was a 2014 role-playing video game developed and published by Square Enix for mobile devices. The game's story was set in the universe of Final Fantasy Type-0, and was an entry in the Fabula Nova Crystallis subseries. A downloadable episodic game similar to Final Fantasy Dimensions, it featured a turn-based combat system encouraging both single-player exploration and multiplayer combat. There was a day-night cycle tied to the real-world time of day, and it featured a social element whereby talking with and befriending certain characters advanced the player's ranking in the game.
The game, which acted as a companion to Type-0, was set in the world of Orience during a time of war between its four nations. The story was seen through the eyes of a player-created Cadet entering the Rubrum Magical Academy during a time of war, and chosen to become the Agito, a figure destined to save Orience from destruction. The original protagonists of Type-0 appeared in different roles and acted as secondary characters. The story was intended to be played repeatedly, tying into the nature of the game's world and the eventual culmination of a player becoming the Agito.
The game was developed around director Hajime Tabata's original concept for Final Fantasy Type-0 as a mobile game which would give players easy access to a universe within the Fabula Nova Crystallis series and would be influenced by player choice. The title stems from Type-0s earlier title Final Fantasy Agito XIII. Many of Type-0s staff returned, with Takeharu Ishimoto composing new music for the title, and former level designer Masayasu Nishida and texture artist Sayoko Hoshino returning respectively as producer and art director.
The game came online in May 2014, and remained active until its servers were shut down in November the following year. Upon release in Japan, the game had 500,000 registered users within a week, and one million by November of the same year, but apparently numbers dropped after later negative impressions. Japanese and Western journalists were positive at its release. The game did not continue in its current form, and was replaced by a new version. Planned versions for the PlayStation Vita and Windows devices were scrapped, along with an announced localization. Its successor, an online multiplayer game titled Final Fantasy Awakening, was released in 2016.
Gameplay
Final Fantasy Agito was a role-playing video game where a player-created character, the "Cadet", sets out on missions across the world of Orience. The player could choose the gender and physical appearance of their character, along with their style of clothing, hair color, skin tone, voice and weapons. During play, the in-game time of day was synchronized with local real-world time. The Cadet began the game by exploring the Rubrum Magical Academy, but was eventually able to explore Orience as a whole. The game employed a leveling system whereby interaction with students and teachers, combined with performance during missions, raised the Cadet from their starting rank within the Academy. Recurring creatures such as small flying Moogles and galliform riding birds called Chocobos appeared. A Moogle accompanied the Cadet around the Peristylium, while Chocobos could be ridden during later parts of the game. Navigation was handled either by a virtual control stick on the touch screen, or by tapping an area of the visible game environment. The Cadet's bedroom acted as a central hub, while the fountain area within the Academy was where many non-player characters (NPCs) could be found and talked with.
Conversations with the previous game's protagonists increased the Cadet's standing with them: if the player tapped a special button on-screen during timed sections of the conversation, the bond statistic with the chosen character would be increased. The relationships built up by the player triggered special character interactions during the final chapter. Agito featured sub-missions, the game's version of side-quests, some of which changed depending on the real-world day of the week. They were given by NPCs, and could range from crafting new spells and equipment to performing certain actions within a combat mission. Completing quests yielded rewards such as new equipment and items.
Unlike Final Fantasy Type-0, Agito used a turn-based combat system. The Attack menu, which appeared during battles, featured a gauge, which when full enabled the character to attack the targeted enemy, and buttons displayed for various physical and magical attacks; these abilities could be chained together into combos that, once used, took time to recharge. Pressing the "Ability" icon triggered assigned skills, while "Chain" abilities enabled the player to preset sequences of attacks and use them consecutively. Using certain setups rewarded the player with in-game bonuses. Also available was Type-0s Kill Sight ability, in which precisely timed actions enabled the Cadet to kill an enemy with one hit. The game also gave the option for players to adjust battle speed to their personal preference. Using a special item, players could temporarily summon both NPCs with whom they had a strong relationship and summoned monsters called Eidolons to deal high damage to enemies.
