Rumor: Former GRIN/Square Enix title 'Fortress' tech demo leaked

by Griffin McElroy on Jan 17th 2010 1:30PM

It's been awhile since we've heard anything about GRIN's "unreleased masterpiece" -- a collaboration with Square Enix (and assumed Final Fantasy off-shoot) titled Fortress. An anonymous report released last September claimed the title was currently in the hands of another, unnamed developer. Yesterday, some tech demo footage purportedly displaying the fruits of said studio's labor landed on YouTube. We've posted said video after the jump.

Without any inclination of who is responsible for developing Fortress -- if anyone is developing Fortress -- it's impossible for us to test the credibility of this video. The original poster, YouTube user DiipuSurotu, doesn't mention where the video came from, only stating that it's a tech demo for an "official, but currently unannounced sequel to Final Fantasy XII." We've contacted Square Enix to see what they think of the footage.

It doesn't really look like your traditional Squeenix fare, but the character models certainly resemble those featured in the leaked concept art that surfaced last year. Oh, also? There's totally a Chocobo at the 1:15 mark. That's Final Fantasy-y enough for us.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

Source

Tags: final-fantasy, final-fantasy-xii, fortress, grin, rumor, square-enix, tech-demo, video, youtube

Reader Comments (83)

It happens after every FF. They give it high scores, mostly because it has FF in the name, then 5 months later there's articles all over these sites titled "Why jrpgs need to evolve" or "10 things the next FF needs" and it's always solutions to problems that FF and most other jrpgs have.

Error occured, and this post is relatively new! D=

You're right. Sorry for accusing you Joystiq!

Western developers making this game? It might actually be good...

Yeah it had a chance of being good with a western dev, but we'll never know now I guess. I wish Squeenix would let a big western dev work on it, someone who could get away with making a FF game their way and not have Square holding them back.

But the developers that (allegedly) have their hands on it now, might be western as well.

All in all it looks like a pretty cool experience so far.

I apologize. That was my fault...sorry Joystiq.

By the way, the Chocobo scene looked like it could pull of some cool moments in a huge battle scene, especially with the camera angle.

Oh dear, I wish FFXIII had this kind of combat. I love turn-based combat, but this combat is in the vein of titles like the recently released Risen and Demon's Souls. Me likey.

Other than that, yup, that's a tech demo.

Grin wasn't the greatest studio of all time and you can't really go by anything from a tech demo... But if I did go by the tech demo, the combat sort of reminds me of Elder Scrolls (With better animations), which isn't a good thing.

Oops, didn't mean to reply to you... At least it's sorta relevant to your comment.

"the combat sort of reminds me of Elder Scrolls (With better animations), which isn't a good thing"

That would be a great thing, at least much better than turn based combat. Let's face it, turn based combat in all RPGs needs to die. It only ever existed because the consoles at the time couldn't handle real time combat, but they obviously can now.

It's time to ditch that shitty archaic system and evolve. You can have real combat and still have it be a JRPG. There's way more elements to that genre than shitty, stale combat.

@ tmac

Reading your comment, I was flabbergasted. I thought to myself, "what kind of fuckwit thinks turn-based strategy needs to die?"

Then I looked at who posted it. Whew! It's just tmac.

I didn't say turn based strategy did I? I said turn based combat in RPGs. It's a relic of the early 90s, when consoles couldn't do any better. Every other genre has changed since then, except jrpgs. It's pathetic.

Almost as pathetic as masking it with weapons overheating or reloading bullets...

I mean who in the Hell reloads bullets anymore????

So you're saying turn based combat hasn't evolved since the 90's yet turn based strategy has? That makes a lot of sense /sarcasm

@ tmac

I meant turn-based combat since, yes, that's what you said. Sadly, I noticed too late and couldn't edit. The point is this: just because something (in this case, combat) is done one way you like, (in real time), does not make irrelevant other perspectives. It's like saying

"Hey man, why are you eating vanilla ice cream!? Haven't you heard of CHOCOLATE?! Back in the day, ice-cream makers could only make one kind, but now, we have the technology to make so much more...every other flavor has grown and changed since then, but not vanilla. It's pathetic."

