dispatched directly to Akademeia to perform a sneak attack on the Vermilion Peristylium. The special unit is accompanied by the White Tiger Secundus l'Cie Qun'mi, thus violating the Pax Codex, a treaty of armistice in Orience. The unit is equipped with a magitek armor carrying a prototype crystal jammer, which disables the power of enemy Crystals thus rendering the forces of Akademeia powerless without their magic.

As the battle seems lost Class Zero appears—still able to use magic—and turns the tide of the battle. Class Zero's involvement in the liberation effort was kept under wraps until the last moment, and when word arrives the cadets are to take down the crystal jammers it suddenly becomes pertinent to link them to Operation HQ. A dominion legionary, Izana Kunagiri, is deployed to deliver a COMM to the cadets of Class Zero, and while he succeeds he perishes amid the battle. The cadets liberate Akademeia by destroying the crystal jammers and driving Qun'mi away. Even if the dominion defends their capital all remaining regions are occupied by the empire, and the Lorican Alliance is obliterated by an Ultima Bomb which erased the Lorican regions.

Impressed with the cadets' prowess and their ability to use magic independent of the Vermilion Bird Crystal, the administration has Class Zero enrolled to Akademeia with two new members, Rem Tokimiya and Machina Kunagiri. Dr. Arecia Al-Rashia, who had adopted the cadets and augmented them to give them the ability to use magic without the Crystal, is disdainful of the two, deeming them inferior to her children. It is decided that Agito Cadets are to partake in the war effort to reclaim the areas conquered by the empire, and they thus come under Central Command's jurisdiction. Kurasame Susaya is made Class Zero's commanding officer with Mog as the class moogle who helps them during missions.

The Crystals of Orience remove the memories of the dead from the living, and thus Machina has lost all memory of his brother Izana. Still aware of his loss, Machina tries to learn more about Izana's death, but finds the details of his deployment are confidential. Ace, one of the Class Zero cadets, overhears his Mother Arecia arguing with the commandant of the dominion legionaries over Izana's deployment that had been done without the commandant's authorization, apparently only because Ace had asked for it. Puzzled, as memories of Izana have been erased from Ace as well, he is unable to bring himself to tell about this to Machina.

The dominion takes back their territory one town at a time with the passive support of the Kingdom of Concordia, home to the Azure Dragon Crystal. During the battle to reclaim Togoreth the empire deploys the Primus l'Cie Nimbus as a last resort, and as a shock move the Vermilion Bird Crystal deploys its own Primus l'Cie, Lord Zhuyu. Zhuyu asks Nimbus whether what he is doing is really the Focus given by the White Tiger Crystal, but Nimbus rebuffs him and the two cross blades. The ensuing battle obliterates Togoreth, leaving but a molten crater behind. In truth, the empire has subjugated the White Tiger Crystal and thus enslaved its l'Cie who are unable to defy the marshal's orders. The empire is now on a quest to subjugate all the other Crystals of Orience as well, already having obtained the Black Tortoise Crystal from the ruins of Lorica.

Rem suffers from an incurable illness that will eventually kill her. She conceals this from everyone, especially her childhood friend Machina, wishing to remain and fight until the end. She visits Dr. Arecia for medication for her illness, but is told her time is nearing its end. Machina can tell there is something wrong with her, but whenever he asks she lies that she is fine, worrying him further.

The dominion receives intel of a new MA prototype and Class Zero is dispatched to destroy it. They infiltrate the imperial magitek facility and destroy Brionac, a prototype MA designed to deploy the empire's Ultima Bomb to long-distance targets. The White Tiger Primus l'Cie Nimbus appears to neutralize Class Zero. Outmatched, Class Zero is on the verge of being eliminated when a ceasefire is called as the Queen Andoria of Concordia invokes the Fabula Pact, an ancient peace agreement made between the nations' peristylia rather than their governments. As the pact is invoked the Vermilion Bird l'Cie Zhuyu and Caetuna note a change in their Crystal.

The Crystal-States' leaders—Cid Aulstyne for the Militesi Empire, Chancellor Khalia Chival VI for the Dominion of Rubrum, and Queen Andoria for Concordia—meet in Ingram for peace negotiations. Class Zero is being given a guest residence where the queen pays them a visit. The cadets voice their dissatisfaction over the ceasefire, deeming the empire has no right to ask for peace for being the initial aggressor. The queen says that peace is the Will of the Crystals, and the cadets' opposition would only lead to Tempus Finis, an apocalyptic calamity spoken in legend. The cadets struggle to come to terms with the idea that what they have been fighting for is against the Crystals' will.