During single-player segments, the player could select two AI companions after selecting missions, which added to the player's total score at the end of these missions. During missions, the companions could be issued with Team Commands, which could either order them to attack or increase healing abilities while lowering their defensive capabilities. Each attempt at a mission used up the Cadet's stamina meter, which allowed a maximum of three missions at a time. The game used a job system similar to other entries in the Final Fantasy series, where different equipment and weapons alter a character's abilities in battle. Specific skills accompanied each job. Players could create multiple equipment sets, with each item and weapon ranked according to its rarity in-game. Materials gathered during missions could be used to upgrade the player's equipment and abilities.
Synopsis
Setting and characters Final Fantasy Agito takes place in Orience, a land divided between four nations, or Crystal States, which have existed in a state of near-constant war for the past thousand years: the Dominion of Rubrum, the Militesi Empire, the Kingdom of Concordia and the Lorican Alliance. The cause of the war is the nation's crystals, objects of magical and political power that bestow different blessings on each nation, and choose people to become magical warriors known as l'Cie, which serve and protect their respective crystal. The land of Orience is locked in a stable time loop, whereby events repeat constantly, then reset and begin all over again with minor variations. The reason is an experiment set up by the deities Pulse and Lindzei to find the doorway to the afterlife for their creator. The time in which Agito occurs is referred to as "the first cycle that surpasses the spiral of 600 million", being at the very beginning of Orience's spiral of repeating history. Agitos initial events differ from Type-0 as it was to have been directed to a history where the Agito is born, making it an alternate story using the same setting. The game's events across its lifetime are split across two "phases", or cycles of Orience's history. A key event at the end of each cycle is Tempus Finis, an event in which Orience is destined to end and be reborn.
The main character is a player-created Cadet selected for training as Agito, a prophesied messiah said to prevent Orience's destruction during an event known as Tempus Finis. Interacting with the Cadet on his journey are Ace, the previous game's main protagonist; Miyu Kagerohi, the representative for Cadets within the Vermillion Peristylium; Lean Hampelmann, a Militesi scientist; and Tono Mahoroha, a mysterious and cold young woman from Rubrum. The previous game's main cast, Class Zero, as well as Machina Kunagiri and Rem Tokimiya, former members of Class Zero who acted as Type-0s narrators, appear in supporting roles as students in other classes. Other characters include Marshal Cid Aulstyne, leader of the Milites Empire and the game's central antagonist; Arecia Al-Rashia, supervisor of magic at the Peirstylim and servant of Pulse; and Gala, unseen leader of the Lulusath Army and servant of Lindzei.
Plot In the First Phase, the Cadet is saved from a Behemoth attack by Ace, who brings them to the safety of Akademeia. There they are introduced to everyday life and sent out on a mission against the Behemoth. Then war is declared against Milites after its aggressive actions against Rubrum and Lorica, and the Cadet learns of Class Zero. Concordia forms an alliance with Milites, severely hampering Rubrum's efforts. Rubrum then musters their forces, including their powerful magical warriors, and conquer all three Crystal States. In the final chapter, Rubrum's victory over the other Crystal States causes the arrival of Tempus Finis, and Miyu is made into a l'Cie and renamed Judge Myuria: her mission is to test the Cadet to see if they are worthy of becoming the Agito. The Cadet is victorious, but it is judged the Agito has not appeared and Tempus Finis consumes the world, resetting it for a new cycle of history.
In the Second Phase, events play in vaguely the same fashion, but there are minor variations: Lorica forms an alliance with Milites rather than being conquered, and while Concordia offers an alliance, Imperial sympathizers within Concordia orchestrate the Queen's death and ally with Concordia. After overcoming Lorica and Concordia, the Rubrum forces storm the Militesi capital and Cid is killed. Before dying, he warns the Cadet and his comrades of the Crystals' role in Orience's cycle. When Tempus Finis arrives, Ace goes alone to find the one mentioned by Cid. He is himself marked as a l'Cie and transformed into Judge Ace. As with the previous cycle, he is defeated, but Tempus Finis arrives and the cycle continues. In a final side story episode, various additional stories revolving around the main cast are revealed. Among the events presented are a talk between Myuria and Arecia as to whether to continue the experiment, and then Lean and Tono are chosen by Arecia to exist outside the cycle and retain their memories. In this new form, the two agree to gather the memories of Orience's people and find a way of liberating the world from its cycle. The story ends with them wishing the Cadet well, saying that they hope to meet them again in a future cycle.
Development