If you’re like me and have been waiting for Final Fantasy Type-0 to hit North American shores, its pending arrival is exciting news. When I first saw the announcement for Type-O for the PSP back in 2011, I immediately needed to have it. I was sold with having the spotlight on 14 students and a presentation with a more mature aspect. I waited…and waited…until eventually I accepted the fact that it might not ever make it to North American soil. However, a little over 3 years later, I got my answer. Not only could I get the 14 students and the more mature presentation, but also a remastered version for my PS4. It was pure joy. While it is exciting news, there are some things you should know about the game itself and its HD version before you take the plunge. Without further delay, check out these eight things you need to know about Final Fantasy Type-0 HD:
It’s the First M-Rated Final Fantasy Game
One of the special features of Type-0 is its darker and more mature presentation and themes compared to other Final Fantasy titles. It revolves heavily on war aspects relating to its brutality, choices, consequences, life and death. It’s not merely exclusive to the combat where blood is definitely not hard to find, but also through its environment, characters, and storytelling. There’s plenty of blood, action, and undertones that make Type-0 a chilling and different type of Final Fantasy game.
Pre-ordering Is the Only Way to Get the Final Fantasy XV Demo
The long awaited instalment in the main Final Fantasy series is getting a demo, but obtaining it isn’t as simple as heading to an online store and downloading it. This time around, the demo will only be available to people who purchase Type-0 HD. Whether you choose to get the physical or digital copy, there are some restrictions as to who can get it depending on the number available or time frame. If you choose to go with the physical copy, it’s recommended that you pre-order the game as the demos are limited to day one editions of type-0 HD. On the other hand, if you get it digitally you’ll have the first two months to purchase it and obtain the code. The demo is said to be at least 2-4 hours long depending on how much you explore or rush through it. No data will carry over to the full game when it’s released, but there is a possibility of unlocking some perks and goodies.
14 Characters to Choose From
Like Final Fantasy XIII, Type-0 lets you take control of a party consisting of three members of your choosing. However, Type-0 gives you a larger roster to choose from so you can create your ultimate trio. All students from the Zero Class, each of the fourteen characters have different abilities, weapon, and magic combinations making each of them unique and ultimately how unique your party will be. Depending on which characters you choose to make your party with, not only will the look of your party differ, but also the way you’ll fight. You can have your team focus on tactics in damage, defense, or even long range abilities – the choice is yours. Who you choose to be in your party and how you choose to implement them in battle is part of the exciting features of Type-0.
Similar Battle System to Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
If you’ve played Crisis Core or even watched gameplay videos of it, you’ll know that its battle system has a much faster pace and uses an interesting slot machine-like mechanic. While the slot machine-like mechanic doesn’t make a return, Type-0 uses a real-time, action-based battle system similar to Crisis Core. However, unlike Crisis Core in which you singularly control Zack, Type-0 lets you have a party of three to freely control and swap amongst as stated above. You’ll run around and time your attacks to perfectly (or horribly) land each blow. Additionally, with your party of three, there are special abilities that can be initiated as a team aside from ones that you can initiate singularly. The battle system is yet another action-packed and fast-paced upgrade that North American’s can look forward to experiencing.
They Ditched Coop Mode
While coop was available on the original PSP version of Type-0, it has been announced that it won’t make an appearance in its HD version on the PS4 and Xbox One. I mean, it’s sort of understandable and almost too good to be true if it did appear in the HD version, but a little hope doesn’t hurt. It was stated that if coop was to make an appearance in the HD version, the release date would have been pushed because of things like needing to rebuild the mode entirely for it to be in HD and the switch between the PSP’s ad-hoc function to internet function for the PS4. It would’ve been nice to battle alongside some friends, but I guess we can’t always have nice things.
More Difficulty Levels
Another change from the original PSP version to its HD counterpart on the PS4 and Xbox One is that there’s a bit of a change to the difficulty levels. Originally, only Normal, Hard, and Impossible were available for you to choose from. In the new HD version, however, we get to choose between Easy, Normal, Hard, and Super Hard. This might seem like small news to most, but there was a surprising amount of complaints that Type-0 was actually too hard. A little example of its difficulty is that if a character in your party dies, a phoenix down isn’t going to save them – they’re gone for the rest of the mission.
It’s Part of Fabula Nova Crystallis Series
If you didn’t know, Final Fantasy XIII trilogy, the upcoming Final Fantasy XV, and Final Fantasy Type-0 are all under the Fabula Nova Crystallis umbrella. What does that mean? It means that the games within Fabula Nova Crystallis might not necessarily share the same worlds, they share a common mythology. Each game might not regurgitate exactly what other games might have shown or revealed to us, but instead has their role in showing a different side of the mythology. At times, it might be more of it or even something new. It makes all the games within it have some an underlying connection through the mythology, but each can interpret them differently and have its role vary. Gives us something to look forward to, to see how the presentation of the mythology will differ from the Final Fantasy XIII trilogy and later in Final Fantasy XV.
It Looks Stunning
Type-0 HD is a remaster of the Japan exclusive PSP version of the game that was released in 2011. Four years later, not only do we get an English translation and voice over, but also a remastered version for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Considering the remaster is done from a PSP game, tons of work has to be put into it for it to be at least decent looking. However, what we’re getting definitely looks like more than decent looking and instead downright beautiful. Re-rendering, improvement on lighting, a larger color palate, and camera angle adjustments is just a handful of what the Final Fantasy Type-0 HD has to offer.