The commandant of the dominion legionaries, who has accompanied the chancellor to Ingram, reveals details about his brother Izana's death to Machina to turn him against Class Zero. He claims its members and Dr. Arecia are responsible for having changed Izana's mission orders to the ones that got him killed. The commandant envies Arecia's covered position within the dominion and its governing body, the Consortium of Eight, and begrudges her children, Class Zero, have taken the spot light from his legionaries as the saviors of Rubrum. Because of the commandant's disbelief in Dr. Arecia's actions and ignorance of her motives, he tasks Machina with spying on Class Zero, using his affection for Rem to manipulate him in saying that should Machina fail in his espionage, she would take his place.

Class Zero is overrun by Militesi troops in their guest residence and the class orderly, Aria Luricara, is shot by a sniper. During their escape from Ingram the cadets learn the queen has been assassinated with Class Zero blamed for it. Unable to contact Central Command, the cadets escape with their lives until they encounter the Akatoki Warden Celestia, who is angered for having failed to to protect her queen. Deuce convinces her of Class Zero's innocence, and Celestia helps them to flee Ingram to a deserted house in Old Lorica Region.

Machina confronts the others over Izana's death, but is told he should get over it as they have more immediate concerns to worry over: they still can't contact Central Command and it seems they have been purposefully abandoned. Rem tries to soothe Machina by explaining that Class Zero can't be expected to save everyone despite all their might, but Machina storms off to patrol the area alone, vowing to become stronger than Class Zero so he can protect Rem. He stays out all night and finally shows up in the morning. The COMM starts working and Kurasame sends an airship to pick the cadets up.

The chancellor and his entourage were able to return to Rubrum safely after the queen's assassination, but the ceasefire is over and the war is to commence immediately, as the queen's successor, the King of Concordia, has allied with Marshal Cid Aulstyne against Rubrum. Thus, the Azure Dragon Crystal has fallen into imperial control, and only the Vermilion Bird Crystal of Rubrum remains. The chancellor informs the other consortium members that the Vermilion Bird Secundus l'Cie Caetuna wills to summon a Verboten Eidolon should the Militesi-Concordian coalition try to invade Rubrum, shocking the other members, as the Crystals don't usually partake in mortals' affairs or aid in their war effort.

Upon returning to Akademeia Class Zero meets an antipathetic front, as most of the cadets believe the accusations against them as the consortium hasn't declared their innocence. Three of the consortium members—the commandant, the cadetmaster and the provost—plan to usurp Arecia, and thus the commandant seizes his chance and deploys Class Zero, including its commanding officer Kurasame, to the frontlines to get rid of them to undermine the doctor's influence. Machina is questioned by the cadetmaster and the provost over his espionage mission, but after the mission to reclaim Eibon he vanishes from Akademeia.

The dominion splits its forces into two each side accompanied by a Vermilion Bird l'Cie for the battle against the Militesi-Concordian coalition. The dominion faces off against the royal army at Judecca, where Lord Zhuyu confronts the Azure Dragon Primus l'Cie Soryu. The new Azure Dragon Secundus l'Cie Celestia—in the form of Shinryu Celestia—confronts Class Zero as the battle seems to favor Rubrum, but is repelled by Bahamut ZERO, an Eidolon summoned by Dr. Arecia.

Meanwhile at the Big Bridge, the forces of Rubrum struggle against the infinite waves of Militesi troops accompanied by a prototype crystal jammer, which needn't be operated by a l'Cie. Once the crystal jammer is destroyed by Class Zero that had been sent as reinforcements, Lady Caetuna can begin summoning the Verboten Eidolon Alexander. As the cadets retreat they encounter Gilgamesh, a Lorican l'Cie who survived the Ultima Bomb who suffers from amnesia and attacks them out of confusion. Rubrum's forces withdraw as Lady Caetuna summons Alexander that obliterates the Militesi army and brings victory to the dominion, but at a heavy cost: Kurasame and many cadets from Akademeia had to give up their lives to complete the summoning. The only imperial survivors are General Qator Bashtar whose MA's magic shield had been augmented by a new White Tiger Secundus l'Cie, saving the duo from Alexander's Divine Light.

The final battle of the war takes place in the Militesi capital, Ingram, where Class Zero encounters General Qator Bashtar who survived Alexander's attack with the help of the suddenly appeared White Tiger l'Cie Incognitus. He wears a new, better version of a powerful Magitek Armor he once used against Class Zero, but fails again. In this moment he discovers that another Ultima Bomb is implanted into his MA to destroy the remnants of Milites together with the invading troops. However, Qator quickly navigates his breaking MA into the atmosphere where the Ultima Bomb explodes without damaging Orience.

Having united all of Orience under the banner of the Vermilion Bird, Tempus Finis, an apocalyptic event, commences: The sky turns red and the ocean turns black, malicious foes, called Rursan Reavers, appear all over Orience annihilating all life on Orience. Returned to Akademeia which has been devastated by the Rursan Reavers, Rem fall unconscious due to her illness. Left with the starting twelve members of Class Zero, they decide to infiltrate Pandæmonium—a fortress risen behind Akademia—with the help of Celestia for only a l'Cie can enter the Land of Judgement. There they encounter Cid Aulstyne who turned into the Rursan Judge. He pits Class Zero against numerous crucibles to prove if they are worthy of becoming Agito, the miraculous savior of Orience.