The fact is that turn-based combat is DIFFERENT GAMEPLAY than real-time. It involves different facets of strategy, (hence, my 'typo') and allows for--here's that word again--a different way to play!

I fully respect your preference for one thing over another, but there's room enough for both.

Tmac... can't you, for once.. now, I'm pleading here. Can't you, for once just not post in anything related to FF and let people just enjoy the thread without rehashing the same comments over and over?

I get it. You don't like SE, FF, or turn-based battles. You think they are the worst thing to happen to humanity since the discovery of "insert whatever." Learn when to leave well enough alone.

It's like.. I've got this big bowl of lucky charms on the table waiting for me.. I just got out of prison in North Korea for wrongs I didn't commit and man.. am I about to enjoy this. Haven't even poured any milk on it or anything yet.. it's just sitting in the bowl, waiting for me, nice and dry and crispy.

Something pulls me away from it for a brief moment, forcing me to postpone my glee. I come back to find way too much milk poured in, to the point of overflowing, you've shit in it and left a note that says "enjoy! your buddy, T-mac."

That's what you posting on these articles is like. You aren't saying anything you haven't said before.. if you were making a NEW constructive argument I wouldn't single you out, but you're not.

I like to think of Tmac as the most popular girl in high school, has this huge popularity complex, expects everyone to listen to her and agree with what she says.

Hiroken, thanks to that beautiful comment I will now put everything Tmac says in terms of Ice Cream.

That said I dislike turn based combat because I'd like to think that if I am skilled I should be able to prevent myself from being attacked rather than just take it and hope that it all play's out well in the end.

"Every other genre has changed since then, except jrpgs."

If you knew enough about the genre, you'd know that there are games out there that do just that.

Say hello to Namco's Tales of Series, and Star Ocean. But how would you know that?

Tmac. We get it. You don't like J/RPGs/Turn-based games. You don't have to comment on every related article to reminds us.

I just wanted to pop back in and say that I still love turn-based combat. Would I prefer something like this? If it's well done -- sure. The last JRPG I played and really got into was Lost Odyssey and it had a turn-based battle system, so I welcome that with open arms.

My biggest issue with JRPG's these days is more regarding story, character designs, and overall cliches that have plagued the genre for far too long, imo. There are some great JRPG's that break this mold, however. I do want to state, though, it's not a bad thing that Japanese devs stick to what's popular within the genre and what other people have wanted out of JRPG's for years, but I'd just like to see some devs spread their wings a bit.

I'll take turn-based combat over mediocre real time combat, which seems to be about the best that many RPG developers can do. I'm yet to play an RPG with real time battles that had combat which was anywhere on par with a non-RPG I would spend money on.

Course the fact that they're RPGs and have got a (hopefully good) story and ample amounts of level-whoring for me usually lets me overlook uninspired combat. Still, in a perfect world....

I think tmac's main gripe with jrpg's is that they all feel the same, the same strategy always works; have a fighter, a healer and a magic user and keep pressing X, you'll be fine. If you are going to do the same stuff over and over again why not at least have full control like in Mass Effect, right?

This is a wrong stereotype however. Take Persona 4 for example, a highly acclaimed turn based jrpg that's pretty recent despite being on PS2 and way better than stuff like Star Ocean 4. The difference lies in the strategy, you have to know the ins and outs of the game and conventional jrpg strategies are not going to work. You'll have to carefully construct new strategies against bosses and even normal enemies or you'll get your ass kicked. You won't find such strategic depth in Mass Effect. It wouldn't work without turn-based combat, you have to think about your moves, like in a chess game.

Both are great games, but it just isn't the same genre.

Neat footage, but other than the Choco there's really not much that screams Final Fantasy. I'm sure if it was some offshoot game it will get picked up my another developer.

well, you should look at the leaked artwork a little, there are ALOT of chocobos in there + a moogle + Ashe (!), unfortunately she lengthened her skirt + a whole bunch of those floaty, crystally things Squeenix really seems to like.

It's got a little too much of a "Battle of Helm's Deep" feel for me though, if I look at the artwork, but who knows, it could've worked out. I like the gargantuan Marlboro :D

Looks gorgeous, and the gameplay resembles an open-world Demon's Souls. This might have been awesome.

