Joystiq

Vagrant Story creator Matsuno leaves Level-5

JC Fletcher — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 14:30:00 EST

Yasumi Matsuno, creator of Final Fantasy Tactics and Vagrant Story, as well as Final Fantasy XII, has left his most recent job at Level-5 after just over a year. While at the company, Matsuno directed Crimson Shroud, one of the games in the 3DS Guild01 collection, which will be released separately as an eShop game this year in North America and Europe.

"I'd like to formally announce my departure from Level-5, effective last month," Matsuno announced via Twitter. "With my work done on the domestic and overseas version of my latest 3DSWare game, it was good timing for me to step down and take a short break in order to recharge for my next project. My deepest thanks to everyone at Level-5 and everyone playing our games for your continued support." When asked what he's doing next, Matsuno replied "Sorry, it's a secret ..."

Vagrant Story creator Matsuno leaves Level-5 originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 08 Nov 2012 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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No More Heroes, Seaman and Vagrant Story creators making Level-5's 'Guild 01'

JC Fletcher — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 09:45:00 EST

Level-5 has assembled a dream team of unconventional game designers for the 3DS "variety" game Guild 01, out in Japan next year. Four creators are each designing a single game, to be collected on a single cart.

From Suda 51 comes Kaiho Shojo, a touch-controlled mech shooter starring a schoolgirl who is also "president" of Japan, and operates an 11-foot-tall winged mech. This game features animation from the studio Bones, suggesting a high-budget approach to these games (which are close to being considered "minigames").

Yoot Saito, creator of SimTower, Seaman, and Odama, contributes Air Porter, a game about managing luggage at an airport. There's really no overarching theme to these things!

Yasumi Matsuno, the man behind Ogre Battle, Vagrant Story, and Final Fantasy XII, is making a "darkness fantasy" RPG called Crimson Shroud. Matsuno is actually working full-time at Level-5 now. And, weirdest of all, comedian Yoshiyuki Hirai (from the group America Zarigani) is designing a game about running an RPG-style item shop, called Rental Bukiya de Omasse.

These details originate from Famitsu leaks; we'll certainly learn more this weekend at Level-5's event.

No More Heroes, Seaman and Vagrant Story creators making Level-5's 'Guild 01' originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 12 Oct 2011 09:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tactics Ogre being remade for PSP by original staff

JC Fletcher — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 21:00:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

Square Enix is remaking the original Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together, for PSP, under the (non-Queen lyric!) title Tactics Ogre: Wheel of Fortune. According to Siliconera's summary of the Famitsu article announcing it, it's more than a simple port, with many of the original Quest staff returning to work on it -- including director Yasumi Matsuno, who basically disappeared after leaving Final Fantasy XII's development, only to show up as a writer for MadWorld in 2009.

Akihiko Yoshida, most recently behind the character designs forFinal Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light, is doing new design work for Tactics Ogre, and composers Hitoshi Sakimoto and Masaharu Iwata are once again providing the soundtrack. The game is being expanded and redesigned, with new characters, storyline elements, and upgrades to the battle system. The ten-on-ten battles can now support up to 12 party members against 18 enemies.

Siliconera notes that the English title "Wheel of Fortune" was trademarked in Japan, suggesting plans for an international release.

Tactics Ogre being remade for PSP by original staff originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 21 Jul 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Yasumi Matsuno resurfaces to discuss work on MadWorld

JC Fletcher — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 12:20:00 EST

Ogre Battle, Final Fantasy Tactics, and Vagrant Story creator Yasumi Matsuno left his position as director of Final Fantasy XII in the middle of development, and has been quiet ever since -- until last month, when the (weird) news came out that he had been contracted to write for ... MadWorld.

On the IGN MadWorld blog, Matsuno posted about the narrative for the brawler. Under contradictory advice from the producer and the development team, Matsuno came up with the game show idea. The development team wanted a world where violence was accepted -- but the producer (not named, but probably Atsushi Inaba) wanted a world where "Violence should ultimately be denied in the end." To comply with both of those ideas, Matsuno devised DeathWatch.

"In the extraordinary world of the DeathWatch games," Matsuno explains, "violence and brutality is not only required, but accepted. However, once you step out of the show, the world outside is ruled by normal conventions. In the conclusion of the post, Matsuno says that "it may be a little difficult to catch everything in the story by only playing the game once." We're happy to hear about some replay value!

For more from the World: Over on the Platinum Games MadWorld site (which can now be viewed on the iPhone!), director Shigenori Nishikawa explains the motivation for adding the comedic narration to the game.

Yasumi Matsuno resurfaces to discuss work on MadWorld originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 05 Mar 2009 12:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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