During their progress, the Vermilion Bird Crystal calls upon Class Zero, searching for new l'Cie to protect the Crystal. At this point Class Zero ignores the Crystal's plea and remains mortal, progressing further into the palace. Meanwhile dying Rem is chosen by the Crystal to become the next l'Cie. As such she tries to stop the White Tiger l'Cie Incognitus who now invaded Pandæmonium as well, but is killed by him who turns out to be Machina. His consciousness immediately strikes him that the only person he wanted to save, died by his hands.

With their last power, Class Zero make their way to Cid who then transforms into the Rursan Arbiter, challenging the damaged cadets to their final battle. Standing no chance, Class Zero is defeated. However, the now sublimated Machina and Rem lend their souls to the fallen Class Zero members giving them l'Cie-like powers with which they can overwhelm the Rursan Arbiter by collecting his phantoma thus halting Tempus Finis. Afterwards, Class Zero is teleported back into Akademeia where they die, discussing about their dreams for the future if they would survive. Being released from Crystal Stasis by Dr. Arecia, Rem and Machina return to Akademeia where they find Class Zero lying dead around a flag made of their capes.

Dr. Arecia is revealed to be a fal'Cie, a deity-like creature, who opposes Gala, another fal'Cie in finding Etro's Gate. With Orience being a set up project by them in order to find it, Dr. Arecia tries to reveal Agito among few, strong souls, whereas Gala wants to accumulate a flood of souls to find and open the Gate. Each time Class Zero decided to become l'Cie, the project would fail and Orience would be reset into a new Spiral which happened over six million times. However, in the moment where Class Zero decides to remain mortal, the Dr. Arecia's interest is aroused and thus she contacts Machina and Rem being in Crystal Stasis after consulting Tiz and Joker, to tell her all about her children—as she refers to Class Zero. Intrigued, she decides to stop the project and leave Orience, making the Crystals vanish and the people regain their ability to remember the dead. Prior to this, she revives them from their stasis and asks them to remember their children.

An alternate ending shows another Spiral where the Crystals never existed, war never happened and thus Class Zero and the others enjoy happy lives in Orience.

Music
The music for the game is composed by Takeharu Ishimoto. It features performances by T$UYO$HI and ZAX from the Japanese rock band, Rieko Mikoshiba, Yuko Shimazaki, Cantillation, Yuriko Kaida and the.

The main theme for the game, "Zero", is performed by the Japanese band. The song is prominently featured in the game's plot; frequently sung by Ace during the course of the game. The song was released as Bump of Chicken's 21st single and is not included in the game's official soundtrack.

The blu-ray soundtrack for Final Fantasy Type-0 HD will have one new song and a re-translation of the opening theme. "Utakata" is a new song recorded for Final Fantasy Type-0 HD, composed by Takeharu Ishimoto and written and performed by Chris Ito, who is also one of the performers of "Colorful - Falling in Love"..

Development
Originally titled Final Fantasy Agito XIII, the game was announced for mobile phones but was re-announced for the PlayStation Portable at DKΣ3713 2008. Developers stated the reason for the move was that they did not want to wait for cell phones to be advanced enough to handle the game. According to the developers, the PlayStation Portable version was planned from the start and was meant to be revealed sometime after progress on the mobile version. The game drew more attention after being announced for the PlayStation Portable, since mobile phone games are usually not released outside Japan.

At the Square Enix 1st Production Department Premiere event on January 18, 2011, the game was retitled Final Fantasy Type-0 because Hajime Tabata did not think it was similar enough to Final Fantasy XIII to warrant the old title. Square Enix had trademarked the title in December 2010, along with Type-1, Type-2 , and Type-3.

Tabata explained in a Famitsu interview the game would ship in two UMDs because he does not want to cut any content. He wanted to keep the cutscenes' visual quality on par with PlayStation 3 titles, so they had to take the game's real time cutscenes and convert them into movie files so they can be further polished and edited. The disc switch is unusual, making the player have to go from Disc 1 to Disc 2 and then back to Disc 1 again, due to the prologue and final portions of the game being on the first UMD and the rest residing in the second, including the multiplayer mode. Tabata feels the game's ending turned out especially well and that it was a technical masterpiece that goes beyond the specs of the PlayStation Portable.

On September 10, 2011 during the Final Fantasy XIII-2 fan meeting, producer Yoshinori Kitase was questioned about the development of Final Fantasy Type-0 and Final Fantasy Versus XIII. His answer, "for Final Fantasy Type-0 and Final Fantasy Versus XIII we are giving 100% to development", thanks to the knowledge and experienced gained from developing Final Fantasy XIII.

