Was there any specific part of the game that, now looking back on it, you're really happy with how it transitioned from the old version to now? For example, the music or the interface... any specific part you can point to?
Tanaka: The most prominent feature of the transition was, of course, the graphics, which changed from 2D to 3D. It's more a 2.5D. Even though it does use polygons it still keeps the warmth of the dot graphics that used to be in the NES version. It still retains the feel of an NES game in a lot of ways, and that is also something that the fans appreciated about this remake of the game.
This is the first time for this game to come to the US. Alongside the plans for FFV and FFVI, we'll soon have seen remakes of every classic FF game. Where do you go from here?
Tanaka: FFIV, V and VI have been ported to the GBA. As you have seen FFIII is not a port but more of a remake. In the future, since FFIII has been received pretty well so far, we're actually considering remaking some of the other Final Fantasygames.
Since you've been at Square since the very beginning, could you tell us what your favorite Final Fantasy game is?
Tanaka: I consider Final Fantasy III to be one of the major turning points in the series so it's a title that stayed with me for a long time. Final Fantasy XI is more or less an extension of some things I wanted to do with Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy II that have been realized now, so those would be the titles that I especially like.
What sorts of extras have been put in? In other remakes there have been extra dungeons and similar things.
Asano: Aside from the big change to 3D graphics, the new things in this rendition of the game would be the unique look of the four main protagonists, and the addition of personalities to them. Of course, that affects the story in some ways. There was also a systematic change to the balance between the jobs, so that you can take any of the jobs till the end of the game, which wasn't the case in the original version. Of course, the physical features of the DS, enabling us to use the two-screen scheme to play the game and also a few Wi-Fi features that actually affect a few things in the game.
Can you give us some information about the Wi-Fi features of the game?
Asano: Well, the main things you can do with the Wi-Fi and wireless communication features of the DS is to communicate with friends in North America and talk about each other's progress in the game and such. There are a few other hidden features that can only be accessed, for example, if one of your characters master a certain job, while taking it through level 99 and all of that. That would unlock a lot of special events and special quests. You can also send mail to [characters] in the game which will also unlock a few other events and quests in the game.
