You may have heard of reports about Final Fantasy Type-0 having its own version of a Crystarium System found in Final Fantasy XIII. The reports are correct. Type-0's version is called "Alto Crystarium" and you use this system to power up your magic.

When you kill enemies, they leave "Phantoma", which is the source for magic. When you absorb this stuff, your magic recovers some. How much you recover depends on the type of Phantoma, which is indicated by the color.

Phantoma is also used in the Alto Crystarium to power up your magic. Depending on the type of magic, you can power up magic in different areas. For example. Fire RF magic can be powered up in strength, MP usage, call time, projectile distance and speed. Increasing the Fire RF magic's strength parameter requires six red Phantomas.

Dengeki also reveals details on the game's magic system. There are three elements. Fire, ice and thunder. Their are a variety of spells and they differ in attack pattern and call method. There 5 varieties and they are the following.

SHG (Shotgun): This type spreads at multiple height levels. Despite its limited range, it is most effective against close combat.

RF (Rifle): This type fires straight towards the enemies. It has a longer range than SHG but the scope of range is narrower.

BOM (Bomb): This type is effective when clearing smaller and quicker enemies by dealing splash damage but has a limited range.

MIS (Missile): This type chases after the enemy before releasing its magic. The stronger versions of the spell will expand to deal splash damage on the surroundings.

ROK (Rocket Launcher): This type when used allows the player to set a target sight on a opponent. The spell will then fire at the targeted direction and deal splash damage to surrounding opponents upon explosion.

Stay tuned as there is Dengeki info on Deuce, Jack and Seven and many other new characters from the trailer and a interview with Hajime Tabata and Yusuke Naora.

On Type 0's Development

When Final Fantasy Type-0 was announced back in 2006, only Tabata, Naora and Nomura were on the staff. Crisis Core Final Fantasy VIII was in development at the time so 2008 was when actual development started. The team also had to work on The 3rd Birthday so Type-0's development was kept at a minimum level for about a year. Nora said that this was the longest he's ever worked on a game and when the game was announced, all they had was a single main visual ready.

On Price

Tabata admits the price is a bit high but said the quality and volume would match the price.

On Naora's Involvement

Naora's role is overseeing the main visual and designs of all four countries. Co-Art Director Yusaku Nakaai is working on character and monsters.

On Multiplayer Play

Type-0's multiplayer is basically like this. Other players come into your game to assist you briefly during battle. There are two sides to the multiplayer experience. One being the host player and the other being the guest players. To play as guest and join a host's game, you select a special mode on the title screen. Hosts play the game normally and guests jump in during combat. Hosts can also toggle multiplayer on and off during missions. There are various merits for guest players and they will get "special points", which can be used to unlock a certain feature. Details at a later date.

On the Concordia Kingdom

The Concordia Kingdom is one of the four countries. The trailer revealed Andoria and Celestia. Andoria is a princess of Concordia and is the only one who has ties with the Queen Dragon, which is a physical form of the Souryu Crystal. Celestia is part of Akatoki, one of the five knight groups that protects the Concordia's Souryu Peristylium.

Tabata says that all government members are female and noted that one mission from the Odaiba demo takes place in Concordia.

Naora says that while the people of Concordia aren't physically strong, they have military power due to their ability to summon and control dragons and monsters. Concordia has a strong feeling of fantasy to it unlike the other three countries. Naora also mentions that you won't find a dragoon class but there will be dragoon enemies.

On Main Characters

Type-0 is not told from a specific perspective. It's meant to show historically what actions were taken by Class Zero. So instead of saying there's a main character. Class Zero is the main role. Machina and Rem are special, but that doesn't mean they are the main hero and heroine.

On the Main Map

You can run around on the game's world map without taking on a mission. If you encounter a monster, you will fight it.

The world map is full of play elements like RTS (Real Time Strategy) for example. This isn't a hardcore RTS game though. It's just beginners stuff. You can play RTS elements as mini games in various areas where your country's armies are fighting other countries. If you win, you take the land as your own and will be able to use the towns.

Tabata admitted that load times is a area of concern for the world map. They're pushing the quality limits so the load times have gotten a bit high. He assures us that this won't be a problem for those who use the game's data install feature.