Scenario
Final Fantasy Type-0 was intended explore a more mature direction for the franchise and to be Square Enix's effort to create "something for adults". The envisioned theme was "a real war within a fantasy world," and Tabata worked on the title as a documentary that records the account within a fictitious world, so the team built various elements on that template. The game is also harder than most mainline Final Fantasy games, and its visuals involve more graphic violence. Tabata has mentioned he wanted to create a Final Fantasy where one could "truly feel a vibrant game world and characters" and cited his work on Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- as having sparked his interest in exploring and creating a game with those themes. Tabata wanted to do a Final Fantasy game that depicted life and death and thus the value of life in a more mature and earnest way. To capture the feeling of danger and the fragility of life both the game and combat system emphasized that fragility, and the game wound up being quite dark although that was not the original plan. The overall theme spawned from the idea of the player fighting beside characters born into "a cruel world" torn by conflict.

As the PlayStation Portable was limited memory-wise, and thus Final Fantasy Type-0 did not feature as much expressiveness as designer Yusuke Naora would have liked. Yusuke Naora wanted to get a harder, grittier and more mature feel for Final Fantasy Type-0. In search of inspiration he went a Japanese Special Forces training camp to see what being a military cadet would be like. This was also used as an opportunity to test out new HDR camera tools.

As Final Fantasy Type-0 started as Final Fantasy Agito XIII as part of the "Final Fantasy XIII series" of the Fabula Nova Crystallis, it was planned the game would have thirteen playable characters. One playable character ended up being taken out, and two more characters (Machina and Rem) were added into the playable roster who start with a different back story than the rest of the group, ending with fourteen playable characters in the final game. The inspiration for such a large cast came from the traditional Japanese war dramas that were popular and featured several characters.

As the game has no main hero, Square Enix referred to Hollywood movies for how to distribute the focus among the cast equally. "We see a lot of movies that put a focus on numerous characters vs. one protagonist," Tabata has said. "[I] really wanted to focus on the unit as an entity ... really put a spotlight on the unit as a whole and view their actions from slightly afar." After it was decided the game was going to have an ensemble cast, Tabata sat down with Tetsuya Nomura to design each class member. They wrote down each character's personality traits complete with strengths, weaknesses and faults, and decided how they would be expressed in the game. From these templates Nomura drew up the character designs, as each needed to be a distinct individual able to stand on their own as the "main character" even without the rest of the class. Tabata has mused that even if every member turned out not to be equally developed he thinks they got close to the effect he had wanted to achieve and was pleased with the results.

The story centers around four nations that are heavily based on Chinese mythology of four gods, each nation being related to one. This concept also exists in Japan and is where the Four Symbols comes from (the Four Symbols has also been previously used in other Final Fantasy games).

The "school of magic" aspect of Final Fantasy Type-0 has been compared to Harry Potter, but Hajime Tabata has said the other settings are drastically different, and that he personally was not influenced by Harry Potter when working on the title.

After the original version's release Tabata said he would have liked to be more thorough with the storytelling and make it easier to comprehend.

Battle System
Hajime Tabata said in a Famitsu interview that "it's becoming an intense experience where you do gun shooting with fire." On the subject of multiplayer, he added "Agito XIII will not have the standard multiplayer style of everyone gathering together to play. It will be a multiplayer system unique to this game".

The combat in Final Fantasy Type-0 was meant to be filled with tension and portray each playable character's personality on the battlefield. The battles are more brutal and make an effort to show the physical consequences of conflict. "We've really tried to focus on the true nature of battle—what a realistic type of magic vs. weaponry type of battle might unfold like," Tabata has said. "If you're hit by fire, you burn. If you're cut, you bleed. It's approaching those realistic type of expressions within the Final Fantasy world atmosphere ... It's more of a realistic blow vs. just scraping away HP."

The party members' AI wasn't a code due to technical restrictions with the PSP, so the AI was focused on healing the player when their HP got critical, and ensuring that the AI-controlled characters wouldn't die easily or "steal" too many kills from the player. It was made this way because of the reserves function as only the characters in the active battle party earn experience.

The first Eidolon made for the game was Ifrit who was intended to be depicted as brutal, wild and berserk. At this time the team still played with the idea of making the Eidolons playable in realtime, and looked at the summoning video they made first of an Ifrit NPC summoned that acted on its own. The team had the feeling it was not the beast they wanted him to be as he did not seem feral enough. When the team tried to make Ifrit playable for the first time, Tabata, who was trying it out, clicked the button and Ifrit made a powerful attack. This impressed Tabata so he decided they should try to overcome the technical limitations to make the Eidolons playable.

After the game's release Tabata has reflected that he would have wanted to add ad-hoc capabilities and a co-op mode where players could help each other at any time and to adjust the leveling curve and balance of the magic.

Localization
In the Final Fantasy Type-0 Ultimania it was hinted that Square Enix was looking to localize the game for international audiences, but it never materialized. On October 13, 2012 Jeremy Parish provided an update in regards to the possible localization for Final Fantasy Type-0: the editor-in-chief of 1UP relayed pessimistic news from Tokyo Game Show 2012 event. "...no less than four people I talked to at TGS (both inside and outside of Square Enix) made it very clear that the English version of Type-0 is moribund, at least in its current form."