I'm skeptical about the FFXII connection, though. The costumes certainly don't look like anything out of Ivalice, but I guess that could happen when you change character designers. And the chocobo does have proportions similar to FFXII...

Whoops, this is the first time I looked through all the concept art and saw Ashe and the moogle. FFXII sequel sounds a lot more plausible now. Bring back Balthier!

Well, not really much shown here, but the chocobo part was cool, and I got an almost SotC feeling from when he was riding it.

I got into RPG's because of Japanese developers. but if they want me to continue to buy their games they need to start making games that look more like this, than what they are actually releasing.

Nobody wants to play as a 23 year old guy that looks like a 12 year old boy.

Also, the western developers have the leveling/control system down better.

Yeah, I really think that JRPG's sell mostly on account of Anime fanboy/girls/Otakus, which is also the same people that hype them.

but i dont know, i haven't really fully enjoyed an FF game since FF8, yet i keep on buying the damn things.

Sorta funny, since when I saw the character in the tech demo I was like "Man, I hope he isn't final - I hate being stupid bulky dudes"

Haha. I sadly agree.

Yeah it did look much better than FF13. It looked like it had actual real combat too, instead of turn based...which that alone would make it better.

Out of curiosity, what's your stance regarding Final Fantasy Versus XIII?

It's a Final Fantasy game with real time combat, after all. Think it might maybe could possibly turn out okay?

(P.S. I actually quite like turned based combat. I find it fun, when done well.)

Versus XIII has real time combat in theory. Since nothing has been shown of the game other than CG cutscenes, I'm not going to comment on it. It doesn't even exist to me as far as I'm concerned until they show something real.

But that being said, I don't trust the japanese to get real time combat done right. They haven't proved they can do it yet, and I don't think they will this time but I'll at least keep an open mind and let them have a shot at impressing me with gameplay footage.

Japanese devs made Devil May Cry and Bayonetta - I think they'd both count as example of real time combat done right. And I haven't played it myself, but Demon's Souls has gotten a lot of fans.

I don't like either of those games, but that being said those games aren't RPGs.

Demon's Souls is a solid game, but even while the combat isn't bad, it's not why it gets all that recognition. It's real time combat in it's most basic form (block/dodge then slash).

tmac, I have no idea how you can like God of War without liking Bayonetta and Devil May Cry also. It's the same fucking game with different skins.

I dunno, I'm definitely enjoying GoW (only picked it up with the ps3 remix) and I thought Bayonetta's demo was great enough for me to preorder it, but I probably wouldn't lump them together. It might be the difference in focus on combos or Bayonetta's ridiculousness vs GoW's serious businessness, but I probably wouldn't recommend Bayonetta to a GoW fan, blind.

Now this looks like a FF game I would actually consider playing. Real combat, and maybe even open world although that could have just been the tech demo part.

I'm disappointed that we didn't get to see how it turns out.

Combat looks very nice, yes. And the sound effects were awesome.

You should try Crystal Bearers, then. Aside from being short as hell, it meets both those requirements.

Yeah but the footfall is off and I don't like how he hits people through their shield, but obviously this is work in progress so I don't mind.

Also his shield is cool.

So, Demon's Souls + Final Fantasy + Lord of the Rings? Sounds cool.

It's a tech demo, not Crysis.

I actually love this. I've been looking for an RPG like this for a while now. If they reall y do release this, it will be refreshing to see a mixture of western and Japanese elements, something rarely seen in this industry. I'm also loving the fact that Lord of the Rings was a sure inspiration for some of the settings. Very nice.

Square Enix hasn't failed me before, and I really, really hope this releases, because I'm very interested.

I feel like I've been saying this alot. Hmm...FAIDE.

No.

Sequel to FFXII you say? why did they get shut down :( FF12 is one of my favourites, i admit vaan was a terrible main character but it was really enjoyable. last time i checked my main save clocked in at 100 hours game time.

Argh this is making me want to play it again

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Rumor: Former GRIN/Square Enix title 'Fortress' tech demo leaked

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