"I'd say event sequences are split 50/50 between realtime and FMV. For large scale events, FMV just works better."

 March 15th, 2001 - Square boffins Yusuke Naora (art director), Tsuchida Toshiro (battle director), Kazunari Nojima (scenario writer), Tetsuya Nomura (character designer), and Yoshinori Kitase (chief director) all sit round the table and discuss the biggest game of the year.

Uematsu on the game's music and sounds:

Uematsu-san: "I think the voices of Tidus and Yuna are well done. They'll take the RPG genre to a new level by changing the way music is needed in future RPG's. For example, sometimes melodies will play along with the spoken dialogue, but very quietly. If the music is too loud during these sequences, it would get in the way, so we had to approach the music differently. After all, the spoken dialogue is paramount, so when a character starts talking the background music will automatically decrease volume. Compared to previous games in the series, X has the most spots where there's silence. But it also has the second largest number of songs in a Final Fantasy game.

... and goes on to talk about switching to stereo:

Uematsu-san: I think it sounds more cinematic, but everyone's favorite theme songs such as Chocobo are included. There is a song sung by the characters in Final Fantasy X called 'Song of Prayer.' While the game isn't a musical, everyone sings in videogames for some reason. [laughs..] We ended up doing 10 different arrangements of 'Song of Prayer' alone. Until now, sounds effects were done in monaural, but in 'X' we've switched to stereo and it's very different. Now the effects really add to the atmosphere, and they're key to the story.

DengekiPS: Many people are surprised that you're using spoken dialogue in Final Fantasy X, can you tell us how you came to this decision?

Kitase-san: Our staff was divided on the issue.

Nojima-san: The truth is, Mr. Kitase wanted to begin incorporating spoken dialogue from Final Fantasy VII.

Kitase-san: I thought it would be natural to use real voices for the characters, but we never had time to record dialogue before.

DengekiPS: But Final Fantasy X will include all spoken dialogue?

Kitase-san: Yes, but we had to also decide whether to include subtitles in English or Japanese, and how much town's people would speak.

DengekiPS: So how did you decide to balance everything, and what did the staff think of the final results?

Kitase-san: Well, we couldn't have everyone speaking, including shopkeepers. [laughs..] Obviously, important events will have all spoken dialogue, but voice is also used in a variety of places. Everyone has been listening to the recorded samples from the beginning, so the voices aren't really a surprise to the team. What we did was stay away from using pop-icons for voice actors, we didn't want people to associate the characters with other people. Since we used traditional actors and this was their first time voice-over work, it was a difficult process.

DengekiPS: What about you Mr. Nojima, what did you think of the voice acting in relation to the scenario writing you've done for FFX?

Nojima-san: I think the addition of voices really has an influence on the game. Hearing lines spoken instead of reading them can change the way things are perceived. So we had to revise the storyline several times.

DengekiPS: Will players be able to turn off the voices or skip through them?

Kitase-san: Except for a few areas, you can skip over the voices. You can also turn them off completely in the game configuration.

DengekiPS: We understand the world maps will be completely 3D in Final Fantasy X, does this mean there will be no real view-change when walking into towns?

"There is a subtle change when you enter dungeons and towns, but the transition process is far less noticeable than the map system."

Naora-san: Yes, this time we decided to go completely polygonal. There's no real 'world map' equivalent in Final Fantasy X. In previous games, icons represented towns and places and the game would load these places separately as you entered them. In Final Fantasy X, towns and places are rendered as-is on the field. There is a subtle change when you enter dungeons and towns, but the transition process is far less noticeable than the map system.

DengekiPS: This new system has been called 'Active World,' how will it affect camera usage?

Naora-san: Until now, everything was prerendered so the action could only be viewed from one angle. Because Final Fantasy X is totally polygonal, the camera changes its perspective and corresponds to the movements of the characters. You can't control the camera yourself, but the system automatically selects the best angle.

DengekiPS: Getting back to the voice dialogue for a second, will the 'Facial Motion System' make spoken dialogue look more realistic?

Kitase-san: Yes, the animation staff suggested this. If we were going to add voices, we had to add facial expression also, they said. [laughs..] Using the capabilities of the PlayStation2, we can do facial expressions and voices all in real-time.

DengekiPS: Does this mean all sequences will be rendered on the fly?

Kitase-san: No, not quite. I'd say event sequences are split 50/50 between realtime and FMV. For large scale events, FMV just works better. The realtime events are perfect for when we want something to occur without interrupting the flow of the game.

DengekiPS: In some of the screens you've released so far, we see 'Shin' (spirits, Gods) have a deep connection to the game?

Noora-san: Right, we have Shin that represent earthquakes and typhoons and they appear frequently in the game. Players should think of them as a recurring theme in the game. On the Final Fantasy X logo for example, we have Yuna and the embodiment of a 'Shin.'

DengekiPS: Will players be able to summon these 'Shin'?

Kitase-san: Yes, but there are certain qualifications the player must meet. Aside from Yuna, there will be other characters than can summon 'Shin.' I can't go into specifics about that yet though.

DengekiPS: You've said previously that 'Ultimate Summon Spells' can be used to destroy some 'Shin,' can you explain this?

Kitase-san: For magic users, ultimate summon spells will be the things you really search for. Yuna is the only one who can use them. On your travels, Tidus is essentially her bodyguard.

DengekiPS: How did you come up with the character models for Tidus and Yuna?

Nomura-san: In the past, we've had characters on the fringe that were really cool. For Tidus, I wanted someone completely different from Cloud or Squall, a mischievous type. For Yuna, I wanted her to resemble Rinoa from VII because of her innocence and honesty.

DengekiPS: The characters look much more Asian this time, don't they?

Nomura-san: Yes, I was asked to make them look that way. I did try to vary the characters, so they don't all look the same. In the case of Tidus, I really wanted him to stand out from the others. He's a blitz-ball player, which is like a mixture of basketball and soccer. It's played with teams of six, and you pass and score goals like normal sports. It's similar to rugby as well, so there's an element of violence to it. [laughs..]