On November 1, 2012 Tabata said to Gamespot that: "Due to market reasons, we are taking a clean slate in terms of our plans. We feel strongly about bringing this title to the fans in North America and Europe, so if an opportunity arises that can become a conclusive factor, we are prepared to go into consideration right away."

Though never officially confirmed, some sources claim that by 2012 Square Enix had shelved a near-complete localization that included an English script and voice recording work, because although the company had planned on localizing the game it was not deemed profitable due to PSP's poor standing in Europe and North America. In July 2014 director Hajime Tabata confirmed that Square had done the bulk of localization work on Final Fantasy Type-0 back in 2011, but the PlayStation Portable's sinking overseas popularity led the company to put a hold on the release outside of Japan as the marketplace wasn't viable anymore.

In August 2013 Square Enix America and Europe CEO, Phil Rogers, posted an open letter encouraging fans to share their questions, comments and other feedback with him via email. This was in response to Operation Suzaku, a fan movement to get Final Fantasy Type-0 localized in the west. Rogers promised to look into the matter but didn't want fans to get their hopes up, as localizing previously released games sometimes isn't possible when the team have moved onto other projects.

On May 15, 2014 Square Enix's French Twitter hinted a Final Fantasy Type-0 localization would be announced at the upcoming E3. This happened on June 10th when the HD remaster version for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One was announced. During the 2014 Tokyo Game Show, an English version of the game's opening is presented.

Fan Translations
A partial fan translation patch for the game was made by Truthkey, released in November 2011. It is a patch update for Disc 2 and only the main menu has been translated.

SkyBladeCloud and his team of translators and programmers announced in mid-2012 that they were working on a full English patch. In March 2014 the team announced it would be released on August 8, 2014. Not long after Square Enix representatives warned the team the company intended to protect its copyrights, and asked if they would like to discuss further about mutual solutions to leave both parties happy. The team speculated Square was reaching out because they were going to announce a western release of Final Fantasy Type-0 and the other members of the translation team discussed the possibility of not releasing the patch to avoid hurting sales. In early June, SkyBladeCloud announced the patch was coming two months early, and would be available on June 8—the day before E3 2014 when Square was rumored to announce the official localization. The patch was immediately popular, SkyBladeCloud estimating 100,000 downloads in four days.

The rest of the team was dissatisfied, some feeling the patch wasn't ready for release. In the coming days and weeks the release decision fractured the group. In E3 Square announced an official localization in a press release with no video footage. Within the next few weeks Square Enix started sending legal requests to SkyBladeCloud, and eventually asked him to take down the patch, and the fan translation and all content associated with it was removed from his website.

Themes
Final Fantasy Type-0 explores the life and death of humans, as well as mortality and the weight it carries. Director Hajime Tabata has described this thusly: "It is special to see how it depicts the theme of going through a very hard time. I don't think there are any other Final Fantasy games where you get the same feeling of having to go through such a hard and cruel battle as you progress." One decision to depict this feeling of brutality was to show blood, uncharacteristic to the Final Fantasy series but something director Hajime Tabata had already had to deal with when directing Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- ending sequences. This had taught him that if he wanted to show deep emotions and the internal struggle of a fight, they would have to use gory expressions.

Each character is treated as an individual, and the game has no true hero. Instead, all fourteen of the game's characters are given an equal spotlight. Tabata described Final Fantasy Type-0 as "a major title that's formed from a variety of concepts." These include, "Collision of four fantasies (the world view and the nations of Orience)", "Killing match between magic and weapons, the battle between magic and technology (battle)", and "The Ordinary and Unordinary (the two sides of reality, the mortal world and Unseen Realm)". During its original form, Final Fantasy Type-0 primarily revolved around challenging the gods. Another underlying theme is a cycle of Orience's death and rebirth and the effort to break that cycle.

The most prominent theme in Final Fantasy Type-0 is war and the results it brings to the world. The historical progression of a war and its effects on the younger generation is the main focus of the story. Tabata has cited several underlying themes in the world and story of Final Fantasy Type-0; one of the story themes revolves around death and its effects: a key aspect of the story is the memories of the dead being removed from the living by the Crystals. This scenario was created to make people feel their hatred of death. The game profusely makes references to World War II in this regard as well, but in an emotional and as well as alluding light to resonate with players and the themes of war throughout the game; being the only known last conflict which the real world was plunged into a state of turmoil and struggle helps empathize the desperation and tensions of Rubrum's forces as the story goes on. Tabata cites inspiration from traditional Japanese war dramas for many of the aforementioned themes, but his most focused theme to communicate through Type-0 was the fragility of life.

Voice Cast

 * Additional Voices (Japanese)
 * Ryōta Asari, Riho Fujida, Eri Gōda, Wataru Hatano, Kei Hayami, Yū Hayashi, Tomoyuki Higuchi, Yōko Hikasa, Chiemi Ishimatsu, Miyako Itō, Yoshimasa Kawata, Tomoko Kobashi, Minako Kotobuki, Tsuguo Mogami, Seirō Ogino, Tōru Sakurai, Rei Shimoda, Kenji Takahashi, Shūhei Takubo


 * Additional Voices (English)
 * Johnny Yong Bosch, Michael Sinterniklaas, Julie Nathanson, Stephanie Sheh, Crispin Freeman, Susan Savage, Andrew McDonough, Carrie Savage, Dave Wittenberg, Tara Sands, Yuri Lowenthal, Christopher Corey Smith, Shane Johnson, Patrick Cavanaugh, Dorothy Fahn, Jason Miller, Melissa Fahn, Grant George, Mike Rock, Doeg Erholtz, Karissa Staples, Mike Sorich, Tara Platt, Steve Van Wormer, Eric Artell, Wendee Lee, Todd Haberkorn, Kirk Thornton, Jason Palmer, Brad Abrell, Sam Riegel, Ezra Weisz, Jessica Strauss, Jamieson Price

Final Fantasy Type-0 HD
On June 10, 2014 Square Enix announced an English localization of Final Fantasy Type-0 in the form of Final Fantasy Type-0 HD for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. On August 27, 2014 Tabata confirmed at PAX 2014 event that the HD remaster was about 80% completed. A demo version was available for the fans who attended the event.

Final Fantasy Type-0 was the first high-profile Final Fantasy game to not be localized in many years and led to vocal dissatisfaction among western fans. Seeing the demand, and receiving a fan-made petition asking for a western release, Square Enix decided to develop a new version of the game. Tabata mentioned that when Final Fantasy Type-0 was released on the PlayStation Portable in Japan Square Enix could garner a new, younger user-base. As Final Fantasy Type-0 brought a many new fans to the series in Japan, Square Enix is hoping it'll be the same for the overseas market.

Sony Computer Entertainment Japan's Tokyo Game Show 2014 website accidentally leaked a number of unannounced exhibiting titles before the show, including a previously missing Final Fantasy Type-0 HD. Release information came to light the next day: The game would be released in March 2015, and every copy would include a voucher code for Final Fantasy XV Episode Duscae, a playable demo of Final Fantasy XV. The first gameplay trailer was released on September 17, 2014. Footage of the English version was also released.

All versions have an option of either English or Japanese audio, and the European version will include English and Japanese voice work and English, French, Italian, German, and Spanish subtitles.

In October 2014, Amazon Italy listed a PC version of Type-0 HD alongside its console counterparts, raising the possibility of a release outside consoles. This was confirmed by Square Enix as a listing error on the same day. On January 20th 2015 Square Enix and Amazon teamed up with a promotional Twitter minigame called Final Fantasy Type-0 HD Twitter Battle.

Development
In mid-2012 Square Enix shifted development of Final Fantasy XV to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One and got a feel for the new consoles, which at that point had not yet been announced. After director Hajime Tabata gained a better understanding of the next generation of video gaming consoles, and liked the environment of the platform itself, he believed it would be a good fit for Final Fantasy Type-0. It was decided Final Fantasy Type-0 would get a remastering a little after Tokyo Game Show of 2013. When the team evaluated the new development environment for Final Fantasy XV, they also evaluated what could be possible for a Final Fantasy Type-0 HD in terms of the specs that could be achieved. Development for the title started late 2013.

Although an "international version" was considered (Japanese re-releases with new content are known as "international" versions), as Final Fantasy Type-0 would be a new release outside of Japan development speed was prioritized over adding of new features.

The original plan was to have it on four consoles—PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One—to reach the widest possible audience, but around December 2013 or January 2014 it was decided to focus on the new generation platforms. By that time Square had taken note PlayStation 4 wasn't going to be as big a seller as they had thought, so part of the idea was to release the game on it to encourage people to buy it, as Square Enix wanted to ensure fans own the latest consoles when Final Fantasy XV is released, with Final Fantasy Type-0 being their way of helping segue people into them. Another reason was Tabata's team never having worked with PlayStation 3, but being familiar with PlayStation 4 due to the Final Fantasy XV project.

Though Final Fantasy Type-0 was a portable game, the HD version is being developed exclusively for home consoles. Square considered a PlayStation Vita version, but Tabata had realized when making the original Final Fantasy Type-0 that to bring out the best in the title a bigger screen would be more appropriate for the depth and the distance between the enemies and party members, and to better allow players see the small details. The reason Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster is available for Vita but Type-0 HD is not is because the former was developed on a PS3/Xbox 360 environment, while Type-0 HD was developed on a PS4/Xbox One environment; the difference in the technical specs would make it difficult to export the data to the Vita. Square Enix has no plans to release the game on the Vita, but Tabata has commented that when they tried Remote Play for Final Fantasy Type-0 HD and he saw the game on a Vita's screen it looked "awesome." If given the chance, Tabata would like to release the game on Vita.

Tabata told GameSpot that a PC version was up for discussion and the PAX 2014 demo is running on PC. In January 2015 he said there currently being no plans for a PC version but that he was interested in Steam.

The bulk of the content already exists and no new content is being added, but the game is being fine-tuned and balanced. The remake ended up being more work than Tabata had anticipated in terms of the quality that needed to be met, as well as the amount of work that needed doing. Tabata thought magic was too strong in the PSP version, but as Class Zero is a part of a magic wielding nation it'd be odd if their magic was weak. Therefore, the physical attack abilities learned in the latter half of the game have been augmented, and players can now choose between fighting with magic or fighting with physical attacks. When playing on the big screen the attacks are centered, and so the offensive power of enemy attacks has been raised since the player can now confirm their surroundings. The war gods (summons) have also been re-balanced. In the original it was difficult to use them if one didn't level them up, but now players should be able to summon them in rough spots to wipe out the enemies even when the summoned character is "incompetent" in battle.

After receiving feedback from both the press and the fans on the camera having issues and that they wished for the party members to move faster, the team sought to appease these demands. For the Jump Festa 2015 convention Square Enix had updated the camera, showcasing a video comparing the old camera versus the new which has been smoothed to resolve collision issues with geometry, and whose targeting has been improved to make both characters and enemies more visible. The developers had to get rid of almost all of the camera behavior and logic from the PlayStation Portable version, and recreate it because when switching from the small PlayStation Portable screen where the action is up close, and play it on the large TV screen, the inadequacies showed.

The team has also improved the battle specs with regards to each playable characters to make battles more intuitive and easier to play; it is now easier to dodge and deflect enemy attacks.

Final Fantasy Type-0 HD is an evolved version made from a fusion of the know-how of the Final Fantasy XV development team and talents of Hexadrive. Most of the assets come from the PSP version but the team is making use of DirectX 11's functions. The lighting now reacts to the laws of physics and the light and dark spectrum is greater than the PSP version. Character models used in the PSP version's cutscenes have been adapted as the playable models; following a work flow established for converting the high end CG to real time CG for Final Fantasy XV, the same know-how was used for Final fantasy Type-0.

The change in the coloring tone from the original red to the golden tone in the HD version was not completely planned from the beginning, but came from the new logo. Yusuke Naora designed the new logo as per Tabata's request and the team decided to unite the presentation of the new game under the golden tone from the new logo. The original idea was to change it from red to a warm golden tone, but the team found the graphics from PlayStation Portable would look too dark on a big screen and many details would be missed. They thus decided to brighten it up and the blue tone came in an effort to make everything as visible and sleek as possible.

Version Differences


The three main differences to the original are the new high-definition graphics, new controls for traditional controllers with improved camera and new difficulty modes, as many Japanese fans have given feedback on the game being too hard. The multiplayer option is removed from the HD version, with the magic and items that could only be obtained through multiplayer in the PSP version being made obtainable in the main game. Developing a new form of multiplayer for home console use would take another year in development, and the priority was to reproduce the requested content precisely and release it as fast as possible. Thus, the link up with Square Enix Members feature and save data inherited functions have been cut.

All the special accessories and costumes available for the original game via demos and Square Enix Members site and other means can now be acquired from the game itself. There will also be an extra costume, and new scenes unlocked in the Crimson Codex by doing missions.

Sequels and Spin-offs
"If I could do anything I'd like [as his next project after Final Fantasy XV], I'd want to make Final Fantasy Type-1 first," director Hajime Tabata has said in an interview. He has also said he would like to make it into a Final Fantasy subseries. Square Enix has registered trademarks for it in case there is willingness for continuation, and Tabata would like to make the "Type series" of all the things not viable in the mainline numbered series for an "alternative kind of Final Fantasy."

As soon as the PlayStation Portable version of Final Fantasy Type-0 was finished the team moved on to do prototyping and investigating based on DirectX 11 on whether they could take advantage of that to make a sequel. A whole game didn't materialize, it was just an experimental project that was canned halfway through. However, the expertise gained from that was used in the development of Final Fantasy XV.

Final Fantasy Agito, bearing the original name for Final Fantasy Type-0, is a game for iOS and Android platforms and a follow-up to Final Fantasy Type-0. The game is a legitimate entry in the Fabula Nova Crystallis: Final Fantasy series, and Hajime Tabata and Takeharu Ishimoto return as producer and composer respectively. A PlayStation Vita version named Final Fantasy Agito+ was to have been released in January 2015, but was delayed when the team encountered critical problems in the development environment of the Vita, meaning that the team had to wait for Sony to help correct the fault. When the fault is sorted, the company will fix a new release date.

A teaser called Rise from the Ashes is shown after the original ending of the game, suggesting a sequel.

On March 20, 2015, director Hajime Tabata revealed artwork for the sequel, codenamed Final Fantasy Type-Next, in an event in Hong Kong.

PlayStation Portable Release
The original version for PlayStation Portable was only released in Japan.

HD Release
The initial shipment of the HD re-release will come with a voucher to download a playable Final Fantasy XV demo titled Final Fantasy XV Episode Duscae, and will include both English and Japanese audio. The Japanese version will have voices and subtitles in Japanese and English. The North American version has voices in English and Japanese, and subtitles in English, French or Spanish. The Traditional Chinese/Korean version includes choice of English and Japanese voices, and Chinese and Korean subtitles. The European version has voices in English and Japanese, and subtitles in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish.

Japanese Release
The Japanese release of the HD version will be available in standard and collector's editions, as well as a special hardware bundle which includes a Final Fantasy Type-0-themed PlayStation 4 along with a copy of the game, a DualShock 4 controller, a Final Fantasy Type-0 theme, and a download code for the Final Fantasy XV demo. The bundle will be priced at ¥46,980 ($393) when it launches on March 19. There will also be an Ultimate Box collector's edition exclusive to the Japanese Square Enix e-store. Priced at ¥19,440 ($163), the set packs the game in a special school admissions-themed box with a The Best of Final Fantasy Type-0 HD and Final Fantasy Agito soundtrack, a school calendar that starts in April, a school ID, a set of Ace's magic cards, and a scarf with the Class Zero insignia.

Asian Release
Multiple versions were released in the Asian region. All versions includes English and Japanese voice acting but differs in subtitles. Those who pre-ordered a physical copy of the game received a limited-edition steelbook.

The English language version includes English, French and Spanish subtitles. The Asian localized version includes Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese and Korean subtitles. Both were released on March 17, 2015, the same day of the American release. The Japanese language version will include Japanese subtitles and will be released on March 19, 2015.

Below are the official prices (for PlayStation 4) for each country in the region:

North American Release
Final Fantasy Type-0 HD North American Collector's Edition will be available in limited quantities for $99.99. It will include a golden Steel Book case with Yoshitaka Amano's artwork on the cover that holds the game disc and a 15-track collection of songs picked by the game's composer, Takeharu Ishimoto; a 200-page manga that takes place alongside the opening of Final Fantasy Type-0; an 80-page art book with foreword written by director Hajime Tabata; and five life-size replicas of the cards Ace holds in promotional materials with the fronts featuring illustrations of the game's Eidolons: Odin, Ifrit, Shiva, Diabolos, and Bahamut.

Those who pre-order the Collector's Edition from Square Enix will be entered into a sweepstakes to win a Final Fantasy Type-0 custom PlayStation 4 or Xbox One, an art canvas of Ace, a Vermilion Bird lapel pin and runner up prizes.

European Release
The European version of the Collector's Edition will be the same as the North American one, but with white box rather than black. It will be available for £79.99.

Sales
In April 10th 2015 Square Enix announce Final Fantasy Type-0 HD had shipped a million copies worldwide.

Etymology
Hajime Tabata has stated that Type-0 was decided upon to reflect starting anew: Starting again from zero, a new series that is both like and unlike the traditional Final Fantasy games.

Using the suffix Type appears to draw upon the East Asian production model variant identifier suffix or "-Type", that began to saw use in the 1920s in Japanese and Chinese manufacturing, particularly in the military industries. With heavy war themes throughout, Type-0 likely draws upon the reputation of the Mitsubishi A6M Zero, or the Mitsubishi Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighter planes used in World War II, known among historians and aircraft aficionados to have been one of the greatest fighter planes built, and to where its reputation in battle helped elevate its shorthand identifier as something synonymous with quality and greatness.

In-game the Japanese names for the types of l'Cie are Type-A and Type-B. The "Type-0" can be taken to refer to Class Zero, the premier class of Agito Cadets from Akademeia who are the game's playable characters.

Trivia

 * The game was originally named Final Fantasy Agito XIII. Even though the title has changed, the term "Agito" still appears within the story. Square Enix has also released a prequel mobile game called Final Fantasy Agito.
 * In Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy Player Icons of Ace are still referred to as being from Final Fantasy Agito XIII, even though it was released after the name change to Final Fantasy Type-0. This is due to their appearance as such in Dissidia Final Fantasy, and the fact that the Data Transfer option between the two also transfers Player Icon data demands consistency between the two games.
 * The menu cursor in Final Fantasy Type-0 is the same as the one used in the original Final Fantasy X announcement trailer.
 * Final Fantasy Type-0 is the first entry in the series to be given a C rating by the Computer Entertainment Rating Organization in Japan, a Mature rating by the ESRB, and a MA15+ rating by the ACB.
 * The original official images of the cover art contain a typo on the word "includes." This has since been corrected.